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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Because they are set up to compensate for not having the structure and resources that UMC parents have. UMC parents don't need school till 5 p.m., rigidity on how you move, walk and required family participation.[/quote]

UMC don't THINK their kids need or would benefit from that kind of structure.  Also there is absolutely a stigma surrounding schools like KIPP, deserved or not.  In a different context, "required family participation" is seen as a wonderful thing -- for example, cooperative schools. But because it is an urban, minority school, that is seen as "too rigid."

Also I now laugh at people assuming that just because your kid is UMC they don't need structure that you'll find at places like KIPP (and in the classrooms of old-school DCPS teachers). My kid is absolutely thriving in such a structured environment.  It REALLY made me rethink my prejudices about programs like KIPP.  If I knew then what I know now, I absolutely would have considered KIPPs for PK, and I will keep an open mind for middle and high school.

I also get input from a broader range of people than UMC DCUMers ... my neighbors pulled their kids from our sought-after "flipped" DCPS and put them in KIPP. They report that the kids are loving it and can't wait to go back after vacations.  These are bright, nice kids, hard-working parents, kids that I would have zero worries about having in class with mine.

Of course some of the stories about harshness and rigidity give me pause. But I feel like now I have a much better framework for how schools "work" and my particular child.  If the classroom is overall warm and positives, the teachers good, the admins solid, and everyone is focused on learning ... then having to walk silently in the hallways is not the main thing.

[/quote]

Thanks for posting this pp.  I'm a parent of a 3 year old and honestly didn't go to any of the KIPP open houses because we decided to go the parochial route based on what we were looking for.  I will say, I wonder how many people who actually comment on KIPP schools have ever set foot in one/gone to an open house?  I can't imagine many have - yet one consistently hears the same comments over and over about why UMC parents aren't interested in even exploring it.  For the number of open houses many of us attended (myself included) it's a shame we don't at least visit a school in order to form our own opinions.[/quote]

I've worked in one. Would never go back. Would definitely not send my own child there.[/quote]

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