Why don't out of boundary parents work on their own schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm an OOB parent at an "up-and-coming" school. We started at this school because we lotteried into PK3 and we're staying because we've found other OOB families who are in the same boat as we are–neighborhood school with overwhelmingly at-risk populations coming from public housing. It's just not a good fit for our DC.

Most of the PTA leaders at the school are OOB and we find the IB population takes the relative-decently facility and with pretty-good teachers and admin they have for granted.

So the real question for us is - why don't IB families contribute more time and resources?

This is actually a good question because these families that have bought their way into a high performing school that would perform well regardless because of the critical mass of educated, higher SES parents. The PTA $, after school enrichment has become some kind of status symbol, I guess. But what really matters is they want their "purchased" education but don't want to contribute to the greater good. These schools have it easier, they don't need to worry as much about pesky achievement gaps and at risk populations because it's barely a blip on their radar. And in most cases they probably consider "accepting" what OOP at risk, lower performing kids they do as their contribution to the greater good. I would be interested to see how well these higher performing schools actually educate that OOB/at risk kids over the long term. I bet they do nothing toward shrinking the achievement gap because they just don't care.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't mind the folks who have lived in DC for generations who try to lottery into better schools across the park. It's the hipsters who buy into Petworth, Shaw, etc. who somehow feel they have just as much right to attend Janney as those who spend their life savings to buy a tiny, run down $1M center hall colonial in AU park. You moved to a transitional neighborhood. Now own it.

Us "hipsters" do not want to have anything to do with you award 3 suburbanites. Trust me. We are either in our IB school or charter. You snobs are repulsive to us.

Plus, we actually want diverse populations in our schools.

The size of OOB wait lists for JKLMM would indicate that your neighbors don't angree with you.

Check the data on where the OOB are coming from.

[Anonymous]

The other parents are at fault for not shrinking the achievement gap?

Not sure I follow your logic here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As always, laughing my ass off at the notion that the parents somehow "build up" a school.

And most of the parents clawing each other's eyes out protecting these schools aren't even from Washington.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't mind the folks who have lived in DC for generations who try to lottery into better schools across the park. It's the hipsters who buy into Petworth, Shaw, etc. who somehow feel they have just as much right to attend Janney as those who spend their life savings to buy a tiny, run down $1M center hall colonial in AU park. You moved to a transitional neighborhood. Now own it.

This X 2,000,000. I can't stand them. They're so insufferable.

The F are you guys talking about? A Shaw "hipster gentrifyer family" has no interest in trecking across town to Janney every day, because both parents are probably working outside of the home. Get over yourselves. Actually we don't even exactly know where Janney is (had to google map it to confirm), we have our eyes on the geographically realistic lottery-impossible HRCS.

+1

To get all the way over cross town like that would take hours! And then back to work? I know no one, literally no one who is in a ward 3 school or would lottery into one because the committee is insane. Who wants to drive up to Maryland or wherever anyway?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The other parents are at fault for not shrinking the achievement gap?

Not sure I follow your logic here.

Sorry, I jumped. The culture of the school -- admin, teachers, staff, families etc. have become so complacent and turning out their students with the high test scores and doing things the same way. They (including parents) think the school is so well performing, all of the inputs that some claim make a great school -- to OP original point about parents somehow being responsible for the quality of the school -- that it's taken for granted that early education success is heavily depending on the parents/quality of life. So schools like the higher performing ones should be able to use their resources to make sure the kids who are starting at a deficit catch up because everything else is relatively easy. But my guess is they probably don't and while the at risk/OOB kids have access to a better education that they would at a lower performing school, they are still left behind. It was a messy way to try to emphasize the point that the higher performing schools/community serve only their own interests.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So start a damn PTA. So raise funds for the school. Call someone a channel 9 or at channel 5. You can do things to make your schools better. And blaming families because they've worked hard and they can afford to live in a wealthy your neighborhood that comes with the territory.

Hardy IB parents were pilloried on this board when they started pushing Hardy to offer a similar experience to Deal. Its a damned if you do/don't situation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The other parents are at fault for not shrinking the achievement gap?

Not sure I follow your logic here.

Sorry, I jumped. The culture of the school -- admin, teachers, staff, families etc. have become so complacent and turning out their students with the high test scores and doing things the same way. They (including parents) think the school is so well performing, all of the inputs that some claim make a great school -- to OP original point about parents somehow being responsible for the quality of the school -- that it's taken for granted that early education success is heavily depending on the parents/quality of life. So schools like the higher performing ones should be able to use their resources to make sure the kids who are starting at a deficit catch up because everything else is relatively easy. But my guess is they probably don't and while the at risk/OOB kids have access to a better education that they would at a lower performing school, they are still left behind. It was a messy way to try to emphasize the point that the higher performing schools/community serve only their own interests.

