Inspired Teaching?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:ITDS is lovely but like elementary school being extended 3-4 years. For high achieving kids in any domain (including extracurriculars), this is likely not the optimal model. For a middle of the road introvert, on the other hand, it’s ideal.

This thread has been interesting for me, a parent of two self-motivated, high-achieving kids who went through ITDS. One of my kids, now in 11th grade, is prepping to apply to T20 colleges. They were well prepared for everything they've encountered at SWW, even though, yes, ITDS didn't challenge my kids as much as I would have liked. (And as you'll read on other threads here, too, SWW is not the be-all-and-end-all--I bring it up just because it's the only high school my family has had experience with, and it's a school a lot of middle-school kids aspire to.) DC was able to catch up to the geometry-in-8th-grade types because of the option to take two math classes at once or do a summer math course.

Do I wish DC could have taken geometry in 8th grade? Yes, I do. But there were a load of other things that ITDS had in its favor that made it the right choice for our family.

ITDS is not perfect. Anyone who thinks it is is fooling themselves. However, ITDS's middle school is also not anything like "elementary school being extended 3-4 years" nor is it uniformly poor for "high achieving kids in any domain."

Please, potential ITDS parents who are reading this thread, take everything with a huge grain of salt. None of these all-or-nothing statements would hold up to even the tiniest amount of pressure.

I disagree. I don't think PP meant that the substantive work was akin to elementary school, but that the experience was... and I think that's correct. When you have a school as small as ITDS middle, it really does feel a lot more like an elementary school (as many small privates' middle schools do as well) than a standard middle school experience. That can absolutely be a good thing for many kids, by the way. Middle school is the worst time of many kids' lives. But a school that small is never going to have as many options for outliers in any direction/in any domain.

THIS. The school is way too small. The kids are in the same classes basically like elementary. There is no wide course selections. The sports and extracurriculars are very limited like elementary.

We passed on ITDS because we wanted a much more comprehensive experience for our high performing kid with courses, sports, and extracurriculars. Plus the facilities is lacking also and like an elementary school.

Might be a better fit for some introverted kid who doesn’t care about things above but not our kid who is active and social and outgoing. It would be stifling.

Did you look at it this year? There are way more sports this year. My DCs, who are definitely active, social, and outgoing, have done soccer, cross-country, and track. There are other sports too. My DCs love being in the musical as well. They are also busy with outside activities that aren't offered by bigger schools anyway, so we don't feel the lack. Not everything needs to be through the school as if you live in a small town somewhere.

I do agree the facility is not great, but they make good use of it and recently renovated the basement to have more space.

The new sports offerings still leave it behind many DCPS elementary schools extracurriculars-wise. I think you need to look at what somewhere like Stuart-Hobson or Eliot Hine offers (I'm not even talking about Deal here, which is another league entirely) before getting so defensive about folks saying ITDS is like an elementary school offerings-wise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:ITDS is lovely but like elementary school being extended 3-4 years. For high achieving kids in any domain (including extracurriculars), this is likely not the optimal model. For a middle of the road introvert, on the other hand, it’s ideal.

This thread has been interesting for me, a parent of two self-motivated, high-achieving kids who went through ITDS. One of my kids, now in 11th grade, is prepping to apply to T20 colleges. They were well prepared for everything they've encountered at SWW, even though, yes, ITDS didn't challenge my kids as much as I would have liked. (And as you'll read on other threads here, too, SWW is not the be-all-and-end-all--I bring it up just because it's the only high school my family has had experience with, and it's a school a lot of middle-school kids aspire to.) DC was able to catch up to the geometry-in-8th-grade types because of the option to take two math classes at once or do a summer math course.

Do I wish DC could have taken geometry in 8th grade? Yes, I do. But there were a load of other things that ITDS had in its favor that made it the right choice for our family.

ITDS is not perfect. Anyone who thinks it is is fooling themselves. However, ITDS's middle school is also not anything like "elementary school being extended 3-4 years" nor is it uniformly poor for "high achieving kids in any domain."

Please, potential ITDS parents who are reading this thread, take everything with a huge grain of salt. None of these all-or-nothing statements would hold up to even the tiniest amount of pressure.

I disagree. I don't think PP meant that the substantive work was akin to elementary school, but that the experience was... and I think that's correct. When you have a school as small as ITDS middle, it really does feel a lot more like an elementary school (as many small privates' middle schools do as well) than a standard middle school experience. That can absolutely be a good thing for many kids, by the way. Middle school is the worst time of many kids' lives. But a school that small is never going to have as many options for outliers in any direction/in any domain.

THIS. The school is way too small. The kids are in the same classes basically like elementary. There is no wide course selections. The sports and extracurriculars are very limited like elementary.

We passed on ITDS because we wanted a much more comprehensive experience for our high performing kid with courses, sports, and extracurriculars. Plus the facilities is lacking also and like an elementary school.

