Is the SWS waitlist moving for Pk3?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live on the neighborhood and I'm sure the school is a nice place to go, but I still can't figure out why it's demographics are so skewed from the rest of the city. It has so few minority kids, at least from what I see when we go to the playground. I have heard the argument that it is a legacy from the Peabody days, but the Watkins/Peabody district is much more diverse, as is the current Peabody program. I don't think there is any conspiracy here, it's just strange to have such a demographic outlier in the middle of a still pretty diverse part of the city.


Personally, I have two years before we apply and will probably put it on my list, but I think we will prioritize schools with a better MS feed. Our IB is LT and I'm fine with it for early elementary. If we got into SWS or LT and no where with a better MS feed we will be leaving for the suburbs before upper elementary school anyway, so there doesn't seem to be a huge advantage of prioritizing SWS in the lottery. It's a very nice but short term solution to the schooling problem on Capitol Hill.

Attend the open house next fall for the answers to your question

If you know the answer, can't you just tell us? If there is an easy explanation for why there is an almost totally white school outside of upper NW (where there is an almost totally white population), give it to us. It is a demographic anomaly for this part of the city, especially for a school with no IB population. Why is that?

The demographics are almost the same as Brent. Get your facts straight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP here. No dog in this fight. To all those on the SWS waitlist hoping to get in, good luck! Seems like a great school. To all those who didn't rank SWS and are at other places, good luck! Seems likes some good options out there, whatever your preference.

Just trying to send out some positive vibes (and ignoring the bad ones).

Let's all get along, ok?

The Hippies are fighting!

Nope. Not a hippy and wasn't fighting. Have a great night!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live on the neighborhood and I'm sure the school is a nice place to go, but I still can't figure out why it's demographics are so skewed from the rest of the city. It has so few minority kids, at least from what I see when we go to the playground. I have heard the argument that it is a legacy from the Peabody days, but the Watkins/Peabody district is much more diverse, as is the current Peabody program. I don't think there is any conspiracy here, it's just strange to have such a demographic outlier in the middle of a still pretty diverse part of the city.


Personally, I have two years before we apply and will probably put it on my list, but I think we will prioritize schools with a better MS feed. Our IB is LT and I'm fine with it for early elementary. If we got into SWS or LT and no where with a better MS feed we will be leaving for the suburbs before upper elementary school anyway, so there doesn't seem to be a huge advantage of prioritizing SWS in the lottery. It's a very nice but short term solution to the schooling problem on Capitol Hill.

Attend the open house next fall for the answers to your question

If you know the answer, can't you just tell us? If there is an easy explanation for why there is an almost totally white school outside of upper NW (where there is an almost totally white population), give it to us. It is a demographic anomaly for this part of the city, especially for a school with no IB population. Why is that?

The demographics are almost the same as Brent. Get your facts straight.

But Peabody/Watkins never had those demographics and now it is a city-wide lottery school, so there has to be some other explanation, which the PP provided - a strange history of voluntary self-segregation within Peabody. Get your analogies straight.

[Anonymous]

Is it something about the Reggio curriculum that draws different demographics?

I'm curious, are Montessori schools more white?

[Anonymous]

The take away from this whole thread, and this whole forum for that matter - why do I keep coming back to this snakepit of a website? - is this: Haters gonna hate.

Good luck OP!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The take away from this whole thread, and this whole forum for that matter - why do I keep coming back to this snakepit of a website? - is this: Haters gonna hate.

Good luck OP!

I don't see where you are finding the hate on this thread, PP. It doesn't seem like anyone said SWS wasn't a very nice school. Maybe not everyone's first choice, but no one was hating on the school. It is quite an outlier in terms of DCPS programming (an apparently its school population) so makes sense that people are curious as to why, but that doesn't amount to disparaging it.

[Anonymous]

SWS parent here. Are there some white people who pick it because of the demographics? Yes Are there some white people who pick it because of the Reggio approach? Yes Are there some black people who avoid it because of the Reggio approach because they want something more traditional? Yes Are there some black people who pick it because they like what the school is doing? Yes Are there some black people who avoid it because of the demographics? Yes And I know I'm missing reasons.

Without doing some type of detailed survey, we're never going to get to the bottom of why the school's demographics are what they are. At this point, with such few new families gaining entry every year, the school's demographics are barely going to budge during our children's schooling.

[Anonymous]

The principal of SWS also lets in parents who lobby him. I am guessing that on Capitol Hill, white parents do this to a greater extent, on average.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The principal of SWS also lets in parents who lobby him. I am guessing that on Capitol Hill, white parents do this to a greater extent, on average.

Yep. Not a SWS parent or aspirant, but have been appalled by how much this happens there. Hoping my school dc cracks down on this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live on the neighborhood and I'm sure the school is a nice place to go, but I still can't figure out why it's demographics are so skewed from the rest of the city. It has so few minority kids, at least from what I see when we go to the playground. I have heard the argument that it is a legacy from the Peabody days, but the Watkins/Peabody district is much more diverse, as is the current Peabody program. I don't think there is any conspiracy here, it's just strange to have such a demographic outlier in the middle of a still pretty diverse part of the city.


