Anonymous wrote:Prediction: current SWS students will all bail if the school gets put at Amidon. That can't be a good plan.

With Principal Cobbs on board, most of the current SWS students would probably also bail if the school were put at LT, where there are only a handful of middle class families above K. IB families with kids in preschool and K like to say "Our Central Administration contacts tell us that Cobbs is definitely on her way out, very soon" but the rumor remains unsubstantiated.

Anonymous wrote:My money is on SWS getting dumped at Amidon after they close it next year. Solves the SWS problem for DCPS, solves the IB school issue for the waterfront (sort of, but that's about what one expects from DCPS) and they don't have to reopen Van Ness, which they continue to fight tooth and nail. I bet we see a list of planned closures around October and Amidon will be high on the list.

Tommy Wells has floated this idea before.

Prediction: current SWS students will all bail if the school gets put at Amidon. That can't be a good plan.

Anonymous wrote:Amidon would be interesting. It would be great for Jefferson to have SWS as a feeder. It would be a big change for the SWS staff to have the desperately poor children who go to Amidon. I don't think this will happen though.

Like it's great for Jefferson to have Brent as a feeder? What's the short or medium-term relevance of a feed from a strong ES program, in which most of the children are middle class, to a weak MS program in which most of the children are poor? The affluent can and will vote with their feet.

Back to LT, the word in the neighborhood is that the biggest group of IB pres3 kids yet is on its way, generating new talk of the critical mass of committed parents finally arriving to turn the school around. Right.

Amidon would be interesting. It would be great for Jefferson to have SWS as a feeder. It would be a big change for the SWS staff to have the desperately poor children who go to Amidon. I don't think this will happen though.

My money is on SWS getting dumped at Amidon after they close it next year. Solves the SWS problem for DCPS, solves the IB school issue for the waterfront (sort of, but that's about what one expects from DCPS) and they don't have to reopen Van Ness, which they continue to fight tooth and nail. I bet we see a list of planned closures around October and Amidon will be high on the list.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hasn't everyone eyed Van Ness? Two Rivers was eyeing it when they first started. It would make sense for SWS but why didn't DCPS let them move there for next year? I suspect that SWS is going to suffer quite a bit as their lack of location catches up with them.

But Two Rivers didn't have the megabucks CQ developers in their corner. Just look at how the SW Waterfront development is progressing - upscale buildings are sprouting like mushrooms (drive by and see the "Coming in 2013!" signs). The developers have been talking directly to the mayor's office for at least five years and you can bet they have the clout to force DCPS' hand - without a decent ES school, their townhouse prices will suffer. No idea if SWS will be involved, but the waterfront will get its school, maybe another "out" for the hapless LT IB parents.

Well everyone gets that. But if it was going to be SWS then it would have been SWS don't you think?

Anonymous wrote:Hasn't everyone eyed Van Ness? Two Rivers was eyeing it when they first started. It would make sense for SWS but why didn't DCPS let them move there for next year? I suspect that SWS is going to suffer quite a bit as their lack of location catches up with them.

But Two Rivers didn't have the megabucks CQ developers in their corner. Just look at how the SW Waterfront development is progressing - upscale buildings are sprouting like mushrooms (drive by and see the "Coming in 2013!" signs). The developers have been talking directly to the mayor's office for at least five years and you can bet they have the clout to force DCPS' hand - without a decent ES school, their townhouse prices will suffer. No idea if SWS will be involved, but the waterfront will get its school, maybe another "out" for the hapless LT IB parents.

Hasn't everyone eyed Van Ness? Two Rivers was eyeing it when they first started. It would make sense for SWS but why didn't DCPS let them move there for next year? I suspect that SWS is going to suffer quite a bit as their lack of location catches up with them.

Anonymous wrote:

I suspect that this PP is right. But then with halfway decent school buildings/locations in v. short supply (just ask the Two Rivers crowd), particularly on the Hill, SWS might lack a more appealing option than LT in 2 years time. I wouldn't rule out Van Ness for SWS - the influential Capitol Quarter developers have their ways, with another giant townhouse development breaking ground just south of the highway off NJ Ave. shortly.

That's been most of the talk to date, and a number of parties have eyes on Van Ness. SWS plans on increasing enrollment to 16 classes of 350 by SY16-17 (including PS3). The SWS/CQ marriage makes a lot of sense and it's the rumor with the most juice. SWS will not co-locate. They'll lose many of the families they've retained for the upcoming move. Co-locating brings its own unique set of issues regarding funding and for SWS it was a major driver in going independent in the first place.

After all this back and forth, it's increasingly clear that the busy IB LT parent of a little one would be smart to think in terms of a convenient and good qualithy preK and maybe K experience, planning to move on. Apply your energies to getting out and you'll be fine, apply them to staying in and you'll almost certainly feel burned, unless you're really adventurous (e.g. not minding if your DC turns out to be one of the only upper middle class kids in a grade). LT is what it is.

Anonymous wrote:SWS coming to LT is a non-starter. 1) SWS does not want to co-locate with another school - that's why they left the Cluster. 2) And even if not co-locating, SWS is not going somewhere where the school community does not embrace them - and while IB families may support SWS, LT as a school community will not embrace them.

If you're going to put forth some effort, you're more likely to succeed with trying to have LT closed and the boundaries re-drawn.

I suspect that this PP is right. But then with halfway decent school buildings/locations in v. short supply (just ask the Two Rivers crowd), particularly on the Hill, SWS might lack a more appealing option than LT in 2 years time. I wouldn't rule out Van Ness for SWS - the influential Capitol Quarter developers have their ways, with another giant townhouse development breaking ground just south of the highway off NJ Ave. shortly. Whatever the case, with Principal Cobbs on board, LT as a school community won't embrace SWS. If I were joining the PTA with a preS3 child, I'd focus on ousting her, although a bruising PTA fight would surely result. Can't see anything v. good happening as long as she stays.

Sorry, what would re-drawing the LT boundaries accomplish? The grandmother address cheating links are spread around the district, more so the further north and east you go. Re-draw them to get more of the district to feed into J.O. Wilson? That might help.

SWS coming to LT is a non-starter. 1) SWS does not want to co-locate with another school - that's why they left the Cluster. 2) And even if not co-locating, SWS is not going somewhere where the school community does not embrace them - and while IB families may support SWS, LT as a school community will not embrace them.

If you're going to put forth some effort, you're more likely to succeed with trying to have LT closed and the boundaries re-drawn.

Anonymous wrote:I know there is a lot of talk about bringing SWS to LT, but where would one start to make this discussion something that could actually go somewhere? My DC will be in PS3 at LT this year and I would love to get involved. If its a mute point, so be it, but it sounds worth looking into to me. I am already stressed out about having to move or paying for private in 2 years and that plain sucks.

Reach out to like-minded LT PTA parents fast (maybe 1/3 of them would be interested, but prepare to face great resistance from the others). As a group, talk to Tommy Wells' office, the SWS leadership and PTA, and DCPS in the fall. Don't wait.

b]This post is scary on so many levels. Yes, lets return to separate but "equal" and segregation by race! WTF?!?! [/b]

I disagree, not what this PP is arguing, It's a best is the enemy of the good arguument. Parents all over the Hll are thrilled that Tyler has been lifted by the SI program, althougb the regular problem is still mostly low-income AA kids. Things take time to change, so make a start somewhere and do what you can to improve matters. LT could be lifted by SWS. You're looking for reasons to demonize a PP who makes a valid point.