Why can’t Watkins get traction with Capitol Hill?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why would anyone run a bus to a DCPS for OOB students who have their own IB and also charter options?

Because it would be the only way to meet the schools equity goals while also providing transportation between both campuses for IB families. The reason the former HOS stopped the shuttle was that it was viewed as inequitable -- IB parents (mostly white, mostly higher SES) were getting a resource that was not available to OOB parents (mostly black, mostly lower SES). But if you just at a Metro bus that ran a route that stopped at Watkins and Peabody but also served communities across the river, you could meet the needs of both populations equitably.

DCPS is not going to run a bus to one particular school to accommodate OOB parents. This is silly. You also need it in both directions to work for the Peabody parents, so it doesn't even work like a normal rush hour bus. It also needs to run after school, which is at a time when virtually no one else would be making that commute (I am skeptical very many people commute from Peabody to Wards 7 or 8 by bus at all, but certainly not at 3). Also, Watkins and Peabody are far apart and quite far from Wards 7 and 8 (both??). Do you know how long this ride would take? And it would sort of replace multiple existing lines, so in an era of bus cutting, this is 100% not something the city would merely add on. And of course it would only go from one particular spot in each of those wards, so would hardly be equitable for all OOB Watkins families. And what about all the OOB kids at every other school in the city? Why would Watkins families get a preference? It just makes absolutely no sense.

What you're really asking for is a school bus and DC doesn't do that. The closest things that exist are all for kids w/in an IB to get to their zoned school, which obviously makes way more sense.

No, we're talking about a city bus. There are multiple buses that run routes that, with minor changes, could meet these needs. For starters, you have the 32 and 36 which both already run from across the river up Penn Ave, right past Watkins. One of them could route north up to Stanton park to serve Peabody. There is also the 96 that goes up Mass Ave to Stanton Park -- it could be adjusted to serve Watkins.

The point is that if you want to keep this weird boundary, there are ways to do it with a private school bus. One of the reasons the city does not offer school bus service to most students is that they are supposed to be able to take public transportation in our extensive system. Well, that system does not serve as a bridge between Peabody and Watkins. If we can't do a school bus shuttle between the two campuses, they should ensure that the city bus system bridges that gap.

OR redraw the Cluster boundaries and get rid of this dumb divided school campus.

But keeping the Cluster but not providing transportation of any kind between the two campuses makes no sense.

They should clearly redraw the boundary. This proposed bus wouldn't be good enough to reliably get kids from both schools at the same pickup time though. Knowing the city, dropoff (which normally has more flexibility) would be sketchy too.

Agree. Turn Watkins back into a PK-5th school. Peabody turns into citywide ECE program. Readjust boundaries with LT, Maury and Payne to balance school sizes. Switch the SWS and Watkins MS feeder pattern to make more sense geographically.

If the boundary is redrawn and northern cap hill feeds to LT, SWS should feed into SH. It’s a few blocks away from LT and its stupid that it feeds into EH. Feed Watkins into EH.

yes that was my thinking too!

Why should sws feed into any school? Everyone who goes there has an assigned middle school and there isn't a need for a specialty middle school program for continuity like Montessori or language.

I am no SWS defender, but this is a silly question. The obvious answer is because letting kids continue to attend school with a cohort of known students yields benefits. How do you not know that?

Except not many students go to EH. And lots of kids, probably the majority, don't go on to the feeder middle from their elementary in DC. So why bother? The SWS kids zoned for SH would choose that over EH and the EH zoned kids would wind up there anyway (though few actually go). So the EH feed doesn't do much. The numbers people out there probably have info about where SWS kids go.

If the cluster is broken up, it makes no sense to continue feeding Watkins into SH. LT, JO and SWS makes much more sense (and would make a much stronger middle school, reduce traffic dramatically, etc.).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why would anyone run a bus to a DCPS for OOB students who have their own IB and also charter options?

Because it would be the only way to meet the schools equity goals while also providing transportation between both campuses for IB families. The reason the former HOS stopped the shuttle was that it was viewed as inequitable -- IB parents (mostly white, mostly higher SES) were getting a resource that was not available to OOB parents (mostly black, mostly lower SES). But if you just at a Metro bus that ran a route that stopped at Watkins and Peabody but also served communities across the river, you could meet the needs of both populations equitably.

