Maury Capitol Hill

[Anonymous]

Ugh. After reading this thread, this Maury family will be lotterying our kids into Brent just so we can escape this mess.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCPS's plan to close the achievement gap since 2011 has without a doubt been to drag down the top students.

This is clearly more of the same.

+1

It is downright embarrassing for DCPS officials to have any schools that aren't completely failing, because it proves that schools could actually be better were it not for the utter incompetence of DCPS. So better to stomp any outperforming school back into the ground.

Meanwhile they located the new NW high school in a place totally inaccessible to the rest of the city, almost ensuring minimal OOB students … DC is just make up of weird fifedoms. I’m halfway convinced this stupid cluster concept only exists because Joe Weedon personally has some kind of grudge against Maury.

Weedon sent both his kids to Maury, and he was the chair of the Maury PTS middle school committee and the Maury rep on the DCPS E-H collaboration team. One of his kids went to Eastern and the other to Walls.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Trying to catch up on this issue - can someone summarize the current state of play?

Sure.

• DCPS wants to merge Maury Elementary School with Miner Elementary School.

• The schools are only a half mile apart but Maury is 21% black and Miner is 80% black.

• In terms of test scores, Maury has some of the best in the city and Miner has some of the worst.

• DCPS is concerned that, given the schools’ close proximity, the racial imbalance between the two schools suggests de facto segregation.

• Maury parents are concerned about how any merger might work and are concerned that DCPS hasn’t really thought the proposal out. They are also concerned about an inflow of low-performing students into Maury, especially given Maury’s significant academic improvement over the last decade or so. For instance, in the past eight years, Maury increased PARCC ELA proficiency from 44% to 74% and math proficiency from 44% to 65%. During this same timer period, Miner’s ELA proficiency rate decreased from 10% to 8% and math proficiency decreased from 21% to 9%. Maury parents are also worried about distance/commute/crime issues.

• Miner parents are in favor of the proposal because it will potentially improve education at Miner since whatever has been happening there for the last decade hasn’t worked.

Nice summary. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

I think if this merger goes through this may impact property values in the current Maury enclave but overall values on the NE corner of the hill (particularly towards the Starburst) may rise, so it might be beneficial to the hill community writ large.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think if this merger goes through this may impact property values in the current Maury enclave but overall values on the NE corner of the hill (particularly towards the Starburst) may rise, so it might be beneficial to the hill community writ large.

I don't know. You're still near the starburst.

Also really depends on what happens with the schools, which seems at least as likely to be a disaster as not. The Maury name doesn't go far if you're not getting what we think of as "Maury" today.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCPS's plan to close the achievement gap since 2011 has without a doubt been to drag down the top students.

This is clearly more of the same.

+1

It is downright embarrassing for DCPS officials to have any schools that aren't completely failing, because it proves that schools could actually be better were it not for the utter incompetence of DCPS. So better to stomp any outperforming school back into the ground.

Meanwhile they located the new NW high school in a place totally inaccessible to the rest of the city, almost ensuring minimal OOB students … DC is just make up of weird fifedoms. I’m halfway convinced this stupid cluster concept only exists because Joe Weedon personally has some kind of grudge against Maury.

Weedon sent both his kids to Maury, and he was the chair of the Maury PTS middle school committee and the Maury rep on the DCPS E-H collaboration team. One of his kids went to Eastern and the other to Walls.

None of which precludes him from having a weird grudge against Maury or fixation with “reforming” it … someone earlier posted a letter from him in 2015 trying to undermine Maury’s renovation and proposing a cluster then. I think it’s not an unreasonable take that he would be a driving force now. FOIA could turn something up maybe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think if this merger goes through this may impact property values in the current Maury enclave but overall values on the NE corner of the hill (particularly towards the Starburst) may rise, so it might be beneficial to the hill community writ large.

I don't know. You're still near the starburst.

Also really depends on what happens with the schools, which seems at least as likely to be a disaster as not. The Maury name doesn't go far if you're not getting what we think of as "Maury" today.

