Anyone attend the Ward 5 Council on Ed meeting to hear the principals' statements? What's the buzz?

Thanks so much to everyone who participated in the conversation over the last couple of days! We're signing off for now but below are some ways to stay in touch:

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I have much hope for this school. I don't know how these boundaries work, as we can walk to Brookland MS, but are zoned for Langdon.

Anyway, my DC is currently attending YY and on track for DCI, a language based school. There are many Ward 5 students currently attending Stokes, YY, and LAMB, charters located in Ward 5. If BMS offer these children an opportunity to continue with their Mandarin and Spanish, many, not all, of their parents would prefer for their kids to walk to BMS oppose to driving across town during rush hour.

I am also excited to hear that Algebra 1 and Geometry are available for students prepared for advanced math. What science classes will BMS offer?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for opening this dialogue. I'm Ward 5, just blocks from Brookland Middle, and our kids, as well as literally every other elementary-aged kid on my block, goes to a charter or another DCPS that they got into OOB. It doesn't mater how pretty the building is, or how convenient, if you don't do some things correctly, you'll open up a sinking ship.

My thoughts:

1. There are going to be children attending this school who will need wrap-around services: mental health, social working services, etc. and I will want reassurance that they are receiving the support they need beyond the classroom so that teachers can teach them when they're in a class with my kids. Teachers should be allowed to work around IMPACT for this set of kids, and class-size should be smaller for those in need of extra attention.

2. Per pp: a test-in, or honors track, would provide those students who were fortunate enough to be in demanding early-years programs with the challenge they need.

3. Creative programming. Languages are great, I agree focusing on those will pull some of the neighborhood charter kids in. However, a strong science program is also very desirable for us, particularly one that is hands-on and project-based would be very attractive and pull people in.

Another poster here who agrees with these points.

Another Brookland parent here, that would love to consider this option rather than go across town for a current third grader. I would like to see an intensive focus on helping kids who are in the upper grades at the feeder schools with potential but maybe not resources to get to the point that they could say handle the curriculum they have a Deal or Hardy. A summer academic track that would boost these student's knowledge base.

DCPSschoolplanning wrote:

We’re still in the process of gathering community input and planning for the language courses. We plan to offer one semester of Latin to provide students with a strong foundation for language study as well as a semester-long survey course in modern languages. The planning principal, once hired, will make final decisions about language offerings with community input and support from our Office of Teaching and Learning. You can see more about the proposed structure on pages 2 and 3 of the following presentation: https://brooklandms.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/102914-brookland_academic_vision.pdf.

Every student will leave Brookland with one high school language credit. Recently, we have seen interest from families with students enrolled in immersion programs, and we’re currently exploring the possibility of allowing them to continue that level of language instruction at Brookland.

Unfortunately we can’t give a hard number on class size data until we have the school fully staffed and enrolled, but the average will likely be close to where other DCPS Middle Schools.

As for math, students will be able to earn high school credit for Algebra I, and advanced math students will have the opportunity to take Geometry.

I think there should be more Latin, at least as an option. As you say, it is foundational, and I think one semester at the middle school level will only scratch the surface. I took Latin and loved it, and plan to have my child take it online if it isn't available at her school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for opening this dialogue. I'm Ward 5, just blocks from Brookland Middle, and our kids, as well as literally every other elementary-aged kid on my block, goes to a charter or another DCPS that they got into OOB. It doesn't mater how pretty the building is, or how convenient, if you don't do some things correctly, you'll open up a sinking ship.

My thoughts:

1. There are going to be children attending this school who will need wrap-around services: mental health, social working services, etc. and I will want reassurance that they are receiving the support they need beyond the classroom so that teachers can teach them when they're in a class with my kids. Teachers should be allowed to work around IMPACT for this set of kids, and class-size should be smaller for those in need of extra attention.

2. Per pp: a test-in, or honors track, would provide those students who were fortunate enough to be in demanding early-years programs with the challenge they need.

3. Creative programming. Languages are great, I agree focusing on those will pull some of the neighborhood charter kids in. However, a strong science program is also very desirable for us, particularly one that is hands-on and project-based would be very attractive and pull people in.

