Anonymous wrote:In case the OP is still reading for answers to the original question:

Our first-grader is at Seaton, has been there since PK3, and is an advanced reader. We've been very happy with the efforts his teachers have made to keep building his skills. At the beginning of the school year, teachers were coming up to him and remarking that they had heard about his reading skills, so it was clear that there had been discussions about him, following a reading assessment in K. A few weeks into the school year, he got into several charters off the wait list, but we declined the spots. In discussing one of the charter options with the Seaton principal (we were really torn and just wanted to get her perspective) we noted that he loves Seaton but we wanted to be sure that he'd have a curriculum that fits his needs as he moves through elementary. She was very gracious and encouraged us to choose what we thought was the best fit. When we opted to stay, the teacher team developed a plan for him, which includes participating in a daily 4th-grade reading group with homework, reading aloud to a PK class, and tutoring a PK early reader. He loves it.

I understand this is not the model you're looking for, and you have concerns about what is developmentally appropriate. I would encourage you to talk with the faculty at Seaton directly to learn more about how they might handle your child's situation, and look at the reading materials they use at different levels. For our child, going to a reading group with older kids and reading to younger kids are special activities that increase his pleasure in reading. We haven't had any concerns with his exposure to "big kids", and I actually think it's good for him since he's the older child in our family. The older cohorts at Seaton, in my observation, are kind and polite. Many of them have multiple siblings, and are used to mixed age groups for playing, watching out for one another, etc. The school, in general, has a peaceful, warm vibe.

Anonymous wrote:In case the OP is still reading for answers to the original question:

Our first-grader is at Seaton, has been there since PK3, and is an advanced reader. We've been very happy with the efforts his teachers have made to keep building his skills. At the beginning of the school year, teachers were coming up to him and remarking that they had heard about his reading skills, so it was clear that there had been discussions about him, following a reading assessment in K. A few weeks into the school year, he got into several charters off the wait list, but we declined the spots. In discussing one of the charter options with the Seaton principal (we were really torn and just wanted to get her perspective) we noted that he loves Seaton but we wanted to be sure that he'd have a curriculum that fits his needs as he moves through elementary. She was very gracious and encouraged us to choose what we thought was the best fit. When we opted to stay, the teacher team developed a plan for him, which includes participating in a daily 4th-grade reading group with homework, reading aloud to a PK class, and tutoring a PK early reader. He loves it.

I understand this is not the model you're looking for, and you have concerns about what is developmentally appropriate. I would encourage you to talk with the faculty at Seaton directly to learn more about how they might handle your child's situation, and look at the reading materials they use at different levels. For our child, going to a reading group with older kids and reading to younger kids are special activities that increase his pleasure in reading. We haven't had any concerns with his exposure to "big kids", and I actually think it's good for him since he's the older child in our family. The older cohorts at Seaton, in my observation, are kind and polite. Many of them have multiple siblings, and are used to mixed age groups for playing, watching out for one another, etc. The school, in general, has a peaceful, warm vibe.

Anonymous wrote:In case the OP is still reading for answers to the original question:

Our first-grader is at Seaton, has been there since PK3, and is an advanced reader. We've been very happy with the efforts his teachers have made to keep building his skills. At the beginning of the school year, teachers were coming up to him and remarking that they had heard about his reading skills, so it was clear that there had been discussions about him, following a reading assessment in K. A few weeks into the school year, he got into several charters off the wait list, but we declined the spots. In discussing one of the charter options with the Seaton principal (we were really torn and just wanted to get her perspective) we noted that he loves Seaton but we wanted to be sure that he'd have a curriculum that fits his needs as he moves through elementary. She was very gracious and encouraged us to choose what we thought was the best fit. When we opted to stay, the teacher team developed a plan for him, which includes participating in a daily 4th-grade reading group with homework, reading aloud to a PK class, and tutoring a PK early reader. He loves it.

I understand this is not the model you're looking for, and you have concerns about what is developmentally appropriate. I would encourage you to talk with the faculty at Seaton directly to learn more about how they might handle your child's situation, and look at the reading materials they use at different levels. For our child, going to a reading group with older kids and reading to younger kids are special activities that increase his pleasure in reading. We haven't had any concerns with his exposure to "big kids", and I actually think it's good for him since he's the older child in our family. The older cohorts at Seaton, in my observation, are kind and polite. Many of them have multiple siblings, and are used to mixed age groups for playing, watching out for one another, etc. The school, in general, has a peaceful, warm vibe.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What schools would feed Shaw MS? Cleveland, Garrison, Ross, Seaton, and Thomson, according to https://dme.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dme/publication/attachments/Final%20Recommendations%20on%20Student%20Assignment%208-18-14.pdf

SWW would go to "Columbia Heights MS" (I have no idea what that is) with Tubman, Marie Reed, and Cooke, then all of the Shaw and Columbia Heights MS kids would go to Cardozo.

So if you'd send your kid to a Shaw MS, there's no reason not to support combining the current SWW feeders and the current Cardozo feeders at Cardozo, and enlarging the elementary grades at Francis-Stevens to create even more kids feeding into Cardozo.

The thing is, there is NO incentive for families to send their kid to Shaw MS or Cardozo Education Campus if they are happy with their current feeder going into Francis Stevens. The only people that would benefit from combining the feeders are kids from Garrison and Seaton (Cleveland can go to MacFarland) because they would get a stronger cohort from the kids at Ross and Thomson. Meanwhile, the kids from Ross and Thomson will have a weaker cohort if the feeders combine. As it currently stands, all the schools feeding into Francis Stevens is pretty strong. Why would Ross and Thomson families buy into that?

This conversation started with the OP asking what *Seaton* families were doing to improve Cardozo middle school. Getting F-S feeder schools to go there seems like a pretty clear way to raise Cardozo's test scores and IB percentage.

And only the dual-language kids at Cleveland can go to Macfarland.

PP, get a clue. They will never be able to force FS feeders to accept Cardozo. It will never, ever, ever work. That is why they are not going to try it. It will not work.

.

Let’s be real. How many Ross students are happily going to Francis-Stevens? And frankly, there was a time that no one went to Deal either. These things can change.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What schools would feed Shaw MS? Cleveland, Garrison, Ross, Seaton, and Thomson, according to https://dme.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dme/publication/attachments/Final%20Recommendations%20on%20Student%20Assignment%208-18-14.pdf

SWW would go to "Columbia Heights MS" (I have no idea what that is) with Tubman, Marie Reed, and Cooke, then all of the Shaw and Columbia Heights MS kids would go to Cardozo.

So if you'd send your kid to a Shaw MS, there's no reason not to support combining the current SWW feeders and the current Cardozo feeders at Cardozo, and enlarging the elementary grades at Francis-Stevens to create even more kids feeding into Cardozo.

The thing is, there is NO incentive for families to send their kid to Shaw MS or Cardozo Education Campus if they are happy with their current feeder going into Francis Stevens. The only people that would benefit from combining the feeders are kids from Garrison and Seaton (Cleveland can go to MacFarland) because they would get a stronger cohort from the kids at Ross and Thomson. Meanwhile, the kids from Ross and Thomson will have a weaker cohort if the feeders combine. As it currently stands, all the schools feeding into Francis Stevens is pretty strong. Why would Ross and Thomson families buy into that?

This conversation started with the OP asking what *Seaton* families were doing to improve Cardozo middle school. Getting F-S feeder schools to go there seems like a pretty clear way to raise Cardozo's test scores and IB percentage.

And only the dual-language kids at Cleveland can go to Macfarland.

PP, get a clue. They will never be able to force FS feeders to accept Cardozo. It will never, ever, ever work. That is why they are not going to try it. It will not work.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What schools would feed Shaw MS? Cleveland, Garrison, Ross, Seaton, and Thomson, according to https://dme.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dme/publication/attachments/Final%20Recommendations%20on%20Student%20Assignment%208-18-14.pdf

SWW would go to "Columbia Heights MS" (I have no idea what that is) with Tubman, Marie Reed, and Cooke, then all of the Shaw and Columbia Heights MS kids would go to Cardozo.

So if you'd send your kid to a Shaw MS, there's no reason not to support combining the current SWW feeders and the current Cardozo feeders at Cardozo, and enlarging the elementary grades at Francis-Stevens to create even more kids feeding into Cardozo.

The thing is, there is NO incentive for families to send their kid to Shaw MS or Cardozo Education Campus if they are happy with their current feeder going into Francis Stevens. The only people that would benefit from combining the feeders are kids from Garrison and Seaton (Cleveland can go to MacFarland) because they would get a stronger cohort from the kids at Ross and Thomson. Meanwhile, the kids from Ross and Thomson will have a weaker cohort if the feeders combine. As it currently stands, all the schools feeding into Francis Stevens is pretty strong. Why would Ross and Thomson families buy into that?

This conversation started with the OP asking what *Seaton* families were doing to improve Cardozo middle school. Getting F-S feeder schools to go there seems like a pretty clear way to raise Cardozo's test scores and IB percentage.

And only the dual-language kids at Cleveland can go to Macfarland.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What schools would feed Shaw MS? Cleveland, Garrison, Ross, Seaton, and Thomson, according to https://dme.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dme/publication/attachments/Final%20Recommendations%20on%20Student%20Assignment%208-18-14.pdf

SWW would go to "Columbia Heights MS" (I have no idea what that is) with Tubman, Marie Reed, and Cooke, then all of the Shaw and Columbia Heights MS kids would go to Cardozo.

So if you'd send your kid to a Shaw MS, there's no reason not to support combining the current SWW feeders and the current Cardozo feeders at Cardozo, and enlarging the elementary grades at Francis-Stevens to create even more kids feeding into Cardozo.

The thing is, there is NO incentive for families to send their kid to Shaw MS or Cardozo Education Campus if they are happy with their current feeder going into Francis Stevens. The only people that would benefit from combining the feeders are kids from Garrison and Seaton (Cleveland can go to MacFarland) because they would get a stronger cohort from the kids at Ross and Thomson. Meanwhile, the kids from Ross and Thomson will have a weaker cohort if the feeders combine. As it currently stands, all the schools feeding into Francis Stevens is pretty strong. Why would Ross and Thomson families buy into that?

Anonymous wrote:What schools would feed Shaw MS? Cleveland, Garrison, Ross, Seaton, and Thomson, according to https://dme.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dme/publication/attachments/Final%20Recommendations%20on%20Student%20Assignment%208-18-14.pdf

SWW would go to "Columbia Heights MS" (I have no idea what that is) with Tubman, Marie Reed, and Cooke, then all of the Shaw and Columbia Heights MS kids would go to Cardozo.

So if you'd send your kid to a Shaw MS, there's no reason not to support combining the current SWW feeders and the current Cardozo feeders at Cardozo, and enlarging the elementary grades at Francis-Stevens to create even more kids feeding into Cardozo.

Anonymous wrote:Eastern is a similarly cautionary tale.

Rich Capitol Hill parents said the school was in bad condition. So DCPS renovated it. They said they wanted rigor, and the school offers a full IB program. They said they wanted extracurriculars and there are lots of clubs and sports.

Now parents say "there isn't a cohort of high-performing kids" and "the IB scores are lower than in the Montgomery County magnets."

A lot of rich people in DC got that way by being risk-averse. They are lawyers, compliance people, accountants--paid to notice problems and guide their bosses to the safer path. They are not inclined to try out a school where their kid will stand out. If DCPS did open Shaw it's not going to be a panacea where all of a sudden every rich family in PK3 at Seaton is going to stay through MS. And even if they did, plenty of poor families would stay too, and that is what's intolerable to a lot of DCPS parents.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Long-term, isn't there supposed to be a new Shaw MS anyway???

What would be your justification for adding a new middle school when Cardozo is under-enrolled? The enrollment capacity is 1070, and there are plus/minus 780 kids. If you want to lobby DC to open Shaw MS, you'll have to have a reason for them to do so.

There isn't an enrollment justification right now. The justification would be that it's a chance to go back to the drawing board and create a middle school that is appealing to high-income parents. If that happened, the feeder schools would attract more students, and then the enrollment would grow to fill the school.

Look at Brookland. They built a fancy new school and gave it a principal with experience catering to high-income people. And it still didn't attract them. Why would you think DCPS would want to try again in Shaw--and if they did, why wouldn't you expect parents would be saying all the same things they say now about Brookland Middle?

Most rich parents want to send their kids to school with other rich kids. But in DCPS, 4 out of 5 middle schoolers are poor. So DCPS can't just magically make a school be full of rich kids to satisfy rich parents, and they have no desire to do so anyway.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Long-term, isn't there supposed to be a new Shaw MS anyway???

What would be your justification for adding a new middle school when Cardozo is under-enrolled? The enrollment capacity is 1070, and there are plus/minus 780 kids. If you want to lobby DC to open Shaw MS, you'll have to have a reason for them to do so.

There isn't an enrollment justification right now. The justification would be that it's a chance to go back to the drawing board and create a middle school that is appealing to high-income parents. If that happened, the feeder schools would attract more students, and then the enrollment would grow to fill the school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Long-term, isn't there supposed to be a new Shaw MS anyway???

What would be your justification for adding a new middle school when Cardozo is under-enrolled? The enrollment capacity is 1070, and there are plus/minus 780 kids. If you want to lobby DC to open Shaw MS, you'll have to have a reason for them to do so.

There isn't an enrollment justification right now. The justification would be that it's a chance to go back to the drawing board and create a middle school that is appealing to high-income parents. If that happened, the feeder schools would attract more students, and then the enrollment would grow to fill the school.

Not going to happen. Not with other schools that are slated for modernization and with Cardozo sitting half empty. Why would DC plunk down millions to renovate Shaw MS (and skip over other priority renovations) on the chance that it may attract some families? And if you believe that DCPS cares about appealing to high-income parents, I have news for you, they don't.

Agree with this, although I've never really understood why they bothered to propose it, then.