When (if ever) will DC neighborhood schools be the default option for high achieving students?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does the Wilson PTO have hiring authority for aides as well? For us, middle school is the issue. it’s simply too crowded.

No.

it is happening school by school. Look at the in boundary wait lists for PK at schools like Marie Reed, Garrison and Walls at Francis Stevens.

These schools are gentrifying fast. Especially Francis-Stevens which has little to no affordable housing in boundary. DCPS needs a plan to maintain diversity in schools across the city. The neighborhood school system is grossly inequitable. See discussion above re fund raising capacity of PTAs WotP v. other areas.

So as the city gentrifies, DCPS needs to bring back bussing in order for schools to be diverse? How about creating strong and good schools in ALL neighborhoods?

Tax and redistribute a portion of PTA donations. Enforce a minimum at risk %

My family in NYC has kids in fancy Manhattan public schools -- they were told to cease and desist hiring staff with PTA $ by the city.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does the Wilson PTO have hiring authority for aides as well? For us, middle school is the issue. it’s simply too crowded.

No.

it is happening school by school. Look at the in boundary wait lists for PK at schools like Marie Reed, Garrison and Walls at Francis Stevens.

These schools are gentrifying fast. Especially Francis-Stevens which has little to no affordable housing in boundary. DCPS needs a plan to maintain diversity in schools across the city. The neighborhood school system is grossly inequitable. See discussion above re fund raising capacity of PTAs WotP v. other areas.

So as the city gentrifies, DCPS needs to bring back bussing in order for schools to be diverse? How about creating strong and good schools in ALL neighborhoods?

Tax and redistribute a portion of PTA donations. Enforce a minimum at risk %

My family in NYC has kids in fancy Manhattan public schools -- they were told to cease and desist hiring staff with PTA $ by the city.

yes - this is long overdue in DC as well. There is a group of parents who are trying to work with WOTP schools to share some of their wealth with less affluent schools - can't remember where I read the article otherwise I'd post the link. It's an interim measure because I do think ultimately PTAs should not be allowed to fund staff.

[Anonymous]

The PTA $ issue has been getting a lot of talk here lately , and it is so absurd. Take out PatA funds, and the only thing you’ve impacted is the level of envy.

The PTA budgets are a drop in the bucket in the big scheme of things, and eliminating those funds does absolutely nothing to improve educational outcomes (and arguably hurts them).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The PTA $ issue has been getting a lot of talk here lately , and it is so absurd. Take out PatA funds, and the only thing you’ve impacted is the level of envy.

The PTA budgets are a drop in the bucket in the big scheme of things, and eliminating those funds does absolutely nothing to improve educational outcomes (and arguably hurts them).

Cool then why all the fundraising

[Anonymous]

when demographics shift to 70%+ middle class+, in the recent past it was like 60-70% low ses people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The PTA $ issue has been getting a lot of talk here lately , and it is so absurd. Take out PatA funds, and the only thing you’ve impacted is the level of envy.

The PTA budgets are a drop in the bucket in the big scheme of things, and eliminating those funds does absolutely nothing to improve educational outcomes (and arguably hurts them).

Cool then why all the fundraising

I so wish that DCPS (and charters) would adopt the same guidelines as MoCo schools regarding school-based fundraising

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/policy/pdf/cnd.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:More and more Elementary schools are decent

Middle school wise

Capitol Hill area more and more folks are choosing Stuart Hobson and Jefferson. They both have some type of differentiation/honors component

As far as EOTP is concerned yall need to coordinate and pick one middle school for all the higher achievers to take over and flip Cardozo, Columbia Heights, Brookland, MicKinley, or New North. The numbers area there you just need to pick one of those options and swarm it

High School works because of all the test-in select school options

Agree that SH and Jefferson are next. The normal MS options are getting harder to lottery in, & combined with the honors track, makes both more viable.

Honors track works at these schools because it's not a finite resource. There is a baseline standard for placement and expectations to remain in honors track. Any student who can qualify and handle the work load is given that opportunity. It works where there are a minimum number of qualifying students, but it also works because qualified students are not denied the opportunity. Suburban "gifted" programs disproportionately serve more affluent families (ie psychological testing) and overlook many students of color who would otherwise benefit. Tracking works where you meet all students reasonably close to their learning level, and necessary supports are provided for students behind academically.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does the Wilson PTO have hiring authority for aides as well? For us, middle school is the issue. it’s simply too crowded.

No.

it is happening school by school. Look at the in boundary wait lists for PK at schools like Marie Reed, Garrison and Walls at Francis Stevens.

