Reply to Redshirting consequences at Lafayette

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Yes, it seems like DCPS really can't make an exception for these families now that the issue is so public -- how could they possibly justify the differential treatment? [/quote]

Exactly - why did these parents think that going to the media was going to help their case? [/quote]i

They sound too cheap to hire a lawyer to handle this discretely and too cheap to pay private school tuition.  They took the worst approach.[/quote]

+1, the problem is that they are both entitled AND ignorant. I don't know these specific families, but I've had conversations with parents at Lafayette and other upper NW schools that allow redshirting (and these are the ONLY schools in the city that allow it absent a diagnosed special need or other extenuating circumstances, like an unhoused kid who didn't attend kindergarten on time because they were unhoused). They do not get that their situation is a weird except based exclusively on being part of wealthy, white school communities where the principals will bend to pressure to break this rule in order to appease them.

One of my kids has an August birthday, is small for their age, and has what is likely a special need (maybe just ADHD, maybe a sensory issue, still working on diagnosis) and we were told "no" in no uncertain terms when we asked about the possibility of repeating PK4 and that DCPS has a firm policy against redshirting. I've had people at these schools criticize my "decision" not to redshirt, and I've pointed out it wasn't a decision -- we can't afford private and DCPS doesn't allow it. They'll say "oh you just didn't ask the right way" or "you didn't talk to the right person." They think their ability to redshirt was based on their unique understanding of childhood development, their savvy in working the system, or their abilities of persuasion. Nope. It's because they are rich white people attending rich white schools where lots of parents think the rules don't apply to them.

I'd have so much more respect for these people if instead of whining about how their special privileges had been taken away, they'd band together with parents like me who would love to change the DCPS policy and also address the very real problem of the district's K curriculum not being developmentally appropriate for the age assigned to the grade. That would be great! I fully agree with these issues. Instead they want me to feel sorry for them? B****, please.[/quote]

DP here and not connected to the school or story. But I am curious and did not know that DCPS does not allow kids to repeat a grade if a parent felt that the social emotional development of the child is subpar for their class? So a young child- August birth will have to struggle in x grade while another child just two weeks older will have the benefit of developing, skipping that year, and eventually they will perform better in the same X grade.
So DCPS does not give any consideration or leniency for this case to set the student for success instead of falling behind!?[/quote]

It is principal’s discretion at the recommendation of the teacher, not the request of the parent. At my school, it is rare but not unheard of and usually involves repeating K, likely because that is not a finite resource in the same way PK is, so there’s no sense anyone is cheating the system.[/quote]

This. Part of the issue is parents wanting the same redshirting situation as at Lafayette but ALSO free PK for as long as possible. And I get it. I hope the PP is able to get some help for their child. But the reason they will likely not allow a repeat of PK versus K is because it's not a guaranteed right like K is.[/quote]

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