Anonymous wrote:
In Ward 5, middle class kids will continue to flee DCPS for charters and privates at the elementary level until there's some sort of magnet program, probably a bilingual one. I just don't see how the momentum shifts unless something very innovative is done. Once the foundation is built at the elementary level, and assuming there's lots of academic rigor, there'd be a chance to keep the kids through middle school if there's a good middle school public option.

ditto!

I would definitely like to see magnets and/or gifted and talented programs at the middle AND elementary levels. Currently, the District has only one magnet elementary (Logan -- no inbondary preference). Other specialized programs are inboundary schools. Personally I was looking for a bilingual program (as are many people) and my inboundary school is not bilingual. I think a bilingual magnet (i.e., District-wide, no boundary area) elementary would be a big draw and very popular, if done right.

Similarly I think we need a magnet middle school. The PS -8 model that Rhee implemented without much planning in Ward 5 and some other schools across the District was not done well at all. Students in these tiny middle school programs don't typically have foreign language, science labs, good extra curr. activities because there are sometimes only 25 students per grade. So anyone with options opts out... the opposite of what Rhee had said would happen.

Magnets would draw people into DCPS that are currently drawn into the specialized programs that many charters offer.

I totally agree with this. We're in Ward 5 too and the PS-8 model is a total disaster. It's not good for the middle school students, and it's not good for the younger students. What was Rhee thinking??

In Ward 5, middle class kids will continue to flee DCPS for charters and privates at the elementary level until there's some sort of magnet program, probably a bilingual one. I just don't see how the momentum shifts unless something very innovative is done. Once the foundation is built at the elementary level, and assuming there's lots of academic rigor, there'd be a chance to keep the kids through middle school if there's a good middle school public option.

I guess you should attend and find out. I supplied testimony at an OSSE meeting once. Their attention was perfunct and they cut me off mid-sentence after my assigned 5 minutes, though they did throw in one or two comments that showed they had paid absolutely no attention. Waste of time. And the wheels keep turning.

Will magnet schools pull top students from struggling schools and concentrate them in one place? Wouldn't skimming be to the detriment of most students who are not attending selective programs? How can all 42,000 DCPS students benefit from magnets?

Anonymous wrote:Middle Grades Roundtable -- On Wednesday, September 7, 2011 at 10:00 am in the Council Chamber of the John A. Wilson Building, the Committee of the Whole will hold a public oversight roundtable on "Middle Grades Education in the District: Preparing our Students for Success in High School and Beyond." The purpose of the roundtable is to allow middle grades experts, families, students and other community members to discuss the District's current approach to educating students in grades 6-8 and best practices for moving forward. This roundtable is for public witnesses only; government witnesses will testify at a separate roundtable on September 27, 2011 at 10:00 am. Individuals and representatives of organizations who wish to testify at the public oversight roundtable are asked to telephone Priscilla McIver, Administrative Assistant to the Committee of the Whole, at (202) 724-8196, or via e-mail at pford@dccouncil.us and furnish their names, addresses, telephone numbers, and organizational affiliation, if any, by the close of business Tuesday, September 6, 2011. They should also bring 20 copies of their written testimony or submit one copy of their written testimony by Tuesday, September 6, 2011. Persons presenting testimony may be limited to 3 minutes in order to permit each witness an opportunity to be heard. Written statements are encouraged for individuals and representatives of organizations who are unable to testify and will be made a part of the official record. Copies of written statements should be submitted to the Committee of the Whole, Council of the District of Columbia, Suite 508 of the John A. Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20004.

What is Chairman Brown's motavation with the middle school issue? I like him, and think he's a good guy, and I am wondering why he is looking the issue "moving forward." Middle grades is an emerging issue, as are others. Middle schools need fixing, and so do others. His oldest child is attending middle school this fall, and perhaps he's become familiar with the topic. It's an area for him to step in and make high profile positive changes. He could burnish his credentials with an increasing voting block, and earn praise from other voting blocks. He's been there and done that - growing up in DC. What are these rountables about?

