Proposal is up!

[Anonymous]

I thought Janney was overcapacity the day it opened after renovation?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bowser will endorse this and win the election. There's not much for Catania to punch at in the latest DME report. Congratulations, public servants.

You are joking, right? DME had thousands of DCPS parents and real estate agents not sleeping for months over this, gritting their teeth through meetings and meetings with nothing but vague phrases, only to get to this? A proposal that is just as vague on many issues? At the very least, Catania can attack a process that was reckless and did real damage to people's sense of stability, predictability, and in many cases community.

Parents all over the city have had it with Bowser. They're not sure what is lower: her IQ or her veracity.

[Anonymous]

There is odd language about selective schools. Is this a threat to schools like Duke Ellington and Walls?

If DCPS needs capacity for in-zone students in a particular boundary, then the DCPS citywide schools — lottery or selective schools — located in that boundary may be required to:
• Relocate to provide capacity for students in that neighborhood, or
• Convert to a neighborhood school and offer a non-specialized strand alongside the specialized
program, or
• Convert to a neighborhood school and pair with a non-specialized school to offer the traditional grade
level program, or
• Provide neighborhood priority in the citywide lottery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is odd language about selective schools. Is this a threat to schools like Duke Ellington and Walls?

If DCPS needs capacity for in-zone students in a particular boundary, then the DCPS citywide schools — lottery or selective schools — located in that boundary may be required to:
• Relocate to provide capacity for students in that neighborhood, or
• Convert to a neighborhood school and offer a non-specialized strand alongside the specialized
program, or
• Convert to a neighborhood school and pair with a non-specialized school to offer the traditional grade
level program, or
• Provide neighborhood priority in the citywide lottery.

Will the specialized schools have the space for IB families? Or will their be set aside seats for "OOB"/ "Application" students.

[Anonymous]

I am still confused on why they dud not move a portion of the old Janney boundary (closer to mass) to Mann. I like the idea of the OBB set aside but not sure how it will work in practice. We shall see.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can you point to the vagueness in the proposal, because frankly this seems a lot clearer than things are now.

The one thing I think they need to establish, that I don't see in the report, is the schools that kids in dual language can attend if they opt out of dual language.

I don't think it is a bad proposal in general, but there are definitely some things that need to be clarified.

First, how do the 10% set asides work? Do you allow an overenrolled school to go above 100% capacity to achieve this? Who qualifies as a "qualified student" at a "qualified school"? (There is some discussion of this with the link, but it could be clearer. What happens to middle class kids at mediocre schools? Do they have no ability to go OOB now because all the OOB spots at many schools will be filled from the separate "at risk" pool? Do you win if you are rich (and live IB for a great school) or poor enough to qualify as at risk, but they didn't think about people in the middle?

Second, what is happening with the city-wide schools? Since they don't have and IB population, is the preference list OOB with sibling, OOB at risk, OOB with proximity, city-wide? Or is it OOB with sibling, OOB with proximity (but only if the IB school reaches capacity), OOB at risk (or does at risk not matter at a city-wide school? When is the proximity preference determined? For example, if the IB lottery and the citywide school lottery is at the same time, but the IB school fills up, do IB kids for the local school move in front of kids that got in through the regular lottery? at the top of the wait list, in front of OOB with sibling kids or just other city-wide applicants? For preferences kicking in, what does "may be required" really mean? Who decides this and when? For the dual language schools, what are the non-language schools of right for those IB kids. What happens if those schools are overcapacity plus the 10% for set asides? Does this leave open the possibility for magnet programs at MS because MS are now neighborhood schools and selective programs can be school-within-school options? The examples given are dual-language, Montessori, and ER, all of which have historically been lottery programs, not magnet programs. (Basically the city-wide and selective section is really fuzzy).

Third, Do at risk kids who move boundaries have a right to attend the school until the end of that school or do they keep their feeder rights past that to the next school? It sounds like non-at risk kids get to the end of the year and at risk kids get to the end of the school and nobody gets feeder rights, but it isn't clear.

Fourth, why is the clarification that non-DC residents will not be placed over DC residents only appear in the selective school section? Is this an oversight (I assume) since this is the policy for neighborhood schools as well.

Just for starters...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is odd language about selective schools. Is this a threat to schools like Duke Ellington and Walls?

