Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Exhibit A reading thru todays post.

Definite defensiveness from people with anyone asking about grade level or accelerated classes. Not a good sign. The people repeatedly telling posters to ask the school ad nauseum is also not a good sign.

The poster who says they can’t believe everything DCPS admin tells you is correct. Go to an open house and ask about accelerated classes, honors classes and many times you get vague answers, not straightforward. Ask about what is the criteria for these classes and again vague, non-descript answers.

The one thing is clear is that there is no accelerated math class from the sole person on here with kid there says his kid is in the accelerated math class and will be taking Algebra in 8th grade. In fact, DCPS is notorious, as someone mentioned, of pushing kids into Algebra who are not even on grade level or ready for it which is true. So I am not confident that it’s even taught on grade level.

Any class can be labeled whatever you want. Accelerated does not always mean accelerated and that is a big fact in DCPS.

OK I'm the parent with a kid in the 7th grade 'accelerated' math class. I can't tell you a ton about it. It's not Algebra. My kid likes the math teacher a lot and has anecdotes to share about him and class that make it sound positive. The kid gets good grades in math. I mean . . . I expect they cover the DCPS curriculum.

So this isn't trying to be defensive - a discriminating parent would want to know if they really do more than just normal 7th grade math maybe? I don't go into my kid's class or ask other students how they are doing in class, so I lack direct input from the teacher or longitudinal information regarding other students, i.e., I only hear from my own kid. I expect that's normal and would be impressed by people who know more . . . I guess you can look at public test information, and that probably shows many students not succeeding, which is not a positive for any parent, right, and many here believe that there is some kind of spiral toward success if kids are surrounded by kids succeeding at a peer level on testing. Ahead of PARCC my kid told me that some peers said they don't care about PARCC because it doesn't really count for anything, and you can take that as dispiriting or a clear-eyed understanding of priorities, cf. posts on this forum.

So - I don't meant to be overly defensive, but it's hard to be that omniscient informer when you mostly hear about what's going on at school from a remove, based on anecdotes shared by a teenager.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Exhibit A reading thru todays post.

Definite defensiveness from people with anyone asking about grade level or accelerated classes. Not a good sign. The people repeatedly telling posters to ask the school ad nauseum is also not a good sign.

The poster who says they can’t believe everything DCPS admin tells you is correct. Go to an open house and ask about accelerated classes, honors classes and many times you get vague answers, not straightforward. Ask about what is the criteria for these classes and again vague, non-descript answers.

The one thing is clear is that there is no accelerated math class from the sole person on here with kid there says his kid is in the accelerated math class and will be taking Algebra in 8th grade. In fact, DCPS is notorious, as someone mentioned, of pushing kids into Algebra who are not even on grade level or ready for it which is true. So I am not confident that it’s even taught on grade level.

Any class can be labeled whatever you want. Accelerated does not always mean accelerated and that is a big fact in DCPS.

OK I'm the parent with a kid in the 7th grade 'accelerated' math class. I can't tell you a ton about it. It's not Algebra. My kid likes the math teacher a lot and has anecdotes to share about him and class that make it sound positive. The kid gets good grades in math. I mean . . . I expect they cover the DCPS curriculum.

So this isn't trying to be defensive - a discriminating parent would want to know if they really do more than just normal 7th grade math maybe? I don't go into my kid's class or ask other students how they are doing in class, so I lack direct input from the teacher or longitudinal information regarding other students, i.e., I only hear from my own kid. I expect that's normal and would be impressed by people who know more . . . I guess you can look at public test information, and that probably shows many students not succeeding, which is not a positive for any parent, right, and many here believe that there is some kind of spiral toward success if kids are surrounded by kids succeeding at a peer level on testing. Ahead of PARCC my kid told me that some peers said they don't care about PARCC because it doesn't really count for anything, and you can take that as dispiriting or a clear-eyed understanding of priorities, cf. posts on this forum.

So - I don't meant to be overly defensive, but it's hard to be that omniscient informer when you mostly hear about what's going on at school from a remove, based on anecdotes shared by a teenager.

Anonymous wrote:
Exhibit A reading thru todays post.

Definite defensiveness from people with anyone asking about grade level or accelerated classes. Not a good sign. The people repeatedly telling posters to ask the school ad nauseum is also not a good sign.

