Reply to WaPo magazine article on the lottery

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Reply to "WaPo magazine article on the lottery"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]"Only 27% are enrolled in their IB school."

So despite hundreds of millions in renovations, expansion of Pk3, students returning to DCPS for HS ... the percentage of students attending their IB has only increased 2% since the last boundary review.
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For the last time, parent don’t choose schools based on renovations!! If it’s underperforming, lacks rigor etc, no one cares how shiny and new it is.[/quote]

[b]And yet, that's where we have invested, as a city.[/b] Shiny and a zillion bells and whistles probably isn't needed, but fixing dilapidated buildings is.

We do need better options, and that starts with investing in DC adults who need supports and skills and safe neighborhoods and good paying jobs to enter and stay in the workforce. Without that, the underperforming schools are fighting an uphill battle that they will not win.[/quote]

Not quite. We've invested a lot recently because we refused to invest a little for a very long time. Had the schools been kept up over the decades, the billion dollar capital improvement funds wouldn't have been needed. Kids don't need bells and whistles, but they do need solid walls, functioning heat and a/c as well as a rat-free classroom.[/quote]

Even the high-performing schools had serious physical plant issues.  And reading stories this winter about Baltimore City schools that lacked heat reminded me that kids might not care about the bells and whistles, but they do notice when their schools regularly lack working heat or running water or are infested with vermin.  And the message that sent to kids about how much the city values them and their education was pretty clear.  Modernizing schools isn't the solution, but it is an important part of providing a good education.

And I think it's a mistake to say that DCPS has only invested in new buildings.  For example, the commitment to quality ECE education in DC is impressive.  Even otherwise poorly performing schools have good ECE programs.  The problem is that, again, while providing good preschool and kindergarten programs can help kids succeed, it's not enough to overcome the problems that kids face at home and in their neighborhoods, and those problems become more and more salient as kids get older.  So, yes, if we are serious about improving education in DC, we need to be investing, not only in services for kids, but for their families, including housing, employment, food, and medical care, so that every kid can show up to school ready to learn.  But that's not something DCPS can do, that's something that the people of DC have to demand from their government.[/quote]

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