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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=LPJackson76]Morning All,

I'm a current West parent (rising 5th & 7th graders) as well as a West Alumna and current Treasurer of the West Parent Organization.

West is a school that is [b][u]definitely[/u][/b] on its way back up.  Historically it's been a great school, blue-ribbon award winning, top test scores, etc.  However when the neighborhood aged the enrollment declined and so did everything else, until it was on the verge of closure.  In the last 5 - 6 years however the school has made some significant changes and improvements, including a serious jump in enrollment, which has lead to more funding, which has led to more programs - sadly in our DCPS system butts in the seats determine how much cash you get.

I have to give *much* kudos to the current principal - and I say this as someone who got off to a pretty rough start with her when she came on board.  But her leadership and creative methods of enhancing programming despite budget shortfalls has led to some awesome enhancements for the kids.  Most notably (in my opinion) is a Preferred Activity Class (PAC) program where teachers and volunteers choose a subject they are particularly passionate about and teach an elective course on it - these are subjects like Step Dance, Yoga, Cooking, Knitting, Choir, and more - I personally taught a Creative Writing class this past semester.  It's a way to bring an expanded curriculum to the school even without funding for it.

There's a focused plan each year for motivating students and increasing test scores, but from the kids' perspective it's not about "We have to score high on the tests for the school" it's more of "I want to beat my own scores because Ms. Fill-In-The-Blank-Teacher said I can do even better than I did last time."  They actually [i]believe[/i] that - at least my kids do.

There is absolutely more improvements that can be done, but I have to say right now is an exciting time at the school because we have some seriously invested and involved parents and staff members who are determined to see good changes.  There's also room right now for new ideas and they are welcomed - not that every idea can be implemented, but they're all up for discussion.

As to the ES/MS/HS feeder pattern, personally I'm a proponent of the Education Campus Model and will be pretty sad to see it go away all together - I like the idea of my kids staying in one school with a solid MS program built in, but would very much like to see a good MS option in our neighborhood.  We've also noticed there's a SERIOUS difference in the scores between kids who came to West in Early Childhood grades and STAYED thru the 8th grade vs those who transferred in later...something to be said for the continuity of education in one school.

My two cents - happy to answer any questions, admittedly I'm a happy parent so maybe a little biased  :D [/quote]

So YOU'RE the one! I've never met anyone who thought the EC model was a good idea, you are as rare as a leprechaun with a pot of gold  :lol: [/quote]

There are far worse ideas out there.  While I'm in the camp of a separate middle school, there are some attractive features of the EC model.  I'd love to have a great middle school, but right now, West at least provides a known and acceptable option.  60% of 8th graders got HS credit for Algebra.
Also, I happen to be the product of a K-8 school - I didn't know what middle school was until much later in life.[/quote]

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