School residency cheaters investigated

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another thing I'd like to point out: maybe it's the statehood thing that gives people in this area such a chip on their shoulder about the borders? But coming from New York City? You know, we'd JOKE about Staten Island, (an actual part of New York City), or New Jersey, or Long Island, Connecticut; but we would never go on such personal crusades against them. I'm sure there are residency cheaters there too--I knew a ton of people in Brooklyn (Note: I DID NOT DO THIS) who rented apartments to get their kids into 321 or 29; or who sublet apartments and used the addresses, used their parent's addresses, etc. I suppose they all are dirty cheating rule-breakers, but I never really gave a damn. I assumed that life was hard enough, short enough, and some things were not my business.

People here seem to spend so much time and energy whining about what they don't have, what other people have, and how unfair it all is. It makes this a really oppressive place to be. I'm considering moving us into Silver Spring, even if it would disrupt my children and their school where they are happy, simply because I am wondering if maybe people there are not quite so miserable and horrible? Thoughts? Is there anywhere in the DMV that isn't full of people shrieking about the people who live five blocks away over a border who are in some way, bad? You guys make Philadelphians look friendly.

Mr. Rogers is from Pittsburgh. I recommend moving there.

I would love to. Trust me, our entire family is poised to decamp from this hellhole if at all possible as soon as we can. Even the things that are relatively positive here are tainted with this aura of classism and entitlement and... all the whining. I am so tired of all the whining. We get it. You want stuff that you don't have. Why don't you have the stuff? Wah. Someone else has the stuff. Maybe they didn't work hard. Wah. Wah. Don't they know you went to Princeton?

While I agree with the general idea that there is a lot of negative thoughts around this issue, I do think it is more than I want your nice car. When several of the schools offer no better than a 50-50 chance for IB students, it is bad enough for OB students to get seats using an apartment/grandma etc, but at least they pay DC taxes. That shouldn't happen either.

But when people no longer (or never) live(d) in DC for whatever reason gets those seats it is just beyond comprehension. Even if the MD people got in through an OB seat, chances are it is still taking away a spot from a DC family.

Unfortunately it is just another example of corruption that still exists in several areas in the city, which is not a victim-less issue. When DC can't pay for a functioning 911, needs Uber to get people to the hospital, and takes away free access to pools and such part of the reason is because DCPS is paying for out of state students to attend their schools, homeless apartments rents are being budgeted for $7K etc. And mind you the city is flush with $$$ right now, what happens during the next downturn?

[Anonymous]

I've been in the neighborhood long enough (15 years) to know that there are boatloads of lovely people on the Hill, a great many generous and easy-going parents of toddlers and school-age kids with a big vision for humanity. The entitled crowd, including the type of parent hell bent on busting boundary cheaters and PC County address cheaters seeking a good ECE education for their kids, is comprised mainly by relatively recent arrivals, families who came and bought property within the last five years or so. The old timers learned to roll with the punches somewhere along the way. If they'd hadn't, they'd have left.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another thing I'd like to point out: maybe it's the statehood thing that gives people in this area such a chip on their shoulder about the borders? But coming from New York City? You know, we'd JOKE about Staten Island, (an actual part of New York City), or New Jersey, or Long Island, Connecticut; but we would never go on such personal crusades against them. I'm sure there are residency cheaters there too--I knew a ton of people in Brooklyn (Note: I DID NOT DO THIS) who rented apartments to get their kids into 321 or 29; or who sublet apartments and used the addresses, used their parent's addresses, etc. I suppose they all are dirty cheating rule-breakers, but I never really gave a damn. I assumed that life was hard enough, short enough, and some things were not my business.

People here seem to spend so much time and energy whining about what they don't have, what other people have, and how unfair it all is. It makes this a really oppressive place to be. I'm considering moving us into Silver Spring, even if it would disrupt my children and their school where they are happy, simply because I am wondering if maybe people there are not quite so miserable and horrible? Thoughts? Is there anywhere in the DMV that isn't full of people shrieking about the people who live five blocks away over a border who are in some way, bad? You guys make Philadelphians look friendly.

Mr. Rogers is from Pittsburgh. I recommend moving there.

