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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]
At any rate every LT classroom has a Smartboard now.  And the teachers in K-5 are fabulous.  If you can't see that or don't want to take the time to see that (more likely the case) or simply want to incessantly bring up that you have seen MD tags that's too bad for you.  But it is a LIE to say that parents don't have a viable neighborhood school.  Go observe a class in an upper grade.  It is better to make comments based on fact.[/quote]

Yes. This.[/quote]

OK, 13:26, and your supporter. if the parents truly have a viable neighborhood school, why are so few from the neighborhood enrolling their children?   Why are fewer doing this than several years ago, even as the IB population of 3-5 year olds grows?  I don't have all the answers, but wish DCPS and the pols would stop to ASK the Stanton Park gentrifiers--the majority of neighborhood residents--why they avoid LT for K up almost to a family.

Parent group cohesion born of interaction on local playgrounds is relevant here-  Maury IB parents of toddlers met, and began organizing to overhaul their school, at Lincoln Park, and Brent parents did so at Marion Park.  At Stanton Park, you end up comparing little kids' lottery numbers for SWS, Logan Montessori, Peabody, Two Rivers, Yu Ying, AppleTree etc.

I have observed upper grades classes at LT and, pretty clearly, they aren't going to be advanced enough eventually for my four year old, who can read beginning reader books, in 2 languages.  In an increasingly competitive world, I don't feel I can risk putting her in classes where most kids have parents who aren't married or well-educated, can't speak grammatically (although English is their first language), and struggle financially, no matter their race, or how good teachers and facilities may be.  This is why I wouldn't enroll her in public school in my little hometown.  My town is overwhelmingly white, and boasts some nice looking schools and fine educators, yet suffers from a high school drop-out rate on a par with the District's.

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Here's the thing: LT doesn't need "overhaul." And if white affluent parents came to the table respecting the school as a solid institution with great teachers that do a good job educating kids in a safe and respectful environment, there would be no problem.

Instead, many seem to see 3rd/4th/5th-grade classrooms full of black children, assume the worst, and then get mad that the administration isn't falling over itself with gratitude for their very presence.

I think it would be great if LT were a neighborhood school, because I think it's great for kids to attend neighborhood schools. We're an OOB family, but we're still roughly in the neighborhood, and I love running into other LT families at playgrounds, etc.

That's -not- the same as thinking LT would be improved by having more (white, affluent) families from the immediate neighborhood.

The truth is, under Fenty & Rhee, there -were- meetings with IB families who did not send their kids to LT, asking them what they'd like to see at the school. And then the families already at the school were (understandably, IMHO) ticked off -- they were already committing to the school, why not ask THEM what they'd like to see at the school??

The whole thing was exacerbated by demographics -- the families at the school were predominantly African-American, while the families invited to meetings were white. It smelled really strongly of Fenty & Rhee wanting to woo white families and not giving a damn about black families. (And honestly? I think it smelled that way because it -was- that way.)

Cobb was brought in around that time, and I think she has gone to some effort to reassure the existing families at LT that she values them and is committed to their kids -- she's not gonna throw them over trying to win over skeptical white parents.

I was very impressed with a speech she gave at a parents' meeting a couple years ago -- there was a (well-intentioned, I am positive, but very awkwardly worded) speech from a white parent about how the classrooms full of black kids are a deterrent and families [he didn't say white families, but it was implied] need to band together and pledge to stick around. As a white parent in the room, I was mortified; if I were a black parent in the room, I don't even know what I would have thought.

Cobbs stood up, obviously in damage control mode. The one thing she said that stuck out for me was, "We love our 5th graders!"
And I loved that -- I loved that she was refusing to accept the premise that a classroom full of black children is a bad thing.

Unfortunately, I think for a lot of white parents, that's what it comes down to: They aren't comfortable having their kids be onesies or twosies, they want a critical mass of white (or at least, non-black) kids in the room. That's what it will take to make them feel comfortable keeping their child at LT for the duration.

But let's not confuse getting more white kids in the class with improving the school.

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