Do you think that the Mundo Verde's demographics will change because of the move?
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Anonymous
The law only allows two preferences - founder and sibling. Everything else is illegal. Other charter schools like YY have tried to get this changed to no avail. |
Anonymous
Not OP, but I own a house in Bloomingdale where similar places are selling for $800-$1m, prices in Shaw are probably higher. It was inexpensive housing when I bought it (a decade ago) but that's hardly the case for someone buying now and is easily more as many homes "WOTP" (does anyone else HATE that expression?) |
Anonymous
So help organize a parent-sponsored bus. Capitol Hill has managed to pull it off to YY and Latin. Or, try to get into DC Bilingual or Bancroft if you don't mind inferior schools. Are you doing anything other than b*tching? |
Anonymous
| This was MV vision after all. After the high aftercare cost debate, they have now found a way to exclude the FARM population even more by moving. Sad, but true. For the schools sake, how the native Hispanic population doesn't decrease drastically. |
Anonymous
There is actually already a school-organized bus, with a sliding scale for lower income families. Hopefully this will help the latino families retain MV as a feasible option. |
Anonymous
And to the LAMB booster who has asked for a link to the statute where this is illegal, here it is: http://www.dcpcsb.org/data/images/school%20reform%20act.pdf From page 20: "(c) Random selection. -- If there are more applications to enroll in a public charter school from students who are residents of the District of Columbia than there are spaces available, students shall be admitted using a random selection process, except that a preference in admission may be given to an applicant who is a sibling of a student already attending or selected for admission to the public charter school in which the applicant is seeking enrollment, or an applicant who is a child of a member of the public charter school’s founding board, so long as enrollment of founders’ children is limited to no more than 10% of the school’s total enrollment or to 20 students, whichever is less." All the other language-based charter schools have abided by this to my knowledge, but LAMB had two lotteries for years. Even though they haven't for a few years, the demographics will stay the same for a good period of time because of sibling preference. |
Anonymous
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Bancroft parent here. This is why we didn't apply to Mundo Verde to begin with. As friends of ours have moved to otehr parts of the city, we have lost touch with them, even in cases where we've really tried to get our kids together. Proximity = playdates, because we can arrange them on the fly at pickup rather than planning weeks in advance. I'm sure people living EoGA are lovely, but I do not have the bandwidth to drive my kids all over town for playdates, so therefore we didn't even apply to charters that didn't have at least a semi-permanent location.
Interestingly enough, my child reports that 2nd grade has picked up three MV kids in the past month, all Spanish speakers. Of course, this is an 8 year old talking, so take it with a grain of salt. |
Anonymous
| These impromptu playdates must really be magical to influence school selection like they seem to. |
Anonymous
I am no the PP to whom you are responding, and personally I would prefer to commute cross-town to MV than to go to my failing IB school. But why do you need to judge the decisions of others? There are some benefits of neighborhood schools that a city-wide charter cannot replicate, one of which is that you go to school with people on your street. This is especially true at a school like Bancroft, where more and more in-boundary families are going. To have an ease of commute and friends who live nearby is a really great thing. If OP and PP want that, then that's great--let them make the decision and be happy that there is more room for people like you and me at MV. (Actually, no room for me at MV, given my waitlist number, unless they go through hundreds and hundreds of people on the waitlist.) |
Anonymous
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I'm a MV parent that has impromptu playdates with others in the school who live in different parts of the city. It hasn't been too difficult, at least it doesn't seem like it as we do it at least once a week. Sometimes they are at people's houses, but often they are at public places. Often, they involve one parent picking up all the kids and meeting up with the others for pizza or drinks, giving the other parents extra time to get out of work. The combo of texting and public transportation really is amazing.
Additionally, MV hosts tons of formal playdates in various parts of the city. I think one of the things that I have loved most about the school is the ability to really explore the resources of the city. For instance, I never would have known abou the amazing pool at Deanwood had it not been for a great birthday party held there. And, getting there is actually really fast via metro. |
Anonymous
I am the pp at 10:45, and I wanted to clarify that I was not trying to say that you weren't right for considering this. Although I love having a city-wide school, I completely understand how some may prefer a neighborhood school. Most importantly though, I'm glad that you actually thought about it and made a decision based on your own priorities instead of ending up in a school that you would resent. |
Anonymous
Nobody said the same house costs the same EOTP and WOTP. The PP implied the other poster "must" only live in Logan Circle if the other poster's particular house costs the same as homes that are WOTP. |
Anonymous
Everyone is different. We have different priorities, lifestyles etc. I am another Bancroft parent. We turned down a Mundo Verde spot this year and will stay at Bancroft for many reasons. One reason is what the PP was talking about. I find the walk to and from school, the impromptu play on the playground after school, running into classmates and their families after school/ on the weekend in the neighborhood absolutely magical. Maybe I am a sentimental sap but it reminds me of some of my most fondest memories as a child - and I suspect that this is valuable for my child as well. |
Anonymous
+1 Many people (not all !) who drive across town for a charter have a failing IB school. But this definitely doesn't describe Bancroft. Bancroft is an up and coming school with increasing interest from IB families. This interest is intensifying now with the departure of Mundo Verde, an excellent dual language charter that is now a lot less convenient to Mt Pleasant. It used to be, "hey, may as well try the lottery for MV, it's walking distance, there's a lot of buzz and we can always go to Bancroft later if we want." Now it's more "hey, Bancroft is looking good these days, do we really want to drive to North Capitol and New York Ave twice every weekday for the next 8 years?" The departure of Creative Minds next year will add to this. CM is English-only but is also well-respected and about to become a lot less convenient for Mt Pleasant parents. If you live in Mt Pleasant you're fortunate to have Bancroft as an option. To answer part of OP's original question, ignoring demographics for a moment and just looking at what Mt Pleasant parents are likely to do, I think Mt Pleasant parents are increasingly likely to rank Bancroft over MV in the common lottery for PK3. Given the choice between a daily commute to Truxton Circle (for a good school, don't get me wrong) versus walking to an increasingly attractive neighborhood dual language school, with kids on your block attending, many will choose the latter, with no disrespect to those who choose the former. |
Anonymous
Very well put. |