Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live IB and thinking of switching from where we are to our IB school. Now that she has been there a few months are there any changes that you see?

+1. We are, too. I'd also like to hear about any future plans for managing class sizes. The giant 3rd grade class doesn't sound like a good solution to me.

The rumor is that 3, 4, 5 will be large (30+) going forward, except with one teacher in grades 4 and 5 (and 2 in grade 3). There really isn't any other solution. There are too many kids, the city won't redistrict them, the school is out of rooms and they aren't allowed to put trailers outside.

I understand there are some OOB kids at Janney. How is that even possible with the severe overcrowding you describe?

Most likely families that lived IB when they enrolled and then moved to another part of the city (and allowed to stay).

I know that is up to the discretion of the principal, but it would seem that the discretion was improperly exercised when the school is so overcrowded.

With the other schools being renovated, hopefully there will be less infatuation with Janney and kids will be better spread out.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live IB and thinking of switching from where we are to our IB school. Now that she has been there a few months are there any changes that you see?

+1. We are, too. I'd also like to hear about any future plans for managing class sizes. The giant 3rd grade class doesn't sound like a good solution to me.

The rumor is that 3, 4, 5 will be large (30+) going forward, except with one teacher in grades 4 and 5 (and 2 in grade 3). There really isn't any other solution. There are too many kids, the city won't redistrict them, the school is out of rooms and they aren't allowed to put trailers outside.

I understand there are some OOB kids at Janney. How is that even possible with the severe overcrowding you describe?

Current 4th and 5th graders would have entered a early as 2008-09, when Janney - to my knowledge - was not over-enrolled.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live IB and thinking of switching from where we are to our IB school. Now that she has been there a few months are there any changes that you see?

+1. We are, too. I'd also like to hear about any future plans for managing class sizes. The giant 3rd grade class doesn't sound like a good solution to me.

The rumor is that 3, 4, 5 will be large (30+) going forward, except with one teacher in grades 4 and 5 (and 2 in grade 3). There really isn't any other solution. There are too many kids, the city won't redistrict them, the school is out of rooms and they aren't allowed to put trailers outside.

I understand there are some OOB kids at Janney. How is that even possible with the severe overcrowding you describe?

Most likely families that lived IB when they enrolled and then moved to another part of the city (and allowed to stay).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live IB and thinking of switching from where we are to our IB school. Now that she has been there a few months are there any changes that you see?

+1. We are, too. I'd also like to hear about any future plans for managing class sizes. The giant 3rd grade class doesn't sound like a good solution to me.

The rumor is that 3, 4, 5 will be large (30+) going forward, except with one teacher in grades 4 and 5 (and 2 in grade 3). There really isn't any other solution. There are too many kids, the city won't redistrict them, the school is out of rooms and they aren't allowed to put trailers outside.

I understand there are some OOB kids at Janney. How is that even possible with the severe overcrowding you describe?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC is in one of the maligned 3rd grade classes. She is doing fine and having a great year. Personal attention is overrated for most kids.

A couple of the 3rd grade classes have been great. Some of the others have been crazy. It's all about the mix of kids. They really didn't distribute the more "challenging" kids evenly.
That said, my child is in one of the difficult classes and comes home daily telling us about the chaos. But still he/she is learning. Kids are FAR, FAR more resilient than we give them credit more.
They don't need the perfect environment or much teacher time to learn. Most can learn despite chaos around them.

Wait. There are challenging kids at Janney???? Say it ain't so.

Anonymous wrote:My DC is in one of the maligned 3rd grade classes. She is doing fine and having a great year. Personal attention is overrated for most kids.

A couple of the 3rd grade classes have been great. Some of the others have been crazy. It's all about the mix of kids. They really didn't distribute the more "challenging" kids evenly.
That said, my child is in one of the difficult classes and comes home daily telling us about the chaos. But still he/she is learning. Kids are FAR, FAR more resilient than we give them credit more.
They don't need the perfect environment or much teacher time to learn. Most can learn despite chaos around them.

Anonymous wrote:I know a number of families who have kids at Janney now who are going to attempt to lottery into Mann or Hearst for grades 3, 4, or 5.

If you give it a chance, you will be very impressed with Hearst. No school is perfect, but class sizes of 20-22 kids at Hearst is unbelievable for this region. Brand new facilities, access to Sidwell and DCPR facilities. Tremendous aftercare program. Path to Deal. There is a lot to like.

My DC is in one of the maligned 3rd grade classes. She is doing fine and having a great year. Personal attention is overrated for most kids.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know a number of families who have kids at Janney now who are going to attempt to lottery into Mann or Hearst for grades 3, 4, or 5.

So the very people who malign Hearst and it's OOB population will now be applying to attend there as OOB? That's rich.

Janney boundaries should be redrawn.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know a number of families who have kids at Janney now who are going to attempt to lottery into Mann or Hearst for grades 3, 4, or 5.

So the very people who malign Hearst and it's OOB population will now be applying to attend there as OOB? That's rich.

Janney has 700 kids and is a hardly monolithic community. A few vocal families don't represent the whole school.

Anonymous wrote:I know a number of families who have kids at Janney now who are going to attempt to lottery into Mann or Hearst for grades 3, 4, or 5.

So the very people who malign Hearst and it's OOB population will now be applying to attend there as OOB? That's rich.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live IB and thinking of switching from where we are to our IB school. Now that she has been there a few months are there any changes that you see?

+1. We are, too. I'd also like to hear about any future plans for managing class sizes. The giant 3rd grade class doesn't sound like a good solution to me.

The rumor is that 3, 4, 5 will be large (30+) going forward, except with one teacher in grades 4 and 5 (and 2 in grade 3). There really isn't any other solution. There are too many kids, the city won't redistrict them, the school is out of rooms and they aren't allowed to put trailers outside.

FWIW that's the same size as non-Title 1 schools in Mont Co for 1st - 5th, all with one teacher.

Not always. I'm in MoCo with a child in one of those grades and my kid's class has 19 kids. Some of the others have 17 or 18. Having been in DCPS for a long time, I am thankful for having made the decision to move, because it's clear that the good MCPS schools easily compare to the great DCPS schools. I don't say this to bash, but for a helpful comparison for those wondering. We always wondered.

NP here, I'm always seeing complaints about class sizes in Moco. So its not true?

Must vary by school. My friend's 1st grader has 29 students in her class, with one teacher. And the rest of the elementary is in the same boat.

Another family IB for Janney. Our child needs smaller classes so we drive right by Janney on our way to a charter school. Wish they could get class size under control.

I know a number of families who have kids at Janney now who are going to attempt to lottery into Mann or Hearst for grades 3, 4, or 5.