Reply to Middle Schools - Ward 6 Centric

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]As a Ward Six parent, I feel like the only way I am going to buy into a DCPS middle school is if I have a strong connection to it, and if lots of other parents (whom I have gotten to know) from other Ward Six schools are also connected to it.  But to be sure, Ward Six parents cannot do it alone, there's not enough of us, and we need parents from other Wards to also put their shoulder into it.[/quote]

Which schools can possibly meet this description, for you?  Stuart Hobson, Jefferson, Eliot Hine?  None of the above?  Which of the three schools has a principal willing to set the bar high?  As others in this thread have said Principal Kim did for Deal?[/quote]

To me, Eliot Hine is the most logical location for a strong middle school to emerge.  With its proximity to Eastern, its facilities and capacity, and the potential for strong feeder schools, EH jumps out as the first candidate.  Also, the Ward Six redistricting machinations demonstrated the strong affinity Old City/Hill East and Capitol Hill has for its schools.  Even though Tommy broke a lot of China and pissed off his colleagues, Ward Six demonstrated its affinity and its ability to mobilize successfully.

There is one factor that stands above all else, it is crucial to ensure that EH (or another middle school) starts from a position of strength.  Parents are willing to enroll children in struggling elementary schools and work hard to improve them.  Parents are not willing to enroll children in struggling middle schools – there’s no wiggle room in grades six to eight (as compared with PS & PK).  It is not just a question of programs (IB, great Principal) or facilities, in order for parents to rally behind a middle school, from day one it must have a strong cohort with a culture and climate conducive to learning.

Jefferson could also emerge as a viable option if it were set up as a magnet or some sort of controlled choice.  I would bet that Jefferson has the best and most expensive real estate of any property in DCPS’s portfolio.  Its location (monumental core, Smithsonian, Arena Stage and a $2 billion redevelopment underway), its capacity, its 2013 modernization potential for the beautiful building, its central location (L’Enfant Plaza & 395), and the limited number of students in its feeders (no one would be displaced) all combine to make it a strong candidate for becoming a school of choice.

Stuart Hobson could emerge, but its capacity is a serious constraint for it becoming anything other than a boutique school.  That being said, if SH became a magnet or controlled choice program, it would become an attractive high performing and rigorous option in the same way that Latin is attractive despite Latin not having facilities or capacity.

To be sure, the renaissance of Ward Six schools would not have happened if the Cluster has not lead the charge – SH has made this discussion (of creating a strong Ward Six middle school) possible in many ways.
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