Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Confusing indeed. New Principal for the 2014-2015 school year and she is continuing for the upcoming 2015-2016 school year.

Yes, the new principal is returning to Oyster and I'm very pleased about that fact. I don't know much about the special needs issues, but she seems to be working very hard to improve Oyster's already very good academics. Per the letter in the welcome packet, Oyster's students are meeting and exceeding math and reading benchmarks. For example, by the end of the last academic year, 88% of our K-5 students met their reading benchmarks. I'm also excited to see that she piloted a program where a group of 8th graders at Oyster took the AP Spanish test, and 75% passed! One 8th grader even earned a 5--the highest score possible. I hope the program is expanded this year to include all 8th graders, and that going forward, all graduating students have to take the AP test. I expect Principal Canizales to continue to raise the academic bar at Oyster.

Agreed! She is a welcome breath of fresh air. She is smart, no nonsense and focused on raising academic standards. We are lucky to have her!

Anonymous wrote:Confusing indeed. New Principal for the 2014-2015 school year and she is continuing for the upcoming 2015-2016 school year.

Yes, the new principal is returning to Oyster and I'm very pleased about that fact. I don't know much about the special needs issues, but she seems to be working very hard to improve Oyster's already very good academics. Per the letter in the welcome packet, Oyster's students are meeting and exceeding math and reading benchmarks. For example, by the end of the last academic year, 88% of our K-5 students met their reading benchmarks. I'm also excited to see that she piloted a program where a group of 8th graders at Oyster took the AP Spanish test, and 75% passed! One 8th grader even earned a 5--the highest score possible. I hope the program is expanded this year to include all 8th graders, and that going forward, all graduating students have to take the AP test. I expect Principal Canizales to continue to raise the academic bar at Oyster.

Confusing indeed. New Principal for the 2014-2015 school year and she is continuing for the upcoming 2015-2016 school year.

What has actually changed at the school? This thread is confusing.

New poster here: How satisfied are families with SpEd at Oyster? Teachers, DCPS, Oyster Admin, aides?

Special needs kids were far more special when Monica was appointed principal as she parents such a child. Suddenly it was (as it should be) the most important task, equal to all. Now that she is out of there and will not be personally relying on the free package DCPS is showing its real commitment was to a Rhee crony all along and not to the kids with needs.

Does anyone know the update on the investigation into Oyster's treatment of the child with Down Syndrome (putting the child into a storage closet as "punishment")? I understand the case against DSPS has settled, but this is a really serious situation.

Anonymous wrote:


"Monica (previous principal) was a disaster indeed, and Mayra (new principal) is doing a pretty good job to steer the ship despite the legacy challenges. I hope too that every kid can get the education they deserve."

Hmmm, not sure I agree with this statement. Yes, Monica had many leadership flaws but I can't give Mayra much credit either. mayra, like Monica, is more of a politician than a school based leader. She talks the talk. The difference is that she lacks the grace and poise of Monica. Her immaturity shines during interactions with parents and teachers.
Mayra comes from a place where "bullying" management was acceptable. No one questioned her at CHEC. At Oyster, she can't do that. Parents will argue and fight back- and teachers aren't intimidated by her. She's not used to this push back nor having to explain herself.

I think she was a very poor choice to lead Oyster. The school and the community is strong enough to weather through this storm- she's not strong enough to completely destroy us. We just need to get through a few more years of her bumbling Spanish and overall terrible communication skills, lack of follow through and direction, subpar professionalism (ill fitting dress attire and facial piercing) and whatever it is that makes her a total horror show.

We see things in very different ways. Yes, Mayra is young and "different" (now, "ill fitting dress attire and facial piercing" says nothing about her professionalism). Isn't that what diversity is supposed to be about?

Monica was a "polished" principal who couldn't write a full paragraph in correct Spanish, whose half-baked and behind-the-scenes ideas divided the community time and again, and who resigned when she realized she couldn't manage the mess she herself had created.

So, now we have a new, young and diverse principal, trying to fix inherited problems, and learning how to best lead an excellent school and a very sophisticated community. And she's doing a much better job, in my mind, that you give her credit for.

Anonymous wrote:


"Monica (previous principal) was a disaster indeed, and Mayra (new principal) is doing a pretty good job to steer the ship despite the legacy challenges. I hope too that every kid can get the education they deserve."

