Reply to Which would lose their Deal feed first: Shepherd, Bancroft, or Lafayette?

Forum Index » DC Public and Public Charter Schools

Reply to "Which would lose their Deal feed first: Shepherd, Bancroft, or Lafayette?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Those of you who want to zone various schools out of Deal, as far as I can tell you were somewhat active on DCUM during the DME process, who knows how many posters in reality, could have been a handful, could have been more.  [/quote]
Speaking personally, I don't necessarily want to zone schools out of Deal.  I want to look at options to use the school assets effectively.  Part of that is reducing the severe overcrowding at Deal and Wilson.  Another part is fostering MacFarland and Roosevelt so they will be successful.  There are several possible approaches to those problems.  One is to adjust the feeder system further and perhaps remove certain schools from Deal's feeder pattern.  Another is to fix problems in the OOB system.

[quote]But you were nowhere to be seen at the community meetings. I remember seeing posts like this on this forum and then going to the meetings and hearing none of these ideas expressed. And even if you sent these comments privately, DME obviously decided otherwise. [/quote]
I unfortunately was able to attend only one meeting in person, and I found it an inefficient way to have views heard.  I did have an active email exchange with DME staff, a number of phone calls, and participation in the DME's online community engagement tool (whatever it was called).  I disagree that DME "decided otherwise," because I think DME's plan acknowledged the need for continuing changes. (See below.)

[quote]I would ask, why do you think you'd succeed this time when you failed last time, but that isn't even the correct question because there isn't even a "this time". There is no boundary review imminent.

Curious what you think you can gain now on the internet that you didn't during a recent real life political process. What has changed since 2 years ago when this issue was definitively settled for a generation or at least a decade, as a gift from an outgoing mayor to an incoming? What new information exists?[/quote]
I do not think I "failed" at all.  I offered several views, and DME's final recommendations actually matched many of them.  (Of course, I seriously doubt though that my personal views held much sway in the grand scheme of things, so it's kind of a misstatement to suggest I succeeded or failed in any way.  I'm sure I was just one "vote" among many.)

I also don't think the process is ever over.  DME's recommendations rightfully acknowledged that it's an ongoing process with constant adjustments.

[quote]Recommendation 35: DCPS shall conduct a boundary study when:
• A zoned DCPS school has been utilized at 90 percent or more and has had an in-boundary
percentage of enrollment greater than 75 percent for three consecutive years; or
• A zoned DCPS school has been utilized at 60 percent or less for three consecutive years.

Recommendation 36: As part of the annual monitoring of school capacity and utilization, DCPS
shall undertake a more detailed study of the capacity, utilization, and in-boundary participation for
a zoned DCPS school that has enrollment capacity equal to or less than  45 percent of the age appropriate
public school population within the attendance zone.

Recommendation 37: As part of DCPS boundary studies, DCPS shall work with the local school
and community to secure input into the studies on school capacity, utilization and attendance
zones. This should include:
• Evaluating the school specific boundary population, in-boundary participation rates, and
charter enrollments in the vicinity;
• Obtaining five- to ten-year population projections for the boundary and its adjacent
boundaries;
• Identifying any school quality barriers that may be affecting school utilization; and
• Assessing the walkability and transportation concerns of students and families.
DCPS shall then identify whether any action on boundaries, co-locations, consolidations, grade
configuration changes, or educational interventions are required to address the utilization concerns
coming out of Recommendations 35, 36, and 37.

Recommendation 41: In 2022, and every ten years thereafter, the District shall undergo a
comprehensive review of student assignment policies, including school boundaries and feeder
patterns.[/quote]

Although Recommendation 41 called for a comprehensive review every 10 years, there's no reason DCPS / DME cannot make interim adjustments to fix problems as they develop.  Indeed, although I cannot find it right now, I recall there was some DME publication that made that exact point.  Also, Mayor Bowser has already "tweaked" the process once, so the door is open to further "tweaks" to keep the system running efficiently.  [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics