Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Once again, it is so adorable to me (a neighbor, a longtime Catholic, and parent) how DCPS parents imagine that all empty property property can simply be assigned to DCPS to fulfill its needs.

Murch needs swing space? Why, we could take over private company Intelsat or better yet, several acres of National Park land that is held in trust for all Americans! Janney uncomfortably crowded? Let's start with St. Ann's, and if that's not enough, lets scoop up Best Buy too! And wait -- What about that cute church behind Best Buy!?! We can have that too! My kids neeeeeeeed space. Mine! Mine! Mine! And then Hearst can be the place where we put science labs and theater ... And we can have basketball games in the Fannie Mae building ....


Great synopsis of this thread. Bravo.

There's a lot of space at the vacant former Intelsat building. Intelsat moved out over a year ago and went to Tysons.

Exactly. PP is being a bitch-- not sure why she's so agitated that DCPS would look for private properties with vacant space that ARE AVAILABLE FOR RENTAL. Duh. No one is talking about eminent domain.

Why not talk about DCPS buying/leasing the Fannie Mae building to alleviate the overcrowding at the most successful public schools in DC? Huh? What am I missing?

Why should DCPS buy another site in pricy Upper Northwest, when two well-regarded schools, Hearst and Eaton, are at least 60 percent OOB ? Instead of overcrowding Janney and Mann, just tweak some boundaries and Hearst and Eaton schools become overwhelming IB. I know that this would get some folks EOTP bent out of shape, but it seems ludicrous to be talking about a building new elementary school WOTP when nearby good schools in "small neighborhoods" are filling their excess capacity by kids schlepping across the city.

Eaton's OOB appeal will diminish with its Hardy feed, and Hearst is likely to pick up the slack. If Eaton stayed in Deal feed you'd probably see more support. There has to be a tipping point of good oversubscribed school being lesser option than up and coming school without overcrowding.

It's more likely that the Deal to Hardy switch will diminish Eaton's in-boundary appeal as more Eaton neighborhood families look for early off ramps to Charter or independent middle school alternatives other to Hardy. There will still be OOB demand for Eaton spots, particularly from OOB families for whom a path to Hardy is an acceptable alternative to otherwise underperforming middle schools for their neighborhoods.

Anonymous wrote:Why should DCPS buy another site in pricy Upper Northwest, when two well-regarded schools, Hearst and Eaton, are at least 60 percent OOB ? Instead of overcrowding Janney and Mann, just tweak some boundaries and Hearst and Eaton schools become overwhelming IB. I know that this would get some folks EOTP bent out of shape, but it seems ludicrous to be talking about a building new elementary school WOTP when nearby good schools in "small neighborhoods" are filling their excess capacity by kids schlepping across the city.

Tweaking the boundaries is difficult because people outside of Upper NW will be unhappy, and unhappy parents vote against incumbent politicians. I see three logical choices ...

1. Improve other schools around the city, making them just as attractive as the Upper NW schools, so parents will voluntarily leave the Upper NW schools, thereby eliminating overcrowding. This is a great option in theory, but I think it's completely impractical to the point of being almost impossible. Sure, DCPS can throw lots of money at a school to make it look pretty, and can hire lots of teachers to help the students. But what makes a school attractive to parents are numbers like test score proficiency, graduation rates, and low numbers of discipline problems. For other schools to improve, they need to attract students who will boost those numbers. But those numbers won't improve until those students arrive. It's a Catch-22 which prevents improvement, or at least makes improvement very slow and difficult.

2. Shrink the boundaries around overcrowded schools (and the corresponding feeder boundaries) to get the schools down to their rated capacity. As a practical matter, it seems that if you move the boundary line, many people losing access to the Upper NW schools will be redirected to other schools EOTP, which seems to fit with DCPS's plan for improving those EOTP schools. Even better, as more proficient students get shifted from the Deal cluster to other EOTP schools, those EOTP schools may well see increases in their proficiency scores and other numbers, which will attract more families. Seems like a win-win. Where that plan runs into trouble is all the angry parents who would prefer their children have easy access to Deal/Wilson, rather than facing unproven EOTP schools. Politicians do not want their constituents to be unhappy, especially vocal constituents. People losing access to schools will tend to complain more than people suffering overcrowded schools. Therefore, this approach is unlikely to work because of constituent complaints and political pressure.

