Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The city will spend astronomical amounts renovating schools, but only if they're DCPS. DC spent $180 million redoing Duke Ellington, which only has 600 or so students. Works out to about $300,000 per student.

Banneker got a $130 million renovation (700 students)

There's a long list of DCPS high schools that have gotten $100 million+ renovations

How long exactly is that long list?

What portion of DCPS schools is it?

The city has spent $3 billion and counting remodeling public schools (but not charters!)...

Some of the renovations are really over the top. Apparently money is no object for some schools.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If DCPS supposedly has it so much better, why not just go to DCPS? You have the right.

How about just not discriminating against some children? Is that really so much to ask?

If you think DCPS is a better deal, come on over.

But that's the point: none of these schools are private. All of them are public. It's not about "a better deal" it's about a public service providing an appropriate education in equally appointed facilities. At this point "separate but equal" would be a dream solution. What we have is far inferior to that. Doesn't even pretend to be equal.

Don't lose sight of the fact that charter schools are not good for DCPS -- it adds extra burden and more limited resources with which DCPS must teach kids whose parents don't have the capacity to be involved attendance and homework parents. There are costs to this setup for DCPS!

We have this system because Congress foisted it on DC. But it was a way to solve education for some kids without actually doing anything to solve the challenges that DCPS faces (including, in addition to a population in need, lame management and bad choices by certain mayors...)

In this thread, there seems to be a lot of "I want mine!" going on while not worrying about who is getting hurt in the process.

I don’t care about dcps at all. I care about students. All students in DC. DCPS does not do right by their students. They don’t provide the same opportunities that are offered in charters. No other school district in the area has lower standards than dcps. None. They are just not meeting the needs of students.

The opportunities DCPS offers, they hoard in certain schools - immersion elementary schools for Woodley Park and Mount Pleasant, but not for Colombia Heights or Brightwood. Charters provide a equal opportunity.

What about the other DCPS immersion schools -- Bruce Monroe, Columbia Heights Education campus, Marie Reed, Powell, and more?

Here is the list:
https://dcps.dc.gov/DL

Are any of those immersion schools citywide and equally open to all DC students? Answer - no. Why doesn’t DCPS care about all DC students? Doesn’t sound equitable to me.

What? They all offer seats in the lottery.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If DCPS supposedly has it so much better, why not just go to DCPS? You have the right.

How about just not discriminating against some children? Is that really so much to ask?

If you think DCPS is a better deal, come on over.

But that's the point: none of these schools are private. All of them are public. It's not about "a better deal" it's about a public service providing an appropriate education in equally appointed facilities. At this point "separate but equal" would be a dream solution. What we have is far inferior to that. Doesn't even pretend to be equal.

Don't lose sight of the fact that charter schools are not good for DCPS -- it adds extra burden and more limited resources with which DCPS must teach kids whose parents don't have the capacity to be involved attendance and homework parents. There are costs to this setup for DCPS!

We have this system because Congress foisted it on DC. But it was a way to solve education for some kids without actually doing anything to solve the challenges that DCPS faces (including, in addition to a population in need, lame management and bad choices by certain mayors...)

In this thread, there seems to be a lot of "I want mine!" going on while not worrying about who is getting hurt in the process.

I don’t care about dcps at all. I care about students. All students in DC. DCPS does not do right by their students. They don’t provide the same opportunities that are offered in charters. No other school district in the area has lower standards than dcps. None. They are just not meeting the needs of students.

The opportunities DCPS offers, they hoard in certain schools - immersion elementary schools for Woodley Park and Mount Pleasant, but not for Colombia Heights or Brightwood. Charters provide a equal opportunity.

What about the other DCPS immersion schools -- Bruce Monroe, Columbia Heights Education campus, Marie Reed, Powell, and more?

Here is the list:
https://dcps.dc.gov/DL

What these people want is for DCPS to do a better job segregating their kids from poor kids. They're not interested in a dual-language option if it doesn't also do that.

Yes, I think that PP was telling on herself. She wants the charter immersion because it also gives her a mostly UMC crowd. the DCPS dual language programs serving poorer students are not on her radar at all (and some of these schools do a really good job, like Bruce Munroe and Powell). So, what does she actually care about?

