Anonymous
Post 08/21/2014 11:46     Subject: Re:Ludlow-Taylor getting a new a new Principal
Not buying it, and neither are you unless you enroll a white kid at elite, test-in Banneker.

Banneker's avergage SAT scores hover around the national averages for reading and math, and have for many years. Their average AP scores aren't any better.

Hint: the DC standardized tests are easy for most upper middle-income kids. I know families whose kids were rejected by Johns Hopkins CTY middle school programs (they take half the applicants) yet scored 95%+ on every CAS they took in MS, as well as the 10th grade test.
Anonymous
Post 08/21/2014 09:34     Subject: Re:Ludlow-Taylor getting a new a new Principal
Anonymous wrote:OK, but the best schools in this city are still neighborhood schools, almost all of them in Upper NW, with very few OOB spots. Few charters have good facilities.



The Upper NW schools have some of the highest test scores in the city due to the socio economics of the neighborhoods. However, there are great schools in this city like BANNEKER--a high school that has students from across the city, is 100% MINORITY and has THE HIGHEST TEST SCORES FOR ANY SCHOOL IN DC. White parents have chosen not to send their kids there because they don't feel "comfortable." That's a choice. If you want to talk charters, have you seen the test sores at DC Prep, KIPP, Washington Latin, Basis. They are in the game with upper NW, and oh yeah--they are majority black. As far as the facilities go...are you kidding me? You must not get out much. Some of these buildings are award worthy.

"Best schools" is a relative term. The fact that LT is able to serve their current population so well is a testament to the quality of the school. If IB LT parents don't want to send their kids to LT, that's their choice. But the fact that they don't feel comfortable with the current community does not make it a bad school. It simply makes it a school that they would not choose for their child.
Anonymous
Post 08/21/2014 09:19     Subject: Ludlow-Taylor getting a new a new Principal
Anonymous wrote:Honestly, I went to *private* school in Europe (K to MS) and we never dreamed of a lot if the things in one of the pp lists. Chess club? Music in ES? AV system for theater productions ? It wound have sounded totally crazy to ask for those things.

I feel it is the sane thing with hospitals and colleges: a lot if bells and whistles here look over the top to an outsider like me.


I went to a run of the mill middling public elementary school in NYC in the 1960's and we had music, which I remember very fondly. I'm not sure why that's such a big deal. Didn't have chess club till HS, but how expensive to implement is that, exactly?
Anonymous
Post 08/21/2014 09:09     Subject: Re:Ludlow-Taylor getting a new a new Principal
OK, but the best schools in this city are still neighborhood schools, almost all of them in Upper NW, with very few OOB spots. Few charters have good facilities.

Anonymous
Post 08/21/2014 07:05     Subject: Ludlow-Taylor getting a new a new Principal
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Honestly, I went to *private* school in Europe (K to MS) and we never dreamed of a lot if the things in one of the pp lists. Chess club? Music in ES? AV system for theater productions ? It wound have sounded totally crazy to ask for those things.

I feel it is the sane thing with hospitals and colleges: a lot if bells and whistles here look over the top to an outsider like me.


These sort of amenities are normal in JKLM, Stoddert, Mann, Eaton, Brent, as well as suburban public schools in affluent neighborhoods all around the country. Having them is a sign that a school is thriving by primarily serving its immediate community. Those who don't believe in neighborhood schools need to challenge the paradigm politically, like San Francisco citizens did years ago.




Let me go a step further. There are many charters that have put in place these "amenities." (I should note that I know of at least a half dozen DCPS schools not listed above, some with--gasp!--large OOB populations). It's not the NEIGHBORHOOD that puts in place enrichment programming, it's the school COMMUNITY. It doesn't matter what ward of the city the families call home. The school COMMUNITIES that have created these wonderful "extras" for ALL of the kids that attend there, did so with major family contributions of time, talent and money. And let's be clear, generally speaking, you'll only get 20% of the people to do 80% of the work. But a core 20% can change the world. If you want these things at your school, start building that 20%. Bitching and screaming and throwing temper tantrums on DCUM is not going to get it done.

Signed--An OOBs parent who leads the 20% at a school with an incredible amount of "extras".

PS- At my school, IB parents work with OOB parents and don't put on plastic gloves to do so.
Anonymous
Post 08/21/2014 05:15     Subject: Ludlow-Taylor getting a new a new Principal
Anonymous wrote:Honestly, I went to *private* school in Europe (K to MS) and we never dreamed of a lot if the things in one of the pp lists. Chess club? Music in ES? AV system for theater productions ? It wound have sounded totally crazy to ask for those things.

I feel it is the sane thing with hospitals and colleges: a lot if bells and whistles here look over the top to an outsider like me.


These sort of amenities are normal in JKLM, Stoddert, Mann, Eaton, Brent, as well as suburban public schools in affluent neighborhoods all around the country. Having them is a sign that a school is thriving by primarily serving its immediate community. Those who don't believe in neighborhood schools need to challenge the paradigm politically, like San Francisco citizens did years ago.

Anonymous
Post 08/20/2014 21:23     Subject: Ludlow-Taylor getting a new a new Principal
^^ sorry for typos.
Anonymous
Post 08/20/2014 21:23     Subject: Ludlow-Taylor getting a new a new Principal
Honestly, I went to *private* school in Europe (K to MS) and we never dreamed of a lot if the things in one of the pp lists. Chess club? Music in ES? AV system for theater productions ? It wound have sounded totally crazy to ask for those things.

I feel it is the sane thing with hospitals and colleges: a lot if bells and whistles here look over the top to an outsider like me.
Anonymous
Post 08/20/2014 20:56     Subject: Re:Ludlow-Taylor getting a new a new Principal
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:^^^ Exactly. There's nothing wrong wrong having educational standards. At least that's what people who exceed think. And there's also nothing wrong with expecting bureaucrats to do their jobs; that's what they get paid for!


Amen. But that runs counter to the past 30-40 yrs of the way this city has been run. However, it is not going to be a fight as much as people think. It will change. It is changing, and it will continue to. One day, DC will have good schools. It is the highest # of PhD's per capita. It is simply inevitable. The tough part is what people do in the mean time, and that is where it is messy.....

Enjoy it while it lasts, DCPS freeloaders!!!
This is unclear. Who are the freeloaders?
Anonymous
Post 08/20/2014 19:31     Subject: Ludlow-Taylor getting a new a new Principal
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Pp. Do you understand that Brent didn't always have the bells and whistles you describe above? Parents enrolled kids despite that. When I visited the school the spring before I enrolled, the School looked horrible, the AP had is feet up on the desk just chilling, the office staff was surly and as I waited to speak to the principal a sobbing 2nd grade girl wandered into the office with a bloody nose because another girl had punched her and sat on her and her teacher wouldn't help so she came to the office for help. No nurses, no joy, certainly no outfitted band room or brand new playground. Test scores in the tank. But I trusted the principal and her vision for moving the school forward: for BOTH the families who were already there and the neighborhood parents who were enrolling kids and starting to fundraise and build gardens.

Fair enough everyone who started at LT and didn't trust or feel included in the vision and priorities of the principal.

But for those of you looking for all the bells and whistles to happen BEFORE you invest your blood sweat and tears, it ain't gonna happen.

The leadership is key and I hope this new leader is a true professional who can bridge the divide.


Re: bolded. I have zero desire to invest in a school that does not already meet the criteria I have so I moved out of Ward 6 (much as I loved living on the Hill) when I had children to somewhere else where schools were already up to my specifications. I think it's pretty appalling that in the vast majority of DCPS schools, it is the norm for the parents to fight the administration and school reality in order to improve the school (or just give up and go elsewhere or put up with a bad education). That's insane to me! I am not a teacher or a school administrator (and I imagine most people on this board are not) so it is not my job to improve a school, any more than it is the job of my DS' teacher to come to my office and help me with my work or make the business I work for run more efficiently. L-T clearly is not serving the neighborhood (whether it is serving the largely OOB population or not) - and in a system with neighborhood schools, I would imagine the priority should be on serving the neighborhood and making the school most attractive to people who live there, whatever that may take. The fact that L-T cannot do that and that parents are expected to improve the school if they want any results is ridiculous.


You gotta love entitled Prima Donnas .[/quote

This is why I love living on Cap Hill. The schools and the small houses weed them out!
Anonymous
Post 08/20/2014 17:30     Subject: Ludlow-Taylor getting a new a new Principal
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:^^^ I happen to believe people should do the jobs try are paid for competently, without needing help from others. If they cannot do that, it means they are not doing a good job. Feel free to disagree - I am just stating my position, not burning to convert you.

I moved somewhere with good schools because I don't view t as my job to improve a school. You are equally free to live where you want and to work on improving a school if you so desire. Freedom of choice is wonderful. DCPS beaurocracy is not.


I hate to break it to you, but educating your kids is YOUR job too. Schools don't provide everything, even the best ones. This notion that a school should be a panacea reflects some really questionable parenting


I educate my kids through supplementals (music lessons, trying to instill love of reading, discussing history, helping with homework, getting tutors if necessary). It is not my job to be the one teaching basic curriculum because the school cannot as the other kids in class cannot read in middle school, or making sure discipline is maintained in school otherwise there would be brawls in hallways. If it was, I'd homeschool.


But I don't think anyone here is arguing (at least, not credibly) that LT isn't teaching basic curriculum effectively -- people are complaining because there's no chess club, or because they can't kick back and relax at fundraising galas.


