ludlow-taylor

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are not many but there are some white/high SES families in the upper grades. Maybe talk to them? Clearly they are having positive experiences or they wouldn't stay. Maybe LT really is "the best kept secret on the hill."

I talk to them, regularly. They have the patience of saints. More power to them, although they aren't exactly mainstream for Stanton Park gentrifiers. The high-SES families I know at LT past PreK are lovely people, lovely, super liberal on-the-verge-of-hippie people. Most of us are more middle of the road, socially and politically.

Do they think their children are getting a quality education? Do they like the teachers? Do their children feel safe and welcome? Are their children making friends and building positive relationships with their classmates?

CAN THIS PLEASE BE ANSWERED. BECAUSE IF THE ANSWERS ARE YES THAT SAYS A LOT AND PERHAPS A LOT OF THIS NONSENSE CAN STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Still no answer...Once this is answered we can stop this crazy back and forth.

Or are we afraid that the answer is yes and we will get called out on something?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are not many but there are some white/high SES families in the upper grades. Maybe talk to them? Clearly they are having positive experiences or they wouldn't stay. Maybe LT really is "the best kept secret on the hill."

I talk to them, regularly. They have the patience of saints. More power to them, although they aren't exactly mainstream for Stanton Park gentrifiers. The high-SES families I know at LT past PreK are lovely people, lovely, super liberal on-the-verge-of-hippie people. Most of us are more middle of the road, socially and politically.

Do they think their children are getting a quality education? Do they like the teachers? Do their children feel safe and welcome? Are their children making friends and building positive relationships with their classmates?

CAN THIS PLEASE BE ANSWERED. BECAUSE IF THE ANSWERS ARE YES THAT SAYS A LOT AND PERHAPS A LOT OF THIS NONSENSE CAN STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Still no answer...Once this is answered we can stop this crazy back and forth.

I know two families w/white parents and white/Asian kids attending ... I want to say 2nd and 3rd grades(?) at LT.

Although I am on friendly speaking terms with the parents, I do not feel comfortable quizzing them so I can publish their responses on DCUM.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are not many but there are some white/high SES families in the upper grades. Maybe talk to them? Clearly they are having positive experiences or they wouldn't stay. Maybe LT really is "the best kept secret on the hill."

I talk to them, regularly. They have the patience of saints. More power to them, although they aren't exactly mainstream for Stanton Park gentrifiers. The high-SES families I know at LT past PreK are lovely people, lovely, super liberal on-the-verge-of-hippie people. Most of us are more middle of the road, socially and politically.

Do they think their children are getting a quality education? Do they like the teachers? Do their children feel safe and welcome? Are their children making friends and building positive relationships with their classmates?

CAN THIS PLEASE BE ANSWERED. BECAUSE IF THE ANSWERS ARE YES THAT SAYS A LOT AND PERHAPS A LOT OF THIS NONSENSE CAN STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Still no answer...Once this is answered we can stop this crazy back and forth.

I know two families w/white parents and white/Asian kids attending ... I want to say 2nd and 3rd grades(?) at LT.

Although I am on friendly speaking terms with the parents, I do not feel comfortable quizzing them so I can publish their responses on DCUM.

It's not a quiz. Parents talk with other parents about their experiences at elementary schools all the time in passing. I think we know they are happy and afraid admitting it will make a lot of this garble appear to be the invalid bullshit that it is.

[Anonymous]

If the answer to the questions were not yes, they would not stay. There you go.

[Anonymous]

I guess they are just a bunch of radicals for not minding being a minority.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^Not necessarily. When I got to a Maury open house in the spring the kick ass French-Canadian principal gave a great little presentation about how much better her low-SES kids are doing in a diverse school than when the student population was entirely AA and low-SES. She came armed with a good many hard-to-deny facts and figures.

Many many things change for the better in Hill schools when most of the parents are highly educated. Leadership improves, teaching improves, facilities improve, field trips are taken more regularly and are of better quality, after care improves, you name it. Even JKLM have FARMs kids.

