Is anyone in Shining Stars? What the heck is happening there w the closure?
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Anonymous
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My son had a great first 2 days in pre-k3 at SS. He is almost 4 with a late birthday so this is his first "school" experience and he is so ready for school. Some tears yesterday and Monday at drop-off but BEAMING in the afternoons, saying he is sad to leave, talking about his teacher, singing the little songs, telling me "we can't be late! I don't want to miss story time!" I have been so thrilled with his reaction to in-person learning and the way he has taken to the school in just 2 days.
Late last night we got an email that a parent had a POSSIBLE exposure with a POSSIBLE positive person, and so the classroom of that specific family would be closed for two days. The email stated that school would remain in session as usual for all other classrooms. I understand the school wanting to be extra cautious, but also want to point out that the school's policy and the OSSE policy for dismissal only discuss a positive case at the school. This was neither a positive case for the parent, the parent's friend, nor the child at SS. But okay, they closed that class, said it would resume on Friday. My son's class was not affected so we went to school. When we arrived we were turned away at the door by an administrator saying the entire school was closed. Mass confusion and panic, as parents in the drop-off line struggled to understand. I re-checked my email and the last comm I had was from the night before. They would only say "we just found out this morning" and no other clarification, just that school was closed. My son was shell-shocked, started crying, I am scrambling for alternative care, contacting work, etc. Huge cluster. Finally at 11am they send a follow-up email saying there was a sibling at another school that might have had contact with a positive individual and so they were closing for the rest of the week, reopening on Tuesday, after labor day. No virtual learning during, just closed. My thoughts are, I get that they are wanting to be cautious, but at what cost? 2 days in-person followed by 7 days off does not make for a smooth, stable, continuous routine. Finding out AT THE DOOR does not decrease the drop-off and separation anxiety these covid kids struggle with. Deviating from their own published policy and the OSSE guidance and operating in an ad-hoc case-by-case basis does not lead to transparency about WTF is going on with schools and COVID risk. And not communicating on top of it?! I feel like I'm taking crazy pills. |
Anonymous
| Yeah, that's Shining Stars for you. I'm sorry, but it's not surprising in the least that this happened at that school. We passed on SS for a few reasons, but a big one was the crazy communication and random decision making. If this is going to be hard on your family, let me kindly suggest you look into other options. You can always enroll in your in-bound (which I highly doubt is worse than SS) or Bethune or a Friendship school may still have seats. Good luck, that's a tough dose of reality right at the start of the school year. |
Anonymous
| Thank you for the kind words. We are looking at options. |
Anonymous
| Langley booster would like to welcome all SSMA families in need of a somewhat okayish functioning school! |
Anonymous
| Op, we left as well like the PP did, wishing you the best! |
Anonymous
| I would call Breakthrough, Langdon and both Lee campuses and see where they are on their waitlists. Pk3 and 1st are usually the years Montessori lists move the most. |
Anonymous
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If you weren't already aware, post-lottery application is a thing. And lists are moving like crazy this year with way more openings at schools that have traditionally had long waitlists:
https://www.myschooldc.org/postlotto |
Anonymous
| And the super-covid-cautious may like to enroll at SSMA! Wins all around! |
Anonymous
| Ugh, OP I'm so sorry. I'd be incredibly frustrated in that situation. The cautiousness around Covid is understandable, the inability to communicate or follow clear guidance for families is not. The fact that they turned people away at the door today is awful. Especially for really young students like yours -- it can take weeks for a child that age to recover from that kind of surprise/frustration at a new school (not always and I hope your son gets over it quickly for both of your sakes) and it was completely avoidable. |
Anonymous
| Where is the link for schools that still have openings? |
Anonymous
https://www.myschooldc.org/short-waitlists Any school that shows zero on the waitlist may have an opening. I would suggest people all of the schools on this list as they would consider attending, just to see what happens. |
Anonymous
I'd list more than just those schools. I think there will still be a lot of movement after the first week and that list only includes schools with fewer than 10 kids on the list currently. It can't hurt to try. |
Anonymous
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I did a quick search for elementary schools in Wards 1 and 5. I'd suggest Bruce-Monroe, Bunker Hill, Burroughs, Friendship schools, HD Cooke, JO Wilson, Langdon, Langley, Marie Reed, Bethune, and Tubman.
Both Mundo campuses are on this list for 1st grade. |
Anonymous
| And if the IB school is Title 1 (I think that's the designation), then they have to take you for PK3 and PK4 (if you are IB). |
Anonymous
Plus the already suggested Breakthrough, Lee, and Langdon Montessori. And maybe even Capitol Hill Montessori if you can swing the commute. |