Mann and Janney PTAs called out in NYTs op-ed for perpetuating segregation in cities

[Anonymous]

It's not the extra pens, paper or iPad, it's the class size. 10 children max for one teacher while the children are learning to read, write and do math. Plus extra help for ESL and other wrap around services.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And? We were a Janney family - I have absolute no problem with how the PTA and school managed things. A fair reporter would note how the PTA raised money and arranged donations for other schools in the city, and organized volunteer events to help the homeless, fed people, get new backpacks to needy kids, etc. Oh, and provided support to other schools to help them understand how to fund raise, manage their PTAs, apply for grants, etc.

OP sounds like a bitch asshole for posting this.

I have zero issue with parents doing nice things for their kids/school/community.
Low SES schools are allocated extra money per pupil.

I was on the PTA of a very economically diverse school and there was too much hand-wringing about never asking low SES families to contribute anything, to the point it was condescending. There are lots of involvement frameworks that school PTA and admin can craft, where everyone can contribute and help each other in kind. There is an organization in DC right now (can't recall the name) specifically training parent bodies on how to be open and accommodating, and also get the most out of, all families efforts.

[Anonymous]

What do Janney and Mann spend all that money on? We're at an EOTP school (not Title 1) that raises 60K and I thought we were doing really well! What sorts of things are we missing?

[Anonymous]

This is all moot anyway. PTA donations are going to fall of a cliff this coming year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is all moot anyway. PTA donations are going to fall of a cliff this coming year.

I doubt this will happen equally. If anything, NW schools will see a lot of currently private school families joining, and sending large PTA donations which would still be far less than what they'd be paying in tuition.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What do Janney and Mann spend all that money on? We're at an EOTP school (not Title 1) that raises 60K and I thought we were doing really well! What sorts of things are we missing?

Extra staff, especially in lower grades, extra supplies, etc.

[Anonymous]

Article is right on. Have seen it on the inside from two schools, one EOTP and one highly regarded dcps. Equitable funding for all kids! By the way, parents are asked to bring in a giant box of supplies at lower income schools too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If the EOTP schools are so lucky because they are getting more funding, then move there. You’ll last a week

As if that was anybody's point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:These lieeeeesss.
You may pay for essentials, like wipes however DCPS does give each school that just not enough. So in turn that IS a luxury. PTA will fund teachers that weren’t in the budget, paras, etc.
They fund those extras that can truly help make a school great. I call them extras but really every school deserves it.

One simple look at an LSAT budget can tell you what a great PTA can fund. I work at a title 1 school and I was thinking how nice it’d be to be a school that’s budget plan included ‘para funded by PTA or counselor funded by PTA’

That’s a wonderful resource.

I can’t blame NW PTAs fully for anything, however I can certainly say that equity is always a problem and really the focus needs to be the overall budget. The US has too long not invested in public schools. That’s something we should all be agreeing on.

We’ve already acknowledged these disparities but we haven’t done enough to help the city as a whole. Everyone only thinks about their neighborhood.

How about less ME and more WE?

-DCPS Teacher and Mom

That is exactly the problem with the article though. It literally suggest there was some vote to help the city as a whole and Janney and Mann voted "no" and chose me over we. This is completely false, obviously, and it leads to ridiculous side arguments that prevent people from focusing on the real problems with education in the city. It puts the focus on "rich DCPS parents" -- as if that is some huge population of troublemakers -- and not on the real problems. Seriously, if you tried to argue to the rest of the country that the real problems in DC education are caused by wealthy people who send their kids to DC public school, you'd be laughed out of the room.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is all moot anyway. PTA donations are going to fall of a cliff this coming year.

I doubt this will happen equally. If anything, NW schools will see a lot of currently private school families joining, and sending large PTA donations which would still be far less than what they'd be paying in tuition.

Yeah, there will probably be some private to public movement but I don't think that will translate to increased donations. A 30% drop in income has a profound psychological impact on spending behavior and there's going to be a lot of pain as the full impact of what's happened becomes real.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This does not take into account that schools EOTP have free PK3, more funding per child, free meals, and many other resources that are not given to WOTP schools. And no one is complaining about that.

The reality is that WOTP schools are overcrowded and the parents have to make up the difference between what DCPS provides and what is needed.

