Op here. This last but about having a say is interesting. I was actually more concerned about stepping on toes.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I spent 4 years at Thomson. Question is where to start. It taught me that school reform is way more complicated than Rhee & company want to believe. Teachers were in constant tredmill that is exhausting, don't assume your child will get supports because they know you will provide them & their are a ton kids that need help. DC has no clue how to deal with esl kids so they face constant regression. Forget PTA's about 5 people will carry it and become increasing bitter. Your principal & teaching staff will turnover all the time. Your kid will have a program that is likely to be a full grade level below what they are teaching in other parts of the city. Putting your kid into a title one school is a not just being there for other poor kids. There is a reason so many of us have fled.

This sums up at the end of the day why I left. We were enrolled in our IB school (title I) my child was to be in PS-3 and as I was dropping off the paperwork the principal asked me if I would be president of the PTA.

I'm sure this is a little extreme and there is Title I and Title I, but what you say highlights something else about what you may have going for yourself at a Title I school. You may actually have a true say. This isn't something all parents are looking for and not what everyone is cut out to do but if you are, know a thing or two, and have an ability to communicate and deliberate with others, a Title I is a likelier place to have a say than your typical upper NW school.

Anonymous wrote:I spent 4 years at Thomson. Question is where to start. It taught me that school reform is way more complicated than Rhee & company want to believe. Teachers were in constant tredmill that is exhausting, don't assume your child will get supports because they know you will provide them & their are a ton kids that need help. DC has no clue how to deal with esl kids so they face constant regression. Forget PTA's about 5 people will carry it and become increasing bitter. Your principal & teaching staff will turnover all the time. Your kid will have a program that is likely to be a full grade level below what they are teaching in other parts of the city. Putting your kid into a title one school is a not just being there for other poor kids. There is a reason so many of us have fled.

This sums up at the end of the day why I left. We were enrolled in our IB school (title I) my child was to be in PS-3 and as I was dropping off the paperwork the principal asked me if I would be president of the PTA.

Anonymous wrote:Um. Is Janney's PTA really only bringing in $40k per year?

No way. The average contribution at Janney is thousands of dollars per student.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, but PP equates them - "what's it gonna be? Extra parent raised funds or federal funds?" I am Ib for a title 1, 99% FARMS school and am considering it--but to say the level of resources between a school like my IB school and JKLM schools is the same is ridiculous.

Using HD Cooke and Janney as examples:

For FY14, per-pupil expenditures will be (from: http://dcps.dc.gov/DCPS/About+DCPS/Budget+and+Finance/FY14+Fiscal+Report+Card)

H.S. Cooke: $13,070
Janney: $ 8,739

So the question might be whether the additional funds allcoated to Cooke cover its increased needs. In terms of just Title funds, HD Cooke receives $177 K to Janney's $15 K.

Fortunately, schools may be poised to receive an additional $3 K per low-income student.

The difference is mostly funds for English language learners, not Title I students. Cooke has a lot of Latino kids.

Um. Is Janney's PTA really only bringing in $40k per year?

Anonymous wrote:Yes, but PP equates them - "what's it gonna be? Extra parent raised funds or federal funds?" I am Ib for a title 1, 99% FARMS school and am considering it--but to say the level of resources between a school like my IB school and JKLM schools is the same is ridiculous.

Using HD Cooke and Janney as examples:

For FY14, per-pupil expenditures will be (from: http://dcps.dc.gov/DCPS/About+DCPS/Budget+and+Finance/FY14+Fiscal+Report+Card)

H.S. Cooke: $13,070
Janney: $ 8,739

So the question might be whether the additional funds allcoated to Cooke cover its increased needs. In terms of just Title funds, HD Cooke receives $177 K to Janney's $15 K.

Fortunately, schools may be poised to receive an additional $3 K per low-income student.

Yes, but PP equates them - "what's it gonna be? Extra parent raised funds or federal funds?" I am Ib for a title 1, 99% FARMS school and am considering it--but to say the level of resources between a school like my IB school and JKLM schools is the same is ridiculous.