I actually think L-T gets a somewhat unfair rep at DCUM (as opposed to a lot of truly horrible DCPS schools nobody talks about much). It’s clearly teaching its target audience – disadvantaged OOB kids – well, if the DC-CAS scores are anything to go by. It’s not a neighborhood school and does not reflect neighborhood demographics, but that’s another issue entirely. I am just puzzled by all the posters in this thread who either think that if you want a good school you must work hard to make a school that is not to your liking into one that is or, alternatively, think that people should be OK with sending their children to a school the parents don’t like (however irrational the reason for the dislike may be). I happen to think that if you can afford it (and many posters clearly can), you should stop beating your head against a rock and move somewhere where the schools are fine “as is” and you don’t need to either work hard to fix them to your liking or seethe impotently.


I guess I don't think people are entitled to like their neighborhood school. I can't imagine ANY school making everyone happy. I think people are entitled to a school that keeps their children safe and educates them competently, and IME LT meets those requirements; the rest is gravy. If you want the gravy, then you need to either 1) find a private school that has it, 2) move IB to a DCPS school that has it, or 3) enroll at LT and be the change you want to see.

In principle, I don't think people should be grateful their school has conquered those basics -- they should be able to take them for granted. But in practice, given the truly abysmal state of so many schools in DC, I think families IB for LT could stand to be a little more appreciative of what they've got. And if you already have access to a school that keeps your kids safe and educates them competently, I don't think you should be surprised or angry if you are a lower priority for DCPS than the many families whose school options are far, far worse.
Anonymous
Post 08/20/2014 17:21     Subject: Ludlow-Taylor getting a new a new Principal
you kinda suck
Anonymous
Post 08/20/2014 16:48     Subject: Ludlow-Taylor getting a new a new Principal
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:^^^ I happen to believe people should do the jobs try are paid for competently, without needing help from others. If they cannot do that, it means they are not doing a good job. Feel free to disagree - I am just stating my position, not burning to convert you.

I moved somewhere with good schools because I don't view t as my job to improve a school. You are equally free to live where you want and to work on improving a school if you so desire. Freedom of choice is wonderful. DCPS beaurocracy is not.


I hate to break it to you, but educating your kids is YOUR job too. Schools don't provide everything, even the best ones. This notion that a school should be a panacea reflects some really questionable parenting


Yes, different poster here, but I think the point is that this poster, as well as myself, would prefer to spend my valuable time educating my children in our own way instead of improving a struggling school.


two are not related whatsoever, nor are they mutually exclusive. if you think your child's education is entirely on the school you are wrong.


Um no, clearly my point was neither of the above. What is limited is my TIME. How I choose to spend my time is my choice, and I choose not to spend it on a low-SES school that desperately needs my time, my income, my intelligence, my effort. Outta luck on this one!


I'm sure the entire school community is mourning its loss of you


certainly not the OOB families who don't want more IB families to take their slots
Anonymous
Post 08/20/2014 16:48     Subject: Ludlow-Taylor getting a new a new Principal
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:^^^ I happen to believe people should do the jobs try are paid for competently, without needing help from others. If they cannot do that, it means they are not doing a good job. Feel free to disagree - I am just stating my position, not burning to convert you.

I moved somewhere with good schools because I don't view t as my job to improve a school. You are equally free to live where you want and to work on improving a school if you so desire. Freedom of choice is wonderful. DCPS beaurocracy is not.


I hate to break it to you, but educating your kids is YOUR job too. Schools don't provide everything, even the best ones. This notion that a school should be a panacea reflects some really questionable parenting


Yes, different poster here, but I think the point is that this poster, as well as myself, would prefer to spend my valuable time educating my children in our own way instead of improving a struggling school.


two are not related whatsoever, nor are they mutually exclusive. if you think your child's education is entirely on the school you are wrong.


Um no, clearly my point was neither of the above. What is limited is my TIME. How I choose to spend my time is my choice, and I choose not to spend it on a low-SES school that desperately needs my time, my income, my intelligence, my effort. Outta luck on this one!


We'll put you down in the "seethe impotently" column, then!
Anonymous
Post 08/20/2014 16:46     Subject: Ludlow-Taylor getting a new a new Principal
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:^^^ I happen to believe people should do the jobs try are paid for competently, without needing help from others. If they cannot do that, it means they are not doing a good job. Feel free to disagree - I am just stating my position, not burning to convert you.

I moved somewhere with good schools because I don't view t as my job to improve a school. You are equally free to live where you want and to work on improving a school if you so desire. Freedom of choice is wonderful. DCPS beaurocracy is not.


I hate to break it to you, but educating your kids is YOUR job too. Schools don't provide everything, even the best ones. This notion that a school should be a panacea reflects some really questionable parenting


Yes, different poster here, but I think the point is that this poster, as well as myself, would prefer to spend my valuable time educating my children in our own way instead of improving a struggling school.


two are not related whatsoever, nor are they mutually exclusive. if you think your child's education is entirely on the school you are wrong.


Um no, clearly my point was neither of the above. What is limited is my TIME. How I choose to spend my time is my choice, and I choose not to spend it on a low-SES school that desperately needs my time, my income, my intelligence, my effort. Outta luck on this one!


I'm sure the entire school community is mourning its loss of you