Posts tagged Middle Schools
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Breakfast links: New and improved
7000 strikes again; Revolutionary; Recount recalled; School focus; 2001, A Cycling Odyssey; Just around the corner; Still standing; It’s so simple. Keep reading…
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Can DCPS stem the middle school exodus?
Students have been leaving DC Public Schools in droves after the elementary grades because of a dearth of appealing middle school options. A series of graphs from DC’s Office of Revenue Analysis shows what’s been happening and suggests that things could change in the future. Keep reading…
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Morning bell: DC Council grills Henderson on DCPS budget
Chancellor defends proposed budget: At a DC Council hearing, Kaya Henderson dealt with questions for 4 hours about how the school system plans to spend money allocated for at-risk youth and other matters. (Post) Opposition to boundary change proposals, but from whom?: With few parents east of the river weighing in, some are cautioning against drawing conclusions from the reactions… Keep reading…
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DC finds a way for every child to attend Deal Middle School
This article was posted as an April Fool’s joke. The Alice Deal Middle School, in Ward 3, is by far the most coveted middle school in the District, and some have urged DCPS to replicate the school in other wards. Now the advisory committee charged with redrawing DC’s school boundaries has stumbled upon an idea that could make that possible. The 23-member committee… Keep reading…
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Morning bell: Has the Gray administration made real progress on education?
Mayor Gray’s record on education questioned: Vincent Gray touts a rise in scores, but critics point to problems: the state of middle schools and special education, and the persistent gap in achievement between wealthier and lower-income students. (Post) Not to mention OSSE: The Office of the State Superintendent, which oversees standardized testing and special education… Keep reading…
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Morning bell: Questions about the Common Core, including DC’s test choice
Some raise questions about DC’s choice of Common Core test: Two different testing consortiums offer assessments that are based on the new curriculum standards, and critics are asking whether DC has chosen the wrong one to begin implementing next year. (Post) Surveys show that teachers are warming up to the Common Core: Two reports show that a majority of teachers think… Keep reading…
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Morning bell: Some DCPS students have a long trek to school, others vote with their feet
Very few DCPS students attend their assigned schools: Only about a quarter of DC students go to the school where they’re assigned, according to data released in connection with the ongoing review of school boundaries and feeder patterns. And students living east of the river travel farther than students elsewhere. (Post) Details on middle school exodus: The Washington… Keep reading…
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Hardy Middle School sets out to court neighborhood parents
Hardy Middle School has launched an effort to attract more students from within its school boundaries. If the effort is successful, out-of-boundary students who see Hardy as a big improvement over their neighborhood schools may end up out of luck. At Hardy Middle School in upper Georgetown, only 11% of students are in-boundary. Although the area around the school is overwhelmingly… Keep reading…
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When is it okay to have an empty classroom?
If you put more advanced classes into low-performing middle and high schools, will you get students who are capable of doing more advanced work? Or will administrators be tempted to fill those classes with students who aren’t ready for them? One thing that Councilmember David Catania and DCPS Chancellor Kaya Henderson agreed on at a DC Council hearing last week was that… Keep reading…
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The DCPS middle school plan, pt. 2: getting principals to talk, and standardizing offerings
What’s in store for DCPS’s middle schools? The possibilities include greater communication with feeder elementary schools, equalizing offerings for middle-grade students at all K-8 and stand-alone middle schools, and an application-only middle school in Ward 7. DC has long had a dearth of desirable DCPS middle schools. With a review of boundaries and feeder… Keep reading…