As a professional with two graduate degrees and a good job who went to college on a Pell Grant, you're never going to convince me that it's better for poor kids to stay in traditional public schools where most of the other kids are low-SES. KIPP or SEED or BASIS schools with extended day/school years, a variety of special enrichment program, non-unionized teachers and lots of grant money maybe. LT, no.

KIPP, SEED and Basis have been well established to work for some kids but is not the panacea that is destined to fix education. Esepcially when they kick out /counsel out kids who can't hack it.

And also do you have proof that unionized taechers perform worse than non-unionized. Cause it seems like union bashing to me.

[Anonymous]

My understanding is that these teachers do not even need degrees in education and do not need to be licensed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are not many but there are some white/high SES families in the upper grades. Maybe talk to them? Clearly they are having positive experiences or they wouldn't stay. Maybe LT really is "the best kept secret on the hill."

I talk to them, regularly. They have the patience of saints. More power to them, although they aren't exactly mainstream for Stanton Park gentrifiers. The high-SES families I know at LT past PreK are lovely people, lovely, super liberal on-the-verge-of-hippie people. Most of us are more middle of the road, socially and politically.

Do they think their children are getting a quality education? Do they like the teachers? Do their children feel safe and welcome? Are their children making friends and building positive relationships with their classmates?

CAN THIS PLEASE BE ANSWERED. BECAUSE IF THE ANSWERS ARE YES THAT SAYS A LOT AND PERHAPS A LOT OF THIS NONSENSE CAN STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Still no answer...Once this is answered we can stop this crazy back and forth.

I know two families w/white parents and white/Asian kids attending ... I want to say 2nd and 3rd grades(?) at LT.

Although I am on friendly speaking terms with the parents, I do not feel comfortable quizzing them so I can publish their responses on DCUM.

But you know enough about their politics to label them as hippies. Interesting...

Also please elaborate on "the patience of saints"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are not many but there are some white/high SES families in the upper grades. Maybe talk to them? Clearly they are having positive experiences or they wouldn't stay. Maybe LT really is "the best kept secret on the hill."

I talk to them, regularly. They have the patience of saints. More power to them, although they aren't exactly mainstream for Stanton Park gentrifiers. The high-SES families I know at LT past PreK are lovely people, lovely, super liberal on-the-verge-of-hippie people. Most of us are more middle of the road, socially and politically.

Do they think their children are getting a quality education? Do they like the teachers? Do their children feel safe and welcome? Are their children making friends and building positive relationships with their classmates?

CAN THIS PLEASE BE ANSWERED. BECAUSE IF THE ANSWERS ARE YES THAT SAYS A LOT AND PERHAPS A LOT OF THIS NONSENSE CAN STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Still no answer...Once this is answered we can stop this crazy back and forth.

I know two families w/white parents and white/Asian kids attending ... I want to say 2nd and 3rd grades(?) at LT.

Although I am on friendly speaking terms with the parents, I do not feel comfortable quizzing them so I can publish their responses on DCUM.

But you know enough about their politics to label them as hippies. Interesting...

Also please elaborate on "the patience of saints"

Sorry for any confusion -- I'm 12:34 (not comfortable quizzing), but I'm NOT the same as the hippies/"patience of saints" poster. I'm actually a K parent at LT and a supporter of the school in this thread. & like I said, I am on "hey, how are you?" terms with a couple upper-grade parents whose kids aren't black, but I don't really know them outside of passing in the halls, I don't stop & have conversations with them about how school is going for their kids this year, and I DEFINITELY would not feel comfortable having that conversation with them with the intention of coming back here to report what they said (at least not without disclosing that to them -- and somehow "Hey, can I post what you say on DCUM" doesn't seem like a good conversation-starter).

As a white K parent at LT, I am VERY happy with how things are going so far for my child & feel very positive about the school -- she's learning a lot in a safe & respectful environment and has friends of varying ethnicities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My understanding is that these teachers do not even need degrees in education and do not need to be licensed.

The biggest thing with non-unionized teachers is they're CHEAPER.

