Reply to DCPS Middle School problem in the Washington Post

Forum Index » DC Public and Public Charter Schools

Reply to "DCPS Middle School problem in the Washington Post"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]One thing that I have not understood with the growth of charters is how DCPS could be so slow to respond.  DCPS has a huge disadvantage -- that they have to take all comers -- relative to the charters, but they also have a huge advantage that they tend not to use.  Although charters have to run a lottery only take the winners, DCPS is not so constrained.  They can select on other criteria.  Have test-in schools.  Create all the immersion schools they want and organize them in a way more oriented towards children with more support in that language or a mixture of different backgrounds.  In short, they have some means of cherry picking the best students, but do not use them.  Maybe that is a good thing.  But since the charters have soft means of doing so, it seems strange that DCPS does not at least try to combat that with better options of their own.[/quote]

Charter schools are most certainly not "cherry picking the best students".  Students of all kinds end up at charter schools in droves. Like almost half of the public school children in our city. That isn't cherry picking. That is something about DCPS driving them elsewhere[/quote]

Correct, charters do not cherrypick - students self-select into charters on the premise that the charters will meet their needs more effectively.

I think the PP was suggesting that DCPS would have the power to cherrypick and retain high-achieving students and compete with charters by making such offers available.  But they don't have the political will and the more they drag their feet, the less credibility they have and the more the opportunity to turn things around slips through their fingers.[/quote]

Yes, Yes.  I get all that. But what I am saying is that if almost HALF THE CITY is choosing charters, that is not just the high achievers leaving DCPS. I bet people also leave DCPS and choose a charter school because their child is failing miserably and they need to try something different.   These false impressions get circulated that charters somehow attract only stellar students. Not so. They do in general attract parents and families who have exercised some judgement about their kids' education, however. I give you that.  But I have also seen with my own eyes social service agencies submitting piles of applications to charter schools in loco parentis.  [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics