Anonymous
08/14/2011 21:01
Subject: Re:New Ward 3 Middle School ???
Woodson was an example of other Wards sacrificing for thebpublic good. Some of that is fine. Apparently you think that all W3 resources should be siphoned to those who have less. Silly indeed!
Anonymous
08/14/2011 20:36
Subject: Re:New Ward 3 Middle School ???
Anonymous wrote:Semantics. We have a better tax base, which provides us with better schools, and then those from other Wards fill them up. How is it then inequitable to build another school in W3? Oh wait, I know. W3 tax dollars should be spent on improving schools in other Wards. Of course. Silly me (and over-entitled you).
Silly me - I thought tax money was for the public good, not divvied up according to who paid what.
How did ward 7 get a brand new Woodson then? They don't deserve it based on the taxes they pay there.
Anonymous
08/14/2011 20:32
Subject: New Ward 3 Middle School ???
I think this is a fascinating sociological argument. I think that demographics are very important. The leading indicators are education, HHI, education of parents etc. Race is not an indicator of success I.e. It doesn't really matter if you're black or white (thanks Michael) but I think cultural influence is. That's why first and second generation Africans perform so well. I believe that if a new school with top teachers and a rockstar head opens in ward 5 the current demographics of the total ward will have it ending up being a subpar school. I think the scores and outcomes of the students today would be much better than say 10 years ago but no one can honestly say that they would rival a school with only inbound ward 3 kids. Also ending the OOB would cause a new wave of suburban flight. That's a guarantee.
Anonymous
08/14/2011 19:02
Subject: Re:New Ward 3 Middle School ???
Semantics. We have a better tax base, which provides us with better schools, and then those from other Wards fill them up. How is it then inequitable to build another school in W3? Oh wait, I know. W3 tax dollars should be spent on improving schools in other Wards. Of course. Silly me (and over-entitled you).
Anonymous
08/14/2011 17:45
Subject: Re:New Ward 3 Middle School ???
Anonymous wrote: Since parents from other Wards are obsessed with sending their kids to schools finder by W3 money, I think it perfectly equitable for taxpayers to pay to support one W3 middle school that can be enjoyed by students who actually live in W3. I know, I'm just crazy that way.
What makes you think folks outside of Ward 3 are obsessed with sending their kids to Ward 3 schools? Do other wards have middle schools you consider just as good as the one(s) in ward 3? Please list them. If not, please concede that folks aren't so much obsessed with getting their kid into a ward 3 school as much as getting them into a good school. That is all this comes down to. Improve the preexisting middle schools in other wards-- do not build an entirely new one in ward 3.
Signed,
ward 6 parent
Anonymous
08/14/2011 17:10
Subject: New Ward 3 Middle School ???
Anonymous wrote:Another rich-kid school. Guess that means that less money going to the kids who actually need it. Oh weel, always seems to work out like this, doesn't it?
Rhee and henderson spent tons of money trying raise scores to close the achievement gap by hiring and firing teachers and principals. they were really counting on it being solved by changing around the adults in the schools. It didn't work and they have no idea what else to do, because they believe in their "no excuses" policy that discounts the role of poverty.
Perhaps they don't care much about middle class kids because no miracles are needed to get them to achieve.
Anonymous
08/14/2011 16:26
Subject: Re:New Ward 3 Middle School ???
Fact: The air of superiority and privilege that a parent brings to his or her child's social training outside the classroom is much more important than the school the child attends. It therefore appears that your child's social outcome will be bleak.
[Insert cliched or otherwise poorly written retort here. Yo mama raised a fool].
[Insert cliched or otherwise poorly written retort here. Yo mama raised a fool].
Anonymous
08/14/2011 15:47
Subject: New Ward 3 Middle School ???
Another rich-kid school. Guess that means that less money going to the kids who actually need it. Oh weel, always seems to work out like this, doesn't it?
Anonymous
08/14/2011 15:00
Subject: Re:New Ward 3 Middle School ???
Anonymous wrote:This isn't idiotic at all; in fact it's about as close to a scientific experiment as you could get.
If, as many, many, many PPs in this thread have asserted, Ward 5 has a core mass of involved, smart parents, then there is a guaranteed critical mass of enriched, supported Ward 5 sixth graders who could re-create a Deal IN Ward 5, possibly to be located in Truxton Circle, Fort Totten or Brentwood.
Thanks for this, but I don't we are really interested in being being part of some grand experiment. Most of the Ward 5 posters on here have agreed that simply building a new middle school won't be enough. It will need to be very attractive enough to pull the middle class kids from the various other places they're going, including the many charter schools that will run through 8. Some sort of magnet school or special approach would be necessary.
Also, it's much more likely to be successful if a strong foundation of middle class Ward 5 kids attending public ELEMENTARY school is built first.
The location that people are eyeing for a new Ward 5 middle school is the old Brookland elementary campus, near Turkey Thicket.
Is this metro accessible? Why does everything have to be in Brookland.
Anonymous
08/14/2011 14:51
Subject: Re:New Ward 3 Middle School ???
This isn't idiotic at all; in fact it's about as close to a scientific experiment as you could get.
If, as many, many, many PPs in this thread have asserted, Ward 5 has a core mass of involved, smart parents, then there is a guaranteed critical mass of enriched, supported Ward 5 sixth graders who could re-create a Deal IN Ward 5, possibly to be located in Truxton Circle, Fort Totten or Brentwood.
