Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is “W schools” offensive?

Some people are angry that there are schools set aside exclusively for wealthy white people.

Eh. The whitest/wealthiest, W-iest high school in MCPS (Walt Whitman) is 31% not-white. You can make your point while sticking to the facts.

Huh? I didn't realize minorities weren't allowed entry into the W schools. Is this 1965?

De jure segregation in MCPS ended in 1961, actually.

De facto segregation? Well, here we still are.

Indeed. Although what really needs to change is housing policy. We need to eliminate the option for developers to buy their way out of complying with low-income housing mandates. We also need to improve public transportation in certain areas of the County to entice a broader range of residents. I do agree that, whenever possible, kids should attend their closest school. But I would LOVE to see some action taken to improve housing and transportation, as I believe that would have a much more meaningful impact on diversity.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is “W schools” offensive?

Some people are angry that there are schools set aside exclusively for wealthy white people.

Eh. The whitest/wealthiest, W-iest high school in MCPS (Walt Whitman) is 31% not-white. You can make your point while sticking to the facts.

Huh? I didn't realize minorities weren't allowed entry into the W schools. Is this 1965?

De jure segregation in MCPS ended in 1961, actually.

De facto segregation? Well, here we still are.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is “W schools” offensive?

Some people are angry that there are schools set aside exclusively for wealthy white people.

Eh. The whitest/wealthiest, W-iest high school in MCPS (Walt Whitman) is 31% not-white. You can make your point while sticking to the facts.

Huh? I didn't realize minorities weren't allowed entry into the W schools. Is this 1965?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is “W schools” offensive?

Some people are angry that there are schools set aside exclusively for wealthy white people.

Eh. The whitest/wealthiest, W-iest high school in MCPS (Walt Whitman) is 31% not-white. You can make your point while sticking to the facts.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is “W schools” offensive?

Some people are angry that there are schools set aside exclusively for wealthy white people.

The segregated schools also routinely have racially insensitive episodes ranging from nazi symbols to kids in blackface. A lot of that would go away if there were greater diversity.

Anonymous wrote:Why is “W schools” offensive?

Some people are angry that there are schools set aside exclusively for wealthy white people.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah no it is weird that voters from across the county vote for every BOE district. That being said, the whole "I'm from Bethesda, everybody hates me, I'm such a victim" thing is hilarious.

Signed,
A pro-boundary study resident of Silver Spring who grew up in Bethesda and went to Whitman.

Who cares where you're from. I live in Gaithersburg in a low rated school and I'm also a proponent of the boundary study as long is it is done in a reasonable and transparent way. Even I can objectively say that there's a lot of hatred towards the W schools. Look through these threads as evidence of that. If you listen in on the Board of Ed meetings you can hear the disdain of some of the board members against the Ws but yet no one likes to admit that one of the primary reasons that MCPS is holding on to what's left of its reputation is because of the Ws. Do I think something has to be done to even out the disparities in SES in the schools? Yes, I do. Do I blame the parents who choose to attend high performing schools? No. I would do the same. That's on MCPS to ensure that all schools have the resources it needs to elevate and challenge its students; and the strategy will vary based on the school and its population. All MCPS likes to do is move kids around but that's not enough.

I've been watching the board meetings for years and don't know what you're referring to. Do you have some specific examples?

Me too and have no idea what this poster is referring to. Would love some examples. I actually see the opposite. W schools and representatives from their clusters are often loud and domineering at meetings and are given deference by the board. Went to a meeting regarding school improvements and they were downright obnoxious and disruptive - nothing said. Meanwhile, our small group from a DCC school was shushed, when some of the kids in our group started chatting. The board knew who we were; the board knew who the W school representatives were. Guess who got the red carpet?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seriously? Have you ever been to a boe meeting? Or on this forum? People refer to the Ws with complete disdain, and seem to believe it is ok to criticize them with immunity. Every once in a while someone here points out how offensive it is (even the term), but that poster will be ignored.

I believe it was Judi Docca who most recently mentioned the Ws at the table (as in those students need to move), but Karla Silvestri has done it (as in those are the families contacting us) as have most of the others.

That's odd, because people on DCUM who are at "W" schools (or say they are) refer to "W" schools all the time. Maybe people who do that, should lead the way by not doing that.

Also, it's Judy Docca and Karla Silvestre.

+1 People lead off the most unrelated questions on DCUM with "W school" or worse "W feeder."

For what it's worth, I have not seen disdain toward "W schools" among board members. What I have seen is frustration with the parents who self-identify that way, and then use that identity as a cudgeol to demand special treatment because they pay more property taxes (but not a higher rate).

Anonymous wrote:Why is “W schools” offensive?

