I'm in the MacFarland/Roosevelt feeder pattern. DS is very young and we still have time to figure out what we're doing, but there is no way in hell I'm sending him to a 6-12.

It doesn't matter where the school is or who the students are. Sixth graders do not need to be on the same campus as high schoolers.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just read a comment on LL:

The plan is for Francis to be used by School Without Walls.

Well that doesn't make any effing sense. What will they with the SWW property? Sell it to GW?

SWW is expanding and will be housed at two sites.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well that power point blows the myth of the babyboom out of the water. Maybe in some areas it looks like it but city as a whole? Down, way down.

The "baby boom" kids aren't 5 years old yet. How many age 0-4 kids are about to hit the system I wonder?

Well that, and let's be honest - how many low-income families have fled to PG and parts of Montgomery counties as more DC neighborhoods are gentrified? My take is that these kids have been replaced with the kids of higher-income families that are buying expensive property in DC.

The distribution is telling. In the short term centrally located neighborhoods closer to downtown project modest growth while Wards 4, 5, 7, 8 show most of the losses. The projected growth over the next decade is significant throughout much of DC. that suggests more families with young children projected to stay in DC (Millenials starting families). I think you're also seeing a trend of higher income families fanning out beyond where they've traditionally been clustered.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who on earth would want to send their kids to a secondary school within DCPS? I understand the need to close schools, but converting high schools to 6-12 schools seems batty.

actually it makes much more sense than prek-8
middle-schoolers need specialists...math teachers, foreign language teachers, this is a good way to ensure they get that exposure, and some continuity with teaching.

+1 And I for one don't love the idea of 13 year olds in the same building as my 3 yo.

When your 3 year old is 11, will you want him in the same building as 18 and 19 year olds?

Anonymous wrote:Who on earth would want to send their kids to a secondary school within DCPS? I understand the need to close schools, but converting high schools to 6-12 schools seems batty.

Roosevelt always smells like reefer. Great place to send 6th graders!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well that power point blows the myth of the babyboom out of the water. Maybe in some areas it looks like it but city as a whole? Down, way down.

The "baby boom" kids aren't 5 years old yet. How many age 0-4 kids are about to hit the system I wonder?

Well that, and let's be honest - how many low-income families have fled to PG and parts of Montgomery counties as more DC neighborhoods are gentrified? My take is that these kids have been replaced with the kids of higher-income families that are buying expensive property in DC.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who on earth would want to send their kids to a secondary school within DCPS? I understand the need to close schools, but converting high schools to 6-12 schools seems batty.

actually it makes much more sense than prek-8
middle-schoolers need specialists...math teachers, foreign language teachers, this is a good way to ensure they get that exposure, and some continuity with teaching.

+1 And I for one don't love the idea of 13 year olds in the same building as my 3 yo.

Anonymous wrote:Just read a comment on LL:

The plan is for Francis to be used by School Without Walls.

Well that doesn't make any effing sense. What will they with the SWW property? Sell it to GW?

SWS could move to Prospect tomorrow and not miss a beat. Why let them languish in trailers unti Van Ness is renovated?

Prospect's undoing was that the building was left unrenovated for 4 years while the students were moved to other schools and they never got their mojo back. DCPS shouldn't allow this to happen to SWS.

And I'm glad, for all the SN teachers and social workers in the elementary schools already, that they are mainstreaming Prospect's students.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please, please give Prospect's building to SWS. Most familes at SWS now are closer to Prospect than to Van Ness. SWS is amazing. Look at what they have done to the current temporary trailer space in the three short month that they have been there. It is a beautiful, vibrant space. Don't let a big space like Prospect go vacant for one or more years when SWS could capitalize on the space right now, and keep families in DC and happy with and supportive of their school.

What would the school boundaries be in this case? Van Ness already has a catchment area that was in use just a few years ago before it was closed. The idea would be to open van Ness back up to serve this neighborhood with the Sws administration and staff. It isn't just about what is most convenient for the current parents. I would love to see a good middle school charter go into prospect building.

Except DCPS is keeping Prospect in is inventory, so it's not going to be a charter school (middle or otherwise).

SWS boundaries overlap with CH Cluster now. SWS will be neighborhood school -- no one said it had to serve an underserved neighborhood or a current gap. DCPS has already determined that near SE doesn't yet have enough families to justify reopening Van Ness. IF SWS became a "neighbhorhood school" for near SE, it would consist primarily of OOB Hill families to fill seats. By the time DCPS will revisit opening Van Ness in 2014-15 SWS will likely be established somewhere else.

If the surrounding Hill neighborhood can support multiple catchment options and maintain full enrollment with successful outcomes, I don't see the problem here.

Prospect has very little outdoor space (other than a small asphalt playground and a garden), less than Stuart Hobson -- and is 5 blocks away, so I don't think it would be a great ms charter option. Would not be bad for SWS, though. They had less outdoor space at Peabody and did fine. This would also nail the coffin on Ludlow Taylor's future existance. IT should be given to a middle school charter!

The silly thing is that if Stuart Hobson consolidated with Eliot Hine there would be room for all the Hill Elementary school at a comprehensive middle school with a great enough number of students( $$$$$) to provide advanced programming, languages, remediation etc.

No need to move into prospect building. Eliot Hine already has good facilities, playing fields and the rest.

But nope, the cluster would rather spend 5 million bucks or whatever to fix up their small building with no outdoor space to serve kids who don't come from the neighborhood. If Stuart Hobson as is even wanted Brent and Maury as feeders they can't fit them! They already have ludlow Taylor and Jo Wilson and Watkins feeding in there.

I would never feel comfortable sending my kid to a DC 6-12th grade school. In fairfax yes, DC now. There are too many incidents of violence, poor behavior, teen pregnancy etc that I would not want my 6th grader to see that every day and assume its normal and acceptable.

+10000

Horrible, horrible idea. I went to a private school in a small town that had 7th through 12th lumped together and it was a bad idea. The 7th graders just learned to drink and smoke pot much earlier. And this was a "privileged" environment. The younger kids are just too impressionable.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please, please give Prospect's building to SWS. Most familes at SWS now are closer to Prospect than to Van Ness. SWS is amazing. Look at what they have done to the current temporary trailer space in the three short month that they have been there. It is a beautiful, vibrant space. Don't let a big space like Prospect go vacant for one or more years when SWS could capitalize on the space right now, and keep families in DC and happy with and supportive of their school.

What would the school boundaries be in this case? Van Ness already has a catchment area that was in use just a few years ago before it was closed. The idea would be to open van Ness back up to serve this neighborhood with the Sws administration and staff. It isn't just about what is most convenient for the current parents. I would love to see a good middle school charter go into prospect building.

Would not be pretty, but the boundaries should be Ludlow Taylor's, and Ludlow Taylor should close. Beyond kinder, I doubt that more than 20% of the LT kids are inbounds.

Although the above poster also has a good idea...Could Stuart Hobson expand to Prospect...and serve the Brent and Maury families who say they want in at SH?

Kaya said Spingarn will be a trade school of some sort.