Anonymous
05/09/2025 14:28
Subject: SY25-26 Short Waitlists tool is up
"Our scores are low because our location is inconvenient and our attrition is high" is not a winning argument.
Anonymous
05/09/2025 14:18
Subject: SY25-26 Short Waitlists tool is up
I cite Sela as an example of why some charter schools should exist--there is an interest in this model that the traditional public system isn't going to offer, and the board and its supporters can sustain it. That's great for them!
But I also get frustrated with the passive "we can't get a feeder" complaint. The board established a school that ends in 5th grade. Either make plans to add grades or embrace that you have an elementary school and that middle and high school will be different. The whole point of charters is that you choose to go your own way.
But I also get frustrated with the passive "we can't get a feeder" complaint. The board established a school that ends in 5th grade. Either make plans to add grades or embrace that you have an elementary school and that middle and high school will be different. The whole point of charters is that you choose to go your own way.
Anonymous
05/09/2025 14:00
Subject: SY25-26 Short Waitlists tool is up
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Ouch Seaton is on the list. Too bad.
Roots and Sela are in trouble. Rocketship is very much in trouble.
Sigh. I know there is a non-trivial number of humans on this board rooting hard for Sela to collapse, but: sorry...it's not "in trouble" - it just has the obvious, chronic retention challenges any school located outside NW and the Capitol Hill area without a junior high feeder would have, but is managing to do far better on any objective metric (test scores and re-enrollment in the lower grades not affected by feeder panic, parent survey satisfaction, measured student progress, etc) than any other school in the city facing the same hurdles. If they could get a decent feeder, their biggest headaches would more or less evaporate tomorrow.
Now, could politics and bigotry prevent that from ever happening? Sure! It may not be worth it to any junior high to invite the avalanche of haterade associating with (gasp!) Hebrew speakers would invite in this world, which is why I'd be shocked if Sela ever nabs any feeder at all. But all that does - along with, yes, the location and the relatively niche language appeal - is artificially suppress what could otherwise be one of the top-performing charters in the city. The bottom line is that Sela will always have a core group of parents - some small but enduring percentage of an educated, progressive and motivated demographic that disproportionately supports public schools - who have a cultural connection, and are prepared to endure the commute to enroll their kids for at least a few years... and another group of smart, engaged local parents happy to send their kids to a well-run school to learn and practice language acquisition of any kind alongside the first group, even if they don't have the same exact connection to the culture.
So - apologies again to people rooting hard for its demise - it's not in imminent danger of collapse - it's actually doing remarkably well under the circumstances. (ha...I guess in that way it IS kind of like Israel, after all! Go figure)
Lack of a feeder didn't cause the PCSB to cut I Dream, Capital Village, or Hope much slack. But whatever. I don't actually think Sela is in significant trouble, but that's not how the review process works. They don't grade on a curve or wave away low CAPE scores because the school chose an inconvenient location.
Anonymous
05/09/2025 13:53
Subject: SY25-26 Short Waitlists tool is up
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Ouch Seaton is on the list. Too bad.
Roots and Sela are in trouble. Rocketship is very much in trouble.
Sigh. I know there is a non-trivial number of humans on this board rooting hard for Sela to collapse, but: sorry...it's not "in trouble" - it just has the obvious, chronic retention challenges any school located outside NW and the Capitol Hill area without a junior high feeder would have, but is managing to do far better on any objective metric (test scores and re-enrollment in the lower grades not affected by feeder panic, parent survey satisfaction, measured student progress, etc) than any other school in the city facing the same hurdles. If they could get a decent feeder, their biggest headaches would more or less evaporate tomorrow.
Now, could politics and bigotry prevent that from ever happening? Sure! It may not be worth it to any junior high to invite the avalanche of haterade associating with (gasp!) Hebrew speakers would invite in this world, which is why I'd be shocked if Sela ever nabs any feeder at all. But all that does - along with, yes, the location and the relatively niche language appeal - is artificially suppress what could otherwise be one of the top-performing charters in the city. The bottom line is that Sela will always have a core group of parents - some small but enduring percentage of an educated, progressive and motivated demographic that disproportionately supports public schools - who have a cultural connection, and are prepared to endure the commute to enroll their kids for at least a few years... and another group of smart, engaged local parents happy to send their kids to a well-run school to learn and practice language acquisition of any kind alongside the first group, even if they don't have the same exact connection to the culture.
So - apologies again to people rooting hard for its demise - it's not in imminent danger of collapse - it's actually doing remarkably well under the circumstances. (ha...I guess in that way it IS kind of like Israel, after all! Go figure)
Nothing to see here! Please, nobody look at our 26th percentile accountability score! Definitely do not view how Sela scored 0.0 points on ELA growth to proficiency and 0.0 points on ELA MGP! Definitely do not view Sela's 2.5 out of 9 points for student attendance. Only a hater would even notice those things or dare to flag them for others.
Anonymous
05/09/2025 13:33
Subject: SY25-26 Short Waitlists tool is up
Anonymous wrote:Ouch Seaton is on the list. Too bad.
Roots and Sela are in trouble. Rocketship is very much in trouble.
Sigh. I know there is a non-trivial number of humans on this board rooting hard for Sela to collapse, but: sorry...it's not "in trouble" - it just has the obvious, chronic retention challenges any school located outside NW and the Capitol Hill area without a junior high feeder would have, but is managing to do far better on any objective metric (test scores and re-enrollment in the lower grades not affected by feeder panic, parent survey satisfaction, measured student progress, etc) than any other school in the city facing the same hurdles. If they could get a decent feeder, their biggest headaches would more or less evaporate tomorrow.
