I'm an OOB parent at an "up-and-coming" school. We started at this school because we lotteried into PK3 and we're staying because we've found other OOB families who are in the same boat as we are–neighborhood school with overwhelmingly at-risk populations coming from public housing. It's just not a good fit for our DC.

Most of the PTA leaders at the school are OOB and we find the IB population takes the relative-decently facility and with pretty-good teachers and admin they have for granted.

So the real question for us is - why don't IB families contribute more time and resources?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't mind the folks who have lived in DC for generations who try to lottery into better schools across the park. It's the hipsters who buy into Petworth, Shaw, etc. who somehow feel they have just as much right to attend Janney as those who spend their life savings to buy a tiny, run down $1M center hall colonial in AU park. You moved to a transitional neighborhood. Now own it.

This X 2,000,000. I can't stand them. They're so insufferable.

The F are you guys talking about? A Shaw "hipster gentrifyer family" has no interest in trecking across town to Janney every day, because both parents are probably working outside of the home. Get over yourselves. Actually we don't even exactly know where Janney is (had to google map it to confirm), we have our eyes on the geographically realistic lottery-impossible HRCS.

It's pretty clear that the DME, Chancellor and central office have philosophically double downed on the value of The OOB policy. The approved DME plan not only affirmed it but reinforces it by adding set asides. I participated throughout the process, attending many community meetings, etc and it was clear that getting rid of OOB was never going to be part of the process and outcome. (Fine by mean--we stand our school OOB and I sleep soundly knowing my contributions--financially as well as my sweat equity--to our school exceeds the majority of IB families. I have observed that most IB are the "free loaders" described by OP because the inherited a fully functional system that requires little more than writing a check. As in most areas of life 10% of the people do the bulk of the work.) And I noticed that in the DME process, they tried to move away from much of the "boundary" talk, I believe because it is often used negatively, jealously, selfishly. I can't be the only want to notice the shift to "by right" instead.

Anyway, I think fighting the OOB policy, railing against it ad nauseum is a wasteful enterprise.

As for working on "your own" school, for us, our OOB IS our own school. We've attended for 5 years. As for working on the DCPS nearest our home, we tried. But at the end of the day you need more than a few engaged parents with a unified vision and it's naive to think otherwise. It takes a top down commitment to change the culture of a school. Plus time. Many parents aren't willing to risk their children's few elementary years on a gamble that it might work out. I'll drive three miles instead on a sure thing.

As always, laughing my ass off at the notion that the parents somehow "build up" a school.

Anonymous wrote:Is there anywhere else in the US where students can go to a public school that is not their neighborhood school?

Yes of course. dC is one of the few cities where scardy cats fight for 'boundaries' which really aren't. The only 'boundary' is in/outside DC. The rest is just neighborhood preference. dC is an area built on rasicm. What's stirring the pot now is that there are white people who live in traditionally black areas- and don't like knowing we should stay in our place.

Anonymous wrote:Lotteries for all publics (there were no charters) in my past city.

It made commutes hard for parents, but evened out resources.

Those who couldn't deal went private.

So did families enter a lottery and just get whatever school the computer spit out or were they able to rank schools and have some degree or choice?

Other PP, lottery for all, if space? What do you mean by "if space?"

How about in NYC? How did the lottery work? Was it for all levels? Did anyone get to walk to school in their neighborhood or did everyone have to commute?

People talk about "working on a school". Studies show that the kind of parent involvement that involves PTA fundraising doesn't have any effect on student achievement.

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/04/and-dont-help-your-kids-with-their-homework/358636/

http://mobile.nytimes.com/blogs/opinionator/2014/04/12/parental-involvement-is-overrated/?referrer=

The schools in upper NW DC have high test scores because they have wealthy, well educated parents. They didn't "build a school"; they just sent their kids there with other kids of similarly well educated parents, and voila.

The real problem is feeder rights. The granting of OOB follows to middle and high school. It is an overcrowding issue at those two levels. There should be a lottery at every level, if space.

Lotteries for all publics (there were no charters) in my past city.

It made commutes hard for parents, but evened out resources.

Those who couldn't deal went private.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is there anywhere else in the US where students can go to a public school that is not their neighborhood school?

Why yes. Quite a few.

NYC to name one. I entered the lottery for high school there back in the 80s. They may calll the system something different in other cities but I believe all offer parents some type of choice.

So how is this handled in other places? Are there city-wide lotteries for all schools? Only for high school? Does anyone have IB right to a particular school or is everyone on the same footing. Are lotteries only for magnets or other non-traditional schools? Are the lotteries for people who live OOB for a school they want but are not IB for? Do schools have a set-aside for OOB students entering by lottery?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't mind the folks who have lived in DC for generations who try to lottery into better schools across the park. It's the hipsters who buy into Petworth, Shaw, etc. who somehow feel they have just as much right to attend Janney as those who spend their life savings to buy a tiny, run down $1M center hall colonial in AU park. You moved to a transitional neighborhood. Now own it.

Us "hipsters" do not want to have anything to do with you award 3 suburbanites. Trust me. We are either in our IB school or charter. You snobs are repulsive to us.

Plus, we actually want diverse populations in our schools.

You are going to spill your tall boy PBR when I tell you this: The most diverse DCPS schools in this city are ALL in W3. Hearst, Deal, Wilson. Sorry.

Oh sweetie, you've got it so wrong. You should try coming EOTP sometime besides dropping your husband off to work. It might be nice for you.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stop asking if you can get in if you are OOB. It's that type of behavior that will never fix the schools.

I agree OB. Let's get rid of OOB entirely. I vote for citywide lottery; let's level the playing field. When all schools are educating all students to proficiency or above for testing we can revert back to neighborhood schools.

I actually really like this idea.

And make private illegal. School quality issues dead over night.

You do realize that we live in a free country, right??? Do you really want mandatory public schools for all with no other allowed choices at all like in communist or totalitarian countries?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:hmmm. Never one to make this about race, but does OOB stand for something else?

Yes, it means "brown kids"

If that's true. what does it say about the many families trying to lottery into Ward 3 schools from OOB? Are they the ones who forwarding brown kids?

Anonymous wrote:I cannot believe that no one has called troll by now.

TROLL TROLL TROLL TROLL TROLL.

Either that or too stupid to live.

And FWIW, my kids go to a WOTP desirable school. I take zero credit for making the school what it is today, I paid my money and jumped on that successful bandwagon. Schools turn around when there is a confluence of events that can be hard to replicate. And the WOTP schools with the well known initials are in large part successful today because they were long able to recruit well prepared students from across the city when their in-boundary populations alone could not sustain them. It is beyond hypocritical to criticize the system that both kept those schools successful and drained the motivated families from less successful schools. Shame on anyone that does not recognize the hypocrisy.

I tip my hat to you, 18:06. This thread was awesome already, and you just took it to another level. And sorry, OP, you lose.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't mind the folks who have lived in DC for generations who try to lottery into better schools across the park. It's the hipsters who buy into Petworth, Shaw, etc. who somehow feel they have just as much right to attend Janney as those who spend their life savings to buy a tiny, run down $1M center hall colonial in AU park. You moved to a transitional neighborhood. Now own it.

Us "hipsters" do not want to have anything to do with you award 3 suburbanites. Trust me. We are either in our IB school or charter. You snobs are repulsive to us.

Plus, we actually want diverse populations in our schools.

The size of OOB wait lists for JKLMM would indicate that your neighbors don't angree with you.