3. Put even more schools in Upper NW. IMHO, this is the dumbest approach, because it means DCPS is spending money on new facilities and transporting students across town, while ignoring all the facilities it already has. It's ridiculous and inefficient to keep cramming more students into Upper NW schools, just so parents can feel they are sending their kids to the schools with the highest test scores. It leads to a "tragedy of the commons" situation, because those schools will suffer as they get overcrowded, and all families suffer the additional commuter burden. But it's politically the most expedient, because it's just more money, and less sacrifice. The cost gets spread thinly across all those paying taxes, so no one will complain too loudly.

When I first started looking at DCPS and the boundary problems, I thought the best solution was #2 on the list. But now, I've realized that's just impossible because human nature will cause people to resist any change like that. I applaud the efforts to improve MacFarland, but I don't think they will change anything unless DCPS and the Mayor show the political willpower needed to block families in the MacFarland area from choosing Deal. So now, I think the only viable solution is #3 -- just build more schools in Upper NW. People will complain about all the money flowing to Upper NW, but if that's where the families from other parts of the city want their children to attend school, then that's the only way to relieve overcrowding. Seems like DCPS needs 1 new high school, 1 new middle school, and 1 new elementary school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Once again, it is so adorable to me (a neighbor, a longtime Catholic, and parent) how DCPS parents imagine that all empty property property can simply be assigned to DCPS to fulfill its needs.

Murch needs swing space? Why, we could take over private company Intelsat or better yet, several acres of National Park land that is held in trust for all Americans! Janney uncomfortably crowded? Let's start with St. Ann's, and if that's not enough, lets scoop up Best Buy too! And wait -- What about that cute church behind Best Buy!?! We can have that too! My kids neeeeeeeed space. Mine! Mine! Mine! And then Hearst can be the place where we put science labs and theater ... And we can have basketball games in the Fannie Mae building ....


Great synopsis of this thread. Bravo.

There's a lot of space at the vacant former Intelsat building. Intelsat moved out over a year ago and went to Tysons.

Exactly. PP is being a bitch-- not sure why she's so agitated that DCPS would look for private properties with vacant space that ARE AVAILABLE FOR RENTAL. Duh. No one is talking about eminent domain.

Why not talk about DCPS buying/leasing the Fannie Mae building to alleviate the overcrowding at the most successful public schools in DC? Huh? What am I missing?

Why should DCPS buy another site in pricy Upper Northwest, when two well-regarded schools, Hearst and Eaton, are at least 60 percent OOB ? Instead of overcrowding Janney and Mann, just tweak some boundaries and Hearst and Eaton schools become overwhelming IB. I know that this would get some folks EOTP bent out of shape, but it seems ludicrous to be talking about a building new elementary school WOTP when nearby good schools in "small neighborhoods" are filling their excess capacity by kids schlepping across the city.

Eaton's OOB appeal will diminish with its Hardy feed, and Hearst is likely to pick up the slack. If Eaton stayed in Deal feed you'd probably see more support. There has to be a tipping point of good oversubscribed school being lesser option than up and coming school without overcrowding.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Once again, it is so adorable to me (a neighbor, a longtime Catholic, and parent) how DCPS parents imagine that all empty property property can simply be assigned to DCPS to fulfill its needs.

Murch needs swing space? Why, we could take over private company Intelsat or better yet, several acres of National Park land that is held in trust for all Americans! Janney uncomfortably crowded? Let's start with St. Ann's, and if that's not enough, lets scoop up Best Buy too! And wait -- What about that cute church behind Best Buy!?! We can have that too! My kids neeeeeeeed space. Mine! Mine! Mine! And then Hearst can be the place where we put science labs and theater ... And we can have basketball games in the Fannie Mae building ....