I'll give you some examples of what our PTA funds are used for in our WOTP school: field trip costs because DCPS charges us for the bus, smartboard repairs because they break and we need them repaired, classroom supplies for teachers so they don't have to spend their own money, etc.

As parents, we are expected to bring a huge box of supplies for the school at the beginning of the year because IT IS NOT COVERED BY THE DCPS BUDGET. Clorox wipes, paper towels, tissues, dry erase markers, pencils, crayons, paper, and so on.

We still have the same DCPS curriculum as everyone else. We have overcrowded classrooms. Not sure what folks are up in arms about.

Let's be specific; I'm having a bit of trouble connecting with your stated generalizations about schools that are EOTP.

- Free meals add up to approximately $288 per kid, or $1.60 per instructional day. If you've ever seen a school meal, believe me, the quality depends on the contractor.
- All DC Public Elementary schools that offer prek offer "free" preK.
- All DC Public school full time lead teachers are allocated a standard allotment from Office Depot for supplies, despite grade level.
- "Many other resources" please disclose the multitude of resources that are provided EOTP that are denied to WOTP schools.


- Signed, former Elementary teacher EOTP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Article is right on. Have seen it on the inside from two schools, one EOTP and one highly regarded dcps. Equitable funding for all kids! By the way, parents are asked to bring in a giant box of supplies at lower income schools too.

Hmm.

Equitable funding would mean than NW schools start getting a ton MORE money than they do now.

[Anonymous]

The NYT editorial board has no idea what it's talking about when it comes to DC. They just like the scary numbers.

It's apples and oranges to compare equity challenges between DC and NYC -- or most major metro districts. Our education governance system is totally different, the size and composition of student body is different, the institutional legacy of funding and the role of PTAs is different, etc. etc. etc.

DC needs a clean slate to figure out how to manage education that doesn't exacerbate divides with charter vs DCPS vs overlap mess we have now.

One school authorizing body.
An independent oversight function.
End the lottery merry go round through stable pathways to graduation.

It shouldn't require a masters degree in data science to get a kid into pre-K. Children experiencing unstable housing shouldn't have to endure unstable schooling. Don't get me started on Special Education...

Seriously, there is so much messy backstory to DC that it wastes time and energy to argue the micro-level (how many aides, afterschool, etc.) without looking at the Broken Big Picture.

DC has to deal with overlapping state and local functions, national political interference, and opaque education reform "philanthropy."

Similar to Hurricane Katrina for New Orleans, DC should use Covid-19 to build a more resilient system for all students. This hypercompetitive crap has to stop.

[Anonymous]

DC has the highest taxes in the country and we spend more on schools per capita than anywhere else. If some schools aren't getting their share, it's the politicians' fault.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How do they know NW parents don’t vote for equal funding?? My kid goes to a dcps with a well funded PTA, and I would vote in additional funds for all of dcps in a second. The pta shaming is just a version of blaming “white women” for everything.

This is a little weird. I have a lot of admiration for the NYT editorial board, but their assertion here way oversimplifies the issue and the facts.

I've lived in D.C. for decades, and I've never seen a ballot for or against equal funding in D.C. schools. On this point, the NYT op-ed is based on a non-existent fact. It's like the blank piece in Scrabble: you can make a lot of impressive words with one of those! (but it's not a real word)

It is especially odd when you realize that a vote for literal equal funding would benefit the named schools and hurt others. So the article completely missed the point. There is a point to be made about PTA funding, but the way the article tries to frame is so factually incorrect that they miss the opportunity to actually address some real problems.

+1. Yes how ironic. Live EOTP and not WOTP BTW. Equal funding would actually help WOTP schools more. EOTP title 1 schools get much more money than WOTP from title 1 money, head start money up to this year, free meals, free ECE, etc...

I don’t grudge PTA’s that raise money for the school. It’s the parents money, not the city’s money.

People should realize that almost everywhere in the country, many of the things that WOTP PTA funds pay for is paid by the school district from the high taxes they collect from million dollar plus houses. In DC, WOTP schools get much less covered compared to their equivalent neighbirs in VA and MD.

Every other school district in the US gets money from local property taxes and state taxes and federal taxes.

The feds shortchange DC.

And, because MD and VA suburbs have many people who work in DC but don't pay taxes there, the lack of federal coordination on taxes shortchanges DC.