Is Oyster pushing out special Ed students?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The school has tried for a long time to be a model of inclusion, and in my opinion it should remain so. They just have to get better at it.

Research shows that bilingual education is actually quite beneficial to many students with cognitive or behavioral disabilities when done right. The key is to have enough resources. As a poster said, O-A has a higher percentage of special education students than some of the other WOTP schools. It also has several times as many English language learners and far more economically-disadvantaged kids.

In my opinion this is not necessarily a barrier to success but it will require more focused leadership.

Unfortunately this new principal is not it. Either DCPS should offer more resources and guidance or we can hope the principal soon recognizes that she's not up to the job and her tenure becomes an unfortunate blip in the school's otherwise impressive history.

No, I don't want the principal to leave. Perhaps another bilingual school's (i.e., Marie Reed, Powell, Bancroft) principal is interested in having their school become a model of inclusion. It doesn't have to be Oyster.

Why no Oyster? Why create a new program in a new school when there is one in place at Oyster already? Are there people currently at Oyster who are actively against inclusion and want to get rid of the program? Is that what I am reading?

I'm not against inclusion at Oyster, but I cannot speak for everyone. That said, I have no problem with Oyster remaining an inclusion school, but why can't other schools (immersion and monolingual) also become model schools? Why should Oyster bear all of the pressure, while dealing with a huge budget cut. If parents/DCPS wants Oyster to have an effective inclusion program, then DCPS better provide ALL of the money to support it.

All of the immersion charters are inclusion schools. Tyler is as well. Not sure of the other DCPS schools but I think they are too.

Please be careful of the language you are using. Every public school is an 'inclusion' school under the law and there isn't a single DCPS or charter school with 0% of students with an IEP. Only a very small percentage of students with IEPs require self-contained classrooms or the kind of intensive services that require them to go to more centralized facilities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The school has tried for a long time to be a model of inclusion, and in my opinion it should remain so. They just have to get better at it.

Research shows that bilingual education is actually quite beneficial to many students with cognitive or behavioral disabilities when done right. The key is to have enough resources. As a poster said, O-A has a higher percentage of special education students than some of the other WOTP schools. It also has several times as many English language learners and far more economically-disadvantaged kids.

In my opinion this is not necessarily a barrier to success but it will require more focused leadership.

Unfortunately this new principal is not it. Either DCPS should offer more resources and guidance or we can hope the principal soon recognizes that she's not up to the job and her tenure becomes an unfortunate blip in the school's otherwise impressive history.

No, I don't want the principal to leave. Perhaps another bilingual school's (i.e., Marie Reed, Powell, Bancroft) principal is interested in having their school become a model of inclusion. It doesn't have to be Oyster.

Why no Oyster? Why create a new program in a new school when there is one in place at Oyster already? Are there people currently at Oyster who are actively against inclusion and want to get rid of the program? Is that what I am reading?

I'm not against inclusion at Oyster, but I cannot speak for everyone. That said, I have no problem with Oyster remaining an inclusion school, but why can't other schools (immersion and monolingual) also become model schools? Why should Oyster bear all of the pressure, while dealing with a huge budget cut. If parents/DCPS wants Oyster to have an effective inclusion program, then DCPS better provide ALL of the money to support it.

All of the immersion charters are inclusion schools. Tyler is as well. Not sure of the other DCPS schools but I think they are too.

Please be careful of the language you are using. Every public school is an 'inclusion' school under the law and there isn't a single DCPS or charter school with 0% of students with an IEP. Only a very small percentage of students with IEPs require self-contained classrooms or the kind of intensive services that require them to go to more centralized facilities.

And ironically, Tyler has several of these self contained classrooms. And their sped coordinator looks for any opportunity to keep kids out of the Immersion program - very few kids w/ IEPs remain in immersion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The school has tried for a long time to be a model of inclusion, and in my opinion it should remain so. They just have to get better at it.

Research shows that bilingual education is actually quite beneficial to many students with cognitive or behavioral disabilities when done right. The key is to have enough resources. As a poster said, O-A has a higher percentage of special education students than some of the other WOTP schools. It also has several times as many English language learners and far more economically-disadvantaged kids.

In my opinion this is not necessarily a barrier to success but it will require more focused leadership.

Unfortunately this new principal is not it. Either DCPS should offer more resources and guidance or we can hope the principal soon recognizes that she's not up to the job and her tenure becomes an unfortunate blip in the school's otherwise impressive history.

No, I don't want the principal to leave. Perhaps another bilingual school's (i.e., Marie Reed, Powell, Bancroft) principal is interested in having their school become a model of inclusion. It doesn't have to be Oyster.

Why no Oyster? Why create a new program in a new school when there is one in place at Oyster already? Are there people currently at Oyster who are actively against inclusion and want to get rid of the program? Is that what I am reading?