Sorry, I am a Spanish-speaking immigrant. Couldn’t get my kids into Powell in Pre-K or K, so went to a charter. I guess DCPS doesn’t care about my kids because I can’t afford to live in Petworth.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If DCPS supposedly has it so much better, why not just go to DCPS? You have the right.

How about just not discriminating against some children? Is that really so much to ask?

If you think DCPS is a better deal, come on over.

But that's the point: none of these schools are private. All of them are public. It's not about "a better deal" it's about a public service providing an appropriate education in equally appointed facilities. At this point "separate but equal" would be a dream solution. What we have is far inferior to that. Doesn't even pretend to be equal.

Don't lose sight of the fact that charter schools are not good for DCPS -- it adds extra burden and more limited resources with which DCPS must teach kids whose parents don't have the capacity to be involved attendance and homework parents. There are costs to this setup for DCPS!

We have this system because Congress foisted it on DC. But it was a way to solve education for some kids without actually doing anything to solve the challenges that DCPS faces (including, in addition to a population in need, lame management and bad choices by certain mayors...)

In this thread, there seems to be a lot of "I want mine!" going on while not worrying about who is getting hurt in the process.

I don’t care about dcps at all. I care about students. All students in DC. DCPS does not do right by their students. They don’t provide the same opportunities that are offered in charters. No other school district in the area has lower standards than dcps. None. They are just not meeting the needs of students.

The opportunities DCPS offers, they hoard in certain schools - immersion elementary schools for Woodley Park and Mount Pleasant, but not for Colombia Heights or Brightwood. Charters provide a equal opportunity.

What about the other DCPS immersion schools -- Bruce Monroe, Columbia Heights Education campus, Marie Reed, Powell, and more?

Here is the list:
https://dcps.dc.gov/DL

What these people want is for DCPS to do a better job segregating their kids from poor kids. They're not interested in a dual-language option if it doesn't also do that.

Yes, I think that PP was telling on herself. She wants the charter immersion because it also gives her a mostly UMC crowd. the DCPS dual language programs serving poorer students are not on her radar at all (and some of these schools do a really good job, like Bruce Munroe and Powell). So, what does she actually care about?

Sorry, I am a Spanish-speaking immigrant. Couldn’t get my kids into Powell in Pre-K or K, so went to a charter. I guess DCPS doesn’t care about my kids because I can’t afford to live in Petworth.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If DCPS supposedly has it so much better, why not just go to DCPS? You have the right.

How about just not discriminating against some children? Is that really so much to ask?

If you think DCPS is a better deal, come on over.

But that's the point: none of these schools are private. All of them are public. It's not about "a better deal" it's about a public service providing an appropriate education in equally appointed facilities. At this point "separate but equal" would be a dream solution. What we have is far inferior to that. Doesn't even pretend to be equal.

Don't lose sight of the fact that charter schools are not good for DCPS -- it adds extra burden and more limited resources with which DCPS must teach kids whose parents don't have the capacity to be involved attendance and homework parents. There are costs to this setup for DCPS!

We have this system because Congress foisted it on DC. But it was a way to solve education for some kids without actually doing anything to solve the challenges that DCPS faces (including, in addition to a population in need, lame management and bad choices by certain mayors...)

In this thread, there seems to be a lot of "I want mine!" going on while not worrying about who is getting hurt in the process.

I don’t care about dcps at all. I care about students. All students in DC. DCPS does not do right by their students. They don’t provide the same opportunities that are offered in charters. No other school district in the area has lower standards than dcps. None. They are just not meeting the needs of students.

The opportunities DCPS offers, they hoard in certain schools - immersion elementary schools for Woodley Park and Mount Pleasant, but not for Colombia Heights or Brightwood. Charters provide a equal opportunity.

What about the other DCPS immersion schools -- Bruce Monroe, Columbia Heights Education campus, Marie Reed, Powell, and more?

Here is the list:
https://dcps.dc.gov/DL

Are any of those immersion schools citywide and equally open to all DC students? Answer - no. Why doesn’t DCPS care about all DC students? Doesn’t sound equitable to me.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If DCPS supposedly has it so much better, why not just go to DCPS? You have the right.

How about just not discriminating against some children? Is that really so much to ask?

If you think DCPS is a better deal, come on over.

But that's the point: none of these schools are private. All of them are public. It's not about "a better deal" it's about a public service providing an appropriate education in equally appointed facilities. At this point "separate but equal" would be a dream solution. What we have is far inferior to that. Doesn't even pretend to be equal.