This is why we left DCPS. My child was ID'd by her K teacher as deserving of extra reading help because she was so far ahead in reading in even K. But, of course, all the extra reading help went to those kids who were behind grade level, not ahead. OK, I understand devoting limited resources to those who are failing, but we could not stay in that situation at the expense of our child.

By, 2nd grade it was clear that the lack of academic rigor (in addition to the lack of TAG programs) was seriously affecting our child's emotional development (in addition to academic opportunity). We left for MCPS where that child has participated in the elementary and MS magnet programs.

Before I left, I advocated for more challenge for students at our school, more homogenous grouping of students within classrooms, within grades and across grades. This would have meant reading groups in language class, math classes performing above/on/below grade level and the opportunity to move kids up for a class in another grade. In my child's class, I thought approximately 30% could have benefited from regrouping and more challenge in some way.

Surprisingly, I found teachers, parents and the principal all opposed this. Teachers opposed it because it required more work -- 3 separate plans and preps per class if you were creating reading groups, for example. Also, teachers did not have the support to do this -- no assessment tools to identify kids who could benefit, no differentiated curriculum provided by central office and no post-teaching assessment of whether skills were learned. Teachers had the attitude -- I've been doing this for 30 years, why change? Other teachers were worried about hurting some children's feelings.

Many parents seemed to oppose it. Some simply seemed too busy to advocate. Others were too unaware of their child's skill level and the curriculum. Others consciously rejected academic challenge, seeing elementary school as more about learning social rules and creating social relationships and academics as less important. Other parents did not think that the pattern of diversity at our school would support more challenging programs. This is a nice way of saying that when I pointed out that other schools had more differentiation, the response was that other schools had a higher proportion of white, wealthy students. Other parents simply thought that their kids were smart enough to do well whether or not they got academic challenge at school.

Interestingly, I met many African-American parents of academically advanced parents, many of whom pulled their children for private schools by 3rd grade. One parent told me explicitly -- my child will experience enough prejudice that I can not afford for her to have a crappy education handicap her. That child got a full ride to one of the top DC area private schools.

The principal didn't openly oppose more challenge. But, simply put, since there was not strong pressure on her to change, change was not the top of her list. Since some parents opposed it, it was better for her not to wake a sleeping lion.

I wish there would have been more TAG programs within each school with differentiated levels of teaching within grade. I wish there had been central magnet programs in elementary and middle school. I knew about Banneker and would have sent my child there, but high school was too long to wait. If these programs had existed, our family would not have moved out of the District.

But, far worse than our own family having to leave the District is that I met many talented kids, including children of color and those with limited financial means, who could have benefited from academic challenge, but won't ever get that in DC. To me, it is a shocking waste of precious human capital.

A huge number of disadvantaged students would benefit from a controlled choice middle school program. At Deal 600 kids are not disadvantaged and the 300 disadvantaged pupils are 80% proficient. That ratio works. Adding such programs is the quickest route to making system-wide changes, bar none.

Disadvantaged students deserve more resources ($), and if an advanced study programs cost no more than other programs, and it keeps families in the system, and it attracts new students, and DCPS enrollment goes to 50K, then at-risk students will get more resources. It's the polar opposite of a zero-sum game.

I would definitely like to see magnets and/or gifted and talented programs at the middle AND elementary levels. Currently, the District has only one magnet elementary (Logan -- no inbondary preference). Other specialized programs are inboundary schools. Personally I was looking for a bilingual program (as are many people) and my inboundary school is not bilingual. I think a bilingual magnet (i.e., District-wide, no boundary area) elementary would be a big draw and very popular, if done right.

Similarly I think we need a magnet middle school. The PS -8 model that Rhee implemented without much planning in Ward 5 and some other schools across the District was not done well at all. Students in these tiny middle school programs don't typically have foreign language, science labs, good extra curr. activities because there are sometimes only 25 students per grade. So anyone with options opts out... the opposite of what Rhee had said would happen.

