Reply to WP Article on LAMB's failure to re-open

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Reply to "WP Article on LAMB's failure to re-open"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]This article is a really skewed perspective- at every parent meeting, there has been an overwhelming majority of parents supportive of the school’s decision, and there have been a small handful (like 5) really vocal parents who want the school to re-open (two of whom are quoted in the article). I say this as a parent who is desperate for school to reopen, and disappointed in the decision, but also trust the school and want to go back only when it’s safe to do so.

The school communicated poorly, no question. They shouldn’t have made it seem like reopening in October was likely, when they shared at the end of September. But I don’t think is as big of a deal that the article is making it out to be. Especially when the reporter only talked with two disgruntled parents and  didn’t mention the reopening status of any other charters, and barely mentioned DCPS’ current mess with reopening plans.[/quote]

There are a lot more than 5 disgruntled parents. I am one of them, but, I support the school leadership more than these (very brand-new) parents quoted in the article. That said, I do not think the majority are disgruntled, but I have no idea, since the school hasn't surveyed parents since July about their interest to return. Many parents who do not agree with the school may be afraid to speak up given that they could be shot down publicly.

I wish the school would acknowledge that it pulled a 180 on parents, communicated poorly, and that its decisions have a major impact on the lives of 450 families at home (and our kids), so they should be both more careful and more transparent. They also should care what parents think, even if it's weighted less than other factors. Good and transparent communication would do wonders for parents feeling supportive and sucking it up for an entire school year of lost or lesser learning. Also, parents will trust the decision much more if they have all the information being used to decide. This article did a better job explaining the thinking process than the meetings and messages to parents have, and for that I was glad to read it. I personally read it as an example of what all the charters are dealing with right now, and hope to see more reporting about other schools - did not think it showed LAMB in an especially poor light given the circumstances.

Parents who already agreed with the decision being made probably feel the school is being fully communicative, but it is those who don't fully agree who see key gaps more readily.[/quote]

“Brand new” parents are the ones most likely to want reopening since their kids are least able to do DL. So I don’t think that should disqualify their opinion. [/quote]

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