+1. People seem to assume this new cluster will be halfway between Miner and Maury demographically. It may be for early grades, but UMC families will peel off by the testing grades once they see what halfway between the demographics look like test score-wise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Trying to catch up on this issue - can someone summarize the current state of play?

Sure.

• DCPS wants to merge Maury Elementary School with Miner Elementary School.

• The schools are only a half mile apart but Maury is 21% black and Miner is 80% black.

• In terms of test scores, Maury has some of the best in the city and Miner has some of the worst.

• DCPS is concerned that, given the schools’ close proximity, the racial imbalance between the two schools suggests de facto segregation.

• Maury parents are concerned about how any merger might work and are concerned that DCPS hasn’t really thought the proposal out. They are also concerned about an inflow of low-performing students into Maury, especially given Maury’s significant academic improvement over the last decade or so. For instance, in the past eight years, Maury increased PARCC ELA proficiency from 44% to 74% and math proficiency from 44% to 65%. During this same timer period, Miner’s ELA proficiency rate decreased from 10% to 8% and math proficiency decreased from 21% to 9%. Maury parents are also worried about distance/commute/crime issues.

• Miner parents are in favor of the proposal because it will potentially improve education at Miner since whatever has been happening there for the last decade hasn’t worked.

Terrible summary. Maury parents are concerned about it because DCPS shows no indication it can properly support the higher needs students and has no commitment to grade-level instruction. Not because of the higher needs students. DCPS has zero plan other than “mix the schools together.”

Miner parents of the “low performing kids” have had basically zero to say here. DCPS appears to just view them as demographic data points that are embarrassing and need to be hidden in a more “diverse” school.

To be fair, I am aware of Miner IB parent efforts to gin up support after the disasterous town hall yesterday, including on MOTH. The rationale on MOTH was just nakedly that Miner's IB parents should fight for their kids' interests (i.e., access to a better school).

Isn't allowing kids an escape hatch from schools that DC can't/won't fix the whole point of the lottery system? Allowing those who want to to utilize their neighborhood schools while providing families access to more preferred options. I continue to think an at-risk set aside/preference in the lottery is a much more reasonable solution to the problems DME has identified, rather than completely overturning our neighborhood school (with absolutely no plan to boot).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think if this merger goes through this may impact property values in the current Maury enclave but overall values on the NE corner of the hill (particularly towards the Starburst) may rise, so it might be beneficial to the hill community writ large.

I don't know. You're still near the starburst.

Also really depends on what happens with the schools, which seems at least as likely to be a disaster as not. The Maury name doesn't go far if you're not getting what we think of as "Maury" today.

+1. People seem to assume this new cluster will be halfway between Miner and Maury demographically. It may be for early grades, but UMC families will peel off by the testing grades once they see what halfway between the demographics look like test score-wise.

Also, folks are ignoring that the richest part of the Maury boundary will now have proximity preference to Ludlow Taylor from PK3-1st/2nd & so will be able to leave by PK4 or K. Peabody/Watkins can tell you how the richest part of your IB having proximity preference to more stable schools goes…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think if this merger goes through this may impact property values in the current Maury enclave but overall values on the NE corner of the hill (particularly towards the Starburst) may rise, so it might be beneficial to the hill community writ large.

I don't know. You're still near the starburst.

Also really depends on what happens with the schools, which seems at least as likely to be a disaster as not. The Maury name doesn't go far if you're not getting what we think of as "Maury" today.

+1. People seem to assume this new cluster will be halfway between Miner and Maury demographically. It may be for early grades, but UMC families will peel off by the testing grades once they see what halfway between the demographics look like test score-wise.

Also, folks are ignoring that the richest part of the Maury boundary will now have proximity preference to Ludlow Taylor from PK3-1st/2nd & so will be able to leave by PK4 or K. Peabody/Watkins can tell you how the richest part of your IB having proximity preference to more stable schools goes…

LT has the added (relative) draw of an SH feed for middle. I think this proposal would lead to huge setbacks for both Maury and EH.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Trying to catch up on this issue - can someone summarize the current state of play?

