Reply to New Jackson-Reed HS (Wilson HS) School Principal

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Reply to "New Jackson-Reed HS (Wilson HS) School Principal - Sah Brown from Eastern High School"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]That principal?!

We live on Capitol Hill. My spouse and I met with Brown when when we were looking into the IB Diploma program at Eastern for our oldest in early 2020, before the pandemic began.

Brown seemed clueless about what it would take to attract high SES in-boundary families like ours to Eastern, without any real interest in doing so. He claimed that the program offered "real rigor and challenge to all" repeatedly, and wouldn't answer our questions about Eastern's average IBD points totals. He also wouldn't talk about how many of the "full Diploma" students at Eastern actually earn the Diploma.

Later on, we learned that Eastern's average points total has been mired in the mid 20s, on a 24-45 points pass scale, since the program's inception a decade ago. We also learned that most of the Eastern students who try to earn the Diploma have failed since the get go. We left the meeting unimpressed with Brown and Eastern's IBD program and didn't enroll our child.
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So, let me get this right. You walked into this man’s office with your white hood on, took it off, handed it to him and asked him to put it on. He rebuffed your offer and you decided you didn’t like him. Eastern HS kids test poorly due to various reasons (poverty, trauma, inequality, etc). He does not have to explain any of that to you. Your child could have obtained a good education there, but your classism and racism prevented you from entertaining the thought of your child in that school.[/quote]

ha ha, normally I dislike this kind of invective, but seems to hit the mark. [/quote]

PP who talked to Brown. My spouse and I are people of color who come from working-class backgrounds. We attended college on full Pell Grants.

We wouldn't have bothered going to Eastern to speak to Brown if we hadn't been trying to keep an open mind. What are you posters slamming us celebrating?  Brown's able leadership at Eastern?  [/quote]

I agree with you. I work for a neighborhood organization and Principal Sah asked for a meeting with us. He said he was interested in attracting more in-boundariy students but he was clueless how to do it. He shot down any ideas that were brought up and acted like in-boundary students should attend just because. It was a weird meeting [/quote]

So basically it’s the same prisoners dilemma that none of us know how to break out of. If Hill parents send their kids to Eastern then the IB diploma rates would be much better. The advanced program everyone claims to want is literally there. All they have to do is send their kids. He’s not wrong. Parents need to organize themselves to send their kids en masse - this is a parent problem. [/quote]

Absurd argument. [b]CH public school parents with MS age children are in no position to organize themselves to send their kids to any public HS en masse.  
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No secret that around five years worth of robust parent pacts to send kids from Maury to Eliot-Hine, and Brent to Jefferson Academy for middle school haven't yielded good results. Ward 6 parents who can't afford private school are busy people who need MS and HS academic rigor if they're not going to move. So they head to BASIS, Latin and a few other charters. This is a no-brainer that Brown doesn't seem to get.

Worried about this appointment.  [/quote]

Of course they are in the position to organize themselves. Who else is going to do it? At a certain point you need to take responsibility for yourselves.  As I understand it, this kind of deliberate organization is how Brent IB parents began to attend en masse, and something slightly simliar is happening at Elliot-Hine right now.  Give that Eastern *has the IB program* it's just delusion to think that a single principal giving juusssst the right amount of coddling to IB parents will be the one thing that makes the change.  I'm not saying that Brown is doing a good job or that he couldn't do more -- I don't actually have any basis in facts about that -- but it's absurd to claim that any principal has some kind of magic want to break the prisoner's dilemma.  Only Hill parents can do that themselves.  If they're too busy and just want to go to Basis -- that's understandable. But don't then claim that it's Brown's fault that IB parents won't attend because he just didn't strike exactly the right note with them one time.  [/quote]

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