Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I still don't get why anyone thought it was a good idea to locate an elementary school alongside a high school in the same building. Seems like a recipe for trouble, and the knife and possible gun incidents would seem to validate that. And WLA will double in size over the next two years. Are the additional building security measures intended to have more physical separation between the two schools?

Posts like this are so dumb, as if the Lee admins were sitting around rejecting other buildings because they were desperate to find one co-located with another school.

Riiiight, like "here's a beautiful convenient space located inside a large fortress with 2 acres of grassy fields that are constantly peppered by gleaming rays of light." And, "here's a nice, but modest space that we would share with a high school."

Lee admin says, "let's go with the last option. seems like a better set-up."

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I still don't get why anyone thought it was a good idea to locate an elementary school alongside a high school in the same building. Seems like a recipe for trouble, and the knife and possible gun incidents would seem to validate that. And WLA will double in size over the next two years. Are the additional building security measures intended to have more physical separation between the two schools?

Posts like this are so dumb, as if the Lee admins were sitting around rejecting other buildings because they were desperate to find one co-located with another school.

Riiiight, like "here's a beautiful convenient space located inside a large fortress with 2 acres of grassy fields that are constantly peppered by gleaming rays of light." And, "here's a nice, but modest space that we would share with a high school."

Lee admin says, "let's go with the last option. seems like a better set-up."

Anonymous wrote:I still don't get why anyone thought it was a good idea to locate an elementary school alongside a high school in the same building. Seems like a recipe for trouble, and the knife and possible gun incidents would seem to validate that. And WLA will double in size over the next two years. Are the additional building security measures intended to have more physical separation between the two schools?

Posts like this are so dumb, as if the Lee admins were sitting around rejecting other buildings because they were desperate to find one co-located with another school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I still don't get why anyone thought it was a good idea to locate an elementary school alongside a high school in the same building. Seems like a recipe for trouble, and the knife and possible gun incidents would seem to validate that. And WLA will double in size over the next two years. Are the additional building security measures intended to have more physical separation between the two schools?

To answer your last question, my understanding is yes. They're working on more physical separation. And, having the high school next door is not ideal, but they couldn't afford the space without a partner. It's a start-up public school. You don't get a gorgeous building within walking distance of the metro without some trade offs. Determining what's important to you is a personal choice, but all the well-run charter schools are going to have pluses and minuses. Let's be fair.

When I was at a WLA open house, we passed through a stairwell where the two schools connect. It was clearly locked, and the WLA admin leading the tour said the locks and alarms were there because sometimes a 'little kid breaks loose' (said while chuckling) from Lee.

There have to be locks and alarms on the door. My son is curious and a runner. For sure, he would have been found deep in the WLA building many a'times if they didn't have a good system in place.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I still don't get why anyone thought it was a good idea to locate an elementary school alongside a high school in the same building. Seems like a recipe for trouble, and the knife and possible gun incidents would seem to validate that. And WLA will double in size over the next two years. Are the additional building security measures intended to have more physical separation between the two schools?

To answer your last question, my understanding is yes. They're working on more physical separation. And, having the high school next door is not ideal, but they couldn't afford the space without a partner. It's a start-up public school. You don't get a gorgeous building within walking distance of the metro without some trade offs. Determining what's important to you is a personal choice, but all the well-run charter schools are going to have pluses and minuses. Let's be fair.

When I was at a WLA open house, we passed through a stairwell where the two schools connect. It was clearly locked, and the WLA admin leading the tour said the locks and alarms were there because sometimes a 'little kid breaks loose' (said while chuckling) from Lee.

Anonymous wrote:I still don't get why anyone thought it was a good idea to locate an elementary school alongside a high school in the same building. Seems like a recipe for trouble, and the knife and possible gun incidents would seem to validate that. And WLA will double in size over the next two years. Are the additional building security measures intended to have more physical separation between the two schools?

To answer your last question, my understanding is yes. They're working on more physical separation. And, having the high school next door is not ideal, but they couldn't afford the space without a partner. It's a start-up public school. You don't get a gorgeous building within walking distance of the metro without some trade offs. Determining what's important to you is a personal choice, but all the well-run charter schools are going to have pluses and minuses. Let's be fair.

Anonymous wrote:I still don't get why anyone thought it was a good idea to locate an elementary school alongside a high school in the same building. Seems like a recipe for trouble, and the knife and possible gun incidents would seem to validate that. And WLA will double in size over the next two years. Are the additional building security measures intended to have more physical separation between the two schools?

Lee/WLA aren't the only charter with elementary and high school students in the same building.