DCPS is not going to run a bus to one particular school to accommodate OOB parents. This is silly. You also need it in both directions to work for the Peabody parents, so it doesn't even work like a normal rush hour bus. It also needs to run after school, which is at a time when virtually no one else would be making that commute (I am skeptical very many people commute from Peabody to Wards 7 or 8 by bus at all, but certainly not at 3). Also, Watkins and Peabody are far apart and quite far from Wards 7 and 8 (both??). Do you know how long this ride would take? And it would sort of replace multiple existing lines, so in an era of bus cutting, this is 100% not something the city would merely add on. And of course it would only go from one particular spot in each of those wards, so would hardly be equitable for all OOB Watkins families. And what about all the OOB kids at every other school in the city? Why would Watkins families get a preference? It just makes absolutely no sense.

What you're really asking for is a school bus and DC doesn't do that. The closest things that exist are all for kids w/in an IB to get to their zoned school, which obviously makes way more sense.

No, we're talking about a city bus. There are multiple buses that run routes that, with minor changes, could meet these needs. For starters, you have the 32 and 36 which both already run from across the river up Penn Ave, right past Watkins. One of them could route north up to Stanton park to serve Peabody. There is also the 96 that goes up Mass Ave to Stanton Park -- it could be adjusted to serve Watkins.

The point is that if you want to keep this weird boundary, there are ways to do it with a private school bus. One of the reasons the city does not offer school bus service to most students is that they are supposed to be able to take public transportation in our extensive system. Well, that system does not serve as a bridge between Peabody and Watkins. If we can't do a school bus shuttle between the two campuses, they should ensure that the city bus system bridges that gap.

OR redraw the Cluster boundaries and get rid of this dumb divided school campus.

But keeping the Cluster but not providing transportation of any kind between the two campuses makes no sense.

They should clearly redraw the boundary. This proposed bus wouldn't be good enough to reliably get kids from both schools at the same pickup time though. Knowing the city, dropoff (which normally has more flexibility) would be sketchy too.

Agree. Turn Watkins back into a PK-5th school. Peabody turns into citywide ECE program. Readjust boundaries with LT, Maury and Payne to balance school sizes. Switch the SWS and Watkins MS feeder pattern to make more sense geographically.

If the boundary is redrawn and northern cap hill feeds to LT, SWS should feed into SH. It’s a few blocks away from LT and its stupid that it feeds into EH. Feed Watkins into EH.

yes that was my thinking too!

Why should sws feed into any school? Everyone who goes there has an assigned middle school and there isn't a need for a specialty middle school program for continuity like Montessori or language.

I am no SWS defender, but this is a silly question. The obvious answer is because letting kids continue to attend school with a cohort of known students yields benefits. How do you not know that?

Except not many students go to EH. And lots of kids, probably the majority, don't go on to the feeder middle from their elementary in DC. So why bother? The SWS kids zoned for SH would choose that over EH and the EH zoned kids would wind up there anyway (though few actually go). So the EH feed doesn't do much. The numbers people out there probably have info about where SWS kids go.

If the cluster is broken up, it makes no sense to continue feeding Watkins into SH. LT, JO and SWS makes much more sense (and would make a much stronger middle school, reduce traffic dramatically, etc.).

Please stop with the "cluster" stuff. SH is the MS for LT, JO and Watkins. Watkins and Peabody are an ES ( a poorly designed one split between two schools). The naval gazing, inside baseball, living in the past DCUM posters who insist on perpetuating the term and concept that no longer exists are living in the past.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why would anyone run a bus to a DCPS for OOB students who have their own IB and also charter options?

Because it would be the only way to meet the schools equity goals while also providing transportation between both campuses for IB families. The reason the former HOS stopped the shuttle was that it was viewed as inequitable -- IB parents (mostly white, mostly higher SES) were getting a resource that was not available to OOB parents (mostly black, mostly lower SES). But if you just at a Metro bus that ran a route that stopped at Watkins and Peabody but also served communities across the river, you could meet the needs of both populations equitably.

