For anyone who’s interested, the disgraced principal from MV Cook campus took a demotion and is now the Assistant Principal at Lee Montessori in Brookland.

Also, I think when parents start at ITS (mainly in ECE), they don't know much about schools, and ECE at ITS really is great so the parents feel like they don't need to be involved to improve quality, and they tend to defer to the school. So they don't learn a whole lot and they're pretty willing to believe whatever the school tells them. At Title I DCPS, parents sometimes feel like they do need to be pretty involved-- there's a social norm of involvement-- and so they learn a lot, and parents at DCPS schools in the Ward 5/6/1 area are friends and share a lot of information with each other about school stuff. So you end up learning a lot about what is doable. This is just my experience, anyway.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think people also stay quiet because they don't always know, especially until hindsight, what wasn't going as it should have been. Maybe you think your kid is just slow to read, but no teacher recommends special ed and they dismiss it when you share a concern, and it's not until 4th grade that you get testing and learn that your kid has a learning disability. Or maybe they do fine at Eureka math and it's not until sixth grade that you realize they haven't memorized any facts. Or maybe the kid doesn't internalize or articulate the level of chaos in the classroom because that's not their nature, and you don't find out until years later.

There are of reasons people are positive about things, and they don't necessarily have to do with pride.

Yes. If you haven't been to any other school, sometimes you just don't realize what's normal and what's not. When we switched from our IB DCPS to ITDS, it was really eye-opening how much people accepted as normal that wasn't as good.

Is this at your DCPS or IT?

At IT! None of it was really that big a deal, but it was noticeable how people had confidence in the school overall so they didn't tend to question things as much.

Did you go back to DCPS?

No, I still prefer IT overall, especially for middle school. It's more that it's interesting how people who have only attended one school tend not to question things as much, and sometimes don't notice where their school is falling short.

We had friends whose kids went from LT ES to ITDS MS in 5th/6th and were shocked that there were basically no clubs/afterschool enrichment offerings. IT was saying it was too small and they were pointing out that LT is smaller and has a robust program. Apparently IT is starting to add more along those lines but everyone had sort of taken for granted that it was impossible? (They’re really happy at IT from what I know, so not an overall knock on the school.)

Yes, I think the afterschool stuff was underwhelming, then it vanished with COVID, and now what's comming back seems to be a bit stronger than before. I think part of it was that the prior Head of School had been at ITS forever and didn't know that much about what other schools were doing, and was oddly cold and defensive about parent input. The new HOS comes from a DCPS, and the principal comes from another charter, so they have a much better read on what's possible and things seem to be better. Also, it's true that ITS has a slightly larger total enrollment than LT, but ITS has those kids spread over more grades, so it's harder to come up with activities that suit a broader age range.

I think part of the difference is that a school that has good academics and a long waitlist doesn't feel the need to try quite so hard for aftercare, or to be as responsive in general. Our DCPS was very interested in growing and retaining families and it was a much more collaborative process overall. And at a high-income school, there isn't the feeling that if the kids don't do X thing at school they might never do it at all. So taking them to museums or the Kennedy Center or whatever just doesn't feel quite as urgent. People attend ITS for the combination of strong academics and a small-school feel, and extras like field trips and aftercare stuff isn't going to move the needle that much, and people are more okay with their kids just running around. At a DCPS that's working hard to improve, people feel the need to max out the value of every minute of the day because they don't have confidence in the school overall.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think people also stay quiet because they don't always know, especially until hindsight, what wasn't going as it should have been. Maybe you think your kid is just slow to read, but no teacher recommends special ed and they dismiss it when you share a concern, and it's not until 4th grade that you get testing and learn that your kid has a learning disability. Or maybe they do fine at Eureka math and it's not until sixth grade that you realize they haven't memorized any facts. Or maybe the kid doesn't internalize or articulate the level of chaos in the classroom because that's not their nature, and you don't find out until years later.

There are of reasons people are positive about things, and they don't necessarily have to do with pride.

Yes. If you haven't been to any other school, sometimes you just don't realize what's normal and what's not. When we switched from our IB DCPS to ITDS, it was really eye-opening how much people accepted as normal that wasn't as good.

