Reply to Kaya Leaving; John Davis in as interim

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I agree Abigail Smith would be a good choice. I think she understands the scope of the problems facing DCPS and would listen to parents and teachers. She really does care and doesn't seem arrogant. [/quote]

If you recall, several years ago, she wanted to do away with elementary school boundaries in favor of a system like Boston's, where parents are only guaranteed a spot at one of several schools in a local cluster.  Our local cluster would have included a school with a DC-CAS proficiency pass rate of 80% and two in the 30s.  Parents buying million dollar houses so their children could attend school #1 were really shaken up.  She was the architect of the madness. Parents rose up in protest all over the city, and not just in upscale neighborhoods like Upper NW and Cap Hill. She squandered far too much political capital in the process to make an effective chancellor.  The woman clearly lacks common sense in a big way. No thanks.

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To be equally as fair in presentation, most of those community meetings used DC CAS scores as coded race discussions. I'm not a charter fan and agree that was the wrong approach, but let's keep in mind that at some point DC will have to address its growing classist and re-segregating schools.

Personally I feel it needs to be an outside candidate, hopefully with Fortune 500 experience. I want a buisness woman, not an DC politico.[/quote]

Yes, I agree that the opposition to clusters was a race issue. I was against the idea at first, but now I totally get how it is a good solution to the problem of gentrified neighborhoods that exist within the drastic income inequality in this city. The idea should be revisited although the concerns of parents who feel their $1 mil house entitled them to a particular school will need to be addressed in a politically smart way. If we don't start thinking along these lines the Hill will never integrate the jr highs and high schools.  [/quote]

Total BS.  There is no politically smart way to yank away the opportunity to send your kids to a strong neighborhood school for which you just bought a $1 million house.  The Hill will never integrate the middle schools and high schools as long as DCPS refuses to allow the strongest cohorts of elementary schools students (from Maury, Brent, SWS and Watkins, maybe Ludlow in five years) feed to one middle school where a full menu of at-grade level and above-grade level classes are offered.  And that's the name of that tune.
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Sure there is a way to do it. There are limited seats already for PK spots - start out by creating an incentive for parents "shut out" of Brent to enroll at Tyler and go from there. There are enough families now zoned for Payne, Tyler, and Miner who would like to attend that I don't think it would be that difficult. But yeah I understand that people somehow believe they are purchasing a right to a public service when they buy those houses. [/quote]

Wrong.  A good many high SES Hill families already use Tyler Traditional (and Payne, Miner and Amidon) for ECE.  But very few stay for K or the elementary grades, mainly because the structures aren't in place for them to have faith in the program, namely the staff needed to provide strong support to both academic stragglers and advanced learners, along with disruptive kids.  They leave it to PTAs to fundraise to pay for classroom aides past K, along with behavioral technicians. It's a rotten system all around. Parents can't be blamed. New chancellor take note.

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This. I was at a happy hour for Miner PK3 admits and there were ~20 high SES IB families there. The ECE is actually diverse at most of these Hill schools now, while the upper grades remain unused by high SES IB families. I actually know a high SES IB family whose sent their kid to Miner for K two years ago (parents are both Drs). Thought they would take a chance after being satisfied with PK and shut out of lottery. Thought they had a bit more flexibility than other families to take the risk since their kid is mixed race (AA/white), so wouldn't "stand out" as obviously even if he were the only high SES attendee. Were absolutely horrified and pulled kid for best lottery placement they could get the next year (mediocre charter).[/quote]

I'm very interested in your story, but it is incomprehensible.  Can you add back all the missing words?  Who was horrified at what?[/quote]

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