Magnets would draw people into DCPS that are currently drawn into the specialized programs that many charters offer.

Jefferson could house a G&T, a magnet, or some variation of a controlled choice program.

JEFFERSON:
7th & Maine Ave, SW
Centraly located (North/South, East/West)
Recently had an excellent program
Building capacity 800+
Beauitiful 1939 over-engineered building
300 currently enrolled
$2.0 billion Waterfront redevelopment accross street
Smithsonian, Arena Stage, federal agencies, monumental core, nautical opportunies,
At L'Enfant Metro
Plentiful nearby parking, near 7th St exit on 395
Large ball field, tennis courts, gymnasium

It is the oxymoron of charter law in DC--that while they can design 'specialized programs' they must admit students according to a transparent, open lottery. This does not apply to public magnet schools like Walls, Banneker and Ellington--who are allowed to screen candidates and choose students who have already proven their ability to succeed. If you wish to see a magnet Middle School in DC your best bet is to ask for a public school, or advocate for a change in charter law. Charters designed to serve special needs etc. should also have more flexibility in their testing results, if you ask me. They are currently held to impossible standards.
I am personally glad that Latin accepts all comers. Yes, it is a challenge to meet the needs of children who were underserved at previous schools and children craving acceleration, but they strive to do so. I think they do a good job and are the better for the open door and mixed crowd.
That being said, I have nothing against magnet schools and would like to see more. good luck. I hope you add your voice to the meeting mentioned above.

This is a sore point and has been for a long time. Honest to god reason is that GT kids pass the NCLB tests and there is no penalty for not serving these kids (unless you count them leaving). Rigor has been absent for so long and so many kids are behind that a lot of teachers really struggle to help these kids. Helping G&T kids is not just about giving them more work pages or extra assignment as too much differentiated education proscribes. Tracking is frowned upon but is what helps these kids most.

I have heard that DCPS admin thinks that smart kids can teach themselves. their whole focus is "low-performing students" with the belief that all it takes is a great teacher to raise student achievement.

Meanwhile, on their watch, the achievement gap has increased and advanced placement programs have been dumbed down.

So it doesn't look good for your gifted kid. At present, your kid's only value to DCPS is his/her ability to pump up the overall scores. This way DCPS can brag that "scores are up" as if they've performed a miracle, when actually there are just more kids like yours in the system.


DCPS does have a very successful academic high school - Banneker -- but by default, only black kids go there, though it's technically open to all.

Brent actually has a modest TAG program into which kids test.

Here's a chance to make your voice heard on this issue:


Middle Grades Roundtable

On Wednesday, September 7, 2011 at 10:00 am in the Council Chamber of the John A. Wilson Building, the Committee of the Whole will hold a public oversight roundtable on "Middle Grades Education in the District: Preparing our Students for Success in High School and Beyond." The purpose of the rou ndtable is to allow middle grades experts, families, students and other community members to discuss the District's current approach to educating students in grades 6-8 and best practices for moving forward.

This roundtable is for public witnesses only; government witnesses will testify at a separate roundtable on September 27, 2011 at 10:00 am. Individuals and representatives of organizations who wish to testify at the public oversight roundtable are asked to telephone Priscilla McIver, Administrative Assistant to the Committee of the Whole, at (202) 724-8196, or via e-mail at pford@dccouncil.us and furnish their names, addresses, telephone numbers, and organizational affiliation, if any, by the close of business Tuesday, September 6, 2011. They should also bring 20 copies of their written testimony or submit one copy of their written testimony by Tuesday, September 6, 2011. Persons presenting testimony may be limited to 3 minutes in order to permit each witness an opportunity to be heard.

Written statements are encouraged for individuals and representatives of organizations who are unable to testify and will be made a part of the official record. Copies of written statements should be submitted to the Committee of the Whole, Council of the District of Columbia, Suite 508 of the John A. Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20004.

