Ward 6 Middle Schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What??? History lesson please. Pp is mighty confused

I will paste the link in a moment, but first I'd like to ask a serious question: What school do you think the founder of Brent was in bounds for when she and her neighbors started two rivers?

Doh! Freudian slip. That's right, the founder of two rivers was IB for Brent. http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/articles/777/diy-charter-school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What??? History lesson please. Pp is mighty confused

I will paste the link in a moment, but first I'd like to ask a serious question: What school do you think the founder of Brent was in bounds for when she and her neighbors started two rivers?

This honestly doesn't matter at all to the discussion at hand. I don't even think you two are in disagreement. TODAY matters to people raising kids in this city. Of course, ideally, all would benefit and all schools would improve. I'm not so selfish I don't want that, but then there's my situation TODAY. Unless you address that, you lose your greatest resource. They start a 2 rivers until a critical mass evolves at Brent, they split SWS off from the cluster, they scrape and claw a situation out that they feel good about or they resent everyone else who does when they can't. This is people's children you're talking about and any idealism is quickly trumped - regardless of the history of the situation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are gunning at CHPSPO then you need to start with Charles Allen, his Chief of Staff is full-on CHPSPO.

Oh boy this... She stands in the back of the room all Judgy McJudgerton because you're not THRILLED to send your kid to Jefferson. But hey, she knows it's the RIGHT thing to do, so it's your problem, not hers.

LOL - I shall be expropriating this expression!

[Anonymous]

I cannot WAiT to hear who you think is a "founder" of Brent AND of 2 Rivers. I was AT the very first organizational meeting of 2rivers and also live inbounds for Brent. There was no inboundary interest/support for Brent at the time. We all prayed we would get into peabody! It was the only choice at the time and 2rivers offered an alternative curriculum model.

Opposition to Washington Global would be exactly analogous

[Anonymous]

Last time that I checked Brent has been in existence for decades. Brain fart perhaps?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Last time that I checked Brent has been in existence for decades. Brain fart perhaps?

Brent started on its current site in 1883. Two Rivers started in 2004.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
For me, it's as if Charles Allen and company don't even bother with the rest of our community on education issues.

YES. His and Tommy Wells' silence as a huge chunk of Ward 6 was redistricted from Wilson to Eastern was deafening. Probably because CHPSPO's interest is in improving Eastern, not allowing kids access to Wilson, or keeping Wilson diverse.

I don't have a horse in this race, but doesn't he have a kid about to enter PK3? So whatever he does will impact his kid too. That doesn't mean you have to agree with him. But there's a difference between disagreeing with him and ascribing nefarious intent. What if he was prioritizing Eastern? Since his the education quality in his district is more impacted by Eastern than Wilson wouldn't that be appropriate? Sure, if you were moved out of Wilson I get the anger; I would be angry too. But how myopic is your vision that you can't see that what is in your best interest isn't in everyone's?

I am not the pp, but I might hazard a guess.
I like the guy, heck, I voted for him. Nevertheless, Charles Allen, on some school issues, says current parents need to sacrifice their short term options in order to strengthen the longer term options of other parents.
On the issue of Wilson assignments changing to Eastern, who could deny that Wilson is widely considered a stronger option? But he spoke nary a word about it when that issue was pressing. Much of Ward 6 lost access to Wilson without Allen even visiting the issue.
On the issue of neighborhood schools and charters, Allen is in favor of limiting options in the near term in order to hopefully improve long term options (essentially force kids into neighborhood schools by limiting charters from opening, although he would use the euphemism "coordination" instead of limiting). Washington Global is opening in L'Enfant Plaza only after a long search for a facility in other parts of the city. But for a variety of reasons, including the DC government slow walking the release of unused buildings, Washington Global had to take whatever they could find (and the building they got actually is pretty good). Washington Global appears to be a school in the vein of Latin and Basis and that would have significant appeal to his Ward 6 constituents – they are clamoring for middle school options NOW. But Allen is siding with the hopeful notion that by constricting the supply of available desirable middle school seats now, Eliot Hine, Jefferson and even Stuart Hobson will improve. And the good folks at CHPSPO, including Joe Weedon, are enabling this with a moralistic attack on charters.
It’s a replay of the Stuart Hobson / Two Rivers fight from last decade.

