Anonymous wrote:"For example, will a family living in Ward 3 enter the lottery for all of Ward 3 schools? Not me, but if I lived a block away from Murch I could end up at Janney?"

Yes. Under 2 of the 3 options (controlled choice, and city wide lottery for p-k through 12), you could end up not at Murch.

Can someone please post a link describing the 3 options? Thank you!

REALLY.

Would controlled choice include Oyster?

Anonymous wrote:How would controlled choice work for someone who is currently IB for Mann or Key-they are not near metro's. Do people really think all those parents will drive across town? NO they will sell their homes and move right to Bethesda or Mclean. Hopefully lots of DINK's want 3-4 bedroom homes not near a metro.

I do not think that they will impose controlled choice on elementary schools in upper NW where all the schools are good. What is the point, fairness in imposing chaos? There are no schools that are low enrollment that will benefit and it will likely reduce the number of OOB seats available in the two that take significant number of OOB students. Those tow schools are thriving and providing a good option to children with a sub par IB school, this would lessen the number of available seats WOTP.

I could see it at the middle school level, but if they are distributing the students currently bound for Deal or Hardy to a "controlled choice" between Deal and Hardy that is less troubling than a citywide lottery. I think it would, however, really anger those families that rely on Hardy as an solid OOB option because it would reduce the number of seats that are available to OOB students.

"How would controlled choice work for someone who is currently IB for Mann or Key-they are not near metro's. Do people really think all those parents will drive across town? NO they will sell their homes and move right to Bethesda or Mclean. Hopefully lots of DINK's want 3-4 bedroom homes not near a metro."

One of the options has controlled choice for NW elementary schools. So, for example, you would do lottery for elementary school to get in to one of the three closest schools to you, say Key, Mann and Hyde. For junior high, the lottery would be for Deal or Hardy. So yes, you'd could be driving from your neighborhood to school farther away.

we would move too. and if though people are flocking to DC now, making the city inhospitable to middle class families is not a smart move. DC is small, poeple would simply move a few miles and have MOCO or VA schools, go private or cling to charters. more middle class families would flee DCPS, and even schools that now are doing well would tank. and for people who think lots of gay couple would buy 4bd homes, you probably do not have kids in school, because at our DCPS elementary school there is plenty of gay couples with kids who are very much interested in not having to drive their kids around for stupid reasons. improve the schools that are struggling, don't trash the ones that are working.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am behind the times. What is controlled choice?

Yes, I'd like to know exactly what this means as well. And I'm wondering how concerned I should be. I have a 3rd grader who goes to an OOB DCPS and I want the middle school feed.

Yes. You could be very much affected if they make all middle schools by lottery rather than feeder pattern, which is a real possibility. Better start googling and attend a meeting

I bet the controlled choice will be mid-city and capital hill, as a testing area. I think it is a bad idea and I hope people can see the true downsides.

How would controlled choice work for someone who is currently IB for Mann or Key-they are not near metro's. Do people really think all those parents will drive across town? NO they will sell their homes and move right to Bethesda or Mclean. Hopefully lots of DINK's want 3-4 bedroom homes not near a metro.

Anonymous wrote:I am behind the times. What is controlled choice?

Yes, I'd like to know exactly what this means as well. And I'm wondering how concerned I should be. I have a 3rd grader who goes to an OOB DCPS and I want the middle school feed.

I am behind the times. What is controlled choice?

Most, but not all, of the parent I know would be unlikely to stay through grade 12 if this choice scenario were enacted throughout the city.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is the OP here. People are welcome to say good riddance to us, PP - but if I don't have the school I want for our kids, and can afford to move, why on earth would I stay? Childfree people will then move to our house and be happy enough there and everything will balance itself out. I like walking everywhere and being close to work, but not enough to send any of my children to a school I don't care for.

To the PP who mentioned geographical component - I saw that but the problem is we live on the Hill where our inbound school is good (Brent) but any of the other neighboring ones, not so much, so any school choice that has a decent chance of landing my DD at e.g. Tyler Traditional (or sending half of Tyler Traditional students to Brent) is not really great.

If this comes about, they will try and lure you to stay with promises of great programs and shiny new stuff. The inequality at this point is so great in our school system ( for example between the education one receives at Brent, and the one at Tyler Traditional ) that those is charge are willing to gamble that you really want to stay and will give up some certainty to do so.

OP here. Well, I can't speak for other parents, of course, but they would be gambling wrong as far as it comes to me. I like certainty that my children would get to go to a good school more than I do my admittedly lovely townhouse and short commute. (Would a lot of people really stay? It's one thing to stay and work hard to improve a struggling school when you know the same children will be there every year for years and/or it will be your kid's friends going there and the parents working together to make things better, and another to do it when due to the controlled choice everyone is scattered and there is no continuity year to year or between children). I suppose if they did controlled choice and all the schools involved were awesome, I'd consider staying, but that is obviously not the case.

I suppose I am particularly OK with moving because I thought we'd have to move out for middle school anyway, so this is just accelerating the process.

If you go to these meetings and don't see anything you feel would be an improvement over our current system, SAY SO! Refuse to be kept inside the box if you don't like the box.

I don't get the DME worksheets. Are they supposed to be progressive? If the January has 5 scenarios and the Feb has 4 is that a change? Or are they unrelated?

Anonymous wrote:This is the OP here. People are welcome to say good riddance to us, PP - but if I don't have the school I want for our kids, and can afford to move, why on earth would I stay? Childfree people will then move to our house and be happy enough there and everything will balance itself out. I like walking everywhere and being close to work, but not enough to send any of my children to a school I don't care for.

To the PP who mentioned geographical component - I saw that but the problem is we live on the Hill where our inbound school is good (Brent) but any of the other neighboring ones, not so much, so any school choice that has a decent chance of landing my DD at e.g. Tyler Traditional (or sending half of Tyler Traditional students to Brent) is not really great.

If this comes about, they will try and lure you to stay with promises of great programs and shiny new stuff. The inequality at this point is so great in our school system ( for example between the education one receives at Brent, and the one at Tyler Traditional ) that those is charge are willing to gamble that you really want to stay and will give up some certainty to do so.