Shepherd ES to New North Middle School?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Which one is it? There are no students at Shepherd Elementary School so doing anything with them would be irrelevant? Or that there are so many active voters with a Shepherd connection they dominate electoral politics?

Really, both. Shepherd Elementary is a small school with only two 5th grade classes, so it doesn't send many kids to Deal. Also true is that Shepherd Park/Colonial Village has a lot of families with older kids, and a ton of retirees that are very actively involved in local issues. Many of my neighbors are in their 60s through 90s, but vocal on the listserv, attend the ANC meetings, etc.

This. Our neighbors are so active that we need a new word for it

Agree! It is unlike any other neighborhood in DC that I have lived in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live in SP. I think Stacey mentioned the redistricting because folks heard about the Ward 3 Parents group are working to kick people out. I think it if Lafayette was included in the redistricting since they are a Ward 4 school; it would be an easier pill to swallow. We have friends at Lafayette that continuously (and mistakenly) mention we are OOB in SP for Deal. I think WotP citizens seem to forget that SP has been going to Deal since Paul MS closed and the surrounding ES were converted to EC.

But yes, it is going to get ugly. Ward 3 and Lafayette parents will not be happy until Shepherd and Bancroft are out. It is a West vs East of the Park battle. I just can't see kids who read at a college level going to Coolidge where 73% can't read at grade level.

Agree 100%, we all know it is about not wanting black kids in their school!

Stop being racially divisive. That is total bullshit.

The are parents at Lafayette who have said this to me. The equate black with behavioral problems and low test scores. You may not think that but they do. If you have spent anytime on the AU Park listserv, you are aware how white people view black teenagers walking through the neighborhood.

I have to say this is very true. I've heard many snide comments at my kid's little league games.

Wow. I'm surprised people would speak openly in public settings when EOTP families could be present. What sorts of comments have you heard?

You must not be familiar with Capitol City Little League. It is 98% white. The handful of black families I’ve met are at WOTP schools or private. Very seldom will there be any EOTP AA families. I know of maybe 2 (out of 50+ teammates my kid has had).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It would be great if the city would stop changing school boundaries when there are other options. People buy homes at high prices to be IB for Deal and Wilson, and real estate is long term. We spent a lot of money (to us) to buy in boundary for Shepherd, Deal, and Wilson after the recent boundary change a few years ago. We specifically bought for Deal and Wilson. Yes, I understand that boundaries can change, but it's not reasonable to have an area IB for the good schools only for short periods. It's not stable.

I'd rather see feeder rights end for OOB students at schools that feed to Deal and Wilson, or at least changed to a preference in the lottery as opposed to a guarantee. These parents didn't ~$1M for the rights to these schools.

Shepherd is starting to get more in boundary kids, which is great for the school and the neighborhood community. Having a path for stronger schools all the way through 12th grade is part of that. Remove Shepherd from the Deal and Wilson feeder, and the desirability of Shepherd would decrease. People need a feeder pattern. That's why so many kids in all over the rest of the city go to charters schools - it's so they have a path after elementary.

It's also distressing to hear that some Ward 3 parents are plotting to kick us out. I just received a notification from Deal for the gala and asking us to attend and/or donate. Now I feel like I don't want to give anything to benefit these families who don't want my kids there. My oldest is likely going there anyway, but we have younger kids who might not make a potential future cut off.

I do believe there are racial factors at play here with the Ward 3 parents. There's such an obvious and more fair solution to end feeder rights for OOB students attending feeder schools. Why are they fixating on the 2 IB schools that just happen to have a high percentage of brown kids?

I also spent good money on a home IB for Wilson in 2012 and it got redistricted out. It sucked, but it's not a reason to leave boundaries alone forever. If Lafayette and Shepherd fed New North, New North would have pretty high PARCC scores. Ending OOB is a good idea as well, but it does make sense for Bancroft and Oyster to have the same feeder pattern as every other DCPS immersion school, and it does make sense for students at Shepherd to feed into a middle school that's 2 miles away instead of 4.

I live 3.0 miles from Wilson, 3.1 to Coolidge. Drive time is twice as far to Coolidge as most of drive to Deal is through park with no traffic/lights. Many parts of Hardy feeders are 3.0 or more miles to Wilson. Maybe we should rezone them to Cardozo since it’s also 3.0 miles. Those feeders will have an even larger impact and would give Cardozo better PARCC scores immediately. See how that works?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It would be great if the city would stop changing school boundaries when there are other options. People buy homes at high prices to be IB for Deal and Wilson, and real estate is long term. We spent a lot of money (to us) to buy in boundary for Shepherd, Deal, and Wilson after the recent boundary change a few years ago. We specifically bought for Deal and Wilson. Yes, I understand that boundaries can change, but it's not reasonable to have an area IB for the good schools only for short periods. It's not stable.

