Reply to Two Rivers has seats available at both campuses

Forum Index » DC Public and Public Charter Schools

Reply to "Two Rivers has seats available at both campuses"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]It is absolutely wild to my aged, gray-haired self how the mighty TR, MV, and CMI have fallen from their former glory. I really don't know what happened. People seem more or less mostly satisfied-ish at ITDS and LAMB, so it's not a systemic explanation.[/quote]

One commonality of TR and MV was expansion. I think there’s a good chance they’d still both be fine if they stuck to one campus. MV seems like it might be pulling itself out of the death spiral… can’t say the same for TR. When the newly renovated JO opens, that school is done.[/quote]

Agree on all points.

Ironically I think TR's decision to expand to MS had the exact opposite effect than intended-- they thought it would bolster upper elementary grades by offering a viable MS pathway in a neighborhood where nearby DCPS MSs had little buy in. Instead the MS has been such a disaster that it's weakness has spread down into the upper elementary grades and forced families who might have held on longer to leave (in a surprising number if cases due those same DCPS MSs).

Yes there is also rot even in the lower elementary grades (TR's academics are remarkably bad across the board, and I say that as a former TR family) but the culture papers over this fairly well with a relentless positivity that is easy to buy into when your kid is still very young. 2nd is when the cracks really start to show and then when you look at the MS it only depends your resolve to leave.

I will be particularly curious how TR's downfall impacts JO's upper grades post renovation (or maybe sooner). So many TR 4th families are IB for JO and those that aren't may look at SH and see a solid backup if they don't get Latin/BASIS slots.[b] JO could be a very different school in just a few years[/b].[/quote]

Are they hiring new staff with the new reno?[/quote]

JO has a lot of wonderful teachers including both veteran teachers who bring a lot of experience and newer folks who bring new energy. I don't quite get why you'd want them to hire new staff.

The one consistent complaint I've heard about staff at JO is something I think will be addressed by the reno and that's the fact that they don't always prioritize outdoor time well. But I think that is a very much a function of the current school's bad outdoor spaces -- there is insufficient shade on in the play spaces and the playground layout is a huge pain for supervising younger kids (no barriers between the ECE and older kid play spaces and the equipment for older kids includes some items that it is really not safe or appropriate for younger kids to play on without direct supervision). There's also no proper outdoor classroom space (just the garden which has had issues with mosquito control in recent years). There are actually teachers at JOW who want to be taking the kids outdoors more and the new campus will make this much more feasible. There are plans up on the school's website where you can already see how much improved and more functional the outdoor parts of the campus will be.[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics