Reply to SWS - as an IB School? L-T prospects?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]In truth, the number of quality early childhood spots is basically the same given that Peabody was able to expand.  And the cluster never really had claim to SWS elementary - the Cluster elementary is Watkins.  What is odd to me is that there is no proximity preference for SWS and Logan.  I'm not saying it has to be a huge area, but the idea that the neighbors should deal with the downsides of colocation next to the school without any upside is not a good one.  [b]One point of correction - Prospect was a school for persons with disabilities.  The fact that Prospect was citywide is not a real comparison - students were placed there based on their IEP.  The only other citywide elementary school is Logan. [/b]

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+1.  Prospect is a school that requires a student to qualify for services by having a qualifying IEP.  It is not a city-wide school in the sense that anyone can go there through a lottery.  If SWS was becoming a magnet test-in school or some other kind of school that required the students to show they had a special skill or a special need, that would be different.  The fact is that it is just a regular elementary school and DCPS policy is that there is a hierarchy that determines who gets preference at non-specialty schools: IB w/sibling, IB, OOB w/sibling, OOB w/proximity, no preference.  All that is being claimed here is that DCPS should not violate its own preference order, not that DCPS provide anything special to the people who live in this community.  If it chooses to not give an IB area to this school then the list still should go OOB w/sibling, OOB w/proximity, no preference.  That is not special treatment.  That is equal treatment. [/quote]

If DCPS decides it is a citywide program, then it does not have proximity preference, period. Like charter schools, you can't relocate to get better access to a citywide program at this time. I don't have a horse in this race, but DCPS would be very stupid to provide proximity preference and skim off L-T families when they are doing a renovation of L-T. They don't need to boost enrollment and engagement at SWS; it is already success story.

I wouldn't be surprised if DCPS created more citywide schools like this in order to compete with the charters. It's been demonstrated over and over again that high SES parents will go to any lengths to get into specialized programs and escape their IB schools.[/quote]

No. The point is that it isn't a charter school.  If it was, then it would operate under the charter rules and would not be able to give proximity preference.  It is a DCPS school and, therefore, must operate under the rules that govern DCPS schools.  If SWS wants to become a charter, it can do that.  Except for CMS and SWS, the other city-wide schools are HS programs that have entrance requirements.  There is no reason (that would hold up in a legal challenge) why these two schools should be operated against the standard preference principles established by DCPS for elementary school entrance.

If DCPS decided that it wants city-wide schools, it is going to have to establish fixed rules that are applied city-wide and are not done on an ad hoc basis. There has to be standard reasons and conditions established for why a certain school needs to be a city-wide program. Otherwise DCPS is vulnerable to lawsuits. [/quote]

I'm not sure all the proximity and other preferences are a matter of law. Proximity families are legally entitled to a school of right, and that is protected even if SWS is a citywide program. Are you suggesting that proximity families should sue? [/quote]

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