Don't get me started on Washington Global. joe and Charles are listening to CHPSPO and not the rest of Ward 6 who want to see a thriving charter near by

[Anonymous]

Yes and this is why the Cluster-centered opposition to Two Rivers opening long ago is relevant. There was a lawsuit very ugly that was thrown out of court as baseless. The legacy continues with CHPSPO opposition to middle school charters that may threaten the Cluster school. But here is the thing. Two Rivers thrived and SO DID Brent and Tyler came on and Maury and.... ALL SINCE Two Rivers opened.

Excellence breeds excellence. Families who see educational paths in the city then stay in the city and create....more educational paths. More people stay etc etc. Meanwhile, families who previously had no choice except their own, often terrible, neighborhood school also have more and better choices. MORE disadvantaged kids are getting better educations than ever before.

Create excellent options for middle school ( charter or DCPS ) and more families see a path through high school, more disadvantaged kids get a decent middle school education and it builds. It is complete nonsense to try and force families into sub par options when they have the option to do other things. Focus on getting rid of the sub par, not the excellent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes and this is why the Cluster-centered opposition to Two Rivers opening long ago is relevant. There was a lawsuit very ugly that was thrown out of court as baseless. The legacy continues with CHPSPO opposition to middle school charters that may threaten the Cluster school. But here is the thing. Two Rivers thrived and SO DID Brent and Tyler came on and Maury and.... ALL SINCE Two Rivers opened.

Excellence breeds excellence. Families who see educational paths in the city then stay in the city and create....more educational paths. More people stay etc etc. Meanwhile, families who previously had no choice except their own, often terrible, neighborhood school also have more and better choices. MORE disadvantaged kids are getting better educations than ever before.

Create excellent options for middle school ( charter or DCPS ) and more families see a path through high school, more disadvantaged kids get a decent middle school education and it builds. It is complete nonsense to try and force families into sub par options when they have the option to do other things. Focus on getting rid of the sub par, not the excellent.

+1000

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes and this is why the Cluster-centered opposition to Two Rivers opening long ago is relevant. There was a lawsuit very ugly that was thrown out of court as baseless. The legacy continues with CHPSPO opposition to middle school charters that may threaten the Cluster school. But here is the thing. Two Rivers thrived and SO DID Brent and Tyler came on and Maury and.... ALL SINCE Two Rivers opened.

Excellence breeds excellence. Families who see educational paths in the city then stay in the city and create....more educational paths. More people stay etc etc. Meanwhile, families who previously had no choice except their own, often terrible, neighborhood school also have more and better choices. MORE disadvantaged kids are getting better educations than ever before.

Create excellent options for middle school ( charter or DCPS ) and more families see a path through high school, more disadvantaged kids get a decent middle school education and it builds. It is complete nonsense to try and force families into sub par options when they have the option to do other things. Focus on getting rid of the sub par, not the excellent.

CHPSPO fights charters based on the fact they are anti-charter. Washington Global could have been the best charter school and they would be against it on principal. They just are against charters. See the letter they wrote to Scott Pearson.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yup. If Charles Allen does one singular thing to restrict access to middle school charters in order to "compel" parents to use the DCPS middle schools I will never vote for him again--for anything.

Enough with the attack on the charter sector Joe Weedon. The reason people choose charter is as plain as DCPS snatching away modernization funding. It's about trust.

Agree. I thought as State Board of Ed, Joe was supposed to represent both DCPS and Charter Schools. His letter about "I chose to send my kids to neighborhood schools because I didn't want to drive across town...." Basically was a slap in the face of all charter parents in Ward 6. I get it, you want to fix your kids school, way to use your elected post to do it.

[Anonymous]

I'm just glad to see other parents and Ward 6 families speaking out, even if we have to do it anonymously.

[Anonymous]

I agree with pps. I will not be voting for Charles Allen or Joe Weedon again. I don't want my children's educational options limited. Charters have worked successfully for thousands of families in DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Property values will remain just fine in the Brent District even with no viable MS feed. If anything, they will continue to rise as development progresses south of the Freeway (e.g., Whole Foods, etc.) i haven't seen any suppression of prices of homes IB for schools like LT at which high-SES families have eschewed except for PK. I mean, seriously, take a look at prices for homes IB for Tyler or Payne. Location, location, location.

That's hilarious. Are you aware that a Whole Foods is going to open 2 blocks north of LT? You know, right down the street from the new Giant. And the other new massive mixed use. And have you looked at the IB numbers for LT for 1st? or 2nd? Brent is a great school and a great neighborhood. But are you aware there are other neighborhoods that are on an upswing? I do agree that the real estate will always be available...all those Brent families need to sell after 5th grade!