Don't lose sight of the fact that charter schools are not good for DCPS -- it adds extra burden and more limited resources with which DCPS must teach kids whose parents don't have the capacity to be involved attendance and homework parents. There are costs to this setup for DCPS!

We have this system because Congress foisted it on DC. But it was a way to solve education for some kids without actually doing anything to solve the challenges that DCPS faces (including, in addition to a population in need, lame management and bad choices by certain mayors...)

In this thread, there seems to be a lot of "I want mine!" going on while not worrying about who is getting hurt in the process.

I don’t care about dcps at all. I care about students. All students in DC. DCPS does not do right by their students. They don’t provide the same opportunities that are offered in charters. No other school district in the area has lower standards than dcps. None. They are just not meeting the needs of students.

The opportunities DCPS offers, they hoard in certain schools - immersion elementary schools for Woodley Park and Mount Pleasant, but not for Colombia Heights or Brightwood. Charters provide a equal opportunity.

What about the other DCPS immersion schools -- Bruce Monroe, Columbia Heights Education campus, Marie Reed, Powell, and more?

Here is the list:
https://dcps.dc.gov/DL

What these people want is for DCPS to do a better job segregating their kids from poor kids. They're not interested in a dual-language option if it doesn't also do that.

Yes, I think that PP was telling on herself. She wants the charter immersion because it also gives her a mostly UMC crowd. the DCPS dual language programs serving poorer students are not on her radar at all (and some of these schools do a really good job, like Bruce Munroe and Powell). So, what does she actually care about?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If DCPS supposedly has it so much better, why not just go to DCPS? You have the right.

How about just not discriminating against some children? Is that really so much to ask?

If you think DCPS is a better deal, come on over.

But that's the point: none of these schools are private. All of them are public. It's not about "a better deal" it's about a public service providing an appropriate education in equally appointed facilities. At this point "separate but equal" would be a dream solution. What we have is far inferior to that. Doesn't even pretend to be equal.

Don't lose sight of the fact that charter schools are not good for DCPS -- it adds extra burden and more limited resources with which DCPS must teach kids whose parents don't have the capacity to be involved attendance and homework parents. There are costs to this setup for DCPS!

We have this system because Congress foisted it on DC. But it was a way to solve education for some kids without actually doing anything to solve the challenges that DCPS faces (including, in addition to a population in need, lame management and bad choices by certain mayors...)

In this thread, there seems to be a lot of "I want mine!" going on while not worrying about who is getting hurt in the process.

I don’t care about dcps at all. I care about students. All students in DC. DCPS does not do right by their students. They don’t provide the same opportunities that are offered in charters. No other school district in the area has lower standards than dcps. None. They are just not meeting the needs of students.

The opportunities DCPS offers, they hoard in certain schools - immersion elementary schools for Woodley Park and Mount Pleasant, but not for Colombia Heights or Brightwood. Charters provide a equal opportunity.

What about the other DCPS immersion schools -- Bruce Monroe, Columbia Heights Education campus, Marie Reed, Powell, and more?

Here is the list:
https://dcps.dc.gov/DL

Are any of those immersion schools citywide and equally open to all DC students? Answer - no. Why doesn’t DCPS care about all DC students? Doesn’t sound equitable to me.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If DCPS supposedly has it so much better, why not just go to DCPS? You have the right.

How about just not discriminating against some children? Is that really so much to ask?

If you think DCPS is a better deal, come on over.

But that's the point: none of these schools are private. All of them are public. It's not about "a better deal" it's about a public service providing an appropriate education in equally appointed facilities. At this point "separate but equal" would be a dream solution. What we have is far inferior to that. Doesn't even pretend to be equal.

Don't lose sight of the fact that charter schools are not good for DCPS -- it adds extra burden and more limited resources with which DCPS must teach kids whose parents don't have the capacity to be involved attendance and homework parents. There are costs to this setup for DCPS!

We have this system because Congress foisted it on DC. But it was a way to solve education for some kids without actually doing anything to solve the challenges that DCPS faces (including, in addition to a population in need, lame management and bad choices by certain mayors...)

In this thread, there seems to be a lot of "I want mine!" going on while not worrying about who is getting hurt in the process.

