Reply to SWS - as an IB School? L-T prospects?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I think that the issue isn't really one of feeling like something has been lost - whether that is a school or seats at PS or PK or K, etc.  What the people from this neighborhood are saying is that they would like proximity preference going forward.  Since this has never been a school before, the rules for attendance are up in the air and are, for the time being, negotiable.  It doesn't really matter what happened in the past or what the school used to be or who used to have preference at it.  That was all at a different location and with a different set of facts.  Now that the school has found a permanent location, people are saying that they want that new location to operate like other city public schools.  If if gets and IB area, great.  If not, give the regular proximity preference that comes after OOB with sibling preference.

I think people are getting hung up on the history of this program because the name hasn't changed instead of realizing that it is actually something entirely new.  A new school in any neighborhood is going to be something that people in the neighborhood want to go to and that they are, justifiably, going to feel like they should have a right to attend before people from farther away.  I know that if a new DCPS school opened in my neighborhood I would want to have the opportunity to send my kid there, not that I necessarily would because the city offers other options.  Its the same reason that people have been advocating for proximity (or neighborhood?) preference at charter schools.  When there is a great school right by your house, you want to be able to send your kid there.  With charters, it has been a city-wide policy choice not to give preference to neighbors at charter schools.  With DCPS, there has always been a city-wide policy choice to give local preference at public schools.  I can understand why these neighbors think that they should have preference at this NEW school because it is a public school and not a charter.[/quote]

Sorry -- the new school argument is a straw man.  By that logic the city could erase decades of failure by closing poorly performing schools and replacing with shiny new ones.  SWS's brand has value.  It has a history of success with early childhood education.  Many of it's biggest supporters believe it can succeed with this mission through elementary, which obviously remains to be seen.    Many families took a leap of faith this year to an uncertain future (trailers, no permanent future home) because of a belief in the program and it's record of success.

It isn't something entirely new, but it is evolving.  If you were as familiar with the program as some of the thoughtful commentators here you wouldn't be so quick to dismiss it (I'm guessing at least a few fellow current SWS parents represented here) .  Its tradition of family engagement is probably what most distinguishes SWS, much moreso than lines on a map.  Don't worry -- no one is excluding you from our club.  We were never as IB centric as some believe anyway.[/quote]

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