Shining Stars New Location!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm disappointed to see them open WoTP. Those communities have good schools already IB. The charter system is intended to help those without options nearby. So shame on SSMA for not sticking with their existing families in n EoTP spot.

Where I think you'll see a huge shift in demographics starting next year. Remember, the JKLM schools don't have PK3. So guess who's going to be number 1 on the list for all the WoTP folk starting out?

I'm disappointed too, but it's not like there are a whole lot of choices 3 weeks before school is supposed to start. The question is how long they'll stay there. Methinks they'll get very used to being in demand with high SES families very quickly.

That is not the actual purpose of charters. The purpose is to provide specialized options for residents throughout the city.

Kudos to SS for securing space quickly. They did not have a lot of options and made the best of a bad situation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That is not the actual purpose of charters. The purpose is to provide specialized options for residents throughout the city.

Actually, I am not sure that is the purpose of the charters. Or rather, it can be A purpose, but it is certainly not the only one and likely not even the most important one. To put another way, if offering specialized programming was the only purpose, then DCPS could just do that. (And if your response is that DCPS could not or did not want to do that, then you have just reinforced my point...)

[Anonymous]

If they cluster in poorer neighborhoods, charters are accused of killing DCPS neighborhood schools (look at the Harmony/Langley dispute). And if they move to richer neighborhoods, they're accused of losing their mission to serve poor kids. Someone will complain no matter what.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If they cluster in poorer neighborhoods, charters are accused of killing DCPS neighborhood schools (look at the Harmony/Langley dispute). And if they move to richer neighborhoods, they're accused of losing their mission to serve poor kids. Someone will complain no matter what.

HA, very true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone enrolled in Lee Montessori want to trade for a spot at Shining Stars now?

Same here!

PP here. I mean, enrolled at Lee and want to get into SSMA now!

I wish there was some way to make this switch a reality. Is there? I live relatively close to Lee so the new SSMA location is a stretch. I guess you can add yourself to the SSMA waitlist and see what happens, then if you get a spot Lee's list could move!

Are you serious? I thought Lee was showing all signs of having top class admin. You'd switch to a completely disorganized school just based solely on the fact that they allegedly have a building in a part of town with a lot of wealthy families?

Admin is important. But good quality instruction and a good parent community are more important. SSMA has the parent community and quality Montessori education. So you would choose a completely unknown school based on their supposedly " top class admin"???!

More than I would chose a school based on the fact that they are located in a wealthy part of town despite having a terrible reputation, yes.

[Anonymous]

The reality is that they had very little time and few options. They had to pick a space that would work for a long time. Apparently it didn't work out with Sela. So they took another location, that they probably saw as less than ideal since most of the parents are EOTP, but they could not make everyone happy and fulfill every objective. I'm very happy that they got a good space with great light, in a good neighborhood, with Guy Mason next door. Complaining about the social justice mission is not taking the reality of the situation into account. The alternative was probably not having a school at all!

Let's all support what will continue to be a great school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If they cluster in poorer neighborhoods, charters are accused of killing DCPS neighborhood schools (look at the Harmony/Langley dispute). And if they move to richer neighborhoods, they're accused of losing their mission to serve poor kids. Someone will complain no matter what.

Have you looked at house prices in Bloomingdale/Eckington (location of Harmony/Langley)? $700k to more than $1m for a two story row house? Hardly a "poor" neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The reality is that they had very little time and few options. They had to pick a space that would work for a long time. Apparently it didn't work out with Sela. So they took another location, that they probably saw as less than ideal since most of the parents are EOTP, but they could not make everyone happy and fulfill every objective. I'm very happy that they got a good space with great light, in a good neighborhood, with Guy Mason next door. Complaining about the social justice mission is not taking the reality of the situation into account. The alternative was probably not having a school at all!

Let's all support what will continue to be a great school.

I don't think it's out of line to be concerned about the movement away from the original mission of the school. I agree that the options were not great and that this is not the end of the world, but I don't think that sitting back and saying "Oh, it's going to be fine, they'll still be a social justice oriented school, even with all these changes" is a crappy strategy. One of the things that made SSMA a strong school was that focus and the commitment of the parent community to that focus. I don't think it's unreasonable to worry that families who lottery in next year because it's an easy commute for them may not be as in tune with that mission.

