Potential parent here: what, if any, are the practical day-to-day effects of the overcrowding? Are students unable to make it to class on time because the hallways are too crowded? Are they unable to enroll for classes that interest them because the courses are oversubscribed?

Anonymous wrote:I would not be surprised if Hardy is taken out as a feeder then to Wilson then.

The boundary process considered this idea, and rejected it. They determined that

1. It was problematic to remove Wilson's most diverse feeder middle school from the Wilson boundary.
2. It was unnecessary, because the other boundary changes would fix much of the overcrowding problems.
3. It would not make a huge difference, since there are only about 60 kids from Hardy that feed into Wilson each year anyway - the rest go to charters or magnets or privates or move.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:[H]ow many students are supposed to be in Wilson? Does anyone know that number?

1600 is the Wilson building capacity. Wilson was at 1696 students in 2013-14. Only 43 students were removed from Wilson as a result of the changes. Lots of data available from the links in the FAQ.
http://dme.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dme/publication/attachments/Wilson.pdf
http://dme.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dme/publication/attachments/Impact%20Analysis%20Final%20Boundaries.pdf (page 30)

It's not 43. It's 462, at least if I'm reading the table right. I assume, PP, you were looking at "Impact of the New High School Rights on Affected High School Students, 2013-14" in the second PDF? If so, there are four different lines in the table that talk about Wilson:

325 from Wilson to Eastern
174 from Wilson to Cardozo
80 from Coolidge to Wilson
43 from Wilson to Roosevelt

If these numbers are accurate, this basically solves the Wilson overcrowding problem.

Anonymous wrote:It's all very simple - Kaya is going to take the path of least resistance, which is likely Do Nothing. Wilson will remain overcrowded unless she either she removes the OOB feeder rights, or she cuts out more feeder schools altogether. Touching OOB feeder rights is a political nightmare - if she hasn't done it now after all that DME business, no way she is going to do it with a new mayor. Rerouting more elementary schools to a different HS feeder pattern is also a political nightmare; and it will likely cause some hiccups in enrollment in those schools that are re-routed, which doesn't help her "success rate" in her final years at the helm. I think she is going to wait it out and let the next person deal with it.

Making changes to the OOB stuff was discussed ad nauseum throughout the DME process and it was made very clear throughout, and at every level, that the OOB program and the ability for students attending an elementary to have rights to the feeder middle and high schools, was not going to change. And I'm generally in agreement with that. In fact, the DME went even further by creating required OOB set-asides. While I don't agree with that, I do think it's right and appropriate to allow students from an elementary to take the next step to the middle and then high school, regardless if they were IB or OOB. The only exception in my mind are families that lottery into an elementary in 5th grade, because at that point it does seem that the family may be making the move mainly to get into that feeder path and those students haven't been with their cohort of school friends for more than a year. But OOB kids that attend an elementary starting in PK or K shouldn't get booted. Anyway that's my opinion and I know there are plenty that disagree. But again, the DME, OSSE, DCPS and the mayor have all made it plainly clear that the "nix OOB" calls will go unanswered. I can't help but to think that the Chancellor is sort of banking on the idea that some families will self-select NOT to attend Wilson and that will somehow manage the size (because it's too big, because application schools are a draw, because Ellington reopens and is beautiful and promising, etc.).

It's all very simple - Kaya is going to take the path of least resistance, which is likely Do Nothing. Wilson will remain overcrowded unless she either she removes the OOB feeder rights, or she cuts out more feeder schools altogether. Touching OOB feeder rights is a political nightmare - if she hasn't done it now after all that DME business, no way she is going to do it with a new mayor. Rerouting more elementary schools to a different HS feeder pattern is also a political nightmare; and it will likely cause some hiccups in enrollment in those schools that are re-routed, which doesn't help her "success rate" in her final years at the helm. I think she is going to wait it out and let the next person deal with it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:[H]ow many students are supposed to be in Wilson? Does anyone know that number?

1600 is the Wilson building capacity. Wilson was at 1696 students in 2013-14. Only 43 students were removed from Wilson as a result of the changes. Lots of data available from the links in the FAQ.
http://dme.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dme/publication/attachments/Wilson.pdf
http://dme.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dme/publication/attachments/Impact%20Analysis%20Final%20Boundaries.pdf (page 30)

It's not 43. It's 462, at least if I'm reading the table right. I assume, PP, you were looking at "Impact of the New High School Rights on Affected High School Students, 2013-14" in the second PDF? If so, there are four different lines in the table that talk about Wilson:

325 from Wilson to Eastern
174 from Wilson to Cardozo
80 from Coolidge to Wilson
43 from Wilson to Roosevelt

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:[H]ow many students are supposed to be in Wilson? Does anyone know that number?

