Option B best for Ward 3?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Ward 3 parents on here aren't doing themselves any favors. I was sympathetic to their concerns because they have the most to lose. But it doesn't take hipster glasses to see that very few posters from Ward 3 see themselves as part of a collective system and they clearly dislike other parents and kids outside their ward, either because of their choices or circumstances. Studies show allotting 20% of seats to low-income kids helps those kids, but doesn't hurt the other 80%. That's not a tipping point, so why not help those needy kids?

As this public debate continues, don't expect the other 7 wards to care about your concerns when you show such disregard for theirs.

sounds like you're looking for an excuse to disregard ward 3 parents.

I bet there's nothing in those studies that show that moving kids away from their good neighborhood schools helps them in any way -- or that such a system would even work. It wouldn't be long before families moved out of the neighborhood that was using their kids for this experiment. Besides who says it would be the needy kids who gets the spots-- it could just as easily be high SES kids from hipster neighborhoods who won the lottery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Ward 3 parents on here aren't doing themselves any favors. I was sympathetic to their concerns because they have the most to lose. But it doesn't take hipster glasses to see that very few posters from Ward 3 see themselves as part of a collective system and they clearly dislike other parents and kids outside their ward, either because of their choices or circumstances. Studies show allotting 20% of seats to low-income kids helps those kids, but doesn't hurt the other 80%. That's not a tipping point, so why not help those needy kids?

As this public debate continues, don't expect the other 7 wards to care about your concerns when you show such disregard for theirs.

sounds like you're looking for an excuse to disregard ward 3 parents.

I bet there's nothing in those studies that show that moving kids away from their good neighborhood schools helps them in any way -- or that such a system would even work. It wouldn't be long before families moved out of the neighborhood that was using their kids for this experiment. Besides who says it would be the needy kids who gets the spots-- it could just as easily be high SES kids from hipster neighborhoods who won the lottery.

Zactly. What IS clear is that somebody's tryna steal Ward 3's cheese. They spent a long time making that cheese, now some less-off folks tryna steal it. They should spend their valuable time making their own cheese rather than plotting to steal somebody else's. They think they have a right to that cheese, somehow, I guess just because they live in the same city.

But, seriously, the solution is not to cut into neighborhood schools, when there are different approaches that can achieve the same goal, such as charter schools. Charter schools are designed to allow everyone access, but only when families CHOOSE to participate. Or, similarly, create more application-only schools, as families ALSO choose to participate in those. But, otherwise, the intrusion on neighborhood schools in Ward 3 (I name Ward 3 only because that's where most of the good cheese is) is rightly perceived as grabby and, frankly, lazy. Get to work and build your own good schools, y'all, or if that's too difficult, go the charter route and promote the expansion of charters. Or do both. Those options are much more civic-minded than trying to set up an easy hand-out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Ward 3 parents on here aren't doing themselves any favors. I was sympathetic to their concerns because they have the most to lose. But it doesn't take hipster glasses to see that very few posters from Ward 3 see themselves as part of a collective system and they clearly dislike other parents and kids outside their ward, either because of their choices or circumstances. Studies show allotting 20% of seats to low-income kids helps those kids, but doesn't hurt the other 80%. That's not a tipping point, so why not help those needy kids?

As this public debate continues, don't expect the other 7 wards to care about your concerns when you show such disregard for theirs.

sounds like you're looking for an excuse to disregard ward 3 parents.

I bet there's nothing in those studies that show that moving kids away from their good neighborhood schools helps them in any way -- or that such a system would even work. It wouldn't be long before families moved out of the neighborhood that was using their kids for this experiment. Besides who says it would be the needy kids who gets the spots-- it could just as easily be high SES kids from hipster neighborhoods who won the lottery.

I am a Ward 3 parent and I am absolutely devastated about Oyster and think that they contribute a lot to Wilson and want to fight for them. Ward 3 is not a monolithic place. It is full of many different people, some of whom are renting to get their kids into Deal/Wilson. I don't think it really matters where higher SES kids go to elementary school within ward 3 because we can supplement at home. What I cannot do is create a chemistry class...........

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nobody will - which is why property values will go down. Nobody will buy a house knowin there is a real chance that there kid won't be able to attend the good local school. DCPS will lose too - people leave and take their tax dollars with them. Houses in Bethesda will shoot up in value.

I don't agree with this. If you look at the overall numbers, most white children in DC attend private.

#1 -- houses in Bethesda can't go up much further. Who wants to pay 2 million for a 1960s shitty rambler?

# 2 -- What numbers? Sorry, but not all white people can afford 35k+ a year for private schools.

[Anonymous]

It's not that Ward 3 parents purchased expensive houses and thus should be entitled to their neighborhood schools. Many, many of us have devoted blood, sweat and tears over recent years to improving these neighborhood schools. And that's why the possibility of losing access to them (either through shifting boundaries at ES or citywide lotteries in older grades) is so unpalatable. Ward 3 parents have done the hard work of building community. We get it. And we do support other wards in their efforts to improve their neighborhood schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's not that Ward 3 parents purchased expensive houses and thus should be entitled to their neighborhood schools. Many, many of us have devoted blood, sweat and tears over recent years to improving these neighborhood schools. And that's why the possibility of losing access to them (either through shifting boundaries at ES or citywide lotteries in older grades) is so unpalatable. Ward 3 parents have done the hard work of building community. We get it. And we do support other wards in their efforts to improve their neighborhood schools.

+1 we are all parents and all in this together.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's not that Ward 3 parents purchased expensive houses and thus should be entitled to their neighborhood schools. Many, many of us have devoted blood, sweat and tears over recent years to improving these neighborhood schools. And that's why the possibility of losing access to them (either through shifting boundaries at ES or citywide lotteries in older grades) is so unpalatable. Ward 3 parents have done the hard work of building community. We get it. And we do support other wards in their efforts to improve their neighborhood schools.


