Reply to 5th grade -Capitol Hill

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]If Brent, Maury and Watkins each lose at least half of their kids in 5th grade, one idea is to move to two middle schools, one for 5th and 6th, the other 7th and 8th and have all Hill schools feed into the two schools (yes, I know, there are more than those three schools), but it strikes me that there is a serious feeder problem with those schools in particular, and also SWS.[/quote]

But it's an idea with no chance of seeing the light of day ever, mainly due to the political clout Cluster supporters enjoy, and have for decades.  That's it, that's all.

This is an idea only bandied about by Hill parents who lack familiarity with the political landscape on the subject.
[/quote]

This is the weirdest myth, or maybe just out of date since SWS spun off. Watkins loses all of its inbound kids by 5th just like the rest of the Hill schools. Not sure why you think we’re running the table.[/quote]

Come on, it's no secret that the politically connected Cluster leadership has fought every middle school solution that would have worked for the entire Hill community tooth and nail for decades.  Individual UMC, IB parents like yourselves may not have done this, but Cluster admins, parent leaders and the Cluster dominated CHPSO as an organization certainly have.

[b]Watkins' student body remains mostly OOB[/b], as does its parent leadership.  During the 2013-2014 DCPS boundary and feeder review, the well-organized and resourced Cluster PTA and CHPSO pulled strings on the city council and with Rhee and Henderson to keep Brent, Maury and SWS (in the early stages of the process of breaking off from the Cluster) from gaining by-right access to SH or a new pan Ward 6 middle school entity from being created.  They also ensured that Tommy Wells was onboard with a 45 million dollar SH renovation, while Eliot-Hine and Jefferson got zip.

The Cluster's small-minded and selfish advocacy worked like a charm.  Weirdest myth, hardly.  Huge problem for Hill parents of elementary school age children, absolutely. [/quote]

This is a false narrative.  Watkins was 30% IB last year and continued to trend higher this year (exact figures not yet released). This shows continuing progress.  Watkins also doesn't have the IB benefit of ECE where schools like Brent, Maury and Ludlow Taylor's IB % gets inflated.  Peabody is by far the largest ECE program and has 75% IB.  Combined with Watkins, Peabody  serves nearly 700 students (ie Maury and SWS combined).  Brent is 2/3 OOB, they don't take new students (OOB or IB) in 5th grade when the class shrinks and its ECE is 100% IB[/quote]

I'm new to this thread, but I don't understand using bold to contest the part that Watkins is mostly OOB then starting with the statement that it's 30% IB. 30% IB & 70% OOB meets my threshold of "mostly". Are you arguing that if you combine Watkins with Peabody the overall IB % climbs above 50%?

Anyone else want to weigh in on Brent being 2/3 OOB? That also seems unlikely from what I've heard about getting in for lower grades.[/quote]

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