Personally, I have two years before we apply and will probably put it on my list, but I think we will prioritize schools with a better MS feed. Our IB is LT and I'm fine with it for early elementary. If we got into SWS or LT and no where with a better MS feed we will be leaving for the suburbs before upper elementary school anyway, so there doesn't seem to be a huge advantage of prioritizing SWS in the lottery. It's a very nice but short term solution to the schooling problem on Capitol Hill.

Attend the open house next fall for the answers to your question

If you know the answer, can't you just tell us? If there is an easy explanation for why there is an almost totally white school outside of upper NW (where there is an almost totally white population), give it to us. It is a demographic anomaly for this part of the city, especially for a school with no IB population. Why is that?

The demographics are almost the same as Brent. Get your facts straight.

And? Brent is a school that affords IB preference so the demographics of the school match the neighborhood and are based in large part on socioeconomics selected by who buys there (or could buy there). SWW is a citywide school. So the demographics one would expect would be closer to DC than to Brent. Which is a nice way of saying, you're an a**. If you are going to come at the poster with attitude then at least bring some logic with your attitude.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live on the neighborhood and I'm sure the school is a nice place to go, but I still can't figure out why it's demographics are so skewed from the rest of the city. It has so few minority kids, at least from what I see when we go to the playground. I have heard the argument that it is a legacy from the Peabody days, but the Watkins/Peabody district is much more diverse, as is the current Peabody program. I don't think there is any conspiracy here, it's just strange to have such a demographic outlier in the middle of a still pretty diverse part of the city.


Personally, I have two years before we apply and will probably put it on my list, but I think we will prioritize schools with a better MS feed. Our IB is LT and I'm fine with it for early elementary. If we got into SWS or LT and no where with a better MS feed we will be leaving for the suburbs before upper elementary school anyway, so there doesn't seem to be a huge advantage of prioritizing SWS in the lottery. It's a very nice but short term solution to the schooling problem on Capitol Hill.

Attend the open house next fall for the answers to your question

If you know the answer, can't you just tell us? If there is an easy explanation for why there is an almost totally white school outside of upper NW (where there is an almost totally white population), give it to us. It is a demographic anomaly for this part of the city, especially for a school with no IB population. Why is that?

The demographics are almost the same as Brent. Get your facts straight.

And? Brent is a school that affords IB preference so the demographics of the school match the neighborhood and are based in large part on socioeconomics selected by who buys there (or could buy there). SWW is a citywide school. So the demographics one would expect would be closer to DC than to Brent. Which is a nice way of saying, you're an a**. If you are going to come at the poster with attitude then at least bring some logic with your attitude.

Not the PP, but I think the poster was just refuting the other poster's claim that SWS's demographics were an anomaly for this part of the city.

When did SWS become city-wide? I thought prior to two-three years ago they gave neighborhood preference. So, I guess it doesn't surprise me that the demographics are what they are. Also, I think even though it is city-wide now, it still draws mainly from the neighborhood - which is pretty close to Brent.

[Anonymous]

Here's the thing. I'm a parent hoping my child gets to attend SWS. Why? Because the school is one block away from me so it's incredibly convenient. Because every child I know that attends is happy there. Because even though I work outside the home, the teachers and principal have regular communication with parents (which I've heard differing stories about at other schools) so I'll know what is going on with my child on a regular basis. Because the teachers seem committed to teaching and helping me raise a happy kid who appreciates the world around them. It takes a village!
Does that make me a bad person? I don't think so, and I won't feel guilty when I apply next year.

If the school were purposefully excluding certain demographic groups I would take issue. But it seems to me that this has always been an opt-in school from the time it started at Peabody. I think the question people should be asking isn't, why is the school predominantly one demographic group. It should be, why aren't other groups applying?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here's the thing. I'm a parent hoping my child gets to attend SWS. Why? Because the school is one block away from me so it's incredibly convenient. Because every child I know that attends is happy there. Because even though I work outside the home, the teachers and principal have regular communication with parents (which I've heard differing stories about at other schools) so I'll know what is going on with my child on a regular basis. Because the teachers seem committed to teaching and helping me raise a happy kid who appreciates the world around them. It takes a village!
Does that make me a bad person? I don't think so, and I won't feel guilty when I apply next year.

If the school were purposefully excluding certain demographic groups I would take issue. But it seems to me that this has always been an opt-in school from the time it started at Peabody. I think the question people should be asking isn't, why is the school predominantly one demographic group. It should be, why aren't other groups applying?

Just wanted to add before people jump down my throat, I've heard great things about our other neighborhood school and will be happy if my child attends there too. I've heard great things about the teachers there as well, but I do buy into the Reggio approach to teaching and so I will rank SWS first.

[Anonymous]

Yes - the poster that claims it should appear "more diverse to reflect the neighborhood" is ignoring the fact that most of the kids aged 3-9 (SWS' current population age) in the immediate neighborhood are actually no longer that "diverse."

Toddle two blocks over to Ludlow Taylor and take a gander at their PK3 class some time, then explain to me why you aren't just as mystified by that dynamic.

In addition to the Reggio component scaring away traditionalists like our PP, SWS didn't start until PK4 when it was in Peabody and there was a standing rule they wouldn't let you jump from Peabody PK3 to SWS at PK4. So, the children needing a PK3 spot were actually ruled out from attending (this was a cluster rule, not something SWS elected for.) And, the parents that opted to wait had resources to find childcare for an extra year...

[Anonymous]

17:07, case in point, what's your demographic? And you're ranking it #1 due in part to geography!