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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone seen this? Wilson revealed why he pulled his daughter out of Ellington. He made a decision as a parent, and not as the Chancellor.


"When asked why he broke the policy that he helped write and sign, Wilson discussed his daughter’s struggles.

“My daughter was struggling socially and emotionally, engaging in behavior we had never seen before, certainly affecting her health.” said Wilson. “Not eating, not coming out of her room and expressing real anxiety around going to school. I want folks to understand that as a parent, I certainly had tunnel vision, and as a chancellor, my focus was really trying to make sure that my wife was able to get the help she needed to transfer our daughter and to do it in a way that we were trying to do it correctly. It’s clear we got it wrong.”


http://amp.fox5dc.com/news/local-news/exclusive-dcps-chancellor-speaks-out-on-school-transfer-scandal-i-made-the-wrong-decision?__twitter_impression=true

As Chancellor, the one who wrote the policy no less, he knew there was no way to do a transfer to Wilson "correctly".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone seen this? Wilson revealed why he pulled his daughter out of Ellington. He made a decision as a parent, and not as the Chancellor.


"When asked why he broke the policy that he helped write and sign, Wilson discussed his daughter’s struggles.

“My daughter was struggling socially and emotionally, engaging in behavior we had never seen before, certainly affecting her health.” said Wilson. “Not eating, not coming out of her room and expressing real anxiety around going to school. I want folks to understand that as a parent, I certainly had tunnel vision, and as a chancellor, my focus was really trying to make sure that my wife was able to get the help she needed to transfer our daughter and to do it in a way that we were trying to do it correctly. It’s clear we got it wrong.”


http://amp.fox5dc.com/news/local-news/exclusive-dcps-chancellor-speaks-out-on-school-transfer-scandal-i-made-the-wrong-decision?__twitter_impression=true

As Chancellor, the one who wrote the policy no less, he knew there was no way to do a transfer to Wilson "correctly".

Yes there is (and it has been said numerous times on this thread) he could have moved in bounds for Wilson.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone seen this? Wilson revealed why he pulled his daughter out of Ellington. He made a decision as a parent, and not as the Chancellor.


"When asked why he broke the policy that he helped write and sign, Wilson discussed his daughter’s struggles.

“My daughter was struggling socially and emotionally, engaging in behavior we had never seen before, certainly affecting her health.” said Wilson. “Not eating, not coming out of her room and expressing real anxiety around going to school. I want folks to understand that as a parent, I certainly had tunnel vision, and as a chancellor, my focus was really trying to make sure that my wife was able to get the help she needed to transfer our daughter and to do it in a way that we were trying to do it correctly. It’s clear we got it wrong.”


http://amp.fox5dc.com/news/local-news/exclusive-dcps-chancellor-speaks-out-on-school-transfer-scandal-i-made-the-wrong-decision?__twitter_impression=true

As Chancellor, the one who wrote the policy no less, he knew there was no way to do a transfer to Wilson "correctly".

Yes there is (and it has been said numerous times on this thread) he could have moved in bounds for Wilson.

True, I meant a transfer without changing his personal situation. He should have move IB for Wilson from the start, but he wouldn't have been able to get such a gaudy McMansion within his budget.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The school buildings need to be renovated regaless of their enrollment or program offerings people.

Next...

+1 Even some top performing schools have dealt with barely functioning HVAC and rodent infestations. No schools should have those issues.

Have you been in Ballou HS recently? I was there with DS a couple of weeks ago, and his comment was "this is the most beautiful school I have ever seen." That's wonderful for the kids that do attend, but if the school is largely empty due to truancy and if there are gangs of kids wandering around kicking disabled students to death, then no, the priority isn't creating a beautiful sparkling new school with college level athletic facilities. The priority is safety and addressing student needs.

You can fix HVAC and deal with rodents without spending hundreds of millions of dollars that could be better used serving students directly and keeping them safe.

I'm always nervous when this argument starts to develop. I don't want us to get into a trap of low expectations. I think there is a danger of over renovating empty schools, but we need decent renovations of the schools that are over crowded. It's not an either/or. We can have nice renovations AND serve students directly AND keep them safe. We can do better.

