DCPS Playground Use

[Anonymous]

Seems like all of this talk about how the Mount Pleasant families will NEVER send their kids to Bancroft isn't doing much to bolster their case that they should be allowed to use the playground whenever they want.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bancroft is 52 percent IB. Obviously someone is sending their child there....

True, and since it's 83% FARMS and 59% ELL, it's probably not Mt. Pleasant homeowners.

Bancroft actually has 76% FARMS this year--it's slow but the demographics are changing.
http://profiles.dcps.dc.gov/Bancroft+Elementary+School

[Anonymous]

We are a Mount Pleasant / IB / higher SES (I guess) family sending their child to PS3 at Bancroft next year. We were shut out of charters (may get a space at Appletree but that is not a long term option) - and we were moved down the waitlist at Mundo Verde - so any talk about the option of Mount Pleasant families opting for MV this year is irrelevant. We are actually excited about walking to our neighborhood school and our child learning another language early. We love the playground and have used it a lot. We are sad to hear that we cannot use it in the late afternoon but I understand the concerns for safety/ security and it can be really crowded, especially when the weather is nice. The neighborhood really needs some good outdoor community space - Lamont Park is just a slab of concrete and bricks and 16th/Park is pretty far for those on the west side of Mt Pleasant and constantly has questionable litter laying around. I just don't know where another outdoor space/ playground could be arranged/ built. Has anyone mentioned this to their ANC commissioner / Graham?

[Anonymous]

I think there was talk at one point about building a public playground in the fenced in area at the west end of Lamont, but ANC commissioner Jack McKay (who lives next door) shot it down. It's hard to think of any other spots with the space for a playground.
Anyway, welcome to Bancroft!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bancroft is 52 percent IB. Obviously someone is sending their child there....

True, and since it's 83% FARMS and 59% ELL, it's probably not Mt. Pleasant homeowners.

52% IB means...52% from the neighborhood. What on earth does home ownership, income, or English proficiency have to do with it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think there was talk at one point about building a public playground in the fenced in area at the west end of Lamont, but ANC commissioner Jack McKay (who lives next door) shot it down. It's hard to think of any other spots with the space for a playground.
Anyway, welcome to Bancroft!

r

Interesting.......I have wondered about that piece of land........

[Anonymous]

Jim Graham does not give a damn about MtP residents or schools in Ward 1 in general. And it shows.

[Anonymous]

Our DCPS elementary does not technically allow people from off campus to use the playground at any time and the grounds are kept locked on weekends. People do bring siblings at pickup and sometimes the local boys come in during afterschool hours to play pickup basketball, which used to be tolerated because it was in an area downhill and out of sight from the main building and playground. Lately they've been getting run off due mostly to foul language, trash left behind and smoking that annoys the parents walking past with their kids on the way out.
Near us there is a charter school that has a newly renovated playground open for the public on weekends, they are pretty strict about locking it up at dusk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It may depend on the school. We have been able to take our kids to Murch after school without any problem, but we were asked to leave Eaton.

I was just at Murch a couple of weeks ago to vote. I recall the sign on the fence said the playground was private property from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm for school and aftercare activities. But not sure how they would know if your kid was part of aftercare or not if you are just playing on the playground.

I'd like to think that the aftercare staff would be able to recognize a non-student.

Murch's playground is huge and overrun with non-aftercare kids all afternoon after school. Regardless of what the sign says, anyone with kids can go up there and play once school is out.

To clarify, the sign at the Murch playground says that it is for Murch students only from 8-6.

[Anonymous]

We went to Janney once in the late afternoon/evening. No one kicked us out. There were at least 2 other moms there with kids. But the kids in after care were depressing. One, who seemed to be the ringleader for a group of boys, was a jerk & made my kid cry; another seemed really desperate to talk to someone--anyone. I didn't really see much in the way of supervision going on.

[Anonymous]

Wow, I can't believe this is an issue for people. This is a school playground and the priority should be for the current students. Once the school day is over, and that includes aftercare, the playground is open to all. I would not be happy if my child's school allowed non-students and other adults (security issue in my mind) to be on the playground during school/aftercare hours. We often use the playground at Ross Elementary on weekends and they have a sign up stating that the playground is open after school only.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow, I can't believe this is an issue for people. This is a school playground and the priority should be for the current students. Once the school day is over, and that includes aftercare, the playground is open to all. I would not be happy if my child's school allowed non-students and other adults (security issue in my mind) to be on the playground during school/aftercare hours. We often use the playground at Ross Elementary on weekends and they have a sign up stating that the playground is open after school only.

This is a debatable point, though. The school day ends at 3ish. Aftercare isn't "school" or part of the school day. It is a convenient on-site daycare for working parents, not "school". A parent picking up children from school should be able to let them play on the playground after school and the school playground--paid for with public money and a public resource--should be available to the public, IMO.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow, I can't believe this is an issue for people. This is a school playground and the priority should be for the current students. Once the school day is over, and that includes aftercare, the playground is open to all. I would not be happy if my child's school allowed non-students and other adults (security issue in my mind) to be on the playground during school/aftercare hours. We often use the playground at Ross Elementary on weekends and they have a sign up stating that the playground is open after school only.

This is a debatable point, though. The school day ends at 3ish. Aftercare isn't "school" or part of the school day. It is a convenient on-site daycare for working parents, not "school". A parent picking up children from school should be able to let them play on the playground after school and the school playground--paid for with public money and a public resource--should be available to the public, IMO.

I think there's a big difference between parents picking up and the general public. Lots of DCPS schools pay for their playgrounds with PTA funds, not public funds.

[Anonymous]

Also, it's a little insulting to call it "a convenient daycare." Almost every parent I know needs to use aftercare, so it's really a necessary part of the school day. The days of having a stay-at-home parent who can pick up at 3 pm are long gone for the majority of DC families.

[Anonymous]

My child's school uses the playground extensively until 6pm when aftercare ends. And yes, I am very happy that they take security seriously and don't allow others on school property until after 6pm.