I'm not against inclusion at Oyster, but I cannot speak for everyone. That said, I have no problem with Oyster remaining an inclusion school, but why can't other schools (immersion and monolingual) also become model schools? Why should Oyster bear all of the pressure, while dealing with a huge budget cut. If parents/DCPS wants Oyster to have an effective inclusion program, then DCPS better provide ALL of the money to support it.

+100. The new principal is doing a great job for the 600+ students at the school--instead of just focusing on her own pet projects like her predecessor did. O-A is a bilingual public school, not some kid of special ed magnet. As previous posters have already noted, the school already had a higher percentage of special ed kids than other schools, and there are many other areas to pay attention to (such as how to deal with the budget cuts, and how to retain more students in the middle school years).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The school has tried for a long time to be a model of inclusion, and in my opinion it should remain so. They just have to get better at it.

Research shows that bilingual education is actually quite beneficial to many students with cognitive or behavioral disabilities when done right. The key is to have enough resources. As a poster said, O-A has a higher percentage of special education students than some of the other WOTP schools. It also has several times as many English language learners and far more economically-disadvantaged kids.

In my opinion this is not necessarily a barrier to success but it will require more focused leadership.

Unfortunately this new principal is not it. Either DCPS should offer more resources and guidance or we can hope the principal soon recognizes that she's not up to the job and her tenure becomes an unfortunate blip in the school's otherwise impressive history.

No, I don't want the principal to leave. Perhaps another bilingual school's (i.e., Marie Reed, Powell, Bancroft) principal is interested in having their school become a model of inclusion. It doesn't have to be Oyster.

Why no Oyster? Why create a new program in a new school when there is one in place at Oyster already? Are there people currently at Oyster who are actively against inclusion and want to get rid of the program? Is that what I am reading?

I'm not against inclusion at Oyster, but I cannot speak for everyone. That said, I have no problem with Oyster remaining an inclusion school, but why can't other schools (immersion and monolingual) also become model schools? Why should Oyster bear all of the pressure, while dealing with a huge budget cut. If parents/DCPS wants Oyster to have an effective inclusion program, then DCPS better provide ALL of the money to support it.

+100. The new principal is doing a great job for the 600+ students at the school--instead of just focusing on her own pet projects like her predecessor did. O-A is a bilingual public school, not some kid of special ed magnet. As previous posters have already noted, the school already had a higher percentage of special ed kids than other schools, and there are many other areas to pay attention to (such as how to deal with the budget cuts, and how to retain more students in the middle school years).

Can you be more specific? I would love to know more about what she has done (not snark intended. I really mean it)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Two letters were sent out by the administration yesterday.

The first letter letter speaks of an ongoing investigation but is very vague. It says that first grade students and staff are being interviewed by DCPS investigators.

The second letter, which inexplicably was not sent school-wide, spoke of the principal's philosophy in regards to Special Education at O-A and the challenges faced by the school and announced a meeting to address concerns this Thursday, one day before the last day of school. Not sure how big a change of vision this is for O-A, if at all, but am hopeful that the meeting will be helpful to the O-A community.


I assume that this meeting is open to all parents at O-A, but because it wasn't sent to all parents I have to ask: Does anyone know if it is open to all O-A parents or just to families with children in the special needs program?

It is open to all the community

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The school has tried for a long time to be a model of inclusion, and in my opinion it should remain so. They just have to get better at it.

Research shows that bilingual education is actually quite beneficial to many students with cognitive or behavioral disabilities when done right. The key is to have enough resources. As a poster said, O-A has a higher percentage of special education students than some of the other WOTP schools. It also has several times as many English language learners and far more economically-disadvantaged kids.

In my opinion this is not necessarily a barrier to success but it will require more focused leadership.

Unfortunately this new principal is not it. Either DCPS should offer more resources and guidance or we can hope the principal soon recognizes that she's not up to the job and her tenure becomes an unfortunate blip in the school's otherwise impressive history.

This is my first year at Oyster so I cannot compare this principal to the previous one or to any other principal for that matter, but I have to say: Her communication skills are terrible. I heard from several parents already who emailed her with questions/concerns, and she doesn't even bother to answer any of the emails. Is this normal? (is a serious question, like I said our first year navigating DCPS)

Her communication skills are terrible. She does not reply emails, and doesn't seem to listen the concerns of the community.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The school has tried for a long time to be a model of inclusion, and in my opinion it should remain so. They just have to get better at it.

Research shows that bilingual education is actually quite beneficial to many students with cognitive or behavioral disabilities when done right. The key is to have enough resources. As a poster said, O-A has a higher percentage of special education students than some of the other WOTP schools. It also has several times as many English language learners and far more economically-disadvantaged kids.

In my opinion this is not necessarily a barrier to success but it will require more focused leadership.

