Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For the record, the waitlist at Jefferson consistently exceeds the number of offers made. If the building is “half empty” (whatever that means), then it’s due to a DCPS decision to limit enrollment. It’s certainly not due to a lack of demand.

But it definitely is due to a lack of demand from those with a right to attend. They *could* fill up the building if they were actually interested in attending.

Anybody else fed up with a tiny coterie of pro-Jefferson high SES in-boundary parents defending the lousy arrangement? Please tell us how many of the current in-boundary 5th graders at Brent are en route to Jefferson? By my count, half a dozen out of a cohort that supplied Brent with more than 60 IB 4th graders. Pre-Covid, there were at least a dozen in-boundary 5th graders heading to Jefferson.

When is the political day of reckoning for this train wreck coming? Lack of demand is a growing problem of epic proportions that isn't discussed in public fora let alone addressed in any meaningful way. Why should voters settle for IB middle schools in name only, schools fed almost entirely by demand from some of the city's poorest neighborhoods here in 2023? None of it makes good sense.

No. I’m sure they’re irritating but they aren’t wrong: if y’all just sent your kids, the academics would follow. Teachers and admins aren’t stupid by and large - they would adjust to ensure the advanced math etc was there if enough kids needed it. Could DCPS do more to get IB parents, sure. But you should not act like the parents are wrong to point out the collective action problem.

This is such a load of hot garbage.

The only reason why high SES parents raise the average test scores are because they can afford to pay for outside tutors and enrichment.

Pushing high SES families to go to these failing schools only hurts kids who can’t afford kumon, mathnesium, etc.

Anonymous wrote:parent of child at a non-Brent Jefferson feeder and find the above post offensive

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For the record, the waitlist at Jefferson consistently exceeds the number of offers made. If the building is “half empty” (whatever that means), then it’s due to a DCPS decision to limit enrollment. It’s certainly not due to a lack of demand.

But it definitely is due to a lack of demand from those with a right to attend. They *could* fill up the building if they were actually interested in attending.

Anybody else fed up with a tiny coterie of pro-Jefferson high SES in-boundary parents defending the lousy arrangement? Please tell us how many of the current in-boundary 5th graders at Brent are en route to Jefferson? By my count, half a dozen out of a cohort that supplied Brent with more than 60 IB 4th graders. Pre-Covid, there were at least a dozen in-boundary 5th graders heading to Jefferson.

When is the political day of reckoning for this train wreck coming? Lack of demand is a growing problem of epic proportions that isn't discussed in public fora let alone addressed in any meaningful way. Why should voters settle for IB middle schools in name only, schools fed almost entirely by demand from some of the city's poorest neighborhoods here in 2023? None of it makes good sense.

No. I’m sure they’re irritating but they aren’t wrong: if y’all just sent your kids, the academics would follow. Teachers and admins aren’t stupid by and large - they would adjust to ensure the advanced math etc was there if enough kids needed it. Could DCPS do more to get IB parents, sure. But you should not act like the parents are wrong to point out the collective action problem.

This is such a load of hot garbage.

The only reason why high SES parents raise the average test scores are because they can afford to pay for outside tutors and enrichment.

Pushing high SES families to go to these failing schools only hurts kids who can’t afford kumon, mathnesium, etc.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For the record, the waitlist at Jefferson consistently exceeds the number of offers made. If the building is “half empty” (whatever that means), then it’s due to a DCPS decision to limit enrollment. It’s certainly not due to a lack of demand.

But it definitely is due to a lack of demand from those with a right to attend. They *could* fill up the building if they were actually interested in attending.

Jefferson has the highest percentage of in-bound students of the three middle schools serving Ward 6. And I don’t think that increasing the number of in-bound students would increase the total number of kids at the school. Rather, the school would presumably just admit fewer OOB applicants than it already does. As I said, its waitlist consistently exceeds the number of offers made. Demand is not an issue.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For the record, the waitlist at Jefferson consistently exceeds the number of offers made. If the building is “half empty” (whatever that means), then it’s due to a DCPS decision to limit enrollment. It’s certainly not due to a lack of demand.

But it definitely is due to a lack of demand from those with a right to attend. They *could* fill up the building if they were actually interested in attending.

Anybody else fed up with a tiny coterie of pro-Jefferson high SES in-boundary parents defending the lousy arrangement? Please tell us how many of the current in-boundary 5th graders at Brent are en route to Jefferson? By my count, half a dozen out of a cohort that supplied Brent with more than 60 IB 4th graders. Pre-Covid, there were at least a dozen in-boundary 5th graders heading to Jefferson.