I live on Capitol Hill and my child is only a toddler, not even eligible to enter Pre-K 3 at our local elementary school (Brent) for two more years. Even so, I am concerned that DCPS seems to, A) have no policy on Talented and Gifted screening or establishing programs post Michelle Rhee/Fenty, and, B) is not moving in the direction of establishing the academic magnet middle school programs that have been so succesful in keeping upper-middle-class parents from voting with their feet from public schools in the DC suburbs since the 80s.

I raise the subject because, every fall, when interview applicants to my alma mater (Brown) from the DC area as an alumna volunteer, I meet area seniors in high school who would clearly have benefitted from the type of middle school magnet programs that are well-established in the burbs. Some are independent school students whose families have struggled to pay tuition through middle and high school, others are low-income, middle-income, or even upper-middle-class DCPS kids who, in general, aren't as well-prepared for college work as their suburban peers, and not through an effort or ability deficit. For example, algebra seems to have become a standard 7th grade offering in suburban TAG programs, while few DCPS kids can take it even in the 8th grade as yet. I've noticed that when a kid has taken algebra in the 7th grade, they tend to have made it to "linear algebra and numerology" post calculus in 12th grade, a subject not taught in DCPS yet. And when a kid starts studying a language formally in middle school in an academic magnet program, they tend to take two AP languages (rare indeed in DCPS). You might be surprised by how many the suburban applicants have taken such classes, the norm in US competitor countries like Japan and Singapore. I must have interviewed three dozen DCPS seniors in the last decade and have never seen one admitted, while nine students out of the 21 from suburban magnets (mainly TJ in Alexandria and Blair in Silver Spring) have been accepted to Brown. I keep track of how many Wilson, SWOW etc. students get admitted to Brown each year and, although it's not a total wipeout annually, it's close and not for lack of talent in the ranks.

In this vein, I'm concened by how the most "academic" DC middle school, Washington Latin, a charter, admits students only via an open lottery, thus, admitting not the most able or industrious applicants in many cases, but simply the luckiest. A student need not score "advanced" on the 5th grade DC-CAS test to apply to "Latin," or even in the "proficient" bracket for that matter. With no shortage of classmates requiring remedial work, is Latin not hampered in meeting the needs of the brightest and most disciplined students who attend? For several years now, friends on the Hill with highly gifted rising 5th and 6th graders have moved to the burbs because their children have not been among the lucky in the admissions game at Latin. Rightfully worried that their children would not be challenged at Stuart Hobson (which, I'm told, just began some mild math tracking this past academic year), they hit the road fast.

I'm going to throw out a few questions for those far more familiar with the DCPS ropes and city politics on education policy than I am. Is anybody out there interesting in advocating for the introduction of academic middle school magnet programs in DC, and/or a policy that mandates TAG coordinators in most elementary schools? Do relevant advocacy groups exist? Is there a modicum of political will for magnets? Does the city council so much as broach the subject? Has a mayoral or council candidate ever run on a pro-magnets platform?

Can somebody explain to me why the dialogue on such programs does not seem to have started on the city council when academic magnets have been standard in the burbs for more than two decades, and other cities (NYC, Boston, Chicago) for longer? Why is it that a math gifted 6th grader with a family willing to move to Mo. Co. can enter the Takoma Park Middle School Math, Science and Computers magnet, but has no comparable option in the District? Why can a fine humanities student enter the Eastern Middle School magnet in Silver Spring, but none in DC? Why is NYC so comfortable with magnets, e.g. Bronx Science, Hunter, Stuyvesant, but not DC?

Thinking in practical terms, how can gentrifying neighborhoods like ours on the Hill expect to keep most of their upper-middle-class middle school kids without format TAG programs in elementary school and academic magnet programs at the middle school level? Who benefits when most of the affluent and educated families vote with their feet somewhere along the way in DCPS, the poor kids? Off the record, most of the Brent families I know seem resigned to the fact that they will leave DCPS before 12th grade, party for the lack of academic magnets....Is there reason to expect that this will change?

I ask these questions in earnest, so no vitriol, please!

Esevdali