Highly regarded charter schools - name them?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a previous poster said, DCUM people favor schools that are as white as possible and with as few low-income students as possible. Look for those demographics and you will have your list of schools that DCUM considers the best. DCUMers sticks to this even when it becomes clear that the school is all smoke and mirrors.

This could not be further from the truth. I am a black mom and I chose one of these charters because I love the philosophy of the school. I love that my son is taught how to critically think rather that prepare for various tests. I detest when people continue to make these simplistic statements.

You must be a BASIS parent, the school with a huge white population and under 30% FARMS

Or Latin middle, which is even whiter and more wealthy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a previous poster said, DCUM people favor schools that are as white as possible and with as few low-income students as possible. Look for those demographics and you will have your list of schools that DCUM considers the best. DCUMers sticks to this even when it becomes clear that the school is all smoke and mirrors.

This could not be further from the truth. I am a black mom and I chose one of these charters because I love the philosophy of the school. I love that my son is taught how to critically think rather that prepare for various tests. I detest when people continue to make these simplistic statements.

You must be a BASIS parent, the school with a huge white population and under 30% FARMS

Or Latin middle, which is even whiter and more wealthy.

Nope.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here, that thread is hilarious! (Still want to know what the favorites are - any help?)

Perennial favorites seem to be:

LAMB
YY
MV
Stokes
Lee Montessori
Inspired Teaching
Two Rivers - both campuses
Washington Latin

However, each of these has a cadre of detractors and the favorites shift from year to year. With a couple of exceptions, these are the schools with the highest percentage of white students / lowest percentage of at-risk kids.

I would add Creative Minds.

signed,
CMI parent

That place is a sinking ship, key leadership is heading out the door.

What does this mean? Is there actually reality to this comment or a troll?

A couple positions were announced to leave today- the head of school culture and the middle school director. My kid is in an early grade and I don't feel like that will affect me, but we will see.

FWIW, we love the school and are so glad to be there. I'm not sure how we will feel when it gets to late elementary/middle school time for our kids, but for now, we couldn't ask for a better school. My kid had some special needs and the school has been beyond supportive (I.e. Suggesting extra in-school therapies and then implementing those suggestions). The staff is really loving and teaches to the individual kid.

Isn't the middle school director the much lauded Garrison principal? Oif. Middle school options for those of us EOTP are depressing.

I have heard mixed reviews from Garrison parents. But in my family's experience at CMI, we are close with a middle school teacher there and this teacher believed that he was nothing but a great asset and supporter of the staff.

Leaving after one month? Wow.

I take it as sign of things to come that a lot of founding families left after last year. The 2nd Grade and 4th Grade specifically seemed to have had large turnover.

Unfortunately I think you are correct. The old middle school director departed in June, now this? Two middle school directors leaving in the span of 4 months? I think the leadership is in over their heads. I would not be surprised to see more departures throughout the school year.

CMI parent here. The "old middle school director" was in an acting role and always planned to help find a permanent director for the school before she moved out of state. Unfortunately the warnings of many Garrison parents proved to be correct, and the new director did not work out. I'm not sad about either of the departures but am certainly concerned about the Middle School, although I'm comforted to hear from several middle school parents that their kids are doing well so far this year (and that the program is rigorous).

3rd grade was rough last year, but they hired a wonderful math teacher mid year who's been doing a great job, which partly explains why CMI's math PARCC scores were so high this past year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here, that thread is hilarious! (Still want to know what the favorites are - any help?)

Perennial favorites seem to be:

LAMB
YY
MV
Stokes
Lee Montessori
Inspired Teaching
Two Rivers - both campuses
Washington Latin

However, each of these has a cadre of detractors and the favorites shift from year to year. With a couple of exceptions, these are the schools with the highest percentage of white students / lowest percentage of at-risk kids.

I would add Creative Minds.

signed,
CMI parent

That place is a sinking ship, key leadership is heading out the door.

What does this mean? Is there actually reality to this comment or a troll?

A couple positions were announced to leave today- the head of school culture and the middle school director. My kid is in an early grade and I don't feel like that will affect me, but we will see.

FWIW, we love the school and are so glad to be there. I'm not sure how we will feel when it gets to late elementary/middle school time for our kids, but for now, we couldn't ask for a better school. My kid had some special needs and the school has been beyond supportive (I.e. Suggesting extra in-school therapies and then implementing those suggestions). The staff is really loving and teaches to the individual kid.

Isn't the middle school director the much lauded Garrison principal? Oif. Middle school options for those of us EOTP are depressing.

I have heard mixed reviews from Garrison parents. But in my family's experience at CMI, we are close with a middle school teacher there and this teacher believed that he was nothing but a great asset and supporter of the staff.

Leaving after one month? Wow.

I take it as sign of things to come that a lot of founding families left after last year. The 2nd Grade and 4th Grade specifically seemed to have had large turnover.

Unfortunately I think you are correct. The old middle school director departed in June, now this? Two middle school directors leaving in the span of 4 months? I think the leadership is in over their heads. I would not be surprised to see more departures throughout the school year.

CMI parent here. The "old middle school director" was in an acting role and always planned to help find a permanent director for the school before she moved out of state. Unfortunately the warnings of many Garrison parents proved to be correct, and the new director did not work out. I'm not sad about either of the departures but am certainly concerned about the Middle School, although I'm comforted to hear from several middle school parents that their kids are doing well so far this year (and that the program is rigorous).

3rd grade was rough last year, but they hired a wonderful math teacher mid year who's been doing a great job, which partly explains why CMI's math PARCC scores were so high this past year.

That seems unusually harsh to oust someone only after a few months into the school year. What did the new director do (or not do) to deserve being fired. Sometimes I think the constant turnover is much worse than giving a new administer a chance to gain his/her footing. I'm not sure that after 3/4 months one can really tell if a person is a bad fit.

[Anonymous]

The director only worked for three weeks of the school year before being ousted, too. Messed up

[Anonymous]

He was there for summer school and the beginning of the school year, so maybe he's the one who realized it wasn't working and quit? Or is it known he was fired? Regardless, even though it's disconcerting when someone leaves at the beginning of the year, sometimes it really is for the best to cut ties when it's not working out rather than stick it out the entire year before quitting/firing.

[Anonymous]

Regarding the CMI middle school director, I won't go into details regarding what is gossip, but generally speaking I heard that he did something that the Head of School did not agree with (some parents did not have a problem with what he did), her disagreement was public in nature, and he ultimately left. One thought is that her public disagreement undermined his authority with the students, diminished him in the eyes of other faculty, and made it very clear that the autonomy he thought he had did not exist, and that is why he left. I tend to believe this gossip only because I know how the Head of School rules things with an iron fist. I don't think any "warnings" about him from Garrison are relevant here, in light of what happened. I've also heard that the middle school continues to be a mess, which is why most of us will bail before we get to that point.