Jefferson-Houston Principal

[Anonymous]

Looks like ACPS just hired a new principal for Jefferson Houston.

How long until he quits?

I give it two years.

[Anonymous]

The new guy:
http://www.alexandrianews.org/2018/05/mscott-berkowitz-named-jefferson-houston-principal/

[Anonymous]

I see so much negativity on this board for J-H and I'm trying to reconcile it with my experience. I have a child in the special ed pre-K program. Our experience with that program (parents/teachers/administrators) has been terrific. At first, I assumed it was because we were in special ed pre-k and "separate" from the rest of the school, but in everyday run-ins with other staff and teachers for the general school population of k-8 (school nurse, principal, other special ed staff, coaching staff, teachers), I also get a very warm, friendly, and competent vibe (much more friendly than staff at my other children's highly regarded school). Maybe this is just because we are only scratching the surface at J-H so I'm not seeing some of the more systemic problems that are identified on this board. Who knows....

[Anonymous]

In March of 2014, I went there to register my rising kindergartener as required of the bureaucratic process of requesting an admin transfer out of the school. I met personally and individually with the then-principal (I forget her name- young, African American female, very pretty) and she politely but aggressively attempted to dissuade me from sending my daughter to another school. She went on and on and on about how much improvement had already happened and how great it would be in just another year.

Two weeks later, she quit.

It’s now 4 years later and the school is still not accredited.

The PTA and school board (I’ve heard) is now trying to paint those of us who transferred out (and those who are still trying for transfers) as racist white flight families.

What. A. Joke.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In March of 2014, I went there to register my rising kindergartener as required of the bureaucratic process of requesting an admin transfer out of the school. I met personally and individually with the then-principal (I forget her name- young, African American female, very pretty) and she politely but aggressively attempted to dissuade me from sending my daughter to another school. She went on and on and on about how much improvement had already happened and how great it would be in just another year.

Two weeks later, she quit.

It’s now 4 years later and the school is still not accredited.

The PTA and school board (I’ve heard) is now trying to paint those of us who transferred out (and those who are still trying for transfers) as racist white flight families.

What. A. Joke.

Over the last four years Jefferson-Houston has made marked progress toward achieving full accreditation, particularly under new accreditation standards that measure growth as well as overall achievement. Reading levels at the school have increased by one and a half years or more each year, and student success on state reading tests has increased by 19 points. Math scores on state assessments have increased by 20 points, science scores by 31 points and history scores by 22 points. The student population has increased by 64 percent and the school has been transformed into a community school with passionate advocates and partners.

seems that does not contradict this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In March of 2014, I went there to register my rising kindergartener as required of the bureaucratic process of requesting an admin transfer out of the school. I met personally and individually with the then-principal (I forget her name- young, African American female, very pretty) and she politely but aggressively attempted to dissuade me from sending my daughter to another school. She went on and on and on about how much improvement had already happened and how great it would be in just another year.

Two weeks later, she quit.

It’s now 4 years later and the school is still not accredited.

The PTA and school board (I’ve heard) is now trying to paint those of us who transferred out (and those who are still trying for transfers) as racist white flight families.

What. A. Joke.

Over the last four years Jefferson-Houston has made marked progress toward achieving full accreditation, particularly under new accreditation standards that measure growth as well as overall achievement. Reading levels at the school have increased by one and a half years or more each year, and student success on state reading tests has increased by 19 points. Math scores on state assessments have increased by 20 points, science scores by 31 points and history scores by 22 points. The student population has increased by 64 percent and the school has been transformed into a community school with passionate advocates and partners.

seems that does not contradict this.

I pity the guinea pigs that endured those last 4 years.