I'd rather see feeder rights end for OOB students at schools that feed to Deal and Wilson, or at least changed to a preference in the lottery as opposed to a guarantee. These parents didn't ~$1M for the rights to these schools.

Shepherd is starting to get more in boundary kids, which is great for the school and the neighborhood community. Having a path for stronger schools all the way through 12th grade is part of that. Remove Shepherd from the Deal and Wilson feeder, and the desirability of Shepherd would decrease. People need a feeder pattern. That's why so many kids in all over the rest of the city go to charters schools - it's so they have a path after elementary.

It's also distressing to hear that some Ward 3 parents are plotting to kick us out. I just received a notification from Deal for the gala and asking us to attend and/or donate. Now I feel like I don't want to give anything to benefit these families who don't want my kids there. My oldest is likely going there anyway, but we have younger kids who might not make a potential future cut off.

I do believe there are racial factors at play here with the Ward 3 parents. There's such an obvious and more fair solution to end feeder rights for OOB students attending feeder schools. Why are they fixating on the 2 IB schools that just happen to have a high percentage of brown kids?

I also spent good money on a home IB for Wilson in 2012 and it got redistricted out. It sucked, but it's not a reason to leave boundaries alone forever. If Lafayette and Shepherd fed New North, New North would have pretty high PARCC scores. Ending OOB is a good idea as well, but it does make sense for Bancroft and Oyster to have the same feeder pattern as every other DCPS immersion school, and it does make sense for students at Shepherd to feed into a middle school that's 2 miles away instead of 4.

Same but OOB at a Deal feeder. But then again, YOU don't want my kid at Deal any more than WOTP families want your kid there.

To the 2nd PP: It's not a reason to leave boundaries alone forever, but there's an option to resolve the situation that doesn't require changing the boundaries. The needs of families who buy IB should be more heavily weighted than OOB. Don't pretend that New North would hit the ground running. It takes years for schools to work out the kinks and become good schools, if that ever even happens. Deal and Wilson can handle the IB kids with boundaries as-is. Done. I don't see any reason to pursue kicking out Shepherd and Bancroft other than racism.

To the 3rd PP: I don't care if your kid goes to Deal if there's room. You didn't buy IB for these schools, so you shouldn't get preference over those who did.

None of this addresses the real issue which is the racism of Ward 3 parents trying to kick out schools with majority brown kids: Shepherd and Bancroft.

DCPS had this choice in the last boundary reassignment and I had a one-on-one conversation with then DME Abigail Smith about it after one of the public forums. She flat-out said that they did not want to end OOB feeder rights because that affected kids all over the district who wouldn't be able to continue to destination middle and high schools with their kids, and they preferred solutions that changed boundaries and feeder patters. I'd like to think Bowser could feel differently than Gray about this, but I don't know. If I were a politician, I might be happy to have a single neighborhood mad at me versus a bunch of motivated (because they got their kids in OOB and trek them across the District each day) parents all over the city.

This is fine when/where there is room. This can easily be solved for by creating a feeder preference in the lottery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Straying off topic, but both Cap City LL and NW LL are predominantly white. This is not a surprise, because which LL you play in is determined by where you live, or where your school is. So Cap City and NW reflect their boundaries, much like the upper Ward 3 school.

The Satchell Page and Banneker LL teams are mostly minority children.

[Anonymous]

Off topic, but Little league may not be a good example of racial diversity, given nationwide changing demographics in youth participation in baseball:
https://usatodayhss.com/2015/youth-to-majors-fewer-african-americans-are-playing-baseball

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Off topic, but Little league may not be a good example of racial diversity, given nationwide changing demographics in youth participation in baseball:
https://usatodayhss.com/2015/youth-to-majors-fewer-african-americans-are-playing-baseball

I agree. Was simply showing CCLL as to why it’s believable to hear such comments.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It would be great if the city would stop changing school boundaries when there are other options. People buy homes at high prices to be IB for Deal and Wilson, and real estate is long term. We spent a lot of money (to us) to buy in boundary for Shepherd, Deal, and Wilson after the recent boundary change a few years ago. We specifically bought for Deal and Wilson. Yes, I understand that boundaries can change, but it's not reasonable to have an area IB for the good schools only for short periods. It's not stable.

I'd rather see feeder rights end for OOB students at schools that feed to Deal and Wilson, or at least changed to a preference in the lottery as opposed to a guarantee. These parents didn't ~$1M for the rights to these schools.

Shepherd is starting to get more in boundary kids, which is great for the school and the neighborhood community. Having a path for stronger schools all the way through 12th grade is part of that. Remove Shepherd from the Deal and Wilson feeder, and the desirability of Shepherd would decrease. People need a feeder pattern. That's why so many kids in all over the rest of the city go to charters schools - it's so they have a path after elementary.

