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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I don’t know Wheedon and have nothing against him personally.

But I know many, many parents on the Hill who will speak dismissively of charters and criticize others for “failing to invest in neighborhood schools” and then quietly use the lottery to get their kids into charters or OOB DCPS with higher test scores. That prominent voices in the community do this is no surprise, because it’s common on the Hill. People are very holier than thou until it actually stands to impact their own kid negatively, and then it’s “well these are private, family-dependent choices.”

It’s not just parents who suddenly realize an IB school doesn’t meet academic needs. It’s also people who criticize paremts for going charter for smaller class sizes or different academic approaches, and then do the same when they discover DCPS doesn’t meet their kid’s special needs. Or who claim racism when parents express concern about their child being the only white kid in their grade, but then leave IB schools around the same time they get significantly less diverse (5th grade, for a school like Maury).

It feels good to be smug about how you are making the selfless, anti-racist, pro-public education choice. But then when you find your family is poorly served by your IB public, suddenly it’s a personal choice. It’s a ver common attitude on the hill. It’s really not about Wheedon.[/quote]

If his daughter wants to go to a test in HS, even if it’s not his wish, shouldn’t she be able to do so? And isn’t he being consistent with his philosophy if he is literally sending his son to Eastern? Obviously, he’s not saying Eastern is good for other kids and not his own if he has his own child enrolled there. He must think Eastern is providing his child an adequate education. [/quote]

Did you read the PP? Of course his daughter should be allowed to go to a test in school.

The point is that many people on the Hill get militant about public education, being very anti-charter and openly criticizing parents who choose charters or choose to go outside their IB schools. However, it's not uncommon for these exact same parents to suddenly advocate for respecting individual family decisions when they are no longer served by their IB schools, as Wheedon's family was not served by Eastern when it was time for his daughter to go to high school.

What would be great is if people STARTED from the position of "not all families are served by their IB school, and DC offers other options so it is not up to me to judge individual family choices."

I don't live in Ward 6 -- my family lives in Trinidad and our IB elementary and middle is Wheatley. We did actually attend for ECE but decided it was not a great option for us long term and chose to lottery out. But you would never have caught me judging another Trinidad family for choosing a charter before we did. It can be a hard choice. We all wish that our neighborhood schools were fantastic schools with wonderful facilities, an invested family base, and great outcomes for all kids. But that's often not the case. And when people whose IB schools have real issues choose to go elsewhere, an option DC makes available to them by a now well-established lottery system and a wide variety of charter options, they shouldn't be pilloried by their neighbors.

We all just want what is best for our kids.[/quote]

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