I would love to. Trust me, our entire family is poised to decamp from this hellhole if at all possible as soon as we can. Even the things that are relatively positive here are tainted with this aura of classism and entitlement and... all the whining. I am so tired of all the whining. We get it. You want stuff that you don't have. Why don't you have the stuff? Wah. Someone else has the stuff. Maybe they didn't work hard. Wah. Wah. Don't they know you went to Princeton?

While I agree with the general idea that there is a lot of negative thoughts around this issue, I do think it is more than I want your nice car. When several of the schools offer no better than a 50-50 chance for IB students, it is bad enough for OB students to get seats using an apartment/grandma etc, but at least they pay DC taxes. That shouldn't happen either.

But when people no longer (or never) live(d) in DC for whatever reason gets those seats it is just beyond comprehension. Even if the MD people got in through an OB seat, chances are it is still taking away a spot from a DC family.

Unfortunately it is just another example of corruption that still exists in several areas in the city, which is not a victim-less issue. When DC can't pay for a functioning 911, needs Uber to get people to the hospital, and takes away free access to pools and such part of the reason is because DCPS is paying for out of state students to attend their schools, homeless apartments rents are being budgeted for $7K etc. And mind you the city is flush with $$$ right now, what happens during the next downturn?

Get over yourself. Push for better services AND more ECE spots. All the high SES families in the city will survive without access to a specific in-boundary ECE opening. They're hardly refugees on the unarmed road of flight (think Syria). We made the best of things at an AppleTree a mile away from home and it was just fine. A good number of treasured friendships come from our somewhat involuntary two-year stint there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've been in the neighborhood long enough (15 years) to know that there are boatloads of lovely people on the Hill, a great many generous and easy-going parents of toddlers and school-age kids with a big vision for humanity. The entitled crowd, including the type of parent hell bent on busting boundary cheaters and PC County address cheaters seeking a good ECE education for their kids, is comprised mainly by relatively recent arrivals, families who came and bought property within the last five years or so. The old timers learned to roll with the punches somewhere along the way. If they'd hadn't, they'd have left.

I've been here 15 years too (ok fine 14). Maybe it is different when they are taking your kid's spot. It is easy to be easy going when it doesn't directly effect you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been in the neighborhood long enough (15 years) to know that there are boatloads of lovely people on the Hill, a great many generous and easy-going parents of toddlers and school-age kids with a big vision for humanity. The entitled crowd, including the type of parent hell bent on busting boundary cheaters and PC County address cheaters seeking a good ECE education for their kids, is comprised mainly by relatively recent arrivals, families who came and bought property within the last five years or so. The old timers learned to roll with the punches somewhere along the way. If they'd hadn't, they'd have left.

I've been here 15 years too (ok fine 14). Maybe it is different when they are taking your kid's spot. It is easy to be easy going when it doesn't directly effect you.

Word.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been in the neighborhood long enough (15 years) to know that there are boatloads of lovely people on the Hill, a great many generous and easy-going parents of toddlers and school-age kids with a big vision for humanity. The entitled crowd, including the type of parent hell bent on busting boundary cheaters and PC County address cheaters seeking a good ECE education for their kids, is comprised mainly by relatively recent arrivals, families who came and bought property within the last five years or so. The old timers learned to roll with the punches somewhere along the way. If they'd hadn't, they'd have left.

I've been here 15 years too (ok fine 14). Maybe it is different when they are taking your kid's spot. It is easy to be easy going when it doesn't directly effect you.

How in the hell can you know who "took" your kid's spot? You were #1 on a WL and you know an address cheater personally who got off the WL ahead of you? The spots they give away aren't numbered; in case where DCPS is auctioning off 28 PreK3 spots you can't find out who got took #28, that's not how it works. I know plenty of people on Cap Hill (self included) who were shut out of their ECE program in-boundary for a year or two, parents who know neighborhood address cheaters, and MD address cheaters for that matter, who have never bitched. They cheerfully got on with things elsewhere for PreK3 and sometimes PreK4, too. You play the hand you're dealt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:once again - the "apparent scope" of the fraud is being grossly inflated by people with an agenda. DC appears to be taking appropriate action. Please move on to something else.

