Lafayette ES cutting vice principal?????
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Anonymous
I love this argument. It's similar to the ones my relatives in VA make about DC voting rights--if you don't like not having a vote, move somewhere else! Moreover, you shouldn't have to attend every HSA meeting and be tight with the principal to ensure a positive school experience for your child; not everyone has the time or resources. When you do have a concern or question or idea, you should be able to expect a respectful audience with the principal and appropriate action, whether it's the first time she's laid eyes on you or the 100th. It doesn't seem like that's happening at Lafayette. |
Anonymous
You're right about the LSAT but in the case of Lafayette, I'm pretty sure the principal runs it which is a fundamental problem. Can any Lafayette LSAT members weigh in here about how it works and what accomplishments the LSAT has made? |
Anonymous
Oh, we gave Lafayette way too many years to get it remotely right. After "working to make changes by participating in the system", nothing changed! Nothing. Still the same Garbage. Same teachers, year after year and the same "leadership". Believe me, we didn't expect miracles, just a middle Of the road education. If you think your getting that, call me when your kid is at UDC in a few Years. How some parents find Lafayette acceptable is very concerning. You should demand better For your kids! The money is there and our taxes are high (especially property taxes). Our child liked Lafayette, too. Why not, rules were not enforced, no one is accountable for anything and homework was optional. Our son picked up a not So pleasant attitude at Lafayette, too, and some really discriminatory vocabulary at Lafayette (he had no idea how awful/hateful the words were because they were Constantly used by other students without correction from staff. As far as selling our house, we are staying. We grew up in CCDC. Instead of moving out of our neighborhood, Our child was enrolled in a local private where he was way behind, thanks to the abysmal education provided at Lafayette. He was almost not accepted because he was so far behind. Almost three years in and the private is worth Every single penny. Better teachers, better administration, the children have an Honor code and behavioral expectations which are enforced. Kids need better structure, guidance and believe me Kids know when teachers care and when they don't. Too many teachers at Lafayette are just going thru the motions. Those teachers are well known and they Will return next Fall. Our child is learning (turns out he is actually very bright). He enjoys the structure that was absent at Lafayette. He gets age/grade appropriate supports while being encouraged to be more independent. Most importantly, he is learning how to treat people And how NOT to treat people. Yes, we instill that at home but kids also learn from their Peer groups. Once he was out of Lafayette, the nasty habits and lousy attitude vanished. |
Anonymous
A lot of families are unhappy with Lafayette. To suggest that neighborhoods of people just pick up and move does not solve anything at Lafayette. Clearly there are issues at the school that need to be addressed- and having an exodus of families is not going to get to the root of what is going on. |
Anonymous
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I am a Lafayette parent and this thread is baffling to me. My kids LOVE it there. They have learned a ton. In fact, I am consistently impressed and amazed at how much they have learned and the complexity of the math & reading our 1st grader is doing. Both of our kids have loved each of their teachers (4 so far). We have, too.
Yes, there are one or two teachers I'm relieved they didn't get, but isn't it like that at every school? One of the pre-K aides is -- according to my 1st grader -- rumored to be "strict." But my pre-K child passionately disputed this characterization when I asked about it recently. My child LOVES this aide. Seriously, have you ever been in a classroom with a bunch of 5-year-olds? You need to run a tight ship to get anything done. I have heard zero reports of bullying, and do not recall ever receiving a robo-call about bullying. I have seen lots of evidence around the school that they take bullying seriously, including the peace program, which is a major priority of the HSA, and the character ed program run by Ms. Diesner and Ms. Moseley (the school counselors), which I have been very impressed with. The HSA is constantly urging parents to join, become more involved, vote on the budget, etc. I feel a heavy debt of gratitude to the people (mostly Moms) who run it and raise so much money for technology, art, and all the other extras that benefit our kids. I also like Ms. Main. The fact that she fired the new K teacher is living proof that she does NOT turn a blind eye to bad teaching. All my interactions with her have been positive. I think it's fantastic that she puts such a priority on class size. I would much rather my child have a class of 20 for 3rd grade than to have an Assistant Principal (even though I agree that Mr. McCoy is a lovely person). I am a SAHM and a room parent, so I'm at the school A LOT, and my views are based not just on my children's reports and on their progress, but on first-hand observation. Finally, as far as I know, the views stated above are shared by the vast majority of parents at Lafayette. Other than a few complaints about a specific K teacher, a specific 1st grade teacher and a specific 2nd grade teacher, I cannot think of any serious complaints I've ever heard from another parent (meaning a person I actually know) about Lafayette. I have also never had another parent say anything negative to me about Principal Main, but I have heard many complimentary things. So, to the complainer out there (yes, I do think there is one person who loves stirring up this sh*t about Lafayette on DCUM), if you don't like it, get involved to change things, send your kid to a private school, or move. Anonymous complainers like you are the worst. |
Anonymous
Please show me evidence of this, beyond a few anonymous message board posts. Lafayette has the largest enrollment of any elementary school in DC, because parents want to send their kids there!!! |
Anonymous
Where did you get this statistic? Based on my anecdotal observations, most Lafayette families have two working parents. Granted, a fair number of parents work from home, for themselves and/or part-time, so may give the illusion of not working b/c they're at pick-up most days. But once you start talking to people, you learn that the vast majority work. I don't know anyone at Lafayette with a tutor. I know exactly one family that does Kumon (sp?). If the academics are so pitiful, why do Lafayette students score from 84-89% on the assessment tests? |
Anonymous
The HSA budget is not a mystery at all to anyone who's ever (a) read the Tuesday bulletin; (b) looked at the Lafayette website; or (c) attended an HSA meeting. It's entirely transparent and the entire HSA membership needs to vote to approve the budget. |
Anonymous
The principal fired the new K teacher? Wow this is news. |
Anonymous
The Kindergarten teacher this year was NOT fired. She walked out because the aides were awful and she didn't get any support from the administration. Just another example of how reality is skewed at Lafayette. |
Anonymous
No, it has become a warehousing unit for education. The size makes it an impersonal education where no one knows the kids by name and where many kids get lost in the shuffle. |
Anonymous
Pretty bad when a teacher walks out because he/ she isn't Getting the proper supports from administration. That pretty much sums it up. |
Anonymous
Actually the ridiculously large enrollment is why you ave 50 kids in a class. And although we are zoned for Lafayette we didn't choose to send our kids there bc we were so turned off on the tour. |
Anonymous
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My kids are not at Lafayette so this is strictly as an outsider looking in. I simply find it hard to believe that the school is as bad as the 7 pages of posts indicate. If it were, there would be no L in JKLMM. It's not like there aren't other Ward 3 schools left out of this alphabet combo.
I suspect that there is a faction of disgruntled parents who --for unknown reasons--find pleasure in bashing the school on an anonymous forum. I suspect there are issues, as there are everywhere. However, it would not surprise me if the vast majority of parents are satified or even happy with the school. Sadly, I've seen this slasher movie before. Different title, same anonymous posters. |
Anonymous
another bystender here. I am also surprised. some posts are based on allegations that it is difficult to determine if they are the truth or not. a poster above says that the schools' overcrowding is the reasons there is a 50 kid class. I thought I remember a thread in the past that there was one class with 50 kids because one teacher went on maternity leave and two classes were combined (with some aides I assume). not that classes at Lafayette are with 50 kids as a norm. also one poster says that the K teacher was weak and was fired by the Principal, another says that she walked away because the aides were terrible and she did not get support. what is the truth? it is difficult to determine it from the outside. if there are so many dissatisfied parents, I wonder why they do not run for the HSA and change things from the inside. I usually do not believe the hypes (best school on earth and blah blah - with that type of demographics, a school with even average teachers should get good results IMO), but it is hard to believe some of the lows I read on this thread |