We are new upper grade Shepherd people, who are very happy with the school. Our child is quite challenged--and also accommodated In the areas where skills need improvement. (Like most children, they excell at some things and not at others.)

In general, I am impressed at shepherds ability to serve it's entire student body in an inclusive and welcoming environment.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Shepherd Park is heavily African American and Jewish, so what demographics are you exactly looking for?

Shepherd Elementary is 80% AA, the neighborhood is certainly no longer 80% AA. I think PP is asking when the school will start representing the neighborhood and the honest question is when more IB families start going to the school. It really is a good, solid school. Amongst the top of the schools EOTP, high great school ratings, great teachers, and an excellent PTA. Many families buy in the neighborhood with their kids already in charter or private so I don't fault them.

-AA SP resident

And when was the neighborhood ever 80% AA; it has always been a diverse neighborhood. The school has been majority AA since at least the 60's and they were known as some of the brightest and best prepared students in the city as they matriculated into the best schools in the city. Join your historic neighborhood organization and learn your history if you are going to talk about the neighborhood's history. What has changed since the 60's and 70's is that more of the neighborhood children no longer attend the school. Unfortunately, the death knell to the school's reputation was when at least two non AA administrators in the 90's and 00's were appointed who had very vey low expectations for AA students during their tenure and ratcheted the program down. The upper SES AA with the remaining white families fled and have not returned in mass. I give this bit of history solely because the AA johnny come latelys buy into and seem to promote the need for a non AA population in order to be a great school. Go to the PTA meetings. You will meet plenty of involved families that will give you a sense of the school and the neighborhood. However, the attitude that gets rid of the couple of really great teachers that remain there in the upper grades to be replaced by new unexperienced teachers will continue to keep the upper SES IB AA families away.

Anonymous wrote:How are Shepard families so sure they will stay in the Deak zone? If they are building new middle schools, I think the will get rezoned.

I asked this same question a while back. No guarantees, but read here:

http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/413309.page

Deal, so sorry for typos.

How are Shepard families so sure they will stay in the Deak zone? If they are building new middle schools, I think the will get rezoned.