[Anonymous]

It was inevitable that some charter would eventually move to Ward 3. Wasn't there an Arabic immersion charter that also proposed a Ward 3 location this last round? Shining Stars just happens to be first. For better or worse, I'm sure it won't be the last.

[Anonymous]

It is located on several bus lines that go up and down Wisconsin, as well as a short walk from buses that run from Dupont along Mass ave (stop at Calvert).

Not super convenient, but there are options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is located on several bus lines that go up and down Wisconsin, as well as a short walk from buses that run from Dupont along Mass ave (stop at Calvert).

Not super convenient, but there are options.

This argument always makes me cringe a bit. Busing from across the city takes a lot of time. Having to transfer to a second bus adds more time. Not everyone has the flexibility in their lives to make such a commute. Let's not forget that an hour bus ride to school doesn't actually mean ONE hour. It means one hour there and one hour back for drop off. Then there is one hour there and one hour back for pickup. Suddenly it is a FOUR hour per day bus commute. We are a current family, and we are definitely among those who are disappointed with the new location. I completely understand that they were in a tight spot and didn't want to accept a 2 year lease at SELA when they had the option of a 10 year lease at the new location. But I think that it is now pretty much a given that SSMA is going to become a vastly different school, serving a vastly different population, in the next few years.

And to interject a little bit of snark, it's going to look awfully tone deaf when a class made up of mostly rich, mostly white kids spends their days "develop[ing] positive self-image through specialized culture-based learning activities and materials."

A few more tidbits from the SSMA website:

We are committed to improving the lives of inner city children and we believe that making Montessori accessible to these children and their families will do much towards positively impacting their lives.

We are committed to providing an authentic urban Montessori experience enhanced with the cultural empowerment principles to meet the developmental needs of our students and to provide an enriching and holistic experience for our families and staff.

The cultural empowerment principles through which we operate, offer a holistic approach to instruction that infuses the values of people of color throughout the world. These lessons will be reinforced through the Montessori hands-on approach to encourage intellectual curiosity. Students will be fully educated in the extent to which people of color and other minorities have contributed to our society.

These are great principles to learn, btw, and I think that is gives SSMA a unique strength that other Montessori schools don't have, but let's face it, it's going to be awkward when it is a group of mostly high income, majority-white kids being the main beneficiaries of this lesson.

I really hope that SSMA finds its way through this, as I am one of the many parents who thinks that it provides an exemplary Montessori education. I know that I sound pretty bitchy, but I know too many SSMA parents (who are not on DCUM or the SSMA FB group) who will not be able to continue attending, at least without great hardship, due to lack of transportation, no flexibility in their jobs, etc. and I am feeling a bit sad about the situation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is located on several bus lines that go up and down Wisconsin, as well as a short walk from buses that run from Dupont along Mass ave (stop at Calvert).

Not super convenient, but there are options.

This argument always makes me cringe a bit. Busing from across the city takes a lot of time. Having to transfer to a second bus adds more time. Not everyone has the flexibility in their lives to make such a commute. Let's not forget that an hour bus ride to school doesn't actually mean ONE hour. It means one hour there and one hour back for drop off. Then there is one hour there and one hour back for pickup. Suddenly it is a FOUR hour per day bus commute. We are a current family, and we are definitely among those who are disappointed with the new location. I completely understand that they were in a tight spot and didn't want to accept a 2 year lease at SELA when they had the option of a 10 year lease at the new location. But I think that it is now pretty much a given that SSMA is going to become a vastly different school, serving a vastly different population, in the next few years.

And to interject a little bit of snark, it's going to look awfully tone deaf when a class made up of mostly rich, mostly white kids spends their days "develop[ing] positive self-image through specialized culture-based learning activities and materials."

A few more tidbits from the SSMA website:

We are committed to improving the lives of inner city children and we believe that making Montessori accessible to these children and their families will do much towards positively impacting their lives.

We are committed to providing an authentic urban Montessori experience enhanced with the cultural empowerment principles to meet the developmental needs of our students and to provide an enriching and holistic experience for our families and staff.

The cultural empowerment principles through which we operate, offer a holistic approach to instruction that infuses the values of people of color throughout the world. These lessons will be reinforced through the Montessori hands-on approach to encourage intellectual curiosity. Students will be fully educated in the extent to which people of color and other minorities have contributed to our society.

