When should we listen to those small, nagging doubts?

[Anonymous]

It's called two different experiences. So there's no blanket rule that title 1 schools won't work for you. It works for some and not others.

[Anonymous]

I'm 2nd generation. I was a high performing kid at a low performing school, and now my child is the same. I ended up earning a Ph.D. from a top 5 program in my field. From the perspective of knowing a very diverse group of high achieving, highly educated adults, yes schools with a high percentage of poor kids have challenges, but I think parents underestimate the issues kids face when they grow up in a high-pressure academic environment. The most brilliant person in my grad school cohort when to Oakland Public Schools and then Berkeley and he could crack some beers, sit down at his computer, and write something amazing. So many of the other people in our cohort had elite educations and were total headcases with terrible self-esteem, unable to do work because they were so afraid the work wouldn't be good enough and that would mean they weren't good enough. Those of us who got knocked down in public schools (literally sometimes) had practice getting back up.

For my kid, I do plan to supplement math, but otherwise, I'm happy with her experience so far. She's really good with people, happy, has friends. Compared to other highly educated parents at her school, I tend to be more willing to let her pick out clothes that are like those worn by the majority of her classmates, let her have treats and tchotchkes that are the popular thing, and go the places that are popular with her classmates-and I think all of that helps with her social experience at the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's called two different experiences. So there's no blanket rule that title 1 schools won't work for you. It works for some and not others.

Ya know, I've been on Cap Hill since the 90s. I talked to a lot of parents and have elementary school age kids. The reality is that Title 1 schools seldom work for high SES families in the upper grades, unless there's a school-within-a-school program attracting few poor kids (e.g. Tyler Spanish Immersion). Granola crunchie parents driven mainly by political ideology and white guilt will invariably claim that all's well. I don't believe them.

Come on, what works is when Title 1 schools in gentrifying areas stop being Title 1, like Ludlow-Taylor this year, and Maury a few years back, and, thus, become real neighborhood schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's called two different experiences. So there's no blanket rule that title 1 schools won't work for you. It works for some and not others.

Ya know, I've been on Cap Hill since the 90s. I talked to a lot of parents and have elementary school age kids. The reality is that Title 1 schools seldom work for high SES families in the upper grades, unless there's a school-within-a-school program attracting few poor kids (e.g. Tyler Spanish Immersion). Granola crunchie parents driven mainly by political ideology and white guilt will invariably claim that all's well. I don't believe them.

Come on, what works is when Title 1 schools in gentrifying areas stop being Title 1, like Ludlow-Taylor this year, and Maury a few years back, and, thus, become real neighborhood schools.

I’m sorry your experience was so bad. I don’t doubt your experience.

My experience is with a Petworth-area title 1 schoool and its different than your experience. Believe what you want about me. I don’t really care. Cynical parents like you won’t choose a title 1 school. Got it. Anyone more open-minded than you may find something that works.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's called two different experiences. So there's no blanket rule that title 1 schools won't work for you. It works for some and not others.

Ya know, I've been on Cap Hill since the 90s. I talked to a lot of parents and have elementary school age kids. The reality is that Title 1 schools seldom work for high SES families in the upper grades, unless there's a school-within-a-school program attracting few poor kids (e.g. Tyler Spanish Immersion). Granola crunchie parents driven mainly by political ideology and white guilt will invariably claim that all's well. I don't believe them.

Come on, what works is when Title 1 schools in gentrifying areas stop being Title 1, like Ludlow-Taylor this year, and Maury a few years back, and, thus, become real neighborhood schools.

I’m sorry your experience was so bad. I don’t doubt your experience.

My experience is with a Petworth-area title 1 schoool and its different than your experience. Believe what you want about me. I don’t really care. Cynical parents like you won’t choose a title 1 school. Got it. Anyone more open-minded than you may find something that works.

What grade?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm 2nd generation. I was a high performing kid at a low performing school, and now my child is the same. I ended up earning a Ph.D. from a top 5 program in my field. From the perspective of knowing a very diverse group of high achieving, highly educated adults, yes schools with a high percentage of poor kids have challenges, but I think parents underestimate the issues kids face when they grow up in a high-pressure academic environment. The most brilliant person in my grad school cohort when to Oakland Public Schools and then Berkeley and he could crack some beers, sit down at his computer, and write something amazing. So many of the other people in our cohort had elite educations and were total headcases with terrible self-esteem, unable to do work because they were so afraid the work wouldn't be good enough and that would mean they weren't good enough. Those of us who got knocked down in public schools (literally sometimes) had practice getting back up.