DCPS is not going to run a bus to one particular school to accommodate OOB parents. This is silly. You also need it in both directions to work for the Peabody parents, so it doesn't even work like a normal rush hour bus. It also needs to run after school, which is at a time when virtually no one else would be making that commute (I am skeptical very many people commute from Peabody to Wards 7 or 8 by bus at all, but certainly not at 3). Also, Watkins and Peabody are far apart and quite far from Wards 7 and 8 (both??). Do you know how long this ride would take? And it would sort of replace multiple existing lines, so in an era of bus cutting, this is 100% not something the city would merely add on. And of course it would only go from one particular spot in each of those wards, so would hardly be equitable for all OOB Watkins families. And what about all the OOB kids at every other school in the city? Why would Watkins families get a preference? It just makes absolutely no sense.

What you're really asking for is a school bus and DC doesn't do that. The closest things that exist are all for kids w/in an IB to get to their zoned school, which obviously makes way more sense.

No, we're talking about a city bus. There are multiple buses that run routes that, with minor changes, could meet these needs. For starters, you have the 32 and 36 which both already run from across the river up Penn Ave, right past Watkins. One of them could route north up to Stanton park to serve Peabody. There is also the 96 that goes up Mass Ave to Stanton Park -- it could be adjusted to serve Watkins.

The point is that if you want to keep this weird boundary, there are ways to do it with a private school bus. One of the reasons the city does not offer school bus service to most students is that they are supposed to be able to take public transportation in our extensive system. Well, that system does not serve as a bridge between Peabody and Watkins. If we can't do a school bus shuttle between the two campuses, they should ensure that the city bus system bridges that gap.

OR redraw the Cluster boundaries and get rid of this dumb divided school campus.

But keeping the Cluster but not providing transportation of any kind between the two campuses makes no sense.

They should clearly redraw the boundary. This proposed bus wouldn't be good enough to reliably get kids from both schools at the same pickup time though. Knowing the city, dropoff (which normally has more flexibility) would be sketchy too.

Agree. Turn Watkins back into a PK-5th school. Peabody turns into citywide ECE program. Readjust boundaries with LT, Maury and Payne to balance school sizes. Switch the SWS and Watkins MS feeder pattern to make more sense geographically.

If the boundary is redrawn and northern cap hill feeds to LT, SWS should feed into SH. It’s a few blocks away from LT and its stupid that it feeds into EH. Feed Watkins into EH.

yes that was my thinking too!

Why should sws feed into any school? Everyone who goes there has an assigned middle school and there isn't a need for a specialty middle school program for continuity like Montessori or language.

I am no SWS defender, but this is a silly question. The obvious answer is because letting kids continue to attend school with a cohort of known students yields benefits. How do you not know that?

Except not many students go to EH. And lots of kids, probably the majority, don't go on to the feeder middle from their elementary in DC. So why bother? The SWS kids zoned for SH would choose that over EH and the EH zoned kids would wind up there anyway (though few actually go). So the EH feed doesn't do much. The numbers people out there probably have info about where SWS kids go.

If the cluster is broken up, it makes no sense to continue feeding Watkins into SH. LT, JO and SWS makes much more sense (and would make a much stronger middle school, reduce traffic dramatically, etc.).

Please stop with the "cluster" stuff. SH is the MS for LT, JO and Watkins. Watkins and Peabody are an ES ( a poorly designed one split between two schools). The naval gazing, inside baseball, living in the past DCUM posters who insist on perpetuating the term and concept that no longer exists are living in the past.

Why are you getting wound up? I am literally agreeing with you, by saying it doesn't make sense to feed Watkins into SH if the boundaries are re-drawn.

[Anonymous]

They desperately need to get rid of the Peabody/Watkins configuration. Watkins should be a PK-3 through 5th grade, with fewer classrooms in each grade, which in turn would help the school.

Peabody could become a special education school or something—ideally the destination for an autism program or something.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They desperately need to get rid of the Peabody/Watkins configuration. Watkins should be a PK-3 through 5th grade, with fewer classrooms in each grade, which in turn would help the school.

Peabody could become a special education school or something—ideally the destination for an autism program or something.

I think that's a decent idea, regarding Peabody. I do think you'd get pushback from neighborhood families though. Peabody is not only a very solid option for IB families, but it's often an ECE option for families IB for L-T, Brent, and Maury who can't get into those programs at PK. Because Watkins is less desirable to IB families, they usually have more OOB seats available, especially for PK4, as many IB families lottery into charters, SWS, or CHML rather than take a Peabody spot knowing they will want to move before Watkins.

