s/o Future of Oyster-Adams

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:14:26: good idea if u could replace Monica with Marie reed principal

This made me laugh! Do you even know Marie Reed principal? My kid goes there now and I cannot wait to find a new school. I am quite frustrated by the Marie Reed administration, their lack of response to parents’ concerns and the schools’ poor communication with parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree with PP 17:54. The problems PP highlights are the reasons families leave O/A. The most disappointing area for our family was the low expectations both in the English and Spanish curriculums. I spent years listening to people say how they were trading learning Spanish for math or other academic areas. It would be one thing if the Spanish that is taught was consistent good throughout the school, including grammar, but it isn't. And then there is the chaos of everyday life at O/A. At the lower grades very little information comes home. No agendas. Assemblies and field trips are organized at the last minute and there is a desperate plea for parent participation/attendance. Nothing ever starts on time. There is good access to the teachers and many are loving individuals. The teachers are under enormous pressure to bring up the test scores of the under performing [b]kids so the higher achieving kids just orbit through the day or are called on to tutor their peers during class time. ll of this said, I am happy that DCs speak Spanish, but by the time the middle school years rolled around, it was time to get the other core academic areas on target for preparation for high school and Deal could offer that academic rigor while O/A could not. As for behavior issues, there are cliques and bullying just like any other school. The administration often talks the talk on shutting down bullying and other poor behavior but there is very little follow through to ensure that consequences are carried out to the tune of the handbook. I often hear O/A parents who go on tours at potential middle schools remark how surprised they are at the classroom control. Perhaps what parents can put up with also changes as their kids get older.

I was a smart over performing kid in dcps back in the day and this was typical of my experience. I actually think it was good for me. I loved tutoring my peers and younger kids, and I learned a lot from having to re explain stuff to kids. I also spent time during class reading good books, writing, etc. I arrived at my big 3 private ahead in English, history, and writing as a result (but I will admit behind in math and science). If your kid is in the same situation, make sure she has good books to read every day at school in case she has extra time (biographies, good literature, etc). For ex, my parents did not let me take sweet valley twins to school. I had to take a biography or newberry honor book, etc.

[Anonymous]

I am a current O-A IB parent with a bilingual child in Pre-k. I haven't even read this whole thread (only up to page 3 so far) but I am so pleased to see new proposals to 'fix' or improve the difficulties facing Oyster and bilingual education through out DC. The idea of a seperate bilingual middle school (with International baccalaureate curriculum?) that can be fed by the growing number of bilingual elementary schools, and opening up the possibility of even a new bilingual high school is exciting. This could be, not only of benefit to Oyster students but a huge asset to all of DC.. I have no idea how an idea like this is turned into reality but believe that DC contains the people with the ideas and ability to do so. I would certainly back, in whatever way I could, such a development.

I will just add that whatever happens at Oyster I truly hope they are able to continue and develop the inclusion model that they have. I would also agree with the posters that Oyster needs new leadership to address the problems that the current leadership appear well aware of, yet unable to fix.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am a current O-A IB parent with a bilingual child in Pre-k. I haven't even read this whole thread (only up to page 3 so far) but I am so pleased to see new proposals to 'fix' or improve the difficulties facing Oyster and bilingual education through out DC. The idea of a seperate bilingual middle school (with International baccalaureate curriculum?) that can be fed by the growing number of bilingual elementary schools, and opening up the possibility of even a new bilingual high school is exciting. This could be, not only of benefit to Oyster students but a huge asset to all of DC.. I have no idea how an idea like this is turned into reality but believe that DC contains the people with the ideas and ability to do so. I would certainly back, in whatever way I could, such a development.

I will just add that whatever happens at Oyster I truly hope they are able to continue and develop the inclusion model that they have. I would also agree with the posters that Oyster needs new leadership to address the problems that the current leadership appear well aware of, yet unable to fix.

The problem I see with the leadership is not so much that they can't fix existing problems, but that they are creating new and completely unnecessary ones, driven by some mysterious agenda. As an O-A parent, I hope Monica paid more attention to our children and to their education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:14:26: good idea if u could replace Monica with Marie reed principal

This made me laugh! Do you even know Marie Reed principal? My kid goes there now and I cannot wait to find a new school. I am quite frustrated by the Marie Reed administration, their lack of response to parents’ concerns and the schools’ poor communication with parents.

