Reply to What are the odds that MacArthur will open in August '23?

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Reply to "What are the odds that MacArthur will open in August '23?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Missed the meeting tonight -- can anyone give a readout?[/quote]

As others have said, the DCPS team seemed completely unprepared to address questions of most importance to families impacted by this decision. And they have no excuse not to have anticipated these questions since they are the SAME questions that continue to be asked over and over and over again. Grandfathering should have been decided and explained already, an announcement about what type of curriculum would be offered should already be decided, assurances regarding AP offerings should have been given, assurances about how sports and extra curriculars should have been given, answers about transportation should have been shared. Instead, they wanted to spend time telling everyone "not to worry, there will be a thoughtful process about what to name the school." WTF? Who gives a crap about that? Of course, DCPS devotes its energies on the most ridiculous topics. What about college prep and college counseling? What is their plan to ensure that the first four cohorts that enter this school don't have a crummy high school experience? The idea of having a child in a high school comprised of one grade or just two grades with no track record or visibility with universities is very far from appealing for us. We simply refuse to sacrifice our child's only shot at high school to this mess.

Considering how much is slated to be spent on the renovation, one parent asked whether there might be a pool as part of the planning. I kid you not...the DCPS person SCOFFED. The team running this seems very young and inexperienced without any real understanding of what families of truly concerned about. Where are the experienced professionals in all this? DCPS needs to bring in a seasoned pro who has successfully opened a new high school in a city. [/quote]

This is a great summary. I was at the meeting and the inexperience of the team to appreciate the real issues confronting the students and the parents was glaring. The digression about the multiple curricular options across DCPS high schools was another illustration of their lack of awareness of this whole process. What is even more galling is that DCPS had several months to plan for this transition, but they are still at the ground floor. It wasn't even clear whether bids had been placed for the initial refurbishment and designs approved. Everything was "trust us" but they engendered no confidence that I should do so for my child's sake. I still don't understand the headlong rush, especially now that funding for full scale renovation is postponed for a year.[/quote]

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