Right now it feels like there is either not quite enough, or just enough, PK spots (via a combo of DCPS, charters, and private options) on the Hill. But it's an area that has consistently seen increases in families with young kids, especially families with young kids who want a public option for PK, over the last 15 years or so, and I don't see that changing. So taking away a current PK option isn't going to go over well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They desperately need to get rid of the Peabody/Watkins configuration. Watkins should be a PK-3 through 5th grade, with fewer classrooms in each grade, which in turn would help the school.

Peabody could become a special education school or something—ideally the destination for an autism program or something.

there are not enough kids with autism in DC that need an entirely self-contained program to fill Peabody, FYI.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They desperately need to get rid of the Peabody/Watkins configuration. Watkins should be a PK-3 through 5th grade, with fewer classrooms in each grade, which in turn would help the school.

Peabody could become a special education school or something—ideally the destination for an autism program or something.

I think that's a decent idea, regarding Peabody. I do think you'd get pushback from neighborhood families though. Peabody is not only a very solid option for IB families, but it's often an ECE option for families IB for L-T, Brent, and Maury who can't get into those programs at PK. Because Watkins is less desirable to IB families, they usually have more OOB seats available, especially for PK4, as many IB families lottery into charters, SWS, or CHML rather than take a Peabody spot knowing they will want to move before Watkins.

Right now it feels like there is either not quite enough, or just enough, PK spots (via a combo of DCPS, charters, and private options) on the Hill. But it's an area that has consistently seen increases in families with young kids, especially families with young kids who want a public option for PK, over the last 15 years or so, and I don't see that changing. So taking away a current PK option isn't going to go over well.

Until extremely recently (this year? last year?) you couldn't get into Peabody OOB until K, so this isn't really accurate. I think of those 3, Maury is the only one where not getting in in PK4 is a non-trivial numbers situation and, if your number is that bad, you're not getting into Peabody even now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They desperately need to get rid of the Peabody/Watkins configuration. Watkins should be a PK-3 through 5th grade, with fewer classrooms in each grade, which in turn would help the school.

Peabody could become a special education school or something—ideally the destination for an autism program or something.

I think that's a decent idea, regarding Peabody. I do think you'd get pushback from neighborhood families though. Peabody is not only a very solid option for IB families, but it's often an ECE option for families IB for L-T, Brent, and Maury who can't get into those programs at PK. Because Watkins is less desirable to IB families, they usually have more OOB seats available, especially for PK4, as many IB families lottery into charters, SWS, or CHML rather than take a Peabody spot knowing they will want to move before Watkins.

Right now it feels like there is either not quite enough, or just enough, PK spots (via a combo of DCPS, charters, and private options) on the Hill. But it's an area that has consistently seen increases in families with young kids, especially families with young kids who want a public option for PK, over the last 15 years or so, and I don't see that changing. So taking away a current PK option isn't going to go over well.

Current Peabody Prek4 family here - I agree, it seems like there aren't enough PK spots. You're not correct though on Peabody having many OOB seats. There are aprox. 58 slots per grade at Peabody. Since 2021 (the first year the data is broken out this way), Peabody PK3 hasn't matched an OOB kid on match day (although OOB kids do get in off the waitlist). For Prek 4, in 21, 0 OOB kids were matched. In '22, 3 OOB siblings matched, and in '23, 12 OOB siblings matched. For K, in '21 there were no OOB kids matched, in '22 there 3 siblings that matched and 10 no preference and in '23, 6 siblings matched and 19 no preference. Now certaintly there may be some OOB kids getting into Peabody for Prek3, but since inbound kids aren't getting in, I'm skeptical. There are more OOB kids at Prek4 but the big group would be siblings on match day so not these LT, Brent, Maury OOB kids you describe (assuming their older siblings are at those schools). All this to say, I think the issue with removing Peabody as an option is actually what you do with the Peabody/Watkins inbound prek3 and prek 4 kids which is probably more like 60 kids a year plus the handful of OOB kids that are getting into Peabody for prek4. That seems like a solvable amount of kids should Peabody convert to a special ed campus (which I think would be a great idea). We loved Peabody but aren't continuing on at Watkins (lotteried into another Hill school).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They desperately need to get rid of the Peabody/Watkins configuration. Watkins should be a PK-3 through 5th grade, with fewer classrooms in each grade, which in turn would help the school.

Peabody could become a special education school or something—ideally the destination for an autism program or something.

