Experience with Shining Stars?

[Anonymous]

This whole thread makes me so sad. We really loved the Montessori model, the independence, the focus on peace and justice, the community spirit among students who learned to guide their younger peers — we wanted to believe in SSMA and protect that vision. It’s a shame that the administration and board ran things in the exact opposite manner.

I really agonized over whether to leave, but our child is thriving at our in-bounds DCPS.

[Anonymous]

The Community Association drama just exposed how little power the DCPCSB and parents have with Charters. Maybe they just don't care....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This whole thread makes me so sad. We really loved the Montessori model, the independence, the focus on peace and justice, the community spirit among students who learned to guide their younger peers — we wanted to believe in SSMA and protect that vision. It’s a shame that the administration and board ran things in the exact opposite manner.

I really agonized over whether to leave, but our child is thriving at our in-bounds DCPS.

Agreed, I'm the PP that passed on a spot. We love Montessori and love idea of the Spanish pilot they're implementing. I really wanted to give the school a shot, but it just felt like too much of a risk. I really hope we were wrong and end up kicking ourselves in a few years for passing on the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This whole thread makes me so sad. We really loved the Montessori model, the independence, the focus on peace and justice, the community spirit among students who learned to guide their younger peers — we wanted to believe in SSMA and protect that vision. It’s a shame that the administration and board ran things in the exact opposite manner.

I really agonized over whether to leave, but our child is thriving at our in-bounds DCPS.

Agreed, I'm the PP that passed on a spot. We love Montessori and love idea of the Spanish pilot they're implementing. I really wanted to give the school a shot, but it just felt like too much of a risk. I really hope we were wrong and end up kicking ourselves in a few years for passing on the school.

You'll get another chance. Schools don't improve that quickly and a lot of people leave for their IB at K or the natural breaking point between K amd 1st.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Community Association drama just exposed how little power the DCPCSB and parents have with Charters. Maybe they just don't care....

This. It's really unfortunate.

Similar complaints were made at LAMB and it took a huge scandal to get rid of leadership. I wonder how many charters are just as impervious to change.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This whole thread makes me so sad. We really loved the Montessori model, the independence, the focus on peace and justice, the community spirit among students who learned to guide their younger peers — we wanted to believe in SSMA and protect that vision. It’s a shame that the administration and board ran things in the exact opposite manner.

I really agonized over whether to leave, but our child is thriving at our in-bounds DCPS.

Agreed, I'm the PP that passed on a spot. We love Montessori and love idea of the Spanish pilot they're implementing. I really wanted to give the school a shot, but it just felt like too much of a risk. I really hope we were wrong and end up kicking ourselves in a few years for passing on the school.

You'll get another chance. Schools don't improve that quickly and a lot of people leave for their IB at K or the natural breaking point between K amd 1st.

But are parents still willing to give SSMA another chance? What will it take for a real turnaround at SSMA?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Community Association drama just exposed how little power the DCPCSB and parents have with Charters. Maybe they just don't care....

This. It's really unfortunate.

Similar complaints were made at LAMB and it took a huge scandal to get rid of leadership. I wonder how many charters are just as impervious to change.

This. The PCSB just does not care. For all their snotty remarks about how the charter "movement" truly cares about children. Their main activity is giving themselves awards and giving sweetheart real estate and consulting deals to their friends.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This whole thread makes me so sad. We really loved the Montessori model, the independence, the focus on peace and justice, the community spirit among students who learned to guide their younger peers — we wanted to believe in SSMA and protect that vision. It’s a shame that the administration and board ran things in the exact opposite manner.

I really agonized over whether to leave, but our child is thriving at our in-bounds DCPS.

Us too. We wanted to love SSMA so much. But we knew it was time to leave. Our older children's education was quickly going off the rails due to a mismanaged classroom.

Thankfully, we got into a private Montessori school, so we can keep that up. (And we're quite lucky to have the resources to make that a reality.)

[Anonymous]

We are entering our 4th year and have never had a mismanaged classroom. And there is a new PTA that seems to work well with the administration. The administration has also taken steps to address concerns raised by parents over the last few years. We get weekly emails on what’s going on and monthly meetings with the director, so much more transparency. The facilities issues have been addressed for the most part. There is a new position dedicated to family and teacher support. The broad generalizations on this board are disappointing and shouldn’t scare off families genuinely interested in Montessori. Have there been issues? Yes. But has there been change in response to those issues? Yes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are entering our 4th year and have never had a mismanaged classroom. And there is a new PTA that seems to work well with the administration. The administration has also taken steps to address concerns raised by parents over the last few years. We get weekly emails on what’s going on and monthly meetings with the director, so much more transparency. The facilities issues have been addressed for the most part. There is a new position dedicated to family and teacher support. The broad generalizations on this board are disappointing and shouldn’t scare off families genuinely interested in Montessori. Have there been issues? Yes. But has there been change in response to those issues? Yes.