Sure.

• DCPS wants to merge Maury Elementary School with Miner Elementary School.

• The schools are only a half mile apart but Maury is 21% black and Miner is 80% black.

• In terms of test scores, Maury has some of the best in the city and Miner has some of the worst.

• DCPS is concerned that, given the schools’ close proximity, the racial imbalance between the two schools suggests de facto segregation.

• Maury parents are concerned about how any merger might work and are concerned that DCPS hasn’t really thought the proposal out. They are also concerned about an inflow of low-performing students into Maury, especially given Maury’s significant academic improvement over the last decade or so. For instance, in the past eight years, Maury increased PARCC ELA proficiency from 44% to 74% and math proficiency from 44% to 65%. During this same timer period, Miner’s ELA proficiency rate decreased from 10% to 8% and math proficiency decreased from 21% to 9%. Maury parents are also worried about distance/commute/crime issues.

• Miner parents are in favor of the proposal because it will potentially improve education at Miner since whatever has been happening there for the last decade hasn’t worked.

Not sure how you can state the last bullet when a vast majority of Miner community is still in the dark about everything. A few parents who are in pta leadership or involved in listserv s, etc. are aware. This is not the majority of our community by any stretch.

It is disgusting that DCPS has had multiple meetings with Maury and 0 official communication with Miner.

[Anonymous]

And what the heck is Charles Allen doing about this? Shouldn't protecting Maury be a five-alarm fire for him!??!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think if this merger goes through this may impact property values in the current Maury enclave but overall values on the NE corner of the hill (particularly towards the Starburst) may rise, so it might be beneficial to the hill community writ large.

I don't know. You're still near the starburst.

Also really depends on what happens with the schools, which seems at least as likely to be a disaster as not. The Maury name doesn't go far if you're not getting what we think of as "Maury" today.

+1. People seem to assume this new cluster will be halfway between Miner and Maury demographically. It may be for early grades, but UMC families will peel off by the testing grades once they see what halfway between the demographics look like test score-wise.

Also, folks are ignoring that the richest part of the Maury boundary will now have proximity preference to Ludlow Taylor from PK3-1st/2nd & so will be able to leave by PK4 or K. Peabody/Watkins can tell you how the richest part of your IB having proximity preference to more stable schools goes…

These days you don't even need proximity preference. Most Hill schools have lots of OOB spots available.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maury parents: white libs who say they value diversity, equity, etc but NOT when it threatens their kid's school

This was so starkly apparent at the Maury community meeting where multiple people started their comments off by saying they support diversity/integration but . . . . .

The amount of dissonance/NIMBYism was something else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCPS's plan to close the achievement gap since 2011 has without a doubt been to drag down the top students.

This is clearly more of the same.

+1

It is downright embarrassing for DCPS officials to have any schools that aren't completely failing, because it proves that schools could actually be better were it not for the utter incompetence of DCPS. So better to stomp any outperforming school back into the ground.

Meanwhile they located the new NW high school in a place totally inaccessible to the rest of the city, almost ensuring minimal OOB students … DC is just make up of weird fifedoms. I’m halfway convinced this stupid cluster concept only exists because Joe Weedon personally has some kind of grudge against Maury.

Weedon sent both his kids to Maury, and he was the chair of the Maury PTS middle school committee and the Maury rep on the DCPS E-H collaboration team. One of his kids went to Eastern and the other to Walls.

None of which precludes him from having a weird grudge against Maury or fixation with “reforming” it … someone earlier posted a letter from him in 2015 trying to undermine Maury’s renovation and proposing a cluster then. I think it’s not an unreasonable take that he would be a driving force now. FOIA could turn something up maybe.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/local/wp/2014/10/28/meet-the-ward-6-candidates-for-d-c-state-board-of-education/