Reply to Future of Brent Pk3?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Here we go again about the middle school problem. The thread is about PK3 so let's stick to that. The boundary is not changing. The Upcoming PK4 class is an anomaly like the current K class so it will work itself out next year just as the K class figured it out. This past PK3 lottery was fine and got plenty of IB kids in as well as all IB with siblings. There is no issue and PK3 is likely here to stay. [/quote]

How many IB kids didn't get in this year? Wasn't it like 20 or so? Why not let them in? And how did the K class work itself out? You mean the got old enough to go to K?

For the people who support PS3 without having a little one coming up, why? Letting in less than 50% of the IB kids without siblings is one of the worse rates in the city.[/quote]

There are at least 15 IB kids on the PK3 WL this year, and (as everyone has acknowledged) this year was an admittedly small cohort.  So in a "small" year, 1/3 of IB kids are shut out, and in a "large" year (last year), 2/3 are shut out.  It is not correct to say there is no issue or that it will "work itself out."[/quote]

PK3 is not mandatory.  People are upset because they have to pay another year of daycare.  It works itself out in K which is required and all inbound students are accepted.  Getting rid of PK3 wont' be a real option unless IB kids coming in at K are causing serious overcrowding issues.

[/quote]

So this isn't true at all. Kids that are shut out of PS3 are shut out for two years instead of one. This year there was one spot for PK4 offered (with nine IB w/siblings on the WL).

The other issue is what happens when this kids return in K. 40 of the kids were there for 3 and 4 while 30 kids were brand new. That was a large adjustment for all involved and it is totally unnecessary.

Again, ask anyone who has been through this and they will tell you they would prefer an almost guaranteed spot at PK4.  [/quote]

PP here. I have been through it multiple times at Brent. Youngest in K and adjustment was not an issue as far as we were concerned.  I'm not sure what the big adjustments were that you endured but would be glad to know.[/quote]

I am assuming your youngest attended Brent for PS3 and PK4. During that time they met several friends, got to know the school, the teachers, etc. Now think about the kids that did not get in. They arrive in a class where people have been going to school with each other for basically half of their lives. Even if they have been in pre-school (and chances are they have) things are different and you might know a handful of people.

As everyone will admit, there are very few "at-risk" IB kids at Brent. Most of the families send their kids to pre-school or have other arrangements that prepare their kids for ECE. So why pretend that PS3 is so important for the child's development.

Instead what is happening if you are driving a wedge between new IB families at 3. Of the 70 IB families that applied for PS3 3 years ago (the current Ks), 10 did not come back for K. Some moved, some went charter or private. My question is why would DCPS want to drive families away from the school system that early and to what ends?[/quote]

Just to play Devil's Advocate, the Brent district is rather small and the "haves" and "have nots" have been playing with one another at Turtle and Garfield Park since they were toddlers, or longer if they attended the Hill Preschool.  They see one another at Eastern Market, Labrynth, Rumsey, Yards Park, SOTH and CHAW.  In large part, they are your friends and neighbors.  Also, don't lose sight of the fact that some kids leave Brent after PK4 for a variety of reasons, while closely-knit groups formed in PK are broken up by K class assignments.  FWIW, my child prefers play dates and recess time with his new K friends over his friends from PK who are now in a different classrooms.[/quote]

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