Great synopsis of this thread. Bravo.

There's a lot of space at the vacant former Intelsat building. Intelsat moved out over a year ago and went to Tysons.

Exactly. PP is being a bitch-- not sure why she's so agitated that DCPS would look for private properties with vacant space that ARE AVAILABLE FOR RENTAL. Duh. No one is talking about eminent domain.

Why not talk about DCPS buying/leasing the Fannie Mae building to alleviate the overcrowding at the most successful public schools in DC? Huh? What am I missing?

St. Ann's real estate isn't on the market, to be clear. The Diocese of Washington is a very savvy entity that isn't going to say, "No, really, after you Janney parents -- since you asked so presumptively." And duh yourself -- putting trailers and blacktop on National Park Service land (aka, "the Hill") and taking it out of commission for the rest of the city / country .... really, now? That leg of RCP is, as you put is so prettily in all caps, NOT AVAILABLE FOR RENTAL.

Agree boundaries for Lafayette, Murch and Janney should be changed and the changes enforced. This would piss off people east and west of the park but it would fix the problem without having to build another school.

The problem of Murch's swing space is a separate issue.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Once again, it is so adorable to me (a neighbor, a longtime Catholic, and parent) how DCPS parents imagine that all empty property property can simply be assigned to DCPS to fulfill its needs.

Murch needs swing space? Why, we could take over private company Intelsat or better yet, several acres of National Park land that is held in trust for all Americans! Janney uncomfortably crowded? Let's start with St. Ann's, and if that's not enough, lets scoop up Best Buy too! And wait -- What about that cute church behind Best Buy!?! We can have that too! My kids neeeeeeeed space. Mine! Mine! Mine! And then Hearst can be the place where we put science labs and theater ... And we can have basketball games in the Fannie Mae building ....


Great synopsis of this thread. Bravo.

There's a lot of space at the vacant former Intelsat building. Intelsat moved out over a year ago and went to Tysons.

Exactly. PP is being a bitch-- not sure why she's so agitated that DCPS would look for private properties with vacant space that ARE AVAILABLE FOR RENTAL. Duh. No one is talking about eminent domain.

Why not talk about DCPS buying/leasing the Fannie Mae building to alleviate the overcrowding at the most successful public schools in DC? Huh? What am I missing?

Why should DCPS buy another site in pricy Upper Northwest, when two well-regarded schools, Hearst and Eaton, are at least 60 percent OOB ? Instead of overcrowding Janney and Mann, just tweak some boundaries and Hearst and Eaton schools become overwhelming IB. I know that this would get some folks EOTP bent out of shape, but it seems ludicrous to be talking about a building new elementary school WOTP when nearby good schools in "small neighborhoods" are filling their excess capacity by kids schlepping across the city.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are missing 90M before renovations.

Is this a reference to the renovations that Janney has already received? As a Janney parent, I do think it's a fair objection that other schools have had to wait for renovations so Janney should not get any more expansions ahead of the line. However, I do think (back to the OP) that 32 kids in a class is not acceptable and we should use garden space to put trailers. Then others posted the notion that trailers were somehow not allowed (not sure if that's actually true) and said that DCPS should rent space from St. Ann's. If St. Ann's is actually putting their space up for lease, this is not a crazy idea. If it is not, then then it should be dropped.

But if there are trailers, what about the garden? And the chickens?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:... Deal: 1312
Wilson: 1788

How many more kids can fit into Deal and Wilson???

Didn't Bowser promise "Alice Deal for all"?

Apparently, we all misunderstood Bowser. We thought she meant to improve other schools to the level of Deal. But what she really meant was that every middle school student in the entire city will attend Deal. Deal enrollment expected to top 10,000. All other middle schools will simply close for lack of enrollment, and will be sold to developers, netting millions for city budgets.

