Reply to Committee on overcrowding in the Wilson feeder pattern

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]The solution isn't just to cut out the east of the park neighborhoods (it's not fair to them - they bought their houses in reliance on the Deal/Wilson right, just like you). And besides, they are a very small portion of the deal/Wilson enrollment.
The only way to create a second (or third) "good" DCPS neighborhood hs option is to split the current wealthy white deal/Wilson population more equally with another feeder pattern.  For example, rezone half of Wilson (upper ward 4), including Lafayette, into Coolidge.  That will become a high performing high school from day 1.  The rich white kids from WOTP won't suffer, and the less advantaged eotp families will finally have a decent chance.
Then, leave the NW neighborhoods south of there, that also traditionally fed into Wilson, at Wilson, and make Roosevelt a magnet/specialty foreign language school that is attractive to the whole city, including students from Adams, Bancroft and Oyster.
Building nice buildings is not enough, and arbitrarily removing families' right to attend Wilson and Deal is unfair unless you give them an equally good option. For this you need socioeconomic and racial diversity to increase the good options for more families.[/quote]

There is not enough space at Coolidge for Lafayette. [/quote]

The modernized Coolidge high school will have a maximum capacity of 842 students. As part of the modernization process, DPCS is adding a middle school to the site with a maximum capacity of 687 students. Coolidge high school has enrollment of 310, so there is plenty of room for the number of Lafayette kids who would matriculate there, if you assume 70% of a current 4th grade class of roughly 125, or ~88 kids per grade. It would also mean that Coolidge middle and high schools would become the whitest schools in DCPS.[/quote]

Add Shepherd and you're already at capacity. You're not taking into account the organic Coolidge enrollment increase once Brightwood, Takoma, Truesdell etc start feeding there through middle. This it not a good plan at all. I support the theory but not the solution. [/quote]

So putting a brand new school at capacity is not OK, but continuing to enroll Deal and Wilson over capacity when only 25% of the kids attending live in the Ward is fine?[/quote]

Where did I say that? I clearly said I support it in theory, but that solution is simply moving the problem to an non-established school. Personally, I think enforcing the IB that move OOB should go to new boundary school will fix most of the issue. Try that starting now. Look at trends for 2 years, then look at moving Adams and Bancroft feed to a dual language MS/HS. Assess in 2 years. Then address larger non-language elementary feeders. By then, we'd know what Coolidge enrollment is looking like and charter leases would be expiring in ward 4 that we could leverage if needed. [/quote]

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