Unfortunately this new principal is not it. Either DCPS should offer more resources and guidance or we can hope the principal soon recognizes that she's not up to the job and her tenure becomes an unfortunate blip in the school's otherwise impressive history.

This is my first year at Oyster so I cannot compare this principal to the previous one or to any other principal for that matter, but I have to say: Her communication skills are terrible. I heard from several parents already who emailed her with questions/concerns, and she doesn't even bother to answer any of the emails. Is this normal? (is a serious question, like I said our first year navigating DCPS)

Her communication skills are terrible. She does not reply emails, and doesn't seem to listen the concerns of the community.

I have had the opposite experience. Mayra has responded to my emails, and she often comes up to me to chat when I see her at school events. Perhaps she has some other (legitimate) reasons for avoiding the PP. There are two sides to every story.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The school has tried for a long time to be a model of inclusion, and in my opinion it should remain so. They just have to get better at it.

Research shows that bilingual education is actually quite beneficial to many students with cognitive or behavioral disabilities when done right. The key is to have enough resources. As a poster said, O-A has a higher percentage of special education students than some of the other WOTP schools. It also has several times as many English language learners and far more economically-disadvantaged kids.

In my opinion this is not necessarily a barrier to success but it will require more focused leadership.

Unfortunately this new principal is not it. Either DCPS should offer more resources and guidance or we can hope the principal soon recognizes that she's not up to the job and her tenure becomes an unfortunate blip in the school's otherwise impressive history.

This is my first year at Oyster so I cannot compare this principal to the previous one or to any other principal for that matter, but I have to say: Her communication skills are terrible. I heard from several parents already who emailed her with questions/concerns, and she doesn't even bother to answer any of the emails. Is this normal? (is a serious question, like I said our first year navigating DCPS)

Her communication skills are terrible. She does not reply emails, and doesn't seem to listen the concerns of the community.

I have had the opposite experience. Mayra has responded to my emails, and she often comes up to me to chat when I see her at school events. Perhaps she has some other (legitimate) reasons for avoiding the PP. There are two sides to every story.

Same here. She is much more approachable, and listens (and ACTS) better than the previous principal. I suspect the previous PP just doesn't like something she did and is cowardly trying to badmouth her in this anonymous forum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The school has tried for a long time to be a model of inclusion, and in my opinion it should remain so. They just have to get better at it.

Research shows that bilingual education is actually quite beneficial to many students with cognitive or behavioral disabilities when done right. The key is to have enough resources. As a poster said, O-A has a higher percentage of special education students than some of the other WOTP schools. It also has several times as many English language learners and far more economically-disadvantaged kids.

In my opinion this is not necessarily a barrier to success but it will require more focused leadership.

Unfortunately this new principal is not it. Either DCPS should offer more resources and guidance or we can hope the principal soon recognizes that she's not up to the job and her tenure becomes an unfortunate blip in the school's otherwise impressive history.

No, I don't want the principal to leave. Perhaps another bilingual school's (i.e., Marie Reed, Powell, Bancroft) principal is interested in having their school become a model of inclusion. It doesn't have to be Oyster.

Why no Oyster? Why create a new program in a new school when there is one in place at Oyster already? Are there people currently at Oyster who are actively against inclusion and want to get rid of the program? Is that what I am reading?

I'm not against inclusion at Oyster, but I cannot speak for everyone. That said, I have no problem with Oyster remaining an inclusion school, but why can't other schools (immersion and monolingual) also become model schools? Why should Oyster bear all of the pressure, while dealing with a huge budget cut. If parents/DCPS wants Oyster to have an effective inclusion program, then DCPS better provide ALL of the money to support it.

+100. The new principal is doing a great job for the 600+ students at the school--instead of just focusing on her own pet projects like her predecessor did. O-A is a bilingual public school, not some kid of special ed magnet. As previous posters have already noted, the school already had a higher percentage of special ed kids than other schools, and there are many other areas to pay attention to (such as how to deal with the budget cuts, and how to retain more students in the middle school years).

I also agree that the retention of students in the Adams campus is a great challenge

[Anonymous]

Is there any hope the retention will be improving? Have they made changes to the math curriculum?

[Anonymous]

Have they made changes to the math curriculum?

What changes would you like to see?

[Anonymous]

Increasing range of challenge in middle school that is on par with Hardy and Deal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is there any hope the retention will be improving? Have they made changes to the math curriculum?

Haven't seen changes implemented yet, but new principal was emphasizing academic rigor and differentiation from day one, so i do expect to see changes soon in that direction. A very welcome change from Monica's attitude.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The school has tried for a long time to be a model of inclusion, and in my opinion it should remain so. They just have to get better at it.

