Brent and SWS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most parents who rave about Brent are in the younger grades. The upper grades experience still isn't too hot, and Young remains a control freak, pass-the-buck kind of leader. Most parents need a couple years before wising up to the fact that if you go to him with an issue of concern to your family, he'll pretends to listen, talk the talk, then ignore you. The high SES SWS 3rd grade parents are a happier crew than the high SES Brent 3rd-4th grade parents - ask around. The lovely Brent Registrar won't stick around for much longer, and she's his Girl Friday. The coming SY will be Young's 5th at Brent, so who knows how much longer he'll bang on.

Few middle-class or in-boundary kids stay at Brent for 5th (one white kid this year) and I'm guessing that the same will be true at SWS.

You can debate Reggio and IEL issues on DCUM until you're blue in the face, but without strong, caring leadership, things don't tend to work out in the upper grades in DCPS, even with the "favorable" demographics you find at both. If you doubt this, talk to one of the many 3rd grade families who hit the road from Brent in 2013, after a tough year when a strong, longtime K teacher Young was trying to push out got landed with 3rd grade. Most of of these families had started in ECE.

I'd head to SWS.

This is fair. Except, I'd argue more parents will stay for 5th. There will be a big "PEELING OFF" (sorry couldn't resist) of younger sibs to Latin/Basis but if oldest sibs don't win the lottery, I'd bet they'll stick around and try their hand at S-H (many of them have address feeder rights.) I'd bet $10K there will be more than one white kid in 5th.

[Anonymous]

I would recommend calling Brent and request a meeting to speak directly with the principal. Ask how many rising 5th Graders are forecasted be returning next year and try to extrapolate that to the larger classes following behind. Young may not be perfect but in spite of the fact he has only been a principal for five years, he is finally willing to acknowledge and openly discuss the areas in which Brent has fallen short and has now gone all in on a strategic plan designed to strengthen academics across the board. So you can nitpick about communications and continue bitching about misteps taken in one classroom assignment two years ago or look the overall quality of the teachers he has been able to hire as the school has grown during his tenure. I won't name teachers but can point to the recent hires for First, Second, Fourth and Fifth Grads, not to mention one of the recent Third Grade hires and the music teacher. I would argue that Brent is actually much stronger now than it ever was under his predecessor and that attention is finally being paid to upper grade academics.

[Anonymous]

I think the maintenance of SH boundary rights will work out well for SWS given the high number of parents in boundary for SH, will work out well for SH, and will mean that EH will struggle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SWS has much better leadership than Brent, and parents who don't fight like cats and dogs. The SWS principal is a really good guy who's willing to stick his neck our for his kids and families. He's been around forever and you hear few complaints. Principal Young is a smiling conservative (with a small c) wimp you can't trust. You hear many complaints.

We're IB for Brent and I'd switch in a minute if I could lottery into SWS in the lower grades as long as Young stays at the helm.

Brent parent who agrees. Leadership matters and SWS has a good one.

Just curious, but how can't you speak to good leadership at sws when you're a brent parent? Doesn't make sense...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SWS has much better leadership than Brent, and parents who don't fight like cats and dogs. The SWS principal is a really good guy who's willing to stick his neck our for his kids and families. He's been around forever and you hear few complaints. Principal Young is a smiling conservative (with a small c) wimp you can't trust. You hear many complaints.

We're IB for Brent and I'd switch in a minute if I could lottery into SWS in the lower grades as long as Young stays at the helm.

Brent parent who agrees. Leadership matters and SWS has a good one.

Just curious, but how can't you speak to good leadership at sws when you're a brent parent? Doesn't make sense...

oops. PP here. I meant "how CAN you speak..."

[Anonymous]

This comes up over and over wrt 5th grade and I can't understand it. How is the number of families who stay for 5th at all reflective of the quality of the ES? If families have stayed thru 4th we can assume they were fairly happy. Even someone who is 100 percent in love with their ES is going to leave in 5th if offered a good charter option in the lottery, bc that option might not exist the following year. Those who are lucky in the lottery leave for 5th and those who are unlucky stay, play the lottery again, and if they lose for 6th either move or try the IB school, if it is remotely acceptable. All of this is completely out of the control of ES principals, and they should receive neither credit nor blame.

