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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Unfortunately, Burroughs was all about reading and math, math and reading. No language teacher, art, gym, etc, other "specials" were a half an hour a week. A week! The principals at both Brookland Bunker Hill and Burroughs were engaged, dedicated and willing to reach out to parents. Unfortunately, the parents group was totally turned off by the direction and the lack of focus on humanities at Burroughs. [/quote]

Serious question for parents at other schools that have "turned around" with more IB parent involvement -- was it different at Brent, Maury, Ross before IB parents started sending their kids there? Was it worksheets and math and reading? Or opportunities for hands-on learning? Did you (IB parents) demand that?

Question for Faye re Burroughs: just because specials are only a few hours a week doesn't mean that those are the only time you can learn about stuff other than math or reading, does it? The question is: How is the quality of teaching? Would it be different if a large group of middle class kids were going and 'requiring' more advanced work? [/quote]

Hi there, Faye here. First, 9:53 - yes! - Agree with you on everything. I'm sitting here on a conference call with lots of time to blather on, so here are more thoughts:

To PP, great point on the integration of "specials" type work into other subjects. I agree it can happen. Unfortunately, we just didn't see that at Burroughs and perhaps more tellingly, they did not seem to see a problem with that. There was some lip service paid during our talk with the principal, but when you actually visited the classrooms, the environment told a different story.

Your second question is harder to answer. I thought the teachers were very loving, affectionate and kind toward their students, and clearly dedicated, but within a very rigid environment of inflexible, questionable objectives and incentives that (I think) run counter to motivating kids and fostering a genuine love of learning. The principal, too, seemed really committed to the school. She knew all of the kids in the hallway by name and they spoke to her with respect but also affection. That was really compelling to me, but ultimately, I think the teaching style is forced by the testing and there isn't room for teachers to truly blossom. There are some really bright and great teachers, though, and I'd love to see what they'd do with greater freedom.

Your final question: I do believe that involved parents (middle class or otherwise) can turn schools around. I believe that even a few vocal (and persistent!) parents can turn the tide, but it is a chicken vs. egg thing. The school needed to make a few moves to convince us it was copacetic with our vision and we needed sufficient families to encourage those moves. When the school took the opposite tact (firing the language teacher is just one example) we felt discouraged, in both a symbolic and real sense. Thus, more parents opted for charters, and we lost the momentum needed to force a sea change. A real catch 22.

What parents did on Capitol Hill is inspiring. Some of those parents were kind enough to mentor us as we started this process and . There are many differences between that group and ours. I believe none are insurmountable, but here are what I think present the biggest challenges: 1. they had a connected, interested, and powerful councilman who could make rain for them 2. (I think this is true) there were fewer charter options at the time to erode the core group so the families persisted through setbacks where our group scattered a bit. If our group HAD to make Burroughs work, we probably could. But at the same time we started feeling like we were tilting at windmills, several of the families found good fits in OOB or charter schools and it's hard to argue for a school that *might* work for your child if you put in blood sweat and tears vs. a school that is actively trying to implement the objectives you want.

It is possible to both believe charters are undermining the public school system (as I do) and yet feel as though you have no choice but to buy into the system and use a charter if it is the best match for your child short-term (with much less heavy lifting and sacrifice required) because the damage is done, so to speak.

I really don't care about AYP, test scores and other faulty litmus tests for a school's performance. I *do* care about the things that 9:53 articulated and further, I believe that when the pressure intensifies after multi-year AYP failures, a school almost has no choice but to focus exclusively on reading and math to the exclusion of equally important subjects and I also believe that when the focus is getting everyone to reach "adequate" the kids who are already adequate or better, as well as the kids who will *never* be at grade level are slighted.

We / I haven't given up on Burroughs, because I still believe dedicated parents can achieve big things. But, we all have to jump in the pool together, and I do not blame any parent for not wanting to leap at this point, when there are other options. If there aren't numbers, there isn't going to be a sea change, if there isn't a sea change, it's hard to get those numbers. What a catch 22! So, we'll try again next year to see who might be willing to invest, and maybe in the meantime there will be relief from some of the very broken philosophies that are destroying all public schools right now (even the good ones).

Realize this is getting long and ranty - best to sign off now!

- Faye [/quote]

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