Are there kids in Church Hill?

Sorry about the typos in the above post. FYI: The pre-school program at Bellevue is excellent.

I have 3 kids but all are older (9,11 and 4). But there are a couple of younger ones around me.

There’s a daycare center at 26th & P. Not sure where they all live, but it’s definitely busy – no shortage of kids there.

There are definitely kids in Church Hill. My 8.5 year old son and I live on the very end of Marshall Street (where they wanted to build “condos”) and 2 doors down from me there is a 4 year old boy and 3 year old girl. They love playing with each other, too!

1 block over there is a house full of kids. I don’t think they all live there but visit from time to time and their ages range from 2 to 6 if I recall correctly.

Tell her not to worry, kids abound in Church Hill. Summers, when the weather is warm, will make it much easier to spot them.

The other demographic we really need up here…Teenage girls to babysit!

You really asking where to live to insure your child is safe, well educated, has places to play, is accepted/valued. If so, the answer is it depends … but what is more important than geography is the family attitude, interactions with neighbors and the support/caring of a greater community. If you want to live in a blooming community in transition, that is diversified and diverse, in a neighborhood that seeks to balance opportunities/possibilities with issues/challenges – then CH is the best choice. On the other hand, if you want live in the box that is pretty much sanitized, standardized and incipiently exclusive – I suggest you live in The Fan or West-end burbs ass they are really-really-nice..!
Regardless before you make any decision, I recommend you go to the communities and walk the streets, eat in the restaurants, visit the parks and talk lost of folks playing with their kids and walking their dogs … then you would have a better perspective from which to make a decision. And if you do these things, suggested, you will soon be one of our new C.H. neighbors.
JJ

there are a bunch of first and second year med students in the area…maybe we can get a list of names and numbers so that there are reliable babysitters for those who want to go out..plus these med students probably wouldn’t mind making some money.

I’ve used the college kids a couple of doors down sometimes. They either move as soon as my kids fall in love with them (We’ll always love you Miss Maggie!!)or for some strange reason, have something better to do on a Saturday night!

We live in church hill, our daughter is only 18 months & a friend of ours and her son live with us (he’s 1). We know of other children in the neighborhood because we see them at the parks!

Steph along with all the children, I am glad to see other people my age in the area. I moved here not to long ago and haven’t met that many people yet

Steph & Cam:

Please come to the Church Hill Association membership meetings. They are at 7:00pm every 3rd Tuesday of the month in the Parish Hall at St. John’s Church. There’s a meeting this Tues., the 19th. It’s a great way to meet your neighbors. We also have summer picnics June, July and August that are purely social. Hope to see you there!

We have a one year old and wanted to start a playgroup over the summer if folks with lil ones are interested.. we are both working so we were thinking evening or weekends once a month or something. I would love for our daughter to have lil friends in the neighborhood.

I know what you mean about the eyesore and noise issues, Eric — my next door neighbor got a dog which she keeps outside and the freaking thing barks constantly, at the least little thing — squirrels, cars, cats, the mailman. And eyesore? Man, he’s got chew toys and squeak toys and balls all over the yard. I have a two and a half year old and I refuse to keep him inside 24-7 (though we do keep his toys inside; wouldn’t want to clutter up the neighbors’ view of our house) but that barking is such a nuisance to be around that we usually just walk up to the park.

The house on the other side of us is up for sale. I am hoping that a couple with no dogs moves in!

yes, yes, more important that dogs be outside than having noise from wretched kids.

You may just get what you deserve.

mom w/rps kids: my son goes to a rps but not Chimborazo. We tried that for a year with disastrous results especially since he is academically advanced and was bored out of his mind there. I wanted to fight the good fight and did stick it out for the year, but when all is said and done, I cannot sacrifice him for the betterment of an urban school at this point in our lives.

Hey there! I have a 4 year old boy, almost 3 year old boy, and we are off to adopt a 1-year old girl in April…I think there are enough parents up here who love the area and are committing to staying here. I know we are! Several mothers/fathers have talked about getting the kids together…I think we should commit to that this summer. If I don’t here of something by the time the weather breaks, I will post a opportunity for children to get together on chpn.net.

