WCP article on Watkins

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not sure why all of this energy is being expended by any of you Hill parents on this matter. What does any of it matter when your middle school options are all severely lacking and a sh** show. It would be much more in your interest to band together and lobby DCPS on that issue so you aren't all competing for the finite spots as Latin, Basis and oob Hardy.

Debbie Downer! Where have you been? It took you 7 pages to dump on Hill MS options . . . but only 7 pages of dumping on ES! Dare I say - progress?

Just pointing out the reality of your situaruon. None of you are rushing to use Jefferson, SH or EH. Already someone has replied that Basis does in fact have infiinite capacity. Thr mental gymnastics some of you engage in to justify your lifestyle choices is amazing.

Which dog do you have in this fight? Are you a Hill expat looking to justify you're exodus? Does that make you feel better?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not sure why all of this energy is being expended by any of you Hill parents on this matter. What does any of it matter when your middle school options are all severely lacking and a sh** show. It would be much more in your interest to band together and lobby DCPS on that issue so you aren't all competing for the finite spots as Latin, Basis and oob Hardy.

Debbie Downer! Where have you been? It took you 7 pages to dump on Hill MS options . . . but only 7 pages of dumping on ES! Dare I say - progress?

Just pointing out the reality of your situaruon. None of you are rushing to use Jefferson, SH or EH. Already someone has replied that Basis does in fact have infiinite capacity. Thr mental gymnastics some of you engage in to justify your lifestyle choices is amazing.

Which dog do you have in this fight? Are you a Hill expat looking to justify you're exodus? Does that make you feel better?

Might I suggest that you are the one who feels guilty and thus the need for the mental gymnastics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not sure why all of this energy is being expended by any of you Hill parents on this matter. What does any of it matter when your middle school options are all severely lacking and a sh** show. It would be much more in your interest to band together and lobby DCPS on that issue so you aren't all competing for the finite spots as Latin, Basis and oob Hardy.

Debbie Downer! Where have you been? It took you 7 pages to dump on Hill MS options . . . but only 7 pages of dumping on ES! Dare I say - progress?

Just pointing out the reality of your situaruon. None of you are rushing to use Jefferson, SH or EH. Already someone has replied that Basis does in fact have infiinite capacity. Thr mental gymnastics some of you engage in to justify your lifestyle choices is amazing.

Which dog do you have in this fight? Are you a Hill expat looking to justify you're exodus? Does that make you feel better?

Might I suggest that you are the one who feels guilty and thus the need for the mental gymnastics.

You have absolutely no clue what you're talking about. Bye Felicia!

[Anonymous]

I'm with Felicia. When the heck are we going to have a neighborhood school where kids are safe?

[Anonymous]

We have no representation on Capitol Hill either. No hope for a DCPS middle school.

[Anonymous]

Judging from these comments, I'm guessing none of these posters are people of privileged, have EVER questioned their school administrators, and have gone along with blind faith. LOL.

[Anonymous]

Judging from the comments about how "great" the status quo allegedly is, I'd say those commenters aren't parents with kids in the school, aren't in-bounds, are school administrators or all of the foregoing.

[Anonymous]

I wonder when people here will realize that, as a parent, it doesn't mean you're an expert on how teachers should teach and how principals should run a school.

Talk to us when you have the education and the experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wonder when people here will realize that, as a parent, it doesn't mean you're an expert on how teachers should teach and how principals should run a school.

Talk to us when you have the education and the experience.

Talk to us when Watkins' scores aren't abysmal.

[Anonymous]

I'm sad that the drama at Watkins continues. I hoped that the new building would be a stabilizing force.

When we enrolled a few years ago, I was pleased that the school had a mix of race and income that few other schools in the city could match. Time quenched some of that idealism. I would send them there again, though, given the chance.

My take away is that there is no easy answer. For all those claiming that focusing on the achievement gap doesn't hurt kids in the middle or above are living in la la land. There are finite resources (time, energy, money). Sometimes an amazing teacher can manage to cover the spectrum, at least some of the time. I saw it happen. On the other hand, our last year there, I was in heavy rotation as a volunteer for a teacher who let my kid (no academic superstar) and anyone else who met the base line level of proficiency languish while she spent her efforts, often one on one, with kids who were failing. It was elementary school and I knew my kid would probably make up for lost time but still it was unnerving to see a large group of student left to entertain themselves with worksheets and reading for a significant chunk of time.

From a big-picture perspective, we can argue that all extra resources should go to those who need them most. But we are parents first. It's unrealistic to think we won't lobby for our kids' best interests (especially if we convince ourselves that it's gonna help out everyone in the long run).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm sad that the drama at Watkins continues. I hoped that the new building would be a stabilizing force.

When we enrolled a few years ago, I was pleased that the school had a mix of race and income that few other schools in the city could match. Time quenched some of that idealism. I would send them there again, though, given the chance.

