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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Yes, of course.  The crux of the problem is that Brent invested heavily in the Reggio Emilia approach to its early childhood program, which promotes arts integration and mixed-age classes, right before a big wave of in-boundary 3 year olds hit the 2012-2013 PreK3 lottery.   The ECE teachers pushed for the investment.  Arguably, it was a short-sighted decision born of school leaders and DCPS not being on top of baby boom trends.  Apparently, they weren't expecting nearly as many as the 70+ IB applicants they got in the 2012-2013 lottery, or in the 2014-2015 lottery either.  Many in the neighborhood had seen the demographic writing on the wall and wondered why Brent hadn't.

Brent then cut the number of PreK3 spots from 38 to 30.  Now the school is in a situation in which the majority of in-boundary families have been turned away for PreK3 for the first time without school leaders being amenable to a new community conversation on the future of preschool, despite mounting demand for one.  Dialogue isn't taking place because Young, the ECE teachers, and PTA Board and LSAT leaders have decided that the ECE classes configuration should stay the way it is for years to come.  The school has run out of real estate to add classroom space, at least without using portables on the cramped grounds, at a time when DCPS is renewing its committment to preschool all around the city.

I have no idea where Brent is going with PreK3.  Just thought you might like some background.

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This is very interesting.  Unfortunately it isn't accurate.  If someone wants to reopen the discussion they can approach the PTA leadership and loop I. The LSAT.  The fact is that most parents at Brent are focused on academic issues, not the self-styled second class citizens who feel slighted.  Also, for the record, not all parents felt that keeping PK3 was the best course of action and most of those shut out of the lotteries in the Spring of 2013 were pushing to eliminate Pk3 at the community forum held that Fall.  If you want change then you need to advocate for it, not sit around and wait for the "many in the neighborhood" who were blessed with the clairvoyance necessary to have foreseen what happened in this year's lottery.  Whining on an anonymous forum isn't going to get you very far.[/quote]

Give us a break; it's no secret that (powerless) parents have approached the school leadership on the issue on a regular basis.  As things stand, nothing is going to get those who are shut out very far, other than making the best of things elsewhere.

I wasn't shut out two years ago, and wasn't shut out this year for a young sib, but still don't like an arrangement that leaves nearly 2/3 of IB families with 3-5 year olds left out in the cold for two school years.

The two community forums held to "discuss" PreK3 were a joke on those who turned up because the relevant decisions obviously already been made well before the "discussions" took place.  The world leaked out, and rising parents weren't thrilled, helping motivate some to head to IT, Yu Ying, Mundo Verde etc.

Invalidating the concerns of others on an anonymous forum gets you nowhere so please put a sock in it.

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