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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]The problem all of these (K-8) plans run into is that parents with kids in 1st, 2nd, and maybe 3rd grade really, really want their elementary school to continue. They're very happy with the school and advocate with the administration to make it last. Then, by about 3rd or 4th grade, their child is different, their needs are different, and the family makes very different reflections about school. Often, they start looking for something bigger, something with more options, more extra-curriculars, with with more emphasis on selection, honors, rigor. It's hard for administrations to push back and also economically attractive not to because it's comparatively cheaper to run a middle school than an elementary school. So there are some economies of scale to be gained. But inevitably, the middle school will serve quite a different set of students, no worse, no better necessarily, but different. For the rest of the lot, it puts another "option" on the map and thereby adds another way by which we can shuffle our kids around into seemingly acceptable but - in sum - altogether suboptimal solutions. So, yes, good luck with that.[/quote]

Yes, this is very well stated. We are a Lee family who has no interest in a middle school option at Lee. I think the need in DC is for good middle-to-high school options, not elementary-to-middle. (We will try for Latin when the time comes but are planning on private for middle and high school if we are still in the area.)[/quote]

Amen. Very well put PP. We feel the same at ITS. Even though I am impressed with what they have done in few short years building a small middle school (and we LOVE the school), I think my DC's needs have changed in 3rd grade.[/quote]

Not everyone feels this way.  I do NOT want a big middle school for my kids (I went to one - it was lord of the flies). So there just has to be enough families liek me  who want a small middle school experience, and, with the lack of ms options in dc, it looks like some creative minds, it, lee families  who don't feel like me may end up having to staying put (and perhaps loving it).  The pk-8 model is very popular in progressive dc private schools, so I don't know why it wouldn't work in progressive charters.[/quote]

But the progressive charters have an individualized instruction model, way beyond differentiation.  The small scale and  individuated instruction (rather than all desk face the teacher model) means they, like charters themselves, are a different ballgame than dcps educational campuses.  And they are self selecting.  You aren't going to get all high ses, but you'll get quite a few and the low ses will not tend to be at risk (those parents tend to go IB) or kids with discipline problems (those parents make different choices - if my kid was a discipline problem I'd want more not less structure).  This all spells success.  Not a lot of extra curriculars, that is true, but I can get my kid those and I didn't do any of those in middle school (lived too far from school, both parents worked, went home on bus and watched sitcom reruns for three years).

Because private schools can pick their students and charters can't.  You will have to open the gates to the hoi polloi, and believe me that if they'll commute all the way to Deal, they will certainly commute to CM.  Then you'll have a school that's too small to offer differentiated classes (i.e., different math options) and has to navigate integrating everyone into the same room.  Capital Hill Day School has a method to keep your "undesirables" out, CM does not.[/quote][/quote]

But the progressive charters have an individualized instruction model, way beyond differentiation. The small scale and individuated instruction (rather than all desk face the teacher model) means they, like charters themselves, are a different ballgame than dcps educational campuses. And they are self selecting. You aren't going to get ALL high ses, but you'll get quite a few/way more than educational campuses  and the low ses will not tend to be at risk (those parents tend to go IB) or kids with discipline problems (those parents make different choices - if my kid was a discipline problem I'd want more not less structure). This all spells success. Not a lot of extra curriculars, that is true, but I can get my kid those and I didn't do any of those in middle school (lived too far from school, both parents worked, went home on bus and watched sitcom reruns for three years).  (reposted to fix quoting)[/quote]

What grade is your child in?  3rd?  How many privates have you toured?  What you see at Maret in 3rd is very different from in 7th.  And having said that, Maret gets to sort.  CM will not.  Just ask Basis - the model will be "take them all and let them sort themselves (fail themselves/withdraw themselves) out or be counseled out.

DCI may pull off the conglomeration because they've got enough feeder schools.  They can get big enough to offer differentiation of skills at grade level.  And, they'll get big enough they don't have to accept all comers.  They can sort them out in the younger grades at the feeder schools because they don't meet the language requirements.

What you're describing for your utopia CM is something that can work at a [i]private[/i] school, but your problem is that you want to sort students out of [i]public[/i] school.  Again - look at Basis.  They too thought they could get families to just "self select" - it doesn't work.  Not in DC - not with too few high quality choices.  You will have to take all comers, and then you'll be mixing discipline cases in with the snowflakes.[/quote]

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