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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]20 years ago no one was going to SWS at Peabody. A group of Capitol Hill families decided to try it. Then each year more kids went. For a while it evolved into a very segregated program (mostly white IB) as compared to the "regular" Peabody program downstairs. Then, more IB families started enrolling downstairs. Now both programs are among the most popular in the city. Was it a leap of faith as one of those early families?  Yes.  Did it all work out fine for my kids?  Yes. We stayed in the cluster the whole way. They are both now at Walls and thriving.

If people of higher SES and educational levels would commit to their neighborhood schools and STAY, they will improve. It takes a critical mass. But it can happen. Look at Brent, Maury, and now hopefully LT.   But so many people here don't even set foot in a school before they deem it unworthy.

[/quote]

I'm always amused by upper income mostly white families that seem to believe that all it takes is to select a struggling, low-income school and "stay" and that the school magically transforms. Unfortunately it is just not that simple and it's pretty insulting to the really hard work of strong school leaders and teachers and also extremely insulting to the many families in the school that are there. [/quote]

I'm asking honestly, no snark intended. It seems that those schools that have improved the most in the shortest amount of time are in fact those where committed, likely higher SES-mix families have decided to pursue through a certain grade en masse. They work together to get $$ to the PTA, supplement and are very vocal when there are opportunities to advocate with DCPS. It isn't necessarily white, but a cohort of single-minded families, and those tend to be an IB group who have the time and resources to make the change. I don't know which comes first - improvements in the school or the cohort, but one follows the other pretty rapidly. [/quote]

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