Anonymous
Post 09/30/2015 10:37     Subject: Janney third grade parents--what do you think of the giant class sizes?
Anonymous wrote:As I recall those threads, they were mostly Murch families that were upset about being rezoned to Hearst.


Actually at the community meetings, the Janney parents were about as insane as the Murch ones, if not more. They just didn't vent on DCUM as much.
Anonymous
Post 09/30/2015 10:23     Subject: Janney third grade parents--what do you think of the giant class sizes?
As I recall those threads, they were mostly Murch families that were upset about being rezoned to Hearst.
Anonymous
Post 09/30/2015 10:12     Subject: Janney third grade parents--what do you think of the giant class sizes?
Anonymous wrote:Hi, I'm Pete, and I really appreciate all the love from Janney families! If I could put my dang two cents in, I think all y'all's problem could be solved with just a smidge of political courage, and you could just redistrict part of Janney to Hearst.

Again, thanks for the love Janney!


Yep - let's try this approach again. It was actually pretty entertaining to go to the community meetings and hear Janney and Murch parents make arguments - sometimes even including powerpoint charts and graphs - that walking 0.3 miles - yes, 3/10ths of a mile further to school - i.e., walking to Hearst instead of to Janney or Murch - would RUIN their lives and doom their children's futures... I could use a good laugh again -

Anonymous
Post 09/30/2015 01:18     Subject: Janney third grade parents--what do you think of the giant class sizes?
Hi, I'm Pete, and I really appreciate all the love from Janney families! If I could put my dang two cents in, I think all y'all's problem could be solved with just a smidge of political courage, and you could just redistrict part of Janney to Hearst.

Again, thanks for the love Janney!
Anonymous
Post 09/29/2015 23:27     Subject: Janney third grade parents--what do you think of the giant class sizes?
For the love of Pete's Pizza, the one in the Janney boundary, the FARMS percentages are posted on the DCPS website.

Janney's FARM % managed to go -even lower-, to a record low of 2% FARMS. That, my friends, is the secret sauce:

Have no rental apartments whatsoever in your boundary.

Anonymous
Post 09/29/2015 22:43     Subject: Janney third grade parents--what do you think of the giant class sizes?
For the love of Pete, I left my wife and kids and moved into Cityline.
Anonymous
Post 09/29/2015 22:28     Subject: Janney third grade parents--what do you think of the giant class sizes?
Anonymous wrote:All that is fine for the short-sighted but the overcrowding at Janney, Murch and Lafayette spills over to Deal and Wilson. The boundaries need to shift to relieve overcrowding at all levels, not just the ES level. Of course people won't like it but it is the most reasonable solution.


Another option:
Get rid of feeder rights for OOB students - you would not need to change a boundary and would adjust Deal and Wilson significantly.
Anonymous
Post 09/29/2015 21:57     Subject: Janney third grade parents--what do you think of the giant class sizes?
All that is fine for the short-sighted but the overcrowding at Janney, Murch and Lafayette spills over to Deal and Wilson. The boundaries need to shift to relieve overcrowding at all levels, not just the ES level. Of course people won't like it but it is the most reasonable solution.
Anonymous
Post 09/29/2015 21:52     Subject: Re:Janney third grade parents--what do you think of the giant class sizes?
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.


+1
Anonymous
Post 09/29/2015 21:44     Subject: Janney third grade parents--what do you think of the giant class sizes?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:For the love of Pete, shifting boundaries would be a free solution to NW school crowding.


... but DME proposed it and Janney shot it down!

This is what Janney asked for - and now they are upset?


Yep. Be careful what you wish for.

Janney parents should turn the chickens into nuggets and put up trailers, apply to privates or charters or deal with it.
Anonymous
Post 09/29/2015 21:42     Subject: Janney third grade parents--what do you think of the giant class sizes?
Anonymous wrote:For the love of Pete, shifting boundaries would be a free solution to NW school crowding.


... but DME proposed it and Janney shot it down!

This is what Janney asked for - and now they are upset?
Anonymous
Post 09/29/2015 20:59     Subject: Janney third grade parents--what do you think of the giant class sizes?
For the love of Pete, shifting boundaries would be a free solution to NW school crowding.
Anonymous
Post 09/29/2015 20:50     Subject: Janney third grade parents--what do you think of the giant class sizes?
For the love of Pete, Dcps iwns a school building that can alleviate overcrowding in the NW elementary schools. The old Hardy school on Foxhall. Don't let them renew the lease.
Anonymous
Post 09/29/2015 20:48     Subject: Re:Janney third grade parents--what do you think of the giant class sizes?
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?


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.



Do you think the Diocese of Washington is as thin-skinned as you are such that if the property were available for lease, it would turn down an offer from DCPS because the school it would benefit included some "presumptive" Janney parents? I have no clue if it is for rental or not. If it's not then this discussion is moot and there's no point in raising it. If it is, then it's a legitimate proposal. Not sure why you are getting so wound up about this.
Anonymous
Post 09/29/2015 19:57     Subject: Re:Janney third grade parents--what do you think of the giant class sizes?
Great point about equating shiny and new with excellence - as in Stoddert. My DC started this year and I do not understand why so many people are crazy about it. Yes, the building is fine and everybody working there is super sweet, but my DC has an inexperienced teacher who cannot control the classroom, there are behavioral issues in the classroom and on the playground - my DC came home with a bruise from a big kid who tormented DC, there are aides who should have retired a decade ago, and the work in mind-numbingly boring. There is zero creativity. A huge disappointment.