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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Not sure that $1200 for family of four is realistic in downtown DC OP, I think that is the message here.[/quote]

It's what I currently pay, hence I am not moving (and other reasons too, which are no-one else's business but are very valid).  But really, it's beside the point.  What's at issue here is a system that lets down the majority of the kids in the city and provides for those whose parents are rich enough to be IB for a good school and/or lucky enough to win a lottery.  [/quote]

The metrics that we use to determine a "good" school track very closely with SES. I would argue that it's not so much that DCPS is actively providing for rich kids. Rather, it is a system that hasn't been able to figure out what to do with poor students. In that respect it is not alone.

Given that you live in a "poor" part of town, you're probably not familiar with DCPS's historic relationship with Ward 3 schools. In as much as there was any, it was benign neglect. DCPS left these schools to their own devices and the parents and community members picked up the slack. They volunteered, raised money and generally minded the hen house to keep DCPS dysfunction at bay. DCPS, in turn, exploited the willingness of Ward 3 communities to do DCPS's job for itself through its use of the OOB system as an escape valve for pent up demand for quality education in other parts of the city. This system worked very well as long as there was excess space in Ward 3 schools. However, as Ward 3 schools have become increasingly popular with new parents seeking to stay in the city, DCPS's abrogation of its responsibility to provide quality education has been exposed. This is really not an issue of Ward 3 parents' selfishness. Rather, it is an expression of their desire to retain what they built through hard work and determination in the face of a system that historically didn't give a damn about them.

[/quote]

Really, you built the schools in Ward 3?[/quote]

You're saying this sarcastically and sneeringly, but the answer is often "yes, the area residents DID 'build' the schools -- over a period of decades."    Especially in the case of Lafayette, Murch and Janney (in that order).

Parents in CCDC and nearby have been building lasting programs in these schools since the 1970s, when I attended Lafayette.  One of my parents basically created the art program in the mid 70s and taught -- for free -- painting and art history.   For years.

Other parents run teams, chaperone, teach breakout reading groups, etc etc, again, in the SEVENTIES.  It's never let up over here in ward 3. The "donate a few thousand a year" thing is actually much more recent than you newcomers imagine.

Also, while I'm on the subject of newcomers having some erroneous assumptions about ward 3 schools ... Lafayette, Murch and Janney we're never bad, or even iffy,  schools that "turned around."   They have always been dominated by middle class, educated families with two parents and professional jobs.  Who, I'll say it, were overwhelmingly white neighbors.   The OOB percentage has shrunk over the years but there was never a time since about 1970 that CCDC families didn't comprise the bulk of Lafayette and Murch.

Carry on. [/quote]

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