DCPS Activates Ward 4 Middle School Plan With Re-Opening of MacFarland

[calexander]

Hello and Happy Friday!

I attended the MacFarland MS ribbon cutting on Monday and I wrote a blog post about it here: Activates Ward 4 Middle School Plan With MacFarland Re-Opening.

I know this school is not really on the radar here at DCUM, but there have been lengthy discussions about this project here a few years back.

We (taxpayers) are making a big investment, so it might be worthwhile to follow.

Have a great weekend!

Christopher Alexander

[Anonymous]

Christopher, thanks for all your great work. I appreciate being kept informed.

I am wondering if there is any plan for dealing with academic performance which is the root of the issue here, is it not? Many 6th graders enter the school scoring a 1 or 2 on the PARCC. What specifically is the plan for addressing that? Your blog says "interestinf and rigorous curricula" but what exactly does that mean, and how will students be brought up to grade level?

[Anonymous]

Can’t imagine much success for anything tubby Brandon Todd oversees. Best wishes to the students though.

[Anonymous]

Other than the Dual language part, is this another Brookland Middle? A fancy building will not change a thing if you don't deal wirh academics and behavior.

[Anonymous]

Folks if you want people to stop trying to shoehorn into WOTP schools you need them to try these news options.

Running them down after a week of operations is counterproductive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Folks if you want people to stop trying to shoehorn into WOTP schools you need them to try these news options.

Running them down after a week of operations is counterproductive.

I am not running them down but I do want to know what is the plan to deal with the real problems.

[calexander]

Anonymous wrote:Christopher, thanks for all your great work. I appreciate being kept informed.

I am wondering if there is any plan for dealing with academic performance which is the root of the issue here, is it not? Many 6th graders enter the school scoring a 1 or 2 on the PARCC. What specifically is the plan for addressing that? Your blog says "interestinf and rigorous curricula" but what exactly does that mean, and how will students be brought up to grade level?

16:48,

There's no point in pretending that they've solved that problem; they haven't. Many of us on the community committee pounded the planning folks on this, so they've heard it. But I can't say that they've ever articulated a complete A to Z vision. The Early College Academy at Coolidge is still in the works, but it is not clear to anyone how we get to there from where we are now. At least it is not clear to me.

I feel that they viewed the challenge of integrating the Dual Language program with the neighborhood program, as well as reprogramming the EC's back to PK-5, as more than enough to bite off at once.

I was pleasantly surprised by the inclusion of the PLTW lab, which will be a class the kids take during the day, not just an after-school program. I had limited interactions with some of the Dual Language students when they were sixth graders; they are bright, curious and pleasant to be around. The rubber kinda meets the road this year though.

I have a high regard for Principal Sanders and the staff that I did meet. If it can be done, this is the team to do it. As they say, time will tell.

[Anonymous]

calexander wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Christopher, thanks for all your great work. I appreciate being kept informed.

I am wondering if there is any plan for dealing with academic performance which is the root of the issue here, is it not? Many 6th graders enter the school scoring a 1 or 2 on the PARCC. What specifically is the plan for addressing that? Your blog says "interestinf and rigorous curricula" but what exactly does that mean, and how will students be brought up to grade level?

16:48,

There's no point in pretending that they've solved that problem; they haven't. Many of us on the community committee pounded the planning folks on this, so they've heard it. But I can't say that they've ever articulated a complete A to Z vision. The Early College Academy at Coolidge is still in the works, but it is not clear to anyone how we get to there from where we are now. At least it is not clear to me.

I feel that they viewed the challenge of integrating the Dual Language program with the neighborhood program, as well as reprogramming the EC's back to PK-5, as more than enough to bite off at once.

I was pleasantly surprised by the inclusion of the PLTW lab, which will be a class the kids take during the day, not just an after-school program. I had limited interactions with some of the Dual Language students when they were sixth graders; they are bright, curious and pleasant to be around. The rubber kinda meets the road this year though.

I have a high regard for Principal Sanders and the staff that I did meet. If it can be done, this is the team to do it. As they say, time will tell.

I see what you're saying, it is definitely a big project. And I am not trying to attack you-- I really appreciate your efforts and hope to play a similar role at my IB/feeder group.

But let me be really clear: I don't think the real problem is lack of name-brand programs like PLTW. I think the problem is that the majority of the students are below grade level. That's a problem for those students, and it will also make the school struggle to attract high-performing students. So in not proposing any plan to deal with this problem, they are starting off in a way that does not build confidence (in my opinion at least). The same goes for Coolidge-- health sciences and journalism are all well and good, but if most of the kids are below grade level, those programs are not going to be attractive to high-performing students, or effective in being the programs that they're supposed to be. I'm not asking for a plan that is being implemented right this second. But I am asking for a realistic acknowledgement that the academic performance and the behavior of the students is the real problem, and a plan for dealing with it. If it's too much for the middle school team to handle right now, how about the elementary schools? They have just been relieved of three grade levels, so improving the performance of their students should be a project they can tackle.

[calexander]

Anonymous wrote:

But let me be really clear: I don't think the real problem is lack of name-brand programs like PLTW. I think the problem is that the majority of the students are below grade level. That's a problem for those students, and it will also make the school struggle to attract high-performing students. So in not proposing any plan to deal with this problem, they are starting off in a way that does not build confidence (in my opinion at least). The same goes for Coolidge-- health sciences and journalism are all well and good, but if most of the kids are below grade level, those programs are not going to be attractive to high-performing students, or effective in being the programs that they're supposed to be. I'm not asking for a plan that is being implemented right this second. But I am asking for a realistic acknowledgement that the academic performance and the behavior of the students is the real problem, and a plan for dealing with it. If it's too much for the middle school team to handle right now, how about the elementary schools? They have just been relieved of three grade levels, so improving the performance of their students should be a project they can tackle.

I don't disagree with anything that you wrote here.

[Anonymous]

PP - it looks to me like you are conflating the day we have on PARCC with information you don’t have about student behavior.

[Anonymous]

Data, not day

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP - it looks to me like you are conflating the day we have on PARCC with information you don’t have about student behavior.

I live nearby, so...

[Anonymous]

Dang, anecdotal non-evidence is replacing anecdotal evidence as the DCUM stock in trade!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dang, anecdotal non-evidence is replacing anecdotal evidence as the DCUM stock in trade!!!

Well we are living in the fake news era.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dang, anecdotal non-evidence is replacing anecdotal evidence as the DCUM stock in trade!!!

Is there any other kind of assessment of behavior? There is suspension data but that tells more about the school's policies than about how the kids behave. I live nearby, I have for years, the kids are mostly fine but some of them are rowdy, fighting, shoving, calling each other unspeakable names, and now God help us, riding around on electric scooters. I wouldn't send my own children to a school where they had to be around that kind of behavior.