These schools are gentrifying fast. Especially Francis-Stevens which has little to no affordable housing in boundary. DCPS needs a plan to maintain diversity in schools across the city. The neighborhood school system is grossly inequitable. See discussion above re fund raising capacity of PTAs WotP v. other areas.

So as the city gentrifies, DCPS needs to bring back bussing in order for schools to be diverse? How about creating strong and good schools in ALL neighborhoods?

Tax and redistribute a portion of PTA donations. Enforce a minimum at risk %

My family in NYC has kids in fancy Manhattan public schools -- they were told to cease and desist hiring staff with PTA $ by the city.

yes - this is long overdue in DC as well. There is a group of parents who are trying to work with WOTP schools to share some of their wealth with less affluent schools - can't remember where I read the article otherwise I'd post the link. It's an interim measure because I do think ultimately PTAs should not be allowed to fund staff.

stupid idea, the freeloaders just get lazier

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When you have so many charters, it’s hard for neighborhood schools to get a critical mass of high achieving students. There are no charters in the Wilson area, so it’s easier for those neighborhood schools to thrive.

This! And the siphon off money too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When you have so many charters, it’s hard for neighborhood schools to get a critical mass of high achieving students. There are no charters in the Wilson area, so it’s easier for those neighborhood schools to thrive.

This! And the siphon off money too.

1) most charters don't siphon money from DCPS. As a system, they receive fewer resources.

2) most charters are only able to raise relatively small amounts -- no different than most DCPS schools outside of Maury/Brent/SWS and the Wilson feeder pattern. You need to look sector-wide, not just at YY, LAMB, ITS, TR, CMI and Latin etc, which combined represent a very small percentage of all charter students.

3) the number of proficient students is limited in DC, no matter the sector. But it is worth noting that there 56% (ELA) and 53% (Math) of all DC students are 3+ on PARCC (e.g. close to proficient) including 41% of at-risk kids. I think one near-term goal is investing in getting the kids scoring 3 up to 4, and continuing to try to get the 1s and 2s closer to 3.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When you have so many charters, it’s hard for neighborhood schools to get a critical mass of high achieving students. There are no charters in the Wilson area, so it’s easier for those neighborhood schools to thrive.

This! And the siphon off money too.

I don't mean to get conspiratorial, but if there was a BASIS in the Container Store location up there in Tenleytown, I imagine Ward 3 would have a different opinion about charters, more in line with us EOTP parents hoping for integration at Roosevelt, Dunbar, and Eastern, etc., but choosing Latin or Cap City or whatever instead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When you have so many charters, it’s hard for neighborhood schools to get a critical mass of high achieving students. There are no charters in the Wilson area, so it’s easier for those neighborhood schools to thrive.

This! And the siphon off money too.

I don't mean to get conspiratorial, but if there was a BASIS in the Container Store location up there in Tenleytown, I imagine Ward 3 would have a different opinion about charters, more in line with us EOTP parents hoping for integration at Roosevelt, Dunbar, and Eastern, etc., but choosing Latin or Cap City or whatever instead.

I agree with you, but I think it would need to be a Latin to really peel people off.

Ward 3, and the rest of the more affluent Wilson feeder parents aren't going to love BASIS because it is too limited in extra-curricular and they think their kids will be fine without the more intense academic approach.

OTOH maybe they would shun Latin because it has uniforms.

[Anonymous]

Read the editorial in the post about how pretty much al interventions to close the achievement gap have failed over the last 40 years. PTA funds make no difference in closing that gap. Double yhebfunding at poornachools and you still won’t close the gap.

[Anonymous]

I think you're referring to this opinion piece

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/can-we-fix-americas-schools-maybe-not/2019/04/07/09154332-57e8-11e9-814f-e2f46684196e_story.html?utm_term=.0a3e3a455327

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When you have so many charters, it’s hard for neighborhood schools to get a critical mass of high achieving students. There are no charters in the Wilson area, so it’s easier for those neighborhood schools to thrive.

This! And the siphon off money too.

I don't mean to get conspiratorial, but if there was a BASIS in the Container Store location up there in Tenleytown, I imagine Ward 3 would have a different opinion about charters, more in line with us EOTP parents hoping for integration at Roosevelt, Dunbar, and Eastern, etc., but choosing Latin or Cap City or whatever instead.

I agree with you, but I think it would need to be a Latin to really peel people off.

Ward 3, and the rest of the more affluent Wilson feeder parents aren't going to love BASIS because it is too limited in extra-curricular and they think their kids will be fine without the more intense academic approach.

OTOH maybe they would shun Latin because it has uniforms.

I also think they think BASIS is too advanced for their children. Too much of a grind.