Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good for Grosso for asking out loud why Shaw parents don't put in effort at Cardozo. He's come to his senses.

How does everyone know they aren’t? Some are. That doesn’t mean the current situation at Cardozo is fixable. DCPS has been asking the school to do a million thing for years. Splitting the middle school out of the high school is the most obvious solution. Cardozo EC is the *only* DCPS education campus that is both 6-12 and by-right for middle and high school. It’s not working, and that’s not the fault of the staff or students there.

Shaw parents are already working to improve Cardozo and Grosso appears to be unaware of it. The active parents' kids are too young to enroll. But DCPS and Grosso need to acknowledge that their neglect of Cardozo over many years makes it harder and is itself a factor in parents not wanting to enroll.

I hate statements like this. You realize there are other people living in Shaw besides those of you that have babies. Some of us have been living here for awhile and were doing things in the Shaw community before you decided to move to this neighborhood for your $5 lattes and Orange Theory. We actually care about the schools too.

I know. Shocking.

DP. And isn't this the problem with the Save Shaw crew? They haven't really reached out to the people whose children are Cardozo-aged or nearing. The immediate PP is right to be angry about the PK parents who want a unicorn.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good for Grosso for asking out loud why Shaw parents don't put in effort at Cardozo. He's come to his senses.

How does everyone know they aren’t? Some are. That doesn’t mean the current situation at Cardozo is fixable. DCPS has been asking the school to do a million thing for years. Splitting the middle school out of the high school is the most obvious solution. Cardozo EC is the *only* DCPS education campus that is both 6-12 and by-right for middle and high school. It’s not working, and that’s not the fault of the staff or students there.

Shaw parents are already working to improve Cardozo and Grosso appears to be unaware of it. The active parents' kids are too young to enroll. But DCPS and Grosso need to acknowledge that their neglect of Cardozo over many years makes it harder and is itself a factor in parents not wanting to enroll.

I hate statements like this. You realize there are other people living in Shaw besides those of you that have babies. Some of us have been living here for awhile and were doing things in the Shaw community before you decided to move to this neighborhood for your $5 lattes and Orange Theory. We actually care about the schools too.

I know. Shocking.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good for Grosso for asking out loud why Shaw parents don't put in effort at Cardozo. He's come to his senses.

How does everyone know they aren’t? Some are. That doesn’t mean the current situation at Cardozo is fixable. DCPS has been asking the school to do a million thing for years. Splitting the middle school out of the high school is the most obvious solution. Cardozo EC is the *only* DCPS education campus that is both 6-12 and by-right for middle and high school. It’s not working, and that’s not the fault of the staff or students there.

Shaw parents are already working to improve Cardozo and Grosso appears to be unaware of it. The active parents' kids are too young to enroll. But DCPS and Grosso need to acknowledge that their neglect of Cardozo over many years makes it harder and is itself a factor in parents not wanting to enroll.

I hate statements like this. You realize there are other people living in Shaw besides those of you that have babies. Some of us have been living here for awhile and were doing things in the Shaw community before you decided to move to this neighborhood for your $5 lattes and Orange Theory. We actually care about the schools too.

I know. Shocking.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good for Grosso for asking out loud why Shaw parents don't put in effort at Cardozo. He's come to his senses.

How does everyone know they aren’t? Some are. That doesn’t mean the current situation at Cardozo is fixable. DCPS has been asking the school to do a million thing for years. Splitting the middle school out of the high school is the most obvious solution. Cardozo EC is the *only* DCPS education campus that is both 6-12 and by-right for middle and high school. It’s not working, and that’s not the fault of the staff or students there.

Shaw parents are already working to improve Cardozo and Grosso appears to be unaware of it. The active parents' kids are too young to enroll. But DCPS and Grosso need to acknowledge that their neglect of Cardozo over many years makes it harder and is itself a factor in parents not wanting to enroll.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:+1 Banneker = Oasis

Oasis filled with poor Black and Latino kids. Probably why white families wont go there but flock to SWW and Latin.

Anonymous wrote:+1 Banneker = Oasis

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

One thing has become perfectly clear through all this is the toxic culture at Banneker, led first by parents, teachers and adminstrators and trickled through to students.

You don't realize that you also have toilet paper stuck to your shoe, Save Shawster. As a casual observer with older kids in a distant part of the city, your subtext is painfully obvious every time you speak.

We long-time District residents remember that Cap Hill parents used similar rhetoric several years ago when they, just like you, asserted that they needed their very own, brand-new, by right schools to educate their offspring. You're too new to DC and too young to remember, but the dialogue is virtually interchangeable.

1. Existing by-right school in close physical proximity to your address is "not acceptable."
2. Your 2 - 6 year old is a very advanced learner who thrives on academic challenge.
3. Ideally, you'd like DCPS to carve out an all-new school for your demographic with attendance boundaries that ensure the ratio of your SES dominates any new school (although other demographic groups can attend, because hey, for the moment, they do still live in the dwindling number of inbound apartments).
4. You're silent as to why you and all your like-kind demographic can't just attend existing school (which incidentally is equidistant to your address as the new building you seek. Distance isn't a factor). No amount of programming or staff changes will make the existing school work for you.

We get it. You want an oasis.

Nobody is silent about why Cardozo Middle is unacceptable! It is underfunded, the high school takes all the admin attention, the principal wants the middle school out, it has no permanent AP in many years. If DCPS would improve Cardozo Middle then maybe this would work, but they have been unwilling to do so.

