Can anyone update me on Shaw Middle and parent involvement?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The best option is to find some space in the neighborhood and open up a Charter.

True. Yet Kaya is sitting on a few million square feet of school real estate which is empty and unused.

Yep. All this effort is going to do is give her an excuse to leave a great school building to rot for many more years instead of turning it over to a school who might actually educate kids. Thanks a lot! I hope future you comes back and realizes that you were part of the reason that Shaw will still be empty when your kids go to middle school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The best option is to find some space in the neighborhood and open up a Charter.

True. Yet Kaya is sitting on a few million square feet of school real estate which is empty and unused.

Yep. All this effort is going to do is give her an excuse to leave a great school building to rot for many more years instead of turning it over to a school who might actually educate kids. Thanks a lot! I hope future you comes back and realizes that you were part of the reason that Shaw will still be empty when your kids go to middle school.

+1000

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, there are parents working on pushing the city to reopen Shaw. We had a meeting with Council members Allen and Grosso 6 months ago and had a parent only follow up literally yesterday.

We are thinking of starting a "friends of Cardozo" feeder group. The plan is to strengthen Cadozo HS and get Cardozo MS moved to a stand alone MS at Shaw eventually. We have parents from Garrison, Cleveland, and Seaton involved.

(I cannot believe I'm doing this, but that's how much I care about this...) email me personally at [e-mail] to become involved.

As an aside, don't assume MacFarland MS will fail. DCPS will be starting it's MS language immersion there next fall (at Roosevelt HS for 2 years during MacFarland's renovation), which should pull from all over the city (not just the neighborhood ESs) and be a boost to the larger MacFarland program when it opens in 3 years.

Becky Reina,
Cleveland ES parent

Can I just ask? How long have you been trying to help with the schools in this area? My guess is less than a year.

[Anonymous]

Any of you posting here actually have kids in middle school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, there are parents working on pushing the city to reopen Shaw. We had a meeting with Council members Allen and Grosso 6 months ago and had a parent only follow up literally yesterday.

We are thinking of starting a "friends of Cardozo" feeder group. The plan is to strengthen Cadozo HS and get Cardozo MS moved to a stand alone MS at Shaw eventually. We have parents from Garrison, Cleveland, and Seaton involved.

(I cannot believe I'm doing this, but that's how much I care about this...) email me personally at [e-mail] to become involved.

As an aside, don't assume MacFarland MS will fail. DCPS will be starting it's MS language immersion there next fall (at Roosevelt HS for 2 years during MacFarland's renovation), which should pull from all over the city (not just the neighborhood ESs) and be a boost to the larger MacFarland program when it opens in 3 years.

Becky Reina,
Cleveland ES parent

Can I just ask? How long have you been trying to help with the schools in this area? My guess is less than a year.

Or have you reached out to the parents at Cardozo to get their ideas?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A "baby" here from Garrison (PK4 parent) who is committed and looking forward to working with other parents on our middle school. Since there are people on this thread who say they have been in the fight for a while and gave up, I'd love to hear any lessons learned from past middle school reform efforts - other than that this is a hopeless cause.

javascript:void(0);

We say it's hopeless because we tired.

Because we stayed up night after night for years working on a dream. For some of us...it worked. Some of us built middle schools that we see you "baby" parents talk shit about on DCUM like they were nothing. You don't even realize the hard work to get some of these programs up and running that you people take for granted.

You want to start a school? You want to revamp a DCPS?

Stop posting on DCUM and bitching and join a work group, set up a meeting, write a proposal, write a grant, you should be working every second of your spare time for the next 2 years until you live and breath middle schools.

Then, 10 years from now when some PK parent comes and says "What's the deal with that place? Why couldn't they get that going?" Tell me how you feel.

Um... No. Improving a school is not my job. It's DCPS's job (which they obviously perform terribly) or a DCPCS's job. Either way, we pay our taxes and expect certain services as a result: fire, police, schools, pothole repair, garbage pick-up, etc. We don't expect to be involved in the performance of these services. We expect them to be up to high standards, or else why in the hell are you telling us that our house is worth $750K and you want us to pay property taxes to that effect?

STFU.

But you live in a city with multi-generational poverty. Because of the way the schools are assigned -- and because the poors have more kids and can't send them elsewhere -- the public schools are flooded by kids who are probably starting at a deficit. And those kids (your neighbors) vastly outnumber the children of anybody paying taxes on a $750k home.

You don't get it. I don't have a $750K home. The Mayor's administration says I do, and I have to pay taxes to that effect, but it's not true.

As long as the city is going to rape my family, I'm going to speak some truth to power. Pick up the trash. It's not my job.