The poster who says they can’t believe everything DCPS admin tells you is correct. Go to an open house and ask about accelerated classes, honors classes and many times you get vague answers, not straightforward. Ask about what is the criteria for these classes and again vague, non-descript answers.

The one thing is clear is that there is no accelerated math class from the sole person on here with kid there says his kid is in the accelerated math class and will be taking Algebra in 8th grade. In fact, DCPS is notorious, as someone mentioned, of pushing kids into Algebra who are not even on grade level or ready for it which is true. So I am not confident that it’s even taught on grade level.

Any class can be labeled whatever you want. Accelerated does not always mean accelerated and that is a big fact in DCPS.

Anonymous wrote:
Exhibit A reading thru todays post.

Definite defensiveness from people with anyone asking about grade level or accelerated classes. Not a good sign. The people repeatedly telling posters to ask the school ad nauseum is also not a good sign.

The poster who says they can’t believe everything DCPS admin tells you is correct. Go to an open house and ask about accelerated classes, honors classes and many times you get vague answers, not straightforward. Ask about what is the criteria for these classes and again vague, non-descript answers.

The one thing is clear is that there is no accelerated math class from the sole person on here with kid there says his kid is in the accelerated math class and will be taking Algebra in 8th grade. In fact, DCPS is notorious, as someone mentioned, of pushing kids into Algebra who are not even on grade level or ready for it which is true. So I am not confident that it’s even taught on grade level.

Any class can be labeled whatever you want. Accelerated does not always mean accelerated and that is a big fact in DCPS.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are people on here so invested in tearing down a public school they know nothing about. I’m very confused.

My kid’s Spanish is improving by leaps and bounds at MacFarland which is our #1 goal. Kid is in accelerated classes and loves their teachers.

And we’re thinking McKinley for HS but I do love your broad speculation.

What are the accelerated classes at Macfarland? It’s not tearing the school down to want to ensure your kid gets appropriate instruction.

+1. The facts are the facts with the poor PARCC scores that is a valid concern. I would not call that tearing the school down. But to say that a school offers accelerated classes when kids can’t even work on grade level is misleading. Posters are rightly questioning that.

It’s pretty obvious to me that there are lots of families posting here with kids in DCPS bilingual schools that feed to McFarland and are pretty defensive and angry about any negative comments at all. I would argue you should also be questioning the above if you are considering McFarland.

Asking hard questions and for accountability is not tearing a school down.

Agree. But I’ll add - I am actually not even expecting accelerated classes. I really just want to know if they group the grade level kids together. The stats show they have about 40 grade level/near grade level kids in each year.

Guess who would be well equipped to answer these questions?

Guess who is desperately trying to silence discussion?

'Silencing' is so funny. What would you do if you or your child used reddit to write their research papers or to source information at work? It's not the best source, especially when its so easy to just dial a phone number.

Here is the number: (202) 671-6033
Their principal is Lucas Cooke. lucas.cooke@k12.dc.gov

Do you know basic logic? The fact that I am seeking information from one source does not mean I will never seek information from another source. And of course, sometimes anonymous sources have better information. Your clear goal here is to stop this discussion. Why?

If I wanted to know how grade level students at a school were grouped together, which is a fair and objective question, I would ask someone at the school who handles rostering, go to an open house or talk in person to people who are familiar with the school. I don't think that anyone could argue that an anonymous person online is a better source of information on a question like that.

Do you think the school would tell the truth, or do you think it would be an acronym-riddled salad of gobbledygook with a side of "equity" scolding that doesn't provide the information the parent actually wants? I know what I would expect.

I think they'd tell the truth. But I think its funny how little you think of DCPS yet still find the need to post on the board so much.

Is this board only for people who think highly of DCPS? To me, since I don't believe anything DCPS says, this board is highly valuable as a somewhat credible source of information. Some of it is wrong, but some of it is true and some of it is things DCPS is unwilling to say.

DP. If you don’t believe anything DCPS says, then why are you contemplating putting your kid in a school run by DCPS?

Relatedly, what is it about McFarland in particular that makes you so interested in it? If you are asking questions out of a sincere desire to learn more, then there must be something about McFarland that you like. Otherwise, it presumably wouldn’t even be on your radar. So what do you see as the positives of the school, if any?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Idk, this is a great case study in how schools stay segregated. Posters are actively trying to convince someone who they've never met and know nothing about to not attend a school.

