Anonymous
Post 06/04/2014 08:44     Subject: Ludlow Taylor - Choose It over Watkins for 1st Grade ?????
Anonymous wrote:slightly different topic:
there is a lady that consults on schools on the hill and she said that LT waitlist moved 30 spots already. Since all 54 spots were taken before by IB/sibling, that would mean that almost 2/3 of new parents moved their kids elsewhere and would make the new PK3 class dominantly OB.
Anybody know if she is right or not?


I can't say if she's right or not, but given the lack of movement with the unified lottery this year, I think it's more likely that someone 30 spots down on the waitlist got in because the people before them on the waitlist had already made other plans for next year when a spot opened up. (In other words, they haven't actually enrolled 30 kids off the waitlist, but they've called as far down as #30 on the waitlist to fill a much smaller number of spots.)
Anonymous
Post 06/04/2014 08:14     Subject: Ludlow Taylor - Choose It over Watkins for 1st Grade ?????
slightly different topic:
there is a lady that consults on schools on the hill and she said that LT waitlist moved 30 spots already. Since all 54 spots were taken before by IB/sibling, that would mean that almost 2/3 of new parents moved their kids elsewhere and would make the new PK3 class dominantly OB.
Anybody know if she is right or not?
Anonymous
Post 06/03/2014 11:04     Subject: Ludlow Taylor - Choose It over Watkins for 1st Grade ?????
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:We live on the Hill. My kid is in 4th grade at another Hill school. I know many families who tried Watkins, and most of them stayed through 4th and even onto 5th. Many of them are happy and tell me their kids have had excellent teachers. I feel like Watkins is more of a known entity through the upper grades.



The test scores at Watkins aren't as high as at LT. I can tell you that the PK3 and PK4 classes at LT are almost all staying and continuing into K. LT has a great group of teachers and is generally well run. Opinions on this board to the contrary are not based on first hand knowledge.


True that LT has higher scores overall. Watkins has a particularly large achievement gap between white and black students that is persistent. FWIW white kids in Watkins have quite high scores. There is also a bit of lingering mistrust in the upper grades at LT based on the prior erasure issues. Before the apparent mass exodus this year, Watkins has been a more known quantity in the upper grades. The teachers are/were excellent and many of them are Hill neighbors and/or sent their own kids through the school. I'd say through 4th grade for sure, parents are not exaggerating when we speak of having excellent teachers.

What I find amusing about your post though is you talk about first hand experience, which you have through PK4? The PPP has a 4th grader on the Hill with many Hill friends in Watkins upper grades. Yet you criticize her for lack of first-hand experience.


I suspect the initial reference to first hand knowledge was to first hand knowledge of Ludlow-Taylor, i.e. neighbors bagging on the school haven't sent their kids there.
Anonymous
Post 06/03/2014 09:42     Subject: Ludlow Taylor - Choose It over Watkins for 1st Grade ?????
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:We live on the Hill. My kid is in 4th grade at another Hill school. I know many families who tried Watkins, and most of them stayed through 4th and even onto 5th. Many of them are happy and tell me their kids have had excellent teachers. I feel like Watkins is more of a known entity through the upper grades.



The test scores at Watkins aren't as high as at LT. I can tell you that the PK3 and PK4 classes at LT are almost all staying and continuing into K. LT has a great group of teachers and is generally well run. Opinions on this board to the contrary are not based on first hand knowledge.


True that LT has higher scores overall. Watkins has a particularly large achievement gap between white and black students that is persistent. FWIW white kids in Watkins have quite high scores. There is also a bit of lingering mistrust in the upper grades at LT based on the prior erasure issues. Before the apparent mass exodus this year, Watkins has been a more known quantity in the upper grades. The teachers are/were excellent and many of them are Hill neighbors and/or sent their own kids through the school. I'd say through 4th grade for sure, parents are not exaggerating when we speak of having excellent teachers.

What I find amusing about your post though is you talk about first hand experience, which you have through PK4? The PPP has a 4th grader on the Hill with many Hill friends in Watkins upper grades. Yet you criticize her for lack of first-hand experience.


^^ Me again. I am not celebrating the achievement gap at Watkins in any way. It is appalling. I'm just saying that with a kid in this cohort, I haven't been excessively worried by the scores per se.
Anonymous
Post 06/03/2014 09:35     Subject: Ludlow Taylor - Choose It over Watkins for 1st Grade ?????
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:We live on the Hill. My kid is in 4th grade at another Hill school. I know many families who tried Watkins, and most of them stayed through 4th and even onto 5th. Many of them are happy and tell me their kids have had excellent teachers. I feel like Watkins is more of a known entity through the upper grades.



The test scores at Watkins aren't as high as at LT. I can tell you that the PK3 and PK4 classes at LT are almost all staying and continuing into K. LT has a great group of teachers and is generally well run. Opinions on this board to the contrary are not based on first hand knowledge.


