Reply to Oyster Adams vs. Powell?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Well there will be new leadership at Oyster next year. Who knows how it will be.

Part if it is deciding really whether you intend to live in DC long term. If so I simply wouldn't rent. I would buy. The time is now within Powell boundaries.[/quote]

Oyster has had "bad" principals in the past.  Monica's predecessor, Marta Guzman, was disliked by a considerable number of Oyster parents.  That fact did not affect Oyster's popularity.  Monica, as many are aware, also has a sizable number of critics, but Oyster is as popular as ever.  The fact remains that [b]Oyster will do well and thrive no matter who becomes principal because the teachers and parents are strongly committed to the school.  [/b]However, it would be nice to have a strong leader for a change.[/quote]

O-A parent here. I'd like to believe this is true, but commitment to the status quo of two sub-optimal buildings and trying to be all things to all people in Spanish - from severely disabled 3 year olds to to gifted teenagers - is very far from universal.

The population is a unique one for DCPS with 25% low income and 60% Hispanic. (Someone joked that the World Bank should have a shuttle service to Woodley.)

It's also a highly desirable parent pool for any dual-immersion program. Even the most dedicated parents both IB and OOB have been known to mysteriously disappear every year starting in 3rd grade. This is not just about "fleeing to Deal". The issue is sibling reference at bilingual charters and middle school options like Latin and BASIS. Not everyone wants to go to Deal or continue bilingual past elementary.

Monica's departure and the Cardozo feeder scare have spooked a lot of folks. Even last year we saw increasing numbers of people saying they're commitment to O-A is year by year. It's no longer shocking to hear people talk about how many lotteries they entered.

There will always be an elementary school at the Oyster location in Woodley. That was part of the public-private partnership that built the new building. It has to be a neighborhood school and can't be a charter or sold by the city.

But it will take a team of miracle workers (and a new middle school AP) to hold together the school as it is in two buildings and a small middle school.

My kids were happy there for a while. But now one is in a different school and the other stayed. The shortcomings at O-A are only visible when you have something to compare it to. More families are having that experience than ever before.

The families at O-A are great! Very friendly and diverse. But other than Spanish, O-A isn't the only game in town anymore.

good luck with your decision OP. Washington DC is a wonderful city.[/quote]

Small middle school?  Isn't Oyster about to graduate 71 8th graders?  I graduated with a class of 92 from high school (all girls private).  I thought 92 was plenty.[/quote]

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