+1 I don't get the mentality why once your schools have improved- you should no longer be able to attend them. I've been a Ward 3 parent for many, many years and the schools have come a long way. There is no comparison now to where they were 10 years ago. Parents, myself included, have worked tirelessly to improve them and get parents to keep their kids in DCPS. Why should that be undone? I don''t have a problem setting aside a % of the school for FARMS or OOB or whatever they decide, but it should not preempt my child from attending the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's not that Ward 3 parents purchased expensive houses and thus should be entitled to their neighborhood schools. Many, many of us have devoted blood, sweat and tears over recent years to improving these neighborhood schools. And that's why the possibility of losing access to them (either through shifting boundaries at ES or citywide lotteries in older grades) is so unpalatable. Ward 3 parents have done the hard work of building community. We get it. And we do support other wards in their efforts to improve their neighborhood schools.


+1 I don't get the mentality why once your schools have improved- you should no longer be able to attend them. I've been a Ward 3 parent for many, many years and the schools have come a long way. There is no comparison now to where they were 10 years ago. Parents, myself included, have worked tirelessly to improve them and get parents to keep their kids in DCPS. Why should that be undone? I don''t have a problem setting aside a % of the school for FARMS or OOB or whatever they decide, but it should not preempt my child from attending the school.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's not that Ward 3 parents purchased expensive houses and thus should be entitled to their neighborhood schools. Many, many of us have devoted blood, sweat and tears over recent years to improving these neighborhood schools. And that's why the possibility of losing access to them (either through shifting boundaries at ES or citywide lotteries in older grades) is so unpalatable. Ward 3 parents have done the hard work of building community. We get it. And we do support other wards in their efforts to improve their neighborhood schools.

Just get over it. You have the privilege of living in the District of Columbia, life changes, and majority rules. To the victors go the spoils. Just pay up and shut up and get out of the way. ONE CITY, baby!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's not that Ward 3 parents purchased expensive houses and thus should be entitled to their neighborhood schools. Many, many of us have devoted blood, sweat and tears over recent years to improving these neighborhood schools. And that's why the possibility of losing access to them (either through shifting boundaries at ES or citywide lotteries in older grades) is so unpalatable. Ward 3 parents have done the hard work of building community. We get it. And we do support other wards in their efforts to improve their neighborhood schools.

Just get over it. You have the privilege of living in the District of Columbia, life changes, and majority rules. To the victors go the spoils. Just pay up and shut up and get out of the way. ONE CITY, baby!

Steamroller one city.

[Anonymous]

I say let's split DCPS into several different districts, devolve decisions to the individual communities and let them set priorities. Give each the same per pupil funding and set up a mechanism for capital improvements, much as states assist individual districts with those needs. If DCPS east decides that the highest priority of the public schools is preserving jobs for the community, let them If a different section of the city wants to set higher, more rigorous academic standards, go to it But it does seem wrong for a bloated bureaucratic system to rely on one part of the city not only as the cash cow, but free ride on the sweat equity of parents and now salt higher performing students around the city to boost test scores in underperforming schools. Seems kinda' socialist, no?

[Anonymous]

Some people need to put down the torches and pitchforks and actually read the Policy Examples.

Policy Example A: http://apps.washingtonpost.com/g/documents/local/policy-example-a/919/

Policy Example B: http://apps.washingtonpost.com/g/documents/local/policy-example-b/920/

Policy Example C: http://apps.washingtonpost.com/g/documents/local/policy-example-c/921/

They're six pages each, so it doesn't take that long. Read them and you'll find that almost every scenario gives preference or RIGHT to your closest school. The exception is city-wide lottery at the high school level, outlined in Example C. Not at all what anyone wants at first glance. But if you read the example, it envisions every middle school with a specialized program (dual language, International Baccalaureate, STEM) and those students would get preference at specialized high schools. So, it's a system that's trying to keep you on a specialized track that your family chooses.

A lot of it sounds like a wishful attempt to mimic charters and it's hard to see example C in particular ever coming to fruition. But a primary objective of keeping students close to home and strengthening neighborhood schools, is pretty clear once you read the examples. Try that.

What's more important is none of this is policy yet. They're asking for input. Read the proposals so you can bring valid arguments to the parent forums. Threatening to leave DC because your kid can't attend the local school makes you look silly because that's not what's being proposed.

[Anonymous]

Thanks PP for reposting the policies!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's not that Ward 3 parents purchased expensive houses and thus should be entitled to their neighborhood schools. Many, many of us have devoted blood, sweat and tears over recent years to improving these neighborhood schools. And that's why the possibility of losing access to them (either through shifting boundaries at ES or citywide lotteries in older grades) is so unpalatable. Ward 3 parents have done the hard work of building community. We get it. And we do support other wards in their efforts to improve their neighborhood schools.

Just get over it. You have the privilege of living in the District of Columbia, life changes, and majority rules. To the victors go the spoils. Just pay up and shut up and get out of the way. ONE CITY, baby!

Poor dear. This is a petty and small rebuke to a reasonable assertion. But more importantly, it's naive. You can't tell ward 3 families to "put up or shut up." Take a look at DC"s annual budget. There are charts in there about about the tax base and where if is. Your comment shows a sad resentment: folks touting "nod city above all else" will have to set that kind of animosity aside to be effective.

[Anonymous]

Parents might be more open to sending their kids to other high schools if DCPS adopted a serious policy of suspending and, where appropriate, expelling troublemakers. But they would never do that.