prestigious school, 2 moms, Black child?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:… presumably they are thinking long term with the rigor comment

There is no way they can know at 3 years old how much rigor will be appropriate in high school.

Sure, but you can at least want the options available. Not OP, but for example I personally wouldn't pick a K-8 or K-12 that didn't at least have the option for geometry in eighth, which is the case for some area privates. Sure maybe my kid will end up in algebra 1 anyway, but I'd hate to not have the option if she's a strong math student.

Is geometry in 8th typical for a strong student? My kids are young so I’m just starting to think about all of this. I went to public school but I took algebra I in 8th, which at the time was the advanced track option. I took calc bc in 12th. Genuinely curious if norms have changed or if I just didn’t have any idea what was out there at the time, etc.

It is going to depend pretty strongly on the part of the US you are in, but in this area, public school grade-level track is Algebra I in 8th grade, which puts a child in Calculus AB or BC in their senior year.

However, there's a pretty big swathe of kids who do Algebra I in 7th grade and Geometry in 8th. How many kids that is will depend on the school. In the wealthiest schools, it is almost all. In the least wealthy schools, it is probably less then half.

At any rate, that's the norm for public schools. The norm for private schools is to have many more kids on the "grade level" track, to go deeper, and to only accelerate the very mathiest of kids. That's also a fine approach, but it does sometimes create a situation when private school kids apply to public magnets, as they will sometimes need to "make up" a year of math over the summer to be on track with the other "smart kids."

[Anonymous]

Mine did Geometry in 7th, Algebra II in 8th, PreCalc in 9th, and is in Calc now as a sophomore.

[Anonymous]

At our school, which is described on DCUM as rigorous and high stress, vast majority of 7th graders take 7th grade math (differentiated into 2 levels) and vast majority of 8th take Alg 1 (differentiated into 3 levels). Handful of kids a year ahead (Geom in 8th rather than 9th) not because school accelerated them but because parents wanted to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:… presumably they are thinking long term with the rigor comment

There is no way they can know at 3 years old how much rigor will be appropriate in high school.

Sure, but you can at least want the options available. Not OP, but for example I personally wouldn't pick a K-8 or K-12 that didn't at least have the option for geometry in eighth, which is the case for some area privates. Sure maybe my kid will end up in algebra 1 anyway, but I'd hate to not have the option if she's a strong math student.

Is geometry in 8th typical for a strong student? My kids are young so I’m just starting to think about all of this. I went to public school but I took algebra I in 8th, which at the time was the advanced track option. I took calc bc in 12th. Genuinely curious if norms have changed or if I just didn’t have any idea what was out there at the time, etc.

It is going to depend pretty strongly on the part of the US you are in, but in this area, public school grade-level track is Algebra I in 8th grade, which puts a child in Calculus AB or BC in their senior year.

However, there's a pretty big swathe of kids who do Algebra I in 7th grade and Geometry in 8th. How many kids that is will depend on the school. In the wealthiest schools, it is almost all. In the least wealthy schools, it is probably less then half.

At any rate, that's the norm for public schools. The norm for private schools is to have many more kids on the "grade level" track, to go deeper, and to only accelerate the very mathiest of kids. That's also a fine approach, but it does sometimes create a situation when private school kids apply to public magnets, as they will sometimes need to "make up" a year of math over the summer to be on track with the other "smart kids."

So interesting. I went to a very large public high school in northern Virginia, though not FCPS, but obviously this was a while ago. “In my day” at least in public most kids not on the “advanced” track never made it to calculus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:New DCUM poster here — looking for a great, strongly academic private school with DEI programming + a general school culture supportive of our status as a multiracial two mom family. Cost not a problem but we’re in Georgetown and proximity to home is a plus. Everyone says GDS but we’ve heard concerns about rigor — warranted?

You will get rigor at any of the top 5-6 schools. I would focus on fit and community.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where are you located?

Norwood family and very happy with the academics. They make a solid and honest effort toward diversity. DS will be going to a prestigious HS in the fall and the HS placement team was wonderful.

There is no diversity there. Your kid may be 1 of a few or the only Black kid in their class.

https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/pss/privateschoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&Zip=20817&ID=00580282

[Anonymous]

Isn't being Black with 2 moms prestigious enough on its own?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let me tell you something (as a parent of high achieving high schoolers at two different Big3 schools). The one thing my kids don't need more of is RIGOR.

What they need is a spare minute of free time or a class they're not working their a$$ off in.

Your choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:New DCUM poster here — looking for a great, strongly academic private school with DEI programming + a general school culture supportive of our status as a multiracial two mom family. Cost not a problem but we’re in Georgetown and proximity to home is a plus. Everyone says GDS but we’ve heard concerns about rigor — warranted?

Why prestigious?

[Anonymous]

Your kid will be a shoe in at GDS. They will roll out the red carpet

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your kid will be a shoe in at GDS. They will roll out the red carpet

No, they won't. Very few households with same-sex parents.

[Anonymous]

That’s not true. GDS is very progressive.

OP, my only advice to you is to pick a place that is convenient for you. Your DC will be fine wherever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:… presumably they are thinking long term with the rigor comment

There is no way they can know at 3 years old how much rigor will be appropriate in high school.

Sure, but you can at least want the options available. Not OP, but for example I personally wouldn't pick a K-8 or K-12 that didn't at least have the option for geometry in eighth, which is the case for some area privates. Sure maybe my kid will end up in algebra 1 anyway, but I'd hate to not have the option if she's a strong math student.

Is geometry in 8th typical for a strong student? My kids are young so I’m just starting to think about all of this. I went to public school but I took algebra I in 8th, which at the time was the advanced track option. I took calc bc in 12th. Genuinely curious if norms have changed or if I just didn’t have any idea what was out there at the time, etc.

At most privates, average students take Algebra 1 in 8th grade. The strongest may take it in 7th and geometry in 8th, but it's a relatively small group -- private schools are far less willing to accelerate than public school.

Norms have changed since we were in high school.

This is true - while most of the top HS will allow for a child to ENTER in HS taking Algebra II - VERY FEW will have had a "lifer" who has taken Geometry in 8th. We know because our k-8 offers Geometry to some 8th graders and when considering moving at an earlier age this was one of our considerations. Our DC did not want to go to a school that wouldn't allow Algebra in 7th and Geometry in 8th. (Not - we were not unhappy at k-8 and stayed - but were looking "just in case" because there was a pending HOS transition).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Isn't being Black with 2 moms prestigious enough on its own?

Yah, if the school was prestigious before, well...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where are you located?

Norwood family and very happy with the academics. They make a solid and honest effort toward diversity. DS will be going to a prestigious HS in the fall and the HS placement team was wonderful.

There is no diversity there. Your kid may be 1 of a few or the only Black kid in their class.

And yet, racial diversity is more than just black and white and, as OP has clearly noted, diversity can also be on other dimensions (LGBTQ). I'd argue that there are schools with more black kids that are less diverse (with a big "D") than Norwood and furthermore that handle diversity and community acceptance (and DEI more broadly) very poorly when compared to Norwood.