Hmmm, not sure I agree with this statement. Yes, Monica had many leadership flaws but I can't give Mayra much credit either. mayra, like Monica, is more of a politician than a school based leader. She talks the talk. The difference is that she lacks the grace and poise of Monica. Her immaturity shines during interactions with parents and teachers.
Mayra comes from a place where "bullying" management was acceptable. No one questioned her at CHEC. At Oyster, she can't do that. Parents will argue and fight back- and teachers aren't intimidated by her. She's not used to this push back nor having to explain herself.

I think she was a very poor choice to lead Oyster. The school and the community is strong enough to weather through this storm- she's not strong enough to completely destroy us. We just need to get through a few more years of her bumbling Spanish and overall terrible communication skills, lack of follow through and direction, subpar professionalism (ill fitting dress attire and facial piercing) and whatever it is that makes her a total horror show.

A school principal has facial piercing? Wow. Is this her first job out of college?

"Monica (previous principal) was a disaster indeed, and Mayra (new principal) is doing a pretty good job to steer the ship despite the legacy challenges. I hope too that every kid can get the education they deserve."

Hmmm, not sure I agree with this statement. Yes, Monica had many leadership flaws but I can't give Mayra much credit either. mayra, like Monica, is more of a politician than a school based leader. She talks the talk. The difference is that she lacks the grace and poise of Monica. Her immaturity shines during interactions with parents and teachers.
Mayra comes from a place where "bullying" management was acceptable. No one questioned her at CHEC. At Oyster, she can't do that. Parents will argue and fight back- and teachers aren't intimidated by her. She's not used to this push back nor having to explain herself.

I think she was a very poor choice to lead Oyster. The school and the community is strong enough to weather through this storm- she's not strong enough to completely destroy us. We just need to get through a few more years of her bumbling Spanish and overall terrible communication skills, lack of follow through and direction, subpar professionalism (ill fitting dress attire and facial piercing) and whatever it is that makes her a total horror show.

If a special needs student is deemed by experts and completed evaluations to be better served in a self-contained classroom then they should be transferred to a school that offers such a program. Murch is opening self-contained classrooms this fall. This is what DCPS is legally obligated to provide. They must provide the best relevant placement for students according to their IEPs, disabilities, etc.

Why is it hard for people to understand that Oyster can not offer this kind of support? The school's main purpose/role is bilingualism. Why should the school be blasted for not providing that level of specialized accommodating?

Oyster does accommodate a significant number of students with IEPs and 504s, who make progress in their general education classrooms. These students receive services either inside or outside the classroom.

Anonymous wrote:None of this is true. This is a thread that was started out of pure speculation. Public schools by law cant deny special needs kids. Quiet yourselves down.

You're right! Passing a law guarantees it's followed. That's why the U.S. was able to disband its police forces, courts, probation offices, jails, and law schools. It was sad for everyone who lost their jobs, but it sure is great for kids with IEPs.

Anonymous wrote:I don't think you understand what inclusion is.

As I've read this thread, this has been my impression as well--that some posters are using the incorrect terminology, which is confusing the discussion. A previous poster said that every DCPS school is an inclusion school, which is mostly correct. Inclusion is when kids stay in a general ed classroom for most or all of the day, and receive services either in the classroom with the special ed teacher pushing in, or in pull-out groups. Either way, they are with their peers in a general education classroom. Every DCPS school has at least some kids who receive services this way.

Self-contained classrooms (which I assume are what many people are talking about, but I don't know much about Oyster, so I'm not entirely sure) are for kids who can't make progress in an inclusion model. They're usually for kids with more severe disabilities. They are smaller (usually between 5-10 students) and tend to have more adults in the room. While it's not unheard of for some students in these classes to spend some time in a general ed classroom (this happens at my school) most of them spend their entire day in this class. These classrooms are not located in every DCPS school, and placement in them is usually through the Office of Special Ed, I believe.

I have no dog in this fight, as I have absolutely nothing to do with Oyster-Adams, but in reading over the thread it seemed like vocabulary was tripping up the discussion.

Anonymous wrote:All kids should have inclusion offered, but should all schools be equipped to offer inclusion? That is the question probably.

I don't think you understand what inclusion is.

None of this is true. This is a thread that was started out of pure speculation. Public schools by law cant deny special needs kids. Quiet yourselves down.