Reply to New Ward 3 Middle School ???

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[quote=Anonymous]About Ward 5 schools: [quote]I really don't believe it's a class issue. I think it is a DCPS issue.[/quote]

It's both. It's a classic chicken vs. egg problem. The Ward 5 schools can't get better until middle class people start sending their kids there and investing in them (not just because it changes the demographics of the student body necessarily, but because middle class parents are better advocates for improved offerings and resources from the central office, can fundraise for extras, and generally raise the expectations for academics at the school). But middle class people won't send their children to schools that are only providing a middling education to children, especially in a city with so much school choice.

What would it take to change this dynamic? I think the ball is in DCPS's court. It's clear to me that prospective parents can only do so much, and as another poster mentioned many parents of older children have already made other choices-- their energy is being spent supporting other schools. The Ward 5 parents who are interested in the publics are hesitant to dive in without the schools changing first. There are a TON of babies in Ward 5 though, and that's the real opportunity, IF DCPS central office is interested in capturing and keeping the Ward 5 middle class parents in the schools.

But I don't see any evidence of any effort on this from DCPS. To really alter the current trajectory of middle class kids opting out of DCPS in Ward 5, DCPS would need to commit to creating some stellar new offerings at the elementary level-- including language immersion, city-wide magnets, gifted and talented programs, or the like. This doesn't have to be in a totally new school-- some of the existing schools have good foundations to build upon.
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