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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP, in the interests of fairness, I don't think anyone last night said Jefferson was the next Deal or that any of this would be easy. But they did let people know that the enrollment situation at Jefferson is improving, albeit it doesn't have nearly the demand as Basis or Latin. But demand is there which it isn't for Eliot-Hine or many other DCPS middle schools.

So you have done your due diligence in adding skepticism to the discussion. That is duly noted. Now how can we make a better middle school pathway for advanced/proficient students at Brent? I'm with the optimists who are working to improve Jefferson rather than throwing their hands up and getting a realtor or paying for private.

I would add that, yes, Hardy and Stuart-Hobson's test scores may improve faster than Jefferson's. But they are in demand now. So if Brent families would consider those schools now and the Hardy/SH aren't an option in the future, why not consider Jefferson if it gets to or could get to quickly the point Hardy is at now? It is my understanding that the proficient/advanced students at SH generally feel pretty good about their experience.[/quote]

The fact that a school which has an enrollment of about 50 percent of its capacity has engineered a "waitlist" in order to create the perception that it is now "in demand" is too clever by half.  [/quote]

There's a lot of misconception about why schools offer OOB spots.   Schools only offer OOB spaces with total confidence that the spaces will be filled and generate at least some waitlist.   In the budgeting process the schools project enrollment and request budget accordingly.  There's a strong disincentive to overestimating student enrollment because if the numbers don't materialize the schools lose the resources late in the process.  Conversely, the principals are better served projecting realistically and almost conservatively because they can gain additional resources if the numbers demand it.  They'd rather add if necessary late instead of completing their annual planning and subtracting resources at the beginning of the school year.
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Unless something has drastically changed, that is not true at all.  Historically DCPS principals have had a strong incentive to over-estimate their incoming classes.  They could claim it was for students who might move into the school during the year, and no-one ever asked them to return any funds when those students never materialized.[/quote]

You are incorrect. If enrollment targets are not met in June (before school starts), July and the start of school, positions are either frozen or even eliminated. Principals have to be conservative with enrollment forecasts.  [/quote]

When a classroom is projected to have 32 students, and ends up with 28, the teacher's position doesn't get eliminated.  [/quote]

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