If you've been there any amount of time and claiming the homestead deduction, your annual increase has a pretty slow growth cap on it, so I call bullshit. Also if you've been here any amount of time, you'd have some relationships with your poorer neighbors.

Call it whatever you want lady, you don't live here and you don't know. When we moved into this house almost twenty years ago, we were threatened on the streets for our pallor, robbed, heard gunshots, smelled pot (back when that wasn't legal) right outside our front door, had people try to break in, you name it. Hell, we couldn't even get a pizza delivered. We bought into the hood. I don't owe you or anyone else an explanation for my disgust with criminals. STFU.

I've lived here has long as you and yeah, it sucked. I worked hard to change my neighborhood. Difference is, I saw it as my job to make difference. Maybe why you are so bitter is you are "not my problem" kind of person.

Making this city and our neighborhood better is everyone's problem. If you want to rely on the government, go live in socialism where the nanny state will do everything for you.

Shut up.

Seriously, shut the f*ck up.

You don't know me. You don't know my family. You don't get me at all. You think you do, but you don't know how many random children who live down the alley, I've made dinner for. I am not bitter. I'm the person who gives homemade ice cream to the garbage crew, and brownies to the people who just resurfaced my alley with new bricks.

STFU.

Dumb-ass.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Any of you posting here actually have kids in middle school?

Not yet, but pretty close. Thankfully people from our charter worked hard to create that option for us. People put in effort, collaborated, and things actually got done.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, there are parents working on pushing the city to reopen Shaw. We had a meeting with Council members Allen and Grosso 6 months ago and had a parent only follow up literally yesterday.

We are thinking of starting a "friends of Cardozo" feeder group. The plan is to strengthen Cadozo HS and get Cardozo MS moved to a stand alone MS at Shaw eventually. We have parents from Garrison, Cleveland, and Seaton involved.

(I cannot believe I'm doing this, but that's how much I care about this...) email me personally at [e-mail] to become involved.

As an aside, don't assume MacFarland MS will fail. DCPS will be starting it's MS language immersion there next fall (at Roosevelt HS for 2 years during MacFarland's renovation), which should pull from all over the city (not just the neighborhood ESs) and be a boost to the larger MacFarland program when it opens in 3 years.

Becky Reina,
Cleveland ES parent

Can I just ask? How long have you been trying to help with the schools in this area? My guess is less than a year.

Or have you reached out to the parents at Cardozo to get their ideas?

This. Part of the reason these things often fail is they don't talk to or work with the parents who are ALREADY invested by virtue of sending their children to the school one wants to 'flip.' Listen and figure out how you can help them, rather than starting something new and assume you know what is needed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A "baby" here from Garrison (PK4 parent) who is committed and looking forward to working with other parents on our middle school. Since there are people on this thread who say they have been in the fight for a while and gave up, I'd love to hear any lessons learned from past middle school reform efforts - other than that this is a hopeless cause.

javascript:void(0);

We say it's hopeless because we tired.

Because we stayed up night after night for years working on a dream. For some of us...it worked. Some of us built middle schools that we see you "baby" parents talk shit about on DCUM like they were nothing. You don't even realize the hard work to get some of these programs up and running that you people take for granted.

You want to start a school? You want to revamp a DCPS?

Stop posting on DCUM and bitching and join a work group, set up a meeting, write a proposal, write a grant, you should be working every second of your spare time for the next 2 years until you live and breath middle schools.

Then, 10 years from now when some PK parent comes and says "What's the deal with that place? Why couldn't they get that going?" Tell me how you feel.

Um... No. Improving a school is not my job. It's DCPS's job (which they obviously perform terribly) or a DCPCS's job. Either way, we pay our taxes and expect certain services as a result: fire, police, schools, pothole repair, garbage pick-up, etc. We don't expect to be involved in the performance of these services. We expect them to be up to high standards, or else why in the hell are you telling us that our house is worth $750K and you want us to pay property taxes to that effect?

STFU.

But you live in a city with multi-generational poverty. Because of the way the schools are assigned -- and because the poors have more kids and can't send them elsewhere -- the public schools are flooded by kids who are probably starting at a deficit. And those kids (your neighbors) vastly outnumber the children of anybody paying taxes on a $750k home.

You don't get it. I don't have a $750K home. The Mayor's administration says I do, and I have to pay taxes to that effect, but it's not true.

As long as the city is going to rape my family, I'm going to speak some truth to power. Pick up the trash. It's not my job.

If you've been there any amount of time and claiming the homestead deduction, your annual increase has a pretty slow growth cap on it, so I call bullshit. Also if you've been here any amount of time, you'd have some relationships with your poorer neighbors.