We would welcome more children; and, more cool parents!

Don’t forget about the homeschooling alternative — there’s a growing, diverse homeschool community in Richmond and there are a lot of “co-ops” springing up where parents share the teaching duties according to their strengths and the kids get the benefit of the socialization and group learning activities. Check http://www.homeschoolrichmond.com for info on neighborhood-specific groups and other resources.

As a 12-year graduate of Richmond Public Schools, my first instinct is to jump in and champion the neighborhood schools. As a parent, I feel like Crystal does — my child’s best interests have to come before my idealism. As a former teacher and a Libertarian, I feel about public education the way I feel about a sausage factory — now that I’ve seen it from the inside, no way would I feed my kid the sausage.

Fortunately, as a Realtor, I’m not allowed to discuss it, so my existential dilemma is solved for me. 😉

I think part of it is a cultural thing re: the way the teachers treat the students. I remember when I taught in correctional education, I was all idealistic and touchy-feely and worried about the kids’ self esteem. I worked with an older lady who had taught in the public schools for decades. One of the middle schoolers tugged on her sleeve to ask her a question and she bellowed “Boy, if you EVER touch me again I swear before GOD it will be the last thing you do on this earth!” I had to go outside and collect myself. She scared the wits out of me.

I’m going to out myself as not living in the neighborhood and say that I am in South Side, and one of my neighbors with school-aged children told me he originally intended to send them to the zoned public school here, but when he went in to register them, the first thing he heard was a teacher screaming “For the last time, SHUT UP!” He turned around, walked out and went straight to the nearest parochial school.

Oh, believe me, I know. One of the many reasons we’ll be homeschooling when the time comes.

Richmond Magazine did a fantastic multi-part series on RPS a couple of years ago. I should try and get it scanned in to share. I remember one point they made was that each school is like its own tiny fiefdom, and once a principal is in power he or she is practically untouchable. So poor management and cronyism go unchecked and teaching styles like you describe go uncorrected.

So much for me not talking about this. Sorry.

Anne, I would love to see the Richmond Magazine article. I wish I was able to homeschool, however, my husband and I both work. I believe my kids have the right to a decent education especially given the amount –$13,000 –RPS spends yearly on each pupil (I wish RPS would just give me the money). I am also all too aware of the cronyism/sorority sister/good ol’buddy system in place starting with the RPS employees and board down at city hall. I’ve interviewed many teachers and families who have left the RPS because of various psychological abuses and the folks at city hall listened and did nothing about it. They isolate each family or teacher and treat them as just another crazy parent or a disgruntled employee. I pulled my kids out of a one RPS (not in the eastend) because of a corrupt tiny fiefdom administration –the school operated like a Baptist charter school. The school board and superintendent kept that principal in place.

We also looked at the Montessori School, and I loved it! However; it was also way out of our comfort zone for schools, price wise. We are still (after 5 years) in the middle of re-doing the house and just cannot afford it. I think that had St Patrick’s been able to hang on just another few years, a (well priced) private school in the neighborhood would have really been used!

I have not logged in for a few days and I was surprised to see such a long discussion on the school system here. This is a potential neighbor we are advising and I would like to present my point of view.

I know you all have heard it from me before, but the public school my children attend (Bellevue) is really excellent. There are several programs for gifted and creative children; my second grade daughter attends the SPACE program for gifted students and there are similar programs in music, art, and dance.

My son is in the fifth grade and he has been in school band since fourth grade. In partnership with the Richmond YMCA, all children go through a swimming program in second grade. I think it’s great program that has probably ended up saving some lives.

Our school reguarly puts on recitals and other shows, including a very popular end of year talent show. All the teachers get in on the action with the kids, and it honestly is a great time. In addition, there’s Harvest Festival, and the Black History Month program every year.

Richmond Parks & Rec provide a free after school program that is EXCELLENT. They promote health, fitness, respect, and tolerance. A large “snack” usually consisting of a sandwich, fruit, and drink is provided. Kids have one-on-one homework time and work on creative and diversity-based programs throughout the year.

