do you know a lot of people who are leaving DCPS next year?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Meh I’m in Ward 4, DC middle class, and everyone I know is pondering other options outside of public school in DC. Either moving to the suburbs or figuring out whether they can swing private for the short term.

Which burbs and is it really pandemic related or are they approaching middle school? The burb schools are a mess. Even in fluent areas like Whitman people are constantly complaining, and with county schools you wind up with similar challenges to DC.

No, all young ES kids. It’s a question of trying to but IB for the Wilson feeder schools or the near exurbs or suburbs. DC (and charters) not having any firm plans means people are pushing up their moves out of DC (that they would have done later). For those considering privates, that is largely Catholic, and it seems like a short term solution. Charters seem to be willing to allow you to enroll in a private school but keep your charter spot....so....

[Anonymous]

Buy not but.

[Anonymous]

Might home-school if DCPS doesn't open up (DC needs socializing). What takes them 6 hours to teach, can be done in 10 minutes. DC deserves a medal for listening to this crap over and over again. Math is the worse.

[Anonymous]

We have been in upper NW for 17 years in a JKLM/Deal/Wilson pyramid. Our kids are in middle and high school (Deal and Walls). When we moved here (pregnant with our first) we expected to stay through ES and then move to the burbs because we could not imagine sending our kids to DCPS past ES. The world changed a lot in there and a lot of people with higher HHI moved into the always nice but not crazy overpriced neighborhood. The younger families in the now crazy overpriced neighborhood are likely more able to afford private. We will be able to afford private college for our kids but not if we send them to private now.

We are sticking it out with DCPS for now, I am expecting back to relative normal in the fall. If that doesn't happen we will reevaluate but we really like our home and neighborhood frankly.

Our kids are doing fine with DL right now. We had some low points but I am optimistic we are through them. I am not even sure in person learning for the 4th advisory would be worth it, I just want to get to the end of this school year in one piece.

I know a number of families that went private over the years, but that was their plan it was not about covid. I do not know any new ones but I probably have a fairly small bubble of other parents I talk to at this point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FWIW, I think it *might* be a reaction to all the white people who love to say: "Nobody's FROM DC!" completely ignoring that there have been families here for generations, just not a lot of white ones. That is a testament though of how segregated the city really is.

Agree that the divides are especially stark bc white people here are uniformly UMC.

I live on the Hill and there are a number of families threatening to leave, but will be interesting to see what happens. This is meant as a punishment to the rest of us somehow.

I was born here and I'm white. The child of transplants. And I know a lot of people who were born in the area and have stayed. Not many who live in the middle of the city, but they still live in the region. If you are white and from here, you mostly hang out with other people who are from here. My wife's family has lived in the area for a few generations.

The idea that only white people count, is racist. And so is the idea that only black people count. If I'm a public sector employee like DCPS employees are, then I serve the whole populaiton.

That said, if parents want to have a real voice in this city, we need to join together and use it. Mayor Bowser is right to think that she needs to be careful of the votes connected to the WTU. The constituency connected to the WTU is the reason why Fenty lost and Bowser won.

If we parents want our kids back in school we have to show that parents are an organized consituency who will stick around to vote. Leaving right now is less strategic than being actual players and changing the city governance structure.

This is the root cause of why DC schools still aren't fully open. This gets back to prior comments regarding the voting habits of the poor. They'll vote out who WTU tells them to vote out. And this is why my child hasn't been in a school building for a year.

Your child has not been in school for a year because there is a pandemic going on. The WTU is not some cabal working to keep kids out of the classroom.

Are you insane? WTU is the *only* reason schools have been closed so long. Bowser said last summer she wanted to schools to open in August -- when coronavirus rates were extremely low -- but teachers were refusing to show up for work. Remember when WTU sent body bags to government officials labeled "your favorite teacher"?

DCPS closed school buildings in march because of a pandemic NOT WTU. So one year is not on WTU at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FWIW, I think it *might* be a reaction to all the white people who love to say: "Nobody's FROM DC!" completely ignoring that there have been families here for generations, just not a lot of white ones. That is a testament though of how segregated the city really is.

Agree that the divides are especially stark bc white people here are uniformly UMC.

