CHPSPO Meeting Notes – November 20, 2012
Capitol Hill Public Schools Parent Organization
Maury Elementary School Library – 1250 Constitution Ave., NE
November 20, 2012, 6:30 p.m. – 8 p.m.
1) DCPS School Closing Announcement (Cathy Reilly, SHAPPE, and Daniel del Pielago (Empower DC)
ACTION:
- Dec 5 – Wards 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 Community Discussion on DCPS Proposed Consolidation and Reorganization, 6 – 8 p.m @ Brightwood Education Campus (1300 Nicholson St, NW)
- What does this mean to us (Ward 6 families) in the future?
- Engage DCPS online – post ideas on how to save money here.
DISCUSSION:
- Need to formulate collective vision of how to fix the schools
- When Hine and Eliot merged 5 years ago, combined population was +600, now Hine is ~300 total. Consolidation has proven to show decreased enrollment.
- No plan in place to enrich combined campuses programmatically.
- Valuable to attend a neighborhood school. Publicly funded, but privately run schools don’t fit into a neighborhood system.
- Teachers union not a strong voice; engage other unions?
- What impact has Basis had on the DCPS middle schools? (Latin, Two Rivers)
- Review data à http://dc.gov/DCPS/Files/downloads/COMMUNITY/CR/DCPS-School-Data-Snapshot-November-19-2012.pdf
- 40% of families affected in this closing were affected in 2008 closing
- A lot of other places DCPS could save $ in lieu of closing schools – Teacher bonus, IMPACT evaluation, vendor relations (food services)
- What does an all charter system look like?
- Two pronged approach: Retention of families + Market to new families
2) Class of 20xx (Drew Golin, Maury parent)
ACTION:
- Recruit captains/teams at each school by grade (public, private, charter – raising a community)
DISCUSSION:
- Captains/Teams at each school by grade (public, private, charter – raising a community)
- Own listservs for the class
- Meetings
- Start getting involved in the HS – raise funds for music program, donate to bake sales, attend events
- ‘experts’ to think about
- Hill Rag letter
- 3rd grade playgroup: 1/3 of parents whose children had been to multiple schools.
- Summer concert series with Eastern HS band.
- Attend Eastern HS games http://www.maxpreps.com/high-schools/eastern-ramblers-(washington,dc)/basketball/schedule.htm
3) Title IX and sports for girls in DC (Valarie Hogan, National Women’s Law Center fellow)
ACTION:
- Circulate link to flyer and survey – engage MS and High Schools, coaches, parents, teachers – elem are covered but small.
- Meeting Dec 3, 6:30PM to give more info, discuss next steps @ Crolin Morrings, 1101 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
DISCUSSION:
- Center has been in talks w/ DCPS for years and possibly ready to file a complaint. Another complaint has been filed – focus is on opportunities, not on spending.
- Charters have not been tracked, in process of understand DC’s responsibility around charters and equity vis a vis sports
4) Learn about IB Middle Years @ Atlas and Living Room Chats update
ACTION:
- Next IB education night – Jan 22 at Westminster Presbyterian in SW , 6PM
- Stuart Hobson has first Tuesday visits
- Dec 2 Moth school information night 2-5PM. CHPSPO will attend.
5) DCPS Library Task Force update
- Continues to meet: recommendations out by mid-December, a lot of support for staffing librarians at all schools, collection development
- Where are books going w/ all closures? (Almost of all schools being closed don’t have librarians)…
Next CHPSPO Meeting: December 18, 2012
Upcoming Events:
- December 2: Girls on the Run 5K – 2PM @ Anacostia Park. Cheer on Capitol Hill Montessori at Logan, J.O. Wilson, Ludlow-Taylor, Maury, and Tyler or register to run in the 5K
- December 2: Hill School Information Night- 2-5PM @ Capitol Hill Day School
- December 3: Title IX Sports for Girls Next Steps – 6:30PM @ Crolin Morrings, 1101 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
- December 5: Wards 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 Community Discussion on DCPS Proposed Consolidation and Reorganization, 6 – 8 p.m.
- January 22: Next IB education night – at Westminster Presbyterian in SW , 6PM
CHPSPO Meeting Notes – October 17, 2012
Capitol Hill Public Schools Parent Organization (CHPSPO)
Amidon-Bowen ES, Library – 401 I St., SW
Oct 16, 2012, 6:30-8PM
1) Pace Car Program – Dan Hoagland, WABA (did not attend). More here.
Decision: should be disseminated to principals/schools and driven by schools/neighborhoods.
Next Steps: Suzanne will ask Jennifer Heffernan to get list of schools in the Safe Routes to School program & find coordinators. We’ll work through the coordinators to promote the Pace Car program.
2) White Paper – Suzanne Wells/All
Discussion:
- There may not be critical mass at individual schools to offer programs, e.g., a debate club, but hosting at a library and attracting students from multiple schools is a possibility.
- This is the conversation that principals NEED to have.
- Music as unifying force, especially with DC Youth Orchestra Program at Eastern HS.
- Running programs from multiple schools might compete at nats stadium or have a field day on track at Eastern HS
- Frame as not asking DCPS to take lead, but to guide principals to see this as an opportunity.
- Attachment to white paper w/ statistics to better understand individual school offerings … ex: all elementary schools provide track… why does this not roll up to MS or HS level?
- How do we remove competition? How to we work together to ensure all children in all schools are at reading level? How do we share resources?
- My kid is going to be going to school w/ that kid in MS, so I need to help…
Next Steps:
- School reps to collect information about their school activities. Please add them to this document: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Aupe_6lYFPLIdFpvOUUtTjBxekIzcEJqOGJpbGdValE
- Revise white paper to emphasize the purpose is to promote cooperation among the schools. Consider bringing principals together for a pot-luck dinner to discuss white paper.