For my kid, I do plan to supplement math, but otherwise, I'm happy with her experience so far. She's really good with people, happy, has friends. Compared to other highly educated parents at her school, I tend to be more willing to let her pick out clothes that are like those worn by the majority of her classmates, let her have treats and tchotchkes that are the popular thing, and go the places that are popular with her classmates-and I think all of that helps with her social experience at the school.

I think you make a brilliant point, that a lot of the anxiety is social and cultural. That's often class more than race-based as well. Will adopting the cultural habits of low SES kids whose families don't care if they succeed academically lead your kid to act like them, and suppress ambition? Or will they learn a lot more about life and managing themselves that way? It can definitely be bad on the other side too, kids can suffer from extreme pressure to achieve and low self esteem like those you mention. I am much more personally familiar with those traps and want to help my kids avoid them. It probably depends on the particular kid's personality as well, which means you have to know their tendencies well and try to provide them with an environment that will best suit them. That's extremely hard and high pressure on parents too. I would also take seriously what the PP said about 4th grade and up being much more important academically than the earlier years. If you were able to earn a PhD even going to a low performing school, did you teach yourself a lot? I do think it has to come from somewhere and most parents would rather the school do this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's called two different experiences. So there's no blanket rule that title 1 schools won't work for you. It works for some and not others.

Ya know, I've been on Cap Hill since the 90s. I talked to a lot of parents and have elementary school age kids. The reality is that Title 1 schools seldom work for high SES families in the upper grades, unless there's a school-within-a-school program attracting few poor kids (e.g. Tyler Spanish Immersion). Granola crunchie parents driven mainly by political ideology and white guilt will invariably claim that all's well. I don't believe them.

Come on, what works is when Title 1 schools in gentrifying areas stop being Title 1, like Ludlow-Taylor this year, and Maury a few years back, and, thus, become real neighborhood schools.

I’m sorry your experience was so bad. I don’t doubt your experience.

My experience is with a Petworth-area title 1 schoool and its different than your experience. Believe what you want about me. I don’t really care. Cynical parents like you won’t choose a title 1 school. Got it. Anyone more open-minded than you may find something that works.

What grade?

3rd, and friends/neighbors with 4th/5th (and experience in other schools)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's called two different experiences. So there's no blanket rule that title 1 schools won't work for you. It works for some and not others.

Ya know, I've been on Cap Hill since the 90s. I talked to a lot of parents and have elementary school age kids. The reality is that Title 1 schools seldom work for high SES families in the upper grades, unless there's a school-within-a-school program attracting few poor kids (e.g. Tyler Spanish Immersion). Granola crunchie parents driven mainly by political ideology and white guilt will invariably claim that all's well. I don't believe them.

Come on, what works is when Title 1 schools in gentrifying areas stop being Title 1, like Ludlow-Taylor this year, and Maury a few years back, and, thus, become real neighborhood schools.

I’m sorry your experience was so bad. I don’t doubt your experience.

My experience is with a Petworth-area title 1 schoool and its different than your experience. Believe what you want about me. I don’t really care. Cynical parents like you won’t choose a title 1 school. Got it. Anyone more open-minded than you may find something that works.

Cynical parents. Give us a break. Common sense dictates that urban Title 1 schools rarely work for high SES parents in the upper grades, absent a test-in GT or school-within-a-school program.

You can be plenty open-minded and still arrive at the logical conclusion that life is too short to choose an option that works better for your politics than in promoting your children's well being. Ask around.

[Anonymous]

I'm like you Petworth parent. I'm in 16th Street Heights. And I think I've noticed over the 10 years I've read this site that there are way more like us who are willing to choose the schools, particularly neighborhood schools, even when they don't have good test scores, even when they are 80% Hispanic or 90% Black. And some of these people are in elementary school yes, but the conventional wisdom of DCUM that this virtuous BS ends in middle schools and high schools is being given the lie. To be honest, I think it's surging up from elementary school with what I think is basically a gentrifier baby boom, but it's changing our city. I really see 10 years from now a significantly more integrated DCPS, particularly in Wards 1, 4, and 5 (and more in Ward 6). Things we haven't seen yet happening, e.g., proportionate numbers of white graduates from Roosevelt, MacFarland, Coolidge, Brookland, McKinley, Eastern.

I really think this is happening, and to whatever extent we can hasten it, I'm happy for that. To me, that's promoting the normalcy of these choices by making them myself. (The other, which others may not endorse, is not supporting expansion of that peculiar set of gentrifier-endorsed "HRCS" charters to allow parents the easy choice of self-segregation.)