Research shows that bilingual education is actually quite beneficial to many students with cognitive or behavioral disabilities when done right. The key is to have enough resources. As a poster said, O-A has a higher percentage of special education students than some of the other WOTP schools. It also has several times as many English language learners and far more economically-disadvantaged kids.

In my opinion this is not necessarily a barrier to success but it will require more focused leadership.

Unfortunately this new principal is not it. Either DCPS should offer more resources and guidance or we can hope the principal soon recognizes that she's not up to the job and her tenure becomes an unfortunate blip in the school's otherwise impressive history.

No, I don't want the principal to leave. Perhaps another bilingual school's (i.e., Marie Reed, Powell, Bancroft) principal is interested in having their school become a model of inclusion. It doesn't have to be Oyster.

Why no Oyster? Why create a new program in a new school when there is one in place at Oyster already? Are there people currently at Oyster who are actively against inclusion and want to get rid of the program? Is that what I am reading?

I'm not against inclusion at Oyster, but I cannot speak for everyone. That said, I have no problem with Oyster remaining an inclusion school, but why can't other schools (immersion and monolingual) also become model schools? Why should Oyster bear all of the pressure, while dealing with a huge budget cut. If parents/DCPS wants Oyster to have an effective inclusion program, then DCPS better provide ALL of the money to support it.

+100. The new principal is doing a great job for the 600+ students at the school--instead of just focusing on her own pet projects like her predecessor did. O-A is a bilingual public school, not some kid of special ed magnet. As previous posters have already noted, the school already had a higher percentage of special ed kids than other schools, and there are many other areas to pay attention to (such as how to deal with the budget cuts, and how to retain more students in the middle school years).

Sorry about tards sucking up your budget. The majority of special needs children have difficulties that are best addressed in an inclusive environment with "pull" services as needed. Speech, motor, attention, etc. They are of normal intelligence. There are several DCPS schools with specialized programs, but every DCPS is required to provide the services outlined in a child's IEP. If they cannot, there are specialized schools for the most needy or fragile and there's a referral process for that. But here's the thing about inclusion - it means that DCPS doesn't get to pick and choose their special needs kids. They will take them all, as required by law. Your child may well be friends with one (don't worry, it's not contagious). If you have a problem with your child being in a school that devotes significant resources to children who need extra help, I recommend a private school because they're not required to adhere to the IDEA Act.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The school has tried for a long time to be a model of inclusion, and in my opinion it should remain so. They just have to get better at it.

Research shows that bilingual education is actually quite beneficial to many students with cognitive or behavioral disabilities when done right. The key is to have enough resources. As a poster said, O-A has a higher percentage of special education students than some of the other WOTP schools. It also has several times as many English language learners and far more economically-disadvantaged kids.

In my opinion this is not necessarily a barrier to success but it will require more focused leadership.

Unfortunately this new principal is not it. Either DCPS should offer more resources and guidance or we can hope the principal soon recognizes that she's not up to the job and her tenure becomes an unfortunate blip in the school's otherwise impressive history.

No, I don't want the principal to leave. Perhaps another bilingual school's (i.e., Marie Reed, Powell, Bancroft) principal is interested in having their school become a model of inclusion. It doesn't have to be Oyster.

Why no Oyster? Why create a new program in a new school when there is one in place at Oyster already? Are there people currently at Oyster who are actively against inclusion and want to get rid of the program? Is that what I am reading?

I'm not against inclusion at Oyster, but I cannot speak for everyone. That said, I have no problem with Oyster remaining an inclusion school, but why can't other schools (immersion and monolingual) also become model schools? Why should Oyster bear all of the pressure, while dealing with a huge budget cut. If parents/DCPS wants Oyster to have an effective inclusion program, then DCPS better provide ALL of the money to support it.

+100. The new principal is doing a great job for the 600+ students at the school--instead of just focusing on her own pet projects like her predecessor did. O-A is a bilingual public school, not some kid of special ed magnet. As previous posters have already noted, the school already had a higher percentage of special ed kids than other schools, and there are many other areas to pay attention to (such as how to deal with the budget cuts, and how to retain more students in the middle school years).

Sorry about tards sucking up your budget. The majority of special needs children have difficulties that are best addressed in an inclusive environment with "pull" services as needed. Speech, motor, attention, etc. They are of normal intelligence. There are several DCPS schools with specialized programs, but every DCPS is required to provide the services outlined in a child's IEP. If they cannot, there are specialized schools for the most needy or fragile and there's a referral process for that. But here's the thing about inclusion - it means that DCPS doesn't get to pick and choose their special needs kids. They will take them all, as required by law. Your child may well be friends with one (don't worry, it's not contagious). If you have a problem with your child being in a school that devotes significant resources to children who need extra help, I recommend a private school because they're not required to adhere to the IDEA Act.

^^ I'm swooning. Thanks PP.