Melissa Kim is leaving Deal

[Anonymous]

...sorry, Jeff Steele has proven to be a fair and open moderator, now opinionater. Many of us agree with the qualifications of Pope being perfectly viable for work in (if not Hardy) other DCPS middle schools. Why he isn't even in the pool for interviews is crazy, and biased. Why W3 parents who were comfy with Kim might dismiss Pope out of hand is also biased and, again -- STUPID! Yes, DC Urban Moms might say "stupid". Many others just play the part, driving us to get down to that level in order to help you with your reflections in the mirror. Some of us are stupid, that's for sure. As I say it over and over, I kind of like the ring of it...what happened to the sense of humor, like in the Three Stooges...OH! Alive and well in DCPS Central!

[Anonymous]

JSteele has been an excellent moderator. There is no need for profanity on this site. It wasn't even that interesting.

Deal needs to be thinking about building. To bring in someone like Pope who has so much baggage (deserved or not) is not smart. Who says Pope wants the job anyway? I hear that he is quite happy at Savoy.

[jsteele]

Just to clarify, the vast majority of the messages that I removed were from a single poster who posted several messages (probably about 10) that were all along the lines of "how would John Madden fell about this?" Immediately preceding that message was another message containing profanity. I personally have no issue with profanity, but that message was not adding a whole to the discussion and I was already in the process of removing a large number of messages anyway.

As for Pope. I don't believe anyone called me out about that and I certainly would not have removed a message that did so (please reference the earlier post in this thread about raw meat and pit bulls). I would have no issue with Pope being in the candidate pool for Deal. However, I think the politics of the situation would rule him out regardless of my feelings.

Thanks to those of you who offered supportive words regarding my moderation of this forum.

[Anonymous]

You most certainly were called out for your attitude that Hardy should be "good enough" for those in W3 not fortunate enough to feed to Deal. You vehemently opposed the addition of another W3 middle school and accused those in support of one of being racist.

Now that Deal is falling like a house of cards, it will be interesting to see if you think Hardy is "good enough". If the water is so fine in there, why don't you dive right in?

[Anonymous]

Wow, PP. You are angry. I'm always surprised that the majority of us who check into DCUM seeking parent camaraderie turn out to be attacked by our peers who should be after the same goals, even if we argue a bit on the way. I reference PP because it's like watching Chris Matthews argue with the evangelist preacher tonight on MSNBC --no matter who intelligent the anti-morman preacher, the clearer it became that the anti-Mormon guy really was just another typical racist. All of you who think diving in with Pope would be like swimming with sharks just hate how he put current and enrolled Hardy students and parents (which were mostly black) ahead of the demands made by not-yet-enrolled, tempt-me-in-to-improve Hardy white neighbors. THAT made him, ladies and gentlemen, a GREAT principal in principle, if not a great principal. The latter was really never bothered to be examined, then --was it. Finally, Deal won't fall like a house of cards unless it's current "IB" majority bloats the principal selection process into a "we pay the most taxes" contest for the most, uh...savory candidate.

[Anonymous]

21:00 you are a bitter little guy. Deal won't be falling like a house of cards anytime soon and there are many, including most council members, who vehemently oppose adding a middle school to accommodate Palisades families who won't use Hardy.

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:Now that Deal is falling like a house of cards, it will be interesting to see if you think Hardy is "good enough". If the water is so fine in there, why don't you dive right in?

You should never let emotions overwhelm your ability to think. You just end up saying stupid things.

[Anonymous]

What I wonder about when I read these forums is really how much of this is about DCPS or really a debate about American education in general. We switched from a poorly performing school 50% could not pass the tests to a much higher performing school 90% passing. When I look at what they are doing in class it does not feel at all rigorous. I cannot see how my child will be ready for middle school when I know was doing more difficult work by this point in 5th grade. I know DCPS is less rigorous but even my sister in Montgomery county wonders at the lack of basic but essential skills they are not teaching there such as grammar. Really is the bigger problem that the educational norm right now is too skill based and not enough content and rigor.

[Anonymous]

21:36, you're absolutely right. It's a matter of how many families are able to note that their kids will still be able to ride the wave in another community, whether it's in Mo. Co. or Shanghai. In my experience, as in my kids, when they start coming home hating school, frustrated or bored it's not necessarily "hormones" in grades 5, 6, 7 or 8. It's where they hit the public school ceiling if it happens while they're in the top performing groups, if your public actually differentiates well. Other kids who don't complain, like school and their teachers, and have friends and are still challenged, parents can feel fine that they stay where they are meeting state test requirements and feeling secure before pushing beyond what they're able. The flip side, mine who transferred to private after many public years see that there are plenty of kids in private who have been coddled and would never make "advanced" on DC CAS. It's all where your individual kids are at, but don't rule out privates taking your $$ and not offering any more than better support and smaller classes.

[Anonymous]

And that is what makes Deal a great school. The kids are happy to be there and happy to be learning. That is possibly the strongest legacies Kim leaves behind. She wanted students to be happy and to feel " the joy" as she would say it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:21:00 you are a bitter little guy. Deal won't be falling like a house of cards anytime soon and there are many, including most council members, who vehemently oppose adding a middle school to accommodate Palisades families who won't use Hardy.

How many Deal families would 'use' Hardy if the boundaries were changed? Not many, I bet. Yet this poster and others don't hesitate to tell us to send our kids there. It makes me want to puke.

My kids classmates are all shopping for private ms, while we are going to have to move. Yup, I'm angry and bitter and I'll be damned if this incompetent city govt gets another dime of my tax money to spend on bball tickets and trips.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What I wonder about when I read these forums is really how much of this is about DCPS or really a debate about American education in general. We switched from a poorly performing school 50% could not pass the tests to a much higher performing school 90% passing. When I look at what they are doing in class it does not feel at all rigorous. I cannot see how my child will be ready for middle school when I know was doing more difficult work by this point in 5th grade. I know DCPS is less rigorous but even my sister in Montgomery county wonders at the lack of basic but essential skills they are not teaching there such as grammar. Really is the bigger problem that the educational norm right now is too skill based and not enough content and rigor.

What school did you switch from and to? We made a switch too and found that the higher performing school wasn't really instructing at a higher/better level. The Parent's Association is much better organized and raises money for lots of extras though. The test scores are higher at the new school, but that seemed to be more a reflection of the homes the children came from and the supplementing their parents do on a daily basis.

[Anonymous]

I'm the 21:32 poster My kid did attend Hardy while Pope was principal. Too bad Key School parents wanted to get rid of him. Now you aren't happy with the results and refuse to send your kids there, which is your choice, but it doesn't mean you get a new middle school.

[Anonymous]

Put a new MS in ward 3 and dcps can boast of another good option. Make it big enough to accommodate oob families and more dc kids will have a shot at a good education.

Put one in another ward and it will fail because motivated ib families will continue to game the system to attend deal, or stay in charters.

Seems like a no-brainer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm the 21:32 poster My kid did attend Hardy while Pope was principal. Too bad Key School parents wanted to get rid of him. Now you aren't happy with the results and refuse to send your kids there, which is your choice, but it doesn't mean you get a new middle school.

We had nothing to do with popes ouster, so why do y'all keep implying that the current mess is our fault and we shouldn't agitate for a ms where our kids can actually learn something?