[Anonymous]

Let's allow all the kids with serious mental health issues to transfer into Wilson. Genius plan!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let's allow all the kids with serious mental health issues to transfer into Wilson. Genius plan!

not.

[Anonymous]

The solution is charters/gentrification period. I am involved in education policy and noone has been able to deal with an area with over 80% "at risk" student populations. DCPS is nearly 80% at-risk.

If I was in charge I would put KIPP/DC Prep in charge of all low performing schools they are the only groups that have gotten results.

Another alternative is something like the Harlem Children's Zone. https://hcz.org/ Something like that might work in say Ward 8 but it takes a ton of resources, involvement and a long-term commitment 15+ years before seeing results.

These are abhorrent views and you should feel badly about yourself for sharing them, even anonymously. If your answer to poverty is gentrification (displacing all the poor folks) plus no excuses academies for those poor kids and kids of color that you don't manage to displace? Well, then you are bad education policy and bad at being a human being and citizen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

The solution is charters/gentrification period. I am involved in education policy and noone has been able to deal with an area with over 80% "at risk" student populations. DCPS is nearly 80% at-risk.

If I was in charge I would put KIPP/DC Prep in charge of all low performing schools they are the only groups that have gotten results.

Another alternative is something like the Harlem Children's Zone. https://hcz.org/ Something like that might work in say Ward 8 but it takes a ton of resources, involvement and a long-term commitment 15+ years before seeing results.

These are abhorrent views and you should feel badly about yourself for sharing them, even anonymously. If your answer to poverty is gentrification (displacing all the poor folks) plus no excuses academies for those poor kids and kids of color that you don't manage to displace? Well, then you are bad education policy and bad at being a human being and citizen.

WTF, I mean really?? Please, step away from the rhetoric. I get that being anti-KIPP is a limousine liberal thing, and I don't love it that high-performing charters also have punitive discipline, but there's no denying that the KIPPs and the DC Preps get results that other approaches have not been able to do. Abhorrent is the status quo. Progressive approaches like ITS and CMI have not been able to close the achievement gap. I don't think there's any single formula, but I think the number incontravertibly show that the KIPP approach is working in many respects.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Took 66 pages - but we've successfully spawned yet another capitol hill middle school thread. Congrats!

NP. Pipe down.

An angry rabble of furious Ward 6 voters/parents were behind Allen's critical decision to come out in favor of Wilson resigning. These parents were the catalysts to ensure that Wilson's astonishing lack of common sense (the WaPo) sank him.

Without a viable, secure Ward 6 MS option for most on Cap Hill on the horizon, political pushback from the gentrifiers will find new avenues of advance. The city would be better off working with this crowd than against them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

The solution is charters/gentrification period. I am involved in education policy and noone has been able to deal with an area with over 80% "at risk" student populations. DCPS is nearly 80% at-risk.

If I was in charge I would put KIPP/DC Prep in charge of all low performing schools they are the only groups that have gotten results.

Another alternative is something like the Harlem Children's Zone. https://hcz.org/ Something like that might work in say Ward 8 but it takes a ton of resources, involvement and a long-term commitment 15+ years before seeing results.

These are abhorrent views and you should feel badly about yourself for sharing them, even anonymously. If your answer to poverty is gentrification (displacing all the poor folks) plus no excuses academies for those poor kids and kids of color that you don't manage to displace? Well, then you are bad education policy and bad at being a human being and citizen.

NP. No, these views are simply different than your own. I couldn't agree more with the pro KIPP guy, and we're hardly alone.

Please grow up and stop the name calling, hon. We can always disagree without being disagreeable here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Took 66 pages - but we've successfully spawned yet another capitol hill middle school thread. Congrats!

NP. Pipe down.

An angry rabble of furious Ward 6 voters/parents were behind Allen's critical decision to come out in favor of Wilson resigning. These parents were the catalysts to ensure that Wilson's astonishing lack of common sense (the WaPo) sank him.

Without a viable, secure Ward 6 MS option for most on Cap Hill on the horizon, political pushback from the gentrifiers will find new avenues of advance. The city would be better off working with this crowd than against them.