3) Class of 20XX
Discussion: Idea is to get students thinking from an early age that they are the high school graduation class of 20XX, and that the Eastern feeder pattern expects there to be a 100% graduation rate. Bigger goal is to help support any student not on track to graduate, and identify students early on so they have greatest chance of graduating from high school. Look for sponsors to support initiative. Tshirts, reunions, pre-unions, Ward 6 scavenger hunt.
Next Steps: Reach out to Drew Golin(Maury) for a framework/details.
4) DCPS Library Funding Follow Up
- DCPS has only agreed to one recommendation by establishing task force
- Protest/rally on Friday, October 19 at the Wilson Building – 8:45 AM – 2:00 PM
5) Learn about IB Middle Years Programme (Joe Weedon)
- October 23, 6PM at Atlas Performing Arts Center, including principals from Eliot-Hine, Jefferson and Eastern. More here.
- Need volunteers to set up and help sign participants in – contact Joe Weedon (joeweedon@verizon.net)
6) Eliot-Hine Living Room Chats – Suzanne Wells
- Looking for 2nd 3rd 4th and 5th grade parents to participate, co-host. Contact Suzanne (m.godec@att.net)
- NOTE: Eliot-Hine set to get bicycle racks!
Next CHPSPO Meeting: November 20, 2012
Upcoming events:
- Oct 19: Support School Libraries Rally/Protest, 8:45 AM-2 PM @ Wilson Building. More here.
- Oct 21: Brent’s Ward 6 Fall Safety Festival, 11 AM- 4 PM (all donations to support the Meslin Family). More here.
- Oct 23: Learn about International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme, 6PM @ Atlas Performing Arts Center. More here.
- Oct 27: Tyler Fall Harvest. 11 AM- 3 PM. More here.
- Oct 27: Maury Fall Festival. More here.
- Oct 27: Capitol Hill Montessori @ Logan Haunted Harvest, 6-9PM. More here.
- Nov 8: Cluster Family Game Night & Wine Raffle. More here.
- Nov 10: Amidon-Bowen Fun Day. 11 AM-2PM
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CHPSPO Meeting Notes – September 18, 2012
Capitol Hill Public Schools Parent Organization
Capitol Hill Montessori@Logan
215 G Street, NE
September 18, 2012
6:30 p.m. – 8 p.m.
At-Large School Board Member Candidates, Mary Lord and Marvin Tucker spoke about why they are running, their vision.
Walk-to-School Day (George Blackmon)
- Participating Schools – most in Capitol Hill have signed up.
- Food: need donations. Tyler and CHM@L will contribute Cliff Bars.
- Speakers: Confirmed – Tommy Wells, Kathy Pugh (EZ8DC and Girls on the Run), Rita (MAFA). Pending – MPD, Capital Bikeshare (Sandra to follow up), WABA (Shahna to follow up), Josh Morgan (Anthony Allard to follow up), AAA (Peter to follow up)
- Sponsors
Give Social (Kita McCord)
Give social is a platform to bring together groups. (GivSo.com). They are joining forces with Companies for Causes (companiesforcauses.org) and are interested in working w/ like-minded community organizations to work w/ Eastern HS and feeder schools/community. They are looking to understand who the groups are. PTA, out of school time orgs, to bring together community members to pool resources. Companies for Causes are 10 CEOs, staff at RAFA (Tom RAFA) that have committed to contribute. For now, focused on students immediately feeding into Eastern. Focused on most in need.
DCPS Library Funding Follow up (Peter MacPherson)
- Peter to represent CHPSPO in task force that has been assembled by DCPS.
- Provided feedback to task force “TOR’
- Publish librarian budget on CHPSPO site.
CHPSPO Website (Sandra Moscoso-Mills)
- We’re hoping to leverage the CHPSPO site to help get the word out about events, auctions, fundraisers, etc at all schools. Please reach out to your school communities and designate a person (or two) for your school to post content on the CHPSPO site. The site is on a WordPress platform
– Sandra to host WordPress.com workshop in October. Contact Sandra Moscoso – .
What do vertical and horizontal articulation mean to us? (All)
- Eastern High School feeder pattern. Based on ideas from July meeting, drafted a white paper. Need to think about how to implement. Need principals to set more of a vision of what they want to see in Eastern feeder pattern. Read White Paper – Provide feedback via email to Suzanne Wells ().
Community meetings on IB & feeder school living room chats (Joe Weeden & Suzanne Wells).
- Continuing discussions with Eliot Hine feeder schools. 4 living room chats w/ principal young from Eliot Hine representing feeder schools, so families have opportunity to mingle. Looking for host for 3rd grade parent – (have 2, 4, 5). Reach out to Suzanne () if you want to co-host.
- Tuesday, October 23rd at Atlas Theatre – IB Bob will come w/ Principal Gordon, Young, Skerrit to deliver a session on what is IB. Series of 3 sessions – IB, Academic, how it relates to Common Core Standards. What does my 2nd grader need to know so that they can graduate w/ an IB degree from Eastern? What can we as parents do to support that?
Next CHPSPO Meeting: October 16, 2012 at Amidon-Bowen
Upcoming Events:
September 29 Maury Elementary School’s Yard and Bake Sale. 9AM-2PM. 1250 Constitution Ave., NE
October 1 Deputy Mayor Community Conversation about Quality Schools Wards 2/6, Location Amidon-Bowen, 5:30-9PM
October 3 Walk-to-School Day – 7:30-8:30 AM at Lincoln Park (by 7:15 AM if you volunteer to set up)
October 14 J.O.Wilson Taste of H Street
Visit CHPSPO on the web at http://chpspo.org
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