Where did the new principal get her degrees?

Parents may seem sweet and reasonable at drop off or the bakesales (and no doubt some are truly like that all the time). But if you go to the kids birthday parties where a wine bottle (or two or...) gets uncorked for the Janney Mommies, I guarantee that some of the stuff that is openly said and heard makes anonymous comments on DCUM seem tame by comparison.

There's a regular poster that loves to trumpet how she is on a first name basis with the Janney principal. Im hoping that the next principal tells this parent to stop acting like they are best buds and find a new hobby.

No, I doubt the majority of the obnoxious posts are by actual Janney parents. I am a decently involved parent over a number of years (by that I mean I volunteer on occasion, do pick up at dismissal a couple days a week and attend important school meetings and presentations, so not a leader but regularly present and observant) and I never witness the entitled attitudes expressed here. Just a nice group of parents, many of whom show up and do a lot of volunteering and all who want the best for their kids (like I expect most parents do).

I appreciate the info from Stoddert parents. I am happy to hear she was at a school that was part of the DC3 collaborative and the strong reccomendations. Parents did not run the school with Norah in charge and I do not think they want to run the school now. They want to have a leader that they can have confidence and who will take on the various challenges strategically and with a sensitivity to communicating well with the community.

I usually assume that the whacked out Janney responses are people posing as Janney parents to be funny and over the top. I mean, really, even suggesting the possibility of a national search for the Janney principal seems ridiculous. Are Janney parents really saying those sorts of things? SO glad not to be sending my kids there if so.

Wow Janney parents - get ahold of yourselves and give her a little space. She's really terrific and will do right by your school. She'll be greTly missed at Stoddert but we wish her well. Do yourselves a favor and don't scare her off before she even gets there. Really, you're in dedicated, intelligent, and caring hands.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was hoping that Janney would select a top principal after a broad search - not necessarily national but not just DC either. And then they take someone from down the road who doesn't even have JKLM experience.

You are a total and complete douche bag. As a Stoddert parent who is incredibly bummed that we're losing her it is absolutely maddening to read attitudes like this. You are so lucky to get her, in spite of yourself. I have participated in two separate rounds of principal searches, serving on the selection panel and again, you are LUCKY to have your leader lined up and ready to go now, rather than in August. She now has an opportunity to meet with the community (which she has already begun doing...aftercare meeting this week, and PTA next week) and also an opportunity to build her team and bring people in with her. You're incredibly shortsighted and are focused on criteria that mean very little. Do yourself a favor, stop our complaining and hand wringing here and go to your PTA meeting next week and meet her and then come back here and tell us how misplaced your concerns were.

This is the 2nd post by a lutz booster that seems to be very insightful. You now know her meeting schedules...

I was thinking the same thing. Why is a non-Janney parent up to speed on when Janney's PTA and other meetings are?

Because Lutz attended her last Stoddert PTA meeting last night where her move to Janney was publicly announced and in her comments she mentioned her participation at both Janney meetings. You Janney people are incredibly humorless.

Janney parents take their kids' education pretty seriously. There's a reason why Janney is arguably the best public school in Washington. And Stoddert? It lent its name to a popular NW youth rec soccer program. At least there's that.

Yes, yes, don't worry. You hold the corner market on caring most about your children. Congrats. Are you this insufferable in real life or only when cloaked in anonymity?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was hoping that Janney would select a top principal after a broad search - not necessarily national but not just DC either. And then they take someone from down the road who doesn't even have JKLM experience.

You are a total and complete douche bag. As a Stoddert parent who is incredibly bummed that we're losing her it is absolutely maddening to read attitudes like this. You are so lucky to get her, in spite of yourself. I have participated in two separate rounds of principal searches, serving on the selection panel and again, you are LUCKY to have your leader lined up and ready to go now, rather than in August. She now has an opportunity to meet with the community (which she has already begun doing...aftercare meeting this week, and PTA next week) and also an opportunity to build her team and bring people in with her. You're incredibly shortsighted and are focused on criteria that mean very little. Do yourself a favor, stop our complaining and hand wringing here and go to your PTA meeting next week and meet her and then come back here and tell us how misplaced your concerns were.

This is the 2nd post by a lutz booster that seems to be very insightful. You now know her meeting schedules...

I was thinking the same thing. Why is a non-Janney parent up to speed on when Janney's PTA and other meetings are?