Thanks for this, but I don't we are really interested in being being part of some grand experiment. Most of the Ward 5 posters on here have agreed that simply building a new middle school won't be enough. It will need to be very attractive enough to pull the middle class kids from the various other places they're going, including the many charter schools that will run through 8. Some sort of magnet school or special approach would be necessary.
Also, it's much more likely to be successful if a strong foundation of middle class Ward 5 kids attending public ELEMENTARY school is built first.
The location that people are eyeing for a new Ward 5 middle school is the old Brookland elementary campus, near Turkey Thicket.
Anonymous
08/14/2011 14:41
Subject: Re:New Ward 3 Middle School ???
About Ward 5 schools:
It's both. It's a classic chicken vs. egg problem. The Ward 5 schools can't get better until middle class people start sending their kids there and investing in them (not just because it changes the demographics of the student body necessarily, but because middle class parents are better advocates for improved offerings and resources from the central office, can fundraise for extras, and generally raise the expectations for academics at the school). But middle class people won't send their children to schools that are only providing a middling education to children, especially in a city with so much school choice.
What would it take to change this dynamic? I think the ball is in DCPS's court. It's clear to me that prospective parents can only do so much, and as another poster mentioned many parents of older children have already made other choices-- their energy is being spent supporting other schools. The Ward 5 parents who are interested in the publics are hesitant to dive in without the schools changing first. There are a TON of babies in Ward 5 though, and that's the real opportunity, IF DCPS central office is interested in capturing and keeping the Ward 5 middle class parents in the schools.
But I don't see any evidence of any effort on this from DCPS. To really alter the current trajectory of middle class kids opting out of DCPS in Ward 5, DCPS would need to commit to creating some stellar new offerings at the elementary level-- including language immersion, city-wide magnets, gifted and talented programs, or the like. This doesn't have to be in a totally new school-- some of the existing schools have good foundations to build upon.
I really don't believe it's a class issue. I think it is a DCPS issue.
It's both. It's a classic chicken vs. egg problem. The Ward 5 schools can't get better until middle class people start sending their kids there and investing in them (not just because it changes the demographics of the student body necessarily, but because middle class parents are better advocates for improved offerings and resources from the central office, can fundraise for extras, and generally raise the expectations for academics at the school). But middle class people won't send their children to schools that are only providing a middling education to children, especially in a city with so much school choice.
What would it take to change this dynamic? I think the ball is in DCPS's court. It's clear to me that prospective parents can only do so much, and as another poster mentioned many parents of older children have already made other choices-- their energy is being spent supporting other schools. The Ward 5 parents who are interested in the publics are hesitant to dive in without the schools changing first. There are a TON of babies in Ward 5 though, and that's the real opportunity, IF DCPS central office is interested in capturing and keeping the Ward 5 middle class parents in the schools.
But I don't see any evidence of any effort on this from DCPS. To really alter the current trajectory of middle class kids opting out of DCPS in Ward 5, DCPS would need to commit to creating some stellar new offerings at the elementary level-- including language immersion, city-wide magnets, gifted and talented programs, or the like. This doesn't have to be in a totally new school-- some of the existing schools have good foundations to build upon.
Anonymous
08/14/2011 14:09
Subject: Re:New Ward 3 Middle School ???
Hey guys -- if this proposal is indeed just some fantasy with as much chance of passing as there is of Santa coming to town, why is Jeff pounding his keyboard in a rage about it? And why are we talking about it for 9 pages.
Mary Cheh may well be the only person on the Council that Kwame Brown likes.
Hmmmm.
Mary Cheh may well be the only person on the Council that Kwame Brown likes.
Hmmmm.
Anonymous
08/14/2011 13:58
Subject: Re:New Ward 3 Middle School ???
Anonymous wrote:I'm the tired cliche "reap what you sow" poster and live in Ward 3. You must be a writer/editor and I apologize. Okay, I'll stop with my unoriginal graceless posts, since my kids are at Deal and I don't have to worry about the crappy mess parents created at Hardy. Nothing you say or do will bring another middle school to Ward 3 now, so start dipping into that trust for tuition.
You mean nothing I say NOR do. So it now appears that when you're not writing in tired cliches, you're writing in poor English.
Fact: The intellectual ability and effort that a parent brings to his or her child's education outside the classroom is much more important than the school the child attends. It therefore appears that your child's educational outcome will be bleak.
As for your imagined use of my trust fund: Not only can I write well -- I'm also quite well-informed and resourceful! But thanks for your concern for my family and our finances.
[Insert cliched or otherwise poorly written retort here].
Anonymous
08/14/2011 13:43
Subject: Re:New Ward 3 Middle School ???
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote: You reap what you sow.
More tired cliches. Is this the best parents from outside W3 can do? Shall we have a cliche contest akin to Dancing With The Stars? Or should we put more effort into writing with originality and grace?
and stop finding ways to criticize parents "from outside W3?"
That might be hard for some to do and it's entirely lacking in originality and grace - not that those qualities have ever been an expectation or requirement for message board postings.
Anonymous
08/14/2011 13:31
Subject: Re:New Ward 3 Middle School ???
I'm the tired cliche "reap what you sow" poster and live in Ward 3. You must be a writer/editor and I apologize. Okay, I'll stop with my unoriginal graceless posts, since my kids are at Deal and I don't have to worry about the crappy mess parents created at Hardy. Nothing you say or do will bring another middle school to Ward 3 now, so start dipping into that trust for tuition.