??? No Brent parent will ever need to sell. Brent is the feeder for Latin and Basis. Brent will take all of the seats thru sibling preference. It's the other Hill schools who have to worry about the lack of MS option.

I just checked the myschooldc website and you should call them. It doesn't list "Brent Families" under Lottery preferences. Neither does Latin! Just sibling. So that means that the people who have kids there won't have to sell, but your neighbors are calling realtors as I type. Unless sibling has a different meaning IB for Brent. Does it? Please illuminate the meaning in that rarified air.

You're making my argument for me. As a Brent booster/apologist the best defense for the atrocious feeder situation is...families that already have kids in a charter won't be harmed. I guess their's no "I" in Brent. I wouldn't know because neither my kids nor I were educated at Brent.

How long have you lived here? You seem out of touch. No, Brent is not a literal feeder to Latin or Basis. No, Brent families are not calling their realtors, unless it is to make a mint off of their million dollar houses.

I get that Capitol Hill is expensive all over, and I can understand why you might have a Brent chip on your shoulder if you bought an expensive house in bounds for a school like Ludlow-Taylor without realizing that all schools on the Hill are not yet on equal footing.

Not on equal footing? You're right, LT has higher CAS scores than Brent. Apparently the teacher quality is pretty equal.

The in boundary Brent parents I know are much happier with their elementary than the in boundary LT parents I know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
For me, it's as if Charles Allen and company don't even bother with the rest of our community on education issues.

YES. His and Tommy Wells' silence as a huge chunk of Ward 6 was redistricted from Wilson to Eastern was deafening. Probably because CHPSPO's interest is in improving Eastern, not allowing kids access to Wilson, or keeping Wilson diverse.

I don't have a horse in this race, but doesn't he have a kid about to enter PK3? So whatever he does will impact his kid too. That doesn't mean you have to agree with him. But there's a difference between disagreeing with him and ascribing nefarious intent. What if he was prioritizing Eastern? Since his the education quality in his district is more impacted by Eastern than Wilson wouldn't that be appropriate? Sure, if you were moved out of Wilson I get the anger; I would be angry too. But how myopic is your vision that you can't see that what is in your best interest isn't in everyone's?

I am not the pp, but I might hazard a guess.
I like the guy, heck, I voted for him. Nevertheless, Charles Allen, on some school issues, says current parents need to sacrifice their short term options in order to strengthen the longer term options of other parents.
On the issue of Wilson assignments changing to Eastern, who could deny that Wilson is widely considered a stronger option? But he spoke nary a word about it when that issue was pressing. Much of Ward 6 lost access to Wilson without Allen even visiting the issue.
On the issue of neighborhood schools and charters, Allen is in favor of limiting options in the near term in order to hopefully improve long term options (essentially force kids into neighborhood schools by limiting charters from opening, although he would use the euphemism "coordination" instead of limiting). Washington Global is opening in L'Enfant Plaza only after a long search for a facility in other parts of the city. But for a variety of reasons, including the DC government slow walking the release of unused buildings, Washington Global had to take whatever they could find (and the building they got actually is pretty good). Washington Global appears to be a school in the vein of Latin and Basis and that would have significant appeal to his Ward 6 constituents – they are clamoring for middle school options NOW. But Allen is siding with the hopeful notion that by constricting the supply of available desirable middle school seats now, Eliot Hine, Jefferson and even Stuart Hobson will improve. And the good folks at CHPSPO, including Joe Weedon, are enabling this with a moralistic attack on charters.
It’s a replay of the Stuart Hobson / Two Rivers fight from last decade.

So he's in favor of short term pain for long term gain. Which you said at least twice. And that's clearly not how you feel. And, hey, my kid is in a charter school and will stay there through MS so I also don't favor putting my kid's education at risk to benefit those that come after me. But the same posters who complain that DCPS is short sighted will also complain about the long term view when that doesn't favor their own interests. And can you please explain the SH/2R comment? Not sure the narrative that says that charters (two rivers in particular) are hurting public schools is your strongest argument here. Because unless the published reports from way back are inaccurate, two rivers was founded by Brent parents. And Brent seems to have thrived pretty well since two rivers showed up.

You are confusing and confused. Two Rivers wasn't founded by Brent parents. But it was nearly thwarted by Cluster parents and the fight was really ugly.