The Cluster is essentially a "neighborhood charter," set up something like a charter before charters existed. So SH is neither here nor there in the way it's adminstered at a time of great change. Cluster parents tend to be painfully territorial and defensive about what goes on at SH, although the MS isn't serving the Hill community very well (big percentage of kids still bused in from elsewhere). I'd like to see SH go DCPS OR charter, leaving a limbo land where one bruising battle after another is fought over its future, without great results. If the school has so much potential, frankly, why is the student body only 15 percent white in a district that's more than half white, after more than two decades in the Cluster? The majority of Hill parents with MS age kids is not sold on the place - you don't see nearly the same enthusiasm for SH as you see for Deal, Latin, even untested Basis. SH would be fertile ground for a co-located DCPS academic magnet, much more so than Jefferson. Doesn't sound like neighborhood proximity for charters would help struggling SH.

Anonymous wrote:Stuart Hobson has as much potential as Hardy. Neck and neck for second DCPS MS behind Deal

Not the way SH runs now. Far too many Hill parents are fleeing to Latin, and now Basis, for this to be case. There isn't nearly enough academic tracking, or fine teaching, at SH to draw in most IB families so a small minority attend. E.g. SH only started teaching 8th grade algebra last school year. Algebra is a 7th grade subject at Deal and in the suburban TAG programs. Although the Hill's population is increasingly upper-middle-class, SH has struggled mightily to attract such families since the Cluster was created. Also, it's not a very big building, meaning that DCPS won't even let Brent feed into it, cutting out some of the strongest local students coming out of 5th.

+1. Ward 6 would run farther with neighborhood preference than the rest. It's far to Latin from the Hill, Basis may or may not pan out for families, and local organizing and fundraising prowess is increasingly formidable.

Charter PTAs would accrue the benefit from having a lot more neighborhood parents involved - it's tough for many parents to make meetings, coming from across town through rush hour traffic and Metro.

I don't think that Ward 3 is where you would see an explosion of charters if neighborhood preference becomes an option, not with many good elementary schools there, and Deal and Wilson doing a decent job of attracting IB families. You would see it in Ward 6. Capitol Hill has several elementary schools that few IB families will touch above pre-K, lacks a middle school most IB families are comfortable, and supports a high school whose student population hails mainly from Ward 8.

The more charter schools there are, the fewer union members there are, the less clout the union has.

Anonymous wrote:Decent test scores won't make any difference. Once most schools are charters, it will be hard to justify supporting a tiny DCPS.

What would JKLM parents have to complain about if their school went charter, as long as it was still a neighborhood school?

The WTU will care, and as long as they vote, it will still be a constituency to be reckoned with.

Kaya would be willing to fight for anything as long as she was assured a job and that she wouldn't be outed for the failure she has become.

Anonymous wrote:from the link that started the thread:

"At the same time, Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson, who heads the 45,000-student D.C. public school system, has asked the D.C. Council for her own authority to open charters, possibly with an eye toward having some operate with neighborhood admissions preferences. Those charter schools willing to set aside seats for neighborhood families might find it easier to gain access to surplus D.C. school buildings, said council member Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6)."

Maybe then Kaya might be willing to fight for equal funding for charters and you willing to as well Mr. Wells? The equal funding they should already get.

Decent test scores won't make any difference. Once most schools are charters, it will be hard to justify supporting a tiny DCPS.

What would JKLM parents have to complain about if their school went charter, as long as it was still a neighborhood school?

from the link that started the thread:

"At the same time, Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson, who heads the 45,000-student D.C. public school system, has asked the D.C. Council for her own authority to open charters, possibly with an eye toward having some operate with neighborhood admissions preferences. Those charter schools willing to set aside seats for neighborhood families might find it easier to gain access to surplus D.C. school buildings, said council member Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6)."

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, ward three doesn't need charter schools, but what happens when almost all other schools become charters with a neighborhood preference? The few remaining schools in good neighborhoods won't justify the existence of a big central administration.

The next logical step would be to dismantle central office and make the remaining schools charters. Parents won't complain if their real estate investment is protected by having a good accessible charter nearby that looks just like their former public school - on the outside, anyhow.

Wrong. No-one on the council or DCPS is even remotely in favor of this, they're not giving up their levers of control without a fight. (And as long as they have decent test scores they won't have to.)

I hope you're right, but it seems like Kaya is doing everything to facilitate more charter schools

Anonymous wrote:No, ward three doesn't need charter schools, but what happens when almost all other schools become charters with a neighborhood preference? The few remaining schools in good neighborhoods won't justify the existence of a big central administration.

The next logical step would be to dismantle central office and make the remaining schools charters. Parents won't complain if their real estate investment is protected by having a good accessible charter nearby that looks just like their former public school - on the outside, anyhow.

Wrong. No-one on the council or DCPS is even remotely in favor of this, they're not giving up their levers of control without a fight. (And as long as they have decent test scores they won't have to.)

Anonymous wrote:One idea that might work is if DCPS is given charter authority and then uses neighborhood preference. For example, Tommy Wells supports the idea of of Jefferson MS becoming a charter school with neighborhood preference. Amidon Bowen ES could partner with AppleTree in a hybrid public/charter thingy and keep neighborhood preference.

ITA!!! There are definitely some school matches where this would make sense. Middle school grades 6-8 at Oyster-Adams comes to mind. Elementary kids in bilingual DCPS and charters don't have a lot of choices for MS with extensive Spanish.

Anonymous wrote:"Kwame Brown" and "thought process" in the same sentence. hahahahahaha

Thinking the same thing.

No, ward three doesn't need charter schools, but what happens when almost all other schools become charters with a neighborhood preference? The few remaining schools in good neighborhoods won't justify the existence of a big central administration.

The next logical step would be to dismantle central office and make the remaining schools charters. Parents won't complain if their real estate investment is protected by having a good accessible charter nearby that looks just like their former public school - on the outside, anyhow.