Fillmore killed....again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Fillmore is just a crutch for lazy administrators. Other schools which are Have a lot more kids and have far less square footage make it work. Even without a kiln or studio space the kids get a lot of art with a teacher at their school.

Unless Fillmore is gone these schools have no incentive to actually implement art in their own school.

Name 1 dcps school with less sq ft/student than key and stoddert who makes it work.

And isnt it up to dcps to make sure schools have the resources to implement the curriculum they mandate? They shouldn't expect the pta to pay for everything.

One would think that dcps has a plan by now. It is pathetic that they dont. But not surprising.

[Anonymous]

My kids complain (complain!) about having to go to Fillmore. It's their least favorite day of the week. They talk about it being a waste of time, lots of waiting around, etc. If the classes were taught at the school rather than across town at Fillmore, they'd save over an hour of travel time and waiting around.

[Anonymous]

My kids don't like Fillmore either - but the lack of a feasible alternative that works for our school (where there is no facilities and obviously no art personnel) it's stinks. And it will require extra PTA private money to make it work...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids don't like Fillmore either - but the lack of a feasible alternative that works for our school (where there is no facilities and obviously no art personnel) it's stinks. And it will require extra PTA private money to make it work...

Your school pays for Fillmore by the head now, right?

That money will go to hire an art teacher and supplies. Talk to your principal. They are the one who has to make this work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fillmore is just a crutch for lazy administrators. Other schools which are Have a lot more kids and have far less square footage make it work. Even without a kiln or studio space the kids get a lot of art with a teacher at their school.

Unless Fillmore is gone these schools have no incentive to actually implement art in their own school.

Name 1 dcps school with less sq ft/student than key and stoddert who makes it work.

And isnt it up to dcps to make sure schools have the resources to implement the curriculum they mandate? They shouldn't expect the pta to pay for everything.

One would think that dcps has a plan by now. It is pathetic that they dont. But not surprising.

Eaton to name one.

Murch for years and even in swing space.

DCPS doesn't do a draft budget for each school, nor decide what classroom(s) can be used for art. The school does that all on their own. Check out non-Fillmore school budgets and you will see that administrators have figured it out on their own how to budget for an art teacher.

If parents demand that art is a priority then it will be. Until then schools can fall back on mediocre art done off site. Just don't be surprised when the plug is finally pulled on it and these schools have to do what other schools do everyday.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids don't like Fillmore either - but the lack of a feasible alternative that works for our school (where there is no facilities and obviously no art personnel) it's stinks. And it will require extra PTA private money to make it work...

Your school pays for Fillmore by the head now, right?

That money will go to hire an art teacher and supplies. Talk to your principal. They are the one who has to make this work.

Exactly. This is a school by school issue. Schools should survey their own communities anonymously, including teachers, parents, and kids. These are the people who matter, not former parents or non-parents neighbors in Georgetown and Glover Park.

Fillmore did serve a critical role in the past. But now is not like the 70s when DCPS didn't even budget for arts and Fillmore served more than twice the schools they do now. It was a good investment when there were few options.

There is an unspoken issue here. If Fillmore education is so great, don't ALL students deserve access to it? Should there be a lottery for Fillmore?

Personally, I think it makes sense for Hyde-Addison, Key, and Stoddert to share Fillmore space due to their facilities and proximity to Hardy. If the principals want that, they can pool their per-pupil funds and pay for staff there. If it's not enough, then privileged parents can do what they do everywhere else and pay for "extras."

But Reed and Ross? Those are the kids who travel the furthest, over two miles by bus. Their student numbers are subsidizing the other three.

Renovations aside, Reed is two blocks from the Oyster-Adams upper campus and half a mile from renovated H.D. Cooke. Ross is only a mile from Garrison, and from SWW Frances Stevens, and from Sitar Arts Center.

I'm not saying any of these options are perfect, but don't Ross and Reed students deserve Fillmore-quality art teachers closer to their classrooms?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids don't like Fillmore either - but the lack of a feasible alternative that works for our school (where there is no facilities and obviously no art personnel) it's stinks. And it will require extra PTA private money to make it work...

Your school pays for Fillmore by the head now, right?

That money will go to hire an art teacher and supplies. Talk to your principal. They are the one who has to make this work.

Exactly. This is a school by school issue. Schools should survey their own communities anonymously, including teachers, parents, and kids. These are the people who matter, not former parents or non-parents neighbors in Georgetown and Glover Park.

Fillmore did serve a critical role in the past. But now is not like the 70s when DCPS didn't even budget for arts and Fillmore served more than twice the schools they do now. It was a good investment when there were few options.

There is an unspoken issue here. If Fillmore education is so great, don't ALL students deserve access to it? Should there be a lottery for Fillmore?

Personally, I think it makes sense for Hyde-Addison, Key, and Stoddert to share Fillmore space due to their facilities and proximity to Hardy. If the principals want that, they can pool their per-pupil funds and pay for staff there. If it's not enough, then privileged parents can do what they do everywhere else and pay for "extras."

But Reed and Ross? Those are the kids who travel the furthest, over two miles by bus. Their student numbers are subsidizing the other three.

Renovations aside, Reed is two blocks from the Oyster-Adams upper campus and half a mile from renovated H.D. Cooke. Ross is only a mile from Garrison, and from SWW Frances Stevens, and from Sitar Arts Center.