I also recommend that parents get their children involved in sports, dance, and other activities through Richmond Parks & Rec. We have so enjoyed the youth football league.

“Most” of the children in this area DO NOT attend private school. There is a cultural divide, here. If you are uncomfortable with your children attending a pre-dominantly African American school, perhaps private school is your answer. But, if you seek a diverse environment full of smart and creative kids from different cultures, a wide variety of low cost extra curricula activities, and dedicated teachers who are willing to provide extra help, Bellevue and other RPS schools are your answer.

I have to agree with Anne in that I did not appreciate the administrative staff at the school we tried for a year (Chimborazo). My son quickly found out what he needed to do in order to get kicked out of school so kept doing it, which they kept enabling despite my many protests to the contrary.

He is currently at another RPS (John B. Cary) whose administrative staff has been very creative with him and his teacher has been wonderfully supportive of his intense intelligence and easy slip into boredom. We haven’t had a problem with him all year thanks to the ways the administrative staff has reacted to my son’s extreme brightness and ability to catch on quickly.

Each of the administrative staff and teachers make the kids say yes ma’am, no ma’am, look the adults in the eye and generally give them respect but in turn they give the kids respect right back.

And John B. Cary is a predominantly AA/black school, too, with my son being their only introduction to the Pilipino culture.

I agree with Anne that it isn’t the racial make up of the RPS that concerns parents. My daughter is one of only 3 white children at her private school. It is the attention the child receives, the level of respect they are dealt with and the teacher and/or administrators ability to recognize and deal with issues (on positive and negative levels) AND the fact that she is learning how to celebrate the differences and commonalities between everyone, while getting an exceptional education (at an exceptional value)…What more can a parent ask for

Oh – sorry, Guilty Mom. I misread your comment. But, I still believe there are many positives that are over-looked wanted the voice of please RPS parent to be heard in this discussion.

Is there a special place that school aged children meet? I have never seen them anywhere near me, and when I was a child growing up here I never had any near me. Is there a group that I can bring my daughter to meet?

LB: I think it would be great if kids could meet at one of the neighborhood playgrounds like Chimborazo where there are swings, basketball courts, four square and hopscotch. I also would like to see kids roaming the neighborhood, visiting eachother’s houses without parents having to plan a playdate, treating big kids like preschoolers. For many kids, out of school time is highly structured and supervised, packed with extracurricular activities, extended school days, and stacks of homework. Recently (and this has happened more often than not), a mother was running through her children’s schedule so we could find a time to get our kids together. She listed a long commute to and from school, ballet, organized sport, piano, etc –she came up with one hour on one weekday afternoon for the kids to play. She then commented how she doesn’t overschedule her kids like other mothers do. I’ve also noticed how some of my children’s friends’ toys are in mint conditioned –unplayed with and used to decorate a room.

I think meeting at a neighborhood park is a good start for families on the hill.

Right now, my children can choose just one “season” per year, and we are doing fall with football and cheerleading. This also frees up the rest of the weekends of the year for day trips to the beach, hikes along the Jame, vacations at the cabin, and other non-organized activities.

However, my kids still spend a lot of structured time away from home in the after-school program and during summer at the Boys and Girls club. But, I think its fun for them. We also do a week long summer camp for the oldest each summer.

What would happen if all the kids in the neighborhood that currently go to private schools were enrolled in the local schools at one time? Seems to me the schools would get both a lot more support from the ‘hood and a lot more oversight from concerned parents.

What an unfortnate experience LB. I assure you that what you write about is not the way the schools are taught now. What school did this happen in and in what year?

Tina, below is an example of a poorly written story on a recent fourth grade SOL language arts assessment test given to my daughter.