Might be a better fit for some introverted kid who doesn’t care about things above but not our kid who is active and social and outgoing. It would be stifling.

Did you look at it this year? There are way more sports this year. My DCs, who are definitely active, social, and outgoing, have done soccer, cross-country, and track. There are other sports too. My DCs love being in the musical as well. They are also busy with outside activities that aren't offered by bigger schools anyway, so we don't feel the lack. Not everything needs to be through the school as if you live in a small town somewhere.

I do agree the facility is not great, but they make good use of it and recently renovated the basement to have more space.

The new sports offerings still leave it behind many DCPS elementary schools extracurriculars-wise. I think you need to look at what somewhere like Stuart-Hobson or Eliot Hine offers (I'm not even talking about Deal here, which is another league entirely) before getting so defensive about folks saying ITDS is like an elementary school offerings-wise.

I'm well aware of what's offered, thank you. My kids focus on a sport that most elementary and middle schools here don't have, so it doesn't matter to me what our school offers for sports. I'm trying to tell you that ITDS has recently expanded its sports offerings and the musical is new (as of last year) for ITDS as well. It's only recently that ITDS has completed the build-out of 7th and 8th grade enrollment (45ish kids each rather than 25ish), so it isn't surprising that more is being offered. If you haven't looked at the school recently, you might not know.

[Anonymous]

Several of the responses in this thread are along the lines of “I don’t like ITDS because I want to send my kid to a school with more stuff” (academics, extracurriculars, etc.) That’s totally valid, for your family. Just recognize that ITDS is and always has been a small school. That brings a different set of benefits that other families value highly. Also valid!

This is the very reason behind school choice! Choose what works for your family but please remember every family has its own priorities.

[Anonymous]

Well said!

- ITDS family whose DC is thriving at school

Anonymous wrote:Several of the responses in this thread are along the lines of “I don’t like ITDS because I want to send my kid to a school with more stuff” (academics, extracurriculars, etc.) That’s totally valid, for your family. Just recognize that ITDS is and always has been a small school. That brings a different set of benefits that other families value highly. Also valid!

This is the very reason behind school choice! Choose what works for your family but please remember every family has its own priorities.

[Anonymous]

I think this choice becomes more difficult if you are choosing between Deal and ITDS, as many families are.

For our family, it was a choice between ITDS, Wells, Brookland Middle and other charters. We happily chose to continue at ITDS, didn’t apply anywhere else and are still happy with this choice.

[Anonymous]

NP. Deal would have been too competitive for my ITDS middle schooler who plays sports (but probably would not have qualified to play at Deal). Also, my kid does outside-of-school activities that are not offered at Deal. ITDS is more flexible and works with parents on specific needs. Talking with parent friends at Deal, there is not as much flexibility and accommodations. They offer a lot more but what they offer isn't what my child needs/wants.

[Anonymous]

For those contemplating a small school vs larger one for their child, here's something to consider:

"Hundreds of studies have found that students who attend small schools outperform those in large schools on every academic measure from grades to test scores. They are less likely to dropout and more likely to attend college."

https://ilsr.org/rule/small-schools-vs-big-schools/#:~:text=Hundreds%20of%20studies%20have%20found,schools%20also%20build%20strong%20communities.

(NOTE: This may not apply to families on this board whose children will fair well regardless of their school choice. But some of us have kids that can use these benefits. This is also why some families go private.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think this choice becomes more difficult if you are choosing between Deal and ITDS, as many families are.

For our family, it was a choice between ITDS, Wells, Brookland Middle and other charters. We happily chose to continue at ITDS, didn’t apply anywhere else and are still happy with this choice.

Not really. Deal families do not choose ITDS over Deal. Maybe a few handful but definitely nothing significant. You cam see the data.

The choices are really for EOTP families who don’t have decent middle school options.

We looked at DCI, Latin, Basis, ITDS to list in the lottery. Reality is most families will rank the 3 others over ITDS. ITDS tends to be the backup option. Then the lottery will dictate the actual choices you have.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Several of the responses in this thread are along the lines of “I don’t like ITDS because I want to send my kid to a school with more stuff” (academics, extracurriculars, etc.) That’s totally valid, for your family. Just recognize that ITDS is and always has been a small school. That brings a different set of benefits that other families value highly. Also valid!

This is the very reason behind school choice! Choose what works for your family but please remember every family has its own priorities.

As you must know by now, most people on DCUM are insecure and need to tear others down to make themselves feel better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this choice becomes more difficult if you are choosing between Deal and ITDS, as many families are.

For our family, it was a choice between ITDS, Wells, Brookland Middle and other charters. We happily chose to continue at ITDS, didn’t apply anywhere else and are still happy with this choice.