I am totally missing the point of this post. Is it that parents in top performing schools have a responsibility to work on other schools too?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't mind the folks who have lived in DC for generations who try to lottery into better schools across the park. It's the hipsters who buy into Petworth, Shaw, etc. who somehow feel they have just as much right to attend Janney as those who spend their life savings to buy a tiny, run down $1M center hall colonial in AU park. You moved to a transitional neighborhood. Now own it.

This X 2,000,000. I can't stand them. They're so insufferable.

The F are you guys talking about? A Shaw "hipster gentrifyer family" has no interest in trecking across town to Janney every day, because both parents are probably working outside of the home. Get over yourselves. Actually we don't even exactly know where Janney is (had to google map it to confirm), we have our eyes on the geographically realistic lottery-impossible HRCS.

+1

To get all the way over cross town like that would take hours! And then back to work? I know no one, literally no one who is in a ward 3 school or would lottery into one because the committee is insane. Who wants to drive up to Maryland or wherever anyway?

And if you don't get in a charter where will you be when your kids are in third grade?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't mind the folks who have lived in DC for generations who try to lottery into better schools across the park. It's the hipsters who buy into Petworth, Shaw, etc. who somehow feel they have just as much right to attend Janney as those who spend their life savings to buy a tiny, run down $1M center hall colonial in AU park. You moved to a transitional neighborhood. Now own it.

This X 2,000,000. I can't stand them. They're so insufferable.

The F are you guys talking about? A Shaw "hipster gentrifyer family" has no interest in trecking across town to Janney every day, because both parents are probably working outside of the home. Get over yourselves. Actually we don't even exactly know where Janney is (had to google map it to confirm), we have our eyes on the geographically realistic lottery-impossible HRCS.

+1

To get all the way over cross town like that would take hours! And then back to work? I know no one, literally no one who is in a ward 3 school or would lottery into one because the committee is insane. Who wants to drive up to Maryland or wherever anyway?

And if you don't get in a charter where will you be when your kids are in third grade?

Why do all you Ward 3 parents assume that us "hipsters" (as you have seems to named all us EOTP parents) have babies? Some of us have been living here for years and have older children - just like you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The other parents are at fault for not shrinking the achievement gap?

Not sure I follow your logic here.

Sorry, I jumped. The culture of the school -- admin, teachers, staff, families etc. have become so complacent and turning out their students with the high test scores and doing things the same way. They (including parents) think the school is so well performing, all of the inputs that some claim make a great school -- to OP original point about parents somehow being responsible for the quality of the school -- that it's taken for granted that early education success is heavily depending on the parents/quality of life. So schools like the higher performing ones should be able to use their resources to make sure the kids who are starting at a deficit catch up because everything else is relatively easy. But my guess is they probably don't and while the at risk/OOB kids have access to a better education that they would at a lower performing school, they are still left behind. It was a messy way to try to emphasize the point that the higher performing schools/community serve only their own interests.

I am totally missing the point of this post. Is it that parents in top performing schools have a responsibility to work on other schools too?

EOTP parent here, I have a child at a high performing charter and also work on my neighborhood school. I don't see it as a "responsibility" but because I care about education here in Washington.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The other parents are at fault for not shrinking the achievement gap?

Not sure I follow your logic here.

Sorry, I jumped. The culture of the school -- admin, teachers, staff, families etc. have become so complacent and turning out their students with the high test scores and doing things the same way. They (including parents) think the school is so well performing, all of the inputs that some claim make a great school -- to OP original point about parents somehow being responsible for the quality of the school -- that it's taken for granted that early education success is heavily depending on the parents/quality of life. So schools like the higher performing ones should be able to use their resources to make sure the kids who are starting at a deficit catch up because everything else is relatively easy. But my guess is they probably don't and while the at risk/OOB kids have access to a better education that they would at a lower performing school, they are still left behind. It was a messy way to try to emphasize the point that the higher performing schools/community serve only their own interests.

I am totally missing the point of this post. Is it that parents in top performing schools have a responsibility to work on other schools too?

EOTP parent here, I have a child at a high performing charter and also work on my neighborhood school. I don't see it as a "responsibility" but because I care about education here in Washington.

How so you find time to work on schools your kid doesn't attens? I am too busy on multiple PTA leadership committees for my own kids schools, in addition to working FT.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The other parents are at fault for not shrinking the achievement gap?