These are great principles to learn, btw, and I think that is gives SSMA a unique strength that other Montessori schools don't have, but let's face it, it's going to be awkward when it is a group of mostly high income, majority-white kids being the main beneficiaries of this lesson.

I really hope that SSMA finds its way through this, as I am one of the many parents who thinks that it provides an exemplary Montessori education. I know that I sound pretty bitchy, but I know too many SSMA parents (who are not on DCUM or the SSMA FB group) who will not be able to continue attending, at least without great hardship, due to lack of transportation, no flexibility in their jobs, etc. and I am feeling a bit sad about the situation.

We didn't apply to SS--neither old nor new location work that well for us--but sounds like a great school w/unique principles. Is there any way current families and/or administration could band together to get bus service from old location? Just trying to think of a way to make it work so that attrition of current EOTP families is minimized, to the extent possible, at least for the 2014-2015 school year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is located on several bus lines that go up and down Wisconsin, as well as a short walk from buses that run from Dupont along Mass ave (stop at Calvert).

Not super convenient, but there are options.

This argument always makes me cringe a bit. Busing from across the city takes a lot of time. Having to transfer to a second bus adds more time. Not everyone has the flexibility in their lives to make such a commute. Let's not forget that an hour bus ride to school doesn't actually mean ONE hour. It means one hour there and one hour back for drop off. Then there is one hour there and one hour back for pickup. Suddenly it is a FOUR hour per day bus commute. We are a current family, and we are definitely among those who are disappointed with the new location. I completely understand that they were in a tight spot and didn't want to accept a 2 year lease at SELA when they had the option of a 10 year lease at the new location. But I think that it is now pretty much a given that SSMA is going to become a vastly different school, serving a vastly different population, in the next few years.

And to interject a little bit of snark, it's going to look awfully tone deaf when a class made up of mostly rich, mostly white kids spends their days "develop[ing] positive self-image through specialized culture-based learning activities and materials."

A few more tidbits from the SSMA website:

We are committed to improving the lives of inner city children and we believe that making Montessori accessible to these children and their families will do much towards positively impacting their lives.

We are committed to providing an authentic urban Montessori experience enhanced with the cultural empowerment principles to meet the developmental needs of our students and to provide an enriching and holistic experience for our families and staff.

The cultural empowerment principles through which we operate, offer a holistic approach to instruction that infuses the values of people of color throughout the world. These lessons will be reinforced through the Montessori hands-on approach to encourage intellectual curiosity. Students will be fully educated in the extent to which people of color and other minorities have contributed to our society.

These are great principles to learn, btw, and I think that is gives SSMA a unique strength that other Montessori schools don't have, but let's face it, it's going to be awkward when it is a group of mostly high income, majority-white kids being the main beneficiaries of this lesson.

I really hope that SSMA finds its way through this, as I am one of the many parents who thinks that it provides an exemplary Montessori education. I know that I sound pretty bitchy, but I know too many SSMA parents (who are not on DCUM or the SSMA FB group) who will not be able to continue attending, at least without great hardship, due to lack of transportation, no flexibility in their jobs, etc. and I am feeling a bit sad about the situation.

We didn't apply to SS--neither old nor new location work that well for us--but sounds like a great school w/unique principles. Is there any way current families and/or administration could band together to get bus service from old location? Just trying to think of a way to make it work so that attrition of current EOTP families is minimized, to the extent possible, at least for the 2014-2015 school year.

There will be conversations about that. Parents are concerned about losing that part of what makes SSMA so great and I know that it is a topic that will be brought up (over and over again if that's what it takes) with the administration. There are several ideas being bandied about right now, hopefully a few of them will be workable.

[Anonymous]

SSMA will NEVER be the same!

UNFORTUNATELY, it's going to gain 'notoriety' based on the location oppose to the mission and the actual learning that's taking place. I am glad I decided to move forward with removing my children from the school. I want my kids to be surrounded by families, students and staff who 'love the school' for the diversity and the mission -- passion! I don't want them to be placed in an environment that gain popularity because it's the 'it school in Ward 3' -- SSMA will definitely lose its' culture and founding values.

I decided to move my kids NOT because of the commute of the school BUT what the school will represent in the next year!

However, I am happy they found space!

PS Can't wait to read the threads during next years' lottery.

[Anonymous]

EOTP stands for?