What "agenda" do you think is being pushed? I see articles from Daily Caller, the Post, and other sources all saying that there are some bad apples cheating DCPS and the people of DC by fraudulently enrolling their children at DCPS even though they really live outside of DC. I don't see any secret agenda being pushed, other than the desire to address residency fraud.

If you think there's a secret agenda, then you should tell us all what you think it is, and you should put forward your proof of that supposed agenda.

I think the not-so-secret agenda is about graft, corruption, laziness, and criminality. I think it's been going on for decades.

Oh look! It's the flavor of the day, maybe people will care for two seconds. Then we can go back to being robbed by Ward 9.

This is it for me. There are other places graft, corruption, laziness, and criminality happen in DC government, but residency fraud is the one that's in the spotlight right now and I'm in favor of any attention the it brings to the larger issues. Has nothing to do with race for me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been in the neighborhood long enough (15 years) to know that there are boatloads of lovely people on the Hill, a great many generous and easy-going parents of toddlers and school-age kids with a big vision for humanity. The entitled crowd, including the type of parent hell bent on busting boundary cheaters and PC County address cheaters seeking a good ECE education for their kids, is comprised mainly by relatively recent arrivals, families who came and bought property within the last five years or so. The old timers learned to roll with the punches somewhere along the way. If they'd hadn't, they'd have left.

I've been here 15 years too (ok fine 14). Maybe it is different when they are taking your kid's spot. It is easy to be easy going when it doesn't directly effect you.

How in the hell can you know who "took" your kid's spot? You were #1 on a WL and you know an address cheater personally who got off the WL ahead of you? The spots they give away aren't numbered; in case where DCPS is auctioning off 28 PreK3 spots you can't find out who got took #28, that's not how it works. I know plenty of people on Cap Hill (self included) who were shut out of their ECE program in-boundary for a year or two, parents who know neighborhood address cheaters, and MD address cheaters for that matter, who have never bitched. They cheerfully got on with things elsewhere for PreK3 and sometimes PreK4, too. You play the hand you're dealt.

Sure. Unless you're playing a cheater. Then bust 'em.

[Anonymous]

Try going into DC DMV and telling them that because of "cultural differences" and "informal arrangements" there are no "docs." How do you think that's going to work out?

I didn't think so.

So don't make the argument when it comes to the DC public and charter schools.

I know we've moved on but want to circle back here because I think it demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding. Driving is not a legally protected right. Education is. As a result, housing insecure families are able to use whatever documents they have access to, which includes informal letters, to access that education. For the school system to require a level of documentation equivalent to the DMV of a family that is housing insecure, or has custody issues, would almost certainly bring a lawsuit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've been in the neighborhood long enough (15 years) to know that there are boatloads of lovely people on the Hill, a great many generous and easy-going parents of toddlers and school-age kids with a big vision for humanity. The entitled crowd, including the type of parent hell bent on busting boundary cheaters and PC County address cheaters seeking a good ECE education for their kids, is comprised mainly by relatively recent arrivals, families who came and bought property within the last five years or so. The old timers learned to roll with the punches somewhere along the way. If they'd hadn't, they'd have left.

Why is it lovely to tolerate cheaters who are laughing all the way to the bank?

Why should Hill residents "roll with the punches" of middle-class fraudsters?

If only the new PG County residents fought for their own preschools, rather than just expecting Hill residents to quietly cede their spots....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another thing I'd like to point out: maybe it's the statehood thing that gives people in this area such a chip on their shoulder about the borders? But coming from New York City? You know, we'd JOKE about Staten Island, (an actual part of New York City), or New Jersey, or Long Island, Connecticut; but we would never go on such personal crusades against them. I'm sure there are residency cheaters there too--I knew a ton of people in Brooklyn (Note: I DID NOT DO THIS) who rented apartments to get their kids into 321 or 29; or who sublet apartments and used the addresses, used their parent's addresses, etc. I suppose they all are dirty cheating rule-breakers, but I never really gave a damn. I assumed that life was hard enough, short enough, and some things were not my business.

