I wouldn't send my dog to school in Winston. What a terrible facility (in its current windowless, dark, unwieldy state).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:other than Shaw and MAYBE Marshall (near Costco) do you honestly think a lot of DCUM readers would send their kids to a charter in any of the buildings that are vacant? I think the only way it would happen is if an existing HRCS got the building and provided buses. There may be other good reasons to free up the school buildings for charters, but providing space for middle-class kids probably isn't one of them.

It would be smart to close the disaster that is Coolidge HS. The one where a principal was fired for getting into a brawl with a teacher in the public lot. The one with less than 400 students, maybe 10 of which are proficient at something.

For all the money that is being poured into Roosevelt (under-enrolled as it is at less than 500 students), send the Coolidge students there - they're both in upper NW. There's no reason to have two gigantic HS campuses serving fewer students than the best of the high-performing ESs - both charter and DCPS.

The lack of planning there is criminal.

+1. Been saying this for years. It makes no sense at all from an educational perspective. It's close to Metro and several bus lines transit, so it could work as a charter drawing from across the city. Current enrollment is less than 400.

But the politics...for starters there is a very active Coolidge alumni group that rallies and fights hard to keep it from closing, and turns out en masse for sports games and does some good work tutoring and mentoring the students that remain there. To them it's a classic battle between old and new DC and they want the city to invest in the building and the school.

That's a laugh. (A sad, pitiful laugh into the wind, but a laugh.) As if the gentrifiers of "New DC" (Petworth/Columbia Heights/Parkview) would be welcome at all at Coolidge (or Roosevelt), much less would find their needs met and choose to go there. That's about as likely as the gentrifiers of "New DC" (Shaw/Bloomingdale/LeDroit) enrolling in the recently renovated Dunbar.

ha ha ha ha ha ha ha haaaa....

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:other than Shaw and MAYBE Marshall (near Costco) do you honestly think a lot of DCUM readers would send their kids to a charter in any of the buildings that are vacant? I think the only way it would happen is if an existing HRCS got the building and provided buses. There may be other good reasons to free up the school buildings for charters, but providing space for middle-class kids probably isn't one of them.

It would be smart to close the disaster that is Coolidge HS. The one where a principal was fired for getting into a brawl with a teacher in the public lot. The one with less than 400 students, maybe 10 of which are proficient at something.

For all the money that is being poured into Roosevelt (under-enrolled as it is at less than 500 students), send the Coolidge students there - they're both in upper NW. There's no reason to have two gigantic HS campuses serving fewer students than the best of the high-performing ESs - both charter and DCPS.

The lack of planning there is criminal.

+1. Been saying this for years. It makes no sense at all from an educational perspective. It's close to Metro and several bus lines transit, so it could work as a charter drawing from across the city. Current enrollment is less than 400.

But the politics...for starters there is a very active Coolidge alumni group that rallies and fights hard to keep it from closing, and turns out en masse for sports games and does some good work tutoring and mentoring the students that remain there. To them it's a classic battle between old and new DC and they want the city to invest in the building and the school.

Anonymous wrote:other than Shaw and MAYBE Marshall (near Costco) do you honestly think a lot of DCUM readers would send their kids to a charter in any of the buildings that are vacant? I think the only way it would happen is if an existing HRCS got the building and provided buses. There may be other good reasons to free up the school buildings for charters, but providing space for middle-class kids probably isn't one of them.

It would be smart to close the disaster that is Coolidge HS. The one where a principal was fired for getting into a brawl with a teacher in the public lot. The one with less than 400 students, maybe 10 of which are proficient at something.

For all the money that is being poured into Roosevelt (under-enrolled as it is at less than 500 students), send the Coolidge students there - they're both in upper NW. There's no reason to have two gigantic HS campuses serving fewer students than the best of the high-performing ESs - both charter and DCPS.

The lack of planning there is criminal.

Anonymous wrote:I read last week that a charter school recently purchased the St. Teresa school building in Anacostia. Good for them. But it makes me wonder, if a property like that could sit unused for nine years, why is FOCUS and the charter lobby constantly whining about not being gifted a valuable property like Shaw MS? Are they in the education business or the real estate business?

Because when charters have to use funds on DC real estate, then they can't use them on salaries and curriculum materials. Public school children are supposed to be supported at parity - it's the law - charter or district-based. It's the tax-payers as well who are being robbed when our public buildings lie fallow.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I read last week that a charter school recently purchased the St. Teresa school building in Anacostia. Good for them. But it makes me wonder, if a property like that could sit unused for nine years, why is FOCUS and the charter lobby constantly whining about not being gifted a valuable property like Shaw MS? Are they in the education business or the real estate business?

+1. Notice how OP doesn't mention Winston, which according to this article remains vacant with NO use whatsoever, but hones in on Shaw MS, a school that is being occupied and used. You don't get my sympathy just because you can't locate a charter in prime real estate areas.

Winston's been floated as a potential site of a DCPS test-in MS. I suspect they've deferred a decision in an effort not to undermine other middle schools like Eliot Hine or Brookland where the untapped potential remains to be seen.

other than Shaw and MAYBE Marshall (near Costco) do you honestly think a lot of DCUM readers would send their kids to a charter in any of the buildings that are vacant? I think the only way it would happen is if an existing HRCS got the building and provided buses. There may be other good reasons to free up the school buildings for charters, but providing space for middle-class kids probably isn't one of them.

Anonymous wrote:I read last week that a charter school recently purchased the St. Teresa school building in Anacostia. Good for them. But it makes me wonder, if a property like that could sit unused for nine years, why is FOCUS and the charter lobby constantly whining about not being gifted a valuable property like Shaw MS? Are they in the education business or the real estate business?

+1. Notice how OP doesn't mention Winston, which according to this article remains vacant with NO use whatsoever, but hones in on Shaw MS, a school that is being occupied and used. You don't get my sympathy just because you can't locate a charter in prime real estate areas.

I read last week that a charter school recently purchased the St. Teresa school building in Anacostia. Good for them. But it makes me wonder, if a property like that could sit unused for nine years, why is FOCUS and the charter lobby constantly whining about not being gifted a valuable property like Shaw MS? Are they in the education business or the real estate business?

Who knew Shaw is currently being used for Administrative purposes by DCPS?

http://www.dcpcsb.org/blog/three-benefits-public-charter-schools-using-vacant-school-buildings

Link is a blog post from the DCPCSB - yes they have an opinion but make some valid points in favor of leasing surplus buildings to charters, and co-locating charters at under-enrolled schools.