Recent experiences with APEX at WJ - will your high schooler do it?
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Anonymous
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I attended the parent meeting, but I am still unclear about what the benefit of the program is. Couldn't the student just choose the same AP classes independently? Isn't the program in fact more restrictive because you have less choice for which classes you will do?
I would really appreciate if those more familiar with the program could offer the views. Also, for the parents of current 8th graders: will your student do the program and why? Thank you. |
Anonymous
| The benefit is in the cohort in 9th and 10th non-AP courses. Any WJ student can take any AP-level course. |
Anonymous
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Agreed, it's the cohort. My APEX kid graduated in 2020, so didn't experience the larger cohort like there is now, but he's really tight with many of his APEX friends still.
I also think the APEX English classes are stronger in 9th and 10th than regular "honors" English classes, although my basis for comparison there is that my kid took "honors" English in 11th rather than AP Lang and it was a total and complete joke of a class. Four books the entire year. I know he had more than that his 9th and 10th grade years. There's no downside to starting the program -- your kid can always drop out if they don't want to keep going in it. My current 8th grader will definitely do APEX assuming she's admitted based on her brother's experience. |
Anonymous
| Unlike DC's middle school experience, every kid in the class is relatively engaged and wants to do well. Much more reading and analysis than in MS (can't speak to honors) and NSL ignited DC's interest in humanities that DC never had before. |
Anonymous
| I had two that went through APEX. It's what the others said: Your child is in a classroom with a cohort of students who are active/engaged with learning (well, more active/engaged than the general population anyway). There is a reason the WJ folks keep talking about the cohort. With such a large school, it's like a school within a school that helps makes things a little bit smaller/easier. |
Anonymous
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DD is a current APEX freshman, and as the PPs said, yes, you can take any AP class at WJ, but the APEX co-horted courses are the strength of the program. They´re engaged with the material and seem to enjoy a discussion.
It sounds like several kids will not be continuing in APEX because they don´t enjoy the extra workload. |
Anonymous
| Is it hard to earn an A in the Apex classes? |
Anonymous
The APEX Reach cohorted classes for 9th grade are APEX Honors Biology, APEX AP Gov, and APEX Honors English. The teachers are not out to get students and collaborate with them to help them succeed. (That said, the results of a recent test in the biology class came out to a class average of a high C.) If students complete the work and study the material thoroughly, they should be able to earn an A in all 3 of these classes. There is more work in APEX classes than in regular honors. In Biology, more detailed knowledge is expected. In English, an extra novel is expected to be read outside class that matches the quarter theme and an essay addressing features of that outside novel is assigned each quarter (sometimes compare and contrast with the in-class novel). For AP Gov, they extend the AP curriculum with a few more group projects/simulations. APEX students are also expected to take the highest level of Foreign Language they can, and the highest level of math. (So, a typical schedule for students coming out of NB or Tilden may also include Hon Spanish/French 4 and Hon Alg II) Freshman year, students can select their 2 electives pretty freely, unless they are trying to get ahead in a subject, but depending on the APEX pathway that is selected, those elective slots get filled pretty quickly in later years. |
Anonymous
Edit, current NB kids can only make it through French/Spanish II, so starting next year they would be at Hon Spanish/French III. Don't know about Tilden. |
Anonymous
Mine didn't find it hard - because they are top students to begin with. The classes aren't different, just that the kids go faster, deeper, and have interesting and tangential discussions. |
Anonymous
| Do they have to get to language level 6 if they took it throughout middle? Or just to AP? |
Anonymous
| Bumping up now that APEX decisions are out. Can any parents of current 9th graders talk about what the APEX progam is like now, and if there's still a real cohort feel given how much bigger the cohort is now? |
Anonymous
Current 9th Grade parent here. Cohort in Biology, Gov and English creates more engaged and interesting classes for APEX students. The cohort doesn't really have a cohesive social feel this year - between it being larger (so more mixing in the classes) and not having field trips due to Covid. |
Anonymous
Still a cohort feel - and still tons more homework than in MS and what the other kids get. Still getting the extra book a quarter and doing projects and still going deep in Bio. AP NSL is fantastic and has ignited a love of that subject that the kid didn't know existed. APEX English is keeping my kid engaged and actually relatively enjoying the class - not held back by kids who aren't putting in the work or the thought. The teachers are not out to get the students, but yes, Bio especially has a lower grade curve than these kids are used to seeing. My kid is also in other ECs and those seem to be the kids DC hangs with mostly - Band esp. |
Anonymous
| Can someone share what the new requirements are for admission to the apex program? Is there a GPA requirement from middle school and if so does it look at all grades or only 8th grade? Total gpa or only core academic classes? |