People here seem to spend so much time and energy whining about what they don't have, what other people have, and how unfair it all is. It makes this a really oppressive place to be. I'm considering moving us into Silver Spring, even if it would disrupt my children and their school where they are happy, simply because I am wondering if maybe people there are not quite so miserable and horrible? Thoughts? Is there anywhere in the DMV that isn't full of people shrieking about the people who live five blocks away over a border who are in some way, bad? You guys make Philadelphians look friendly.

Mr. Rogers is from Pittsburgh. I recommend moving there.

I would love to. Trust me, our entire family is poised to decamp from this hellhole if at all possible as soon as we can. Even the things that are relatively positive here are tainted with this aura of classism and entitlement and... all the whining. I am so tired of all the whining. We get it. You want stuff that you don't have. Why don't you have the stuff? Wah. Someone else has the stuff. Maybe they didn't work hard. Wah. Wah. Don't they know you went to Princeton?

Love it!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Try going into DC DMV and telling them that because of "cultural differences" and "informal arrangements" there are no "docs." How do you think that's going to work out?

I didn't think so.

So don't make the argument when it comes to the DC public and charter schools.

I know we've moved on but want to circle back here because I think it demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding. Driving is not a legally protected right. Education is. As a result, housing insecure families are able to use whatever documents they have access to, which includes informal letters, to access that education. For the school system to require a level of documentation equivalent to the DMV of a family that is housing insecure, or has custody issues, would almost certainly bring a lawsuit.

Does anyone know how the DC rules compare to Fairfax, Arl, Moco, PG etc?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Try going into DC DMV and telling them that because of "cultural differences" and "informal arrangements" there are no "docs." How do you think that's going to work out?

I didn't think so.

So don't make the argument when it comes to the DC public and charter schools.

I know we've moved on but want to circle back here because I think it demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding. Driving is not a legally protected right. Education is. As a result, housing insecure families are able to use whatever documents they have access to, which includes informal letters, to access that education. For the school system to require a level of documentation equivalent to the DMV of a family that is housing insecure, or has custody issues, would almost certainly bring a lawsuit.

I have family down South in public education and I was talking to them about this issue. It seems like in most cases there, issues like this come up around football (shocker) with players being legally adopted by in district families. In some cases it seems like there are legit reasons (think the Blindside) but in others it is a strictly just for football. If there have been any lawsuits around these more practices, they haven't worked.

No one is saying they can't go to school. In fact, I'm all for housing insecure DC students to get to school as quickly as possible. The examples pointed out in the series are not housing insecure people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Try going into DC DMV and telling them that because of "cultural differences" and "informal arrangements" there are no "docs." How do you think that's going to work out?

I didn't think so.

So don't make the argument when it comes to the DC public and charter schools.

I know we've moved on but want to circle back here because I think it demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding. Driving is not a legally protected right. Education is. As a result, housing insecure families are able to use whatever documents they have access to, which includes informal letters, to access that education. For the school system to require a level of documentation equivalent to the DMV of a family that is housing insecure, or has custody issues, would almost certainly bring a lawsuit.

That's cute, but in this case we're talking about federal employees who own more than one home. They're just criminals, employed by you and me, and sucking up our tax dollars for their paychecks and their children's school. I'd like to see them get the perp walk they so richly deserve. And then get fired. I don't really care what order.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been in the neighborhood long enough (15 years) to know that there are boatloads of lovely people on the Hill, a great many generous and easy-going parents of toddlers and school-age kids with a big vision for humanity. The entitled crowd, including the type of parent hell bent on busting boundary cheaters and PC County address cheaters seeking a good ECE education for their kids, is comprised mainly by relatively recent arrivals, families who came and bought property within the last five years or so. The old timers learned to roll with the punches somewhere along the way. If they'd hadn't, they'd have left.

I've been here 15 years too (ok fine 14). Maybe it is different when they are taking your kid's spot. It is easy to be easy going when it doesn't directly effect you.

your three year old doesn't have a "spot" in PK3 - it's based on a lottery, and if your 3 year old did not get in, it is 99.9% likely that the seat went to a neighbor. If you really want to complain, complain about sibling preference in PK. and arguably, free PK should be targeted to the people who need it (lower income) not the rest of us who actually can afford 2 additional years of childcare.