Oh please. DCPS MS and HS stay segregated specifically because parents who ask for reasonable things (like appropriate curriculum and challenge, and basic safety) are called “Karens” and “Nice White Parents.” (Let’s leave aside for the moment that POC parents with resources generally don’t even entertain the idea of the poorly performing schools.) Look at schools like Hardy and Deal, where the IB parents bought in because school leadership acknowledged their kids needs and showed they were willing to meet them. That’s how you get white parents to attend. (Meanwhile most wealthy/educated POC depart for privates or the burbs, but I digress.)

So what specifically does Hardy offer that other DCPS middle schools don’t?

Classes with the majority of kids at or above grade level, which means teachers can teach accordingly. Much smaller proportion of kids completely failing, meaning resources can be distributed more evenly. I believe they also offer geometry.

That’s circular logic. The post above suggested that Hardy did something to attract IB parents to the school in the first place. What exactly did it do that other schools are not doing?

It's absolutely circular: That's why you hear about tipping points, where there are enough kids from UMC families to provide a peer group of academically on-grade students. Part of it is a coordination issue, which schools can't affect. But there are often a few inbound/UMC students who schools can retain by 1) actively recruiting, and 2) having a school culture that encourages behavior. We moved back and forth between a couple of EOTP schools. We left one (more than 10 years ago) when the principal said explicitly to a group of pre-K parents who were deciding whether to stay, "Your kids are not my priority. There are other kids with much great needs." Which is absolutely true. We moved to another, which had behavioral problems AND a principal who said almost exactly the same thing (in an all-school meeting) about prioritizing kids who were struggling academically. We moved back to school 1, which had much fewer behavioral problems and therefore had attracted a lot more inbounds, UMC (and yes, predominantly white) families. Our kids were happier with less chair throwing in the classroom. School 1 is now predominantly UMC and inbounds; school 2 is still struggling.

Sorry, forgot to mention a critical fact: School 1 had gone through several new principals, who didn't think it was necessary to neglect kids who were on grade level to help those who weren't.

Generally, I think my kid who is on/above grade level at MacFarland is not neglected. They are especially above grade level in one particular subject and that teacher has reached out to our family multiple times to discuss ways to give them additional academic support. Not every teacher is good at this, but my student has gotten enough unique attention that I am fairly confident that my kid is able to access appropriate grade level content (and sometimes beyond) even while many of their classmates are below grade level. I don't know for certain, but I think this is similar to the majority of public DC middle schools that do not track students in most classes - and even when they are tracked like in "advanced math" many of the students are not able to access the content. I agree with other posters that it's not a great a system and there are very likely other things DCPS could be doing in middle school to improve academic access for many of their students. But that said, for my kid that is on or above grade level, the fact that many of their classmates are not performing on grade level has not prevented my kid from seeing grade-level content. I think DCPS should be investing in ways to help the majority of their middle grade students who are not currently on grade level - which would very likely involve schools having a lot more staff than they currently do - but our Mayor would have to want to pay for that and she does not.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Idk, this is a great case study in how schools stay segregated. Posters are actively trying to convince someone who they've never met and know nothing about to not attend a school.

Oh please. DCPS MS and HS stay segregated specifically because parents who ask for reasonable things (like appropriate curriculum and challenge, and basic safety) are called “Karens” and “Nice White Parents.” (Let’s leave aside for the moment that POC parents with resources generally don’t even entertain the idea of the poorly performing schools.) Look at schools like Hardy and Deal, where the IB parents bought in because school leadership acknowledged their kids needs and showed they were willing to meet them. That’s how you get white parents to attend. (Meanwhile most wealthy/educated POC depart for privates or the burbs, but I digress.)

So what specifically does Hardy offer that other DCPS middle schools don’t?

Classes with the majority of kids at or above grade level, which means teachers can teach accordingly. Much smaller proportion of kids completely failing, meaning resources can be distributed more evenly. I believe they also offer geometry.

That’s circular logic. The post above suggested that Hardy did something to attract IB parents to the school in the first place. What exactly did it do that other schools are not doing?

