Reply to Trajectory for Shepherd Elementary?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Most of the EOTP schools have uniforms. Some of it is a holdover from when the demographics were different; some of it is parents in gentrifying neighborhoods liking uniforms for a variety of reasons. Brent has uniforms and has a sub 10% FARMS rate. Maury has uniforms at about 20%. It's pretty ingrained in their cultures at this point.[/quote]

I think OP's point is that SP/CV is not a gentrifying neighborhood.  However, until recently, it was mostly OOB.  I heard it was mostly IB, but then became mostly OOB related to some issues that happened during Michelle Rhee's tenure.  A neighbor told me that during this turmoil, there were like 6 principals in 2 years.  There was a big split about the direction of the school, with some families wanting it to become dual-language and others wanting the International Bacc. program, and a lot of IB families pulled their kids out for private or WOTP schools.  The reputation has continued to suffer until the last few years, when there's been renewed interest from IB families with young kids buying in the neighborhood.  Some details of the Rhee situation here:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/16/AR2008101604350.html[/quote]

OP here. Yes, thank you, I meant that SP/CV is and has been a higher SES neighborhood. And thanks for the background info regarding how we got here. Five principals in one year? No wonder there's been strife.

I didn't understand why Shepherd Elementary has many attributes of a lower-SES school such as low test scores, lack of progressive educational models, uniforms, etc. I think these attributes would need to change to attract more in boundary families who would stay through the upper grades, which would then raise the test scores.

But as some PP's indicated, it looks like the general feeling is that current Shepherd parents are happy with the status quo. I greatly appreciate this information as I likely wouldn't be.

I'm very concerned regarding the situation described with 10-12 warnings per day to a child. From my perspective, this indicates either a lack of effective teaching capabilities or unmet special needs (which goes back to a lack of effective teaching capabilities). In my experience, schools that do SPED well are also schools that generally do social emotional development well in general. I've heard several tales from current and past parents that indicate that Shepherd Elementary doesn't do social emotional development well. I'm so sorry to hear this isn't changing and that there's no push for this to change.

I'm also not comfortable sorting for SES to decipher test scores, and just leaving the lower SES OOB children with a less optimal education. It's better to have a high-performing peer group, and students who aren't up to grade level cause a lot of problems for the peer group, especially in the upper grades.

Another poster directed me to Lowell for more progressive teaching methodologies. I have to question why we can't demand these same methodologies for our public schools?

I'll add that Shepherd Elementary isn't just for current Shepherd parents; it's for all the in boundary families it's failing to serve too. But as I mentioned, I'm not willing to fight that uphill battle. Thanks to everyone for the information. [/quote]

Oh honey, you're going to struggle no matter what school you send your kid to. Good luuuuuuck.[/quote]

+1[/quote]

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