Now, could politics and bigotry prevent that from ever happening? Sure! It may not be worth it to any junior high to invite the avalanche of haterade associating with (gasp!) Hebrew speakers would invite in this world, which is why I'd be shocked if Sela ever nabs any feeder at all. But all that does - along with, yes, the location and the relatively niche language appeal - is artificially suppress what could otherwise be one of the top-performing charters in the city. The bottom line is that Sela will always have a core group of parents - some small but enduring percentage of an educated, progressive and motivated demographic that disproportionately supports public schools - who have a cultural connection, and are prepared to endure the commute to enroll their kids for at least a few years... and another group of smart, engaged local parents happy to send their kids to a well-run school to learn and practice language acquisition of any kind alongside the first group, even if they don't have the same exact connection to the culture.
So - apologies again to people rooting hard for its demise - it's not in imminent danger of collapse - it's actually doing remarkably well under the circumstances. (ha...I guess in that way it IS kind of like Israel, after all! Go figure)
Anonymous
05/09/2025 11:20
Subject: SY25-26 Short Waitlists tool is up
Anonymous wrote:Truth opened extra seats because the high school is moving to a new building. My kid has had a really great year at Truth after my initial concerns about a smaller school. His friends are nice, his teachers are great, there is communication regularly from the classroom and administration and he is getting the extra he needs in math and the supports he needs in ELA. Hidden middle school gem for sure.
Echoing this. We were somewhat skeptical of "Montessori Middle School," but my kid has grown significantly in an academic sense this year. Great MAP growth + just anecdotally hearing what they've been learning and what they're working on it's been a good step up. And likes their teachers and made a bunch of new friends.
Anonymous
05/09/2025 09:02
Subject: SY25-26 Short Waitlists tool is up
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Ouch Seaton is on the list. Too bad.
Roots and Sela are in trouble. Rocketship is very much in trouble.
Seaton has got to turn the ship around.
Apparently Seaton used to be better for above-grade kids but now isn't providing as much.
But I also think the opening of Calle Ocho and the strengthening of Langley play a role. It used to be a lot of Langley-IB kids went to Seaton but that's not as much a thing anymore.
Seaton scores were going up for years and since the new principal started, they are going down. I really think that's the biggest factor.
Anonymous
05/09/2025 08:59
Subject: SY25-26 Short Waitlists tool is up
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Ouch Seaton is on the list. Too bad.
Roots and Sela are in trouble. Rocketship is very much in trouble.
Seaton has got to turn the ship around.
Apparently Seaton used to be better for above-grade kids but now isn't providing as much.
But I also think the opening of Calle Ocho and the strengthening of Langley play a role. It used to be a lot of Langley-IB kids went to Seaton but that's not as much a thing anymore.
Anonymous
05/09/2025 08:55
Subject: SY25-26 Short Waitlists tool is up
Anonymous wrote:Ouch Seaton is on the list. Too bad.
Roots and Sela are in trouble. Rocketship is very much in trouble.
Seaton has got to turn the ship around.
Anonymous
05/09/2025 08:02
Subject: Re:SY25-26 Short Waitlists tool is up
Anonymous wrote:You can pretty much get into any DCPS elementary school past ECE except Hill schools.
Burroughs, Seaton, Garrison, Langley, Langdon, Miner, JOW, etc…and all the bilingual DCPS schools also.
Not WOTP.
Anonymous
05/08/2025 22:52
Subject: SY25-26 Short Waitlists tool is up
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Howard and Girls Global are both listed, and both up for review in the next few months.
Next year's review cycle is lighter, thank goodness, but SSMA and Rocketship both seem headed for trouble.
I feel like the decline of SSMA has been going on at least 10 years, since the move.
The academic results are shockingly low. The DC school report card has SSMA at the 1st percentile - higher than 1% of all elementary schools. They only seem to be higher than Hope which just relinquished its charter because of poor performance. Rocketship campuses are also really low performing. It's going to be another tough review season next year for a few charter schools.
Anonymous
05/08/2025 22:22
Subject: SY25-26 Short Waitlists tool is up
Anonymous wrote:Howard and Girls Global are both listed, and both up for review in the next few months.
Next year's review cycle is lighter, thank goodness, but SSMA and Rocketship both seem headed for trouble.
I feel like the decline of SSMA has been going on at least 10 years, since the move.
Anonymous
05/08/2025 22:18
Subject: SY25-26 Short Waitlists tool is up
Howard and Girls Global are both listed, and both up for review in the next few months.
Anonymous
05/08/2025 21:45
Subject: Re:SY25-26 Short Waitlists tool is up
You can pretty much get into any DCPS elementary school past ECE except Hill schools.
Burroughs, Seaton, Garrison, Langley, Langdon, Miner, JOW, etc…and all the bilingual DCPS schools also.
Burroughs, Seaton, Garrison, Langley, Langdon, Miner, JOW, etc…and all the bilingual DCPS schools also.
Anonymous
05/08/2025 08:19
Subject: Re:SY25-26 Short Waitlists tool is up
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Truth is an option if you strike out in MS.
This is really great news for anxious parents. The sixth grade lottery is so fraught.
You also have Shining Stars for 6th. Not great but good to have a safety.
I don’t think Shining Stars is a safety. Most people would prefer their local DCPS.
Not necessarily for 6th. If you have a kid who would do poorly in a large DCPS middle, and got shut out of ITDS, Lee, and Truth, SSMA would be a last resort.
But SS is basically babysitting. No way. I would move.
+100.