Call it whatever you want lady, you don't live here and you don't know. When we moved into this house almost twenty years ago, we were threatened on the streets for our pallor, robbed, heard gunshots, smelled pot (back when that wasn't legal) right outside our front door, had people try to break in, you name it. Hell, we couldn't even get a pizza delivered. We bought into the hood. I don't owe you or anyone else an explanation for my disgust with criminals. STFU.

I've lived here has long as you and yeah, it sucked. I worked hard to change my neighborhood. Difference is, I saw it as my job to make difference. Maybe why you are so bitter is you are "not my problem" kind of person.

Making this city and our neighborhood better is everyone's problem. If you want to rely on the government, go live in socialism where the nanny state will do everything for you.

Shut up.

Seriously, shut the f*ck up.

You don't know me. You don't know my family. You don't get me at all. You think you do, but you don't know how many random children who live down the alley, I've made dinner for. I am not bitter. I'm the person who gives homemade ice cream to the garbage crew, and brownies to the people who just resurfaced my alley with new bricks.

STFU.

Dumb-ass.

Please don't hold back. Tell us how you really feel. But ice cream for the garbage crew? Take a Xanax.

[Anonymous]

No question, DCPS/central office/Chancellor/mayor are part of the problem. Maybe even the majority of the problem.

But the people who post on and read this site should recognize that YOU are the problem when you attack each other. The vitriol here, which represents the shade we throw at each other out in the real world, is a part of why you are burned out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A "baby" here from Garrison (PK4 parent) who is committed and looking forward to working with other parents on our middle school. Since there are people on this thread who say they have been in the fight for a while and gave up, I'd love to hear any lessons learned from past middle school reform efforts - other than that this is a hopeless cause.

javascript:void(0);

We say it's hopeless because we tired.

Because we stayed up night after night for years working on a dream. For some of us...it worked. Some of us built middle schools that we see you "baby" parents talk shit about on DCUM like they were nothing. You don't even realize the hard work to get some of these programs up and running that you people take for granted.

You want to start a school? You want to revamp a DCPS?

Stop posting on DCUM and bitching and join a work group, set up a meeting, write a proposal, write a grant, you should be working every second of your spare time for the next 2 years until you live and breath middle schools.

Then, 10 years from now when some PK parent comes and says "What's the deal with that place? Why couldn't they get that going?" Tell me how you feel.

Um... No. Improving a school is not my job. It's DCPS's job (which they obviously perform terribly) or a DCPCS's job. Either way, we pay our taxes and expect certain services as a result: fire, police, schools, pothole repair, garbage pick-up, etc. We don't expect to be involved in the performance of these services. We expect them to be up to high standards, or else why in the hell are you telling us that our house is worth $750K and you want us to pay property taxes to that effect?

STFU.

But you live in a city with multi-generational poverty. Because of the way the schools are assigned -- and because the poors have more kids and can't send them elsewhere -- the public schools are flooded by kids who are probably starting at a deficit. And those kids (your neighbors) vastly outnumber the children of anybody paying taxes on a $750k home.

You don't get it. I don't have a $750K home. The Mayor's administration says I do, and I have to pay taxes to that effect, but it's not true.

As long as the city is going to rape my family, I'm going to speak some truth to power. Pick up the trash. It's not my job.

If you've been there any amount of time and claiming the homestead deduction, your annual increase has a pretty slow growth cap on it, so I call bullshit. Also if you've been here any amount of time, you'd have some relationships with your poorer neighbors.

Call it whatever you want lady, you don't live here and you don't know. When we moved into this house almost twenty years ago, we were threatened on the streets for our pallor, robbed, heard gunshots, smelled pot (back when that wasn't legal) right outside our front door, had people try to break in, you name it. Hell, we couldn't even get a pizza delivered. We bought into the hood. I don't owe you or anyone else an explanation for my disgust with criminals. STFU.

I've lived here has long as you and yeah, it sucked. I worked hard to change my neighborhood. Difference is, I saw it as my job to make difference. Maybe why you are so bitter is you are "not my problem" kind of person.

Making this city and our neighborhood better is everyone's problem. If you want to rely on the government, go live in socialism where the nanny state will do everything for you.

Shut up.

Seriously, shut the f*ck up.

You don't know me. You don't know my family. You don't get me at all. You think you do, but you don't know how many random children who live down the alley, I've made dinner for. I am not bitter. I'm the person who gives homemade ice cream to the garbage crew, and brownies to the people who just resurfaced my alley with new bricks.

STFU.

Dumb-ass.

Please don't hold back. Tell us how you really feel. But ice cream for the garbage crew? Take a Xanax.

I'm just nicer, hon - this isn't hard for me, like it clearly is for you. Maybe you need some pharmaceuticals?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No question, DCPS/central office/Chancellor/mayor are part of the problem. Maybe even the majority of the problem.