This is pretty similar to how we feel. Most (if not all) of the previous disgruntled commenters (seemingly) haven't been at the school for at least 1-2 years or more, so although what they say may have been true at the time, it isn't necessarily the reality now. I do agree with all that RR is not the best person to head the school. It continues to feel like cronyism on the board, and in the administration (although less so with the current admin team and some new hires). However, I have to give her credit for directly addressing some of the issues that parents were most disgruntled with last year - communication, facilities, and teacher retention. The implementation of the weekly update email, along with reinstating the monthly chats with the ED have been very helpful in terms of knowing what's going on and being able to ask questions. The Obama Auditorium is re-opened and being used for orientation, meetings, gym class, before care, after care, etc. The playground has been resurfaced. And AC seems to be working fine with the new system. And there is now a "Director of School Climate and Culture" tasked with helping teacher morale and addressing student and staff concerns.

I don't drop my kids off every day with rose colored glasses on. There are still things that need to continue to improve. But it's far from a lost cause. Especially for those that have a particular interest in Montessori. Most of the guides are great, dedicated staff and run their classrooms well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are entering our 4th year and have never had a mismanaged classroom. And there is a new PTA that seems to work well with the administration. The administration has also taken steps to address concerns raised by parents over the last few years. We get weekly emails on what’s going on and monthly meetings with the director, so much more transparency. The facilities issues have been addressed for the most part. There is a new position dedicated to family and teacher support. The broad generalizations on this board are disappointing and shouldn’t scare off families genuinely interested in Montessori. Have there been issues? Yes. But has there been change in response to those issues? Yes.

This is pretty similar to how we feel. Most (if not all) of the previous disgruntled commenters (seemingly) haven't been at the school for at least 1-2 years or more, so although what they say may have been true at the time, it isn't necessarily the reality now. I do agree with all that RR is not the best person to head the school. It continues to feel like cronyism on the board, and in the administration (although less so with the current admin team and some new hires). However, I have to give her credit for directly addressing some of the issues that parents were most disgruntled with last year - communication, facilities, and teacher retention. The implementation of the weekly update email, along with reinstating the monthly chats with the ED have been very helpful in terms of knowing what's going on and being able to ask questions. The Obama Auditorium is re-opened and being used for orientation, meetings, gym class, before care, after care, etc. The playground has been resurfaced. And AC seems to be working fine with the new system. And there is now a "Director of School Climate and Culture" tasked with helping teacher morale and addressing student and staff concerns.

I don't drop my kids off every day with rose colored glasses on. There are still things that need to continue to improve. But it's far from a lost cause. Especially for those that have a particular interest in Montessori. Most of the guides are great, dedicated staff and run their classrooms well.

Hi. Parent of previous SSMA PK3 last year and one of the PPs above.

I did gather that communication seemed to be improving, and that the relationship between SSMACA and the board was improving. (The Obama Room still wasn't usable when we left, but it may be useable now I've heard?) But it was crazy to be a new parent and only learn about the secret Facebook group for communicating midway through the year because the board/administration would officially support the parent association. That gave me a great deal of unease.

But not being informed that our child's teacher was the point at which we had to seriously weigh whether we could stay. And the interaction I had with RR when inquiring about what would be happening with our child's classroom made up our mind that we had to leave. RR...couldn't be bothered? Didn't seem interested in retaining Montessori educated students and their engaged families? I have no idea. But after adding up everything (don't forget the sudden departure of the principal and no communication for months!), I didn't feel like I was being a good advocate for my child if I stayed.

And according to a parent above, the classroom is still vacant (or was vacant as of when the post was made). That's not a small matter. Sure, Shining Stars is good enough up until your guide finally has enough with the administration and departs. Then you'll be left hanging.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are entering our 4th year and have never had a mismanaged classroom. And there is a new PTA that seems to work well with the administration. The administration has also taken steps to address concerns raised by parents over the last few years. We get weekly emails on what’s going on and monthly meetings with the director, so much more transparency. The facilities issues have been addressed for the most part. There is a new position dedicated to family and teacher support. The broad generalizations on this board are disappointing and shouldn’t scare off families genuinely interested in Montessori. Have there been issues? Yes. But has there been change in response to those issues? Yes.

This is pretty similar to how we feel. Most (if not all) of the previous disgruntled commenters (seemingly) haven't been at the school for at least 1-2 years or more, so although what they say may have been true at the time, it isn't necessarily the reality now. I do agree with all that RR is not the best person to head the school. It continues to feel like cronyism on the board, and in the administration (although less so with the current admin team and some new hires). However, I have to give her credit for directly addressing some of the issues that parents were most disgruntled with last year - communication, facilities, and teacher retention. The implementation of the weekly update email, along with reinstating the monthly chats with the ED have been very helpful in terms of knowing what's going on and being able to ask questions. The Obama Auditorium is re-opened and being used for orientation, meetings, gym class, before care, after care, etc. The playground has been resurfaced. And AC seems to be working fine with the new system. And there is now a "Director of School Climate and Culture" tasked with helping teacher morale and addressing student and staff concerns.

