DCI?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tea, lounge, chromebooks? And the DCPS schools don't even have A/C.

This is public funding, how do they make this work? Do they pay their teacher's significantly less than DCPS (which may be possible b/c of the unions?).

It's a little frustrating that in order to attend DCI you must already win the charter lotteries for the feeder schools; it basically locks students out if they don't win early on. Talk about the cycle of poverty....

To answer the bolded, yes.

I don't think that's at all true about DCPS schools not having A/C. In fact, if you look at spending on facilities, DCPS has twice as much spent on their facilities as charters do, on average. Oh, and a small lounge doesn't balance out the complete lack of outdoor space other than a small parking lot, no real indoor gathering space, etc. That's the reality for many charters. Chromebooks and tea are really small potatoes from a budgetary standpoint.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tea, lounge, chromebooks? And the DCPS schools don't even have A/C.

This is public funding, how do they make this work? Do they pay their teacher's significantly less than DCPS (which may be possible b/c of the unions?).

It's a little frustrating that in order to attend DCI you must already win the charter lotteries for the feeder schools; it basically locks students out if they don't win early on. Talk about the cycle of poverty....

If there are DCPS schools without air conditioning, you should really be putting your energy into fighting that battle. Shame on DCPS, which is awash with cash!

(Oh, you have no idea what you are talking about? Never mind)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tea, lounge, chromebooks? And the DCPS schools don't even have A/C.

This is public funding, how do they make this work? Do they pay their teacher's significantly less than DCPS (which may be possible b/c of the unions?).

It's a little frustrating that in order to attend DCI you must already win the charter lotteries for the feeder schools; it basically locks students out if they don't win early on. Talk about the cycle of poverty....

If there are DCPS schools without air conditioning, you should really be putting your energy into fighting that battle. Shame on DCPS, which is awash with cash!

(Oh, you have no idea what you are talking about? Never mind)

I volunteered at Amidon, but this was a couple years ago.

But you can't deny that non-academic expenditures at charters seem a bit out of whack with the general lack of resource in DCPS when both are publicly funded. Charters really feel like parent run private schools on the tax payers dime. And the kids left out never get a change to transfer in.

[Anonymous]

Maybe charter can afford all the "extras" like tea, lounge, chromebooks since they don't waste money on bloated bureaucrats like DCPS... and if it's really like "parent run private schools" then the parents make sure the money goes toward kids rather than spending all the tax payers' largess on putting up half empty buildings that cost $$$$$.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe charter can afford all the "extras" like tea, lounge, chromebooks since they don't waste money on bloated bureaucrats like DCPS... and if it's really like "parent run private schools" then the parents make sure the money goes toward kids rather than spending all the tax payers' largess on putting up half empty buildings that cost $$$$$.

But it should be up to elected officials to look at for all kids in the district, not just those with hipster parents. Oh I know you all have your 30% FARMS, but how many charter schools really reflect the demographics of the city versus urban pioneers staking their claim for *their* kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe charter can afford all the "extras" like tea, lounge, chromebooks since they don't waste money on bloated bureaucrats like DCPS... and if it's really like "parent run private schools" then the parents make sure the money goes toward kids rather than spending all the tax payers' largess on putting up half empty buildings that cost $$$$$.

But it should be up to elected officials to look at for all kids in the district, not just those with hipster parents. Oh I know you all have your 30% FARMS, but how many charter schools really reflect the demographics of the city versus urban pioneers staking their claim for *their* kids.

Stokes has 69% FARMS. How is that "hipster parent" run?

You obviously don't know anything about how charters are funded, or how they work. The get LESS money from the city than DCPS even though the kids are attending public schools that ANYONE can apply to, unlike JKLM which are de-facto segregated by high HHI based on where they are located and in-bound preference. Where is your outrage for that?

[Anonymous]

The charters always mentioned on this forum are not the majority of charters in the district. The vast majority overwhelmingly represent the FARM and black population in the district.

[Anonymous]

About teacher pay, I know a teacher who recently left a well regarded private school to teach at a popular charter. Is now making more. For whatever that is worth.

[Anonymous]

tea-drinking DCI kid's mom here: they don't provide tea, just hot water. the student lounge is a small room with cheap cute furniture. get a life!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is that per grade or for the whole school?

The whole school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

It's a little frustrating that in order to attend DCI you must already win the charter lotteries for the feeder schools; it basically locks students out if they don't win early on. Talk about the cycle of poverty....

You mean like Stokes, which is 69% free and reduced meal students? Or DC Bilingual, which is 85%?

The other schools have a higher percentage of middle and higher income families, yes, but none of them are below 30% FARM. There is this pernicious idea that these schools are somehow only for middle class families. They may have a higher demand from middle class families than other schools, so their pool of lottery applicants is more heavily tilted in that direction. But that doesn't mean they don't have major appeal for lower income families also.

Not true. LAMB is well below 30%. Yu Ying is below 20%.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tea, lounge, chromebooks? And the DCPS schools don't even have A/C.

This is public funding, how do they make this work? Do they pay their teacher's significantly less than DCPS (which may be possible b/c of the unions?).

It's a little frustrating that in order to attend DCI you must already win the charter lotteries for the feeder schools; it basically locks students out if they don't win early on. Talk about the cycle of poverty....

