Anonymous wrote:Neighbors: seriously, this line of commentary is really not helping anyone. Can we find a common ground here? I know it’s easy to get catty on DCUM, but let’s pretend we are face to face. The neighborhood is really small and we likely know or see one another often. What good is this accomplishing?

Anonymous wrote:Did Principal Brawley make an announcement?
Just wondering how people know.
Parent at another NW elementary and we'd love to have her!

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Anonymous wrote:I had interactions with her during her first year and I always appreciated how she spoke respectfully to children. I can’t say the same for the teachers. She seemed like she was going to try to be present but from even those early days she never seemed to be available to parents. Not everyone is perfect so hopefully she’ll find a good school and be given the power to hire/fire early on. But if you want more neighborhood buyin? I would recommend the new principal get out into the neighborhood if he wants to make it a neighborhood school versus just talking to the same old parents who think the school is amazing - it could be SO much better with neighborhood buy in.

Curious why you think this? I’d like a principal who would actively drum up more neighborhood buy-in too, even if for selfish reasons (more walking play dates! running into families at the playground, etc.). But there have been some great, engaged OOB families too over the years. Not sure fewer OOB would necessarily make the school “better.”

The neighborhood has a ton of Jewish families, they aren’t going to buy in... ever. Like they can’t even say hello to non-Jewish neighbors! The OOB kids are great. Our child has many oob friends.

What a, like, bigot! One of the synagogues in Shepherd Park tutors Shepherd students at the synagogue. Are they like, super unfriendly with no buy in to the neighborhood? Jack and Jill kicked a bunch of kids off the Shepherd playground this weekend. Isn't that, like, super unfriendly? Shall we, like, extrapolate that all members of Jack and Jill are unfriendly? Can you, like, hear yourself?

Shepherd kids are ok to tutor but not to have as classmates I guess.

You clearly know very little about Shepherd Park as a neighborhood or SES as a school - your take is ahistorial, and yes, bigoted as hell.

Not a bigot. Just pointing out that getting neighborhood buy in isn’t going to happen.

And there is very bigoted “logic” in your “pointing out.”

guess I don’t need to worry about seeing you at school.

Anonymous wrote:you should post your auction link here.
People may drive up the prices if the items are that good!

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Anonymous wrote:I had interactions with her during her first year and I always appreciated how she spoke respectfully to children. I can’t say the same for the teachers. She seemed like she was going to try to be present but from even those early days she never seemed to be available to parents. Not everyone is perfect so hopefully she’ll find a good school and be given the power to hire/fire early on. But if you want more neighborhood buyin? I would recommend the new principal get out into the neighborhood if he wants to make it a neighborhood school versus just talking to the same old parents who think the school is amazing - it could be SO much better with neighborhood buy in.

Curious why you think this? I’d like a principal who would actively drum up more neighborhood buy-in too, even if for selfish reasons (more walking play dates! running into families at the playground, etc.). But there have been some great, engaged OOB families too over the years. Not sure fewer OOB would necessarily make the school “better.”

The neighborhood has a ton of Jewish families, they aren’t going to buy in... ever. Like they can’t even say hello to non-Jewish neighbors! The OOB kids are great. Our child has many oob friends.

What a, like, bigot! One of the synagogues in Shepherd Park tutors Shepherd students at the synagogue. Are they like, super unfriendly with no buy in to the neighborhood? Jack and Jill kicked a bunch of kids off the Shepherd playground this weekend. Isn't that, like, super unfriendly? Shall we, like, extrapolate that all members of Jack and Jill are unfriendly? Can you, like, hear yourself?

Shepherd kids are ok to tutor but not to have as classmates I guess.

You clearly know very little about Shepherd Park as a neighborhood or SES as a school - your take is ahistorial, and yes, bigoted as hell.

Not a bigot. Just pointing out that getting neighborhood buy in isn’t going to happen.

And there is very bigoted “logic” in your “pointing out.”

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Anonymous wrote:I see pros and cons to this.

She has seemed to have a good rapport with her teachers and staff and managed them effectively. A few toxic personnel at the school disappeared during her tenure, and I think she may have aided in their departure, so I'm grateful for that. I think the kids have nothing but admiration and respect for her, so there's a lot to be said for that as well.

Any issues we had were ultimately addressed or resolved - not always in the most timely fashion, and not always quite the way we wanted. But I will give some slack - a DCPS principal has a LOT to manage. She has/had no vice principal, which lots of DCPS have.

Her communication skills and responsiveness have always been a bit lacking. Not awful, just lacking. I'd give a B-. Will we get an A+ candidate? Hard to say. I think if the PTA is able to exert influence over the new candidate (and current PTA leadership is *amazing*, so I'm hopeful), we could get someone great. If the central office exerts their candidate over the parents' preferences, well, meh.

So, so true. And the Gala planning seems to be going wonderfully. Hoping there will be a good turnout this weekend (we won't be there, but are bidding online).