I guess everything is relative. Lack of response to parent's concerns sounds much better than the active manipulation of parents and teachers in order to advance an spurious agenda...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:14:26: good idea if u could replace Monica with Marie reed principal

This made me laugh! Do you even know Marie Reed principal? My kid goes there now and I cannot wait to find a new school. I am quite frustrated by the Marie Reed administration, their lack of response to parents’ concerns and the schools’ poor communication with parents.

I guess everything is relative. Lack of response to parent's concerns sounds much better than the active manipulation of parents and teachers in order to advance an spurious agenda...

Exactly! Everything IS relative. Go take your kid one year to Marie Reed and then we'll see if you are so critical of Oyster and its principal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:14:26: good idea if u could replace Monica with Marie reed principal

This made me laugh! Do you even know Marie Reed principal? My kid goes there now and I cannot wait to find a new school. I am quite frustrated by the Marie Reed administration, their lack of response to parents’ concerns and the schools’ poor communication with parents.

I guess everything is relative. Lack of response to parent's concerns sounds much better than the active manipulation of parents and teachers in order to advance an spurious agenda...

Exactly! Everything IS relative. Go take your kid one year to Marie Reed and then we'll see if you are so critical of Oyster and its principal.

I think you're confused - I'm not the principal. But that's indeed a good idea, perhaps she should take her out-boundary non-Spanish-dominant kid/s to Marie Reed and then see if she still is so critical of O-A as she seems to be right now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC should require not only proof of DC residency but also proof of legal status. THAT would address over-enrollment pretty fast!

Um, illegal and racist. Please tell me this is a sick joke. Move to Arizona.

I don't care if they're documented or not. I just want them to pay taxes like everyone else. That pays for our schools. A lot of tax payer's kids are shut out while tax cheats get slots. Hope there's a road to citizenship FAST!!!

they do pay DC and federal taxes and get a lot less than you do in return. what planet do you live on?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC should require not only proof of DC residency but also proof of legal status. THAT would address over-enrollment pretty fast!

Um, illegal and racist. Please tell me this is a sick joke. Move to Arizona.

I don't care if they're documented or not. I just want them to pay taxes like everyone else. That pays for our schools. A lot of tax payer's kids are shut out while tax cheats get slots. Hope there's a road to citizenship FAST!!!

they do pay DC and federal taxes and get a lot less than you do in return. what planet do you live on?

Previous PP seems to live in Planet Ignorance. If there's a quite interesting group to investigate further, it is the mostly white out-boundary English-dominant contingent that seems to account for over 25% of the whole school student body. Very unclear how the principal both enables that and complains about capacity issues and low Spanish ratios.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC should require not only proof of DC residency but also proof of legal status. THAT would address over-enrollment pretty fast!

Um, illegal and racist. Please tell me this is a sick joke. Move to Arizona.

I don't care if they're documented or not. I just want them to pay taxes like everyone else. That pays for our schools. A lot of tax payer's kids are shut out while tax cheats get slots. Hope there's a road to citizenship FAST!!!

they do pay DC and federal taxes and get a lot less than you do in return. what planet do you live on?

Previous PP seems to live in Planet Ignorance. If there's a quite interesting group to investigate further, it is the mostly white out-boundary English-dominant contingent that seems to account for over 25% of the whole school student body. Very unclear how the principal both enables that and complains about capacity issues and low Spanish ratios.

We have a winner....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC should require not only proof of DC residency but also proof of legal status. THAT would address over-enrollment pretty fast!

Um, illegal and racist. Please tell me this is a sick joke. Move to Arizona.

I don't care if they're documented or not. I just want them to pay taxes like everyone else. That pays for our schools. A lot of tax payer's kids are shut out while tax cheats get slots. Hope there's a road to citizenship FAST!!!

they do pay DC and federal taxes and get a lot less than you do in return. what planet do you live on?

Previous PP seems to live in Planet Ignorance. If there's a quite interesting group to investigate further, it is the mostly white out-boundary English-dominant contingent that seems to account for over 25% of the whole school student body. Very unclear how the principal both enables that and complains about capacity issues and low Spanish ratios.

We have a winner....

+1