I think that's a decent idea, regarding Peabody. I do think you'd get pushback from neighborhood families though. Peabody is not only a very solid option for IB families, but it's often an ECE option for families IB for L-T, Brent, and Maury who can't get into those programs at PK. Because Watkins is less desirable to IB families, they usually have more OOB seats available, especially for PK4, as many IB families lottery into charters, SWS, or CHML rather than take a Peabody spot knowing they will want to move before Watkins.

Right now it feels like there is either not quite enough, or just enough, PK spots (via a combo of DCPS, charters, and private options) on the Hill. But it's an area that has consistently seen increases in families with young kids, especially families with young kids who want a public option for PK, over the last 15 years or so, and I don't see that changing. So taking away a current PK option isn't going to go over well.

Current Peabody Prek4 family here - I agree, it seems like there aren't enough PK spots. You're not correct though on Peabody having many OOB seats. There are aprox. 58 slots per grade at Peabody. Since 2021 (the first year the data is broken out this way), Peabody PK3 hasn't matched an OOB kid on match day (although OOB kids do get in off the waitlist). For Prek 4, in 21, 0 OOB kids were matched. In '22, 3 OOB siblings matched, and in '23, 12 OOB siblings matched. For K, in '21 there were no OOB kids matched, in '22 there 3 siblings that matched and 10 no preference and in '23, 6 siblings matched and 19 no preference. Now certaintly there may be some OOB kids getting into Peabody for Prek3, but since inbound kids aren't getting in, I'm skeptical. There are more OOB kids at Prek4 but the big group would be siblings on match day so not these LT, Brent, Maury OOB kids you describe (assuming their older siblings are at those schools). All this to say, I think the issue with removing Peabody as an option is actually what you do with the Peabody/Watkins inbound prek3 and prek 4 kids which is probably more like 60 kids a year plus the handful of OOB kids that are getting into Peabody for prek4. That seems like a solvable amount of kids should Peabody convert to a special ed campus (which I think would be a great idea). We loved Peabody but aren't continuing on at Watkins (lotteried into another Hill school).

You underestimate how much movement there is on waitlists for PK. I have known several people who have gotten into Peabody OOB off the waitlist, for both PK3 and PK4, over the last 5 years or so.

What happens is that IB families get matched with Peabody and enroll, because it's a good school and it's close and it's a no brainer. But then they get a waitlist offer for SWS, CHML, a DCI feeder, etc. Some people will still stick with Peabody because of proximity, but there are plenty of families who will look down the road to Watkins and take the offer elsewhere. Especially true for people who have younger siblings because they'll be looking forward to a few years ahead when their youngest is in PK3 and their oldest is in 1st and up.

To give a sense, Peabody made 67 waitlist offers for PK4 last year. That's a lot of offers! Many to OOB kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why would anyone run a bus to a DCPS for OOB students who have their own IB and also charter options?

Because it would be the only way to meet the schools equity goals while also providing transportation between both campuses for IB families. The reason the former HOS stopped the shuttle was that it was viewed as inequitable -- IB parents (mostly white, mostly higher SES) were getting a resource that was not available to OOB parents (mostly black, mostly lower SES). But if you just at a Metro bus that ran a route that stopped at Watkins and Peabody but also served communities across the river, you could meet the needs of both populations equitably.

DCPS is not going to run a bus to one particular school to accommodate OOB parents. This is silly. You also need it in both directions to work for the Peabody parents, so it doesn't even work like a normal rush hour bus. It also needs to run after school, which is at a time when virtually no one else would be making that commute (I am skeptical very many people commute from Peabody to Wards 7 or 8 by bus at all, but certainly not at 3). Also, Watkins and Peabody are far apart and quite far from Wards 7 and 8 (both??). Do you know how long this ride would take? And it would sort of replace multiple existing lines, so in an era of bus cutting, this is 100% not something the city would merely add on. And of course it would only go from one particular spot in each of those wards, so would hardly be equitable for all OOB Watkins families. And what about all the OOB kids at every other school in the city? Why would Watkins families get a preference? It just makes absolutely no sense.

What you're really asking for is a school bus and DC doesn't do that. The closest things that exist are all for kids w/in an IB to get to their zoned school, which obviously makes way more sense.

