Anonymous
12/05/2017 09:16
Subject: Do charters really differ that much from regular public schools?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Charters can essentially pick their students through barriers to entry and subtle (and not-so-subtle) signals to parents who (consciously or not) choose to self-segregate.
Just the fact that they get more engaged families (who exercise choice) makes them stronger than your typical neighborhood DCPS.
and what exactly is a "typical neighborhood DCPS"? Many DCPS schools have very high engagement level. This just sounds like some pro-charter meme you pulled out of your ass.
If it were pro-charter, she wouldn't have raised the cherry-picking canard. She's one of the anti-charter folks that resents charters because she views them as having stolen or seduced the more engaged families which she imagines would otherwise be attending her neighborhood school.
Anonymous
12/05/2017 09:13
Subject: Do charters really differ that much from regular public schools?
Anonymous wrote:Charters can essentially pick their students through barriers to entry and subtle (and not-so-subtle) signals to parents who (consciously or not) choose to self-segregate.
Just the fact that they get more engaged families (who exercise choice) makes them stronger than your typical neighborhood DCPS.
That is such bullshit, you lying liar-pants. Your pants are aflame.
EVERYONE uses the lottery system to get in to every school. You may have preference at certain schools due to physical location (e.g., your local DCPS) or a sibling already enrolled. Nonetheless, the lottery systems ensures EVERYONE goes through the same doors in a randomized order. The charters don't get to choose their students.
What a load of crap.
Anonymous
12/04/2017 20:22
Subject: Do charters really differ that much from regular public schools?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Charters can essentially pick their students through barriers to entry and subtle (and not-so-subtle) signals to parents who (consciously or not) choose to self-segregate.
Just the fact that they get more engaged families (who exercise choice) makes them stronger than your typical neighborhood DCPS.
and what exactly is a "typical neighborhood DCPS"? Many DCPS schools have very high engagement level. This just sounds like some pro-charter meme you pulled out of your ass.
They're more engaged by the very effort it took to research and get into a charter, i.e., they're not sitting back and taking the path of least effort (the neighborhood DCPS).
That's not really a high bar. What - an internet connection? Lots of parents seek out OOB DCPS seats.
Think harder
Yes, if certain charters can keep out families without internet, I'm sure they would. (They definitely did create barriers like access to car and internet back in the pre-common lottery era.)
And so did DCPS for OOB. My neighbor camped out for Oyster for 3 days to be first in line (it worked).
But both of those anecdotes ancient history. There's no reason to keep trotting it out.
Anonymous
12/04/2017 20:11
Subject: Do charters really differ that much from regular public schools?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Charters can essentially pick their students through barriers to entry and subtle (and not-so-subtle) signals to parents who (consciously or not) choose to self-segregate.
Just the fact that they get more engaged families (who exercise choice) makes them stronger than your typical neighborhood DCPS.
and what exactly is a "typical neighborhood DCPS"? Many DCPS schools have very high engagement level. This just sounds like some pro-charter meme you pulled out of your ass.
They're more engaged by the very effort it took to research and get into a charter, i.e., they're not sitting back and taking the path of least effort (the neighborhood DCPS).
That's not really a high bar. What - an internet connection? Lots of parents seek out OOB DCPS seats.
Think harder
Yes, if certain charters can keep out families without internet, I'm sure they would. (They definitely did create barriers like access to car and internet back in the pre-common lottery era.)
Anonymous
12/04/2017 18:02
Subject: Do charters really differ that much from regular public schools?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Charters can essentially pick their students through barriers to entry and subtle (and not-so-subtle) signals to parents who (consciously or not) choose to self-segregate.
Just the fact that they get more engaged families (who exercise choice) makes them stronger than your typical neighborhood DCPS.
and what exactly is a "typical neighborhood DCPS"? Many DCPS schools have very high engagement level. This just sounds like some pro-charter meme you pulled out of your ass.
They're more engaged by the very effort it took to research and get into a charter, i.e., they're not sitting back and taking the path of least effort (the neighborhood DCPS).
That's not really a high bar. What - an internet connection? Lots of parents seek out OOB DCPS seats.
Think harder
Not in the neighborhoods that have the best and the worst DCPS.
Anonymous
12/04/2017 17:49
Subject: Do charters really differ that much from regular public schools?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Charters can essentially pick their students through barriers to entry and subtle (and not-so-subtle) signals to parents who (consciously or not) choose to self-segregate.
Just the fact that they get more engaged families (who exercise choice) makes them stronger than your typical neighborhood DCPS.
and what exactly is a "typical neighborhood DCPS"? Many DCPS schools have very high engagement level. This just sounds like some pro-charter meme you pulled out of your ass.
They're more engaged by the very effort it took to research and get into a charter, i.e., they're not sitting back and taking the path of least effort (the neighborhood DCPS).
That's not really a high bar. What - an internet connection? Lots of parents seek out OOB DCPS seats.
Think harder
Anonymous
12/04/2017 17:42
Subject: Do charters really differ that much from regular public schools?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Charters can essentially pick their students through barriers to entry and subtle (and not-so-subtle) signals to parents who (consciously or not) choose to self-segregate.