Option 1: because the W stands for Wealthy and White (and Western)
Option 2: because Churchill starts with a C, Johnson starts with a J, and B-CC stands for Bethesda-Chevy Chase, which doesn't have any ws in it.

Anonymous wrote:Seriously? Have you ever been to a boe meeting? Or on this forum? People refer to the Ws with complete disdain, and seem to believe it is ok to criticize them with immunity. Every once in a while someone here points out how offensive it is (even the term), but that poster will be ignored.

I believe it was Judi Docca who most recently mentioned the Ws at the table (as in those students need to move), but Karla Silvestri has done it (as in those are the families contacting us) as have most of the others.

That's odd, because people on DCUM who are at "W" schools (or say they are) refer to "W" schools all the time. Maybe people who do that, should lead the way by not doing that.

Also, it's Judy Docca and Karla Silvestre.

Why is “W schools” offensive?

Seriously? Have you ever been to a boe meeting? Or on this forum? People refer to the Ws with complete disdain, and seem to believe it is ok to criticize them with immunity. Every once in a while someone here points out how offensive it is (even the term), but that poster will be ignored.

I believe it was Judi Docca who most recently mentioned the Ws at the table (as in those students need to move), but Karla Silvestri has done it (as in those are the families contacting us) as have most of the others.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah no it is weird that voters from across the county vote for every BOE district. That being said, the whole "I'm from Bethesda, everybody hates me, I'm such a victim" thing is hilarious.

Signed,
A pro-boundary study resident of Silver Spring who grew up in Bethesda and went to Whitman.

Who cares where you're from. I live in Gaithersburg in a low rated school and I'm also a proponent of the boundary study as long is it is done in a reasonable and transparent way. Even I can objectively say that there's a lot of hatred towards the W schools. Look through these threads as evidence of that. If you listen in on the Board of Ed meetings you can hear the disdain of some of the board members against the Ws but yet no one likes to admit that one of the primary reasons that MCPS is holding on to what's left of its reputation is because of the Ws. Do I think something has to be done to even out the disparities in SES in the schools? Yes, I do. Do I blame the parents who choose to attend high performing schools? No. I would do the same. That's on MCPS to ensure that all schools have the resources it needs to elevate and challenge its students; and the strategy will vary based on the school and its population. All MCPS likes to do is move kids around but that's not enough.

I've been watching the board meetings for years and don't know what you're referring to. Do you have some specific examples?

I'm going to take a wild guess that PP is referring to school board members referring to the term "W schools" in a negative light, not realizing that they are criticizing the term, not the schools. It's a pretty terrible term.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah no it is weird that voters from across the county vote for every BOE district. That being said, the whole "I'm from Bethesda, everybody hates me, I'm such a victim" thing is hilarious.

Signed,
A pro-boundary study resident of Silver Spring who grew up in Bethesda and went to Whitman.

Who cares where you're from. I live in Gaithersburg in a low rated school and I'm also a proponent of the boundary study as long is it is done in a reasonable and transparent way. Even I can objectively say that there's a lot of hatred towards the W schools. Look through these threads as evidence of that. If you listen in on the Board of Ed meetings you can hear the disdain of some of the board members against the Ws but yet no one likes to admit that one of the primary reasons that MCPS is holding on to what's left of its reputation is because of the Ws. Do I think something has to be done to even out the disparities in SES in the schools? Yes, I do. Do I blame the parents who choose to attend high performing schools? No. I would do the same. That's on MCPS to ensure that all schools have the resources it needs to elevate and challenge its students; and the strategy will vary based on the school and its population. All MCPS likes to do is move kids around but that's not enough.

I've been watching the board meetings for years and don't know what you're referring to. Do you have some specific examples?

Anonymous wrote:Yeah no it is weird that voters from across the county vote for every BOE district. That being said, the whole "I'm from Bethesda, everybody hates me, I'm such a victim" thing is hilarious.

Signed,
A pro-boundary study resident of Silver Spring who grew up in Bethesda and went to Whitman.

Who cares where you're from. I live in Gaithersburg in a low rated school and I'm also a proponent of the boundary study as long is it is done in a reasonable and transparent way. Even I can objectively say that there's a lot of hatred towards the W schools. Look through these threads as evidence of that. If you listen in on the Board of Ed meetings you can hear the disdain of some of the board members against the Ws but yet no one likes to admit that one of the primary reasons that MCPS is holding on to what's left of its reputation is because of the Ws. Do I think something has to be done to even out the disparities in SES in the schools? Yes, I do. Do I blame the parents who choose to attend high performing schools? No. I would do the same. That's on MCPS to ensure that all schools have the resources it needs to elevate and challenge its students; and the strategy will vary based on the school and its population. All MCPS likes to do is move kids around but that's not enough.