Is the RPS School Board Willfully Delaying Patrick Henry School?
In open enrollment for other schools in the city, if a child is admitted, their sibling is granted admission without having to go through the lottery process. The school board is not allowing siblings to have automatic admission for this first year at Patrick Henry School of Science and Arts.
The founders are resigned to not getting guaranteed spots for their children despite their years of hard work, but the sibling policy puts unnecessary hardship on families who will be the first to attend.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch is reporting that the school board has postponed this issue until March 29, although at last night’s meeting they were asked to consider the policy. The board received the admissions policy March 1 and “didn’t notice” the sibling policy. By postponing discussion until March 29th, the board has forced PH to delay in letting parents know for sure whether they have a spot in the new school or what their ranking on the waiting list is.
[Let the rant begin] It seems to me that the school board has found another issue to stall Patrick Henry by postponing discussion of this policy. Amongst other stalling measures? Not always including PH in its budget. Not coming to a lease agreement for the building so construction can be started for ADA compliance [source]. Chairwoman Kimberly Bridges will publicly say that she supports the school but every action is contrary to that statement. She’ll couch it in words of “concern” but let’s call her out on this passive-aggressive subterfuge. When the school is finally open, this school board will be remembered for its hindrances and shortsightedness when it could have helped and provided another great school to its students.
Rhetorical question, right?
Not having a dog in the educational issues hunt, I’m totally confused.
From comments I’ve read in other threads here, I got the impression that PHS was in effect a “city school” open to all Richmond City kids of school age on an equal basis.
I’ve also been led to believe that the ONLY way a kid can get into this school is by lottery, with no preferential treatment given to anyone…no way no how.
If that’s the case, then why should the Richmond School Board have any objection to it?
If this school is not going to cheery pick the best and the brightest and the most affluent children and remove them from the RPS system, I don’t see what would be the basis for an objection.
No one is being cherry-picked. It is common practice in other open enrollment schools like Fox and Mumford that if an older sibling is already enrolled in a school, then their sibling is given an available spot when they apply. That is the current sticking point. If a child is accepted into PH through lottery this year, should their sibling also get a spot, even if their own lottery number put them on the waiting list?
That still doesn’t explain why the RPS would have a problem with that, unless the lottery is not the final determinant.
Let me ask it this way.
If by chance ALL the kids who won the lottery came from Blackwell, would they automatically make up the ENTIRE student body of PHS or would there be other factors taken into consideration?
If so, what are those factors.
There are no other factors. The lottery is the only admission criteria.
Wouldn’t that scenario give the parents with the most kids a better chance at winning?
I think both sides might examine the legal concept of stare decisis.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stare_decisis
But, that would require an actual decision on the record.
Eric, I hadn’t thought of it in terms of “winning” but if I had two kids, I’d want them both in the same school or I’d potentially choose to go elsewhere.
I agree with Page. As a mother of a prospective kindergartener at PHSSA, it would work in our favor if pre-lottery status was not given to siblings. But it really does not make sense.
I am with debbieh. Our son, a prospective 1st grader could get bumped to the wait list if siblings get to go in front of him but I support that happening. If the school board decides NOT to allow siblings this year the kids are going to get in next year anyway, if I understand the charter correctly, so why not just allow them now? Is the added stress on the families & the kids for one year really worth this political dance from RPS?
So, has anyone making a comment here, read the application and the contract the PHSSA signed? In the sense that, the lottery process in place was signed by the then President of PHSSA Mr. Day and the then Chair of RPS board Mr. Braxton. If they wanted to add siblings, then they had an entire year..(1 year delay) to do so. Why wait until 4 months to the opening of your school to change something on the sly? Why!
Why, because we can. No one is checking the facts. Thats why!
Virginia, I can’t imagine how letting siblings in could be construed as underhanded or sly. Since the lottery is random in the first place, it doesn’t show favoritism to anyone. Could it be that with the school more of a reality, that some items needed addressing?
Here’s a question I’ve never seen anybody address here.
A lot of you parents didn’t make the cut this year.
