Another Brent question

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:[quote=Anonymous0
If you want Brent to have the money for specials such as art, music, science and those advanced course "G&T-ish" classes, etc., you'd best encourage OOB kids to fill up Brent's underpopulated grades and welcome them, rather than cut them out. Furthermore, every OOB kid that attends Brent for 5th grade is one less kid taking a spot at a school with a better middle school feed.

Haven't posted here before. What are you smoking? Most of the "specials" are paid for by parents and PTA fund-raising which won't change in the face of DCPS budget cuts. Parents even had to pay for the PE teacher for a year. The average family contribution was around $500 this year, not including paying for the afterschool program, and some families gave triple and quadruple that sum.

Come from an immigrant family, ps grad, parents are not college grads. Have worked hard and want my tax dollars to support a neighborhood school for neighborhood kids. If Brent District kids grow up disadvantaged, like I did, bring 'em on, we'll help. If you grew up white and well off, spare the rest of us your bleeding heart.

Am optimistic that the middle school feed will get worked out eventually. Probably Jefferson Academy. EH is a bridge too far.



It's a crime that the boosters should have to be paying for this stuff. DCPS spends more per student than most districts in the nation, to include a great many public schools that DO have G&T, arts, athletics and so on. Where does all the money go? Tell me there isn't waste and bleed there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

That said, Brent is a neighborhood school. If it is filled with IB kids, then there really isn't much more to say about it.

Right, but Brent is NOT filled with IB kids. IB kids didn't attend Brent until only very recently. No IB kids are going into 5th. So then what? Sure it may not be like this forever, but for this year and next year, why not let OOB kids fill in the spots IB kids won't take.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Yeah, just really wanted to know about how well we'll fit it as liberal, mixed family, somewhat crunchy family. But reading through these last 7 pages have been interesting. I think there are always people that will have opposing views on a school. I would have just loved to hear from current parents but maybe DCUM is not the place to obtain this info. I think I will look around the school and talk to the parents in person. Thanks anyway!

[Anonymous]

OP, just drop by the school and see if you can talk to people on the playground afterschool. Honestly, you might get a kinder picture of the school that way. This board would scare me off, too.

[Anonymous]

Brent counts among its community a number of "mixed" families and, by and large, race and socio-economic status of students have not been a divisive issue for several years (although that was not always the case).

Brent also includes children of chiefs of staff for moderate Democratic Senators and/or Congressman, children of chiefs of staff for Tea Party/Republican Senators and/or Congressman, children of senior executive branch officials, children of members of the judiciary, children of reporters who work for conservative media outlets, children of parents who work for liberal and conservative think tanks and public policy organizations, children of single parents, children who have lived abroad in locales such as China, Russia, Egypt, Italy and the UK, and children of firefighters and police, as well as children from non-traditional, nuclear families.

While no one can deny that the demographics of Brent have changed markedly in the past decade, largely doe to strides that came about as a result of the hard work of Brent parents during this period, and academic achievement has not progressed as rapidly as many would like to see (for a variety of factors), it is not a function of lack of effort on anyone's part. Teachers, staff and administration are top-notch and engaged, but the difficulties in filling 4th and 5th grade will not disappear until there is a middle school plan that is accepted by a majority of Brent parents, which is still many years away.
the Brent family is welcoming and inclusive (try attending community events such as Fall Festival or Spring Gala), regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, or political beliefs. I would venture to say most parents -- as they should -- leave the politics outside of the school grounds.

You don't necessarily need to wait to drop by the school playground. Try talking to parents at neighborhood spots such as Turtle (Marion) Park, Garfield Park, or X (Providence) Park.

[Anonymous]

I am not aware of any restriction barring OOB students from attending 4th or 5th grade. The realities, however, are that a parent would be pulling their child from one elementary school for a year (or maybe two), only to then to have to return that child to their designated IB middle school. As things now stand, at least in theory, fourth and fifth graders (the majority of whom are OOB) are able to access much more intensive instruction due to reduced class sizes.

[Anonymous]

It's a crime that the boosters should have to be paying for this stuff. DCPS spends more per student than most districts in the nation, to include a great many public schools that DO have G&T, arts, athletics and so on. Where does all the money go? Tell me there isn't waste and bleed there.

Poverty is expensive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Brent counts among its community a number of "mixed" families and, by and large, race and socio-economic status of students have not been a divisive issue for several years (although that was not always the case).

Brent also includes children of chiefs of staff for moderate Democratic Senators and/or Congressman, children of chiefs of staff for Tea Party/Republican Senators and/or Congressman, children of senior executive branch officials, children of members of the judiciary, children of reporters who work for conservative media outlets, children of parents who work for liberal and conservative think tanks and public policy organizations, children of single parents, children who have lived abroad in locales such as China, Russia, Egypt, Italy and the UK, and children of firefighters and police, as well as children from non-traditional, nuclear families.

