Anonymous wrote:I live in the Capitol Riverfront (within the Van Ness Boundary), and I want to know what we can do to influence what the chose curriculum will be at the school. Our family (and a lot of our neighbors) would really like to see a rigorous (maybe IB) program set up at Van Ness Elementary School. We want an elementary school that can prepare students to enter the more challenging middle schools, and eventually prepare students to enter the more challenging high schools in the city. What can we do to make sure Van Ness has a curriculum that provides this to students? We really believe that this will drive interest in Van Ness, and will have families living in the Capitol Riverfront to want to send their kids there. It also will have the effect of making the Capitol Riverfront a place for families to settle down and move to. There are literally thousands of units of housing planned for the area in the next 1 - 3 years, and ensuring that Van Ness has a challenging curriculum will absolutely make it a desirable DCPS Elementary School.

Anonymous wrote:Will there be before and aftercare at Van Ness? What will the hours be? What will the price be? Who will operate it? Also,
Amidon-Bowen has an extended school day. Will Van Ness?

These will make a difference in which families can use the school, and thus who will pick it in the lottery.

Finally, will Van Ness have uniforms?

Anonymous wrote:I would like to applaud the effort to engage here in this forum. An anonymous message board can be both a terrible and valuable place to gain insight. I don't feed into Roosevelt, but I have been following the developments to see "what's next?" As the saying goes: Hope springs eternal. I am always hopeful that real, meaningful progress towards an integrated city is just around the corner.

In a way that can only be done on an anonymous message board I will throw this out: Does Roosevelt envision itself as a racially diverse school in the future? If so, how does it seek to achieve this?

Anonymous wrote:What are you going to do to keep highly-effective staff at this school and others. There is high burn-out level at high schools and this constant churning of staff makes it very difficult to get any plans off the ground or to maintain them. What are the plans for the high level of ELL limited proficient and special ed. students that currently attend this school, are there going to be any special programs to support these learners at the new Roosevelt?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you using an EPA lead safe certified contractor on the school renovations? The peeling paint on the school's exterior looks like a superfund site.

DGS manages the construction process, DCPS staff receive the building once it is complete. So DCPS won't have in-depth details like this. I am sure they are doing proper remediation of environmental issue on the site, considering how substantial the renovations are.

Anonymous wrote:I'm in bounds for Roosevelt with two small children and I strongly support global education. On paper the vision looks good. I'm wondering what sort of buy-in and real commitment to executing this vision there is from the current principal and faculty/staff? My understanding is that before DCPS determined that Roosevelt would become an Int'l. HS, it was suggested to the principal that he take a more int'l. approach and the response was much less than enthusiastic. But I was present at the the official announcement of the "new " Roosevelt and he seemed to have made a 180...but I am wary. Will he and other staff have to re-apply for their jobs at this "renewed" school?

Also, what of the schools that feed to Roosevelt now and in the future? I know parents here ware working through ideas for a re-opened McFarland. How will that work into the plans for Roosevelt?

Thanks!!

calexander wrote:First of all, I am pleasantly surprised to see your office reaching out for feedback like this. Keep it up.

Secondly, I would like to see a cohesive plan of action regarding Roosevelt's feeder pattern, specifically the status of a new middle school. Mayor-elect Bowser, Chancellor Henderson and the Council need to come together on this issue like city leaders just did for the DC United Soccer stadium. We have proposals and ideas floating around and several hundred million dollars in capital spending on HS facilities committed, but little to no direction on where the students for the new Roosevelt are going to come from.

Third, I am less than enthusiastic about the "Seal" program that is highlighted in the current proposal. Here we have a high school themed on international studies and languages, yet it seems like your office is going out of its way to avoid either implementing or emulating the established International Baccalaureate (IB) program. At the Truesdell meeting last month, Ms. Kulkarni stated something to the effect of, "With the Seal program, colleges will know that students are prepared to do college level work." Well, no they won't...they won't have any idea what a "Seal" means. Even if IB cannot be enacted right away because of resource limitations, at least model your program on the IB framework (i.e. Diploma programme) so that a future transition is possible. It seems like a gigantic waste of effort the way it stands now.

Lastly, as the founder of the NW Saturday Academy math and computer science program (www.nwsadc.com), I am obliged to ask about Roosevelt's focus on STEM education and technology implementation. Is computer science going to be offered in any format? What about opportunities for students to learn engineering or advanced mathematics?

Again, thank you for reaching out and seeking this feedback.

Regards,

Christopher Alexander
Ward 4 Parent

Anonymous wrote:It's great that DCPS is trying out some unusual forums to engage DC parents. I would also like to see messages sent out over the petworthparents listserv: PetworthParents@yahoogroups.com. I am not able to make the meeting tonight because it conflicts with an important meeting on dual language programming at DCPS, but would like to learn of upcoming meetings. I do not regularly visit DC Urban Moms but do read the petworthparents listserv.

I agree with jsteele that the best thing DCPS can do for Roosevelt is to guarantee programming that is not tied to enrollment numbers for a certain period (say, three years) while the school gets on its feet in terms of enrollment.

I think another thing Roosevelt can do to attract parents is to find some strong avenues for enrichment activities. Many parents are reluctant to send their children to DCPS because they worry that all the time will be spent drilling children on what they need to know to pass standardized tests. We want to feel that our kids are being stimulated and inspired in multiple ways at school, including through athletics, art, music, and science.

In addition to strong extra-curricular programming, offering project-based enrichment is a very good way to capture families' imaginations and attract them to a school. We want parents to see projects being developed by Roosevelt kids and thing "ooo, that looks like FUN, I wish I had done that in high school and I want that for my kids." Roosevelt is an international school, so how about seeing some Roosevelt students travelling to participate in international competitions oriented towards STEM, entrepreneurship, or urban development?

Another key element will be having school leadership that is willing to devote time to engaging with both parents and prospective parents. Holding open houses an office hours outside the normal business day, having an accessible and up-to-date website, being responsive to email inquiries and following up, and sending messages via community listservs are all very good ways to attract interest from prospective parents and retain current parents. All of these things take enormous commitment and resources from school leadership, but parents definitely take notice.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

DCPSschoolplanning wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a reputation for violence / unruly behavior at the school. Can you share any measures you've been tracking and what you're doing to create a better environment?

The scores are pretty abysmal. Why would someone with a capable child envision sending them there?

The purpose of the re-envisioning is to improve what Roosevelt has to offer students and parents. With a newly renovated building next fall and a multi-year roll-out of new academic and career training offerings, we want to make Roosevelt a high school more parents will choose. That kind of effort doesn't happen overnight. To see a more detailed explanation of proposed changes, you can take a look at the presentation we’ve been giving at community meetings:
https://reenvisioningroosevelt.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/december-2014_academic-proposal-for-community-input.pdf

As you look at the presentation, please feel free to pose questions or provide input by emailing us at andrew.katz-moses@dc.gov

That doesn't answer either question. Do you not see these as problems?