DC got "Bowsered."

It's pretty telling that she used that steaming pile of a line on the campaign and incredulous responses aside, her administration has done ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to address middle school quality at DCPS. There is no vision for how this gets better, there's only hope for charters to fill the void.

I see your point, but there has been meetings, outreach etc. for the "new" MacFarland MS in Petworth.

and what does that have to do with "quality"?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:... Deal: 1312
Wilson: 1788

How many more kids can fit into Deal and Wilson???

Didn't Bowser promise "Alice Deal for all"?

Apparently, we all misunderstood Bowser. We thought she meant to improve other schools to the level of Deal. But what she really meant was that every middle school student in the entire city will attend Deal. Deal enrollment expected to top 10,000. All other middle schools will simply close for lack of enrollment, and will be sold to developers, netting millions for city budgets.

DC got "Bowsered."

It's pretty telling that she used that steaming pile of a line on the campaign and incredulous responses aside, her administration has done ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to address middle school quality at DCPS. There is no vision for how this gets better, there's only hope for charters to fill the void.

I see your point, but there has been meetings, outreach etc. for the "new" MacFarland MS in Petworth.

The $90M is the purchase price for the Fannie Mae building.

Tenley Library is sounding better and better for Janney overflow

Anonymous wrote:You are missing 90M before renovations.

Is this a reference to the renovations that Janney has already received? As a Janney parent, I do think it's a fair objection that other schools have had to wait for renovations so Janney should not get any more expansions ahead of the line. However, I do think (back to the OP) that 32 kids in a class is not acceptable and we should use garden space to put trailers. Then others posted the notion that trailers were somehow not allowed (not sure if that's actually true) and said that DCPS should rent space from St. Ann's. If St. Ann's is actually putting their space up for lease, this is not a crazy idea. If it is not, then then it should be dropped.

You are missing 90M before renovations.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Once again, it is so adorable to me (a neighbor, a longtime Catholic, and parent) how DCPS parents imagine that all empty property property can simply be assigned to DCPS to fulfill its needs.

Murch needs swing space? Why, we could take over private company Intelsat or better yet, several acres of National Park land that is held in trust for all Americans! Janney uncomfortably crowded? Let's start with St. Ann's, and if that's not enough, lets scoop up Best Buy too! And wait -- What about that cute church behind Best Buy!?! We can have that too! My kids neeeeeeeed space. Mine! Mine! Mine! And then Hearst can be the place where we put science labs and theater ... And we can have basketball games in the Fannie Mae building ....


Great synopsis of this thread. Bravo.

There's a lot of space at the vacant former Intelsat building. Intelsat moved out over a year ago and went to Tysons.

Exactly. PP is being a bitch-- not sure why she's so agitated that DCPS would look for private properties with vacant space that ARE AVAILABLE FOR RENTAL. Duh. No one is talking about eminent domain.

Why not talk about DCPS buying/leasing the Fannie Mae building to alleviate the overcrowding at the most successful public schools in DC? Huh? What am I missing?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Once again, it is so adorable to me (a neighbor, a longtime Catholic, and parent) how DCPS parents imagine that all empty property property can simply be assigned to DCPS to fulfill its needs.

Murch needs swing space? Why, we could take over private company Intelsat or better yet, several acres of National Park land that is held in trust for all Americans! Janney uncomfortably crowded? Let's start with St. Ann's, and if that's not enough, lets scoop up Best Buy too! And wait -- What about that cute church behind Best Buy!?! We can have that too! My kids neeeeeeeed space. Mine! Mine! Mine! And then Hearst can be the place where we put science labs and theater ... And we can have basketball games in the Fannie Mae building ....


Great synopsis of this thread. Bravo.

There's a lot of space at the vacant former Intelsat building. Intelsat moved out over a year ago and went to Tysons.

I know who is considering the space - and it is not DCPS

Who is it?