Rising PK3 parent and we are happily bidding online as well! Great selections!

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Anonymous wrote:I had interactions with her during her first year and I always appreciated how she spoke respectfully to children. I can’t say the same for the teachers. She seemed like she was going to try to be present but from even those early days she never seemed to be available to parents. Not everyone is perfect so hopefully she’ll find a good school and be given the power to hire/fire early on. But if you want more neighborhood buyin? I would recommend the new principal get out into the neighborhood if he wants to make it a neighborhood school versus just talking to the same old parents who think the school is amazing - it could be SO much better with neighborhood buy in.

Curious why you think this? I’d like a principal who would actively drum up more neighborhood buy-in too, even if for selfish reasons (more walking play dates! running into families at the playground, etc.). But there have been some great, engaged OOB families too over the years. Not sure fewer OOB would necessarily make the school “better.”

The neighborhood has a ton of Jewish families, they aren’t going to buy in... ever. Like they can’t even say hello to non-Jewish neighbors! The OOB kids are great. Our child has many oob friends.

What a, like, bigot! One of the synagogues in Shepherd Park tutors Shepherd students at the synagogue. Are they like, super unfriendly with no buy in to the neighborhood? Jack and Jill kicked a bunch of kids off the Shepherd playground this weekend. Isn't that, like, super unfriendly? Shall we, like, extrapolate that all members of Jack and Jill are unfriendly? Can you, like, hear yourself?

Shepherd kids are ok to tutor but not to have as classmates I guess.

You clearly know very little about Shepherd Park as a neighborhood or SES as a school - your take is ahistorial, and yes, bigoted as hell.

Not a bigot. Just pointing out that getting neighborhood buy in isn’t going to happen.

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Anonymous wrote:I had interactions with her during her first year and I always appreciated how she spoke respectfully to children. I can’t say the same for the teachers. She seemed like she was going to try to be present but from even those early days she never seemed to be available to parents. Not everyone is perfect so hopefully she’ll find a good school and be given the power to hire/fire early on. But if you want more neighborhood buyin? I would recommend the new principal get out into the neighborhood if he wants to make it a neighborhood school versus just talking to the same old parents who think the school is amazing - it could be SO much better with neighborhood buy in.

Curious why you think this? I’d like a principal who would actively drum up more neighborhood buy-in too, even if for selfish reasons (more walking play dates! running into families at the playground, etc.). But there have been some great, engaged OOB families too over the years. Not sure fewer OOB would necessarily make the school “better.”

The neighborhood has a ton of Jewish families, they aren’t going to buy in... ever. Like they can’t even say hello to non-Jewish neighbors! The OOB kids are great. Our child has many oob friends.

Have you ever lived near a group of very observant religious folks before? Many prefer to send kids to Jewish schools, where they learn Hebrew, learn about and preserve their culture, etc.

Also, I've found our Jewish neighbors on our block to be friendly. Our kids play outside together. They warmly welcomed us to the neighborhood when we first moved in. I would be careful not to generalize to all members of a certain group based on your interactions with a few.

The previous post wanted neighbors to buy in and use the school. I am saying the Jewish families aren’t going to do that. Maybe PreK but nothing more. It also seemed to be a criticism of the OOB kids. DCUM loves to criticize OOB kids.

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Anonymous wrote:I had interactions with her during her first year and I always appreciated how she spoke respectfully to children. I can’t say the same for the teachers. She seemed like she was going to try to be present but from even those early days she never seemed to be available to parents. Not everyone is perfect so hopefully she’ll find a good school and be given the power to hire/fire early on. But if you want more neighborhood buyin? I would recommend the new principal get out into the neighborhood if he wants to make it a neighborhood school versus just talking to the same old parents who think the school is amazing - it could be SO much better with neighborhood buy in.

Curious why you think this? I’d like a principal who would actively drum up more neighborhood buy-in too, even if for selfish reasons (more walking play dates! running into families at the playground, etc.). But there have been some great, engaged OOB families too over the years. Not sure fewer OOB would necessarily make the school “better.”

DP here. The stronger DCPS schools have better neighborhood buyin. Nothing against any current OOB families, but typically the schools that fill up with IB families are higher performing. It goes hand in hand with stronger parent advocacy for the school to improve, stronger commitment to the neighborhood school, etc.

A related factor is fixing the issues that keep other neighborhood parents away. Branching out to the in boundary community, especially those who opted for schools other than Shepherd, is a great idea. It's not just those selecting religious schools. Lots of people in charters and even some in privates would have no qualms sending their kids to Shepherd if it was up to the standards of a JKLMM. Our IB community would support getting to this level (seriously great community), but we have to get the neighbors to be willing to send their kids.

We're in a good position. Hopefully we get the right leadership in place to make this happen. I don't know who you are but I look forward to working with both of you as we move forward

PP here, sure--I also think parent engagement is easier when you're down the street instead of across town on PTA night, etc. I was just asking the PPP why she felt it would be "better" with more IB because that sort of comment can be misinterpreted.

