Anonymous
05/22/2019 07:38
Subject: New Charter Schools Approved
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:do we really need more charter schools??? how about just focus on replicating the ones that have a proven model, and providing them with preferential support, over random new models with annoying names.
Agreed. Ward 8 resident. We have enough underperforming charters as it is. I’m all for Stokes and Latin expanding East of the River, however.
There may be enough schools but far too many are failing. We need more quality schools. At least the PCSB closes some schools every year (for 2018-19 more schools closed than opened, reducing the number of charter seats.
DCPS is opening high schools too - Bard, Coolidge Early College, and just a few years ago Ron Brown.
Anonymous
05/22/2019 07:17
Subject: New Charter Schools Approved
Anonymous wrote:do we really need more charter schools??? how about just focus on replicating the ones that have a proven model, and providing them with preferential support, over random new models with annoying names.
Agreed. Ward 8 resident. We have enough underperforming charters as it is. I’m all for Stokes and Latin expanding East of the River, however.
Anonymous
05/22/2019 06:45
Subject: New Charter Schools Approved
Anonymous wrote:I think Washington Latin is full of crap. Their suspension rates given their population are OUTRAGEOUS and they should be embarrassed about themselves but they are not. I went to one of their open houses and they had NO response to their demographics looking they way the look and the head of the school kept bragging about how they do not focus on test scores/PARCC, yet somehow they have great scores. I found it beyond disingenuous. Their woman of color who supposedly goes out to recruit in low-income/minority communities (I do not remember her name) was inarticulate and had no specific responses to any questions. She just kept saying "apply - you can't get in if you don't apply." It was flat-out stupid. A parent of color asked how they can have diversity when they admit that 50% or more of their slots go to sibling preference - no answer. Their lack of real responses and smugness made me dislike them very much. Plus, to not acknowledge that you have a high SES population and that is what leads to your high test scores without trying tells me all I need to know about them.
Not a fan either.
At the hearing this is what they said. Essentially two things have reduced their poor and at risk student population over time: sibling preference taking 30-45% of seats each year and MS students staying through HS. They say they used to have to backfill more high school seats and many students of those students were at-risk.
No real recruitment details were offered. Said they would focus on putting a new school where PCSB says high quality seats are least available (apparently PCSB has a list) but that being close to a Metro and bus lines accessible to all is the top priority.
They said they have a good track record of serving students with IEPs (case managers, all teachers being aware of the students’ disabilities - basic stuff BTW) and were going to start tracking at-risk kids the same way and providing similar supports.
Finally they said that ufvan at-risk preference ever exists, they would implement it.
Anonymous
05/21/2019 23:34
Subject: New Charter Schools Approved
Anonymous wrote:You all act like the lottery is a dead hand of economics kind of thing when it’s eminently changeable and clear how in many little ways privileged people game it without being stopped and the rules keep the ‘wrong people’ from getting in when they need these diverse schools the most.
The sibling stuff, proximity stuff, enrollment knowledge, after school registration, computer access, preexistente academic preparation, knowing about expansion years, no mid year transfers, language based no-transfer policies, Group shuttles and buses, all these things tend to slice by salami slice cut one way and not the other they are things we can compensate for or plan around if we act rationally and like we care.
Yes, but libertarian charter school advocates spout this line consistently.
Anonymous
05/21/2019 23:21
Subject: New Charter Schools Approved
Anonymous wrote:do we really need more charter schools??? how about just focus on replicating the ones that have a proven model, and providing them with preferential support, over random new models with annoying names.
Agreed, but just don’t send your kids to the new schools.
Anonymous
05/21/2019 16:22
Subject: New Charter Schools Approved
I think Washington Latin is full of crap. Their suspension rates given their population are OUTRAGEOUS and they should be embarrassed about themselves but they are not. I went to one of their open houses and they had NO response to their demographics looking they way the look and the head of the school kept bragging about how they do not focus on test scores/PARCC, yet somehow they have great scores. I found it beyond disingenuous. Their woman of color who supposedly goes out to recruit in low-income/minority communities (I do not remember her name) was inarticulate and had no specific responses to any questions. She just kept saying "apply - you can't get in if you don't apply." It was flat-out stupid. A parent of color asked how they can have diversity when they admit that 50% or more of their slots go to sibling preference - no answer. Their lack of real responses and smugness made me dislike them very much. Plus, to not acknowledge that you have a high SES population and that is what leads to your high test scores without trying tells me all I need to know about them.
Anonymous
05/21/2019 16:06
Subject: Re:New Charter Schools Approved
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Teach a man to fish, and so forth...
What does this mean in the context of this thread?
PP here. It was in response to 12:31's complaints about the lottery. I think they're misplaced. Sure, it's not perfect, but the lottery is pretty good. Rather than tear it up, I'd rather see time/money/energy going to helping all families access and use the lottery well.