[Anonymous]

He moves around a lot, no?
Over the past five years, Berkowitz has served as the assistant principal at Hybla Valley Elementary School in Fairfax County Public Schools, vice principal of instruction at Cesar Chavez Public Charter School for Public Policy on Capitol Hill, assistant principal of Hardy Middle School at DCPS and summer school principal at Walker-Jones Education Campus for DCPS before joining the fellowship program in 2017.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In March of 2014, I went there to register my rising kindergartener as required of the bureaucratic process of requesting an admin transfer out of the school. I met personally and individually with the then-principal (I forget her name- young, African American female, very pretty) and she politely but aggressively attempted to dissuade me from sending my daughter to another school. She went on and on and on about how much improvement had already happened and how great it would be in just another year.

Two weeks later, she quit.

It’s now 4 years later and the school is still not accredited.
[u]
The PTA and school board (I’ve heard) is now trying to paint those of us who transferred out (and those who are still trying for transfers) as racist white flight families.

What. A. Joke.

Over the last four years Jefferson-Houston has made marked progress toward achieving full accreditation, particularly under new accreditation standards that measure growth as well as overall achievement. Reading levels at the school have increased by one and a half years or more each year, and student success on state reading tests has increased by 19 points. Math scores on state assessments have increased by 20 points, science scores by 31 points and history scores by 22 points. The student population has increased by 64 percent and the school has been transformed into a community school with passionate advocates and partners.

seems that does not contradict this.

I pity the guinea pigs that endured those last 4 years.

This is the school board that bought the new school building from a bankruptcy auction before realizing that they couldn't use a lot of it, for anything. This is the school board that forgot to get consents for the new school. This is the school board that didn't have Google and didn't check the first principal they hired, and so they didn't see the suits. This is the school board that has made football stadium lighting a city legislative crisis. This is the school board that announced that the last superintendent quit suddenly, before it was released that his new job voted him in something like four months before the school board announced (so either they bought him out and covered it up, or they are even dumber than it looks). This is the school board that just hired a new J-H principal who has not recently held down a job for a full year.

Of course J-H isn't accredited.

I will not be voting for a single incumbent. Not one. Throw them all out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He moves around a lot, no?
Over the past five years, Berkowitz has served as the assistant principal at Hybla Valley Elementary School in Fairfax County Public Schools, vice principal of instruction at Cesar Chavez Public Charter School for Public Policy on Capitol Hill, assistant principal of Hardy Middle School at DCPS and summer school principal at Walker-Jones Education Campus for DCPS before joining the fellowship program in 2017.

Thank you PP --

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He moves around a lot, no?
Over the past five years, Berkowitz has served as the assistant principal at Hybla Valley Elementary School in Fairfax County Public Schools, vice principal of instruction at Cesar Chavez Public Charter School for Public Policy on Capitol Hill, assistant principal of Hardy Middle School at DCPS and summer school principal at Walker-Jones Education Campus for DCPS before joining the fellowship program in 2017.

+1 He won't be around for long. That is a good thing.

[Anonymous]

I used in work in ACPS and am familiar with JH. The issues there are particularly bad -- it's not just the concentrated poverty, it's that the school is run awfully. There are systemic issues in teaching, there are issues with resource teachers/specialists, there is just an all around mess.

And yes, it is under capacity. Still.

The smartest thing the city could do is make the school a city-wide AAP type gifted center. But that would put a bunch of other schools in danger of accreditation.

This new guy will be gone very, very soon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I see so much negativity on this board for J-H and I'm trying to reconcile it with my experience. I have a child in the special ed pre-K program. Our experience with that program (parents/teachers/administrators) has been terrific. At first, I assumed it was because we were in special ed pre-k and "separate" from the rest of the school, but in everyday run-ins with other staff and teachers for the general school population of k-8 (school nurse, principal, other special ed staff, coaching staff, teachers), I also get a very warm, friendly, and competent vibe (much more friendly than staff at my other children's highly regarded school). Maybe this is just because we are only scratching the surface at J-H so I'm not seeing some of the more systemic problems that are identified on this board. Who knows....