When is the political day of reckoning for this train wreck coming? Lack of demand is a growing problem of epic proportions that isn't discussed in public fora let alone addressed in any meaningful way. Why should voters settle for IB middle schools in name only, schools fed almost entirely by demand from some of the city's poorest neighborhoods here in 2023? None of it makes good sense.

No. I’m sure they’re irritating but they aren’t wrong: if y’all just sent your kids, the academics would follow. Teachers and admins aren’t stupid by and large - they would adjust to ensure the advanced math etc was there if enough kids needed it. Could DCPS do more to get IB parents, sure. But you should not act like the parents are wrong to point out the collective action problem.

Anonymous wrote:Demand....isn't an issue? So why bother with neighborhood schools in Ward 6, where IB demand is weak after ES? Why not scrap local by-right schools if OOB demand is all that matters? Why is it OK that only a tiny fraction of UMC parents in a catchment area sends their teens year after year, at a time when SES families with school-age children are the majority in the Eastern feeder population?

What's the point of repeatedly declaring "Well, all that has to happen is that many high SES families elect to send their children to these schools to improve them" when that hasn't happened, and, pretty clearly, never will without monumental change. You can judge high-income parents who vote with their feet to charters, privates and the burbs repeatedly, slam them for their uncharitable views on classicism and racism/desegregating schools ad nauseum without changing their behavior one ioda. Hint: Einstein's definition of madness, doing the same thing over and over again while expecting a different result.

Thriving, popular, diverse urban neighborhood middle and high schools are desirable. Myopically dismiss them as unimportant to the detriment of the city in question, this one.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For the record, the waitlist at Jefferson consistently exceeds the number of offers made. If the building is “half empty” (whatever that means), then it’s due to a DCPS decision to limit enrollment. It’s certainly not due to a lack of demand.

But it definitely is due to a lack of demand from those with a right to attend. They *could* fill up the building if they were actually interested in attending.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For the record, the waitlist at Jefferson consistently exceeds the number of offers made. If the building is “half empty” (whatever that means), then it’s due to a DCPS decision to limit enrollment. It’s certainly not due to a lack of demand.

But it definitely is due to a lack of demand from those with a right to attend. They *could* fill up the building if they were actually interested in attending.

Anybody else fed up with a tiny coterie of pro-Jefferson high SES in-boundary parents defending the lousy arrangement? Please tell us how many of the current in-boundary 5th graders at Brent are en route to Jefferson? By my count, half a dozen out of a cohort that supplied Brent with more than 60 IB 4th graders. Pre-Covid, there were at least a dozen in-boundary 5th graders heading to Jefferson.

When is the political day of reckoning for this train wreck coming? Lack of demand is a growing problem of epic proportions that isn't discussed in public fora let alone addressed in any meaningful way. Why should voters settle for IB middle schools in name only, schools fed almost entirely by demand from some of the city's poorest neighborhoods here in 2023? None of it makes good sense.

It isn’t coming. The ship has sailed for a generation at least. All 3 MS have been renovated. There is no way they are going to shut one down or adjust the boundaries to move more IB students into the smallest MS. There is no “fix” to this unless you can elect a mayor that would do something about it. Even then, I have a hard time believing they would do anything to weaken a school that they just put $80M into.

Honestly, the only thing that would “fix” these MSs is kids showing up. That’s how you raise test scores. Most Hill parents would love to get into Hardy. If Hill kids showed up, there would be 3 schools close to Hardy.

So I guess those are your answers, send your kids there (I know, a crazy thought) or organize and elect a new mayor. Good luck.

Anonymous wrote:For the record, the waitlist at Jefferson consistently exceeds the number of offers made. If the building is “half empty” (whatever that means), then it’s due to a DCPS decision to limit enrollment. It’s certainly not due to a lack of demand.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For the record, the waitlist at Jefferson consistently exceeds the number of offers made. If the building is “half empty” (whatever that means), then it’s due to a DCPS decision to limit enrollment. It’s certainly not due to a lack of demand.

But it definitely is due to a lack of demand from those with a right to attend. They *could* fill up the building if they were actually interested in attending.

Anybody else fed up with a tiny coterie of pro-Jefferson high SES in-boundary parents defending the lousy arrangement? Please tell us how many of the current in-boundary 5th graders at Brent are en route to Jefferson? By my count, half a dozen out of a cohort that supplied Brent with more than 60 IB 4th graders. Pre-Covid, there were at least a dozen in-boundary 5th graders heading to Jefferson.

When is the political day of reckoning for this train wreck coming? Lack of demand is a growing problem of epic proportions that isn't discussed in public fora let alone addressed in any meaningful way. Why should voters settle for IB middle schools in name only, schools fed almost entirely by demand from some of the city's poorest neighborhoods here in 2023? None of it makes good sense.