Not sure I follow your logic here.

Sorry, I jumped. The culture of the school -- admin, teachers, staff, families etc. have become so complacent and turning out their students with the high test scores and doing things the same way. They (including parents) think the school is so well performing, all of the inputs that some claim make a great school -- to OP original point about parents somehow being responsible for the quality of the school -- that it's taken for granted that early education success is heavily depending on the parents/quality of life. So schools like the higher performing ones should be able to use their resources to make sure the kids who are starting at a deficit catch up because everything else is relatively easy. But my guess is they probably don't and while the at risk/OOB kids have access to a better education that they would at a lower performing school, they are still left behind. It was a messy way to try to emphasize the point that the higher performing schools/community serve only their own interests.

I am totally missing the point of this post. Is it that parents in top performing schools have a responsibility to work on other schools too?

EOTP parent here, I have a child at a high performing charter and also work on my neighborhood school. I don't see it as a "responsibility" but because I care about education here in Washington.

How so you find time to work on schools your kid doesn't attens? I am too busy on multiple PTA leadership committees for my own kids schools, in addition to working FT.

I guess I just multitask better than you, I'm not sure what you want to know. You obviously don't want to do other volunteer work outside your kids school- that's ok. But, you are never to busy to take on a project you care about. It's just something you don't care about. You probably volunteer somewhere that isn't totally selfish - right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The other parents are at fault for not shrinking the achievement gap?

Not sure I follow your logic here.

Sorry, I jumped. The culture of the school -- admin, teachers, staff, families etc. have become so complacent and turning out their students with the high test scores and doing things the same way. They (including parents) think the school is so well performing, all of the inputs that some claim make a great school -- to OP original point about parents somehow being responsible for the quality of the school -- that it's taken for granted that early education success is heavily depending on the parents/quality of life. So schools like the higher performing ones should be able to use their resources to make sure the kids who are starting at a deficit catch up because everything else is relatively easy. But my guess is they probably don't and while the at risk/OOB kids have access to a better education that they would at a lower performing school, they are still left behind. It was a messy way to try to emphasize the point that the higher performing schools/community serve only their own interests.

I am totally missing the point of this post. Is it that parents in top performing schools have a responsibility to work on other schools too?

EOTP parent here, I have a child at a high performing charter and also work on my neighborhood school. I don't see it as a "responsibility" but because I care about education here in Washington.

How so you find time to work on schools your kid doesn't attens? I am too busy on multiple PTA leadership committees for my own kids schools, in addition to working FT.

I guess I just multitask better than you, I'm not sure what you want to know. You obviously don't want to do other volunteer work outside your kids school- that's ok. But, you are never to busy to take on a project you care about. It's just something you don't care about. You probably volunteer somewhere that isn't totally selfish - right?

But the PP is on MULTIPLE LEADERSHIP COMMITTEES. That obviously counts more than your multitasking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The other parents are at fault for not shrinking the achievement gap?

Not sure I follow your logic here.

Sorry, I jumped. The culture of the school -- admin, teachers, staff, families etc. have become so complacent and turning out their students with the high test scores and doing things the same way. They (including parents) think the school is so well performing, all of the inputs that some claim make a great school -- to OP original point about parents somehow being responsible for the quality of the school -- that it's taken for granted that early education success is heavily depending on the parents/quality of life. So schools like the higher performing ones should be able to use their resources to make sure the kids who are starting at a deficit catch up because everything else is relatively easy. But my guess is they probably don't and while the at risk/OOB kids have access to a better education that they would at a lower performing school, they are still left behind. It was a messy way to try to emphasize the point that the higher performing schools/community serve only their own interests.

I am totally missing the point of this post. Is it that parents in top performing schools have a responsibility to work on other schools too?

EOTP parent here, I have a child at a high performing charter and also work on my neighborhood school. I don't see it as a "responsibility" but because I care about education here in Washington.

How so you find time to work on schools your kid doesn't attens? I am too busy on multiple PTA leadership committees for my own kids schools, in addition to working FT.

I guess I just multitask better than you, I'm not sure what you want to know. You obviously don't want to do other volunteer work outside your kids school- that's ok. But, you are never to busy to take on a project you care about. It's just something you don't care about. You probably volunteer somewhere that isn't totally selfish - right?

But the PP is on MULTIPLE LEADERSHIP COMMITTEES. That obviously counts more than your multitasking.

This is one of the most ridiculous threads on DCUM... what the hell are you all arguing about?