It's absolutely circular: That's why you hear about tipping points, where there are enough kids from UMC families to provide a peer group of academically on-grade students. Part of it is a coordination issue, which schools can't affect. But there are often a few inbound/UMC students who schools can retain by 1) actively recruiting, and 2) having a school culture that encourages behavior. We moved back and forth between a couple of EOTP schools. We left one (more than 10 years ago) when the principal said explicitly to a group of pre-K parents who were deciding whether to stay, "Your kids are not my priority. There are other kids with much great needs." Which is absolutely true. We moved to another, which had behavioral problems AND a principal who said almost exactly the same thing (in an all-school meeting) about prioritizing kids who were struggling academically. We moved back to school 1, which had much fewer behavioral problems and therefore had attracted a lot more inbounds, UMC (and yes, predominantly white) families. Our kids were happier with less chair throwing in the classroom. School 1 is now predominantly UMC and inbounds; school 2 is still struggling.

Sorry, forgot to mention a critical fact: School 1 had gone through several new principals, who didn't think it was necessary to neglect kids who were on grade level to help those who weren't.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are people on here so invested in tearing down a public school they know nothing about. I’m very confused.

My kid’s Spanish is improving by leaps and bounds at MacFarland which is our #1 goal. Kid is in accelerated classes and loves their teachers.

And we’re thinking McKinley for HS but I do love your broad speculation.

What are the accelerated classes at Macfarland? It’s not tearing the school down to want to ensure your kid gets appropriate instruction.

+1. The facts are the facts with the poor PARCC scores that is a valid concern. I would not call that tearing the school down. But to say that a school offers accelerated classes when kids can’t even work on grade level is misleading. Posters are rightly questioning that.

It’s pretty obvious to me that there are lots of families posting here with kids in DCPS bilingual schools that feed to McFarland and are pretty defensive and angry about any negative comments at all. I would argue you should also be questioning the above if you are considering McFarland.

Asking hard questions and for accountability is not tearing a school down.

Agree. But I’ll add - I am actually not even expecting accelerated classes. I really just want to know if they group the grade level kids together. The stats show they have about 40 grade level/near grade level kids in each year.

Guess who would be well equipped to answer these questions?

Guess who is desperately trying to silence discussion?

'Silencing' is so funny. What would you do if you or your child used reddit to write their research papers or to source information at work? It's not the best source, especially when its so easy to just dial a phone number.

Here is the number: (202) 671-6033
Their principal is Lucas Cooke. lucas.cooke@k12.dc.gov

Do you know basic logic? The fact that I am seeking information from one source does not mean I will never seek information from another source. And of course, sometimes anonymous sources have better information. Your clear goal here is to stop this discussion. Why?

If I wanted to know how grade level students at a school were grouped together, which is a fair and objective question, I would ask someone at the school who handles rostering, go to an open house or talk in person to people who are familiar with the school. I don't think that anyone could argue that an anonymous person online is a better source of information on a question like that.

Do you think the school would tell the truth, or do you think it would be an acronym-riddled salad of gobbledygook with a side of "equity" scolding that doesn't provide the information the parent actually wants? I know what I would expect.

I think they'd tell the truth. But I think its funny how little you think of DCPS yet still find the need to post on the board so much.

Is this board only for people who think highly of DCPS? To me, since I don't believe anything DCPS says, this board is highly valuable as a somewhat credible source of information. Some of it is wrong, but some of it is true and some of it is things DCPS is unwilling to say.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Idk, this is a great case study in how schools stay segregated. Posters are actively trying to convince someone who they've never met and know nothing about to not attend a school.

Oh please. DCPS MS and HS stay segregated specifically because parents who ask for reasonable things (like appropriate curriculum and challenge, and basic safety) are called “Karens” and “Nice White Parents.” (Let’s leave aside for the moment that POC parents with resources generally don’t even entertain the idea of the poorly performing schools.) Look at schools like Hardy and Deal, where the IB parents bought in because school leadership acknowledged their kids needs and showed they were willing to meet them. That’s how you get white parents to attend. (Meanwhile most wealthy/educated POC depart for privates or the burbs, but I digress.)

So what specifically does Hardy offer that other DCPS middle schools don’t?

Classes with the majority of kids at or above grade level, which means teachers can teach accordingly. Much smaller proportion of kids completely failing, meaning resources can be distributed more evenly. I believe they also offer geometry.

That’s circular logic. The post above suggested that Hardy did something to attract IB parents to the school in the first place. What exactly did it do that other schools are not doing?

