Latest on Ellington

[Anonymous]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/families-accused-of-residency-fraud-re-enroll-at-duke-ellington-school-of-the-arts/2018/07/18/184b4b70-8a99-11e8-8aea-86e88ae760d8_story.html?utm_term=.4834b1b99289

Today's WaPo

[Anonymous]

This makes sense. People have a right to die process. In the meantime their kids should be allowed to enroll.

[Anonymous]

Sounds like the AG's office is doing its job. It flagged 164 (out of 570 total) students for fraud, and is processing those cases. Ellington's office seems a bit concerned that it doesn't know the status of those cases, but I think that's good because it should be a private matter between those families and the city.

It also seems as if those cases will be sorted out soon, as the one family discussed in the article was able to resolve its status by providing documents to the City.

[Anonymous]

The profound stupidity of the comments on that article is breathtaking.

[Anonymous]

Not shocking but still disconcerting that the school has incorrect addresses on file for some of the families accused of residency fraud. Those families might not have received notification of contested residency thus may not be asserting their rights to due process if that charge is inaccurate. The article also interviews a family accused of residency fraud despite 27 years residency at the same DC address. At least that case was dismissed.

What a mess

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not shocking but still disconcerting that the school has incorrect addresses on file for some of the families accused of residency fraud. Those families might not have received notification of contested residency thus may not be asserting their rights to due process if that charge is inaccurate. The article also interviews a family accused of residency fraud despite 27 years residency at the same DC address. At least that case was dismissed.

What a mess

The only ones who should be surprised are those who don't actually live in D.C.! Like, have y'all ever had to deal with DC public services? It's like you don't know we're the worst-run major city in the United States. Must live in P.G., all I gotta say.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not shocking but still disconcerting that the school has incorrect addresses on file for some of the families accused of residency fraud. Those families might not have received notification of contested residency thus may not be asserting their rights to due process if that charge is inaccurate. The article also interviews a family accused of residency fraud despite 27 years residency at the same DC address. At least that case was dismissed.

What a mess

The only ones who should be surprised are those who don't actually live in D.C.! Like, have y'all ever had to deal with DC public services? It's like you don't know we're the worst-run major city in the United States. Must live in P.G., all I gotta say.

Is Ward 9 really the best comparator to make a case against DC governance?

[Anonymous]

This is not news. Of course you re-enroll, especially if you think the accusations are incorrect.

[Anonymous]

I really don’t understand the assertion that the school has incorrect addresses on file. Every year you have to verify residency and fill out forms where you have to write your address umpteen times (which I’ve always found ridiculous, why can’t there be a check box for “address same as student” for both guardian spaces instead of having to rewrite 3x on each form). So unless you move during the school year, your correct address would be on a half dozen forms. I’d be shocked if 160+ families from the school moved within DC within the year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I really don’t understand the assertion that the school has incorrect addresses on file. Every year you have to verify residency and fill out forms where you have to write your address umpteen times (which I’ve always found ridiculous, why can’t there be a check box for “address same as student” for both guardian spaces instead of having to rewrite 3x on each form). So unless you move during the school year, your correct address would be on a half dozen forms. I’d be shocked if 160+ families from the school moved within DC within the year.

Maybe they never updated the records? Or updated one set of records and not those that were transferred from wherever the student did 8th grade?

Why are you so confident that DCPS staff (and the administrative people at Ellington are DCPS employees, not foundation employees) did their jobs?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really don’t understand the assertion that the school has incorrect addresses on file. Every year you have to verify residency and fill out forms where you have to write your address umpteen times (which I’ve always found ridiculous, why can’t there be a check box for “address same as student” for both guardian spaces instead of having to rewrite 3x on each form). So unless you move during the school year, your correct address would be on a half dozen forms. I’d be shocked if 160+ families from the school moved within DC within the year.

Maybe they never updated the records? Or updated one set of records and not those that were transferred from wherever the student did 8th grade?

Why are you so confident that DCPS staff (and the administrative people at Ellington are DCPS employees, not foundation employees) did their jobs?

Because it’s a specialty school where you have to try out? Many more hoops to go through in general and more information you need to receive. Additionally, if you are a parent and receive no mailings ever from DCPS, wouldn’t you find it slightly odd? Lots of stuff gets mailed throughout the year.

[Anonymous]

Needs to be shut down. The city can not justify spending so much on so few.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Needs to be shut down. The city can not justify spending so much on so few.

The city spends the same on Ellington per pupil as every other high school. The extra money spent there for the arts faculty and curriculum is raised from private sources.

The capital budget is a whole separate thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Needs to be shut down. The city can not justify spending so much on so few.

The city spends the same on Ellington per pupil as every other high school. The extra money spent there for the arts faculty and curriculum is raised from private sources.

The capital budget is a whole separate thing.

You're ignoring the main point: that well over 1/5 of the students at Ellington may be going there on the taxpayers' EXTRA dime. If those kids are not D.C. residents, the effect is DCPS paying twice, three times, as much per (real) D.C. student at Ellington than for D.C. students at other DCPS schools, where hopefully all of the students are actually D.C. residents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Needs to be shut down. The city can not justify spending so much on so few.

The city spends the same on Ellington per pupil as every other high school. The extra money spent there for the arts faculty and curriculum is raised from private sources.

The capital budget is a whole separate thing.

You're ignoring the main point: that well over 1/5 of the students at Ellington may be going there on the taxpayers' EXTRA dime. If those kids are not D.C. residents, the effect is DCPS paying twice, three times, as much per (real) D.C. student at Ellington than for D.C. students at other DCPS schools, where hopefully all of the students are actually D.C. residents.

I'm not ignoring it. We don't yet know if that many students are going there without paying the rquired tuition. If they are found to be non-residents, the city can go after them.

If every DCPS school were under the same microscope as Ellington I think we'd find 5-20% of students have questionable residency at most schools.