It's also distressing to hear that some Ward 3 parents are plotting to kick us out. I just received a notification from Deal for the gala and asking us to attend and/or donate. Now I feel like I don't want to give anything to benefit these families who don't want my kids there. My oldest is likely going there anyway, but we have younger kids who might not make a potential future cut off.

I do believe there are racial factors at play here with the Ward 3 parents. There's such an obvious and more fair solution to end feeder rights for OOB students attending feeder schools. Why are they fixating on the 2 IB schools that just happen to have a high percentage of brown kids?

I also spent good money on a home IB for Wilson in 2012 and it got redistricted out. It sucked, but it's not a reason to leave boundaries alone forever. If Lafayette and Shepherd fed New North, New North would have pretty high PARCC scores. Ending OOB is a good idea as well, but it does make sense for Bancroft and Oyster to have the same feeder pattern as every other DCPS immersion school, and it does make sense for students at Shepherd to feed into a middle school that's 2 miles away instead of 4.

Same but OOB at a Deal feeder. But then again, YOU don't want my kid at Deal any more than WOTP families want your kid there.

To the 2nd PP: It's not a reason to leave boundaries alone forever, but there's an option to resolve the situation that doesn't require changing the boundaries. The needs of families who buy IB should be more heavily weighted than OOB. Don't pretend that New North would hit the ground running. It takes years for schools to work out the kinks and become good schools, if that ever even happens. Deal and Wilson can handle the IB kids with boundaries as-is. Done. I don't see any reason to pursue kicking out Shepherd and Bancroft other than racism.

To the 3rd PP: I don't care if your kid goes to Deal if there's room. You didn't buy IB for these schools, so you shouldn't get preference over those who did.

None of this addresses the real issue which is the racism of Ward 3 parents trying to kick out schools with majority brown kids: Shepherd and Bancroft.

DCPS had this choice in the last boundary reassignment and I had a one-on-one conversation with then DME Abigail Smith about it after one of the public forums. She flat-out said that they did not want to end OOB feeder rights because that affected kids all over the district who wouldn't be able to continue to destination middle and high schools with their kids, and they preferred solutions that changed boundaries and feeder patters. I'd like to think Bowser could feel differently than Gray about this, but I don't know. If I were a politician, I might be happy to have a single neighborhood mad at me versus a bunch of motivated (because they got their kids in OOB and trek them across the District each day) parents all over the city.

This is fine when/where there is room. This can easily be solved for by creating a feeder preference in the lottery.

Agreed. Such an easy solution.

Thanks to the ppp for explaining what Abigail Smith said. It's helpful to understand the back story.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Straying off topic, but both Cap City LL and NW LL are predominantly white. This is not a surprise, because which LL you play in is determined by where you live, or where your school is. So Cap City and NW reflect their boundaries, much like the upper Ward 3 school.

The Satchell Page and Banneker LL teams are mostly minority children.

CCLL boundaries include Shepherd Park and Mt Pleasant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It would be great if the city would stop changing school boundaries when there are other options. People buy homes at high prices to be IB for Deal and Wilson, and real estate is long term. We spent a lot of money (to us) to buy in boundary for Shepherd, Deal, and Wilson after the recent boundary change a few years ago. We specifically bought for Deal and Wilson. Yes, I understand that boundaries can change, but it's not reasonable to have an area IB for the good schools only for short periods. It's not stable.

I'd rather see feeder rights end for OOB students at schools that feed to Deal and Wilson, or at least changed to a preference in the lottery as opposed to a guarantee. These parents didn't ~$1M for the rights to these schools.

Shepherd is starting to get more in boundary kids, which is great for the school and the neighborhood community. Having a path for stronger schools all the way through 12th grade is part of that. Remove Shepherd from the Deal and Wilson feeder, and the desirability of Shepherd would decrease. People need a feeder pattern. That's why so many kids in all over the rest of the city go to charters schools - it's so they have a path after elementary.

It's also distressing to hear that some Ward 3 parents are plotting to kick us out. I just received a notification from Deal for the gala and asking us to attend and/or donate. Now I feel like I don't want to give anything to benefit these families who don't want my kids there. My oldest is likely going there anyway, but we have younger kids who might not make a potential future cut off.

I do believe there are racial factors at play here with the Ward 3 parents. There's such an obvious and more fair solution to end feeder rights for OOB students attending feeder schools. Why are they fixating on the 2 IB schools that just happen to have a high percentage of brown kids?

I also spent good money on a home IB for Wilson in 2012 and it got redistricted out. It sucked, but it's not a reason to leave boundaries alone forever. If Lafayette and Shepherd fed New North, New North would have pretty high PARCC scores. Ending OOB is a good idea as well, but it does make sense for Bancroft and Oyster to have the same feeder pattern as every other DCPS immersion school, and it does make sense for students at Shepherd to feed into a middle school that's 2 miles away instead of 4.