If DCPS needs capacity for in-zone students in a particular boundary, then the DCPS citywide schools — lottery or selective schools — located in that boundary may be required to:
• Relocate to provide capacity for students in that neighborhood, or
• Convert to a neighborhood school and offer a non-specialized strand alongside the specialized
program, or
• Convert to a neighborhood school and pair with a non-specialized school to offer the traditional grade
level program, or
• Provide neighborhood priority in the citywide lottery.

Will the specialized schools have the space for IB families? Or will their be set aside seats for "OOB"/ "Application" students.

Likely yes and yes and also likely mainstream tracks within selective schools; and why be concerned about that? Make the selective schools share a little, IF they have excess capacity; it makes practical sense imo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can you point to the vagueness in the proposal, because frankly this seems a lot clearer than things are now.

The one thing I think they need to establish, that I don't see in the report, is the schools that kids in dual language can attend if they opt out of dual language.

I don't think it is a bad proposal in general, but there are definitely some things that need to be clarified.

First, how do the 10% set asides work? Do you allow an overenrolled school to go above 100% capacity to achieve this? Who qualifies as a "qualified student" at a "qualified school"? (There is some discussion of this with the link, but it could be clearer. What happens to middle class kids at mediocre schools? Do they have no ability to go OOB now because all the OOB spots at many schools will be filled from the separate "at risk" pool? Do you win if you are rich (and live IB for a great school) or poor enough to qualify as at risk, but they didn't think about people in the middle?

Second, what is happening with the city-wide schools? Since they don't have and IB population, is the preference list OOB with sibling, OOB at risk, OOB with proximity, city-wide? Or is it OOB with sibling, OOB with proximity (but only if the IB school reaches capacity), OOB at risk (or does at risk not matter at a city-wide school? When is the proximity preference determined? For example, if the IB lottery and the citywide school lottery is at the same time, but the IB school fills up, do IB kids for the local school move in front of kids that got in through the regular lottery? at the top of the wait list, in front of OOB with sibling kids or just other city-wide applicants? For preferences kicking in, what does "may be required" really mean? Who decides this and when? For the dual language schools, what are the non-language schools of right for those IB kids. What happens if those schools are overcapacity plus the 10% for set asides? Does this leave open the possibility for magnet programs at MS because MS are now neighborhood schools and selective programs can be school-within-school options? The examples given are dual-language, Montessori, and ER, all of which have historically been lottery programs, not magnet programs. (Basically the city-wide and selective section is really fuzzy).

Third, Do at risk kids who move boundaries have a right to attend the school until the end of that school or do they keep their feeder rights past that to the next school? It sounds like non-at risk kids get to the end of the year and at risk kids get to the end of the school and nobody gets feeder rights, but it isn't clear.

Fourth, why is the clarification that non-DC residents will not be placed over DC residents only appear in the selective school section? Is this an oversight (I assume) since this is the policy for neighborhood schools as well.

Just for starters...

Keep going! I agree with everything you have written so far. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bowser will endorse this and win the election. There's not much for Catania to punch at in the latest DME report. Congratulations, public servants.

You are joking, right? DME had thousands of DCPS parents and real estate agents not sleeping for months over this, gritting their teeth through meetings and meetings with nothing but vague phrases, only to get to this? A proposal that is just as vague on many issues? At the very least, Catania can attack a process that was reckless and did real damage to people's sense of stability, predictability, and in many cases community.

Parents all over the city have had it with Bowser. They're not sure what is lower: her IQ or her veracity.

Yawn....get used to Mayor Bowser already.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A new North and Center City MS will be housed or built where? Does DCPS have any empty buildings in their inventory for these schools? Could they merge two elementary schools and make one a Middle School?

Middle=Shaw, no?

[Anonymous]

Why only one selective middle school? I would like to see some more, even just selective programs within other schools as the proposal allows for. It is the only viable way to compete with charters to keep students and then funnel those students into some underenrolled high schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Page 7, big opportunity for savvy low-income families. Move IB and rent for 1 year for K or PK, move back to your old neighborhood but stay at the school until grade 5, and then presumably until grade 12 with feeder rights. One year of renting and you can do Janney/Deal/Wilson from anywhere in the city. Can't say I am totally critical - maybe low-income families deserve the break, but this did surprise me. Maybe the definition of at-risk is more narrow than I think:

"25.
A student whose place of residence within the District of Columbia changes from one attendance zone
to a different attendance zone shall be permitted to stay in his or her current school until the end of the
school year, and students who are defined as
at-risk under the UPSFF
shall be permitted to attend the
school until the final grade level"

I found the definition - how does this overlap with FARM?

