3. Maybe also not getting to meet the teachers upstairs. That has changed, especially this year and I hypothesize it will affect people staying.

cheesy*

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Feel free to ask specifics. I would be happy to answer!

Alright then. Question number one: was LT your first choice? If not, why not?
Question number two: what has changed over the last four years since you have been there ( other than the beautification)?
Question number three: why do so many families still leave after K or 1?
Question number four: does Reggio Emilia do anything for your kid? If so, what?

We will likely put LT as number two or three so I am interested in your honest answers.

Thanks

1. yes. why would I want anything else when I have a beautiful neighborhood school in walking distance?
2. Reggio is an ongoing learning process for both teachers and parents. SWS is a great school that has had its Reggio program for close to two decade! I have seen a lot of growth towards a Reggio model, more and more each year. Also given the constructs of any public school it is hard to see a "true Reggio" school outside of the private sect. SWS has many items and practices that aren't found in what is considered a model Reggio environment. It is an excellent school but that should be noted.

Now at LT there are more classrooms, more excellent teachers, more specials, more outside programs, and higher test scores...all in the past 4 years. And a gorgeous new building doesn't hurt!
3. Not sure. Maybe scary slanderous blogs? But more and more have been staying so that goes along with changes.
4. My children thrived in reggio. Reading before K, could problem solve, use their imagination, think outside the box and all the other cheeses promises that end up being true!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Feel free to ask specifics. I would be happy to answer!

Alright then. Question number one: was LT your first choice? If not, why not?
Question number two: what has changed over the last four years since you have been there ( other than the beautification)?
Question number three: why do so many families still leave after K or 1?
Question number four: does Reggio Emilia do anything for your kid? If so, what?

We will likely put LT as number two or three so I am interested in your honest answers.

Thanks

Not PP, but also an LT parent, and I'll answer.

1) no, not my first -- I love montessori, and my daughter is chinese, so Logan & Thomson were my top choices.

2) We've been at LT three years. To me it doesn't seem like much has changed -- but I didn't go in looking for anything to change, I like the school a lot as is, always have.

3) I stayed, so it's hard for me to say why some parents left. (Almost all the ones I'm close to have stayed, as well.) I know some didn't get along with the principal. (I haven't had problems with her myself.) Also, b/c the ECE classrooms are all on one floor, they're a known quantity; the upper grades can seem a little mysterious. I know a parent whose child is one grade higher than my daughter, and conversations with her made me feel good about the K experience. So far it's exceeded my expectations.

4) I don't like a strict curriculum with 3-4 year olds. (I don't really like it in K, either, but I can live with it at that age.) Reggio and Montessori are very different approaches, but one thing they have in common is that they are less top-down, and more responsive to the actual child who is doing the learning. We came out of an academically-focused day care, and the more responsive classroom at LT was fantastic for my daughter. And she's doing very well in the more structured K classroom, so it certainly gave her a strong foundation.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Feel free to ask specifics. I would be happy to answer!

Alright then. Question number one: was LT your first choice? If not, why not?
Question number two: what has changed over the last four years since you have been there ( other than the beautification)?
Question number three: why do so many families still leave after K or 1?
Question number four: does Reggio Emilia do anything for your kid? If so, what?

We will likely put LT as number two or three so I am interested in your honest answers.

Thanks

Not the PP, but all good questions:

1. No LT was not my first choice but given that we are inbounds it was my option and we decided to go with it. My first choice was Two Rivers. My wait list # was over 200.
2. Parent involvement; and don't discount the beautification - it looks fantastic.
3. This is a problem that is bigger than just LT - it is the lottery/choice approach to schools in DC. Kids have options - more in PK, even more in K, and they take them. A lot of LT families are also walking distance to either Maury or Peabody, so they go with those schools. So the LT problem is that it has to be perceived to be better than Peabody and Maury to stop losing kids to those schools. Others lottery for SWS, also Reggio and more established in Reggio.
4. It can when done well. I wouldn't say that LT is very faithful to reggio but the early childhood teachers are strong and there is documentation of the work so you get to see the types of things that kids were saying while going through the process.

Anonymous wrote:Feel free to ask specifics. I would be happy to answer!

Alright then. Question number one: was LT your first choice? If not, why not?
Question number two: what has changed over the last four years since you have been there ( other than the beautification)?
Question number three: why do so many families still leave after K or 1?
Question number four: does Reggio Emilia do anything for your kid? If so, what?

We will likely put LT as number two or three so I am interested in your honest answers.

Thanks

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP, it's not about race as much as it is that many families on the Hill didn't grow up around here and as such are reflecting on the quality of the schools in other parts of the country that they were used to before moving to DC. If you've lived in DC for a majority of your life, you'd never know that schools could be any different or any better than they are now, but people from outside the area see the difference in terms of quality of education.

I know this is an old post, but I must call it out for not making sense. People in and from DC are and have been quite well aware that the schools are and have been underperforming. To think we need transplants to Capitol Hill, of all places, to inform us is, well, to put it mildly, insulting.

So insulting. We live on the hill and my kid goes to a charter school in DC. It's an excellent scho but I am sure people think "excellent for Dc". My husband and I are always amazed by what he is learning and how advanced his eduction is compared to ours where we grew up. And I went to an ivy!

Anonymous wrote:PP, it's not about race as much as it is that many families on the Hill didn't grow up around here and as such are reflecting on the quality of the schools in other parts of the country that they were used to before moving to DC. If you've lived in DC for a majority of your life, you'd never know that schools could be any different or any better than they are now, but people from outside the area see the difference in terms of quality of education.

I know this is an old post, but I must call it out for not making sense. People in and from DC are and have been quite well aware that the schools are and have been underperforming. To think we need transplants to Capitol Hill, of all places, to inform us is, well, to put it mildly, insulting.

Feel free to ask specifics. I would be happy to answer!

Very informative. Thanks.

I LOVE LTES! I have been very happy there for the past four years. The students, parents, and teachers are great. The principal is doing an excellent job. I can't wait for what's next. Keep up the great work LT!

Anonymous wrote:PP, it's not about race as much as it is that many families on the Hill didn't grow up around here and as such are reflecting on the quality of the schools in other parts of the country that they were used to before moving to DC. If you've lived in DC for a majority of your life, you'd never know that schools could be any different or any better than they are now, but people from outside the area see the difference in terms of quality of education.

+1

PP, it's not about race as much as it is that many families on the Hill didn't grow up around here and as such are reflecting on the quality of the schools in other parts of the country that they were used to before moving to DC. If you've lived in DC for a majority of your life, you'd never know that schools could be any different or any better than they are now, but people from outside the area see the difference in terms of quality of education.

Completely agree with the prior post. Not sure how or why it became that the only people who are concerned about the quality at Ludlow Taylor or the principal are white people.

You stay to 5th then, enjoy. We're black and we didn't. It's just not a very good school.