Reply to Segregation in DC schools - charter lottery doesn't help much

Forum Index » DC Public and Public Charter Schools

Reply to "Segregation in DC schools - charter lottery doesn't help much"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Usually at risk kids are placed in schools through social services or guardians ad litum, not parents. And I'm pretty sure they can be and are placed without the lottery, at least in some cases, through the Student Placement Office.[/quote]

Most at risk kids live with their parents, not in foster care. At risk is kids who get SNAP or TANF, are in foster care, are homeless, or are in high school and at least a year older than their grade would indicate.  There are over 30,000 of them according to http://atriskfunds.ourdcschools.org/

There are over 11,000 kids on DC TANF. http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ofa/resource/tanf-caseload-data-2015
There are about 2000 homeless children. http://www.mwcog.org/store/item.asp?PUBLICATION_ID=189
There are about 144,000 people in DC who get SNAP and nationwide, about half of SNAP recipients are kids. http://www.dchunger.org/fedfoodprogs/foodstamps/food_stamps.htm, http://www.feedingamerica.org/take-action/advocate/federal-hunger-relief-programs/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program.html

There are only about 1000 kids in out-of-home foster care (and care goes up to age 21 so not all are school-aged) http://cfsa.dc.gov/service/become-foster-or-adoptive-parent

Some of these numbers are a couple years old and there is probably overlap--a kid who is homeless is very likely also getting SNAP and TANF.  But most at-risk kids are not at all involved in foster care and if their parents don't enter them in the lottery (or go to a non-lottery charter) and they aren't in a special ed placement (DCPS/charter/private) they are probably going to their in-bound school.

Of those in foster care, some foster parents are really good advocates for their kids and some are not.  Some will enter the lottery or try to get them into good schools, and some will keep them where they're at (continuity is important) or where it's convenient.  A sizable percentage of DC foster kids are actually placed in Maryland.  There are almost no foster parents in-bounds for high-scoring DCPS schools. Some foster kids are in private school placements due to disabilities.[/quote]

Interesting to hear some stats on the make up of at-risk.

The word going around in our neighborhood a while back was the it was easy to abuse the system to qualify for SNAP. (Move the money out of your bank accounts for a couple months and claim that you don't have a job; there weren't any checks on whether you owned a half million dollar house outright or several luxury cars).

If beating the SNAP process can be parlayed into school preferences for at-risk kids, it highlights risks in tying the qualifications for some of these programs and having to spread the available resources thinner for the people they are really intended to help. [/quote]

It's not that easy to qualify for SNAP.  It's true that some states have lifted the asset cap and that a house you own and a single car are excluded from assets, but you can't just say you don't have a job.  You have to get a letter from your previous employer, show unemployment checks or proof you get TANF, etc.  You have to give permission for the government to check your bank accounts. You have to sit in the ESA office for hours. They'd ask you if you wanted TANF and Medicaid too and it would be pretty weird if you said no. And if you get caught you could go to prison. It's certainly not the easiest way for a rich person to get a seat in a good school--and it's not even a guaranteed seat, since your kid would be one of 30,000 at-risk kids applying for an at-risk slot.  [/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