No, we're talking about a city bus. There are multiple buses that run routes that, with minor changes, could meet these needs. For starters, you have the 32 and 36 which both already run from across the river up Penn Ave, right past Watkins. One of them could route north up to Stanton park to serve Peabody. There is also the 96 that goes up Mass Ave to Stanton Park -- it could be adjusted to serve Watkins.

The point is that if you want to keep this weird boundary, there are ways to do it with a private school bus. One of the reasons the city does not offer school bus service to most students is that they are supposed to be able to take public transportation in our extensive system. Well, that system does not serve as a bridge between Peabody and Watkins. If we can't do a school bus shuttle between the two campuses, they should ensure that the city bus system bridges that gap.

OR redraw the Cluster boundaries and get rid of this dumb divided school campus.

But keeping the Cluster but not providing transportation of any kind between the two campuses makes no sense.

They should clearly redraw the boundary. This proposed bus wouldn't be good enough to reliably get kids from both schools at the same pickup time though. Knowing the city, dropoff (which normally has more flexibility) would be sketchy too.

Agree. Turn Watkins back into a PK-5th school. Peabody turns into citywide ECE program. Readjust boundaries with LT, Maury and Payne to balance school sizes. Switch the SWS and Watkins MS feeder pattern to make more sense geographically.

If the boundary is redrawn and northern cap hill feeds to LT, SWS should feed into SH. It’s a few blocks away from LT and its stupid that it feeds into EH. Feed Watkins into EH.

yes that was my thinking too!

Why should sws feed into any school? Everyone who goes there has an assigned middle school and there isn't a need for a specialty middle school program for continuity like Montessori or language.

I am no SWS defender, but this is a silly question. The obvious answer is because letting kids continue to attend school with a cohort of known students yields benefits. How do you not know that?

Except not many students go to EH. And lots of kids, probably the majority, don't go on to the feeder middle from their elementary in DC. So why bother? The SWS kids zoned for SH would choose that over EH and the EH zoned kids would wind up there anyway (though few actually go). So the EH feed doesn't do much. The numbers people out there probably have info about where SWS kids go.

If the cluster is broken up, it makes no sense to continue feeding Watkins into SH. LT, JO and SWS makes much more sense (and would make a much stronger middle school, reduce traffic dramatically, etc.).

Please stop with the "cluster" stuff. SH is the MS for LT, JO and Watkins. Watkins and Peabody are an ES ( a poorly designed one split between two schools). The naval gazing, inside baseball, living in the past DCUM posters who insist on perpetuating the term and concept that no longer exists are living in the past.

Why are you getting wound up? I am literally agreeing with you, by saying it doesn't make sense to feed Watkins into SH if the boundaries are re-drawn.

Also peabody/Watkins/SH share a PTA and LSAT, so it’s more than a theoretical concept. I’m not saying it can’t be changed, but the linking of the schools is more than just an idea.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They desperately need to get rid of the Peabody/Watkins configuration. Watkins should be a PK-3 through 5th grade, with fewer classrooms in each grade, which in turn would help the school.

Peabody could become a special education school or something—ideally the destination for an autism program or something.

I think that's a decent idea, regarding Peabody. I do think you'd get pushback from neighborhood families though. Peabody is not only a very solid option for IB families, but it's often an ECE option for families IB for L-T, Brent, and Maury who can't get into those programs at PK. Because Watkins is less desirable to IB families, they usually have more OOB seats available, especially for PK4, as many IB families lottery into charters, SWS, or CHML rather than take a Peabody spot knowing they will want to move before Watkins.

Right now it feels like there is either not quite enough, or just enough, PK spots (via a combo of DCPS, charters, and private options) on the Hill. But it's an area that has consistently seen increases in families with young kids, especially families with young kids who want a public option for PK, over the last 15 years or so, and I don't see that changing. So taking away a current PK option isn't going to go over well.

Current Peabody Prek4 family here - I agree, it seems like there aren't enough PK spots. You're not correct though on Peabody having many OOB seats. There are aprox. 58 slots per grade at Peabody. Since 2021 (the first year the data is broken out this way), Peabody PK3 hasn't matched an OOB kid on match day (although OOB kids do get in off the waitlist). For Prek 4, in 21, 0 OOB kids were matched. In '22, 3 OOB siblings matched, and in '23, 12 OOB siblings matched. For K, in '21 there were no OOB kids matched, in '22 there 3 siblings that matched and 10 no preference and in '23, 6 siblings matched and 19 no preference. Now certaintly there may be some OOB kids getting into Peabody for Prek3, but since inbound kids aren't getting in, I'm skeptical. There are more OOB kids at Prek4 but the big group would be siblings on match day so not these LT, Brent, Maury OOB kids you describe (assuming their older siblings are at those schools). All this to say, I think the issue with removing Peabody as an option is actually what you do with the Peabody/Watkins inbound prek3 and prek 4 kids which is probably more like 60 kids a year plus the handful of OOB kids that are getting into Peabody for prek4. That seems like a solvable amount of kids should Peabody convert to a special ed campus (which I think would be a great idea). We loved Peabody but aren't continuing on at Watkins (lotteried into another Hill school).

You underestimate how much movement there is on waitlists for PK. I have known several people who have gotten into Peabody OOB off the waitlist, for both PK3 and PK4, over the last 5 years or so.

What happens is that IB families get matched with Peabody and enroll, because it's a good school and it's close and it's a no brainer. But then they get a waitlist offer for SWS, CHML, a DCI feeder, etc. Some people will still stick with Peabody because of proximity, but there are plenty of families who will look down the road to Watkins and take the offer elsewhere. Especially true for people who have younger siblings because they'll be looking forward to a few years ahead when their youngest is in PK3 and their oldest is in 1st and up.

To give a sense, Peabody made 67 waitlist offers for PK4 last year. That's a lot of offers! Many to OOB kids.

We just wrapped up prek4 at Peabody. There were only 2 OOB kids in my kids class. There are 4 classes. Everyone we know (30 ish kids) from Prek3 stayed for prek4. I don't think there are upwards of 10 kids OOB in prek4 even with all the waitlist movement but it would be interesting to see.

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Anonymous wrote:Why would anyone run a bus to a DCPS for OOB students who have their own IB and also charter options?

Because it would be the only way to meet the schools equity goals while also providing transportation between both campuses for IB families. The reason the former HOS stopped the shuttle was that it was viewed as inequitable -- IB parents (mostly white, mostly higher SES) were getting a resource that was not available to OOB parents (mostly black, mostly lower SES). But if you just at a Metro bus that ran a route that stopped at Watkins and Peabody but also served communities across the river, you could meet the needs of both populations equitably.

DCPS is not going to run a bus to one particular school to accommodate OOB parents. This is silly. You also need it in both directions to work for the Peabody parents, so it doesn't even work like a normal rush hour bus. It also needs to run after school, which is at a time when virtually no one else would be making that commute (I am skeptical very many people commute from Peabody to Wards 7 or 8 by bus at all, but certainly not at 3). Also, Watkins and Peabody are far apart and quite far from Wards 7 and 8 (both??). Do you know how long this ride would take? And it would sort of replace multiple existing lines, so in an era of bus cutting, this is 100% not something the city would merely add on. And of course it would only go from one particular spot in each of those wards, so would hardly be equitable for all OOB Watkins families. And what about all the OOB kids at every other school in the city? Why would Watkins families get a preference? It just makes absolutely no sense.

What you're really asking for is a school bus and DC doesn't do that. The closest things that exist are all for kids w/in an IB to get to their zoned school, which obviously makes way more sense.

No, we're talking about a city bus. There are multiple buses that run routes that, with minor changes, could meet these needs. For starters, you have the 32 and 36 which both already run from across the river up Penn Ave, right past Watkins. One of them could route north up to Stanton park to serve Peabody. There is also the 96 that goes up Mass Ave to Stanton Park -- it could be adjusted to serve Watkins.

The point is that if you want to keep this weird boundary, there are ways to do it with a private school bus. One of the reasons the city does not offer school bus service to most students is that they are supposed to be able to take public transportation in our extensive system. Well, that system does not serve as a bridge between Peabody and Watkins. If we can't do a school bus shuttle between the two campuses, they should ensure that the city bus system bridges that gap.

OR redraw the Cluster boundaries and get rid of this dumb divided school campus.

But keeping the Cluster but not providing transportation of any kind between the two campuses makes no sense.

They should clearly redraw the boundary. This proposed bus wouldn't be good enough to reliably get kids from both schools at the same pickup time though. Knowing the city, dropoff (which normally has more flexibility) would be sketchy too.

