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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]

I am quite confused.  None of this discussion is about DCPS adding OOB children.  It is more about that IB numbers are increasing (in fact part of the issue is that the OOB is falling!).  PK this year in the lottery initially had no OOB slots at all.  And some future PK families who are IB indicated that they would arrive in the future.  So the vast majority of this overcrowding would be the rise in IB children, not OOB.  (And I am amused that you would blame overcrowding on OOB children at Janney, which has a ridiculously small number of OOB children.)

Now it is the case that some folks pointed out that IB families that turn down a slot in PK but show up in K will contribute to high class sizes.  And that is mathematically true.  But that information is also a little fraught with tension since it can mean different things to different people.  OOB families naturally interpret it as not being wanted.  IB families think they are working to keep class sizes down.  You can understand the point of view of both, but also how both feel a little sensitive (OOB to feeling pushed out; IB to being accused of it not being sensitive enough when they just want what is best for their kids).  I don't think that either means the worst, but it is not surprising on an anonymous forum that nerves get frayed and a few people say things that are a little out of hand.

In addition, some on this forum and elsewhere have noted the "amazing" changes with the rise in IB.  It doesn't help, of course, that many people seem to equate higher IB percentages with "better".  Personally, I've always thought this was stupid.  And I know that many folks, both IB and OOB at Hearst, agree with me.  I can understand it on some level -- why aren't IB families attending your school if it is so good? -- but quality of a school is not determined by the opinions of others.

But in addition to the misunderstandings above, you can also appreciate how OOB families feel when they hear this talk.  They are not second-class families.  And certainly I don't doubt that some people, hopefully not those at Hearst, actually feel like having fewer OOB families would be a good thing.  But I suspect that part of the tension we are seeing here is people talking (or writing) past each other.  Of course, the changes are startling because they are happening so quickly.  In that sense they are amazing, rather than being "good" or "bad".  But it is easy to use language that suggests that you are happy about something with the result that you give the wrong impression.  Finally, I think there is some natural and understandable happiness on the part of some IB families, which isn't about OOB families at all, but rather a validation of their own choices.  Since for years some neighbors did not choose to go to Hearst and either openly or subtly questioned anyone who attended, a turn-around where your neighbors are now asking you about the school and folks are actually moving to the area to attend the school, on some level feels good.  Admittedly, it is an awkward feeling since you wonder how much of this turn-around is recognizing the school for the excellent place that it always was and how much is something else, but one is only human to feel a little validated.  As other posters have noted, we all just have to be a little sensitive during these changes.[/quote]

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