I don’t care about dcps at all. I care about students. All students in DC. DCPS does not do right by their students. They don’t provide the same opportunities that are offered in charters. No other school district in the area has lower standards than dcps. None. They are just not meeting the needs of students.

The opportunities DCPS offers, they hoard in certain schools - immersion elementary schools for Woodley Park and Mount Pleasant, but not for Colombia Heights or Brightwood. Charters provide a equal opportunity.

What about the other DCPS immersion schools -- Bruce Monroe, Columbia Heights Education campus, Marie Reed, Powell, and more?

Here is the list:
https://dcps.dc.gov/DL

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:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:An unpopular opinion for DCUM- if the charters were properly funded the better ones would blow DCPS out of the water. So many struggle under the costs of facilities and teacher turn over from low salaries. If Charters had money to solve those problems the middling to good ones could be amazing.

+1 on this.

Also, Coolidge has a lot larger and better facilities than DCI which holds around the same number of high schoolers. Sports facilities in particular. DCI could have used the space next to it for a much-needed sports field, but townhouses are going up instead. Now the school is battling neighbors to try to use a nearby park for athletics. The charter schools can't just easily move and buy new buildings left and right, and they aren't provided with enough funds to truly utilize public and DC-owned space like Walter Reed. Meanwhile, there is no way that DCPS could serve all the kids currently in charters - if all of DCI changed to Coolidge overnight, for example.

DCI is approximately the same square footage as Anacostia High School, except DCI has 1,700 students and Anacostia has 250, and Anacostia High School is much, much nicer.

https://washingtonian.com/2014/02/03/anacostia-high-school-renovation-snags-design-award/

This is kinda bonkers. Anacostia High School is 247,000 square feet. That's much, much, MUCH bigger than a Walmart. How do 250 kids occupy 247,000 square feet?

Same story with Ballou. It's 350,000 square feet and has fewer than 600 students. The renovation is gorgeous.

Behold what DCPS will do for a school with fewer than 150 students per grade: https://perkinswill.com/project/ballou-senior-high-school/

hard to believe how small some of these dcps schools are. if they're that under-enrolled, they should be closed and consolidated, not given $100 million makeovers. spend that money where the kids actually are

Anacostia and Ballou have been eaten alive by charters. The city's response has been to turn them into Taj Mahals.

So exhausting. The correct verb tense is not "has been" but "was."

THE OVER-THE-TOP HS RENOVATIONS HAPPENED A DECADE OR MORE AGO!

They were a flawed idea, they were properly criticized at the time, and this attempt at "build it and they will come" has not continued. All the renovations since are in schools that are robustly occupied and decidely in renovation.

Yes, the renovations are too expensive -- we would all love to know where the money is leaking to! Yes, DGS sucks at maintenance -- they just barely do it -- which is why schools need such extensive renovations once it happens.

All that is well-trod territory and is OLD NEWS.

You can have a fair discussion about DCPCS vs DCPS funding, but the whacko renovations are no more relevant to the conversation than the 2015 scandal at Options Charter School.

Actually, this is an ongoing project by the city. It's spending billions to makeover DCPS facilities (but not charters!). They just did an $83 million makeover for Truesdell. There's another $65 million for Dorothy Height. Another $65 million for MLK Elementary. The list goes on and on and on, but only for DCPS.

Well of course they are. They can't just stop and expect the buildings to magically stay in good condition. If you have one that you think is exorbitant for specific reasons, please feel free to tell us why.

Go to Google maps, and look up this address: 711 Edgewood Street, NE. Until last year, that was the Cooper campus of Latin, one of the finest middle schools in the DMV.

Indeed, they chose a small cheap space to save money for their large, nicely renovated building which they are now using. Just like how DCPS schools use trailers and swing spaces and it's worth it to have a renovation. So that's not the winning argument you think it is.

Their new building cost less than Roosevelt High School's pool.

Can you think of any charter school assets that are available to the public 35 hours per week?

WTF? The city is not building pools for charter schools. Many of these schools' facilities are so modest they have nothing to offer the public, except maybe the use of their bathrooms.

What I'm saying is that the cost of the pool should be ascribed entirely to DCPS because DCPS is not the only user of the pool.

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:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:An unpopular opinion for DCUM- if the charters were properly funded the better ones would blow DCPS out of the water. So many struggle under the costs of facilities and teacher turn over from low salaries. If Charters had money to solve those problems the middling to good ones could be amazing.

