Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Interesting comment from Reddit. Does anyone remember the post here about the teacher who left CHEC after two months this fall?

Columbia Heights Educational Campus is an absolutely disaster of a school and I have no idea how DCPS doesn’t do something about it. The principal is a horrible woman with a bad reputation who works her teachers with ridiculous demands and is constantly going against the contract. Their turnover is ridiculous. I know of 3 teachers who left this year before winter break alone. They also have huge gang problems, lots of issues between the ms13 kids and 18th street kids yet the administrators (all young and inexperienced) pretend that nothing is wrong. About half of the students speak no English yet are forced to take AP English language and AP English Lit and teachers cannot fail them. The students know this and take advantage. All of the ESL students have to pass their classes, teachers have been punished for failing more than 5% of their students, even though they don’t turn in work, don’t understand what’s going on, and miss 1-2 days a week. Tons of drugs too. A student was apparently caught using synthetic drugs and tried to throw herself in traffic right in front of the school a few months ago. I would love to see someone do an exposé on what really goes on at Columbia Heights.

PP - do you have the link to the Reddit thread you referenced?

Blog DC Urban Teacher
http://www.anurbanteacherseducation.com/2010/09/whats-wrong-with-chec-edited.html

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are there not truancy laws? Why aren’t kids and their parents reported after the max number of absences?

I live within a few blocks of CHEC. There are truancy laws, and I often see MPD's truancy/curfew enforcement vans around the campus.

Anonymous wrote:why is it that many schools take computer based tests while other schools (HRCS) insist on paper based?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Interesting comment from Reddit. Does anyone remember the post here about the teacher who left CHEC after two months this fall?

Columbia Heights Educational Campus is an absolutely disaster of a school and I have no idea how DCPS doesn’t do something about it. The principal is a horrible woman with a bad reputation who works her teachers with ridiculous demands and is constantly going against the contract. Their turnover is ridiculous. I know of 3 teachers who left this year before winter break alone. They also have huge gang problems, lots of issues between the ms13 kids and 18th street kids yet the administrators (all young and inexperienced) pretend that nothing is wrong. About half of the students speak no English yet are forced to take AP English language and AP English Lit and teachers cannot fail them. The students know this and take advantage. All of the ESL students have to pass their classes, teachers have been punished for failing more than 5% of their students, even though they don’t turn in work, don’t understand what’s going on, and miss 1-2 days a week. Tons of drugs too. A student was apparently caught using synthetic drugs and tried to throw herself in traffic right in front of the school a few months ago. I would love to see someone do an exposé on what really goes on at Columbia Heights.

PP - do you have the link to the Reddit thread you referenced?

Blog DC Urban Teacher
http://www.anurbanteacherseducation.com/2010/09/whats-wrong-with-chec-edited.html

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Interesting comment from Reddit. Does anyone remember the post here about the teacher who left CHEC after two months this fall?

Columbia Heights Educational Campus is an absolutely disaster of a school and I have no idea how DCPS doesn’t do something about it. The principal is a horrible woman with a bad reputation who works her teachers with ridiculous demands and is constantly going against the contract. Their turnover is ridiculous. I know of 3 teachers who left this year before winter break alone. They also have huge gang problems, lots of issues between the ms13 kids and 18th street kids yet the administrators (all young and inexperienced) pretend that nothing is wrong. About half of the students speak no English yet are forced to take AP English language and AP English Lit and teachers cannot fail them. The students know this and take advantage. All of the ESL students have to pass their classes, teachers have been punished for failing more than 5% of their students, even though they don’t turn in work, don’t understand what’s going on, and miss 1-2 days a week. Tons of drugs too. A student was apparently caught using synthetic drugs and tried to throw herself in traffic right in front of the school a few months ago. I would love to see someone do an exposé on what really goes on at Columbia Heights.

PP - do you have the link to the Reddit thread you referenced?

Anonymous wrote:Are any CHEC parents on dcum?
What about the middle school conversion to dual language program?
Is this a good place for middle school students that enjoy learning Spanish and growing academically?
Is this a good option for children who can't get into DCI or MacFarland??

Anonymous wrote:Interesting comment from Reddit. Does anyone remember the post here about the teacher who left CHEC after two months this fall?

Columbia Heights Educational Campus is an absolutely disaster of a school and I have no idea how DCPS doesn’t do something about it. The principal is a horrible woman with a bad reputation who works her teachers with ridiculous demands and is constantly going against the contract. Their turnover is ridiculous. I know of 3 teachers who left this year before winter break alone. They also have huge gang problems, lots of issues between the ms13 kids and 18th street kids yet the administrators (all young and inexperienced) pretend that nothing is wrong. About half of the students speak no English yet are forced to take AP English language and AP English Lit and teachers cannot fail them. The students know this and take advantage. All of the ESL students have to pass their classes, teachers have been punished for failing more than 5% of their students, even though they don’t turn in work, don’t understand what’s going on, and miss 1-2 days a week. Tons of drugs too. A student was apparently caught using synthetic drugs and tried to throw herself in traffic right in front of the school a few months ago. I would love to see someone do an exposé on what really goes on at Columbia Heights.

Anonymous wrote:

NathanBacaABC7 wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are there not truancy laws? Why aren’t kids and their parents reported after the max number of absences?

There are truancy laws. DC Code states after around 15 unexcused absences -- I don't have the exact number in front of me -- kids and their families are supposed to be referred to child protective services and the Attorney General's Office for scrutiny. We have records that indicate that rarely happens, despite students racking up those numbers of unexcused absences.

What about the policy that if the student steps in the classroom when attendance is counted the students is marked present. What about the students who then leave the classroom and don't come back or repeatedly leave, there is no tracking system. In high school in particular students are very aware of that policy and to a lesser extent it also happens middle school for those students who are already exhibiting troubling behavior and in need of intervention. They don't get the appropriate help beaches on paper they look students who are failing to progress for "unknown" reasons, but regularly miss instruction because they are not in the class. Why are teachers force to mark attendance early, why not the last 10 mins of class to signify that students were present for the full-period and a half-credit if they left?