It's absolutely circular: That's why you hear about tipping points, where there are enough kids from UMC families to provide a peer group of academically on-grade students. Part of it is a coordination issue, which schools can't affect. But there are often a few inbound/UMC students who schools can retain by 1) actively recruiting, and 2) having a school culture that encourages behavior. We moved back and forth between a couple of EOTP schools. We left one (more than 10 years ago) when the principal said explicitly to a group of pre-K parents who were deciding whether to stay, "Your kids are not my priority. There are other kids with much great needs." Which is absolutely true. We moved to another, which had behavioral problems AND a principal who said almost exactly the same thing (in an all-school meeting) about prioritizing kids who were struggling academically. We moved back to school 1, which had much fewer behavioral problems and therefore had attracted a lot more inbounds, UMC (and yes, predominantly white) families. Our kids were happier with less chair throwing in the classroom. School 1 is now predominantly UMC and inbounds; school 2 is still struggling.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Idk, this is a great case study in how schools stay segregated. Posters are actively trying to convince someone who they've never met and know nothing about to not attend a school.

Oh please. DCPS MS and HS stay segregated specifically because parents who ask for reasonable things (like appropriate curriculum and challenge, and basic safety) are called “Karens” and “Nice White Parents.” (Let’s leave aside for the moment that POC parents with resources generally don’t even entertain the idea of the poorly performing schools.) Look at schools like Hardy and Deal, where the IB parents bought in because school leadership acknowledged their kids needs and showed they were willing to meet them. That’s how you get white parents to attend. (Meanwhile most wealthy/educated POC depart for privates or the burbs, but I digress.)

So what specifically does Hardy offer that other DCPS middle schools don’t?

Classes with the majority of kids at or above grade level, which means teachers can teach accordingly. Much smaller proportion of kids completely failing, meaning resources can be distributed more evenly. I believe they also offer geometry.

That’s circular logic. The post above suggested that Hardy did something to attract IB parents to the school in the first place. What exactly did it do that other schools are not doing?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are people on here so invested in tearing down a public school they know nothing about. I’m very confused.

My kid’s Spanish is improving by leaps and bounds at MacFarland which is our #1 goal. Kid is in accelerated classes and loves their teachers.

And we’re thinking McKinley for HS but I do love your broad speculation.

What are the accelerated classes at Macfarland? It’s not tearing the school down to want to ensure your kid gets appropriate instruction.

+1. The facts are the facts with the poor PARCC scores that is a valid concern. I would not call that tearing the school down. But to say that a school offers accelerated classes when kids can’t even work on grade level is misleading. Posters are rightly questioning that.

It’s pretty obvious to me that there are lots of families posting here with kids in DCPS bilingual schools that feed to McFarland and are pretty defensive and angry about any negative comments at all. I would argue you should also be questioning the above if you are considering McFarland.

Asking hard questions and for accountability is not tearing a school down.

Agree. But I’ll add - I am actually not even expecting accelerated classes. I really just want to know if they group the grade level kids together. The stats show they have about 40 grade level/near grade level kids in each year.

Guess who would be well equipped to answer these questions?

Guess who is desperately trying to silence discussion?

'Silencing' is so funny. What would you do if you or your child used reddit to write their research papers or to source information at work? It's not the best source, especially when its so easy to just dial a phone number.

Here is the number: (202) 671-6033
Their principal is Lucas Cooke. lucas.cooke@k12.dc.gov

Do you know basic logic? The fact that I am seeking information from one source does not mean I will never seek information from another source. And of course, sometimes anonymous sources have better information. Your clear goal here is to stop this discussion. Why?

If I wanted to know how grade level students at a school were grouped together, which is a fair and objective question, I would ask someone at the school who handles rostering, go to an open house or talk in person to people who are familiar with the school. I don't think that anyone could argue that an anonymous person online is a better source of information on a question like that.

Do you think the school would tell the truth, or do you think it would be an acronym-riddled salad of gobbledygook with a side of "equity" scolding that doesn't provide the information the parent actually wants? I know what I would expect.

I think they'd tell the truth. But I think its funny how little you think of DCPS yet still find the need to post on the board so much.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are people on here so invested in tearing down a public school they know nothing about. I’m very confused.

My kid’s Spanish is improving by leaps and bounds at MacFarland which is our #1 goal. Kid is in accelerated classes and loves their teachers.

