New to Banneker

[Anonymous]

So, DC going to Banneker in the fall. (Summer really, right?)

What do you all from that community think a parent should know now? Anything we might not have expected?

[Anonymous]

Principal operates as though it's still the 1970s or 80s. Hint: only Spanish and French taught.

[Anonymous]

Banneker parent here. Absolutely love it. The Principal is magnificent-- she responds to parents quickly, on weekends, all the time. The teachers are the most dedicated I've ever encountered (including at a private school).

[Anonymous]

If they applied for a summer job, I would suggest designating BSI as their preferred location so that they get paid for attending.

Banneker does not have the grade inflation that SWW does. Freshman take 4 honors classes and only about 40-45% of the class has a weighted GPA of 3.7 or higher. That means that they're more than willing to issue Ds and below. DC has friends struggling with their poor grades for the first time (and I'm not talking about Bs).

The resources are there to perform well. Tutoring is available after school and most (not all) teachers allow resubmissions of homework. Since HS grades absolutely matter for college, I would just impress upon your kid to manage their course load well and early on. Grade inflation is so rampant these days and that's what they will be competing with in college admissions. (There's no grade deflation either, FYI.)

Freshman parent here and its been a great experience thus far for DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Principal operates as though it's still the 1970s or 80s. Hint: only Spanish and French taught.

While I wish there were more options, the vast majority of American schools do a piss poor job of teaching foreign languages. Adding Mandarin or German is of little utility if you can grade with a 5 in AP German and still not be able to hail a cab or make dinner reservations in Frankfurt.

[Anonymous]

*graduate

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Principal operates as though it's still the 1970s or 80s. Hint: only Spanish and French taught.

While I wish there were more options, the vast majority of American schools do a piss poor job of teaching foreign languages. Adding Mandarin or German is of little utility if you can grade with a 5 in AP German and still not be able to hail a cab or make dinner reservations in Frankfurt.

Great. Banneker off the hook for teaching nothing more than a couple Romance languages here in 2024. What leadership, vision, inspiration!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Principal operates as though it's still the 1970s or 80s. Hint: only Spanish and French taught.

While I wish there were more options, the vast majority of American schools do a piss poor job of teaching foreign languages. Adding Mandarin or German is of little utility if you can grade with a 5 in AP German and still not be able to hail a cab or make dinner reservations in Frankfurt.

Great. Banneker off the hook for teaching nothing more than a couple Romance languages here in 2024. What leadership, vision, inspiration!!

I'm with you that they could add more, but you're not really calling teaching Spanish outdated, right???

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If they applied for a summer job, I would suggest designating BSI as their preferred location so that they get paid for attending.

Banneker does not have the grade inflation that SWW does. Freshman take 4 honors classes and only about 40-45% of the class has a weighted GPA of 3.7 or higher. That means that they're more than willing to issue Ds and below. DC has friends struggling with their poor grades for the first time (and I'm not talking about Bs).

The resources are there to perform well. Tutoring is available after school and most (not all) teachers allow resubmissions of homework. Since HS grades absolutely matter for college, I would just impress upon your kid to manage their course load well and early on. Grade inflation is so rampant these days and that's what they will be competing with in college admissions. (There's no grade deflation either, FYI.)

Freshman parent here and its been a great experience thus far for DC.

Interesting..It's all DCPS and they both follow the same policies and procedures. Don't think this is accurate...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If they applied for a summer job, I would suggest designating BSI as their preferred location so that they get paid for attending.

Banneker does not have the grade inflation that SWW does. Freshman take 4 honors classes and only about 40-45% of the class has a weighted GPA of 3.7 or higher. That means that they're more than willing to issue Ds and below. DC has friends struggling with their poor grades for the first time (and I'm not talking about Bs).

The resources are there to perform well. Tutoring is available after school and most (not all) teachers allow resubmissions of homework. Since HS grades absolutely matter for college, I would just impress upon your kid to manage their course load well and early on. Grade inflation is so rampant these days and that's what they will be competing with in college admissions. (There's no grade deflation either, FYI.)

Freshman parent here and its been a great experience thus far for DC.

Graduate here. This is the most important thing for your child to understand. They used to constantly tell us "Be proud of that B, because a B at Banneker is like an A anywhere else!" Unfortunately, that's not much consolation when you're excluded from scholarships or special programs outside of school because of a strict GPA cutoff. I was definitely overprepared for college, but I couldn't take advantage of a lot of opportunities that my friends at other schools got despite their schools handing out As like they were candy.

[Anonymous]

Tutoring if offered but it’s mainly before school starts with isn’t the best.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If they applied for a summer job, I would suggest designating BSI as their preferred location so that they get paid for attending.

Can someone explain this to me?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If they applied for a summer job, I would suggest designating BSI as their preferred location so that they get paid for attending.

Can someone explain this to me?

https://does.dc.gov/service/mayor-marion-s-barry-summer-youth-employment-program

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If they applied for a summer job, I would suggest designating BSI as their preferred location so that they get paid for attending.

Can someone explain this to me?

DC kids age 14 and up can participate in the Marion Barry Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP). You fill out the paperwork and they place you at a job site where you get paid minimum wage for the summer (pools, summer camps, libraries, etc).

Banneker "requires" incoming freshmen to attend the Banneker Summer Institute (BSI) during that same window. You can request BSI as your worksite with SYEP and essentially get paid to attend BSI.

[Anonymous]

Also joining the Banneker community next year! When do parents usually get details about the dates for BSI?