Another poster here who agrees with these points.

These are excellent points. It’s clear that a new building alone does not make a school great. Every DCPS school is staffed with highly qualified Social Workers and Special Educators who participate in professional development and go through yearly IMPACT evaluations. They are staffed based on each individual school’s need. We also partner with a number of community-based organizations that support us in these services, and we recognize that middle school can be a challenging time for some of our students. DCPS is committed to giving students the support they need outside the classroom so all students are able to learn.

Thank you for your input on an honors track and a strong science program, certainly a takeaway for us from this thread. We will pass the information along to our Office of Teaching and Learning as well as the future planning principal for their consideration.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another DCI parent who is considering other options. How hard will it be to get into Brookland OOB?

It won't be. The 3 feeder schools barely have 200 kids in those middle school grades. Last I heard they want 500 at BMS.

How many spots will there be in the first few years at BMS? All 500?

We typically hold about 20 seats per grade for out-of-boundary students, but given the OOB interest for Brookland, we have increased the number of seats to 40 for the 6th grade this year.

Anonymous wrote:DCPS, you quoted me at 12:56. Yes I know about the community process but many of us checked out of it because as it stands we would not consider Ward 5 DCPS elementary schools. The strategy was Build It and They Will Come as articulated at one of the meetings at Turkey Thicket.

Create an honors program or app based program within the school. Offer advanced Spanish and Chinese. And then you night stand a chance of winning parents back from local immersion charters, OOBs, and parochial schools. Because that's where we are now.

What will you do to challenge students? What will you do to keep everyone safe and assess bullying. Yes I have looked at your blog.

In fact I posted one of the links here on the previous thread and I'm glad that spurred you to start these three threqds.

Your comments echo two interests we’re seeing as a theme here: honors track and advanced language.

As we mentioned above re:challenging students, arts and language integration is a research-based model that has been shown to improve academic performance. (https://brooklandms.wordpress.com/2014/11/14/arts-integration-boosts-achievement-for-all/). In addition to the specialized programming Brookland will offer, DCPS is committed to supporting high quality, rigorous instruction across the board.

We absolutely share your desire for a caring, bullying-free school. Fostering that environment, especially in middle school, is essential. As a district, we are moving towards more of a restorative justice model, where empathy is critical. Below are a few links that go into more detail about DCPS bullying policies, DC laws, and recent initiatives to address the problem head-on:
http://dcps.dc.gov/DCPS/In+the+Classroom/Health+and+Wellness/Parent+Resources/Bullying+Prevention+in+DCPS
http://www.stopbullying.gov/laws/district-columbia.html
http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/DC-Public-Schools-143306746.html

We also believe that a school leader sets the tone for a school environment, and we are mid-way through the selection process for a planning principal for Brookland. If you are interested in participating in selection process, please email us at Andrew.katz-moses@dc.gov and we will ensure we provide you information on how to suggest interview questions for our candidates this month and vote on candidates in January!

Thank you for posting the link in the previous thread, we really appreciate getting the conversation going!

Anonymous wrote:I'm IB. DCI is going to loose some families from its imersion feeders because of their tech heavy focus (read the trhead - these are your potential students!). Brookland would be in a great position to recruit these students if it could go low tech and offer advanced language. Could Brookland offer IB for students who want it?

Mostly I want a caring school. Middle school was so cruel - so much teasing. Will you be able to institute an ethos of care into the school - kids caring for kids, adults caring for and respcting kids. I'd be there in a heartbeat if so, even if the academics were so-so. I want my kdis happy and safe emotionally at school. the rest will take care of itself.

Brookland will likely not host an International Baccalaureate (IB) program though our neighbors at Browne Education Campus do. We are however exploring advanced language course offerings – beyond what you see here in our academic vision: https://brooklandms.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/102914-brookland_academic_vision.pdf - but we do not currently have a decision on what that will look like.

Given that the school day is only six to eight hours long, we’ll need to be creative about how we address these interests. We’re looking to develop community partnerships to supplement classroom instruction, you can see some of the ones under consideration on page 6 of the presentation above. Partnering with embassies and other international organizations could be an effective way to offer advanced language enrichment for students who are ready.