I’d be interested to know where your kids are going to be in school next year.
I know a young friend of mine, who didn’t make the cut at Mary Munford, is going to eat tuna fish all year if she has to so her first timer can go to a private school.
Is that the sentiment among the majority of parents? What do you guys see as your alternatives now?
I think many parents hedge their bets in all cases. We applied for PH but have also been very happy with Fisher. We may have the tough decision of choosing between two great RPS schools.
Most families I know have alternate plans. Some of them include private schools, some do not. You might be surprised to know that there is a lot of strategy involved. Mumford can be extremely difficult to get into if you live out-of-zone as they have a large in-zone student population, thus reducing the number of available open-enrollment spots. Fox, on the other hand, pulls a very large group from outside of their zone, thus presenting a better chance of getting in.
But families should also take a good look at a few other schools that are really making a name for themselves including Fisher and Holton. Unfortunately these names don’t make it through the grapevine enough and parents nervous to make the right choice go with the herd.
PH in contrast has no zone. Every single child has equal chance of getting in regardless of what part of town they live in.
I hear good things about all of the schools mentioned above. We applied two years in a row for Holton and this school year our child got accepted. It is better than any public or private school our family has experienced -beautiful and relaxed environment, vegetable gardens, accelerated classes, diverse body of students, community involvement, dozens of great after school programs, happy staff, and the greatest principal (Mr. Hudson received the R.E.B award for the city).
Ok, now lets debate the “new” admissions policy that is before the RPS board. The PHSSA folks want to add siblings of founders and staff as “pre-lottery” status if approved by the school board. So all the hopefulls who have numbers could be bumped! Maybe a call to PHSSA to clear this up is the next step! I would check. I’m staying in my home school and waiting a least a year for the kinks to be worked out with PHSSA. Just a parent!
I think, and I am prepared to be wrong, that the request for a sibling policy is for siblings of children who were chosen by the lottery to be admitted as well, not children of founders or staff.
Sundagger that is my understanding as well.
Sundagger and Richard are correct. The current kerfluffle is only about siblings of those chosen by lottery. I understand this affects about 20-30 kids.
Although the board of directors has requested that founders be allowed spots in the school, it is unlikely to happen. The founders kids amounted to about 18 kids according to my source on the BOD. I feel badly about this as many of the board have been putting in so many hours to make this happen. I can understand outsiders’ view that this is a form of nepotism, but to know the individuals dispels this notion for me. But I think they’re also realists and understand that they’re doing this for more than just themselves.
I’m not sure about the staff aspect. I think RPS schools allow teachers to have their kids at the schools at which they work. So it would be consistent to allow spaces for staff members.
You can review the proposed admissions policy on the PH website http://www.patrickhenrycharter.org/PHSSA_admissions_lottery_2010.pdf
Yeah, I checked into the RPS policy and found that siblings were allowed in the Magnet school concept..probablty why we don’t have those school anymore? RPS does allow staff children is space is availible. Only after the lottery and in zone go first. So, the change for PHSSA is a combination of the past and present? All I know is at the school site its 130 in conversation I here 250?
This was the case at Fisher when Henry started, 1989. Rick did NOT get in Fisher without my calling the school district’s office every single day and bugging them to death. The no sibling policy did not last long, and based on historical data, I wouldn’t expect this to actually take place, but we are talking about RPS’s system.
@Virginia:
The school will start this summer with 130 students.
250 children applied for those spots. So 120 children who applied will not get into the school.
megan/virginia: actually number is closer to 160. From PH website:
The exact number of students per class is not verified yet, but the total count will be approximately 162 students, out of 255 application received.
Good to know Page! My mistake. I though they had capped it at 130. Glad the school will be chock full of curious happy kids by the fall!
[...] is also wondering if Richmond’s School Board is being unresponsive in an attempt to stall Patrick Henry School of Science and Arts opening. In characterizing the [...]
[...] Is the RPS School Board Willfully Delaying Patrick Henry School? — Unlike other schools in the city with open enrollment, admission into PHS for one child does not guarantee admission for his/her siblings. [...]