I live on the Hill and there are a number of families threatening to leave, but will be interesting to see what happens. This is meant as a punishment to the rest of us somehow.

I was born here and I'm white. The child of transplants. And I know a lot of people who were born in the area and have stayed. Not many who live in the middle of the city, but they still live in the region. If you are white and from here, you mostly hang out with other people who are from here. My wife's family has lived in the area for a few generations.

The idea that only white people count, is racist. And so is the idea that only black people count. If I'm a public sector employee like DCPS employees are, then I serve the whole populaiton.

That said, if parents want to have a real voice in this city, we need to join together and use it. Mayor Bowser is right to think that she needs to be careful of the votes connected to the WTU. The constituency connected to the WTU is the reason why Fenty lost and Bowser won.

If we parents want our kids back in school we have to show that parents are an organized consituency who will stick around to vote. Leaving right now is less strategic than being actual players and changing the city governance structure.

This is the root cause of why DC schools still aren't fully open. This gets back to prior comments regarding the voting habits of the poor. They'll vote out who WTU tells them to vote out. And this is why my child hasn't been in a school building for a year.

This is not true. At least in my Ward 4 neighborhood, there were plenty of White progressive folks rallying around her, and she's plenty friendly with WTU. It's just a very simplistic view IMO.

Sorry, I meant to say, who voted for Janeese.

I agree, we live in Ward 4 and the typical DCUM folks do not understand or represent our views. I think there are a good number of folks like us around the southern half of Ward 4 and in Ward 1. Elsewhere too, I expect, we just happen to only live in one neighborhood at a time.

Just to try to explain who we are from a slightly objective perspective, we're white, liberal, kind of moralistic, and want to break down segregation rather than gentrify anything. We like fancy little Instagram-friendly stores but we don't call the cops on our neighbors for smoking weed. Many, probably most of us are from somewhere else but I think most like us are here and don't intend to leave until retirement or longer. Degrees, but bleeding heart jobs, no BIGLAW here. Not moving to the exurbs for COVID. Maybe pods for the kids, but not private schools to get your kids off of screens.

Charters are OK, but we'd rather have a DCPS with a mix of families but not do anything to push anyone out. We think equity in schooling, so things like "cater to high-achievers!" are balanced with "make DCPS or PCS work well for everyone in our schools." We want the WTU to succeed; we also want schools to open. Not going to a rally to demand it NOW or whatever though. I, at least, want it to be said that no teacher at my kids' school got COVID because we demanded reopening when distance learning was an option.

I think we are the people that DCUM folks want to deride as "woke but dumb" people who are going to wake up when our kids are in high school and smoking crack and skipping school because they aren't at Wilson or that some 12 year old in MS-13 is going to murder my kid at MacFarland, whatever . . . just, basically, not buying into that narrative of living in DC.

We don't all experience it the same way, even if superficially we might all fill out the survey as white, well-educated, well-paid dual income families with two kids and a single family home.

I hope DC can work for you. But these posts like "are you moving away due to classes not starting again?" just don't come closing to describing the reality me and my neighbors live. Hope we find common ground where we can though!

Agree. Hi neighbor!

Waves at my two neighbors.

[Anonymous]

There is a lot of blame to go around. Some for the mayor. Some for the chancellor. Some for the WTU. They all failed - and continue to fail - all the students. But they let down the at-risk kids the most. Shame.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is a lot of blame to go around. Some for the mayor. Some for the chancellor. Some for the WTU. They all failed - and continue to fail - all the students. But they let down the at-risk kids the most. Shame.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:yeah, I'm not going to miss the "I could do my job from Jackson Hole" people. I'd love it if the white people in DC were a little more civic minded and not always on alert for perceived privileges being taken away. Gives other white people a bad name. I don't want to be treated like some "Karen" but if all white people get mentioned for is REOPEN NOW GODDAMIT and DEAL ACCESS 4EVA then it's hard to explain myself.

Perceived privilege? You mean allowing children to go to school? That's long been considered a basic human right.

The most entitled people in Washington DC are public school teachers who seem to think they have an inalienable right to work as little as they like, for as long as they like, regardless of how many children they hurt and even if doctors agree schools should have reopened a long time ago.