[Anonymous]

I think the elementary school principals that have begun to plan for that reality deserve some credit - it makes it tough for sure, requires reducing class size, combining grades, dealing with an influx of new students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would recommend calling Brent and request a meeting to speak directly with the principal. Ask how many rising 5th Graders are forecasted be returning next year and try to extrapolate that to the larger classes following behind. Young may not be perfect but in spite of the fact he has only been a principal for five years, he is finally willing to acknowledge and openly discuss the areas in which Brent has fallen short and has now gone all in on a strategic plan designed to strengthen academics across the board. So you can nitpick about communications and continue bitching about misteps taken in one classroom assignment two years ago or look the overall quality of the teachers he has been able to hire as the school has grown during his tenure. I won't name teachers but can point to the recent hires for First, Second, Fourth and Fifth Grads, not to mention one of the recent Third Grade hires and the music teacher. I would argue that Brent is actually much stronger now than it ever was under his predecessor and that attention is finally being paid to upper grade academics.

It's tough to extrapolate with the MS charter development trajectory as the wild card, and SH coming along slowly but surely. Longtime Hill DCPS parents here keep better tabs on all this than Young. Who knows what will happen with newish middle school charters like BASIS, DC Global and DCI - they may take off, and add spots, and they may not. Moreover, SH may or may not become a lot more popular with Hill families in the next five years or so.

Young has absolutely done good things at Brent, but it's not nitpicking to point out that he doesn't go to bat for families with concerns. He looks worried parents in the eye and lies, or shrugs, and does so routinely. I can point to his crappy treatment of any number of lower grades families who've hit the road partly as a result, including those with SNs kids. All the smart hires and strategic planning being done cannot alter this calculus - Young is callous, in over his head half the time, and has strong authoritarian tendencies born of insecurity (which you aren't going to hear him "acknowledge or openly discuss"). He's proven a divider as a leader meaning that, increasingly, Brent families want him to go if DCPS would work with them to find a better school leader.

By contrast, the SWS leadership team is beloved of parents, known for being cohesive, thoughtful, progressive but practical, kind and responsive. Knowing this, I could live with more basic facilities and specials, fewer pullout groups, and less strategic planning than at Brent.

[Anonymous]

If I was in your position, I would go with Brent. Firstly, I think it has a stronger reputation as an academic program in DC. Capitol Hill people are crazy about the idea of SWS, but I don't think it has proved itself academically in the way that Brent has. I'm not saying that it won't in the future, but I think Brent is still a safer bet. I also like that Brent is a neighborhood school. Now that SWS has the DC-wide lottery, it is taking students from all over the area. I think there is something special about real neighborhood schools where students live in the surrounding community. Congratulations!

[Anonymous]

Most of the SWS kids are still Hill kids, even in the ECE program. I see them at Sherwood olayground and regognize lots.

However you slice it, you must pick your poison in DCPS. The fair weather Brent principal who plays with parents' heads vs. the unproven upper grades at SWS. The hopeless-for-at least-another-decade feed to Jefferson Academy from Brent, or the catostrophic-for-at least-another-generation feed to Eliot-Hine, which enrolls a single white kid. Which is the least bad? Personal decisions indeed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would recommend calling Brent and request a meeting to speak directly with the principal. Ask how many rising 5th Graders are forecasted be returning next year and try to extrapolate that to the larger classes following behind. Young may not be perfect but in spite of the fact he has only been a principal for five years, he is finally willing to acknowledge and openly discuss the areas in which Brent has fallen short and has now gone all in on a strategic plan designed to strengthen academics across the board. So you can nitpick about communications and continue bitching about misteps taken in one classroom assignment two years ago or look the overall quality of the teachers he has been able to hire as the school has grown during his tenure. I won't name teachers but can point to the recent hires for First, Second, Fourth and Fifth Grads, not to mention one of the recent Third Grade hires and the music teacher. I would argue that Brent is actually much stronger now than it ever was under his predecessor and that attention is finally being paid to upper grade academics.