Is this at your DCPS or IT?

At IT! None of it was really that big a deal, but it was noticeable how people had confidence in the school overall so they didn't tend to question things as much.

Did you go back to DCPS?

No, I still prefer IT overall, especially for middle school. It's more that it's interesting how people who have only attended one school tend not to question things as much, and sometimes don't notice where their school is falling short.

We had friends whose kids went from LT ES to ITDS MS in 5th/6th and were shocked that there were basically no clubs/afterschool enrichment offerings. IT was saying it was too small and they were pointing out that LT is smaller and has a robust program. Apparently IT is starting to add more along those lines but everyone had sort of taken for granted that it was impossible? (They’re really happy at IT from what I know, so not an overall knock on the school.)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think people also stay quiet because they don't always know, especially until hindsight, what wasn't going as it should have been. Maybe you think your kid is just slow to read, but no teacher recommends special ed and they dismiss it when you share a concern, and it's not until 4th grade that you get testing and learn that your kid has a learning disability. Or maybe they do fine at Eureka math and it's not until sixth grade that you realize they haven't memorized any facts. Or maybe the kid doesn't internalize or articulate the level of chaos in the classroom because that's not their nature, and you don't find out until years later.

There are of reasons people are positive about things, and they don't necessarily have to do with pride.

Yes. If you haven't been to any other school, sometimes you just don't realize what's normal and what's not. When we switched from our IB DCPS to ITDS, it was really eye-opening how much people accepted as normal that wasn't as good.

Is this at your DCPS or IT?

At IT! None of it was really that big a deal, but it was noticeable how people had confidence in the school overall so they didn't tend to question things as much.

Did you go back to DCPS?

No, I still prefer IT overall, especially for middle school. It's more that it's interesting how people who have only attended one school tend not to question things as much, and sometimes don't notice where their school is falling short.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think people also stay quiet because they don't always know, especially until hindsight, what wasn't going as it should have been. Maybe you think your kid is just slow to read, but no teacher recommends special ed and they dismiss it when you share a concern, and it's not until 4th grade that you get testing and learn that your kid has a learning disability. Or maybe they do fine at Eureka math and it's not until sixth grade that you realize they haven't memorized any facts. Or maybe the kid doesn't internalize or articulate the level of chaos in the classroom because that's not their nature, and you don't find out until years later.

There are of reasons people are positive about things, and they don't necessarily have to do with pride.

Yes. If you haven't been to any other school, sometimes you just don't realize what's normal and what's not. When we switched from our IB DCPS to ITDS, it was really eye-opening how much people accepted as normal that wasn't as good.

Is this at your DCPS or IT?

At IT! None of it was really that big a deal, but it was noticeable how people had confidence in the school overall so they didn't tend to question things as much.

Did you go back to DCPS?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think people also stay quiet because they don't always know, especially until hindsight, what wasn't going as it should have been. Maybe you think your kid is just slow to read, but no teacher recommends special ed and they dismiss it when you share a concern, and it's not until 4th grade that you get testing and learn that your kid has a learning disability. Or maybe they do fine at Eureka math and it's not until sixth grade that you realize they haven't memorized any facts. Or maybe the kid doesn't internalize or articulate the level of chaos in the classroom because that's not their nature, and you don't find out until years later.

There are of reasons people are positive about things, and they don't necessarily have to do with pride.

Yes. If you haven't been to any other school, sometimes you just don't realize what's normal and what's not. When we switched from our IB DCPS to ITDS, it was really eye-opening how much people accepted as normal that wasn't as good.

Is this at your DCPS or IT?

At IT! None of it was really that big a deal, but it was noticeable how people had confidence in the school overall so they didn't tend to question things as much.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think people also stay quiet because they don't always know, especially until hindsight, what wasn't going as it should have been. Maybe you think your kid is just slow to read, but no teacher recommends special ed and they dismiss it when you share a concern, and it's not until 4th grade that you get testing and learn that your kid has a learning disability. Or maybe they do fine at Eureka math and it's not until sixth grade that you realize they haven't memorized any facts. Or maybe the kid doesn't internalize or articulate the level of chaos in the classroom because that's not their nature, and you don't find out until years later.