And we’re thinking McKinley for HS but I do love your broad speculation.

What are the accelerated classes at Macfarland? It’s not tearing the school down to want to ensure your kid gets appropriate instruction.

+1. The facts are the facts with the poor PARCC scores that is a valid concern. I would not call that tearing the school down. But to say that a school offers accelerated classes when kids can’t even work on grade level is misleading. Posters are rightly questioning that.

It’s pretty obvious to me that there are lots of families posting here with kids in DCPS bilingual schools that feed to McFarland and are pretty defensive and angry about any negative comments at all. I would argue you should also be questioning the above if you are considering McFarland.

Asking hard questions and for accountability is not tearing a school down.

Agree. But I’ll add - I am actually not even expecting accelerated classes. I really just want to know if they group the grade level kids together. The stats show they have about 40 grade level/near grade level kids in each year.

Guess who would be well equipped to answer these questions?

Guess who is desperately trying to silence discussion?

'Silencing' is so funny. What would you do if you or your child used reddit to write their research papers or to source information at work? It's not the best source, especially when its so easy to just dial a phone number.

Here is the number: (202) 671-6033
Their principal is Lucas Cooke. lucas.cooke@k12.dc.gov

Do you know basic logic? The fact that I am seeking information from one source does not mean I will never seek information from another source. And of course, sometimes anonymous sources have better information. Your clear goal here is to stop this discussion. Why?

If I wanted to know how grade level students at a school were grouped together, which is a fair and objective question, I would ask someone at the school who handles rostering, go to an open house or talk in person to people who are familiar with the school. I don't think that anyone could argue that an anonymous person online is a better source of information on a question like that.

Do you think the school would tell the truth, or do you think it would be an acronym-riddled salad of gobbledygook with a side of "equity" scolding that doesn't provide the information the parent actually wants? I know what I would expect.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are people on here so invested in tearing down a public school they know nothing about. I’m very confused.

My kid’s Spanish is improving by leaps and bounds at MacFarland which is our #1 goal. Kid is in accelerated classes and loves their teachers.

And we’re thinking McKinley for HS but I do love your broad speculation.

What are the accelerated classes at Macfarland? It’s not tearing the school down to want to ensure your kid gets appropriate instruction.

+1. The facts are the facts with the poor PARCC scores that is a valid concern. I would not call that tearing the school down. But to say that a school offers accelerated classes when kids can’t even work on grade level is misleading. Posters are rightly questioning that.

It’s pretty obvious to me that there are lots of families posting here with kids in DCPS bilingual schools that feed to McFarland and are pretty defensive and angry about any negative comments at all. I would argue you should also be questioning the above if you are considering McFarland.

Asking hard questions and for accountability is not tearing a school down.

Agree. But I’ll add - I am actually not even expecting accelerated classes. I really just want to know if they group the grade level kids together. The stats show they have about 40 grade level/near grade level kids in each year.

Guess who would be well equipped to answer these questions?

Guess who is desperately trying to silence discussion?

'Silencing' is so funny. What would you do if you or your child used reddit to write their research papers or to source information at work? It's not the best source, especially when its so easy to just dial a phone number.

Here is the number: (202) 671-6033
Their principal is Lucas Cooke. lucas.cooke@k12.dc.gov

Do you know basic logic? The fact that I am seeking information from one source does not mean I will never seek information from another source. And of course, sometimes anonymous sources have better information. Your clear goal here is to stop this discussion. Why?

If I wanted to know how grade level students at a school were grouped together, which is a fair and objective question, I would ask someone at the school who handles rostering, go to an open house or talk in person to people who are familiar with the school. I don't think that anyone could argue that an anonymous person online is a better source of information on a question like that.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unfortunately we cannot rely on DCPS staff to tell us accurate or truthful information.

Lol if thats how you feel, then you are definitely not interested in this school and are just here to sow dissension

If MacFarland is only for people who have 100% confidence in the accuracy and truthfulness of DCPS staff, then it's going to be a very small school.

If you have confidence in MacFarland then you should be fine with a trust yet verify approach, because we'll find out that everything is true, right?

Absolutely. I have to ask though, how are you verifying anything taking the word of anonymous people online? I could be posting this from inside MacFarland or from the other side of the Atlantic.