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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]

We chose to stay at our in-bounds. We're not in Brookland and the uncertainty with the school wasn't worth the inconvenience of the commute. Plus my 3 year old was already settling into one new school and we didn't want to put him through a second school transition. We're pretty gung ho Montessori, so probably would have given it a shot if we were in the neighborhood. But[b] if the school is truly turning itself around and improving, we can always try again next year.[/quote]
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My thoughts exactly. We got pretty low on the WL and withdrew our application. I'm disappointed to even have to make that decision because I'm excited about Montessori and the school has so much potential, but I'll wait until next year to see if SSMA is truly improving. [/quote]

I feel like this becomes a situation from which the school cannot recover. Because families aren't willing to enroll, the school finds itself underenrolled and this doesn't receive the per pupil allocations it budgeted for. Then the school has budget shortfalls and can't pay for specials teachers, supplies, etc. Families get frustrated and leave. Teachers get frustrated and leave. Families get upset that teachers are leaving and more families leave. It's a cycle which is almost impossible for a school to recover from. That said, this is obviously not  the pps' responsibility and I agree that it may not make sense to risk your children's education![/quote]

I agree, generally. It's very difficult for a school to recover from a situation like this. It is [b]impossible[/b] for someone as bad as Dr. Rodriguez to recover from a situation like this. A sinking ship captained by the worst kind of leader.[/quote]

This.  Empty seats = budget spiral.  In Montessori it's not easy to offer one fewer classroom and lay off a teacher, because it disrupts the enrollment matrix for other grades.

I never root for school closures because it's so sad and disruptive and harmful to the kids-- many of them won't end up in a better school.  But I do think that the DCPCSB should hold every school to its agreed-upon goals, and be willing to close schools serving a high-income demographic just the same as they do to low-income schools.  It's only fair.[/quote]

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