Wilson funding petition v. At Risk funding petition

[Anonymous]

Nothing has happened with the Principal Selection Committee. Apparently Dan Shea and Central Office haven't finished "narrowing down finalists" to sit with the committee to even interview.

[Anonymous]

What has Wilson done to make DCPS hate it so much? First they fire a successful principal for no good reason. Then they cut existing services to kids at the same time enrollment is increasing. If Wilson were a person, there would be a criminal indictment against DCPS for assault & battery (as well as a civil suit for pain and suffering, of course).

[Anonymous]

DCPS is banking on wealthy parents of bright kids leaving these schools in disgust. That is the plan to right size the schools and budgets.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What has Wilson done to make DCPS hate it so much? First they fire a successful principal for no good reason. Then they cut existing services to kids at the same time enrollment is increasing. If Wilson were a person, there would be a criminal indictment against DCPS for assault & battery (as well as a civil suit for pain and suffering, of course).

It's successful and located in Ward 3. Kaya did the same with SWW- now she's after Wilson.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am struggling between compassion for the kids that will be kicked out because of the new enforcement of existing standards and being appalled at 10 unexcused absences. That is two weeks of school and does not include sick days which are excused. Who allows their kid to miss this much school? I would assume kids coming from OOB are from families that care about education, regardless of SES.

The next kid to be kicked out because of unexcused absences will be the first one. DCPS has never shown that they are willing to enforce their own rules in that manner.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am struggling between compassion for the kids that will be kicked out because of the new enforcement of existing standards and being appalled at 10 unexcused absences. That is two weeks of school and does not include sick days which are excused. Who allows their kid to miss this much school? I would assume kids coming from OOB are from families that care about education, regardless of SES.

The next kid to be kicked out because of unexcused absences will be the first one. DCPS has never shown that they are willing to enforce their own rules in that manner.

Well, it seems this time that will happen, because it is the only way Wilson can survive the cuts. Challenging year ahead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am struggling between compassion for the kids that will be kicked out because of the new enforcement of existing standards and being appalled at 10 unexcused absences. That is two weeks of school and does not include sick days which are excused. Who allows their kid to miss this much school? I would assume kids coming from OOB are from families that care about education, regardless of SES.

The next kid to be kicked out because of unexcused absences will be the first one. DCPS has never shown that they are willing to enforce their own rules in that manner.

If dc has a historical pattern of not enforcing that 10+ absences policy I'm guessing any family that does find itself in that situation could likely push back pretty easily.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What has Wilson done to make DCPS hate it so much? First they fire a successful principal for no good reason. Then they cut existing services to kids at the same time enrollment is increasing. If Wilson were a person, there would be a criminal indictment against DCPS for assault & battery (as well as a civil suit for pain and suffering, of course).

You're funny. And overly dramatic--are you an actress, by any chance?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am struggling between compassion for the kids that will be kicked out because of the new enforcement of existing standards and being appalled at 10 unexcused absences. That is two weeks of school and does not include sick days which are excused. Who allows their kid to miss this much school? I would assume kids coming from OOB are from families that care about education, regardless of SES.

The next kid to be kicked out because of unexcused absences will be the first one. DCPS has never shown that they are willing to enforce their own rules in that manner.

Well, it seems this time that will happen, because it is the only way Wilson can survive the cuts. Challenging year ahead.

On a related note, the Post had another article this week about people who abuse handicap parking placards downtown. Arlington, Philly and many cities solved this problem by taking away the incentive to commit this fraud: stop offering free handicapped parking. Mayor Bowser (And Jack Evans and Cheh and others before them) say, "Nope, we can't do it that." Same thing will happen here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What has Wilson done to make DCPS hate it so much? First they fire a successful principal for no good reason. Then they cut existing services to kids at the same time enrollment is increasing. If Wilson were a person, there would be a criminal indictment against DCPS for assault & battery (as well as a civil suit for pain and suffering, of course).

You're funny. And overly dramatic--are you an actress, by any chance?

All I'm saying, the target practice is odd.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DCPS is banking on wealthy parents of bright kids leaving these schools in disgust. That is the plan to right size the schools and budgets.

You got it. They figured out that the cost effective way to eliminate the achievement gap is to cull the higher performing students.

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So the letter states that several fixes will be implemented to help reduce the immediate enrollment pressure and then goes on to discuss those fixes (saying no to siblings of currently enrolled OOB students; kicking out OOB kids with more then 10 unexcused absences, kicking out students 19 and older, etc).

But I'm confused. Does the submitted budget for SY 15-16, which is based upon projected enrollment of 1878 assume these "fixes" have had had their intended effect (so otherwise enrollment would be even higher...1900+)? Or is the 1878 projection assuming no fixes and by then implementing the fixes Wilson actually ends up with enrollment lower than 1878?

Why doesn't the letter address this? The answer to this question would help provide some much needed insight.

If DCPS is actually hoping Wilson will end up with a lower enrollment (1800 or lower) because of their "fixes" would Wilson have it's budget cut even more drastically? What if the kids that leave Wilson are at-risk (I'm going to guess that most kids with 10+ unexcused absences or who are 19+ years old are likely at-risk)? Will Wilson have to give up some of it's at-risk funding to follow those kids who are forced out of Wilson? There is not nearly enough transparency here. And offering the excuse that they want to continue their increased investment in middle schools and ECs because it only started last year is way to flimsy of an explanation.