Thank you for posting this. My DD will be going to J-H in a few years, and I have had a lot of anxiety about it. However, I've met several members of the PTA and they are very happy with their experience so far and are enthusiastic about the future. I've met other parents in my neighborhood who aren't planning to get a transfers, and they have toured the school and conducted their due diligence and seem very happy with what they have seen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I see so much negativity on this board for J-H and I'm trying to reconcile it with my experience. I have a child in the special ed pre-K program. Our experience with that program (parents/teachers/administrators) has been terrific. At first, I assumed it was because we were in special ed pre-k and "separate" from the rest of the school, but in everyday run-ins with other staff and teachers for the general school population of k-8 (school nurse, principal, other special ed staff, coaching staff, teachers), I also get a very warm, friendly, and competent vibe (much more friendly than staff at my other children's highly regarded school). Maybe this is just because we are only scratching the surface at J-H so I'm not seeing some of the more systemic problems that are identified on this board. Who knows....

Thank you for posting this. My DD will be going to J-H in a few years, and I have had a lot of anxiety about it. However, I've met several members of the PTA and they are very happy with their experience so far and are enthusiastic about the future. I've met other parents in my neighborhood who aren't planning to get a transfers, and they have toured the school and conducted their due diligence and seem very happy with what they have seen.

Just be careful. The issues with the school aren't just demographics. It's poorly run. The city hired UVA to do a study and it found chronic competence issues across the school including basic failure in teaching reading and math foundations.

I would try the school, but monitor your child's progress carefully. You will likely need to supplement to address holes in their learning from school.

[Anonymous]

I see so much negativity on this board for J-H and I'm trying to reconcile it with my experience. I have a child in the special ed pre-K program. Our experience with that program (parents/teachers/administrators) has been terrific. At first, I assumed it was because we were in special ed pre-k and "separate" from the rest of the school, but in everyday run-ins with other staff and teachers for the general school population of k-8 (school nurse, principal, other special ed staff, coaching staff, teachers), I also get a very warm, friendly, and competent vibe (much more friendly than staff at my other children's highly regarded school). Maybe this is just because we are only scratching the surface at J-H so I'm not seeing some of the more systemic problems that are identified on this board. Who knows....


Thank you for posting this. My DD will be going to J-H in a few years, and I have had a lot of anxiety about it. However, I've met several members of the PTA and they are very happy with their experience so far and are enthusiastic about the future. I've met other parents in my neighborhood who aren't planning to get a transfers, and they have toured the school and conducted their due diligence and seem very happy with what they have seen.

It's a tough situation. On the one hand, I want to support those who are trying to improve the school, and don't think taking a defeatist attitude is going to help anything. On the other hand, my child went there for two years, and the environment was not meeting her needs, so we ultimately moved to another school district. I hope that things can and will change for the better at JH. The facility is lovely, and there were certainly some nice kids in DD's grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I see so much negativity on this board for J-H and I'm trying to reconcile it with my experience. I have a child in the special ed pre-K program. Our experience with that program (parents/teachers/administrators) has been terrific. At first, I assumed it was because we were in special ed pre-k and "separate" from the rest of the school, but in everyday run-ins with other staff and teachers for the general school population of k-8 (school nurse, principal, other special ed staff, coaching staff, teachers), I also get a very warm, friendly, and competent vibe (much more friendly than staff at my other children's highly regarded school). Maybe this is just because we are only scratching the surface at J-H so I'm not seeing some of the more systemic problems that are identified on this board. Who knows....


Thank you for posting this. My DD will be going to J-H in a few years, and I have had a lot of anxiety about it. However, I've met several members of the PTA and they are very happy with their experience so far and are enthusiastic about the future. I've met other parents in my neighborhood who aren't planning to get a transfers, and they have toured the school and conducted their due diligence and seem very happy with what they have seen.

It's a tough situation. On the one hand, I want to support those who are trying to improve the school, and don't think taking a defeatist attitude is going to help anything. On the other hand, my child went there for two years, and the environment was not meeting her needs, so we ultimately moved to another school district. I hope that things can and will change for the better at JH. The facility is lovely, and there were certainly some nice kids in DD's grade.

Do you mind sharing why the school didn't meet your child's needs? It would be helpful for me to understand if there is a specific educational issue like what some posters are saying or whether something else drove you away.