Because Lutz attended her last Stoddert PTA meeting last night where her move to Janney was publicly announced and in her comments she mentioned her participation at both Janney meetings. You Janney people are incredibly humorless.

Janney parents take their kids' education pretty seriously. There's a reason why Janney is arguably the best public school in Washington. And Stoddert? It lent its name to a popular NW youth rec soccer program. At least there's that.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was hoping that Janney would select a top principal after a broad search - not necessarily national but not just DC either. And then they take someone from down the road who doesn't even have JKLM experience.

You are a total and complete douche bag. As a Stoddert parent who is incredibly bummed that we're losing her it is absolutely maddening to read attitudes like this. You are so lucky to get her, in spite of yourself. I have participated in two separate rounds of principal searches, serving on the selection panel and again, you are LUCKY to have your leader lined up and ready to go now, rather than in August. She now has an opportunity to meet with the community (which she has already begun doing...aftercare meeting this week, and PTA next week) and also an opportunity to build her team and bring people in with her. You're incredibly shortsighted and are focused on criteria that mean very little. Do yourself a favor, stop our complaining and hand wringing here and go to your PTA meeting next week and meet her and then come back here and tell us how misplaced your concerns were.

This is the 2nd post by a lutz booster that seems to be very insightful. You now know her meeting schedules...

I was thinking the same thing. Why is a non-Janney parent up to speed on when Janney's PTA and other meetings are?

Because Lutz attended her last Stoddert PTA meeting last night where her move to Janney was publicly announced and in her comments she mentioned her participation at both Janney meetings. You Janney people are incredibly humorless.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I will say this. She worked at Smothers- which is in the DC3 collaborative with Janney and other schools. She worked with the teachers and knows the curriculum they use.

She is a tough cookie (and I mean that in a good way) and knew excatly what she was getting into with the Janney crowd. She has a strong vision.

She is much easier to work with than work for.

Kaya Henderson is probably looking for a tough cookie who will put what the DCPS central office sees as uber-demanding Janney Moms back in their place.

I have no sympathy for Kaya but when people suggest that a "not necessarily nationwide " search should have been done to replace the principal of an elementary school , clearly somebody has lost perspective. More than putting parents in their place, it' s running the school while neutralizing the (hopefully limited number) of kool aid drinking, delusional crazies). There are plenty of nice and reasonable parents at Janney

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I will say this. She worked at Smothers- which is in the DC3 collaborative with Janney and other schools. She worked with the teachers and knows the curriculum they use.

She is a tough cookie (and I mean that in a good way) and knew excatly what she was getting into with the Janney crowd. She has a strong vision.

She is much easier to work with than work for.

Kaya Henderson is probably looking for a tough cookie who will put what the DCPS central office sees as uber-demanding Janney Moms back in their place.

As a Janney parent I'm sure this was the number 1 qualification when they went to hire.
It's a tough crowd. Parents (to a person) are extremely invested in their kids.

Anonymous wrote:I will say this. She worked at Smothers- which is in the DC3 collaborative with Janney and other schools. She worked with the teachers and knows the curriculum they use.

She is a tough cookie (and I mean that in a good way) and knew excatly what she was getting into with the Janney crowd. She has a strong vision.

She is much easier to work with than work for.

Kaya Henderson is probably looking for a tough cookie who will put what the DCPS central office sees as uber-demanding Janney Moms back in their place.

I will say this. She worked at Smothers- which is in the DC3 collaborative with Janney and other schools. She worked with the teachers and knows the curriculum they use.

She is a tough cookie (and I mean that in a good way) and knew excatly what she was getting into with the Janney crowd. She has a strong vision.

She is much easier to work with than work for.

Anonymous wrote:Maybe the Stoddert woman will be ok. As for a broader search, but do you really expect the Janney community to feel comfortable with a principal, say, who came out of the PG County schools or a lesser performing DCPS school? Quality matters.

Norah came out of a "lesser [sic] performing DCPS school" and she did an amazing job. Perhaps you do not remember that Norah's predecessor, who happened to come out of the highly-regarded MCPS, was an utter and complete disaster. Something tells me you're not a real Janney parent but I just couldn't resist taking the bait.

Anonymous wrote:I was hoping that Janney would select a top principal after a broad search - not necessarily national but not just DC either. And then they take someone from down the road who doesn't even have JKLM experience.

I thought the only requirement was that the candidate not have webbed feet.