If I had my druthers, I'd have the school get up to about 75% IB, but wouldn't want the school to become a complete Shepherd Park/Colonial Village bubble. In the lower grades, IB enrollment is already high, so I think it'll be just a few more years before it reaches that number. Not sure it'll ever be close to 100% given the demographics of the neighborhood (many elderly families, observant Jewish families, etc.).

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Anonymous wrote:I had interactions with her during her first year and I always appreciated how she spoke respectfully to children. I can’t say the same for the teachers. She seemed like she was going to try to be present but from even those early days she never seemed to be available to parents. Not everyone is perfect so hopefully she’ll find a good school and be given the power to hire/fire early on. But if you want more neighborhood buyin? I would recommend the new principal get out into the neighborhood if he wants to make it a neighborhood school versus just talking to the same old parents who think the school is amazing - it could be SO much better with neighborhood buy in.

Curious why you think this? I’d like a principal who would actively drum up more neighborhood buy-in too, even if for selfish reasons (more walking play dates! running into families at the playground, etc.). But there have been some great, engaged OOB families too over the years. Not sure fewer OOB would necessarily make the school “better.”

DP here. The stronger DCPS schools have better neighborhood buyin. Nothing against any current OOB families, but typically the schools that fill up with IB families are higher performing. It goes hand in hand with stronger parent advocacy for the school to improve, stronger commitment to the neighborhood school, etc.

A related factor is fixing the issues that keep other neighborhood parents away. Branching out to the in boundary community, especially those who opted for schools other than Shepherd, is a great idea. It's not just those selecting religious schools. Lots of people in charters and even some in privates would have no qualms sending their kids to Shepherd if it was up to the standards of a JKLMM. Our IB community would support getting to this level (seriously great community), but we have to get the neighbors to be willing to send their kids.

We're in a good position. Hopefully we get the right leadership in place to make this happen. I don't know who you are but I look forward to working with both of you as we move forward

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Anonymous wrote:I had interactions with her during her first year and I always appreciated how she spoke respectfully to children. I can’t say the same for the teachers. She seemed like she was going to try to be present but from even those early days she never seemed to be available to parents. Not everyone is perfect so hopefully she’ll find a good school and be given the power to hire/fire early on. But if you want more neighborhood buyin? I would recommend the new principal get out into the neighborhood if he wants to make it a neighborhood school versus just talking to the same old parents who think the school is amazing - it could be SO much better with neighborhood buy in.

Curious why you think this? I’d like a principal who would actively drum up more neighborhood buy-in too, even if for selfish reasons (more walking play dates! running into families at the playground, etc.). But there have been some great, engaged OOB families too over the years. Not sure fewer OOB would necessarily make the school “better.”

The neighborhood has a ton of Jewish families, they aren’t going to buy in... ever. Like they can’t even say hello to non-Jewish neighbors! The OOB kids are great. Our child has many oob friends.

What a, like, bigot! One of the synagogues in Shepherd Park tutors Shepherd students at the synagogue. Are they like, super unfriendly with no buy in to the neighborhood? Jack and Jill kicked a bunch of kids off the Shepherd playground this weekend. Isn't that, like, super unfriendly? Shall we, like, extrapolate that all members of Jack and Jill are unfriendly? Can you, like, hear yourself?

Shepherd kids are ok to tutor but not to have as classmates I guess.

You clearly know very little about Shepherd Park as a neighborhood or SES as a school - your take is ahistorial, and yes, bigoted as hell.

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Anonymous wrote:I had interactions with her during her first year and I always appreciated how she spoke respectfully to children. I can’t say the same for the teachers. She seemed like she was going to try to be present but from even those early days she never seemed to be available to parents. Not everyone is perfect so hopefully she’ll find a good school and be given the power to hire/fire early on. But if you want more neighborhood buyin? I would recommend the new principal get out into the neighborhood if he wants to make it a neighborhood school versus just talking to the same old parents who think the school is amazing - it could be SO much better with neighborhood buy in.

Curious why you think this? I’d like a principal who would actively drum up more neighborhood buy-in too, even if for selfish reasons (more walking play dates! running into families at the playground, etc.). But there have been some great, engaged OOB families too over the years. Not sure fewer OOB would necessarily make the school “better.”

The neighborhood has a ton of Jewish families, they aren’t going to buy in... ever. Like they can’t even say hello to non-Jewish neighbors! The OOB kids are great. Our child has many oob friends.

Have you ever lived near a group of very observant religious folks before? Many prefer to send kids to Jewish schools, where they learn Hebrew, learn about and preserve their culture, etc.

Also, I've found our Jewish neighbors on our block to be friendly. Our kids play outside together. They warmly welcomed us to the neighborhood when we first moved in. I would be careful not to generalize to all members of a certain group based on your interactions with a few.