Not really. Deal families do not choose ITDS over Deal. Maybe a few handful but definitely nothing significant. You cam see the data.

The choices are really for EOTP families who don’t have decent middle school options.

We looked at DCI, Latin, Basis, ITDS to list in the lottery. Reality is most families will rank the 3 others over ITDS. ITDS tends to be the backup option. Then the lottery will dictate the actual choices you have.

DCI, Latin, and Basis have high schools, so a spot in 5th or 6th guarantees a HS path. ITDS only goes to 8th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this choice becomes more difficult if you are choosing between Deal and ITDS, as many families are.

For our family, it was a choice between ITDS, Wells, Brookland Middle and other charters. We happily chose to continue at ITDS, didn’t apply anywhere else and are still happy with this choice.

Not really. Deal families do not choose ITDS over Deal. Maybe a few handful but definitely nothing significant. You cam see the data.

The choices are really for EOTP families who don’t have decent middle school options.

We looked at DCI, Latin, Basis, ITDS to list in the lottery. Reality is most families will rank the 3 others over ITDS. ITDS tends to be the backup option. Then the lottery will dictate the actual choices you have.

DCI, Latin, and Basis have high schools, so a spot in 5th or 6th guarantees a HS path. ITDS only goes to 8th.

Noted but even if they did not, the rankings would still be above ITDS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this choice becomes more difficult if you are choosing between Deal and ITDS, as many families are.

For our family, it was a choice between ITDS, Wells, Brookland Middle and other charters. We happily chose to continue at ITDS, didn’t apply anywhere else and are still happy with this choice.

Not really. Deal families do not choose ITDS over Deal. Maybe a few handful but definitely nothing significant. You cam see the data.

The choices are really for EOTP families who don’t have decent middle school options.

We looked at DCI, Latin, Basis, ITDS to list in the lottery. Reality is most families will rank the 3 others over ITDS. ITDS tends to be the backup option. Then the lottery will dictate the actual choices you have.

DCI, Latin, and Basis have high schools, so a spot in 5th or 6th guarantees a HS path. ITDS only goes to 8th.

Noted but even if they did not, the rankings would still be above ITDS

Oh come on. Without the high school they would have nowhere near the number and quality of applicants that they have now. You can't just pull the middle school test scores and assume it would be the same with no high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this choice becomes more difficult if you are choosing between Deal and ITDS, as many families are.

For our family, it was a choice between ITDS, Wells, Brookland Middle and other charters. We happily chose to continue at ITDS, didn’t apply anywhere else and are still happy with this choice.

Not really. Deal families do not choose ITDS over Deal. Maybe a few handful but definitely nothing significant. You cam see the data.

The choices are really for EOTP families who don’t have decent middle school options.

We looked at DCI, Latin, Basis, ITDS to list in the lottery. Reality is most families will rank the 3 others over ITDS. ITDS tends to be the backup option. Then the lottery will dictate the actual choices you have.

DCI, Latin, and Basis have high schools, so a spot in 5th or 6th guarantees a HS path. ITDS only goes to 8th.

Noted but even if they did not, the rankings would still be above ITDS

Oh come on. Without the high school they would have nowhere near the number and quality of applicants that they have now. You can't just pull the middle school test scores and assume it would be the same with no high school.

But BASIS, Latin and DCI also differ vastly from ITS regarding curriculum and teaching.

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I think this choice becomes more difficult if you are choosing between Deal and ITDS, as many families are.

For our family, it was a choice between ITDS, Wells, Brookland Middle and other charters. We happily chose to continue at ITDS, didn’t apply anywhere else and are still happy with this choice. [/quote]

Not really. Deal families do not choose ITDS over Deal. Maybe a few handful but definitely nothing significant. You cam see the data.

The choices are really for EOTP families who don’t have decent middle school options.

We looked at [b]DCI, Latin, Basis, ITDS to list in the lottery. Reality is most families will rank the 3 others over ITDS[/b]. ITDS tends to be the backup option. Then the lottery will dictate the actual choices you have.[/quote]

DCI, Latin, and Basis have high schools, so a spot in 5th or 6th guarantees a HS path. ITDS only goes to 8th.[/quote]

Noted but even if they did not, the rankings would still be above ITDS[/quote]

Oh come on. Without the high school they would have nowhere near the number and quality of applicants that they have now. You can't just pull the middle school test scores and assume it would be the same with no high school.[/quote]

But BASIS, Latin and DCI also differ vastly from ITS regarding curriculum and teaching. [/quote]

Well yes. But that doesn't mean people actually like it better. BASIS in particular is full of people who don't especially love the model or it's implementation, but don't have a better option. And if you control for demographics...

[Anonymous]

There is one vocal poster on here that is clearly anti-ITDS for all. If you are happy with the school, never mind. You made a wrong choice. :/ The city we live in… sometimes I lament that I might know these people in real life.