H.D. Cooke Elementary School

There are some aspects of Meridian that are positive. The salary is comparable to that of public schools in DC. There is generally no more than about 20 students per class.However, the school is lacking in internal structure, disciplinary consistiency, and measures put in place are often reactive opposed to proactive. Policies and procedures have been created as a "last-minute" decision and reaction to egregious behaviors by students and emergency events. There isn't school wide structure of behavioral expectation and parents aren't made aware of student conduct expectations and policies. In most school districts things like bullying policies and student personal safety policies (suicidal ideation, unsafe behaviors) are well communicated to staff and made explicitly clear. This is not true for Meridian. As a staff member I had to hunt for this information, which in some cases didn't exist. There are staff members in roles they are not qualified for. Roles that typically require higher level degrees, licensure, and certification were given to individuals who have not completed such qualifications. Students display unsafe and disrespectful behavior and language at the middle school on a regular basis. There are constantly students leaving class without permission, cursing and being vulgar, verbally threatening other students and adults, with little consequences. Sometimes the consequences didn't match the severity of the behavior. The expectation is often that behavior plans or plans for accomodations to take place with students that aren't effective or even possible, given the wide range of disrespectful and inappropriate behaviors that are constantly taking place throughout the building. Upon departure from the school, I gave 2 weeks notice and was swiftly given a letter by an individual in HR that stated that my last date of employment would be the day before I gave my notice. The letter almost was gaslighting in nature; making it seem like I chose the much earlier date and that I wouldn't be paid for time after that date. I was not given an explanation. Staff morale was low almost from the beginning of the school year. Staff appreciation events were hosted, but was never followed up with real staff support and school wide restructuring. At last I was aware, there are no plans to improve anything as far as foundation or structure for the upcoming year in spite of negative feedback Meridian has recieved from staff.

As a parent, in-class parent volunteer, parent chaperone (had to clear an FBI background check and get finger printed), PTA representative, I was very excited about Ross. But what I saw over 4 years, was deliberate withholding of FAPE from dozens of students especially those with any kind of dyslexia or learning disability. Why would the smallest school in DCPS, in Ward 2, always under enrolled, withhold reading supports to students eligible for an IEP? Ross leadership would not hear that 1 in 5 people have dyslexia. That people with dyslexia are super bright thinkers, and are more able to adapt because that is what they always have to do. Ross refused to offer supports to its teachers and supports that would not have come out of the Ross school budget. Ross leadership is focused on raising money from the the parents of the lower grades to pay for everything in the school. Dyslexia is usually recognized and or diagnosed btwn 2-5 grades when the work gets harder, and yet it can be detected as early as pre-k. Ross refused phonics and to give teacher training in Child Find- a federal and state law. Why would Ross NOT even support its own teachers in academic expertise? People want to teach as a small school, so why is there an intense turnover rate of teachers at Ross? For 10 years, Ross leadership refused to place a parent representative on the Personnel Committee so that the parents could have input on teacher hirings. Why? Parents, PTA, and LSAT signed a petition and sent it around to OSSE and others for Ross leadership in order to force a placement of a parent on this committee. This letter also demanded that Ross leadership hire non-white teachers, to hire racially diverse, teachers, representative of DCPS. Why did this have to happen? Ross could be a vanguard of change. It could be an incredible school for reading and writing, and why not? With this focus, students from 2-5th grades would stay rather than leave in a mass exodus in 3rd and 4th grades and/or leaving the DCPS system altogether. DC Council passed The Decoding Dyslexia bill- Ross Leadership should take everything in that bill and run with it!! It should become the top example for how the measures in that bill can turn around an entire school especially after 3 yrs of COVID school shutdown, Canvas, Teams, etc...(spring 2020, SY 2020-2021, fall 2021).

The staff make every child feel valued and build an environment that makes my child want to come to school. There is a community focus and a recognition that education does not start when crossing the school threshold. The teachers are great, experienced, and value each child. Many of the student population have inter generational trauma that is not their fault but can be challenging to address at scale. But it’s acknowledged and supported with wrap around services that offer hope of progress.

I feel very grateful to the hard-working teachers at this school who take an avid interest in my children and communicate frequently with me about their progress. I am really impressed with how administrators handled a student who was not behaving properly in class, by teaching empathy in a “restorative circle.” All the parents I’ve met seem really nice, and I feel proud to be part of the community. The kids have amazing opportunities like swim lessons during the day and can do robotics in the after school. All this, and it’s bilingual!I do wish the aftercare program was in Spanish, and that they offered Spanish summer camp on site.

I cannot say enough good things about Sacred Heart School. It has been exactly what our son needed for his early childhood education. We've been a Sacred Heart family for the last three years and plan to stay through 8th grade for both of our children. The teachers are warm and caring while also facilitating a great sense of confidence and independence in the children. Our son started Pre-K3 knowing zero Spanish and just two years later, he's reading and writing in Spanish and feels confident enough to have entire conversations with native speakers. We also love how the school utilizes the surrounding neighborhood and community as part of the learning process. The trips to Rock Creek Park and the Smithsonian Museums provide amazing opportunities for the children to learn. Sacred Heart offers a great balance of culture, religion, academics, and community!!

The staff work very hard but the expectations of them from administration seem unreasonable. There always seem to be staffing issues- high teacher turnover, unfilled teacher positions, staff out/ resigning. In the primary classrooms, the class sizes are more reasonable than lower elementary and upper elementary. In primary, there are also 2 adults in the classroom and only 1 in the upper grades where the class sizes are over 25 students in most classes. Supervision of students during non-academic times seems to be a challenge due to the staffing issues. Behavior issues are not addressed consistently which results in undesirable behaviors increasing instead of decreasing and ultimately disrupting learning. There don't seem to be any consequences in elementary for misbehavior. There are also issues with communication from administration to both families and staff. Do not expect to receive prompt responses from administration unless you have an important role in the school community. I think that this school could improve significantly if administration was more open to disclosing the problems within the school and working with families and staff to create and implement a plan to address the problems.