Reply to CM and IT parents: plans for after school?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Are we really all so sure that these new charters are delivering an excellent education?  For the record, I DO have a child in elementary school at one of them,and while I am happy, there is no question that it is a work in progress.  That is not a bad thing - it is just a fact.  Planning for a HS is fine but let's make sure the founders/administrators/etc at these schools live up to what they have promised.  Frankly, I hear grumbling from parents at all of these schools - particularly from those who believe (rightly or wrongly) that their children are gifted.  Again, this is not me -  but I hear the chatter.  Perhaps it is just upfront justification for why they will abandon the school after 3rd grade to go private.  Not a financial option for my family despite our middle-class status.[/quote]

I think most non-privates will have difficulty addressing the needs of kids who are ahead of the curve re: DCPS standards; DCPS takes a hard stance against any programs that recognize and address the needs of such students, I believe (though I could be wrong) because those programs that existed in the past in this area were essentially used as ways to segregate students along race lines. Very sad fpr educators at the charters who succeeded in crafting excellent programs and now find themselves with their proverbial hands tied, no longer able to support the kids whose academic 'excellence" (such as it can be described when vetted against DCPS standards) they helped to create, and for parents who are watching their kids mark time in class being exposed to the same material over and over rather than being challenged and learning and growing at their best level.

Not sure what the answer is, as I'm not interested in a private education for DD. Currently trying to arrange life/schedule to allow for homeschooling as an option in the next couple of years.

--HRCS K parent[/quote]

Interesting thought process.  Do you feel even with the more exploratory learning model (or immersion school programming) that some children aren't getting more?  [/quote]

15:24 here, I think kids at immersion schools are probably being challenged in a different way, but I don't think OSSE allows charters to teach radically different material than other schools unless that was part of the school's charter.

Charters are part of the DCPS system, and OSSE seems to be showing a lot more interest in charters. If there are any charters out there that are doing anything close to giving kids more than the DCPS standard, my guess is when OSSE gets wind of it those charters feel the pain and are forced to comply. At our charter this year we're hearing over and over again about DCPS standards, and we're also hearing, for the first time, parents of kids in upper grades, kids who've been with our school's learning model from the start, saying their kid is bored, unchallenged, learning the same things they learned last year. Just reading between the lines so I can't say for sure that DCPS governance is the issue, but I strongly believe the changes at our school and increasing OSSE oversight are tied.

I think the one exception is Basis, as it was chartered to basically  teach kids high school concepts in the middle school years (which again, I don't know that the concepts taught are [i]different[/i] so much as they are taught[i] earlier[/i]), but that doesn't do much for us right now as my DD is in K, and I'm not sure that learning model would be a good fit for her anyway -- who knows how she'll grow and change? Her PS, PK and the current year have been fabulous, but I'm told from parents of older kids that it's in first grade that you hit the roadblocks. We'll stick it out at our current charter for now as it's a great school in many ways and has been a great fit for DD; I'm hoping the administration can find a way to do things differently and meet kids where they are, but also trying to figure out a plan B/next steps as I don't want DD to have 4 unfulfilling years while we wait to see if/what new charters are developed that would keep her challenged. [/quote]

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