Reply to 3 MS in Ward 5, but we can't have 2 in Ward 3?

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Reply to "3 MS in Ward 5, but we can't have 2 in Ward 3?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]
Isn't this the beginning and end of the discussion?  There's an existing middle school that is not fully enrolled with in-bounds middle school students.  Why on earth should DCPS build another middle school in that same in-bounds area?  
[/quote]

Because Hardy is already full of OOB kids, and even if it could successfully fill up with IB kids, it would take years of gradual change - test scores first, then more IB kids, leading to higher test scores, leading to more IB kids, in an upward spiral.  If there were a blank slate/empty school available, more IB parents would be willing to take the risk.

The thing to do would be to guarantee the school would be 100% IB in the first three years, no more than 10% OOB in the fourth, fifth and sixth years, and no more than 20% OOB for the three years after that, even if it meant the school was under-subscribed at first.  Parents would be guaranteed a critical mass of IB kids at the school for the full duration of their child's attendance at the school.  After three full cycles of student attendance, I think the school could stand on its own without manufactured exclusivity.

Ward 3 parents with high achieving kids want to send those kids to school with other high achieving kids.  They want their kids' classmates' parents to be educated and involved.  If the school became a high performer it could then "afford" to let in OOB kids, because if the school were a high performer the OOB kids would be more likely to be high achievers with educated/involved parents.  So it would be a great school for the IB families, and a great school for the OOB families too.  And yes, it wouldn't be very fair or nice to OOB families that they didn't have the same shot at the school as the IB families, but sometimes making something fair and nice just means it turns to crud for everyone.     [/quote]

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