While no one can deny that the demographics of Brent have changed markedly in the past decade, largely doe to strides that came about as a result of the hard work of Brent parents during this period, and academic achievement has not progressed as rapidly as many would like to see (for a variety of factors), it is not a function of lack of effort on anyone's part. Teachers, staff and administration are top-notch and engaged, but the difficulties in filling 4th and 5th grade will not disappear until there is a middle school plan that is accepted by a majority of Brent parents, which is still many years away.
the Brent family is welcoming and inclusive (try attending community events such as Fall Festival or Spring Gala), regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, or political beliefs. I would venture to say most parents -- as they should -- leave the politics outside of the school grounds.

You don't necessarily need to wait to drop by the school playground. Try talking to parents at neighborhood spots such as Turtle (Marion) Park, Garfield Park, or X (Providence) Park.

Brent parent here: The above is a good description of the school's climate. I would also include that the school has a good number of families with gay parents. I am constantly amazed at how students, staff and parents take everything in stride - it's no big deal. In the suburban area I came from, even if people were amenable to something like white gay parents raising black children, it would be a topic of discussion nonetheless. At Brent the presence of so many permutations of families is rarely mentioned, even in passing. And that's not because people are unaware, it's just that they are open-minded and sophisticated enough not to focus on it.

[Anonymous]

Thanks, 11:05. The reference to non-traditional nuclear families was intende to encompass both GLBT parents, as well as adoptive parents. Hopefully we will once more get to experience and enjoy Brent's diversity and sense of community on August 25, which is School Beautification Day. Volunteers are needed!

[Anonymous]

The "per pupil spending" rubric is a overly-simplistic and long-discredited canard. Which spending (dollars) are you referring to? Are you counting federal "pass through" grants to private and charter schools? Are you counting funds for PreSchool and Pre-K?

Is there waste and redundency? Sure. Just look at the moneys the Chancellor wants paid to Chartwells. Do I think parents or the PTA have to should the cost of toilet paper and paper towels, much less a PE or art/music teacher? H#$% no, but instead of complaining, perhaps you could help parents and staff write grant proposals to perhaps improve Brent for everyone.

[Anonymous]

10:59. While you can quibble about the meaning of "filled," the fact remains that the overwhelming majority of Brent is now IB. The last numbers posted by DCPS for 2010-11, has the number pegged at 38%. That is no longer true. As most know, reportedly for the first time there are a number of IB students who may not be admitted for the allotted PS (2.5 classes) or PK (2.5 classes). This means OOB siblings are also excluded.

Again, and reportedly, Kindergarten and First Grade will be in excess of 50 students for the foreseeable future, with thus trend expected to continue as students age through Second and Third Grades. The Bolling students and new SpEd/Autism program may skew things slightly, but Brent is decidedly a neighborhood school that increasingly reflects the demographics of its population. Whether that is a positive or a negative in terms of testing or diversity is a separate issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am not aware of any restriction barring OOB students from attending 4th or 5th grade. The realities, however, are that a parent would be pulling their child from one elementary school for a year (or maybe two), only to then to have to return that child to their designated IB middle school. As things now stand, at least in theory, fourth and fifth graders (the majority of whom are OOB) are able to access much more intensive instruction due to reduced class sizes.

Actually, I believe OOB students at Brent are allowed at graduation to attend "Brent" designated middle school which, for now at least, are Elliot-Hine and Jefferson. he or she could also attend their neighborhood middle school, but they would have to do so.

[Anonymous]

Regarding OOB families at Brent, I know quite a few families on the Hill who are IB for the Cluster, Maury and Miner who have gotten into Brent thrugh the lottery. These families are high SES. It's only my impression, but it seems like many of the OOB families at Brent live on the Hill, but just outside the Brent boundary. Is this at all accurate?

[Anonymous]

12:54, you are correct. There are a large chunk of kids that meet this criteria.

When people state that all the IB kids left the 5th grade this year, what they are really saying is "all the white kids" left.

There are plenty of families that are IB for the cluster who attend Brent. I think some of them will hedge their bets to see if Stuart-Hobson improves. If SH became more desirable, I would wager that the flight of affluent students from the 5th grade would slow.

SH is undergoing a renovation right now and if the new principal has her wits about her, she could probably attract more Hill families to SH. Right now, 1/2 spots are filled with students from Ward 7 & 8. An IB Brent family has an equal chance via the lottery to compete for the spots.

Of course, much of this would depend on improving programming at SH. Also (just in case DCPS is listening) you might want to police your students a bit better on the playground. The obscenities they hurl at year other and passer-bys doesn't exactly make me want to send my child there.

[Anonymous]

13:06 Saying "all the IB kids left the 5th grade this year" means exactly that, regardless of race. Equating just because you live somewhere on the Hill and attend Brent through admission by lottery does not equate to being IB for Brent. By definition, your IB school is still Maury, Miner, etc.