Reply to What the heck is happening to DCPS?

Forum Index » DC Public and Public Charter Schools

Reply to "What the heck is happening to DCPS?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]My 2nd grader at a charter school just learned a song that helps them to ask people for their pronouns which is great.  They've also learned the phonics, continents, multiplication and the basics of plate tectonics (when they learned about the continents, they learned how the continents got their shape - it was apparently a very exciting lesson because they came home and showed me how various mountain ranges around the world were formed).[/quote]

We are not at the same charter but my 2nd grader, at an immersion charter, last year spent time in similar topic in science where they learned about earth plates, volcanoes, tsunami, etc…and they built some cool volcanoes using paper and clay and wrote stories about above in both English and Spanish.  The kids loved it.[/quote]

DCPS science curriculum is very strong. The problem here is that science and social studies are not tested subjects (except for a couple of times throughout their 13 years, OSSE tests science knowledge). When the testing stakes are high in terms of bonuses for principals and school rankings and federal funding, of course the no -tested subjects are allotted VERY little time. Many elementary teachers can only teach these subjects when time allows as the focus on math and ELA is relentless. The math curriculum is actually quite good, even if unfamiliar to parents. The steady focus on number sense and flexible operations will pay off! But there is also a time for memorizing basic math facts too. I suggest making some simple multiplication flash cards and doing them at dinner each night If your kid isn’t fluent by the end of third grade.[/quote]

This matches my experience so well. When the teachers have the opportunity to actually spend time on social studies and science, the kids learn incredibly well and the way it is structured builds upon prior units in past years in a really smart way. I don't know what curriculum they use but I have seen how, for instance, PK units on types of buildings have led to elementary units on architecture, engineering, and government studies. My kid will remember what the learned in prior years and build on that. It works well together.

However, the focus on testing and the pressure on DCPS schools, in particular, to "prove" their worth (as compared to charters) with high test scores really makes it hard for teachers to actually do this. I think this is the worst year I've seen, and I think it's due to the freak out over 2022 test scores and pandemic learning loss. The schedule that my K and 2nd grader are doing this year is bananas. My Ker's day is packed full of ELA and math to a degree that is not realistic, science/social studies get shoehorned into the period of lunch/recess, and it's the first thing to go when schedule disruptions limit available time because the pressure on teachers to get students at or above grade level in tested subjects is so intense. Right now my kids are both technically supposed to get a 20 minute recess daily but it winds up being like 8 minutes because once you've wrangled these kids from their special back to the classroom  and to the lunchroom and then tried to get them to eat on a tight schedule, you are out of time and you have to get them back inside for afternoon curriculum. It's awful for the kids and the teachers and it's just not a good learning environment. I am frustrated with the school and with DCPS because it's way more intense than previous years, but when I've raised it, there's a lot of buck passing and then I get told that they have to worry about making sure the kids most impacted by learning loss (FARMS and SpeD kids) "catch up" but I know this isn't serving those kids either.

For these reasons, we're looking at charters and all-city schools for next year. We love our teachers and know what they are capable of, but DCPS is having some kind of melt-down over test scores right now and they've decided the key is to just try to cram all these kids with as much math and phonics as possible before 3rd grade. I know it's a complex problem but it's just not at all what I want for my kids. I am fortunate to have kids who are already at or above grade level in all subjects and I just don't stress about PARCC scores. We're looking for a school where my kids might actually spend some time outside, get more than 8 minutes of free play time during the day, and where there is better balance between tested academics and other subjects so that they get a well rounded education. I wish the teachers were in charge of the curriculum and schedule because I know for a fact they'd make better choices than this. But they aren't.[/quote]

Wow, this sounds awful PP.  it’s not developmental appropriate and will just kill the love of learning.

Definitely play the lottery.  There is so much better options out there.  Best of luck.[/quote]

Thank you, but to be honest I'm sad about it. We like our school and we especially like going to the neighborhood school and having school friends nearby and feeling like we are part of a local school community. I'm not actually that enthusiastic about having to commute to a charter instead of walking a few blocks to our current school, and also having to work harder to make school friends and deal with having school friends living in other parts of the city. But I also don't want my kids to spend 7+ hours a day indoors with an intense focus on math/reading (that they don't really need because they were doing fine in these areas before with less intense academics) and less time for specials and other academics, or just socialization and play. I'm pretty frustrated to be in this situation.[/quote]

Sounds like you are at a title 1 or low performing school.  Sorry but what you don’t know, you don’t know.

Sure being able to walk to school is great but that benefit doesn’t outweigh all the many numerous other benefits, of which there are many.  BTW the school community at our charter was way better and tighter than our title 1.  
[/quote]

This might be the case but you don't have to be rude about it. I already said we're trying to leave. For the record, we tried to lottery into other schools in PK but didn't get in, but then decided to give the IB a chance. We do like the proximity and the neighborhood feel, and we had good ECE experiences with our oldest. And guess what, there's no guarantee we will get into a better school this year either. At which point we'll need to look at moving out of the city or coming to terms with the situation at our school. It sucks. I know it's a common situation but you could have a bit of empathy instead of being smug about the charter you were fortunate enough to lottery into.[/quote]

PP here.  No intent to be rude and where in my post is the rudeness.  My point was until you have been on the other side, you have no idea what you are missing and it’s not just the higher academics.  It’s so much more than that from communication, enrichment, direct access to leadership, field trips, parent involvement, social events, etc…. I could go on.

Even at the ECE level, the experience is so different and much more enriching, fun, and play based

Your perception about less of a school community, harder to make friends at a charter is also just wrong.  It’s actually a much better and involved community and so much easier to make friends.

Good luck with the lottery. If it doesn’t work out, I would recommend moving.  It’s not worth it to stick it out.  Sure you could supplement a lot which is a lot of work in itself.  But that is just one small part of the big picture of the overall school experience for your child.  You can’t supplement all the other positive benefits.

[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics