A three-tier public education system
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Anonymous
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Looking at what's happening with pubic education in the city, it seems like DC is careening toward a three-tier system of education, where what you get depends on where you live and what resources are available to you.
Tier I -- DCPS schools that are almost exclusively in-boundary. A few lucky lottery winners each year get to caucus with the Tier-1'ers. Overcrowded, but well-resourced. Limited almost exclusively to Capitol Hill and west of Rock Creek. Tier II -- Charters. Assigned by lottery. Quality varies markedly. Transportation is an issue for almost all families. Tier III -- DCPS schools of last resort. For families who for whatever reason can't or don't go charter or OOB. Schools are under-enrolled and under-resourced. High concentration of special needs kids and at-risk kids. Is this too bleak a prognostication? It seems like DCPS is capitulating to charters a big chunk of the student population. The city is growing, the school-age population is growing, charters are adding thousands of seats, and DCPS isn't planning for growth at all. Is there an end-game in all of this? |
Anonymous
| lots of tier III charters |
Anonymous
| This is true everywhere. Education tracks the social structure of a society. DC is actually better than most places in disrupting that norm. |
Anonymous
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There used to be two tiers -- a handful of good IB DCPS and the rest not good.
This isnt' unique to DC. Look at most urban districts and you'll see the same pattern. Point: It isn't the schools but poverty and economic segregation.. |
Anonymous
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How are you defining your tiers?
The PCSB has a pretty solid methodology, and most students in charters are in Tier One schools. Even if OP calls them "Tier 2" they are serving at-risk, special needs and economically disadvantaged kids. Please review this page. http://www.dcpcsb.org/data/evaluating-student-enrollment/student-enrollment |
Anonymous
| I don't think you really get education in DC. This categorizing makes no sense. And saying that JKLM is across the board better than all charters is silly. |
Anonymous
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I think that's kind of what's happening, but you have to remember there are the application high schools, which are not charters, and they are trying to make a new one at Coolidge. Also, some DCPS schools are improving. I think if you look at Seaton over the last 10 years you'll see what I mean. For early elementary, it is totally possible to get into a solid school out of boundary. Just maybe not for PK3 because of the smaller class size.
There is also the at-risk set-aside proposal, something like that could happen. |
Anonymous
| I think there are three tiers of charters as well. It's not like all charters are worse than JKLM, especially if you have a strong wish for a language or Montessori. And some charters are just as godawful as the worst DCPS. |
Anonymous
And they even have official rankings - Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3. Go figure. |
Anonymous
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If you look at the data, a lot of EOTP and Cap. Hill DCPS are similar in their results to Tier II charter schools.
Reputations may lag because people think about the DCPS they knew 10 years ago (or 20 for some people in the suburbs). |
Anonymous
| I don't think that any charters should be part of OP's Tier one ranking simply due to the fact that you have to 'win' to gain entry. There's a lot of anxiety and risk involved. Having the sureness that you have access to a 'good' school reduces mental worry/strain considerably and allows you to direct that energy towards other things. So yes, I think IB good schools are the only ones that belong in Tier One. |
Anonymous
I think it's very different if you look on a micro level than just averages. WOTP charters can't get a foot in the door. EOTP DCPS tend to be getting more popular and growing. Charters are growing there as well, but it's a more balanced split. EOTR Charters are growing much larger and DCPS is shrinking with only a few neighborhood schools keeping up. |
Anonymous
By that criteria Banneker, SWW, School Within a School aren't Tier 1 either. I think most people who can't afford to live IB for one of OP's preferred schools appreciate the chances afforded by teh lottery rather than being stuck in a crappy school because of your family's income. |
Anonymous
| It’s not that complicated. It mostly just tracks residential segregation. |
Anonymous
Yup Tier 1 West of the park Tier 2 East of the park/West of the river Tier 3 East of the river and surprise surprise that's almost directly correlated to SES and true across the entire country Charters in DC are a success story. They have taken populations that have been failed for generations and finally gotten results |