Bowser cuts school renovation funds - Murch, others delayed or cancelled while Ellington tops $178 M

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do D.C residents get priority? It isn't clear from the website? Does anybody know the % of non-residents that attend for the bargain price of 12,000/yr?

The percentages were posted by someone earlier in this thread.

Vast majority are DC kids - but they also need to have arts talent. If there is a gap - say no cellists from DC - to make the string quartet work it makes sense to take a tuition paying family from DC or MD.

And yes I think the thition should be higher.

[Anonymous]

Maybe it should become a regular high school that would be attractive to Hardy students. And relieve pressure on Wilson. If it takes oodc kids to make it work then maybe the benefit of having an arts only school are not worth it

[Anonymous]

And is a theater production at Ellington better than Wilson ? If not then both should just be regular high schools that support great arts and educate non art focused DC kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe it should become a regular high school that would be attractive to Hardy students. And relieve pressure on Wilson. If it takes oodc kids to make it work then maybe the benefit of having an arts only school are not worth it

The mission of the school, in its founding documents, is to serve students of color who have talent in the arts; white kids can attend if they have talent in order to supplement the arts purpose. It will be interesting to see what will happen if talented white kids are denied admission because too many talented white kids are applying. There will be a battle between the mission of the school, legally speaking, and the white or asian people who would like to attend. It could happen sooner than you might think.

[Anonymous]

New to DC, with a little kid. Is Duke Ellington kinda like the school from the TV show Fame? Sounds awesome!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do D.C residents get priority? It isn't clear from the website? Does anybody know the % of non-residents that attend for the bargain price of 12,000/yr?

Like everything else at Ellington admissions are opaque.

[Anonymous]

13:05. It is not a black/white issue. Not sure why you have that impression. The issue is that de could serve more kids

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:13:05. It is not a black/white issue. Not sure why you have that impression. The issue is that de could serve more kids

Sure, it has not been a black/white issue because there has never been a waiting list of super-talented kids who want to attend. My comment was prospective, not retrospective. This amazing new campus is going to create a lot of demand. It even possible, given the purpose of the school, that over 50% non-black kids would be allowed to attend? This conversation is going to happen sooner than you think, imo.

[Anonymous]

Ellington is currently 8% white, so I think you are overstating the issue. Is Ellington even at capacity?

[Anonymous]

But maybe there just are not enough kids in DC that want an arts only program. If it was a regular high school, it could serve more kids and have a more than decent arts program, like Wilson

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:New to DC, with a little kid. Is Duke Ellington kinda like the school from the TV show Fame? Sounds awesome!

It is in that kids specialize in one arts discipline (visual Art, dance, drama etc). They have a long school day - regular high school classes then a 2.5-3 hour arts block.

There are auditions / portfolios required as part of the admissions process. The program is designed for kids who intend to major in arts in college or become professionals.

[Anonymous]

Ellington is public school? How can it have a raced based admissions policy? That can't be legal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe it should become a regular high school that would be attractive to Hardy students. And relieve pressure on Wilson. If it takes oodc kids to make it work then maybe the benefit of having an arts only school are not worth it

The mission of the school, in its founding documents, is to serve students of color who have talent in the arts; white kids can attend if they have talent in order to supplement the arts purpose. It will be interesting to see what will happen if talented white kids are denied admission because too many talented white kids are applying. There will be a battle between the mission of the school, legally speaking, and the white or asian people who would like to attend. It could happen sooner than you might think.

I would think that this is blatantly illegal, because this is publicly funded school. Imagine if there were a charter school that in its founding documents said that its mission is to educate DC residents of German ancestry in German language and culture, and there was a de facto quota on students of color. Someone, or some group should challenge Ellington in court. It is particularly galling if DC residents are being denied spots at Ellington, while the taxpayers subsidize preferred students of color who don't even live in DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe it should become a regular high school that would be attractive to Hardy students. And relieve pressure on Wilson. If it takes oodc kids to make it work then maybe the benefit of having an arts only school are not worth it

The mission of the school, in its founding documents, is to serve students of color who have talent in the arts; white kids can attend if they have talent in order to supplement the arts purpose. It will be interesting to see what will happen if talented white kids are denied admission because too many talented white kids are applying. There will be a battle between the mission of the school, legally speaking, and the white or asian people who would like to attend. It could happen sooner than you might think.

I would think that this is blatantly illegal, because this is publicly funded school. Imagine if there were a charter school that in its founding documents said that its mission is to educate DC residents of German ancestry in German language and culture, and there was a de facto quota on students of color. Someone, or some group should challenge Ellington in court. It is particularly galling if DC residents are being denied spots at Ellington, while the taxpayers subsidize preferred students of color who don't even live in DC.

... or even worse if the German charter school took suburban students of German ancestry over DC students of color who wanted to go!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ellington is public school? How can it have a raced based admissions policy? That can't be legal.

It does not have a race based admission policy. What a founding document said in 1974 -- when DC's demographics were very different -- is not relevant to how the school is run now.

It is an application DCPS high school - like Banneker, SWW, McKinley. It happens to be majority black like almost every school in DC. It has an unique governance structure and a Board - which tends to bring out the vitriol on this board (use the archives)

Admissions process includes my school dc application, a test, a family interview and a portfolio / audition. Students can audition in 2 areas as part of the application process but are required to major in just one.