But the people who post on and read this site should recognize that YOU are the problem when you attack each other. The vitriol here, which represents the shade we throw at each other out in the real world, is a part of why you are burned out.

There is obviously one crazy person on this thread. I think everyone else is reasonable, but fed up with DCPS and extraordinarily annoyed that well-meaning newbies are going to block any potential of having Shaw be a real school anytime soon because they don't yet understand how DCPS is using them as pawns and will never give them what they want.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A "baby" here from Garrison (PK4 parent) who is committed and looking forward to working with other parents on our middle school. Since there are people on this thread who say they have been in the fight for a while and gave up, I'd love to hear any lessons learned from past middle school reform efforts - other than that this is a hopeless cause.

javascript:void(0);

We say it's hopeless because we tired.

Because we stayed up night after night for years working on a dream. For some of us...it worked. Some of us built middle schools that we see you "baby" parents talk shit about on DCUM like they were nothing. You don't even realize the hard work to get some of these programs up and running that you people take for granted.

You want to start a school? You want to revamp a DCPS?

Stop posting on DCUM and bitching and join a work group, set up a meeting, write a proposal, write a grant, you should be working every second of your spare time for the next 2 years until you live and breath middle schools.

Then, 10 years from now when some PK parent comes and says "What's the deal with that place? Why couldn't they get that going?" Tell me how you feel.

Um... No. Improving a school is not my job. It's DCPS's job (which they obviously perform terribly) or a DCPCS's job. Either way, we pay our taxes and expect certain services as a result: fire, police, schools, pothole repair, garbage pick-up, etc. We don't expect to be involved in the performance of these services. We expect them to be up to high standards, or else why in the hell are you telling us that our house is worth $750K and you want us to pay property taxes to that effect?

STFU.

But you live in a city with multi-generational poverty. Because of the way the schools are assigned -- and because the poors have more kids and can't send them elsewhere -- the public schools are flooded by kids who are probably starting at a deficit. And those kids (your neighbors) vastly outnumber the children of anybody paying taxes on a $750k home.

You don't get it. I don't have a $750K home. The Mayor's administration says I do, and I have to pay taxes to that effect, but it's not true.

As long as the city is going to rape my family, I'm going to speak some truth to power. Pick up the trash. It's not my job.

If you've been there any amount of time and claiming the homestead deduction, your annual increase has a pretty slow growth cap on it, so I call bullshit. Also if you've been here any amount of time, you'd have some relationships with your poorer neighbors.

Call it whatever you want lady, you don't live here and you don't know. When we moved into this house almost twenty years ago, we were threatened on the streets for our pallor, robbed, heard gunshots, smelled pot (back when that wasn't legal) right outside our front door, had people try to break in, you name it. Hell, we couldn't even get a pizza delivered. We bought into the hood. I don't owe you or anyone else an explanation for my disgust with criminals. STFU.

I've lived here has long as you and yeah, it sucked. I worked hard to change my neighborhood. Difference is, I saw it as my job to make difference. Maybe why you are so bitter is you are "not my problem" kind of person.

Making this city and our neighborhood better is everyone's problem. If you want to rely on the government, go live in socialism where the nanny state will do everything for you.

Shut up.

Seriously, shut the f*ck up.

You don't know me. You don't know my family. You don't get me at all. You think you do, but you don't know how many random children who live down the alley, I've made dinner for. I am not bitter. I'm the person who gives homemade ice cream to the garbage crew, and brownies to the people who just resurfaced my alley with new bricks.

STFU.

Dumb-ass.

Oh yes, those "random kids down the alley" thank goodness you throw them some scraps.

Poverty solved.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No question, DCPS/central office/Chancellor/mayor are part of the problem. Maybe even the majority of the problem.

But the people who post on and read this site should recognize that YOU are the problem when you attack each other. The vitriol here, which represents the shade we throw at each other out in the real world, is a part of why you are burned out.

There is obviously one crazy person on this thread. I think everyone else is reasonable, but fed up with DCPS and extraordinarily annoyed that well-meaning newbies are going to block any potential of having Shaw be a real school anytime soon because they don't yet understand how DCPS is using them as pawns and will never give them what they want.

Only one?

This is DCUM after all. Surely at least a dozen of us are bat-shit crazy, why else would we be here?

[Anonymous]

Before anyone gets too involved in this effort, I recommend doing just a bit of research on just two issues that are indicative. First, how many times over the past 10 years has DCPS promised to renovate Garrison and what happened to each of those promises? How much parent effort was involved in each of those promises and results? Second, chart the DCPS plans for a middle school in this area over the past ten years. Until you can do both of those things, you should not be making any recommendations about what DCPS should do with its buildings.