To be fair, though, there are many good non-unionized teachers -- I attended one of the top private schools in DC, and I'm not sure any of my teachers had degrees in education. (They generally had degrees in the subject matter -- math, physics, English, etc.)

That experience has left me with mixed feelings about the focus on credentials. I understand that a degree in education is an objective measurement that can be used to justify higher pay, but someone can be a strong teacher w/o those credentials, or have all those credentials and still be a weak teacher.

[Anonymous]

It usually works better at the high school level to have teachers with degrees in the subject matter that they teach, however at the early childhood and elementary level there is way too much developmental knowledge and methods knowledge needed to be successful. I would be very uncomfortable having my child in an elementary class where the teacher did not hold at least one degree in education. However, you are correct. There are some strong teachers without credentials and weak ones with them. The thing in DC is that under IMPACT the weak teachers do not get to stay. Tenure is a thing of the past. DCPS teachers who are weak are forced to leave (thanks Michelle).

[Anonymous]

The WTU has very little power and is a non strike union.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As others have noted, to no avail, LT ALREADY OUTPERFORMS MAURY on test scores.

[cue cheating accusations in 3 ... 2 ... 1 ...]

It amazes me that, in the face of EVIDENCE that LT is doing a fine job educating high-achieving kids, people keep talking as though Maury is something to aspire to.

If your goal is more white butts in seats, Maury is something to aspire to; if your goal is a school that offers solid educational opportunities, LT is already there.

And, y'know, if your goal IS more white butts in seats -- if your goal is to have a school that's at least 20% white through the upper grades, so that your child isn't an "only" -- I think that's OK. Just admit that.

But don't confuse that with making the school "stronger" or "increasing opportunity" or (worse) "overhaul." It makes the school a more comfortable place for you and your child, which is an understandable goal for you to have. You don't have to justify it as "improving" the school -- that only succeeds in offending the families whose kids are already excelling at LT.

Well said, pp!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are not many but there are some white/high SES families in the upper grades. Maybe talk to them? Clearly they are having positive experiences or they wouldn't stay. Maybe LT really is "the best kept secret on the hill."

I talk to them, regularly. They have the patience of saints. More power to them, although they aren't exactly mainstream for Stanton Park gentrifiers. The high-SES families I know at LT past PreK are lovely people, lovely, super liberal on-the-verge-of-hippie people. Most of us are more middle of the road, socially and politically.

Do they think their children are getting a quality education? Do they like the teachers? Do their children feel safe and welcome? Are their children making friends and building positive relationships with their classmates?

CAN THIS PLEASE BE ANSWERED. BECAUSE IF THE ANSWERS ARE YES THAT SAYS A LOT AND PERHAPS A LOT OF THIS NONSENSE CAN STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Still no answer...Once this is answered we can stop this crazy back and forth.

I know two families w/white parents and white/Asian kids attending ... I want to say 2nd and 3rd grades(?) at LT.

Although I am on friendly speaking terms with the parents, I do not feel comfortable quizzing them so I can publish their responses on DCUM.

But you know enough about their politics to label them as hippies. Interesting...

Also please elaborate on "the patience of saints"

Sorry for any confusion -- I'm 12:34 (not comfortable quizzing), but I'm NOT the same as the hippies/"patience of saints" poster. I'm actually a K parent at LT and a supporter of the school in this thread. & like I said, I am on "hey, how are you?" terms with a couple upper-grade parents whose kids aren't black, but I don't really know them outside of passing in the halls, I don't stop & have conversations with them about how school is going for their kids this year, and I DEFINITELY would not feel comfortable having that conversation with them with the intention of coming back here to report what they said (at least not without disclosing that to them -- and somehow "Hey, can I post what you say on DCUM" doesn't seem like a good conversation-starter).

As a white K parent at LT, I am VERY happy with how things are going so far for my child & feel very positive about the school -- she's learning a lot in a safe & respectful environment and has friends of varying ethnicities.

Do you plan to keep your child at the school next year? Did you play the lottery last year?

[Anonymous]

^^ I bet they will play the school lottery every year. I'd love to see lottery participation numbers by PS3, PK4 and K numbers as a metric to measure neighborhood schools.