+1 on this.

Also, Coolidge has a lot larger and better facilities than DCI which holds around the same number of high schoolers. Sports facilities in particular. DCI could have used the space next to it for a much-needed sports field, but townhouses are going up instead. Now the school is battling neighbors to try to use a nearby park for athletics. The charter schools can't just easily move and buy new buildings left and right, and they aren't provided with enough funds to truly utilize public and DC-owned space like Walter Reed. Meanwhile, there is no way that DCPS could serve all the kids currently in charters - if all of DCI changed to Coolidge overnight, for example.

DCI is approximately the same square footage as Anacostia High School, except DCI has 1,700 students and Anacostia has 250, and Anacostia High School is much, much nicer.

https://washingtonian.com/2014/02/03/anacostia-high-school-renovation-snags-design-award/

This is kinda bonkers. Anacostia High School is 247,000 square feet. That's much, much, MUCH bigger than a Walmart. How do 250 kids occupy 247,000 square feet?

Same story with Ballou. It's 350,000 square feet and has fewer than 600 students. The renovation is gorgeous.

Behold what DCPS will do for a school with fewer than 150 students per grade: https://perkinswill.com/project/ballou-senior-high-school/

hard to believe how small some of these dcps schools are. if they're that under-enrolled, they should be closed and consolidated, not given $100 million makeovers. spend that money where the kids actually are

Anacostia and Ballou have been eaten alive by charters. The city's response has been to turn them into Taj Mahals.

So exhausting. The correct verb tense is not "has been" but "was."

THE OVER-THE-TOP HS RENOVATIONS HAPPENED A DECADE OR MORE AGO!

They were a flawed idea, they were properly criticized at the time, and this attempt at "build it and they will come" has not continued. All the renovations since are in schools that are robustly occupied and decidely in renovation.

Yes, the renovations are too expensive -- we would all love to know where the money is leaking to! Yes, DGS sucks at maintenance -- they just barely do it -- which is why schools need such extensive renovations once it happens.

All that is well-trod territory and is OLD NEWS.

You can have a fair discussion about DCPCS vs DCPS funding, but the whacko renovations are no more relevant to the conversation than the 2015 scandal at Options Charter School.

Actually, this is an ongoing project by the city. It's spending billions to makeover DCPS facilities (but not charters!). They just did an $83 million makeover for Truesdell. There's another $65 million for Dorothy Height. Another $65 million for MLK Elementary. The list goes on and on and on, but only for DCPS.

Well of course they are. They can't just stop and expect the buildings to magically stay in good condition. If you have one that you think is exorbitant for specific reasons, please feel free to tell us why.

Go to Google maps, and look up this address: 711 Edgewood Street, NE. Until last year, that was the Cooper campus of Latin, one of the finest middle schools in the DMV.

Indeed, they chose a small cheap space to save money for their large, nicely renovated building which they are now using. Just like how DCPS schools use trailers and swing spaces and it's worth it to have a renovation. So that's not the winning argument you think it is.

Their new building cost less than Roosevelt High School's pool.

Can you think of any charter school assets that are available to the public 35 hours per week?

WTF? The city is not building pools for charter schools. Many of these schools' facilities are so modest they have nothing to offer the public, except maybe the use of their bathrooms.

What I'm saying is that the cost of the pool should be ascribed entirely to DCPS because DCPS is not the only user of the pool.

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:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:An unpopular opinion for DCUM- if the charters were properly funded the better ones would blow DCPS out of the water. So many struggle under the costs of facilities and teacher turn over from low salaries. If Charters had money to solve those problems the middling to good ones could be amazing.

+1 on this.

Also, Coolidge has a lot larger and better facilities than DCI which holds around the same number of high schoolers. Sports facilities in particular. DCI could have used the space next to it for a much-needed sports field, but townhouses are going up instead. Now the school is battling neighbors to try to use a nearby park for athletics. The charter schools can't just easily move and buy new buildings left and right, and they aren't provided with enough funds to truly utilize public and DC-owned space like Walter Reed. Meanwhile, there is no way that DCPS could serve all the kids currently in charters - if all of DCI changed to Coolidge overnight, for example.