Off the top of my head -- Cap City, LAMB / DCI (at Walter Reed), EL Haynes (Pk3-4 and high school share a building; middle school is in a separate space)

I still don't get why anyone thought it was a good idea to locate an elementary school alongside a high school in the same building. Seems like a recipe for trouble, and the knife and possible gun incidents would seem to validate that. And WLA will double in size over the next two years. Are the additional building security measures intended to have more physical separation between the two schools?

It's complicated, right? I think the school responded to the incident really well--from all appearances, they treated the report as credible despite it coming from a child (and we know that doesn't always happen), brought the kids inside immediately and called the police; police responded immediately, secured the area, and conducted an investigation. I think the timeliness of the communication to parents was good, but there were some issues with the initial communication that caused more confusion than necessary and apparently there was a (non-life-threatening) miscommunication within the school. BUT the school has identified those communication weaknesses and has stated that they are working on it. And as PP mentioned, spurred on by the incident, the school is taking steps to address other security issues that are unrelated in that any changes in those security measures would not have prevented this incident (to the extent there was an incident at all).

For those considering Lee, the school community provided a space to air fears and for dialogue. Not everything was handled with grace, but I know that there have been parents, admin, and others working since Friday to respond to questions about security, etc., so I am not sure you can ask for much more. Lee gets a bad rep for being "sensitive" or "proud", but it is a good community with people who care DEEPLY about their school and their community, which in the end is a good thing for a space for your child to grow socially, mentally, and emotionally.

Lee parent here, usual non-poster. For those of you pulling together your last-minute lottery lists and who want info on this incident so you can factor it into your rankings (which is 100% reasonable), I think the Admin handled this incident extremely well. I only speak for myself. But, they notified the parents of the incident almost within an hour, after the kids had been locked down of course. They were open and honest about the facts. They sent out a detailed follow-up report. They are patiently fielding 100s of questions from concerned parents. They're working with a building security consultant and reexamining their security protocols and procedures. This is the kind of response you would expect to see if a gun had actually been found on campus. To clarify the incident, here is the exact report language, "[the student] reported that one of the teenagers took what looked like a small gun out of their backpack and showed it to their peers."

Guns have become a politically charged subject over the last few weeks. I think it's possible that everyone is very paranoid about guns being in schools (which is also 100% reasonable), and I think it would have been easy to write this off as a politically aware kid with an "active imagination." Instead, the Admin is taking it very seriously. Personally, I felt reassured by their response, but I can only speak for myself.

I remember being consumed with lottery-anxiety last year. I hope this helps inform your decision making. Good luck!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lee parent here. No this is untrue. There was a concern that there might have been a gun at the HS next door but it turned out to be unfounded.

Didn’t Lee parents *just* get done freaking out about a knife at WG? But then it turned out to be a steak knife or something?

It WAS a knife and it was thrown out of a window by a WLA student who was trying to get rid of evidence. That window overlooked the primary playground and it hit a kindergartener, who very fortunately was not injured. That incident was much more worrying (and handled well IMO) than the report that some teens were looking at an item that looked like a gun to the child who reported it but was never seen or confirmed.

Anonymous wrote:Lee parent here. No this is untrue. There was a concern that there might have been a gun at the HS next door but it turned out to be unfounded.

Didn’t Lee parents *just* get done freaking out about a knife at WG? But then it turned out to be a steak knife or something?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think OP is trying to stir shit. It really only makes a difference to us Lee parents, and to the school administration whether the gun was found or credibly reported. To others it might just be semantics.

To call the concern unfounded, however, is intellectually dishonest, and so is the terse first PP.

I have no comments on how the administration is handling this.

Should one read between the lines here and assume the administration is not handling this well? In light of recent events and the looming lottery deadline, it makes sense that folks want to know the deal. Everything is not a personal attack on the school. I see Lee parents are still way too sensitive.

Sorry if my non-comment made you think I was holding back. I'm not. I don't know what we can reasonably expect of a school administration in a situation like that.

I like you. Refreshing to see people say things like this when we are all usually so quick to stake a position, yay or nay.

Thanks, I needed that. There was a gun at my kid's school on Friday, and I want to cry.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think OP is trying to stir shit. It really only makes a difference to us Lee parents, and to the school administration whether the gun was found or credibly reported. To others it might just be semantics.

To call the concern unfounded, however, is intellectually dishonest, and so is the terse first PP.

I have no comments on how the administration is handling this.

Should one read between the lines here and assume the administration is not handling this well? In light of recent events and the looming lottery deadline, it makes sense that folks want to know the deal. Everything is not a personal attack on the school. I see Lee parents are still way too sensitive.

Sorry if my non-comment made you think I was holding back. I'm not. I don't know what we can reasonably expect of a school administration in a situation like that.

I like you. Refreshing to see people say things like this when we are all usually so quick to stake a position, yay or nay.

The school administration responded well IMO for an unconfirmed report.