Anonymous wrote:It’s too bad because I heard she did a much better job communicating to the parents than previous leadership.

As to principal turnovers, not sure how much MV has had, but the grass is not always greener on the other side. It’s a huge problem in DCPS because they only have 1 year contracts. It’s not close to enough time to show results under the pressures that they have. Combine this with the dysfunctional DCPS bureaucracy and you get lots of instability. The elementary near us has gone thru 3 principals in 4 years. Then there is the JO Wilson disaster if you have not been following that thread.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are starting PK there in the fall and I feel like we won the lottery just in time for everything to go completely off the rails. I am extremely apprehensive about MV at this point, and wondering if we haven't made a tremendous mistake giving up our spot at our happy neighborhood school w/ stable, effective leadership and a teacher that we love. I hope to God the bilingual thing is worth it, and that we haven't just voluntarily signed our kid up for a bad experience.

If you really dislike it, can't you just return to your neighborhood school for K?

Yes, except that if MV doesn't work out, we're leaving DC. We need a bigger place, and I can't buy a $1.XM house without some confidence in what's going to happen w/ the schools- we're in Shaw, and the future for the middle school there is, at best, unclear. All of which is to say, she'll have to go to a 2nd new school in 2 yrs if MV isn't a good fit. And yes, she's young, and yes, she'll recover, but it's a lot to put on a kid.

Between this and the situation w/ Shaw Middle School (the Mayor's office actively stoking racial resentment), I am feeling really spent. All of this uncertainty and upset is pretty avoidable if you just move into Arlington or MoCo. Which I do not want to do, for all the reasons no one on this site wants to, but man, it is a LOT of stress and worry to take on voluntarily.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are starting PK there in the fall and I feel like we won the lottery just in time for everything to go completely off the rails. I am extremely apprehensive about MV at this point, and wondering if we haven't made a tremendous mistake giving up our spot at our happy neighborhood school w/ stable, effective leadership and a teacher that we love. I hope to God the bilingual thing is worth it, and that we haven't just voluntarily signed our kid up for a bad experience.

If you really dislike it, can't you just return to your neighborhood school for K?

Anonymous wrote:We are starting PK there in the fall and I feel like we won the lottery just in time for everything to go completely off the rails. I am extremely apprehensive about MV at this point, and wondering if we haven't made a tremendous mistake giving up our spot at our happy neighborhood school w/ stable, effective leadership and a teacher that we love. I hope to God the bilingual thing is worth it, and that we haven't just voluntarily signed our kid up for a bad experience.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess it depends on the reasons for the departures. I won't be surprised to see other staff leave MV too. The expansion fight two years ago (which will be a reality this fall) and the union fight this spring brought out the worst in the founders and the Board. Or at least they brought the problems to light. It has been a toxic place to work for a long time. My guess is the very young principal jumped at the opportunity for the leadership experience but is now taking that experience to a more stable place. They are going to have a hard time filling jobs with qualified people at two campuses. This was a concern raised, and ignored, when the expansion was planned.

I also can’t imagine wanting to take that job given that you’d be dealing with the initial union negotiation. Michelle is great - I hope her new position is a great fit and has less drama.

The ED will be the one leading negotiations with the union.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess it depends on the reasons for the departures. I won't be surprised to see other staff leave MV too. The expansion fight two years ago (which will be a reality this fall) and the union fight this spring brought out the worst in the founders and the Board. Or at least they brought the problems to light. It has been a toxic place to work for a long time. My guess is the very young principal jumped at the opportunity for the leadership experience but is now taking that experience to a more stable place. They are going to have a hard time filling jobs with qualified people at two campuses. This was a concern raised, and ignored, when the expansion was planned.

I also can’t imagine wanting to take that job given that you’d be dealing with the initial union negotiation. Michelle is great - I hope her new position is a great fit and has less drama.

Anonymous wrote:I guess it depends on the reasons for the departures. I won't be surprised to see other staff leave MV too. The expansion fight two years ago (which will be a reality this fall) and the union fight this spring brought out the worst in the founders and the Board. Or at least they brought the problems to light. It has been a toxic place to work for a long time. My guess is the very young principal jumped at the opportunity for the leadership experience but is now taking that experience to a more stable place. They are going to have a hard time filling jobs with qualified people at two campuses. This was a concern raised, and ignored, when the expansion was planned.