DCI is approximately the same square footage as Anacostia High School, except DCI has 1,700 students and Anacostia has 250, and Anacostia High School is much, much nicer.

https://washingtonian.com/2014/02/03/anacostia-high-school-renovation-snags-design-award/

This is kinda bonkers. Anacostia High School is 247,000 square feet. That's much, much, MUCH bigger than a Walmart. How do 250 kids occupy 247,000 square feet?

Same story with Ballou. It's 350,000 square feet and has fewer than 600 students. The renovation is gorgeous.

Behold what DCPS will do for a school with fewer than 150 students per grade: https://perkinswill.com/project/ballou-senior-high-school/

hard to believe how small some of these dcps schools are. if they're that under-enrolled, they should be closed and consolidated, not given $100 million makeovers. spend that money where the kids actually are

Anacostia and Ballou have been eaten alive by charters. The city's response has been to turn them into Taj Mahals.

So exhausting. The correct verb tense is not "has been" but "was."

THE OVER-THE-TOP HS RENOVATIONS HAPPENED A DECADE OR MORE AGO!

They were a flawed idea, they were properly criticized at the time, and this attempt at "build it and they will come" has not continued. All the renovations since are in schools that are robustly occupied and decidely in renovation.

Yes, the renovations are too expensive -- we would all love to know where the money is leaking to! Yes, DGS sucks at maintenance -- they just barely do it -- which is why schools need such extensive renovations once it happens.

All that is well-trod territory and is OLD NEWS.

You can have a fair discussion about DCPCS vs DCPS funding, but the whacko renovations are no more relevant to the conversation than the 2015 scandal at Options Charter School.

Actually, this is an ongoing project by the city. It's spending billions to makeover DCPS facilities (but not charters!). They just did an $83 million makeover for Truesdell. There's another $65 million for Dorothy Height. Another $65 million for MLK Elementary. The list goes on and on and on, but only for DCPS.

Well of course they are. They can't just stop and expect the buildings to magically stay in good condition. If you have one that you think is exorbitant for specific reasons, please feel free to tell us why.

Go to Google maps, and look up this address: 711 Edgewood Street, NE. Until last year, that was the Cooper campus of Latin, one of the finest middle schools in the DMV.

Indeed, they chose a small cheap space to save money for their large, nicely renovated building which they are now using. Just like how DCPS schools use trailers and swing spaces and it's worth it to have a renovation. So that's not the winning argument you think it is.

Their new building cost less than Roosevelt High School's pool.

Can you think of any charter school assets that are available to the public 35 hours per week?

WTF? The city is not building pools for charter schools. Many of these schools' facilities are so modest they have nothing to offer the public, except maybe the use of their bathrooms.

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:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:An unpopular opinion for DCUM- if the charters were properly funded the better ones would blow DCPS out of the water. So many struggle under the costs of facilities and teacher turn over from low salaries. If Charters had money to solve those problems the middling to good ones could be amazing.

+1 on this.

Also, Coolidge has a lot larger and better facilities than DCI which holds around the same number of high schoolers. Sports facilities in particular. DCI could have used the space next to it for a much-needed sports field, but townhouses are going up instead. Now the school is battling neighbors to try to use a nearby park for athletics. The charter schools can't just easily move and buy new buildings left and right, and they aren't provided with enough funds to truly utilize public and DC-owned space like Walter Reed. Meanwhile, there is no way that DCPS could serve all the kids currently in charters - if all of DCI changed to Coolidge overnight, for example.

DCI is approximately the same square footage as Anacostia High School, except DCI has 1,700 students and Anacostia has 250, and Anacostia High School is much, much nicer.

https://washingtonian.com/2014/02/03/anacostia-high-school-renovation-snags-design-award/

This is kinda bonkers. Anacostia High School is 247,000 square feet. That's much, much, MUCH bigger than a Walmart. How do 250 kids occupy 247,000 square feet?

Same story with Ballou. It's 350,000 square feet and has fewer than 600 students. The renovation is gorgeous.

Behold what DCPS will do for a school with fewer than 150 students per grade: https://perkinswill.com/project/ballou-senior-high-school/

hard to believe how small some of these dcps schools are. if they're that under-enrolled, they should be closed and consolidated, not given $100 million makeovers. spend that money where the kids actually are

Anacostia and Ballou have been eaten alive by charters. The city's response has been to turn them into Taj Mahals.

So exhausting. The correct verb tense is not "has been" but "was."

THE OVER-THE-TOP HS RENOVATIONS HAPPENED A DECADE OR MORE AGO!

