Letter from Cancellor re moving schools - opps - I got caught moving my kid?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ok, next up, how do we get this Schoell woman off the Parents Council? He did what any parent would? Um, no, in his situation every other parent’s option is back to the IB school, go private, homeschool or move. Not cherry pick another high school.

And no, chancellors should not get flexibility in placing their children. You are getting paid multitudes over the average DC salary and can afford to live IB for any school in the District. Make that choice. The right choice over special favors and placements.

The parents' council has no power or decision making authority -- it's a window dressing thing. Anyone can apply to be part of it.

I totally disagree with her view, but that's no reason why she shouldn't be allowed to be on this committee.

That quote is pretty idiotic. She's advocating that people should break the rules if circumstances justify.

The Chancellor's Parent Cabinet is a joke. I was in the first cohort with Kaya Henderson. We went to (usually) monthly meetings, where the agenda was set by DCPS, and got to hear about how great they were doing with their initiatives. We usually got to ask questions - they were 1/3 good questions, 1/3 too specific to be relevant, and 1/3 focused on upper middle class parents wanting things like more foreign language instruction and more recess for their 5 year olds who did not get the challenges of DCPS (or perhaps didn't care). It is a PR stunt to say "We are engaged!" but these people are not influential. I don't know how Wilson conducted the meetings, but Kaya was overly cheery about progress and unwilling/unable to address the concerns of all (partly because DCPS has such massive gaps and is too complicated of a system to manage well). I also felt like she was kind of dismissive of some parents who tried to talk about harder issues like disparity and inequity among the starkly divided students in some school populations (me included).

Hi - i was in the first cohort and I agree with you completely. Once I saw it for what it was, I decided to just go with the flow and enjoy it. I learned a lot about how DCPS works, but I don't think I (or anyone else) provided any significant input to anything. And I was never able to figure out what i might do with what I learned. It did humanize Kaya Henderson for me, and I do (for the most part) look on her more sympathetically than most of DCUM. But her legacy of scandal is a big taint. I will, however, never forget the first presentation on PARCC. I sort of wish I had publicly quit after that meeting.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Besides, I'm not sure dcps teachers understand how hard the parent community took this

The level of anger clearly took the Council by surprise. On Fri/Sat you could tell that Grosso thought this would blow over. He did a complete reversal. I do admire him for responding to what the voters want, but his original posturing shows how much he doesn't get it.

I find this very troubling. Lottery cheating is a "big deal" because the state of most DCPS school is atrocious-- so bad that people bend over backwards to find ways to enroll at the very few good schools we have. Additionally, the overcrowding in those good schools is a secondary but nonetheless real issue as well. Either they are not seeing the forest through the trees or they don't have kids in school today and don't know what it feels like when your child has but one shot at a decent education.

The vast majority of the DCUM crowd that is (rightfully) outraged by this has the option to move.

not really. It's not like I could afford a good-great school pyramid in the suburbs either. I could buy into a good elementary district, but middle and high school would be iffier. Less iffy than DC but not solid.

Not commenting on you personally, but those who could afford a house anywhere WOTR in the past years would be able to afford to buy in a decent school pyramid somewhere in the suburbs. Or a townhouse, Or a condo. If your child's education is in actual peril, there are ways out. Obviously it would suck to have to leave and there should be better options in DCPS, but to say "my child's education is entirely at the mercy of the lottery" is a bit dramatic for most of those commenting here.

[Anonymous]

Fingers crossed that Dr. Alexander is heavy on the basics and leaves off the fluff and headlines. Give the principals and teachers what they need.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Fingers crossed that Dr. Alexander is heavy on the basics and leaves off the fluff and headlines. Give the principals and teachers what they need.

+1. So sick of DCPS gimmicks. Can we simply teach our children?

[Anonymous]

I think Bowser knew she needed to cut him loose once she understood how parents felt about this. I think she was desperate to ensure that this doesn’t become a national story. Because the same week this is happening things are really heating up around but Amazon HQ thing. Bezos won’t pick DC if the schools are seen as a complete shit show.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think Bowser knew she needed to cut him loose once she understood how parents felt about this. I think she was desperate to ensure that this doesn’t become a national story. Because the same week this is happening things are really heating up around but Amazon HQ thing. Bezos won’t pick DC if the schools are seen as a complete shit show.

I don't think Bezos gives a crap about DCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fingers crossed that Dr. Alexander is heavy on the basics and leaves off the fluff and headlines. Give the principals and teachers what they need.

+1. So sick of DCPS gimmicks. Can we simply teach our children?

You all saw that Bowser and the Council members are already talking about the national search for a permanent chancellor? I don't think she will have much authority to set a new agenda, or trim the old one.

[Anonymous]

Michael Gaal and Wanda Legrand were his two top deputies. He brought them from outside.
Do you think they will stay? I think it would be better if they left. I'm sure he has been overpaying them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fingers crossed that Dr. Alexander is heavy on the basics and leaves off the fluff and headlines. Give the principals and teachers what they need.

+1. So sick of DCPS gimmicks. Can we simply teach our children?

You all saw that Bowser and the Council members are already talking about the national search for a permanent chancellor? I don't think she will have much authority to set a new agenda, or trim the old one.

The same way she listened to our outage about during Wilson, we can all speak up about getting back to the basics. If that's Alexander, then she can conclude her national search with selecting the acting chancellor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fingers crossed that Dr. Alexander is heavy on the basics and leaves off the fluff and headlines. Give the principals and teachers what they need.

+1. So sick of DCPS gimmicks. Can we simply teach our children?

You all saw that Bowser and the Council members are already talking about the national search for a permanent chancellor? I don't think she will have much authority to set a new agenda, or trim the old one.

Ugh that’s so depressing. Let Alexander finish the year with a contract for next school year as well. I think she’ll do well.

[Anonymous]

In San Diego County, the school superintendent is chosen from school principals. I think DCPS should look at that model.

[Anonymous]

can anyone say why we hire from the outside? What's the rationale?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a DCPS teacher - this saddens me. He was a teachers advocate and was focused on social emotional learning and the welfare of all students.

Me too. He made a very dumb and hypocritical move, but most upsetting is that he was on the right track in several important ways. What a ridiculous reason to lose your leadership opportunity to turn some important things around for the better.

[Anonymous]

Tell me why you say this?

[Anonymous]

Give one example of how he was different than kaya or ever in hiss concern about the welfare of students