“Carolyn had nine children. They wanted cookies. She decided to bake all those children some cookies. They were too noisy and maybe cookies would keep them quiet. She looked for her recipe book everywhere. She looked in the kitchen, in the bathroom, and in the den. It was not there. She thought for a minute and decided she might remember the recipe. She sifted 8 cups of flour, measured 5 cups of sugar, broke 7 eggs, and 9 teaspoons of vanilla. She mixed them all together in a bowl and made round cookies. She placed them on a cookie sheet. The oven was turned to 450 degrees. The children were running around everywhere wanting the cookies to get ready. The cookies began to smell. The oven door began to creep open. Carolyn heard strange noises coming from the oven. ZZZZZZZZZrppppppp!Pop!Bing!ZZZZZZZZZrppppppp! The oven door popped all the way open and cookie dough went on the ceiling, on the floor, on the counter, and on Carolyn. It was a big mess! Carolyn decided she must have used the wrong ingredients for the cookies!”

And we wonder how students are unable to write a decent paragraph upon graduation.

Regarding outdoor play: My kids attend RPS and they do not have outdoor play every day. It is often taken away for punishment. And to make matters worse, the students are often put on silent lunch and have assigned seating.

We need to be honest about RPS if we want to see improvement in our children’s education. Current public schooling is like white flour –it has poor nutritional value.

I see a trend about behavior showing in the criticisms of RPS. It seems many parents disagree with the disciplinary methods for children with behavior problems.

I really can’t speak to this point. But, the academic criticisms are very shallow in my opinion.

The paragraph above contains many details; I wonder if the point of test of the above was to test comprehension. Was it presented as one paragraph? Other than being in one paragraph, this story seems to be appropriate to test for reading comprehension.

Tiny,

If your comments are directed towards me, I was a frequent visitor when my nephew was in Elementary school, I went to at least one PT conference per year, helped on field trips, went to assemblies, etc. so I was there and I saw what went on there. And yes, I do believe that before the SOLs I still would have sent my child to public school. However, EVERYTHING that I saw was geared towards those tests, which is my I chose not to send my daughter to public school, city or county (and yes, I could have chosen where to take her). The lack of art, band and other extras were the icing on the cake, but the SOLs are the cake. And this is coming from someone who was educated by RPS in these same neighborhood schools and I think I received an excellent education, before the SOLs, and would love for my daughter to be able to experience that.

1. I know I have the right to send my child anywhere.
2. My view is not false; it is MY VIEW! You may have a different one, but I would not say it is false.
3. The school is Bellevue, and this was within the last 5 years. I will say that I think they experienced a slump because it was not always like that, and hopefully it has changed.

But my view is just as valid as yours is, and I never said anything remotely negative about your view or tried to say it was not your reality so I would appreciate the same courtesy.

Tiny,
Sorry for calling you Tina. I want to add that my 7 year old pointed out two writing errors in the story above. And on three assessment tests, my husband and I found a total of 11 errors from spelling to missing verbs and phrases.

Oh yes, I always find errors riddled throughout my sons, too, and the way they teach them to construct a sentence drives me bonkers. Thankfully my son has an English major for a mom and has already learned the importance of proper comma usage along with apostrophe’s, colons and semicolons (he’s only 8 but I have high hopes for him!).

Not to mention my pointing out a subject has to have a verb, there are times 2 sentences can be combined to form a more coherant though, etc, etc. So now, in the 3rd grade, his sentences mostly make sense. ;).

Mom: I loved EB White’s “On Writing Well” and recommend it to anyone who wants to learn how to communicate properly through the use of words.

Crystal,
It is good to see another parent understanding the importance of writing well. Thank you.

Tiny,
I have issues with the entire RPS system. I’m interested in improving education for all children. Don’t take criticisms of the RPS so personally.

I just ran the above passage and the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level score comes out at 3.9. Which is appropriate for a fourth grade class.

I will not get into a battle with you. Pick another example; this one just doesn’t illustrate your point very well.

Teaching to grade level IS what is expected. Please quit suggesting I read “The Elements of Style”. I have a BA in English as well.

I am reminded of the last paper my son wrote and how I tried to assist. Like you, I wanted to correct EVERYTHING. But, then I remembered that he was 10 and I am 43.

Yes, and it was written for the fourth grade reading level.

