Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It seems that most of the OOB children at Ludlow do have motivated parents that want them attending a quality school.

So why are people constantly complaining about the student population past K?

I've heard comments from other Hill parents (not LT parents) expressing concern about the "lack of diversity" and "kids from Anacostia."

From what I've seen at school functions, the 5th graders at LT are a pretty clean-cut bunch. But I think for some people, a half-dozen black 3-year-olds is cute, but a room full of black 10-year-olds seems a little scary.

I credit you for having more honesty than a lot of DCUMs but the truth is pretty depressing.

Anonymous wrote:It is funny that the same people that complain about OOB children are the same people that feel they should be entitled to attend any public school in the district.

That's usually the case when the IB school sucks and can't get better on its own. I think that's why DME was proposing choice sets.

As a former employee at a Hill school (not LT) I have to say that most of the upper middle class children I worked with had not been exposed to such phrases as "please" and "thank you" whereas the lower SES children had.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It seems that most of the OOB children at Ludlow do have motivated parents that want them attending a quality school.

So why are people constantly complaining about the student population past K?

I've heard comments from other Hill parents (not LT parents) expressing concern about the "lack of diversity" and "kids from Anacostia."

From what I've seen at school functions, the 5th graders at LT are a pretty clean-cut bunch. But I think for some people, a half-dozen black 3-year-olds is cute, but a room full of black 10-year-olds seems a little scary.

the behaviorally challenged come from all walks. At least the kids from tough backgrounds have some excuse. SMH over some the nonsense I've witnessed from kids who've had it easy

It is funny that the same people that complain about OOB children are the same people that feel they should be entitled to attend any public school in the district.

Anonymous wrote:It seems that most of the OOB children at Ludlow do have motivated parents that want them attending a quality school.

So why are people constantly complaining about the student population past K?

I've heard comments from other Hill parents (not LT parents) expressing concern about the "lack of diversity" and "kids from Anacostia."

From what I've seen at school functions, the 5th graders at LT are a pretty clean-cut bunch. But I think for some people, a half-dozen black 3-year-olds is cute, but a room full of black 10-year-olds seems a little scary.

It seems that most of the OOB children at Ludlow do have motivated parents that want them attending a quality school.

So why are people constantly complaining about the student population past K?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand this lottery thing. It seems like it would make more sense to have the policy be that you go to your neighborhood school. That forces parents to step up to the plate and make the school good instead of just complaining.

And basically you'd wind up with schools even more segregated than they are, and children whose parents have the least resources to create change relegated to the worst schools.

The lottery system is FAR from perfect -- but at least it offers children with motivated parents the opportunity to attend better schools than would otherwise be available to them.

That seems to be what people want. Hence the complaints about "OOB" children and wanting the school to "reflect the neighborhood."

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand this lottery thing. It seems like it would make more sense to have the policy be that you go to your neighborhood school. That forces parents to step up to the plate and make the school good instead of just complaining.

And basically you'd wind up with schools even more segregated than they are, and children whose parents have the least resources to create change relegated to the worst schools.

The lottery system is FAR from perfect -- but at least it offers children with motivated parents the opportunity to attend better schools than would otherwise be available to them.

I don't understand this lottery thing. It seems like it would make more sense to have the policy be that you go to your neighborhood school. That forces parents to step up to the plate and make the school good instead of just complaining.

Anonymous wrote:Court IB parents to stay past 1st Grade by increasing academic rigor and offering differentiated learning (pull-outs for reading and math, etc.), as happened at Brent not all that long ago. Unlike Brent, LT has a glidepath to Stuart-Hobson. It's really not that complex people.

Thank you for the specifics. It is not complex to you but I am a new patent thinking about schools and it is complex to me. It would have been better if the original poster had said: we asked about pull-out for math and English, principal said no, so we left. One might agree or disagree with that, but it is less nebulous than saying 'principal does not make upper-middle income people welcome' or something of that sort.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Court IB parents to stay past 1st Grade by increasing academic rigor and offering differentiated learning (pull-outs for reading and math, etc.), as happened at Brent not all that long ago. Unlike Brent, LT has a glidepath to Stuart-Hobson. It's really not that complex people.

The school already offers academic rigor & good differentiation. Are pull-out groups, specifically, the be-all, end-all for you??

Same poster, I'll add that LT doesn't offer rigor & differentiation to woo IB families -- they offer it because educating kids (IB or OOB) is their top priority.

It's hard, this one has been beaten to death in numerous threads. I always circle back to the lack of warmth being the issue at LT - whether that's Cobbs, or the existing PTA, or the general chip on shoulders about gentirification. Yes, yes, everyone will say "that's not their job!" And you may be right, but it's my kid. My little kid. I want to feel some warmth because I want to know that she will too. Maybe I'd get there if I did the time, but it seems many have and still bailed...something was missing for them.

Good luck to you OP, it sounds like Watkins has it's own issues and I really hope the neighborhood can make LT work for itself. It's a shame that so many close neighbors feel like it isn't a good option. Please report back that your kid is having a great time both academically and socially in the new school year!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Court IB parents to stay past 1st Grade by increasing academic rigor and offering differentiated learning (pull-outs for reading and math, etc.), as happened at Brent not all that long ago. Unlike Brent, LT has a glidepath to Stuart-Hobson. It's really not that complex people.

The school already offers academic rigor & good differentiation. Are pull-out groups, specifically, the be-all, end-all for you??

Pull outs are symbolic of gifted and talented. Never mind that in many schools children of all need levels get pull outs. Or that dynamic guided reading and math groups can be a good solution for differientation.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Court IB parents to stay past 1st Grade by increasing academic rigor and offering differentiated learning (pull-outs for reading and math, etc.), as happened at Brent not all that long ago. Unlike Brent, LT has a glidepath to Stuart-Hobson. It's really not that complex people.

The school already offers academic rigor & good differentiation. Are pull-out groups, specifically, the be-all, end-all for you??

Same poster, I'll add that LT doesn't offer rigor & differentiation to woo IB families -- they offer it because educating kids (IB or OOB) is their top priority.

Anonymous wrote:Court IB parents to stay past 1st Grade by increasing academic rigor and offering differentiated learning (pull-outs for reading and math, etc.), as happened at Brent not all that long ago. Unlike Brent, LT has a glidepath to Stuart-Hobson. It's really not that complex people.

The school already offers academic rigor & good differentiation. Are pull-out groups, specifically, the be-all, end-all for you??