Reply to "The current system is unsustainable." Really?

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Reply to ""The current system is unsustainable." Really?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]It is not a matter of being less worthy, it is a matter of knowing what the facts on the ground are.  I think it is amazing/great/fabulous/understandable/whatever that the city is being gentrified and families are staying and revitalizing the city in many ways.  The facts are that most schools outside wards 2, 3 and 4 with a few exceptions have long been abysmal failures, similar to many urban areas outside DC.  This is not solely the result of failed dcps policies and this is information that is widely available.  Of course the city needs to improve the schools for all, but that is a long term task at this point.  The reason that some dcps schools have thrived is that they have had a different cohort of families over the long term, which results in a long history of involved parents and prepared students.

The only point I was supporting was the idea that parents knew what they were getting into or should have.  I have extreme sympathy for the dilemma but not for the position that parents did not decide to place themselves in that deli a to solve.  Again, I am not speaking here to parents that have been proposed to be zoned out of successful schools or famies that do not have real choices in where they live.  And by having no choices I don't mean parents that bought a condo in a gentrifying neighborhood and are underwater or educated parents that work for non profits and refuse to move to nova (where they could afford to live in a decent school district) because of the commute.[/quote]

+100

There are some people in the city who really have no options, but they don't generally post on DCUM. There seem to be many who have options (for example, could live in Silver Spring or less expensive parts of Fairfax), but prefer to buy in a gentrifying area of DC. This can be a great real estate investment but the trade-off is the schools.

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It's not a great real estate investment unless the schools also get better -- [b]which I think most gentrifying families were counting on when they bought their homes -- lured by the rhetoric of Michelle Rhee.  [/b]I hope parents are not still expecting or demanding miracles, even though the promised one did not materialize.
[/quote]

PP here.

If this is true, it doesn't describe anyone I know. I've had a number of friends, colleagues and acquaintances buy houses and condos over the past few years. Those who have or are planning to have children research the schools carefully and make the decision accordingly. Some have high enough incomes that they don't need to make any trade-offs: Bethesda, Arlington, Deal feeder, Oyster. Others have to make more of a trade-off. Silver Spring is a great option for more affordable houses/condos and decent schools. There are parts of Fairfax and Arlington that are also reasonably priced with good schools. Some people have opted for very small condos in good school neighborhoods, choosing to sacrifice space.

Those who don't care about schools have bought in places like Bloomingdale, Columbia Heights/Park View, Brookland, Petworth.

And then there are those who do plan to have kids but bought in gentrifying areas anyway. Their plan, in their own words, is to:

1) not worry about it too much for now because we're not even trying to get pregnant yet
2) maybe go charter or attend the local school until K and see how it goes. Maybe it will be better by then, but we're not optimistic honestly
3) move out to the suburbs, which we really don't want to do right now before it's necessary, but realize we'll have to do at some point for the schools, definitely for middle school and probably earlier

I don't personally know anyone who has expressed the following opinion about those gentrifying areas: For sure, the schools will be just fine in a few years when it matters to us. Michelle Rhee told us so! I have never heard anything like this. People know the score when it comes to DC schools, and they realize they may need to move to the suburbs. They can cash in on their gentrification bet when they do. And no, price appreciation in gentrifying neighborhoods has almost nothing to do with schools. Just look at Bloomingdale. It has a lot to do with rapid changes in racial and income demographics and the opening of attractive restaurant and retail.

Note that in all of this I am NOT talking about people who bought in a good district and are now facing re-zoning to a worse school, and I am NOT talking about people who truly have no choice in the matter. Those are totally different issues. I am talking about people who have options and choose to buy in gentrifying urban areas with bad schools.

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