The "gentrifiers" with actual gumption and organization seem to be the ones actually making efforts to integrate the Hill middle schools, or to found charters. Everyone else is too self-centered to actually amount to much. Whining in your own self-interest while showing you think you're better than the local schools in every possible way, is not really persuasive grassroots politics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The solution is charters/gentrification period. I am involved in education policy and noone has been able to deal with an area with over 80% "at risk" student populations. DCPS is nearly 80% at-risk.

If I was in charge I would put KIPP/DC Prep in charge of all low performing schools they are the only groups that have gotten results.

Another alternative is something like the Harlem Children's Zone. https://hcz.org/ Something like that might work in say Ward 8 but it takes a ton of resources, involvement and a long-term commitment 15+ years before seeing results.

These are abhorrent views and you should feel badly about yourself for sharing them, even anonymously. If your answer to poverty is gentrification (displacing all the poor folks) plus no excuses academies for those poor kids and kids of color that you don't manage to displace? Well, then you are bad education policy and bad at being a human being and citizen.

WTF, I mean really?? Please, step away from the rhetoric. I get that being anti-KIPP is a limousine liberal thing, and I don't love it that high-performing charters also have punitive discipline, but there's no denying that the KIPPs and the DC Preps get results that other approaches have not been able to do. Abhorrent is the status quo. Progressive approaches like ITS and CMI have not been able to close the achievement gap. I don't think there's any single formula, but I think the number incontravertibly show that the KIPP approach is working in many respects.

+1.

The problem isn't schools. The problem isn't children. The problems is poverty and broken family structures. KIPP and HCZ try to address those things in a holistic way. It's expensive, it takes a lot of time and vision but -- short of ending poverty -- it's the only thing that has been shown to work even a little bit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The solution is charters/gentrification period. I am involved in education policy and noone has been able to deal with an area with over 80% "at risk" student populations. DCPS is nearly 80% at-risk.

If I was in charge I would put KIPP/DC Prep in charge of all low performing schools they are the only groups that have gotten results.

Another alternative is something like the Harlem Children's Zone. https://hcz.org/ Something like that might work in say Ward 8 but it takes a ton of resources, involvement and a long-term commitment 15+ years before seeing results.

These are abhorrent views and you should feel badly about yourself for sharing them, even anonymously. If your answer to poverty is gentrification (displacing all the poor folks) plus no excuses academies for those poor kids and kids of color that you don't manage to displace? Well, then you are bad education policy and bad at being a human being and citizen.

NP. No, these views are simply different than your own. I couldn't agree more with the pro KIPP guy, and we're hardly alone.

Please grow up and stop the name calling, hon. We can always disagree without being disagreeable here.

Exactly. DCPS (and the lower performing charters) need to learn from KIPP and DC Prep.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Took 66 pages - but we've successfully spawned yet another capitol hill middle school thread. Congrats!

NP. Pipe down.

An angry rabble of furious Ward 6 voters/parents were behind Allen's critical decision to come out in favor of Wilson resigning. These parents were the catalysts to ensure that Wilson's astonishing lack of common sense (the WaPo) sank him.

Without a viable, secure Ward 6 MS option for most on Cap Hill on the horizon, political pushback from the gentrifiers will find new avenues of advance. The city would be better off working with this crowd than against them.

Yeah, ok. But Charles Allen was hardly the decisive voice and wasn't exactly leading the charge on this, or anything else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

The solution is charters/gentrification period. I am involved in education policy and noone has been able to deal with an area with over 80% "at risk" student populations. DCPS is nearly 80% at-risk.

If I was in charge I would put KIPP/DC Prep in charge of all low performing schools they are the only groups that have gotten results.

Another alternative is something like the Harlem Children's Zone. https://hcz.org/ Something like that might work in say Ward 8 but it takes a ton of resources, involvement and a long-term commitment 15+ years before seeing results.

These are abhorrent views and you should feel badly about yourself for sharing them, even anonymously. If your answer to poverty is gentrification (displacing all the poor folks) plus no excuses academies for those poor kids and kids of color that you don't manage to displace? Well, then you are bad education policy and bad at being a human being and citizen.

So what would you change? Nothing?