Reply to Middle Schools - Ward 6 Centric

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[quote=Anonymous]Ward Six has three middle schools with ~2,000 seats.  There are ~1,000 students in Ward Six middle schools, thus Ward Six uses ~50% of its middle school capacity.

Eliot Hine and Jefferson each have ~300 students in buildings with capacity for ~800 students.  Stuart Hobson is at capacity with ~430 students.

Wards Seven & Eight also have significantly underutilized middle school facilities.

Ward Five lacks a regular middle school.

Most Ward Six middle school students are from outside Ward Six.

Stuart Hobson is a top three DCPS middle school (out of ~14) and is 67% proficient.  Jefferson and Eliot Hine, while stronger than most DCPS middle schools, are nonetheless struggling at less than 50% proficient.  Ward Six middle schools, and especially Stuart Hobson, with half of its students coming from Wards Seven and Eight, are blessings for students desperate for better middle school options.

Most middle schools East of the park are in desperate need of modernization, and modernization funds are running out.  It is fast becoming a zero-sum game for modernization resources.

Stuart Hobson is up for modernization in 2012.  Jefferson is up for modernization in 2013.  Each school is budgeted for about ~$15 million in phase one modernization funds, but it is unlikely that both Ward Six schools will get ~$30 million combined.

Some say that economies of scale kick in for middle schools with enrollment of 500+.  Larger schools are less expensive to operate.  Additionally the most sought after DCPS middle school - Deal - is north of 950 students.

Ward Six elementary schools have gained enrollment recently, but those gains are not being realized in Ward Six middle schools.  Most Ward Six elementary students do not attend Ward Six middle schools.

Neighborhoods almost never volunteer to close a school, and politicians are scared to close schools no matter the merit.  There is a strong proclivity for incrementalism by city leaders and most constituencies.

Chancellor Henderson was quoted in the Post saying that Ward Six, with its Middle School Reform Plan (IB programs, DCPS Office of Transformation staff salaries, etc.), gets the most resources.

Discuss.[/quote]

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