They were a flawed idea, they were properly criticized at the time, and this attempt at "build it and they will come" has not continued. All the renovations since are in schools that are robustly occupied and decidely in renovation.

Yes, the renovations are too expensive -- we would all love to know where the money is leaking to! Yes, DGS sucks at maintenance -- they just barely do it -- which is why schools need such extensive renovations once it happens.

All that is well-trod territory and is OLD NEWS.

You can have a fair discussion about DCPCS vs DCPS funding, but the whacko renovations are no more relevant to the conversation than the 2015 scandal at Options Charter School.

Actually, this is an ongoing project by the city. It's spending billions to makeover DCPS facilities (but not charters!). They just did an $83 million makeover for Truesdell. There's another $65 million for Dorothy Height. Another $65 million for MLK Elementary. The list goes on and on and on, but only for DCPS.

Well of course they are. They can't just stop and expect the buildings to magically stay in good condition. If you have one that you think is exorbitant for specific reasons, please feel free to tell us why.

Go to Google maps, and look up this address: 711 Edgewood Street, NE. Until last year, that was the Cooper campus of Latin, one of the finest middle schools in the DMV.

Indeed, they chose a small cheap space to save money for their large, nicely renovated building which they are now using. Just like how DCPS schools use trailers and swing spaces and it's worth it to have a renovation. So that's not the winning argument you think it is.

Their new building cost less than Roosevelt High School's pool.

Can you think of any charter school assets that are available to the public 35 hours per week?

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:

Anonymous wrote:An unpopular opinion for DCUM- if the charters were properly funded the better ones would blow DCPS out of the water. So many struggle under the costs of facilities and teacher turn over from low salaries. If Charters had money to solve those problems the middling to good ones could be amazing.

+1 on this.

Also, Coolidge has a lot larger and better facilities than DCI which holds around the same number of high schoolers. Sports facilities in particular. DCI could have used the space next to it for a much-needed sports field, but townhouses are going up instead. Now the school is battling neighbors to try to use a nearby park for athletics. The charter schools can't just easily move and buy new buildings left and right, and they aren't provided with enough funds to truly utilize public and DC-owned space like Walter Reed. Meanwhile, there is no way that DCPS could serve all the kids currently in charters - if all of DCI changed to Coolidge overnight, for example.

DCI is approximately the same square footage as Anacostia High School, except DCI has 1,700 students and Anacostia has 250, and Anacostia High School is much, much nicer.

https://washingtonian.com/2014/02/03/anacostia-high-school-renovation-snags-design-award/

This is kinda bonkers. Anacostia High School is 247,000 square feet. That's much, much, MUCH bigger than a Walmart. How do 250 kids occupy 247,000 square feet?

Same story with Ballou. It's 350,000 square feet and has fewer than 600 students. The renovation is gorgeous.

Behold what DCPS will do for a school with fewer than 150 students per grade: https://perkinswill.com/project/ballou-senior-high-school/

hard to believe how small some of these dcps schools are. if they're that under-enrolled, they should be closed and consolidated, not given $100 million makeovers. spend that money where the kids actually are

Anacostia and Ballou have been eaten alive by charters. The city's response has been to turn them into Taj Mahals.

So exhausting. The correct verb tense is not "has been" but "was."

THE OVER-THE-TOP HS RENOVATIONS HAPPENED A DECADE OR MORE AGO!

They were a flawed idea, they were properly criticized at the time, and this attempt at "build it and they will come" has not continued. All the renovations since are in schools that are robustly occupied and decidely in renovation.

Yes, the renovations are too expensive -- we would all love to know where the money is leaking to! Yes, DGS sucks at maintenance -- they just barely do it -- which is why schools need such extensive renovations once it happens.

All that is well-trod territory and is OLD NEWS.

You can have a fair discussion about DCPCS vs DCPS funding, but the whacko renovations are no more relevant to the conversation than the 2015 scandal at Options Charter School.

Actually, this is an ongoing project by the city. It's spending billions to makeover DCPS facilities (but not charters!). They just did an $83 million makeover for Truesdell. There's another $65 million for Dorothy Height. Another $65 million for MLK Elementary. The list goes on and on and on, but only for DCPS.

