Anonymous wrote:The schools are in crisis and is expanding pre-k 3 is just to boost enrollment numbers. All of the schools including the so-called overcrowded ones continue to retain large optional pre-k 4 programs. For example, Janney expanded pre-k 4 to almost 80 children for the 2014-2015 school year. If schools were truly overcrowded you wouldn't expand optional programs in so called high demand schools.

Where do you live? Your conspiracy theory about crowded schools is laughable. Please come visit. About 300 kids at Murch will be in trailers next year. Murch has more kids in trailers than many other elementary schools have in their total population. The fact that DCPS keeps adding trailers and kids to these schools does not make them less crowded. Murch has more IB kids in K-1 than Ross and Drew have in the entire school. What is your definition of "truly overcrowded"?

Can't believe DCPS is wasting money on expensive consultants to tell us what should be obvious. Why are people leaving? Because they believe they are going to a safer, more academically challenging school. Duh! How to keep them? Convince them that your school is as good or better. Duh. Can DCPS pay me 1,000 an hour for this advice?

Seriously? Recruiting kids with ice pop parties? How about instead of paying thousands to consultants, DCPS pays some nice teachers and principals to go door to door to read a book to these kids in summer? Then they will learn that a) Mrs. Jones is great and I want to go to her school and b) school is about learning.

What a waste of our taxes....

Kaya Henderson and Abby Smith have got to go. They don't care about DCPS. They send their own kids to charters anyway. They care about their own careers and becoming pocket-lining consultants just like their hero Michelle Rhee.

Anonymous wrote:I am a charter school parent so know the first hand appeal that charters have for many families compared to struggling neighborhood schools. That said, I find the DCPS bashing and snide comments really sad--I want the system to succeed and I think it is GREAT that principals are going door to door. I would hope my fellow charter school parents would also absolutely root for success in DCPS.

As a DCPS parent, I find the charter bashing to be equally deplorable. You don't "owe" us your child or anything wacky like that. I would hope that my fellow DCPS parents would root for your children's success also.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a charter school parent so know the first hand appeal that charters have for many families compared to struggling neighborhood schools. That said, I find the DCPS bashing and snide comments really sad--I want the system to succeed and I think it is GREAT that principals are going door to door. I would hope my fellow charter school parents would also absolutely root for success in DCPS.

The best way to "root for success" is to pull your child out of charter and go to your neighborhood school.

Only a terrible parent would even consider pulling their kid out of a scho in which they were succeeding to "root for" success of a perennially underperforming school.

I think it is great. I have heard that a big piece of what Melissa Kim did to tip Deal into the desirable school it is today was to actively recruit in boundary families. This is no different than that and no different from the marketing that charters do.

In order to turn around dcps we need buy in from families, understanding how the children will be well served by their neighborhood school is key. We need kids staying with the program so you have a well prepared cohort rising together. Go DCPS

Anonymous wrote:I am a charter school parent so know the first hand appeal that charters have for many families compared to struggling neighborhood schools. That said, I find the DCPS bashing and snide comments really sad--I want the system to succeed and I think it is GREAT that principals are going door to door. I would hope my fellow charter school parents would also absolutely root for success in DCPS.

The best way to "root for success" is to pull your child out of charter and go to your neighborhood school.

My school is doing this and I don't think it's desperation. We have an unfortunate reputation as a hidden gem, which doesn't help with strong enrollment.
So canvassing is just selling what we are - trying to get the word out. And I don't think it's that different from what charters are doing. We just have a natural audience based on our bounds.

I am a charter school parent so know the first hand appeal that charters have for many families compared to struggling neighborhood schools. That said, I find the DCPS bashing and snide comments really sad--I want the system to succeed and I think it is GREAT that principals are going door to door. I would hope my fellow charter school parents would also absolutely root for success in DCPS.

Typo: and "are expanding" and eliminate second "is"

The schools are in crisis and is expanding pre-k 3 is just to boost enrollment numbers. All of the schools including the so-called overcrowded ones continue to retain large optional pre-k 4 programs. For example, Janney expanded pre-k 4 to almost 80 children for the 2014-2015 school year. If schools were truly overcrowded you wouldn't expand optional programs in so called high demand schools.

Anonymous wrote:Smells of desperation. Enrollment must be down.

I don't see how Obama campaign operatives translate to school recruitment. It is one thing to get out the vote and it is entirely another to convince a parent to send a child to an poor performing school. Seems like a waste of tax payer dollars.

I don't think KIPP, BASIS, Latin, Two Rivers etc. are knocking on doors recruiting students.

Maybe DCPS can reach out to parents who worked to improve schools and as a result boosted enrollment. They might learn better strategies than knocking on random doors.

Don't get tripped up on the "Obama" part; these guys know precisely how to target households and that's what is needed here. A principal showing up at the door is an extremely "high touch" technique and probably has a very high conversion rate.

Surely you jest about charter schools not marketing; our mailbox is stuffed with charter school material in the fall and several have paid marketing staff.

Smells of desperation. Enrollment must be down.

I don't see how Obama campaign operatives translate to school recruitment. It is one thing to get out the vote and it is entirely another to convince a parent to send a child to an poor performing school. Seems like a waste of tax payer dollars.

I don't think KIPP, BASIS, Latin, Two Rivers etc. are knocking on doors recruiting students.

Maybe DCPS can reach out to parents who worked to improve schools and as a result boosted enrollment. They might learn better strategies than knocking on random doors.

Too little too late DCPS. I however, did turn down a HRCS spot because of the commute. We are sticking with our OOB DCPS EOTP.

Well, that's what competition does.