Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, 5th grade at Brent is not equivalent to 5th grade at Latin or Basis. Not even comparable as far as the rigor, depth and breadth of the curriculum. I am sure Brent parents would stay for 5th at Brent if the charters started at 6th, but who does that benefit? Seriously? Who benefits from that?

Wells just suggested stopping Brent at 4th in exchange for maintaining PS3 and giving preference to Brent at a couple of charter schools.

One more reason why I'll never vote for Wells. I'm tired of the Brent frenzy on the Hill. Why don't we also do this for SWS (instead of planning to grow to 5th) and, let's see, certain families at Maury and maybe some of the families at Logan. Hell, let's just put all high-SES families outside of the Deal/Wilson boundaries into Latin and BASiS via preference and be done with it! Wouldn't want to have a test-in school, though.

Anonymous wrote:Is SH fully enrolled this year? What is SH's enrollment this year? What is its capacity? Can you get in OOB?

I believe this year SH is at capacity, enrollment of 130 to 140 per each grade, total of 390 to 420 students. It is fully enrolled.

The question of can you get in OOB varies by year.

in 2011-12, Cluster principal was new (Clemens) and didn't realize how underenrolled SH was until late in the summer (she started in july). It was a tough year, a lot of the kids who enrolled late in that summer were not the strongest students (academics or behavior)

in 2012-13, Basis opened. SH was fully enrolled, but many families had dual enrolled students and dropped out of SH and kept the BAsis enrollment, at the last minute. The school was somewhat underenrolled

in 2013-14, the Cluster principal cross checked the SH enrollment list vs. Basis, and weeded out the dual enrollees much earlier. The summer was tough - the DCPS budget cut backs were in negotiation much of the summer, about how many teachers the school would have. (For example, a seemingly random verdict came out of Henderson's shop in May 2013 that all schools with less than 400 students, which SH had in 2012-13, would have librarians etc. cut, and lose a bunch of staffing, that was fought over the summer with Catania's assistance to restore funding.. . ). Regardless, for 2013-14, there were some OOB slots, perhaps 10 to 20 per grade in 6 & 7, in the lottery, and some movement after the school year started, but not a lot.

who knows what 2014-15 brings, with the first year of the integrated DCPS / charters lottery?

as pointed out up thread, if all the students from Watkins, LT, JO Wilson, who have a right to attend SH end up attending, the school is at capacity.

Anonymous wrote:So if I live in the "formerly hine" gray area on the map and didn't go to Watkins. My guaranteed IB MS is Jefferson or EH? I'd have to lottery into SH (or transfer from existing school into Watkins before MS?) they've got to stretch the boundaries on SH don't they? What's the school's capacity?

Or you can lottery into Jo Wilson or Ludlow Taylor. They are recent additions to feed into Stuart Hobson. Oops

Anonymous wrote:No, 5th grade at Brent is not equivalent to 5th grade at Latin or Basis. Not even comparable as far as the rigor, depth and breadth of the curriculum. I am sure Brent parents would stay for 5th at Brent if the charters started at 6th, but who does that benefit? Seriously? Who benefits from that?

Wells just suggested stopping Brent at 4th in exchange for maintaining PS3 and giving preference to Brent at a couple of charter schools.

I never understood why the MS boundaries didn't perfectly overlap with the feeder elementary boundaries.

So if I live in the "formerly hine" gray area on the map and didn't go to Watkins. My guaranteed IB MS is Jefferson or EH? I'd have to lottery into SH (or transfer from existing school into Watkins before MS?) they've got to stretch the boundaries on SH don't they? What's the school's capacity?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SH boundary is tiny.

http://www.dc.gov/DCPS/Files/downloads/SCHOOLS/Boundary%20Maps%20-%202009/DCPS-Attendance-Zones-Middle-Schools-September-2009.pdf

+1 -- and it has to be by design. If DCPS wants feeders it can only open so many non-feeder seats by right. Thus SH is only a neighborhood school as much as the feeders are neighborhood schools . . . which is really not so much the case with Wilson, LT and Watkins.