Honey bunny. That is on purpose! Charters do not WANT DCPS and DGS to be in charge of their renovations. Making their own decisions and allegedly being better at it is the rationale for charters! That is why there is the facilities allottment. Now, we can argue about whether it's fair, whether it's enough, etc., but DCPS and DGS cannot just start renovating charters. That's not how it works.

I think it is pretty clear their point was exactly this; that the allotment calc is not fair or right.

Only thing funnier than dimwitted people is when they don't even know they are. You know, for instance, when they miss the entire point and chime is to dismissively explain what was clear to everyone else?

Why did the charters lose the facility funding lawsuit? Give us a little recap. And while you're at it, fill me in on what the true economic cost is of DCPS taking all kids all year and managing the system for the perpetual future. How much do you think that commitment is worth?

DCPS looks more like a government jobs program than a system for educating children. The only thing worse than its test scores are its truancy rates. Which, of course, is how we ended up with an extremely large charter school system.

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:An unpopular opinion for DCUM- if the charters were properly funded the better ones would blow DCPS out of the water. So many struggle under the costs of facilities and teacher turn over from low salaries. If Charters had money to solve those problems the middling to good ones could be amazing.

+1 on this.

Also, Coolidge has a lot larger and better facilities than DCI which holds around the same number of high schoolers. Sports facilities in particular. DCI could have used the space next to it for a much-needed sports field, but townhouses are going up instead. Now the school is battling neighbors to try to use a nearby park for athletics. The charter schools can't just easily move and buy new buildings left and right, and they aren't provided with enough funds to truly utilize public and DC-owned space like Walter Reed. Meanwhile, there is no way that DCPS could serve all the kids currently in charters - if all of DCI changed to Coolidge overnight, for example.

DCI is approximately the same square footage as Anacostia High School, except DCI has 1,700 students and Anacostia has 250, and Anacostia High School is much, much nicer.

https://washingtonian.com/2014/02/03/anacostia-high-school-renovation-snags-design-award/

This is kinda bonkers. Anacostia High School is 247,000 square feet. That's much, much, MUCH bigger than a Walmart. How do 250 kids occupy 247,000 square feet?

Same story with Ballou. It's 350,000 square feet and has fewer than 600 students. The renovation is gorgeous.

Behold what DCPS will do for a school with fewer than 150 students per grade: https://perkinswill.com/project/ballou-senior-high-school/

hard to believe how small some of these dcps schools are. if they're that under-enrolled, they should be closed and consolidated, not given $100 million makeovers. spend that money where the kids actually are

Anacostia and Ballou have been eaten alive by charters. The city's response has been to turn them into Taj Mahals.

So exhausting. The correct verb tense is not "has been" but "was."

THE OVER-THE-TOP HS RENOVATIONS HAPPENED A DECADE OR MORE AGO!

They were a flawed idea, they were properly criticized at the time, and this attempt at "build it and they will come" has not continued. All the renovations since are in schools that are robustly occupied and decidely in renovation.

Yes, the renovations are too expensive -- we would all love to know where the money is leaking to! Yes, DGS sucks at maintenance -- they just barely do it -- which is why schools need such extensive renovations once it happens.

All that is well-trod territory and is OLD NEWS.

You can have a fair discussion about DCPCS vs DCPS funding, but the whacko renovations are no more relevant to the conversation than the 2015 scandal at Options Charter School.

Actually, this is an ongoing project by the city. It's spending billions to makeover DCPS facilities (but not charters!). They just did an $83 million makeover for Truesdell. There's another $65 million for Dorothy Height. Another $65 million for MLK Elementary. The list goes on and on and on, but only for DCPS.

Honey bunny. That is on purpose! Charters do not WANT DCPS and DGS to be in charge of their renovations. Making their own decisions and allegedly being better at it is the rationale for charters! That is why there is the facilities allottment. Now, we can argue about whether it's fair, whether it's enough, etc., but DCPS and DGS cannot just start renovating charters. That's not how it works.

I think it is pretty clear their point was exactly this; that the allotment calc is not fair or right.

Only thing funnier than dimwitted people is when they don't even know they are. You know, for instance, when they miss the entire point and chime is to dismissively explain what was clear to everyone else?

Why did the charters lose the facility funding lawsuit? Give us a little recap. And while you're at it, fill me in on what the true economic cost is of DCPS taking all kids all year and managing the system for the perpetual future. How much do you think that commitment is worth?