Reply to Capitol Hill Middle School and High School situation

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]If all the UMC kids stayed through MS AND successfully demanded advanced programming which was implemented by an administration and reaching staff motivated to provide that programming, and supported by DCPS in doing so, then yes, we would have more areas with quality paths through MS and HS.  But there are a lot at variables there and I don’t blame families for not taking the risk.  Part of the problem is that some UMC families do choose to send their kids to the local MS but accept the status quo and the families who stay but try to work for change get labeled as obnoxious or high strung or racist or whatever.  You see this all over this board and  I have experienced this even in ES.  We were at a school with @good test scores@ which I took to mean lots of kids scoring 5s.  What it means in hill-speak is that there is a small achievement gap.  Big difference.  [/quote]

You make good points, PP.  I don't see an academic "risk" in staying on the Hill for MS as much as the psychic risk of taking on the frustration and dissatisfaction of running with a DCPS middle school culture that's not in sync with that of dynamic, highly diverse neighborhood.

As things stand on the Hill, your kid has the option of going from your highly diverse (students, teachers, staff, admins), high-performing ES to a MS that's overwhelmingly AA (students, teachers, staff, admins) where most students work below grade level.  DCPS could make the prospect of sending your kid a DCPS middle school EotP far more appealing by tweaking programming/curriculum to cater to advanced learners, and [b]recruiting more diverse faculties.[/b]  DCPS doesn't bother so parents can' be blamed for voting with their feet.  [/quote]

Jefferson has a white principal and black assistant principals. https://www.jeffersontrojans.org/UserFiles/Servers/Server_92289/File/JA%20Staff%20Directory%209.2.20.pdf [b]looks like the staff is about even between black and white[/b] with a few Latina and Asian teachers too...certainly wouldn't call it "overwhelmingly AA" (also if you/your kid is overwhelmed by being around people of color that might deserve some introspection...). White kids are not going to lack racial mirrors among faculty at JA. And the directory lists the contact info for all the staff so you could certainly inquire about how your advanced learner will be catered to. [/quote]

You're exaggerating, booster. We've been to open houses and other events at JA.  It's a seriously AA school without definite honors classes.  My kid isn't overwhelmed by much but we're not tempted.  JA just isn't nearly diverse enough.[/quote]

The staff list is literally in the link above and it has everyone's pictures. There's no exaggeration--it is a diverse faculty. You don't have to choose Jefferson but it is just not factually accurate to say the teachers, staff, and admin are "overwhelmingly AA" when it's pretty close to 50/50 black and white. [/quote]

Come on, no secret that the white teachers and admins at JA are young crusading types. Turnover among them is high. Many are picking up a year or two of experience before they're in a position to head to a higher-performing school.

The AA teachers are the ones who stay, who have seniority, who run the show. [/quote]

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