Ok, so I must be confused. I thought if you lived in the cluster boundaries, you could go to SH. Does this mean if I didn't send my kid to Watkins (I sent him to SwS instead) even though I live at an address in the cluster, I don't get in?

That is my understanding, with the caveat that you might be entitled to proximity preference as an OOB student.

Anonymous wrote:I think I'm finally understanding the DCPS rationale on CH middle schools. I think they thought that a guaranteed feed from LT and JO Wilson would make neighborhood kids attend those schools to get access to SH. But there are a few problems with the theory - 1) charters; 2) 5-7 years is a long time if you believe the elementary school does not work for your kid; 3) it is relatively easy to get into Watkins for 5th grade; and 3) SH is NOT Deal. It's just not.

SH can't be Deal because of it's small size and limits caused by funding models. It can't be a comprehensive Middle School. That's why some people would like to see it made into a specialized middle school/program without feeders and a large facility like Eliot Hine made into the midle school that absorbs all Capitol Hill ( Ward 6? ) feeders and creates a comprehensive middle school like Deal

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SH boundary is tiny.

http://www.dc.gov/DCPS/Files/downloads/SCHOOLS/Boundary%20Maps%20-%202009/DCPS-Attendance-Zones-Middle-Schools-September-2009.pdf

+1 -- and it has to be by design. If DCPS wants feeders it can only open so many non-feeder seats by right. Thus SH is only a neighborhood school as much as the feeders are neighborhood schools . . . which is really not so much the case with Wilson, LT and Watkins.

Ok, so I must be confused. I thought if you lived in the cluster boundaries, you could go to SH. Does this mean if I didn't send my kid to Watkins (I sent him to SwS instead) even though I live at an address in the cluster, I don't get in?

No, 5th grade at Brent is not equivalent to 5th grade at Latin or Basis. Not even comparable as far as the rigor, depth and breadth of the curriculum. I am sure Brent parents would stay for 5th at Brent if the charters started at 6th, but who does that benefit? Seriously? Who benefits from that?

Anonymous wrote:If DCPS wants those kids in 5th they need to earn it, not mess with successful charters

My understanding is that even "successful" DCPS elementaries like Brent experience an exodus in 5th grade not because Brent is a bad school but because the charters like Latin or Basis start in 5th, therefore DCPS students HAVE to enter the lottery in 5th grade in order to have a decent chance of admission. Obviously, the need for lottery success in 5th grade is driven by the lack of enough good DCPS middle school options. But my original question still remains....why aren't the starting grades of middle school synchronized across DCPS and charter systems? How would that "mess with successful charters"? I am a charter supporter but I think the current system "messes with" the progress being made in DCPS elementaries by creaming off the 5th grade students with more motivated parents.

I think I'm finally understanding the DCPS rationale on CH middle schools. I think they thought that a guaranteed feed from LT and JO Wilson would make neighborhood kids attend those schools to get access to SH. But there are a few problems with the theory - 1) charters; 2) 5-7 years is a long time if you believe the elementary school does not work for your kid; 3) it is relatively easy to get into Watkins for 5th grade; and 3) SH is NOT Deal. It's just not.

Anonymous wrote:SH boundary is tiny.

http://www.dc.gov/DCPS/Files/downloads/SCHOOLS/Boundary%20Maps%20-%202009/DCPS-Attendance-Zones-Middle-Schools-September-2009.pdf

+1 -- and it has to be by design. If DCPS wants feeders it can only open so many non-feeder seats by right. Thus SH is only a neighborhood school as much as the feeders are neighborhood schools . . . which is really not so much the case with Wilson, LT and Watkins.

SH boundary is tiny.

http://www.dc.gov/DCPS/Files/downloads/SCHOOLS/Boundary%20Maps%20-%202009/DCPS-Attendance-Zones-Middle-Schools-September-2009.pdf

Anonymous wrote:Most addresses at SWS today feed into SH. Without preference for the school itself, the addresses they live at still get it.

Sorry -- I'm have an SWS directory in hand in this is flatly wrong. It skews towards Ward 6 and areas on or near the Hill, but that's a huge stretch to suggest "most addresses at SWS today feed into SH" Look at the map