It is Banneker that prides itself on being an oasis. Maybe Banneker families shound invest in their neighborhood schools.

Anonymous wrote:This story points out many of the issues with schools in DC.

1) The school system needs to keep its mouth shut about schools getting new buildings until things are about to move.
Having been through the Bridges building debacle, the bait and switch and political fights around buildings could be avoided if this were treated as an administrative matter rather than a community decision.

2) Long range planning needs to happen, but it's hard in a city where major changes in students expected can happen at the drop of a hat. Will my family move to Maryland? Maybe. But probably not. DCPS has no idea if we should be part of their planning or not. I don't either.

3) Brookland Middle School is a case study in the reasons why throwing a ton of money at a middle school in quickly gentrifying neighborhood does little to attract high SES parents. There is no reason to expect a Shaw middle school would turn out differently than Brookland has so far.

4) Banneker is a good school. Resourcing them with a better building and/or location is a good idea.

5) To exclude kids with 504s from test-in schools on the basis of a 504 alone is illegal and shouldn't be happening. There should be objective criteria. It's also short-sighted as having a 504 means the parents are clued in to their kids' needs and not in denial about them, in many cases.

Anonymous wrote:

One thing has become perfectly clear through all this is the toxic culture at Banneker, led first by parents, teachers and adminstrators and trickled through to students.

You don't realize that you also have toilet paper stuck to your shoe, Save Shawster. As a casual observer with older kids in a distant part of the city, your subtext is painfully obvious every time you speak.

We long-time District residents remember that Cap Hill parents used similar rhetoric several years ago when they, just like you, asserted that they needed their very own, brand-new, by right schools to educate their offspring. You're too new to DC and too young to remember, but the dialogue is virtually interchangeable.

1. Existing by-right school in close physical proximity to your address is "not acceptable."
2. Your 2 - 6 year old is a very advanced learner who thrives on academic challenge.
3. Ideally, you'd like DCPS to carve out an all-new school for your demographic with attendance boundaries that ensure the ratio of your SES dominates any new school (although other demographic groups can attend, because hey, for the moment, they do still live in the dwindling number of inbound apartments).
4. You're silent as to why you and all your like-kind demographic can't just attend existing school (which incidentally is equidistant to your address as the new building you seek. Distance isn't a factor). No amount of programming or staff changes will make the existing school work for you.

We get it. You want an oasis.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:IT isn't surprising that Grosso made this point in the WPost article. It's completely consistent with what he said at every budget hearing.

It is also consistent with what he has said in the past regarding Capital Hill middle schools. Made the same comment about Brent parents in particular not being willing to attend Jefferson a couple years back.

As a parent, that comment, coming from a non-parent, makes my blood boil and my family does not live IB for Brent OR Cardozo. If I wanted to transform a school, I would have become an educator. All children in Washington DC should have effective, safe, up-to-building code public schools to attend. People in OSSE and DCPS and DCPCS should do their jobs or they should leave.

This. ALL kids deserve an adequate school building. It isn't something you get as a reward for attracting high-SES kids. It isn't something you get as a reward for refusing IEPs and 504s. It is a basic right.

Of course they do. Is that at issue here?

Yes. It is often said that high-SES parents still won't enroll so there is no point in improving the building. Now, it is true that an adrquate building is only ONE piece of the puzzle (also need a competent principal, good teachers, and adequate behavior and academic support for kids at all levels). But a nice building should be provided for kids regardless of who enrolls.

One thing has become perfectly clear through all this is the toxic culture at Banneker, led first by parents, teachers and adminstrators and trickled through to students.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The council gave Shaw to Banneker. [snip] ..let's figure out what to do with Shaw middle schoolers and how to find THEM a great experience too.


How exactly did they "earn" it? Have Cardozo kids done something wrong and failed to "earn" an adequate school?

You are conflating a physical building with an experience — and hoping readers won't notice.

Try harder.

Tell me again why Banneker students are more deserving than Cardozo/Shaw students. There are no test in options for middle school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:IT isn't surprising that Grosso made this point in the WPost article. It's completely consistent with what he said at every budget hearing.

It is also consistent with what he has said in the past regarding Capital Hill middle schools. Made the same comment about Brent parents in particular not being willing to attend Jefferson a couple years back.

As a parent, that comment, coming from a non-parent, makes my blood boil and my family does not live IB for Brent OR Cardozo. If I wanted to transform a school, I would have become an educator. All children in Washington DC should have effective, safe, up-to-building code public schools to attend. People in OSSE and DCPS and DCPCS should do their jobs or they should leave.

This. ALL kids deserve an adequate school building. It isn't something you get as a reward for attracting high-SES kids. It isn't something you get as a reward for refusing IEPs and 504s. It is a basic right.

Of course they do. Is that at issue here?

Yes. It is often said that high-SES parents still won't enroll so there is no point in improving the building. Now, it is true that an adrquate building is only ONE piece of the puzzle (also need a competent principal, good teachers, and adequate behavior and academic support for kids at all levels). But a nice building should be provided for kids regardless of who enrolls.

Anonymous wrote:

The council gave Shaw to Banneker. [snip] ..let's figure out what to do with Shaw middle schoolers and how to find THEM a great experience too.


How exactly did they "earn" it? Have Cardozo kids done something wrong and failed to "earn" an adequate school?

You are conflating a physical building with an experience — and hoping readers won't notice.

Try harder.