It's tough to extrapolate with the MS charter development trajectory as the wild card, and SH coming along slowly but surely. Longtime Hill DCPS parents here keep better tabs on all this than Young. Who knows what will happen with newish middle school charters like BASIS, DC Global and DCI - they may take off, and add spots, and they may not. Moreover, SH may or may not become a lot more popular with Hill families in the next five years or so.

Young has absolutely done good things at Brent, but it's not nitpicking to point out that he doesn't go to bat for families with concerns. He looks worried parents in the eye and lies, or shrugs, and does so routinely. I can point to his crappy treatment of any number of lower grades families who've hit the road partly as a result, including those with SNs kids. All the smart hires and strategic planning being done cannot alter this calculus - Young is callous, in over his head half the time, and has strong authoritarian tendencies born of insecurity (which you aren't going to hear him "acknowledge or openly discuss"). He's proven a divider as a leader meaning that, increasingly, Brent families want him to go if DCPS would work with them to find a better school leader.

By contrast, the SWS leadership team is beloved of parents, known for being cohesive, thoughtful, progressive but practical, kind and responsive. Knowing this, I could live with more basic facilities and specials, fewer pullout groups, and less strategic planning than at Brent.

I've had kids at Brent longer than Young has been there, spend time talking with other families about the state of the school and decisions made by the principal, and haven't come across some of the points you made above. I'm not going to defend some of the decisions made by the principal, and especially the process he's used to come to conclusions, but overall I feel like he's moving things in a good direction. While he's not beloved by all parents, DCPS seems to like him enough to give him enough teachers to keep small class sizes and enough resources to improve the facility. His new teacher hires have overall been great. And, I keep hoping his skills as a leader will improve with experience. But then, I tend to be an optimist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most of the SWS kids are still Hill kids, even in the ECE program. I see them at Sherwood olayground and regognize lots.

However you slice it, you must pick your poison in DCPS. The fair weather Brent principal who plays with parents' heads vs. the unproven upper grades at SWS. The hopeless-for-at least-another-decade feed to Jefferson Academy from Brent, or the catostrophic-for-at least-another-generation feed to Eliot-Hine, which enrolls a single white kid. Which is the least bad? Personal decisions indeed.

Agree with PP on SH being wildcard here. Many SWS families are inbounds for Stuart Hobson which complicates SWS 5th by providing a third path. Unlike Brent where it's mostly charter/private/move vs. Jefferson, SWS is charter/private/move vs SH vs. Eliot Hine. I suspect the kids inbounds for EH will be most active in pursuing 5th grade charter seats with some families inbound for SH likely to do the same. The EH feed will be weak for those who remain at SWS for 5th. Substitute EH for Jefferson and you have Maury's outlook, but I hear there's a little more interest in EH from Maury (anyone care to confirm/deny?).

Despite being modernized the yearly progress at Stuart Hobson is not impressive. The enrollment patterns have been inconsistent over the past few years and that may have adversely impacted YP

[Anonymous]

I was an optimist myself before Young threw us under the bus to DCPS over a matter he could've sorted out in 5 minutes. We've seen him wimp out similarly with friends who've given up and moved on to SWS, CHD, Georgetown Day, the Lab School, Quaker Community School, Eaton etc.

All is well and good with Young if your family isn't near one end of the bell curve on a learning or behavioral issue, highly international, or anything else he can't or won't handle.

The small first grade classes worked so well that the PTA is trying to get the aides back.

We're not very religious but pray to lottery into SWS.

[Anonymous]

NP: OP, how long do you have to decide?

At least you've been warned about Principal Young. Rose colored glasses are not in short supply in Brent's lower grades.

[Anonymous]

What is wrong with Principal Young, I heard he was doing a pretty good job.