Reply to Unite to Stop DME School Proposals

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Reply to "Unite to Stop DME School Proposals"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Most residents agree the DCPS should be improved and provide high quality education for all students. At the same time residents are almost universally dissatisfied with the proposals being presented by the DME Abigail Smith and the process. It just needs to be stopped for the good of our children and the school system as a whole. The process is shaking our confidence in DCPS and it will take years to rebuild the reputation of DCPS even if it is stopped immediately. We need to unite to stop this process.

We have been asked to discuss and consider several proposals that are politically unfeasible, based on insufficient information, limit walkability, do nothing to actually improve the quality of low performing schools, or address the limited middle and high school options in the city. What is the goal for this exercise and what are indicators to measure success? How would we know if it has worked? What is it supposed to do?

What I am seeing is that the exercise has introduced a level of concern in families throughout the district. We see a two-tier system emerging with schools that have above average performance (such as Deal) or are completely failing our children in middle and high school. Keep elementary schools as they are, in other words do no harm. Several of the elementary school proposals further limit access to good elementary schools by shifting boundaries to increase in-boundary enrollment therefore decreasing the number of spots for our out-of-boundary children. I understand that some parents in-boundary are concerned about walkability and losing access to neighborhood schools. Instead focus on our demands for improving middle and high school. These concerns are being unaddressed and are falling on deaf ears. DCPS continues to have some of the lowest high school graduation rates in the country -- this is of critical importance.

I do not hear voices advocating for any of the DME proposals, instead I hear some DC residents say that something needs to be done. There is agreement that DCPS needs to improve, but often the best way to make improvements is by engaging all stakeholders. The teachers and school administrators have not been engaged and have learned not to question Central administration. As a result those "downtown" do not engage even the highest ranking teachers or principals in the system to ask their opinion. We know this as parents because these dedicated professionals are completely mum when we discuss these matters--they clearly have not been involved. Parents are asked to go to "engagedc" an inactive highly regulated forum where comments are no longer being accepted. I have raised my concerns in public meetings and have been asked to sit in disjointed small groups that discuss every possible aspect of DCPS except the areas that are of primary concern to me. What about the students? Junior high and high school students should actively be consulted on the quality of their experience and any decision making process should include consultations with them -- they are the clients of DCPS. They are also in the most vulnerable part of the school system, middle and high school.

There is absolutely no discussion as to how these proposals will improve any school in any part of the city. This rushed check the box exercise being pushed by the DME is not serving our children. All of our kids deserve better. [/quote]

This sounds pretty good, if you gloss over the part in the middle which implies it's OK to move some families away from their neighborhood elementary schools who are happy with them (as we'd all like to feel about our neighborhood schools) to make more spots for "our out-of-boundary children"  as if they are a special, underserved group, when their situation is actually a result of decades of poor neighborhood school choices, compliments of DCPS.  All children should have good options within the system, but in the process,  let's not subtly introduce a new category -  "out-of-boundary children"  as  a special group who require special protections.[/quote]

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