[Anonymous]

How long have you lived in the District, PP above? We've been here 30 years now. We were mugged in Petworth during the HW Bush administration. Each generation of gentrifiers talks exactly like you (in 10 years, it will all be very different). Yet hardly any high SES parents stick with Title 1/overwhelmingly low SES schools past around 2nd grade. Same situation all over the country. Would love to be wrong. Dead wrong.

[Anonymous]

There was no pressure in my test-in high school. Nobody turned out a nutcase. All who graduated got a good education and are doing well. Some chose to work for themselves doing what their hobbies are, others work in government and IT.
There were simply higher expectations than in elementary and middle school, but then again, ofcourse there was, it was a high school. The school offered plenty of STEM classes and 5 languages. Many are working abroad and because of their education, they have no problem navigating the world.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How long have you lived in the District, PP above? We've been here 30 years now. We were mugged in Petworth during the HW Bush administration. Each generation of gentrifiers talks exactly like you (in 10 years, it will all be very different). Yet hardly any high SES parents stick with Title 1/overwhelmingly low SES schools past around 2nd grade. Same situation all over the country. Would love to be wrong. Dead wrong.

I’m not trying to say it’s perfect here, but your stereotype from 10 years ago is out of date.

Also, people who introduce themselves like you have been moving the goal posts as long as I’ve been here. First it was “Pk3 is ok but you’ll be gone by K”, then K was ok but not numbered grades, etc. yes, some people leave. Other people come in. It’s ok.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's called two different experiences. So there's no blanket rule that title 1 schools won't work for you. It works for some and not others.

Ya know, I've been on Cap Hill since the 90s. I talked to a lot of parents and have elementary school age kids. The reality is that Title 1 schools seldom work for high SES families in the upper grades, unless there's a school-within-a-school program attracting few poor kids (e.g. Tyler Spanish Immersion). Granola crunchie parents driven mainly by political ideology and white guilt will invariably claim that all's well. I don't believe them.

Come on, what works is when Title 1 schools in gentrifying areas stop being Title 1, like Ludlow-Taylor this year, and Maury a few years back, and, thus, become real neighborhood schools.

I’m sorry your experience was so bad. I don’t doubt your experience.

My experience is with a Petworth-area title 1 schoool and its different than your experience. Believe what you want about me. I don’t really care. Cynical parents like you won’t choose a title 1 school. Got it. Anyone more open-minded than you may find something that works.

Cynical parents. Give us a break. Common sense dictates that urban Title 1 schools rarely work for high SES parents in the upper grades, absent a test-in GT or school-within-a-school program.

You can be plenty open-minded and still arrive at the logical conclusion that life is too short to choose an option that works better for your politics than in promoting your children's well being. Ask around.

there are people (our family included) who are choosing to stay in Title 1 schools, and actually they are working for our kids. My observation is that the people for whom it works are not quite "granola crunchie" but are exceptionally privileged and intelligent -- double Ivy parents, etc -- these are kids who will be superstars wherever they go, and their parents are supremely unworried about their futures (in addition to being open minded people who dont mind being a racial minority). The kids are not suffering, and the schools are benefiting from these families.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How long have you lived in the District, PP above? We've been here 30 years now. We were mugged in Petworth during the HW Bush administration. Each generation of gentrifiers talks exactly like you (in 10 years, it will all be very different). Yet hardly any high SES parents stick with Title 1/overwhelmingly low SES schools past around 2nd grade. Same situation all over the country. Would love to be wrong. Dead wrong.

I’m not trying to say it’s perfect here, but your stereotype from 10 years ago is out of date.

Also, people who introduce themselves like you have been moving the goal posts as long as I’ve been here. First it was “Pk3 is ok but you’ll be gone by K”, then K was ok but not numbered grades, etc. yes, some people leave. Other people come in. It’s ok.

New PP: last time I checked, Roosevelt was ~1% white and had absolutely abysmal PARRC results. Abysmal. Are you going to be the first high SES person to send your child into that sh*t-show? And if so, why don't you care about your children?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How long have you lived in the District, PP above? We've been here 30 years now. We were mugged in Petworth during the HW Bush administration. Each generation of gentrifiers talks exactly like you (in 10 years, it will all be very different). Yet hardly any high SES parents stick with Title 1/overwhelmingly low SES schools past around 2nd grade. Same situation all over the country. Would love to be wrong. Dead wrong.

NP. I've been here 30 years and it's always been "in 5/10 years, it'll be different".

Those who say that many UMC families have changed DCPS, will fix it, don't seem to believe the statistics.