Agree. Turn Watkins back into a PK-5th school. Peabody turns into citywide ECE program. Readjust boundaries with LT, Maury and Payne to balance school sizes. Switch the SWS and Watkins MS feeder pattern to make more sense geographically.

If the boundary is redrawn and northern cap hill feeds to LT, SWS should feed into SH. It’s a few blocks away from LT and its stupid that it feeds into EH. Feed Watkins into EH.

yes that was my thinking too!

Why should sws feed into any school? Everyone who goes there has an assigned middle school and there isn't a need for a specialty middle school program for continuity like Montessori or language.

I am no SWS defender, but this is a silly question. The obvious answer is because letting kids continue to attend school with a cohort of known students yields benefits. How do you not know that?

Except not many students go to EH. And lots of kids, probably the majority, don't go on to the feeder middle from their elementary in DC. So why bother? The SWS kids zoned for SH would choose that over EH and the EH zoned kids would wind up there anyway (though few actually go). So the EH feed doesn't do much. The numbers people out there probably have info about where SWS kids go.

If the cluster is broken up, it makes no sense to continue feeding Watkins into SH. LT, JO and SWS makes much more sense (and would make a much stronger middle school, reduce traffic dramatically, etc.).

Please stop with the "cluster" stuff. SH is the MS for LT, JO and Watkins. Watkins and Peabody are an ES ( a poorly designed one split between two schools). The navel gazing, inside baseball, living in the past DCUM posters who insist on perpetuating the term and concept that no longer exists are living in the past.

??? The cluster refers to itself as the cluster. The SH principal is at the cluster LSAT meetings along with the Watkins principal. The cluster PTA raises funds for all 3 schools.

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Anonymous wrote:They desperately need to get rid of the Peabody/Watkins configuration. Watkins should be a PK-3 through 5th grade, with fewer classrooms in each grade, which in turn would help the school.

Peabody could become a special education school or something—ideally the destination for an autism program or something.

I think that's a decent idea, regarding Peabody. I do think you'd get pushback from neighborhood families though. Peabody is not only a very solid option for IB families, but it's often an ECE option for families IB for L-T, Brent, and Maury who can't get into those programs at PK. Because Watkins is less desirable to IB families, they usually have more OOB seats available, especially for PK4, as many IB families lottery into charters, SWS, or CHML rather than take a Peabody spot knowing they will want to move before Watkins.

Right now it feels like there is either not quite enough, or just enough, PK spots (via a combo of DCPS, charters, and private options) on the Hill. But it's an area that has consistently seen increases in families with young kids, especially families with young kids who want a public option for PK, over the last 15 years or so, and I don't see that changing. So taking away a current PK option isn't going to go over well.

A decent idea going absolutely nowhere. Have you ever heard a single DC pol discuss changing the status of the Cluster school? It's just not in the plans and presumably never will be.

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Anonymous wrote:They desperately need to get rid of the Peabody/Watkins configuration. Watkins should be a PK-3 through 5th grade, with fewer classrooms in each grade, which in turn would help the school.

Peabody could become a special education school or something—ideally the destination for an autism program or something.

I think that's a decent idea, regarding Peabody. I do think you'd get pushback from neighborhood families though. Peabody is not only a very solid option for IB families, but it's often an ECE option for families IB for L-T, Brent, and Maury who can't get into those programs at PK. Because Watkins is less desirable to IB families, they usually have more OOB seats available, especially for PK4, as many IB families lottery into charters, SWS, or CHML rather than take a Peabody spot knowing they will want to move before Watkins.

Right now it feels like there is either not quite enough, or just enough, PK spots (via a combo of DCPS, charters, and private options) on the Hill. But it's an area that has consistently seen increases in families with young kids, especially families with young kids who want a public option for PK, over the last 15 years or so, and I don't see that changing. So taking away a current PK option isn't going to go over well.

A decent idea going absolutely nowhere. Have you ever heard a single DC pol discuss changing the status of the Cluster school? It's just not in the plans and presumably never will be.

It’s funny. I agree. But I wonder if in 2-3 years it would have been different. Friends on the Hill are just starting to realize how much Watkins is shedding students.

[Anonymous]

I wonder how many students Watkins would shed if there weren’t spots available in nearby schools. That so many spots are available surprises me, as that definitely wasn’t the case 5-10 yrs ago.