There are of reasons people are positive about things, and they don't necessarily have to do with pride.

Yes. If you haven't been to any other school, sometimes you just don't realize what's normal and what's not. When we switched from our IB DCPS to ITDS, it was really eye-opening how much people accepted as normal that wasn't as good.

Is this at your DCPS or IT?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It seems like a lot of incoming ITS 5th graders are from TR...

I heard a rumor that TR dropped down to one 5th grade class next year as a consequence of mass exodus. And they still opened 16 5th grade seats. How could one interpret this any way other than the Hindenburg going down?

TR4 or TRY?

I see 52 offers made for 6th grade, far more than the 20 made last year. Red flags. Red sirens.

It is worse than that. Consider that the 52 was the spots they KNEW were leaving. Anyone who matched for Latin or other schools, left DC, went private or went to DCPS but didn't tell them in advance isn't even included in that #. Now add onto that how many of the kids who are moving up to 6th were new to TR4 or TRY in 22-23 and you can see how there is really no TR culture in the 6th grade. The vast majority of those kids have been at TR for no more than one year.

Yeah, wow. Honestly I don't know how they're gonna pull out of this spiral.

Are there a lot of spots for TR MS 7 and 8? I wonder if people are just white knuckling it if they get through 6th grade and don’t feel like they have any options.
To be fair, we left TR4 early on for private and never had a clear sense of the quality of the MS (pre Dr Kristina).

30 offered for 7th and 0 for 8th.

https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/aaron2446/viz/MSDCSeatsandWaitlistOfferData_draft/MSDCPublicDisplay

That is fascinating. They didn't even make 8th grade offers off of WL. There is NO chance at least one kid didn't peel off. My conclusion is so many left or will leave they are going to compress to one class and the culture is so very broken that they need a complete reset and will take it on the chin financially for a year to try and clean house and reset.

Anonymous wrote:I think people also stay quiet because they don't always know, especially until hindsight, what wasn't going as it should have been. Maybe you think your kid is just slow to read, but no teacher recommends special ed and they dismiss it when you share a concern, and it's not until 4th grade that you get testing and learn that your kid has a learning disability. Or maybe they do fine at Eureka math and it's not until sixth grade that you realize they haven't memorized any facts. Or maybe the kid doesn't internalize or articulate the level of chaos in the classroom because that's not their nature, and you don't find out until years later.

There are of reasons people are positive about things, and they don't necessarily have to do with pride.

+1 Well said. A frog slowly boiling in water may not know what's happening until it is too late.

Anonymous wrote:I think people also stay quiet because they don't always know, especially until hindsight, what wasn't going as it should have been. Maybe you think your kid is just slow to read, but no teacher recommends special ed and they dismiss it when you share a concern, and it's not until 4th grade that you get testing and learn that your kid has a learning disability. Or maybe they do fine at Eureka math and it's not until sixth grade that you realize they haven't memorized any facts. Or maybe the kid doesn't internalize or articulate the level of chaos in the classroom because that's not their nature, and you don't find out until years later.

There are of reasons people are positive about things, and they don't necessarily have to do with pride.

Yes. If you haven't been to any other school, sometimes you just don't realize what's normal and what's not. When we switched from our IB DCPS to ITDS, it was really eye-opening how much people accepted as normal that wasn't as good.

I think people also stay quiet because they don't always know, especially until hindsight, what wasn't going as it should have been. Maybe you think your kid is just slow to read, but no teacher recommends special ed and they dismiss it when you share a concern, and it's not until 4th grade that you get testing and learn that your kid has a learning disability. Or maybe they do fine at Eureka math and it's not until sixth grade that you realize they haven't memorized any facts. Or maybe the kid doesn't internalize or articulate the level of chaos in the classroom because that's not their nature, and you don't find out until years later.

There are of reasons people are positive about things, and they don't necessarily have to do with pride.