I don't drop my kids off every day with rose colored glasses on. There are still things that need to continue to improve. But it's far from a lost cause. Especially for those that have a particular interest in Montessori. Most of the guides are great, dedicated staff and run their classrooms well.

Hi. Parent of previous SSMA PK3 last year and one of the PPs above.

I did gather that communication seemed to be improving, and that the relationship between SSMACA and the board was improving. (The Obama Room still wasn't usable when we left, but it may be useable now I've heard?) But it was crazy to be a new parent and only learn about the secret Facebook group for communicating midway through the year because the board/administration would officially support the parent association. That gave me a great deal of unease.

But not being informed that our child's teacher was the point at which we had to seriously weigh whether we could stay. And the interaction I had with RR when inquiring about what would be happening with our child's classroom made up our mind that we had to leave. RR...couldn't be bothered? Didn't seem interested in retaining Montessori educated students and their engaged families? I have no idea. But after adding up everything (don't forget the sudden departure of the principal and no communication for months!), I didn't feel like I was being a good advocate for my child if I stayed.

And according to a parent above, the classroom is still vacant (or was vacant as of when the post was made). That's not a small matter. Sure, Shining Stars is good enough up until your guide finally has enough with the administration and departs. Then you'll be left hanging.

I'm one of the PPs above and while I don't consider myself disgruntled, I was unhappy with the leadership and am willing to be very vocal about that. We left about a week into this school year when we got an offer from another charter. We were very committed to Montessori and would much rather have stayed at SSMA than left for a non-montessori school if I felt that SSMA could have been successful over the long term. There was so much we loved about the school, and I agree that communication has been better at the start of the year as compared to last. However, there is something so rotten at the core of this school, between Dr. R and her cronies on the board and in the administration, that I don't believe that the future is bright for the school. Our teacher was great and DS loved her but would she be back next year? Who knows? Who would be teaching in the elementary years? How is the school approaching testing? There are too many open questions that I don't trust Dr. R to handle appropriately and thus I can't leave my child there. I am very willing to talk about the good that I saw in the school, I'm not trying to bash needlessly, but parents need to understand that the problem isn't simply "lack of communication" about things like days off or whats going on in the classroom. The problem is an administration that cares about retaining power rather than truly doing working with kids and families to provide them with a safe learning environment and quality education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm one of the PPs above and while I don't consider myself disgruntled, I was unhappy with the leadership and am willing to be very vocal about that. We left about a week into this school year when we got an offer from another charter. We were very committed to Montessori and would much rather have stayed at SSMA than left for a non-montessori school if I felt that SSMA could have been successful over the long term. There was so much we loved about the school, and I agree that communication has been better at the start of the year as compared to last. However, there is something so rotten at the core of this school, between Dr. R and her cronies on the board and in the administration, that I don't believe that the future is bright for the school. Our teacher was great and DS loved her but would she be back next year? Who knows? Who would be teaching in the elementary years? How is the school approaching testing? There are too many open questions that I don't trust Dr. R to handle appropriately and thus I can't leave my child there. I am very willing to talk about the good that I saw in the school, I'm not trying to bash needlessly, but parents need to understand that the problem isn't simply "lack of communication" about things like days off or whats going on in the classroom. The problem is an administration that cares about retaining power rather than truly doing working with kids and families to provide them with a safe learning environment and quality education.

I'm totally on the same page here. We loved the community enough that we stayed four years. Ultimately though, Dr. R is such a selfish, petty, nasty person that we had to leave. We were big boosters of the school while we were there and were completely willing to ride out the many bumps that the school experienced. However, it became clear that we just couldn't trust her to stop making the ridiculous mistakes that she kept making. The whole thing was so absurd. I wish the school well, but wish Dr. R the worst.

[Anonymous]

For those parents with children at SSMA, don't let this thread totally discourage you. Connect with your teachers and base your experience on your child's progress.

It is true that trust was broken between the school and many members of the parent community the past two school years but it seems to me that the school is working to rebuild that trust. I just hope it is not to late to rebuild SSMA's reputation - you couldn't ask for a better parent community and it is difficult to see many good families leave the school. However, the school administration has addressed some of the past concerns raised by parents so there is some progress.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For those parents with children at SSMA, don't let this thread totally discourage you. Connect with your teachers and base your experience on your child's progress.

It is true that trust was broken between the school and many members of the parent community the past two school years but it seems to me that the school is working to rebuild that trust. I just hope it is not to late to rebuild SSMA's reputation - you couldn't ask for a better parent community and it is difficult to see many good families leave the school. However, the school administration has addressed some of the past concerns raised by parents so there is some progress.

Can you clarify how you think failing to notify parents that their child's teacher wasn't returning constitutes rebuilding trust?