DCPS hosted a community meeting for the Ward 6 community (for all families of children attending Ward 6 schools) on Thursday, July 29 @ Maury Elementary.
Attendance was pretty impressive for a mid-summer meeting (50ish participants).
The presentation and all supporting documents (Collaboration Team, Survey feedback and Summary of plan for each individual schools) will be available on the DCPS site: http://www.dcps.dc.gov/DCPS/building-on-momentum
A few highlights that impact all schools:
- Rigorous Academic Program
- Differentiated Math Pathway: assessment for appropriate placement, ‘rigor’ standards that will apply to all schools, math intervention program to get all students ready for Algebra 1 in the 8th grade, teacher PD
- World Language as a core course: HS credit by 8th grade, sharing of teachers to offer additional languages, online programs, after-school programs for credit or enrichment
- International Baccalaureate Middle Years implementation at Jefferson and Eliot-Hine
- Facilities upgrades (Modernization and ‘Blitz’ schedule)
- School Culture and Climate
- Full Service Schools
- Educators for Social Responsibility
- Measuring Success
- Grade Configuration and Feeder Patterns
- Stuart-Hobson: moving Montessori to the Logan School, moving the 5th grade to Watkins and Ludlow-Taylor feeding to Stuart-Hobson effective SY11/12
- Brent feeding to Jefferson and Eliot-Hine until boundaries are re-drawn
- Possible re-opening of Van Ness as a neighborhood elementary school
- School Collaboration teams at each middle school to implement the above plan – contact your principal by September 10, 2010 if you are interested in joining your middle school’s team.
Congratulations to DCPS, the Capitol Hill community and to CHPSPO for this huge step towards excellence across all middle schools!
Ward 6 Public School Parents Organization 
A few questions I captured. Please share more…
Q: Will the space at Watkins currently used by Montessori be able to accommodate the 5th graders from Watkins?
A: Yes, the space can accommodate the 5th grade and there is budget for the changes that will need to be made to the space.
Q: Museum studies for Stuart is not mentioned in the presentation, is that still in the works?
A: Yes. How this will be carried out is part of the role of the Stuart-Hobson collaboration team.
Q: Is IB for Stuart Hobson not a consideration?
A: IB will be implemented at Eliot and Jefferson in an effort to ‘Jump Start’ the programs. Stuart is not in a position that needs a jump start. However, note that the math pathway, intervention, and language additions will apply to all three schools.
Q: Will a 6th grade academy and summer bridge program be implemented at schools beyond Jefferson?
A: The above are currently not funded by DCPS (resources), but there is a possibility for schools to share resources to put implement the above at the other middle schools. Multiple schools can pitch in from their budgets to support this.
Q: Jefferson will have an OOB application process, but not the other schools, why?
A: The OOB at Jefferson is meant to engage parents and the school prior to the student arriving at Jefferson
Q: Is IB Middle Years a prerequisite for the IB program at Eastern ?
A: No. IB at middle school is not a pre-requisite, not required, and no day exists to say that kids who attend an IB Middle Years program do better in IB in HS than kids from non-IB middle schools.
Q: When will the Logan Building work/renovations start?
A: Planning for work to star in the fall, and to be coordinated by the Montessori committee/DCPS.
My daughter is a rising 5th grader (now at Thomson) and requires ELL. I want her to go to Stuart Hobson in 2011 but need to know that the ELL there will be adequate. Is there a plan to increae ELL services along with “offering other languages?”
TC, Stuart has an itinerant ELL instructor who services students based on the # of hours they need.
Thanks to Sandra for the summary and CHPSPO for engaging DCPS and the Ward 6 community to make this process possible. Quick question… where is Van Ness? Ward 6?
Van Ness is near Nationals Stadium – 1150 5th St SE