I’m parent of a former student now in high school and it should be noted that even though the problems have existed a very long time, it wasn’t always like that. The first couple years were truly special and the staff was amazing (even the after school caretakers were incredible). Unfortunately hubris took over fairly quickly and the continued rapid expansion quickly destroyed all that there was.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It seems like a lot of incoming ITS 5th graders are from TR...

I heard a rumor that TR dropped down to one 5th grade class next year as a consequence of mass exodus. And they still opened 16 5th grade seats. How could one interpret this any way other than the Hindenburg going down?

TR4 or TRY?

I see 52 offers made for 6th grade, far more than the 20 made last year. Red flags. Red sirens.

It is worse than that. Consider that the 52 was the spots they KNEW were leaving. Anyone who matched for Latin or other schools, left DC, went private or went to DCPS but didn't tell them in advance isn't even included in that #. Now add onto that how many of the kids who are moving up to 6th were new to TR4 or TRY in 22-23 and you can see how there is really no TR culture in the 6th grade. The vast majority of those kids have been at TR for no more than one year.

Yeah, wow. Honestly I don't know how they're gonna pull out of this spiral.

Are there a lot of spots for TR MS 7 and 8? I wonder if people are just white knuckling it if they get through 6th grade and don’t feel like they have any options.
To be fair, we left TR4 early on for private and never had a clear sense of the quality of the MS (pre Dr Kristina).

30 offered for 7th and 0 for 8th.

https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/aaron2446/viz/MSDCSeatsandWaitlistOfferData_draft/MSDCPublicDisplay

Almost 1/3rd of the 7th grade class is leaving? Damn.
Our daughter went to EES at TR4 for a short time years and years ago. There were definite cracks then but few parents seemed willing to discuss. It was odd.

We have friends whose kids went through MV and are now in high school (NOT at DCI). Only now are they saying negative things about MV. I think they may have talked amongst themselves but they would never have openly criticized the school while they were there. Everything was sunshine and roses then. So not that odd.

NP— This is what I don’t get. Why pretend like everything is sunshine and roses with a school when there are clearly issues?! We are a former MV family (only there a year thankfully) and openly criticized the school because to not do so seemed to be in complete denial of the obvious.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It seems like a lot of incoming ITS 5th graders are from TR...

I heard a rumor that TR dropped down to one 5th grade class next year as a consequence of mass exodus. And they still opened 16 5th grade seats. How could one interpret this any way other than the Hindenburg going down?

TR4 or TRY?

I see 52 offers made for 6th grade, far more than the 20 made last year. Red flags. Red sirens.

It is worse than that. Consider that the 52 was the spots they KNEW were leaving. Anyone who matched for Latin or other schools, left DC, went private or went to DCPS but didn't tell them in advance isn't even included in that #. Now add onto that how many of the kids who are moving up to 6th were new to TR4 or TRY in 22-23 and you can see how there is really no TR culture in the 6th grade. The vast majority of those kids have been at TR for no more than one year.

Yeah, wow. Honestly I don't know how they're gonna pull out of this spiral.

Are there a lot of spots for TR MS 7 and 8? I wonder if people are just white knuckling it if they get through 6th grade and don’t feel like they have any options.
To be fair, we left TR4 early on for private and never had a clear sense of the quality of the MS (pre Dr Kristina).

30 offered for 7th and 0 for 8th.

https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/aaron2446/viz/MSDCSeatsandWaitlistOfferData_draft/MSDCPublicDisplay

Almost 1/3rd of the 7th grade class is leaving? Damn.
Our daughter went to EES at TR4 for a short time years and years ago. There were definite cracks then but few parents seemed willing to discuss. It was odd.

We have friends whose kids went through MV and are now in high school (NOT at DCI). Only now are they saying negative things about MV. I think they may have talked amongst themselves but they would never have openly criticized the school while they were there. Everything was sunshine and roses then. So not that odd.

People are quiet about things because they don't want their school to enter the kind of spiral that MV and TR are now in. But those who motivate to analyze the publicly available data will perceive it.

No, it’s because they don’t want to have to eat their words.