We absolutely share your desire for a caring, bullying-free school. Fostering that environment, especially in middle school, is essential. As a district, we are moving towards more of a restorative justice model, where empathy is critical. Below are a few links that go into more detail about DCPS bullying policies, DC laws, and recent initiatives to address the problem head-on:
http://dcps.dc.gov/DCPS/In+the+Classroom/Health+and+Wellness/Parent+Resources/Bullying+Prevention+in+DCPS
http://www.stopbullying.gov/laws/district-columbia.html
http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/DC-Public-Schools-143306746.html

We also believe that a school leader sets the tone for a school environment, and we are mid-way through the selection process for a planning principal for Brookland. If you are interested in participating in selection process, please email us at Andrew.katz-moses@dc.gov and we will ensure we provide you information on how to suggest interview questions for our candidates this month and vote on candidates in January!

Anonymous wrote:I second the request for a test in or honors track.

What will Brookland middle school do to help students coming from elementary schools where the majority is failing to achieve proficiency on tests? How will it raise the bar?

Arts and language integration is a research-based model that has been shown to improve academic performance. (https://brooklandms.wordpress.com/2014/11/14/arts-integration-boosts-achievement-for-all/). In addition to the specialized programming Brookland will offer, DCPS is committed to supporting high quality, rigorous instruction across the board. We recognize that some students will enter Brookland with deficits, and the extended day program will provide space and time to allow them to get up to speed.

The test-in/honors track is clearly a piece of feedback we’re taking from this thread. Thank you for your input!

Anonymous wrote:

DCPSschoolplanning wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Will the School Planning Team open a thread for other schools or just for Brookland Middle, Van Ness and Roosevelt? I'm interested in getting answers on some other schools. Thanks!

What schools are you interested in hearing more about? Our office is generally limited to opening new schools and major high school renovations, but we can try to put you in touch with the right people. In the meantime, if you want to email us with your questions, you can reach out to Andrew.katz-moses@dc.gov.

McKinley Middle.

Send us an email at andrew.katz-moses@dc.gov with your questions and we’ll try to get you to the right place.

Anonymous wrote:What languages will you offer?

Will there be advanced level language classes for children who are beyond Level 1 and 2, for instance children leaving immersion elementary schools? Or, is this school really for beginning language learners?

How large are the class sizes?

What is the highest level of Math that will be offered?

TIA

We’re still in the process of gathering community input and planning for the language courses. We plan to offer one semester of Latin to provide students with a strong foundation for language study as well as a semester-long survey course in modern languages. The planning principal, once hired, will make final decisions about language offerings with community input and support from our Office of Teaching and Learning. You can see more about the proposed structure on pages 2 and 3 of the following presentation: https://brooklandms.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/102914-brookland_academic_vision.pdf.

Every student will leave Brookland with one high school language credit. Recently, we have seen interest from families with students enrolled in immersion programs, and we’re currently exploring the possibility of allowing them to continue that level of language instruction at Brookland.

Unfortunately we can’t give a hard number on class size data until we have the school fully staffed and enrolled, but the average will likely be close to where other DCPS Middle Schools.

As for math, students will be able to earn high school credit for Algebra I, and advanced math students will have the opportunity to take Geometry.

Yeah I think Brookland Middle will be attractive to anyone in a PK -8th school with a decent rep in the lower grades, say West.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another DCI parent who is considering other options. How hard will it be to get into Brookland OOB?

Probably not that difficult in the earlier years. I suppose kids currently in Ward 4 Pk-8 schools will apply for OOB status. I cannot imagine a parent would want to keep their kid in those ridiculous PK-8 elementary designed schools.

My kids are in a Ward 4 PK-8, and its not ridiculous. Sure, it's different than a separate middle school, but they can work too.

Is your kid in one of the higher grades? I don't know one family who has kept their kid in a pm-8 campus given an opportunity to move. I am glad the seventh grade EC with limited opportunities work for your kid.

Double posting. This is the same problem you face with Roosevelt.