Just the fact that they get more engaged families (who exercise choice) makes them stronger than your typical neighborhood DCPS.
and what exactly is a "typical neighborhood DCPS"? Many DCPS schools have very high engagement level. This just sounds like some pro-charter meme you pulled out of your ass.
They're more engaged by the very effort it took to research and get into a charter, i.e., they're not sitting back and taking the path of least effort (the neighborhood DCPS).
Anonymous
12/04/2017 17:07
Subject: Do charters really differ that much from regular public schools?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Charters can essentially pick their students through barriers to entry and subtle (and not-so-subtle) signals to parents who (consciously or not) choose to self-segregate.
Just the fact that they get more engaged families (who exercise choice) makes them stronger than your typical neighborhood DCPS.
It's hard to know whether some of these are deliberate. The fact that getting to some charter campuses without a car is practically impossible may be a screening device, but It may also be that real estate near public transit is just too pricy for newer charters.
The decision to have aftercare prices of $350+ per month per child, howver, is definitely sending a message.
Certain buzzwords in the mission statement (immersion, Montessori, progressive, expeditionary learning) tend to attract middle class parents. That may be moot though. Those schools are full, and most new charters coming online are just expansions of existing charters or national charter chains. There are no new LAMBs opening, because everyone has figured out that you can't meet the requirements (special ed, lcentral location) on the current budget. They can't compete with the economies of scale of the school district with just one campus.
Non title 1 DCPS schools have aftercare around $350+ too. $350 is not bad. Now $450-$550 is steep. Charters don’t get free facilities so can’t afford to subsidize aftercare.
First of all, aftercare is only subsidized at Title 1 schools. Every other school community pays to operate aftercare.
And charters do get DC government facilities funding (see DC Code 38–2908) - ~$3K/student). That's just totally wrong. There's been a court case which argued it's not equal to DCPS (charter plaintifs LOST by the way), but that's hardly the same as suggesting charters have to pay all of their costs. They can also get funding from outside the government allotment, none of which impacts the standard per pupil fee (DC Code38–2906).
Anonymous
12/04/2017 16:58
Subject: Do charters really differ that much from regular public schools?
Anonymous wrote:Charters can essentially pick their students through barriers to entry and subtle (and not-so-subtle) signals to parents who (consciously or not) choose to self-segregate.
Just the fact that they get more engaged families (who exercise choice) makes them stronger than your typical neighborhood DCPS.
and what exactly is a "typical neighborhood DCPS"? Many DCPS schools have very high engagement level. This just sounds like some pro-charter meme you pulled out of your ass.
Anonymous
12/04/2017 16:45
Subject: Re:Do charters really differ that much from regular public schools?
Have been at both a HRCS and also a DCPS school. Both were/are pretty good.
What I have noticed is that charters tend to build each year upon what went well the year before. They pick up where they left off. DCPS reinvents the wheel, especially when key personnel leave. So in 10 years a charter school can go from opening with 50 students to a sought-after HRCS, while a DCPS may or may not improve in that time.
And also charters can and have been closed for poor performance. DCPS closes schools based on building capacity and population shifts.
What I have noticed is that charters tend to build each year upon what went well the year before. They pick up where they left off. DCPS reinvents the wheel, especially when key personnel leave. So in 10 years a charter school can go from opening with 50 students to a sought-after HRCS, while a DCPS may or may not improve in that time.
And also charters can and have been closed for poor performance. DCPS closes schools based on building capacity and population shifts.
Anonymous
12/04/2017 14:51
Subject: Do charters really differ that much from regular public schools?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:We left an HRC for a Title I DCPS. The teachers are far more qualified, there is more structure and organization, and you have more recourse/supervision. For my kid with an IEP I have decided that I will never again do a charter. L
+1 For easier to hold DCPS accountable and get services your child is legally eligible to receive.
It can be easier.
I had much better luck from a special needs perspective in a charter than DCPS, which didn't recognize my child's language disorder at all. Charter was immediately responsive, and hired an SLP who had specialized training in my kid's disorder (which is rare) to work with DC. DCPS wanted to bus my child 75 minutes from home and put in a self-contained classroom for children with intellectual disabilities.
Not all DCPS schools are good, and not all charters are bad. And vice versa.
Anonymous
12/04/2017 14:49
Subject: Do charters really differ that much from regular public schools?
Anonymous wrote:We left an HRC for a Title I DCPS. The teachers are far more qualified, there is more structure and organization, and you have more recourse/supervision. For my kid with an IEP I have decided that I will never again do a charter. L
+1 For easier to hold DCPS accountable and get services your child is legally eligible to receive.
Anonymous
12/02/2017 07:10
Subject: Do charters really differ that much from regular public schools?
My kid with an IEP is at a charter popular on these boards. I would nervous to send kid to DCPS with the needs kid has.
Anonymous
12/02/2017 01:53
Subject: Do charters really differ that much from regular public schools?
We left an HRC for a Title I DCPS. The teachers are far more qualified, there is more structure and organization, and you have more recourse/supervision. For my kid with an IEP I have decided that I will never again do a charter. L
Anonymous
12/02/2017 00:18
Subject: Do charters really differ that much from regular public schools?
Anonymous wrote:Don't forget too that there are quite a few charters which are low performing and serve the same populations as the lower performing DCPS. We hear very little detail about those on this site.
Except when they dump their problem kids to the neighborhood DCPS after count day.