My take away is that there is no easy answer. For all those claiming that focusing on the achievement gap doesn't hurt kids in the middle or above are living in la la land. There are finite resources (time, energy, money). Sometimes an amazing teacher can manage to cover the spectrum, at least some of the time. I saw it happen. On the other hand, our last year there, I was in heavy rotation as a volunteer for a teacher who let my kid (no academic superstar) and anyone else who met the base line level of proficiency languish while she spent her efforts, often one on one, with kids who were failing. It was elementary school and I knew my kid would probably make up for lost time but still it was unnerving to see a large group of student left to entertain themselves with worksheets and reading for a significant chunk of time.

From a big-picture perspective, we can argue that all extra resources should go to those who need them most. But we are parents first. It's unrealistic to think we won't lobby for our kids' best interests (especially if we convince ourselves that it's gonna help out everyone in the long run).

It seems Watkins' problem, or one of them, is that it has many students with significant needs and disadvantages, but it doesn't have enough of them to warrant a lot of extra resources / personnel that a needier Title 1 school would get.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm sad that the drama at Watkins continues. I hoped that the new building would be a stabilizing force.

When we enrolled a few years ago, I was pleased that the school had a mix of race and income that few other schools in the city could match. Time quenched some of that idealism. I would send them there again, though, given the chance.

My take away is that there is no easy answer. For all those claiming that focusing on the achievement gap doesn't hurt kids in the middle or above are living in la la land. There are finite resources (time, energy, money). Sometimes an amazing teacher can manage to cover the spectrum, at least some of the time. I saw it happen. On the other hand, our last year there, I was in heavy rotation as a volunteer for a teacher who let my kid (no academic superstar) and anyone else who met the base line level of proficiency languish while she spent her efforts, often one on one, with kids who were failing. It was elementary school and I knew my kid would probably make up for lost time but still it was unnerving to see a large group of student left to entertain themselves with worksheets and reading for a significant chunk of time.

From a big-picture perspective, we can argue that all extra resources should go to those who need them most. But we are parents first. It's unrealistic to think we won't lobby for our kids' best interests (especially if we convince ourselves that it's gonna help out everyone in the long run).

You do know that independent reading blocks are common in all ES? Visit DC private schools and you might be surprised at how much independent reading happens there as well. When you "entertain themselves" it presumes that the teacher is not engaging with these students to reinforce educational goals. I couldn't tell you whether or not that happens at Watkins but the mere presence of independent reading and completing worksheets isn't damning evidence without further context.

[Anonymous]

As a Watkins parent, the biggest issue with the article is that none of what the "activist" parents have discussed with DCPS involves or even relates to the achievement gap work. These were the issues raised by them, as I understand them: breakdown in school's communications with parents (at one point this year, the parents went almost three months without any communication from the principal), 50% of highly effective and effective teachers departed last June/July (all 4th grade and 5th grade, plus ALL specials teachers - most of them ended up at Stuart-Hobson or other DCPS schools), discipline re: bullying issues that go unaddressed, safety issues (like two students and a chaperone left behind on a field trip and no one at the school realized they were missing), and several academic programs that were once emphasized (like STEM and First in Math) are not currently celebrated. There is even a question as to whether any significant STEM work has taken place this year. None of this relates to the achievement gap. It's about failure to properly manage the school's day-to-day operations and maintain the school's academic programs, which were already in place. The principal has gone out of her way to distract everyone (other parents, DCPS, DC Council) and attack these parents by raising the achievement gap as the main issue, but it's a red herring.

[Anonymous]

^^^ Bullying is a BIG problem and needs to be addressed. No kid should go to school in fear. No kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm sad that the drama at Watkins continues. I hoped that the new building would be a stabilizing force.

When we enrolled a few years ago, I was pleased that the school had a mix of race and income that few other schools in the city could match. Time quenched some of that idealism. I would send them there again, though, given the chance.

My take away is that there is no easy answer. For all those claiming that focusing on the achievement gap doesn't hurt kids in the middle or above are living in la la land. There are finite resources (time, energy, money). Sometimes an amazing teacher can manage to cover the spectrum, at least some of the time. I saw it happen. On the other hand, our last year there, I was in heavy rotation as a volunteer for a teacher who let my kid (no academic superstar) and anyone else who met the base line level of proficiency languish while she spent her efforts, often one on one, with kids who were failing. It was elementary school and I knew my kid would probably make up for lost time but still it was unnerving to see a large group of student left to entertain themselves with worksheets and reading for a significant chunk of time.

From a big-picture perspective, we can argue that all extra resources should go to those who need them most. But we are parents first. It's unrealistic to think we won't lobby for our kids' best interests (especially if we convince ourselves that it's gonna help out everyone in the long run).

Um, you do know small group guided reading and centers are the best way to teach language arts, don't you?