Letter from Cancellor re moving schools - opps - I got caught moving my kid?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Embattled DCPS Chancellor, Last Fall: Families Shouldn't 'Obsess' Over School Placement - When your words come back to haunt you ...

https://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/news/loose-lips/blog/20993025/embattled-dcps-chancellor-last-fall-families-shouldnt-obsess-over-school-placement

"Last fall, Wilson suggested in an interview with City Paper that parents should calm down—but be more proactive, too. "Sometimes I see families obsessing over ‘My kid has to be in this school or that school or they won’t make it.’" he observed. "And what I say to a parent is, ‘You make the difference, you send your child to this DCPS school, you spend time meeting with school leaders and getting involved with the PTA or the local school government council, you and your neighbors come to our parent cabinet meetings together, and your child will be successful.’”

Thanks for finding this quote. OMG-- He has to GO! the blatent hypocracy!

[Anonymous]

Turn to Fox5; Wilson will be giving an interview.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this all disproportionate. If anyone deserves an automatic preference it’s the chancellor. If this were a charter it would be a non-issue, as children of stsff are exemt from the lottery...i am more concerned about strengthening DCPS and my IB schools. If that takes allowing the chancellor preferences, so be it.

What makes you think that charter staff kids are exempt from the lottery? Is this something new? I've known lots of staff at charters that were unable to get their kids to be in the charter that they taught at. They had to go through the lottery and they failed to ge tthe placement at their school, repeatedly. MAybe you are thinking of charter schools in another state?

Some charters have a "children of staff" preference. DCPS does not.

In DC? Which charters have this?

Anyway, comparing charter staff to the chancellor is misplaced because the chancellor is the chancellor for the entire system whereas charter school staff are only staff for the one charter school that they work for. So if the charter school staff does get preference (which sounds to me like they still have to go through the lottery system, it is just that they will get something like sibling preference, right?) they only get preference for that school-- not for the entire DC public school system. Sounds like you are saying the the Chancellor should have carte blanche to step outside the regular process and place their kid where ever they like and I just don't see how a few charter staff getting preference for their kids at their school is at all comparable.

Put another way-- if regular DCPS teachers and staff aren't supposed to get preference for their kids at the school where they work, why should the DCPS chancellor get preference for his kids at the school of his choosing when he doesn't even work at that school-- he works at Central Office.

[Anonymous]

Some charters have a "children of staff" preference. DCPS does not.


In DC? Which charters have this?

Most DC charters have a children of staff lottery preference -- it is up to each one to decide whether to offer it (you can see if one does on its MSDC page in the preferences section).

Those who try to use this must actually live in the district, and the total number of seats that can go to children of staff is capped.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Embattled DCPS Chancellor, Last Fall: Families Shouldn't 'Obsess' Over School Placement - When your words come back to haunt you ...

https://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/news/loose-lips/blog/20993025/embattled-dcps-chancellor-last-fall-families-shouldnt-obsess-over-school-placement

"Last fall, Wilson suggested in an interview with City Paper that parents should calm down—but be more proactive, too. "Sometimes I see families obsessing over ‘My kid has to be in this school or that school or they won’t make it.’" he observed. "And what I say to a parent is, ‘You make the difference, you send your child to this DCPS school, you spend time meeting with school leaders and getting involved with the PTA or the local school government council, you and your neighbors come to our parent cabinet meetings together, and your child will be successful.’”

Speechless . . .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like the chancellor's daughter will not be staying at Wilson.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/education/wp/2018/02/16/auto-draft/?utm_term=.f9fd5a014e93

Can you post the full article?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like the chancellor's daughter will not be staying at Wilson.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/education/wp/2018/02/16/auto-draft/?utm_term=.f9fd5a014e93

Can you post the full article?

That's not allowed per DCUM - it was just a mention though. Said her last day was last Friday (this was discussed back on like page 6 of this thread).

[Anonymous]

His daughter wasn't eating and was acting different so he changed schools.

So, he could have put her in Dunbar!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:His daughter wasn't eating and was acting different so he changed schools.

So, he could have put her in Dunbar!

Or could have home schooled, gone private, or moved!

[Anonymous]

The latest ...
Martin Austermuhle
@maustermuhle
13m13 minutes ago
?

More Martin Austermuhle Retweeted Martin Austermuhle
"On how he broke the policy he wrote restricting school transfers, he says he took the issue to his superiors, and they told him to step away from the decision and they would handle it."

Does this make it worse or better?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:His daughter wasn't eating and was acting different so he changed schools.

So, he could have put her in Dunbar!

This actually makes me feel for the guy. I would do anything for my kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:His daughter wasn't eating and was acting different so he changed schools.

So, he could have put her in Dunbar!

This actually makes me feel for the guy. I would do anything for my kids.

But isn't this how we got into this mess in the first place, who wouldn't, what about all the other parents who feel the same about their children! So we should all cheat if we can justify it to ourselves. I feel extremely empathetic towards his daughter and any other parents/children in this situation. At many EOTP schools there is constant violence, bullying, etc - don't they count?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:His daughter wasn't eating and was acting different so he changed schools.

So, he could have put her in Dunbar!

This actually makes me feel for the guy. I would do anything for my kids.

But isn't this how we got into this mess in the first place, who wouldn't, what about all the other parents who feel the same about their children! So we should all cheat if we can justify it to ourselves. I feel extremely empathetic towards his daughter and any other parents/children in this situation. At many EOTP schools there is constant violence, bullying, etc - don't they count?

+1

And so many parents do flout the system wherever possible. That's why it has to be made impossible.

[Anonymous]

I must say, the interview made me feel bad for the guy, but what example is he showing us or his child for breaking the “law”.

And how did his daughter even know about Wilson as a school she wanted to attend? Sounds fishy to me.

Moving on, he had other options besides doing what he did.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:His daughter wasn't eating and was acting different so he changed schools.

So, he could have put her in Dunbar!

This actually makes me feel for the guy. I would do anything for my kids.

I feel sorry for his too since I think it likely he will be forced to resign. It's a high price to pay. I was happy with him having to pull his child out and apologize. And right now my child is in a school where she is not thriving. I can't afford to move at all and could never afford to move WOTP. Every choice I am faced with is a bad choice. Still I feel sorry for him.