I'm not saying any of these options are perfect, but don't Ross and Reed students deserve Fillmore-quality art teachers closer to their classrooms?
6

All of the money key and stoddert are allocated by dcps for art instructions and supplies is sent to fillmore, and additional money provided by parents. Its not like these schools get fillmore for free.

I heard that dcps said "well, we will just put trailers at key and stoddert!" It is pathetic they dont know that these schools already have all the trailers the sites can handle. Dont they have any idea about the facilities in the school system they run?

[Anonymous]

get your pta involved in a request to shrink school boundaries and then you can have an art room at your school (whatever school that ends up being). There's plenty of room in DCPS schools for every student to have access to an art room. It just means that the school boundaries may have to change--and the schools need to be more vigilant about making kids leave when they move out of the school boundary, not taking more kids then they can handle off waitlists, and verifying residency properly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids don't like Fillmore either - but the lack of a feasible alternative that works for our school (where there is no facilities and obviously no art personnel) it's stinks. And it will require extra PTA private money to make it work...

Your school pays for Fillmore by the head now, right?

That money will go to hire an art teacher and supplies. Talk to your principal. They are the one who has to make this work.

Exactly. This is a school by school issue. Schools should survey their own communities anonymously, including teachers, parents, and kids. These are the people who matter, not former parents or non-parents neighbors in Georgetown and Glover Park.

Fillmore did serve a critical role in the past. But now is not like the 70s when DCPS didn't even budget for arts and Fillmore served more than twice the schools they do now. It was a good investment when there were few options.

There is an unspoken issue here. If Fillmore education is so great, don't ALL students deserve access to it? Should there be a lottery for Fillmore?

Personally, I think it makes sense for Hyde-Addison, Key, and Stoddert to share Fillmore space due to their facilities and proximity to Hardy. If the principals want that, they can pool their per-pupil funds and pay for staff there. If it's not enough, then privileged parents can do what they do everywhere else and pay for "extras."

But Reed and Ross? Those are the kids who travel the furthest, over two miles by bus. Their student numbers are subsidizing the other three.

Renovations aside, Reed is two blocks from the Oyster-Adams upper campus and half a mile from renovated H.D. Cooke. Ross is only a mile from Garrison, and from SWW Frances Stevens, and from Sitar Arts Center.

I'm not saying any of these options are perfect, but don't Ross and Reed students deserve Fillmore-quality art teachers closer to their classrooms?

How will schools like Ross and Reed get quality art education? Well, Reed is getting renovated so they should account for that, but Ross is TINY. There wouldn't even be room for an office for an art teacher, let alone an art classroom. And Ross parents already pay for a ton at that school. It would be unreasonable to expect them to pony up hundreds more for something all children should be granted by DCPS.

[Anonymous]

An office for an art teacher? For any teacher? Seriously?

If Ross is so dismal, apply OOB for another school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:get your pta involved in a request to shrink school boundaries and then you can have an art room at your school (whatever school that ends up being). There's plenty of room in DCPS schools for every student to have access to an art room. It just means that the school boundaries may have to change--and the schools need to be more vigilant about making kids leave when they move out of the school boundary, not taking more kids then they can handle off waitlists, and verifying residency properly.

And until the boundaries change it is crayons for our kids, where other schools have kilns?

[Anonymous]

it's your school's own fault. you could have had a boundary adjustment 2 years ago but your school community rose up against it.

let the money from the school pay for an art teacher who goes class to class (there's a lot of stuff between crayons and kilns) and if Fillmore is so great, let the PTA fundraise to send kids there after school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:get your pta involved in a request to shrink school boundaries and then you can have an art room at your school (whatever school that ends up being). There's plenty of room in DCPS schools for every student to have access to an art room. It just means that the school boundaries may have to change--and the schools need to be more vigilant about making kids leave when they move out of the school boundary, not taking more kids then they can handle off waitlists, and verifying residency properly.

And until the boundaries change it is crayons for our kids, where other schools have kilns?

Art teacher here. Honestly, it's not about kilns. It's about quality. A good art teacher can create engaging and interesting lessons with the simplest materials. You do need space though, and and a general respect and appreciation for the value of art in the curriculum by parents and administration who are sometimes stuck in the mindset that art is just "fun time". The kids actually already appreciate the inherent value of the subject.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:get your pta involved in a request to shrink school boundaries and then you can have an art room at your school (whatever school that ends up being). There's plenty of room in DCPS schools for every student to have access to an art room. It just means that the school boundaries may have to change--and the schools need to be more vigilant about making kids leave when they move out of the school boundary, not taking more kids then they can handle off waitlists, and verifying residency properly.

And until the boundaries change it is crayons for our kids, where other schools have kilns?

Yep. Maybe some markers, pastels, paint and glue too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:get your pta involved in a request to shrink school boundaries and then you can have an art room at your school (whatever school that ends up being). There's plenty of room in DCPS schools for every student to have access to an art room. It just means that the school boundaries may have to change--and the schools need to be more vigilant about making kids leave when they move out of the school boundary, not taking more kids then they can handle off waitlists, and verifying residency properly.

And until the boundaries change it is crayons for our kids, where other schools have kilns?

Yep. Maybe some markers, pastels, paint and glue too.

That would be fine. PP here. I never had any sculpture kiln fired until graduate school!!! It's really OK. Your kids would be fine! Don't worry about the "stuff". Worry about the quality of instruction!