1600 is the Wilson building capacity. Wilson was at 1696 students in 2013-14. Only 43 students were removed from Wilson as a result of the changes. Lots of data available from the links in the FAQ.
http://dme.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dme/publication/attachments/Wilson.pdf
http://dme.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dme/publication/attachments/Impact%20Analysis%20Final%20Boundaries.pdf (page 30)

This is such a good example of how inept DCPS is. They know they need to make further changes to the boundaries and are just kicking the can. How will this be addressed? Does the building not have a fire code limit?

And yet when they tried to make boundary changes at Janney and Murch that would helped the problem, people screamed and yelled until they were reversed (only partially in Murch's case). Politically it is just hard to do. No one wants any changes that would move them. And the other natural solution, reopening Western, is toxic because Ellington is afraid that any move that it might make would make it worse off. Some large group of people will need to be pissed off in the short run.

The Murch changes would have had ZERO impact on Wilson. In no scenario were any kids getting moved out of Wilson; the movement was from Murch to Hearst or Murch to Lafayette--they're all Deal and Wilson feeders.

Everyone agrees there needs to be changes to fix the situation. But no parent wants her individual child to suffer as a result of any change. It's sort of like a NIMBY problem. Ultimately, you have to crack eggs to make the omelette. But most politicians are too scared to deliver a message that will anger some voters. That's why Gray was in the perfect position to make these changes. I just wish he'd made bigger moves to finish the job, because I doubt Bowser has the willpower to make further changes.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:[H]ow many students are supposed to be in Wilson? Does anyone know that number?

1600 is the Wilson building capacity. Wilson was at 1696 students in 2013-14. Only 43 students were removed from Wilson as a result of the changes. Lots of data available from the links in the FAQ.
http://dme.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dme/publication/attachments/Wilson.pdf
http://dme.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dme/publication/attachments/Impact%20Analysis%20Final%20Boundaries.pdf (page 30)

This is such a good example of how inept DCPS is. They know they need to make further changes to the boundaries and are just kicking the can. How will this be addressed? Does the building not have a fire code limit?

And yet when they tried to make boundary changes at Janney and Murch that would helped the problem, people screamed and yelled until they were reversed (only partially in Murch's case). Politically it is just hard to do. No one wants any changes that would move them. And the other natural solution, reopening Western, is toxic because Ellington is afraid that any move that it might make would make it worse off. Some large group of people will need to be pissed off in the short run.

Is there a fire code limit to the Wilson building, does anyone there know?

So strange that it was just recently renovated, is now after boundary adjustments and STILL projected to be over capacity.

DCPS.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One of the outcomes of the boundary review process was to align the Wilson feeder boundary with the Hardy and Deal feeders - meaning that a huge swath of Foggy Bottom, SW and Capitol Hill will be cut out of the boundary.

This is expected to help curb enrollment growth.

Map here; new boundary in blue, old boundary in the green outline

http://dcps.dc.gov/DCPS/Files/downloads/COMMUNITY/Final%20proposal%20and%20boundaries%202014/Wilson.pdf

I sorta remember that there weren't all that many kids from the "cut off" zone in SW, etc. Anyone know the numbers?

It was not just SW. We are in NW and were cut off from Wilson, now rerouted to Cardozo.

You don't get it. Feeding from a neighborhood to a high school and not from feeder elementary schools was the whole point.

I do get it. I was just pointing out to PP who said that SW was rerouted that it was a significant chunk of NW too.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One of the outcomes of the boundary review process was to align the Wilson feeder boundary with the Hardy and Deal feeders - meaning that a huge swath of Foggy Bottom, SW and Capitol Hill will be cut out of the boundary.

This is expected to help curb enrollment growth.

Map here; new boundary in blue, old boundary in the green outline

http://dcps.dc.gov/DCPS/Files/downloads/COMMUNITY/Final%20proposal%20and%20boundaries%202014/Wilson.pdf

I sorta remember that there weren't all that many kids from the "cut off" zone in SW, etc. Anyone know the numbers?

It was not just SW. We are in NW and were cut off from Wilson, now rerouted to Cardozo.

You don't get it. Feeding from a neighborhood to a high school and not from feeder elementary schools was the whole point.

These problems are all related to the grudges among Kaya and her followers --She has known about these issues all along and has purposefully focused instead on things she chooses to control -- like the new boys-only HS planned for the other side of town. She and her admin are really not motivated to help close the achievement gap --they are interested in going charter/private and Wilson is just a pain in her butt - getting rid of Cahall removed one vocal critic of her ways and priorities. It's ridiculous we are growing feeder schools that will see 2000++ students bulging Wilson at the seams and the only plan she seems to have is to crack down on OOB kids hoping to thin out that population. DC needs a real superintendent, the Rhee/Henderson era needs to end.

Is there a plan for expansion of Eaton? First I have head of that. They don't have any physical space to expand.

I would not be surprised if Hardy is taken out as a feeder then to Wilson then.