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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]

I think implementation is the main   In order to keep that tap of students flowing, you need to create incentives for Ward 3 families to choose to send their kids there; for the most part, that means duplicating the entirety of Wilson's environment.  Th the programs at the school.[/quote]
This sounds clearly incorrect.  If the parents are actively choosing, then by definition there must be meaningful differences.  [/quote]

I think you are correct that the "choice" would be difficult, because the result is really a forced choice for those Ward 3 families affected by the new boundaries:  you're forced to go to Roosevelt, or you can choose to try for a charter, or you can choose to move out of town.  That does kind of suck for them.  But, going with the flow of the question:  if the goal of the policy is to create a new Wilson in the middle of the city, then you've got to capture proficient students in some manner, and to do that you have to force some of them to be directed to the new school that you want to create.

The goal is to have an "anchor" of proficient students that will make Roosevelt of higher academic quality than is currently available to most of the city.  And, now that I'm thinking about it, that "anchor" of Ward 3 families is probably not enough to make it successful.  Either the affected Ward 3 families will kill the policy politically, or they will choose to leave the city.  So, how about some additional incentive, and a more solid "anchor" of proficient students to feed into Roosevelt:  create a new, application-only middle school somewhere in the middle of the city, that would feed into Roosevelt.  This new middle school could draw proficient students from throughout the city.  It would automatically be a great school.  And, those students, graduating from the new middle, would have a meaningful choice:  go to Roosevelt, a charter, or apply to Banneker and Walls.  I think this would strengthen the quality of Roosevelt, and its desirability, pretty quickly.

[/quote]

Most of our fantasy proposals for Roosevelt will require a new middle school of some nature....right now there really isn't one.

"Capturing" a certain portion of Ward 3 families is never going get us to the goal because they can afford (politically and financially) to not be captured.  It's got to be some combination of nearby Ward 3, Ward 4 families, IB (as in int'l Bacc) focused families and other members of the "morning diaspora" that are currently traveling across the city to get to Wilson. There are plenty of students for at least two good high schools. We know this because Wilson is overflowing.  How can we make it attractive enough to get the above group on board? Rather, can DCPS execute the plan we draw up?[/quote]

I think part of your premise is incorrect -- that the example of Wilson "proves" that there are plenty of students for at least two good high schools, absent the ability to "capture" Ward 3/HSES families.  The primary if not sole reason Wilson is considered to be an academically proficient school is caused by the presence of those Ward 3/HSES students.  Hypothetically, absent those Ward 3/HSES students, there would not be much appealing to an academically-minded student, based on test scores as a guide.  Wilson without Ward 3/HSES students would not be a good school.  You only have to take a look at the OSSE data to understand that this is true.

Where I think I agree with you is that in order to DUPLICATE Wilson's success, you don't necessarily need to capture that same percentage of Ward 3/HSES families, but you DO have capture a certain portion of a student population that will duplicate their academic performance (that is, over 90% proficiency at grade level).  Now, how do you do that?  Answer:  the middle school you are looking for must select in some manner for proficient students, as a basis for admission.  The reason this is so important is that Ward 3 is the only zone on the city with such a high concentration of proficient students -- that is, any high school in Ward 3 will automatically be proficient due to the high concentration of proficient students.  Seeking to create an academically proficient school elsewhere in the city is simply impossible, without establishing a barrier to entry.

All of this begs the question:  why in the world devote so many resources (political, intellectual, monetary, time) to duplicating Wilson, when the needs of the student population as a whole are clearly NOT to attend another Wilson?  Most (not all, of course, MOST) of these kids, at the high school level, are at 30% proficiency at grade level or below.  They are not going to benefit from an academically advanced schedule.  Rather, they need programming tailored to raise them up, not speed them up.  This reality, I think, is overlooked in a lot (but not all) of the conversations at DCUM.

Looking at the resources it would take to duplicate Wilson, it occurs to me that the Charter System is a better place to go, in order to accomplish that mission.  The purpose of Charters (which is, arguably, to enable parental choices among schools) is much better suited to accomplishing a job like this, rather than DCPS's purpose (which is, arguably, to meet the needs of all students, not just select students).

But you could still do it through DCPS -- do what it takes to create a selective school, and you will get a selective result.[/quote]

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