If there are DCPS schools without air conditioning, you should really be putting your energy into fighting that battle. Shame on DCPS, which is awash with cash!

(Oh, you have no idea what you are talking about? Never mind)

I volunteered at Amidon, but this was a couple years ago.

But you can't deny that non-academic expenditures at charters seem a bit out of whack with the general lack of resource in DCPS when both are publicly funded. Charters really feel like parent run private schools on the tax payers dime. And the kids left out never get a change to transfer in.

Pretty sure amidon has air conditioning but staff can fiddle with it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

It's a little frustrating that in order to attend DCI you must already win the charter lotteries for the feeder schools; it basically locks students out if they don't win early on. Talk about the cycle of poverty....

You mean like Stokes, which is 69% free and reduced meal students? Or DC Bilingual, which is 85%?

The other schools have a higher percentage of middle and higher income families, yes, but none of them are below 30% FARM. There is this pernicious idea that these schools are somehow only for middle class families. They may have a higher demand from middle class families than other schools, so their pool of lottery applicants is more heavily tilted in that direction. But that doesn't mean they don't have major appeal for lower income families also.

Not true. LAMB is well below 30%. Yu Ying is below 20%.

You are right, I wrote that without checking them all, it was an assumption. Here are the free and reduced meals percentages (2012-13 school year):

DC Bilingual- 85.5% 339 students
Stokes- 68.7% 335 students
Mundo Verde- 33.3% 237 students
LAMB- 29.7% 273 students
Yu Ying- 16.6% 439 students

Those are from the PCSB Performance Reports from last fall, which captures data from the 2012-13 school year. New reports will be out this fall for 2013-14. Combining them all, the overall free and reduced meal percentage is:

46.77%

These charters may have a lower FARM rate than DC as a whole, but they seem to me to be among the only schools in the city which are truly able to mix lower income and high income families. The vast majority of other schools in the city are vast majority poor, with a small slug up in Ward 3 that are vast majority middle and high income. I don't understand why people think it's a bad thing to have schools which are achieving this kind of mix.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

It's a little frustrating that in order to attend DCI you must already win the charter lotteries for the feeder schools; it basically locks students out if they don't win early on. Talk about the cycle of poverty....

You mean like Stokes, which is 69% free and reduced meal students? Or DC Bilingual, which is 85%?

The other schools have a higher percentage of middle and higher income families, yes, but none of them are below 30% FARM. There is this pernicious idea that these schools are somehow only for middle class families. They may have a higher demand from middle class families than other schools, so their pool of lottery applicants is more heavily tilted in that direction. But that doesn't mean they don't have major appeal for lower income families also.

Not true. LAMB is well below 30%. Yu Ying is below 20%.

You are right, I wrote that without checking them all, it was an assumption. Here are the free and reduced meals percentages (2012-13 school year):

DC Bilingual- 85.5% 339 students
Stokes- 68.7% 335 students
Mundo Verde- 33.3% 237 students
LAMB- 29.7% 273 students
Yu Ying- 16.6% 439 students

Those are from the PCSB Performance Reports from last fall, which captures data from the 2012-13 school year. New reports will be out this fall for 2013-14. Combining them all, the overall free and reduced meal percentage is:

46.77%

These charters may have a lower FARM rate than DC as a whole, but they seem to me to be among the only schools in the city which are truly able to mix lower income and high income families. The vast majority of other schools in the city are vast majority poor, with a small slug up in Ward 3 that are vast majority middle and high income. I don't understand why people think it's a bad thing to have schools which are achieving this kind of mix.

As a parent at one of those schools I totally agree. We feel so lucky to have such race, class and ethnic diversity in one school. My middle and high schools were diverse in a similar way and even with going on to top 15 college and law school, high school remains my richest education because of the diversity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

It's a little frustrating that in order to attend DCI you must already win the charter lotteries for the feeder schools; it basically locks students out if they don't win early on. Talk about the cycle of poverty....

You mean like Stokes, which is 69% free and reduced meal students? Or DC Bilingual, which is 85%?

The other schools have a higher percentage of middle and higher income families, yes, but none of them are below 30% FARM. There is this pernicious idea that these schools are somehow only for middle class families. They may have a higher demand from middle class families than other schools, so their pool of lottery applicants is more heavily tilted in that direction. But that doesn't mean they don't have major appeal for lower income families also.

Not true. LAMB is well below 30%. Yu Ying is below 20%.

You are right, I wrote that without checking them all, it was an assumption. Here are the free and reduced meals percentages (2012-13 school year):

DC Bilingual- 85.5% 339 students
Stokes- 68.7% 335 students
Mundo Verde- 33.3% 237 students
LAMB- 29.7% 273 students
Yu Ying- 16.6% 439 students

Those are from the PCSB Performance Reports from last fall, which captures data from the 2012-13 school year. New reports will be out this fall for 2013-14. Combining them all, the overall free and reduced meal percentage is:

46.77%

These charters may have a lower FARM rate than DC as a whole, but they seem to me to be among the only schools in the city which are truly able to mix lower income and high income families. The vast majority of other schools in the city are vast majority poor, with a small slug up in Ward 3 that are vast majority middle and high income. I don't understand why people think it's a bad thing to have schools which are achieving this kind of mix.

Who thinks this is bad?! BTW, it's not just DCI schools. Look at: Cap City, CM, Haynes, IT, & Two Rivers.