You raise some fair questions in your final paragraph, however, it's clear to me that Wilson will be a lot better off with these fixes implemented, even if it means a little less money. It seems that finally DCPS/school admin are taking seriously the reality that Wilson is a neighborhood school with boundaries, not a citywide free for all. This can only be a good thing from the perspective of IB families.

Looking beyond our own parochial interests (which I share at this point), if kids 19 and over or with more than 10 unexcused absences are sticking it out at Wilson, there is something about the school that is keeping them there. I would guess that their most likely alternative is dropping out. If so, kids who already probably face significant challenges are going to fall further behind. That can't be good for any of us in the long run. One would hope that DCPS would see these kids as more than unwanted baggage.

I am PP, and fair enough, I came across as a bit harsh. But with such high IB demand, there have to be some consequences for students who, by their behavior, do not seem to value very much their OOB spots. Maybe 10 unexcused is low, maybe 15 is more appropriate, but OOB attendance is not an unalienable right. I guess I do support a "love it or leave it" approach to OOB. And no we don't want a city full of high school drop outs, but each of these kids has an IB to attend, plus charters like Next Step PCS in Columbia Heights that specializes in adults finishing high school, and would be a better choice than Wilson for many of the 19+ students. It's just one example of a GED program that could suit these students.

http://www.nextsteppcs.org

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:

jsteele wrote:
Looking beyond our own parochial interests (which I share at this point), if kids 19 and over or with more than 10 unexcused absences are sticking it out at Wilson, there is something about the school that is keeping them there. I would guess that their most likely alternative is dropping out. If so, kids who already probably face significant challenges are going to fall further behind. That can't be good for any of us in the long run. One would hope that DCPS would see these kids as more than unwanted baggage.

I am PP, and fair enough, I came across as a bit harsh. But with such high IB demand, there have to be some consequences for students who, by their behavior, do not seem to value very much their OOB spots. Maybe 10 unexcused is low, maybe 15 is more appropriate, but OOB attendance is not an unalienable right. I guess I do support a "love it or leave it" approach to OOB. And no we don't want a city full of high school drop outs, but each of these kids has an IB to attend, plus charters like Next Step PCS in Columbia Heights that specializes in adults finishing high school, and would be a better choice than Wilson for many of the 19+ students. It's just one example of a GED program that could suit these students.

http://www.nextsteppcs.org

I have no problem with transitioning struggling kids into programs in which they will be better supported. I just don't have a lot of faith in DCPS to do very much to support the transition and I think these kids are likely to fall by the wayside. When I see DCPS taking actions that negatively impact SWW and Wilson, I am pretty pessimistic about what might be happening at the less successful schools.

[Anonymous]

I'm waiting for the inevitable Washington Post investigation in a year or few of what happened to all of the increased "at risk" funding early in Bowser's term. A bunch of Apple hardware and Microsoft software; terminally broken and intermittently replaced i-tablets; terminally empty classrooms in renovated buildings; full-time teachers with half-time schedules; etc.

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

jsteele wrote:
Looking beyond our own parochial interests (which I share at this point), if kids 19 and over or with more than 10 unexcused absences are sticking it out at Wilson, there is something about the school that is keeping them there. I would guess that their most likely alternative is dropping out. If so, kids who already probably face significant challenges are going to fall further behind. That can't be good for any of us in the long run. One would hope that DCPS would see these kids as more than unwanted baggage.

I am PP, and fair enough, I came across as a bit harsh. But with such high IB demand, there have to be some consequences for students who, by their behavior, do not seem to value very much their OOB spots. Maybe 10 unexcused is low, maybe 15 is more appropriate, but OOB attendance is not an unalienable right. I guess I do support a "love it or leave it" approach to OOB. And no we don't want a city full of high school drop outs, but each of these kids has an IB to attend, plus charters like Next Step PCS in Columbia Heights that specializes in adults finishing high school, and would be a better choice than Wilson for many of the 19+ students. It's just one example of a GED program that could suit these students.

http://www.nextsteppcs.org

I have no problem with transitioning struggling kids into programs in which they will be better supported. I just don't have a lot of faith in DCPS to do very much to support the transition and I think these kids are likely to fall by the wayside. When I see DCPS taking actions that negatively impact SWW and Wilson, I am pretty pessimistic about what might be happening at the less successful schools.

And as another PP mentioned, these "fixes" are ideas the Chancellor's office came up with after the fact to respond to cries for Wilson's budget to be restored. After the lottery results are in. A week before enrollment paperwork is due. So suddenly OOB families who thought the younger sibling would be enrolling in Wilson will not be permitted to based on an existing policy that has not been enforced but suddenly will be? Or 19+ aged students suddenly find out they can't continue at Wilson? And if DCPS suddenly tells dozens of families that their kids with 10+ unexcused abscences can't come back to Wilson, you better believe those families will push back with stacks of doctors notes, etc. These "fixes" aren't going to happen. Aren't going to fix anything. Wilson will continue to have an enrollment of close to 1900 students based on a budget that would have accommodated far fewer students in recent years.