True that LT has higher scores overall. Watkins has a particularly large achievement gap between white and black students that is persistent. FWIW white kids in Watkins have quite high scores. There is also a bit of lingering mistrust in the upper grades at LT based on the prior erasure issues. Before the apparent mass exodus this year, Watkins has been a more known quantity in the upper grades. The teachers are/were excellent and many of them are Hill neighbors and/or sent their own kids through the school. I'd say through 4th grade for sure, parents are not exaggerating when we speak of having excellent teachers.

What I find amusing about your post though is you talk about first hand experience, which you have through PK4? The PPP has a 4th grader on the Hill with many Hill friends in Watkins upper grades. Yet you criticize her for lack of first-hand experience.
Anonymous
Post 06/03/2014 09:21     Subject: Ludlow Taylor - Choose It over Watkins for 1st Grade ?????
Anonymous wrote:We live on the Hill. My kid is in 4th grade at another Hill school. I know many families who tried Watkins, and most of them stayed through 4th and even onto 5th. Many of them are happy and tell me their kids have had excellent teachers. I feel like Watkins is more of a known entity through the upper grades.



The test scores at Watkins aren't as high as at LT. I can tell you that the PK3 and PK4 classes at LT are almost all staying and continuing into K. LT has a great group of teachers and is generally well run. Opinions on this board to the contrary are not based on first hand knowledge.
Anonymous
Post 05/30/2014 16:52     Subject: Ludlow Taylor - Choose It over Watkins for 1st Grade ?????
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:As a former employee at a Hill school (not LT) I have to say that most of the upper middle class children I worked with had not been exposed to such phrases as "please" and "thank you" whereas the lower SES children had.


1. This is Utterly fatuous. 2. Even if this was true, who cares and what difference does it make in terms of educating children?


Who cares? You should care if children are rude. That is not a good way to start life.


Diito that from PP.
Anonymous
Post 05/30/2014 11:35     Subject: Ludlow Taylor - Choose It over Watkins for 1st Grade ?????
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:As a former employee at a Hill school (not LT) I have to say that most of the upper middle class children I worked with had not been exposed to such phrases as "please" and "thank you" whereas the lower SES children had.


1. This is Utterly fatuous. 2. Even if this was true, who cares and what difference does it make in terms of educating children?


Who cares? You should care if children are rude. That is not a good way to start life.
Anonymous
Post 05/30/2014 11:34     Subject: Ludlow Taylor - Choose It over Watkins for 1st Grade ?????
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:As a former employee at a Hill school (not LT) I have to say that most of the upper middle class children I worked with had not been exposed to such phrases as "please" and "thank you" whereas the lower SES children had.


1. This is Utterly fatuous. 2. Even if this was true, who cares and what difference does it make in terms of educating children?


It is more pleasurable to work with children who have been taught to respect adults.
Anonymous
Post 05/30/2014 11:33     Subject: Ludlow Taylor - Choose It over Watkins for 1st Grade ?????
Not all parents that is but it is shocking to see how many rude UMC are out and about these days!
Anonymous
Post 05/30/2014 11:32     Subject: Ludlow Taylor - Choose It over Watkins for 1st Grade ?????
I have seen it at just about every Hill school...no need to name names. Go see for yourself! You will see children who's parents don't think it is necessary to teach manners. Not all of them clearly but a lot.
Anonymous
Post 05/29/2014 23:29     Subject: Ludlow Taylor - Choose It over Watkins for 1st Grade ?????
So, at which DCPS school on the Hill did you encounter an entire classroom full of rude UMC students? Looking forward to your response.
Anonymous
Post 05/29/2014 22:59     Subject: Ludlow Taylor - Choose It over Watkins for 1st Grade ?????
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:As a former employee at a Hill school (not LT) I have to say that most of the upper middle class children I worked with had not been exposed to such phrases as "please" and "thank you" whereas the lower SES children had.


1. This is Utterly fatuous. 2. Even if this was true, who cares and what difference does it make in terms of educating children?


Have you ever tried to teach a class full of rude children? It's not fun.
Anonymous
Post 05/29/2014 22:11     Subject: Ludlow Taylor - Choose It over Watkins for 1st Grade ?????
Anonymous wrote:As a former employee at a Hill school (not LT) I have to say that most of the upper middle class children I worked with had not been exposed to such phrases as "please" and "thank you" whereas the lower SES children had.


1. This is Utterly fatuous. 2. Even if this was true, who cares and what difference does it make in terms of educating children?
Anonymous
Post 05/29/2014 19:18     Subject: Ludlow Taylor - Choose It over Watkins for 1st Grade ?????
Anonymous wrote:It is funny that the same people that complain about OOB children are the same people that feel they should be entitled to attend any public school in the district.


Or complain that they are boundary changes are sending them to a subpar school. There are thousands of families in ward 7 and 8 that want their children in great schools but just don't have a lot of faith in their neighborhood schools either.