A teacher will have to confirm this for me, but I think SOL tests are developed at the state level.

That story should not be used at all. I expect teachers to teach proper english and writing at all grade levels.

John,
Are the 9-week tests from downtown the same as the ones given in Henrico County? I’ll make some calls to find out who writes them.
And from where do teachers get their class and homework worksheets?

As a city elementary teacher the tests do come from downtown. I am not a teacher in a testing grade level, but I would hope that ALL PARENTS would want to see their children reading things that are well written. I do not care what grade the passage was written for. You can write a passage properly and still keep the reading at the appropriate level. Giving the students a passage that is not written well is like telling those same students that its okay to write poorly. Shouldn’t we start in elementary school with proper grammer and writing skills?

Ask around with teachers for RPS as to where they send their children to school. I know many teachers that are sending thier kids to Private School; that is what is telling to me.
I’m not saying that you cannot get a good education in Public Schools, and I’m not saying that you will get a good education in Private Schools. I hate to generalize; however, the class sizes are smaller in Private, giving the children more one on one attention. On average, Private Schools (especially the parochial ones) put more emphasis on respecting others and their ideas. I want my children to receive the best, who doesn’t? While Bellevue does stand out in the area as a “Best Of”, it isn’t the school we were slated to attend. I did check out our neighborhood school, and it was not going to work for us. That’s the key people, do YOUR homework, check out YOUR options, and decide what is best for YOUR family.

Blog writing is a free writing conversation, not a revised final draft. I need an editor to “hit the Strunk and White” standard of writing.

I wonder if anyone revises the downtown tests? We know from recent news, that just a little over $4,000 out of over $13,000 goes to the classroom. I’m guessing test writers work without editors and are low paid. Has anyone noticed the nice cars administators (from principals on up) drive? Notice how poor teachers wear the same outfits weekly, where as administrators don new dos, a variety of accessories, and different clothes everyday. Does anyone get the feeling that there are three administators for one job down at city hall? And in classrooms, teachers are asked to instuct kids, ranging from the mentally disabled to the gifted,armed with the crappy tests from downtown. At a minutes notice, teachers are asked to draw up new plans, attend meetings, are given surprise deadlines, and much more outside of teaching students. The problems of disorganization and procrastination down at city hall are thrown on the backs of teachers.

And how about the expensive child studies and behavorial assessments conducted weekly on students unwilling to bend their minds to crappy tests and their active bodies to desks?

The system is corrupt and has lost it’s purpose to educated our children.

As an observer, I applaud all the parents on this thread regardless of where you send your kids. Everyone is obviously very vigilant of their kids welfare and involved in the day to day activities at their kid’s school and their school work. To me, that’s as important as the education they are getting. They are lucky to have you to come home to everyday!

Guilty Mom,
I’m looking into private education for my children and, fortunately, I educate them well at home. Also, tuition money is an issue.

I’m not good at giving up. As long as I have energy, I’ll fight.

A civilized society takes care of it’s children.

Tiny, I’m glad that you and your children have had (with the one exception) a positive experience with the public schools. And you ae right in not wanting to turn off new parents to the area. I’m fairly sure that this same argument goes on in ever urban neighborhood blog out there! And mom w/ rps kids, keep on fighting, because it encourages others to do the same, to know they aren’t the only parents fighting for our kids!
When my oldest was young, I was a stay at home mom, new to Richmond, and I joined the West End MOMS Club. Long story short, it made me crazy that no one wanted to do anything other than get their nails done and stay in the West End! It sounds like we really have some cool, dedicated moms in the area, that as a working mother, I don’t get to meet at the playground. Would there be any interest in getting together on a Saturday at Buzzy’s? I have lived here almost 6 years and because I work, still don’t know a lot of parents

Oh my gosh, don’t get me started on SAHM vs. working moms, that’s another 300 posts! I’ve done both, and whenever I’m doing one, I miss the other. My kids are a little older (7 and 4), but I would love to meet some more.

Yes, Captain Buzzy’s, or maybe even Jefferson Park?