Please stop assuming that all dcps teachers agreed with the union’s position. Many of us have NOT and returned to in person as soon as we could. We MUST be fully open for business next fall. We MUST work like hell to get students and families who are vaccine resistant to understand the importance of vaccination and feel trust. For those students who have a valid medical reason for not getting vaccinated (or the family members of younger, per-vaccine-eligible students) we must create a functional and centralized online academy. And we MUST seek out and support those students who have just dropped out of sight and off the radar. We may never get those missing high school kids back. Younger vanished students will be far behind and will need intensive supports. The longer we screw this up (and I’m looking at you WTU) the worse off every child will be.

[Anonymous]

Real Estate forum: I've put 15 over-ask offers on houses with none accepted.

Private School forum: The acceptance rate is at an all-time low.

This forum: I PERSONALLY KNOW 67 FAMILIES THAT ARE TAKING THEIR KIDS OUT OF DCPS.

No, you don't. You'll be there in September with the rest of us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Real Estate forum: I've put 15 over-ask offers on houses with none accepted.

Private School forum: The acceptance rate is at an all-time low.

This forum: I PERSONALLY KNOW 67 FAMILIES THAT ARE TAKING THEIR KIDS OUT OF DCPS.

No, you don't. You'll be there in September with the rest of us.

...an acceptance rate declining means that there are MORE applications. It means the privates will be full-up. I don't know if they were already, but this certainly supports the notion that more kids will be attempting to go private.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Real Estate forum: I've put 15 over-ask offers on houses with none accepted.

Private School forum: The acceptance rate is at an all-time low.

This forum: I PERSONALLY KNOW 67 FAMILIES THAT ARE TAKING THEIR KIDS OUT OF DCPS.

No, you don't. You'll be there in September with the rest of us.

No i do know a large number of kids (12+) who are going to private or Catholic schools next year. Acceptances in hand. I also know two others who are leaving DC (found out about them yesterday).

None of these families are selling their homes. They are either living in them (the ones attending private/independent) or renting them out (the two families who are moving).

[Anonymous]

DL has had it problems. But it has taught my kids that they must adapt and because of that it’s been a valuable lesson. Life isn’t going to go your way all the time. This is where resiliency is made.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Meh I’m in Ward 4, DC middle class, and everyone I know is pondering other options outside of public school in DC. Either moving to the suburbs or figuring out whether they can swing private for the short term.

Which burbs and is it really pandemic related or are they approaching middle school? The burb schools are a mess. Even in fluent areas like Whitman people are constantly complaining, and with county schools you wind up with similar challenges to DC.

No, all young ES kids. It’s a question of trying to but IB for the Wilson feeder schools or the near exurbs or suburbs. DC (and charters) not having any firm plans means people are pushing up their moves out of DC (that they would have done later). For those considering privates, that is largely Catholic, and it seems like a short term solution. Charters seem to be willing to allow you to enroll in a private school but keep your charter spot....so....

What? Absolutely no need to tell any charter, or DCPS, that you're enrolling in private school of course. You can tell admins before the start of the school year if you want, but no obligation.

You don't even need to tell them until a week or two into the school year (don't show, any longer than that, and they'll give your spot away).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Meh I’m in Ward 4, DC middle class, and everyone I know is pondering other options outside of public school in DC. Either moving to the suburbs or figuring out whether they can swing private for the short term.

Which burbs and is it really pandemic related or are they approaching middle school? The burb schools are a mess. Even in fluent areas like Whitman people are constantly complaining, and with county schools you wind up with similar challenges to DC.

No, all young ES kids. It’s a question of trying to but IB for the Wilson feeder schools or the near exurbs or suburbs. DC (and charters) not having any firm plans means people are pushing up their moves out of DC (that they would have done later). For those considering privates, that is largely Catholic, and it seems like a short term solution. Charters seem to be willing to allow you to enroll in a private school but keep your charter spot....so....

What? Absolutely no need to tell any charter, or DCPS, that you're enrolling in private school of course. You can tell admins before the start of the school year if you want, but no obligation.

You don't even need to tell them until a week or two into the school year (don't show, any longer than that, and they'll give your spot away).

Why would you do that to another child waiting for a spot at that school? If you know you aren’t enrolling, why wouldn’t you just tell the school?