Reply to Can Gentrifers Use Their Skills and Resources to "Make" a Great School?

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Reply to "Can Gentrifers Use Their Skills and Resources to "Make" a Great School?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP- Poster here.  This is a great debate.  I can take the criticism because I am willing to ask the questions that most of peers would not.  Most people who can leave- don't ask what they can do for DC schools- they just leave or go private.

If I wanted to live in Arlington or Bethesda it wouldnt be a problem.  But I'm not putting myself in that suburban nightmare.  I'd prefer to stay in the city and really help to improve things.

When I look at the resources that DCPS has to spend its hard to think that an active PTA can't help transform any school into a great school.  I'm just wondering if too many DC parents of underperforming schools aren't willing (or aren't able) to do all they can to turn things around.

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OP- Here is the very hard question we confronted when we were at Thomson and a group of about 50 parents thought that they could do the same.  Are you willing to put that money and effort towards changing the lives of the kids who don't have parents gentrifying?  It is making a difference in their lives that changes the schools trajectory.  One of the significant reasons schools struggle is that they are expected to make up for the many, many deficiencies in children's lives like food, decent clothes, non-depressed adults, English language.  I am not saying these things because these are bad parents, but poverty is hard on people, it takes a lot and gives nothing and it takes even more from children.

When we were at Thomson we could not break the issues of language- that over 50% of the school spoke another language and only in some cases could read even the non-English version.  I just saw this on the DCPS twitter feed about Thomson and I am grateful to those teachers and administrators for figuring it out, but this is what is needed not extra smartboards for your advanced learner.

http://dcps.dc.gov/DCPS/About+DCPS/Press+Releases+and+Announcements/School+News/A+Family+That+Listens+Together+Learns+Together
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