Just note that Ward 7 and 8 respectively, where the highest number of students and the highest number of at-risk students live also had the most lottery applications as a percentage of school enrollment. See the attached chart from MSDC.
https://www.myschooldc.org/sites/default/files/dc/sites/myschooldc/page/SY19_20_L_applications_byward.pdf
Anonymous
05/21/2019 16:01
Subject: New Charter Schools Approved
Don’t ‘tear it up’ - you level the playing field. Mindfully.
Anonymous
05/21/2019 14:06
Subject: Re:New Charter Schools Approved
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Teach a man to fish, and so forth...
What does this mean in the context of this thread?
PP here. It was in response to 12:31's complaints about the lottery. I think they're misplaced. Sure, it's not perfect, but the lottery is pretty good. Rather than tear it up, I'd rather see time/money/energy going to helping all families access and use the lottery well.
Anonymous
05/21/2019 13:13
Subject: Re:New Charter Schools Approved
Anonymous wrote:Teach a man to fish, and so forth...
What does this mean in the context of this thread?
Anonymous
05/21/2019 12:51
Subject: Re:New Charter Schools Approved
Teach a man to fish, and so forth...
Anonymous
05/21/2019 12:31
Subject: New Charter Schools Approved
You all act like the lottery is a dead hand of economics kind of thing when it’s eminently changeable and clear how in many little ways privileged people game it without being stopped and the rules keep the ‘wrong people’ from getting in when they need these diverse schools the most.
The sibling stuff, proximity stuff, enrollment knowledge, after school registration, computer access, preexistente academic preparation, knowing about expansion years, no mid year transfers, language based no-transfer policies, Group shuttles and buses, all these things tend to slice by salami slice cut one way and not the other they are things we can compensate for or plan around if we act rationally and like we care.
The sibling stuff, proximity stuff, enrollment knowledge, after school registration, computer access, preexistente academic preparation, knowing about expansion years, no mid year transfers, language based no-transfer policies, Group shuttles and buses, all these things tend to slice by salami slice cut one way and not the other they are things we can compensate for or plan around if we act rationally and like we care.
Anonymous
05/21/2019 12:04
Subject: New Charter Schools Approved
Even more troubling than the low numbers of at-risk students is the high suspension rate for this population.
Anonymous
05/21/2019 11:48
Subject: New Charter Schools Approved
Anonymous wrote:At a certain point if you offer enough seats you will get some at-risk kids. There just aren't that many non-at-risk middle and high school students in DC for it to be otherwise. Locating EOTR, starting not just with the youngest grades (so families with say, rising 7th and 11th graders can apply to send both kids there), good community outreach, and really asking what people would need in order to participate (cheaper uniforms? summer programs? evening classes for parents to help them help their kids? I don't know) could all help. But some of the most motivated kids and parents I know EOTR honestly don't want to attend any school EOTR. They want to be out of their neighborhoods as much as possible. For them, good transportation from EOTR to the current campus (buses from Congress Heights, Benning Road, and Minnesota Ave. metros, perhaps?) might be more appealing than a new location.
Latin has 5 bus stops this year. They are free for students who qualify for reduced or free lunches. There are 4 stops on Capitol Hill/WOTP and one from EOTR. http://latinpcs.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/2018-2019-Bus-Form-v2.pdf
Standard morning pick-up times are as follows:
• Anacostia – Pick-up at 7:10 a.m. in the parking lot of the Safeway shopping center near Good Hope Road, Alabama Avenue, and Naylor Road, SE
• Glover Park – Pick-up at 7:25 at the Guy Mason Recreation Center Parking Lot
• Eastern Market – Pick-up at 7:30 am on North Carolina and 7th, SE (2 buses)
• Logan School – Pick-up at 7:30 a.m. on 2nd and G, NE – bus coming from Anacostia
• Tenleytown – Pick-up at 7:35 a.m. on 40th St. behind Whole Foods, bus coming from Glover Park
Anonymous
05/21/2019 11:24
Subject: New Charter Schools Approved
At a certain point if you offer enough seats you will get some at-risk kids. There just aren't that many non-at-risk middle and high school students in DC for it to be otherwise. Locating EOTR, starting not just with the youngest grades (so families with say, rising 7th and 11th graders can apply to send both kids there), good community outreach, and really asking what people would need in order to participate (cheaper uniforms? summer programs? evening classes for parents to help them help their kids? I don't know) could all help. But some of the most motivated kids and parents I know EOTR honestly don't want to attend any school EOTR. They want to be out of their neighborhoods as much as possible. For them, good transportation from EOTR to the current campus (buses from Congress Heights, Benning Road, and Minnesota Ave. metros, perhaps?) might be more appealing than a new location.