Anonymous wrote:My understanding is that the additional title 1 funds that come in come nowhere near close the money that Janney and other top wotp schools bring in.

Of course it's not the same. There's some thread floating around here that's all about the $1K+ fees that parents are expected to pitch in at schools like Janney.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is anyone willing to share experiences they have had at title one schools? If you're willing to name the schools that could be helpful, but not necessary. Having toured some if them, I don't see a huge difference in the early childhood programs, except that everyone eats free. Some friends and family members have encouraged me to write off all title ones just because of that status, which is making me second guess my impressions, so I guess I'm looking for more data points.

Sorry, but since it sounds like you would only use the program for preschool, I don't even want to mention my school. Parents like that are the reason these schools remain Title I.

This, exactly. As a long-time resident of DC I'd like to say that this attitude by the newest arrivals is really irritating to me. Let me use that free preschool for 2 years, so long as the kids aren't *TOO* ghetto, or the percentage of ghetto kids isn't *TOO* high. That buys me a little time to scheme for either a better school or a different address. Or maybe they'll tear down Potomac Gardens/public housing in Columbia Heights by the time Maeve is in 2nd grade and then she can continue on safely in her pk3 school. Whew!

If you're so affluent, as Greater Greater Washington keeps telling us that all the white/Asian/multi-raced Millennials are .... why can't you pay for private preschool and preK, as has always been done (and still is) in Ward 3? Oh, because you "crave diversity." But not too much.

The term "New Arrivals" is relative. Regardless -- do you approve of low-income families using the neighborhood school for pre-school until they can gain admittance to a higher performing school equally as irritating? Perhaps some of us are multi-raced Generation X'ers who cannot afford private pre-K. Does that make a difference to you? Does the fact that we contribute to the tax base, which makes universal pre-K even possible, matter to you? This is my city too -- regardless of how long I've lived here.

My understanding is that the additional title 1 funds that come in come nowhere near close the money that Janney and other top wotp schools bring in.

Anonymous wrote:Janney budget to run the PSA is 40K a year. Title 1 school PSA reaches back to the same few families to do everything.

That may well be true but Title I schools benefit from considerable extra ("Title I") funding of at least that much. --> So what's it gonna be: extra parent-raised funds or extra federal funds? I don't think the resources are all that much different. Some argue teachers may be, the gifted and inspired ones going to teach the easy kids and the rest of them in the dumps where you're looking. --> Not what I found: Teachers at our Title I school are great and feel like they're making a difference. They're better at differentiating; they can't afford to fool around and let the classroom slip and manage itself. So argue that you'll see a divide. --> So what. Let others worry about that. What may matter most to you is how your child does. Ours did well and the divide others mention wasn't as clear as it's being portrayed here.

You should trust what you see and what you experience and make your best effort to not let anyone put those black & white/high & low glasses on you. It's more complicated and also more special than that.

Anonymous wrote:My child attends a Title I school (so did I). What about this designation bother / concerns you?

Look at the school / teachers / community and not labels / stereotypes. You might just surprise yourself.

I'm the op. The designation didn't really bother me. It was only after I mentioned some school visits to friends that it was brought to my attention. It seemed like they had ruled the school(s) out strictly because they were title one.

I since have learned that title one schools may have some restrictions about things like field trips that cost families extra because they are not allowed to ask families to contribute. Personally I like that, having grown up relatively poor in a rich school district. I was very well aware of my lower income status when I had to stay home from school trips because I was one of only a couple students whose families couldn't afford it.

I asked the question here because I figured that there may be other characteristics specific to title one schools that I wanted to learn about. I really appreciate hearing from the kind posters who shared their experiences, and would love to hear more stories. Thank you!

PP makes a good point there can be a wide range of issues. I am poster 19:09 and there were a wide range of issues at Thomson including a very rapid shift in the student body from a minority of non-English speakers to a majority. Plus the poverty rate was around 70%. Title one kicks in at 40% and I would say every 10 % over that number increases the challenges the school will have.

Janney budget to run the PSA is 40K a year. Title 1 school PSA reaches back to the same few families to do everything.