Same but OOB at a Deal feeder. But then again, YOU don't want my kid at Deal any more than WOTP families want your kid there.

To the 2nd PP: It's not a reason to leave boundaries alone forever, but there's an option to resolve the situation that doesn't require changing the boundaries. The needs of families who buy IB should be more heavily weighted than OOB. Don't pretend that New North would hit the ground running. It takes years for schools to work out the kinks and become good schools, if that ever even happens. Deal and Wilson can handle the IB kids with boundaries as-is. Done. I don't see any reason to pursue kicking out Shepherd and Bancroft other than racism.

To the 3rd PP: I don't care if your kid goes to Deal if there's room. You didn't buy IB for these schools, so you shouldn't get preference over those who did.

None of this addresses the real issue which is the racism of Ward 3 parents trying to kick out schools with majority brown kids: Shepherd and Bancroft.

DCPS had this choice in the last boundary reassignment and I had a one-on-one conversation with then DME Abigail Smith about it after one of the public forums. She flat-out said that they did not want to end OOB feeder rights because that affected kids all over the district who wouldn't be able to continue to destination middle and high schools with their kids, and they preferred solutions that changed boundaries and feeder patters. I'd like to think Bowser could feel differently than Gray about this, but I don't know. If I were a politician, I might be happy to have a single neighborhood mad at me versus a bunch of motivated (because they got their kids in OOB and trek them across the District each day) parents all over the city.

This is fine when/where there is room. This can easily be solved for by creating a feeder preference in the lottery.

You're not understanding what Smith said. They want to prioritize OOB over IB. Even if they didn't there is a practical problem with implementing a feeder preference: DCPS doesn't calculate the capacity of their schools, and has no methodology for doing so and no desire to create one. This came out in the Wilson Feeder Crowding Task Force and in the DME's Master Facilities Plan. DCPS just makes up capacity numbers, and when they need more space they just make them bigger. Did you know that Deal, with 12 trailers, is actually under capacity? It says so right there in the report. It's at 94%. So if OOB spaces were assigned based on capacity they should have about 6% more students, or about 90 more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Which one is it? There are no students at Shepherd Elementary School so doing anything with them would be irrelevant? Or that there are so many active voters with a Shepherd connection they dominate electoral politics?

Really, both. Shepherd Elementary is a small school with only two 5th grade classes, so it doesn't send many kids to Deal. Also true is that Shepherd Park/Colonial Village has a lot of families with older kids, and a ton of retirees that are very actively involved in local issues. Many of my neighbors are in their 60s through 90s, but vocal on the listserv, attend the ANC meetings, etc.

This. Our neighbors are so active that we need a new word for it

Agree! It is unlike any other neighborhood in DC that I have lived in.

Love our neighborhood!!!

[Anonymous]

Lafayette should go to New North, too. Maybe stick in Hyde, too, so only Ward 3 schools would go to Wilson. Murch is so close to the Park that it could go to New North.

When does Redistricting take place? Move Wilson to Ward 4.

Continue to improve other traditional schools in the District so Ward 3 students will move out of their comfort zone.

Do a study to see how many Ward 3 residents go to other schools in Ward 3 outside of their own school zone. Maybe Murch and Janney should be the only schools in boundary for Deal and Wilson.

Keep Shepherd in the Wilson feeder.

[Anonymous]

Creating a test-in MS/HS magnet somewhere in upper NW would be an interesting solution to alleviate Deal/Wilson crowding. Banneker that actually draws Ward 3 students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Creating a test-in MS/HS magnet somewhere in upper NW would be an interesting solution to alleviate Deal/Wilson crowding. Banneker that actually draws Ward 3 students.

Any test-in magnet needs to be centrally located, and convenient to public transit. Putting it in upper NW would be an affront to the rest of the city.

Such a school would and should offer the promise of providing a high-quality option to children who lack them due to zip code, as well as be a release valve for Deal and Wilson. Your idea posits that the only students who would be able to test in live in upper Northwest, or that children from other parts of the city should have a lengthy commute.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Creating a test-in MS/HS magnet somewhere in upper NW would be an interesting solution to alleviate Deal/Wilson crowding. Banneker that actually draws Ward 3 students.

Any test-in magnet needs to be centrally located, and convenient to public transit. Putting it in upper NW would be an affront to the rest of the city.

Such a school would and should offer the promise of providing a high-quality option to children who lack them due to zip code, as well as be a release valve for Deal and Wilson. Your idea posits that the only students who would be able to test in live in upper Northwest, or that children from other parts of the city should have a lengthy commute.

Ward 3 kids can go to Banneker too. Don't be frightened by Georgia Ave.