"Q:
What is the definition of “at risk”?
A:
The at
-
risk weight applies to students who are homeless, in the District’s foster care
system, qualify for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or the
Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program (SNAP), or high school students that are one
year older, or more, than the expected age for the grade in which the students are
enrolled. The at
-
risk weight is cumulative to all other weights, with the exception of the
adult and alternat
ive weights. At
-
risk dollars are unrestricted in their use.
This definition is consistent with the “Fair Student Funding and School
-
Based Budgeting
Amendment Act of 2013”. The definition of at
-
risk weight in the proposed FY15 Budget
Support Act is broader
than what was recommended in the Adequacy Study. For more
information on how the at
-
risk weight will be implemented, see below."

What does that mean? One "at risk" factor (such as SNAP) outweighs ALL other factors? Such as IB for PK or OOB with sibling? If the child is on TANF and wants in to Murch, then a child who is IB for Hearst but has proximity to Murch gets bumped? Or a family at Janney with 2 children enrolled and another little one IB for PK, that child gets bumped for the homeless child at a shelter somewhere in Petworth? (Not judging, just looking for clarification because these statements are not as explanatory as they should be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Page 7, big opportunity for savvy low-income families. Move IB and rent for 1 year for K or PK, move back to your old neighborhood but stay at the school until grade 5, and then presumably until grade 12 with feeder rights. One year of renting and you can do Janney/Deal/Wilson from anywhere in the city. Can't say I am totally critical - maybe low-income families deserve the break, but this did surprise me. Maybe the definition of at-risk is more narrow than I think:

"25.
A student whose place of residence within the District of Columbia changes from one attendance zone
to a different attendance zone shall be permitted to stay in his or her current school until the end of the
school year, and students who are defined as
at-risk under the UPSFF
shall be permitted to attend the
school until the final grade level"

I found the definition - how does this overlap with FARM?

"Q:
What is the definition of “at risk”?
A:
The at
-
risk weight applies to students who are homeless, in the District’s foster care
system, qualify for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or the
Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program (SNAP), or high school students that are one
year older, or more, than the expected age for the grade in which the students are
enrolled. The at
-
risk weight is cumulative to all other weights, with the exception of the
adult and alternat
ive weights. At
-
risk dollars are unrestricted in their use.
This definition is consistent with the “Fair Student Funding and School
-
Based Budgeting
Amendment Act of 2013”. The definition of at
-
risk weight in the proposed FY15 Budget
Support Act is broader
than what was recommended in the Adequacy Study. For more
information on how the at
-
risk weight will be implemented, see below."

What does that mean? One "at risk" factor (such as SNAP) outweighs ALL other factors? Such as IB for PK or OOB with sibling? If the child is on TANF and wants in to Murch, then a child who is IB for Hearst but has proximity to Murch gets bumped? Or a family at Janney with 2 children enrolled and another little one IB for PK, that child gets bumped for the homeless child at a shelter somewhere in Petworth? (Not judging, just looking for clarification because these statements are not as explanatory as they should be.

No preference is now
IB with sib
IB
OOB with sib
At risk
Proximity
OOB

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Too bad I have to walk out the door now. So far, so good on the maps though. Cap Hill is a big winner with Eastern.

Deal's gerrymandering to capture Mt. Pleasant is odd ball.

Save some observations for me!!!

Deal's always had Mt. Pleasant. Why would that be odd ball?

Odd by it's shape on the map.

That's Crestwood that was neatly cut out of Deal and Wilson boundaries. Biggest loser under this proposal (w/ 16th St H).

Well we knew this was going to be proposed eventually, but the promise of a new MacFarland is not comforting without some additional commitment from DCPS. I think there are enough parents to make it work, but we need a lot from DCPS too.
Jeff, did that list of ideas for how to make MacFarland and Jefferson ever go anywhere?

Yeah, I'm blaming our ANC, who has spoken to me three times. All three times, she told me, unprompted and a propos of nothing, that Crestwood is safe in the Deal/Wilson boundaries.

[Anonymous]

Unless I'm mistaken by my cursory first review, I see the demise of almost all the PS-8 Education Campuses, which I think is a good thing.