Blair CAP vs. Whitman

[Anonymous]

I have been debating whether DC should go to Blair CAP or Whitman (our home school). DC is currently at Eastern Humanities and got accepted at Blair CAP. Whitman is our zoned high school.

DC is neither a super-strong humanities kid nor a super-strong STEM kid. DC is relatively well-rounded. My guess is DC is probably average in his class at Eastern Humanities. DC is a good athlete.

1. How heavy is CAP's workload? I am worried that the humanities and media workload would prevent DC from participating in activities/sports.
2. How difficult is grading at Blair CAP? Humanities grading can be subjective I believe.
3. Does Blair CAP carry much weight with colleges?

For all the extra work DC will be doing, is it worth it?? Or should DC just go to Whitman, close to home? Thank you!

[Anonymous]

I thought Blair CAP was only for DCC kids.

[Anonymous]

You move to the area for good schools. Stay at Whitman.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I thought Blair CAP was only for DCC kids.

It’s for students attend a DCC middle school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have been debating whether DC should go to Blair CAP or Whitman (our home school). DC is currently at Eastern Humanities and got accepted at Blair CAP. Whitman is our zoned high school.

DC is neither a super-strong humanities kid nor a super-strong STEM kid. DC is relatively well-rounded. My guess is DC is probably average in his class at Eastern Humanities. DC is a good athlete.

1. How heavy is CAP's workload? I am worried that the humanities and media workload would prevent DC from participating in activities/sports.
2. How difficult is grading at Blair CAP? Humanities grading can be subjective I believe.
3. Does Blair CAP carry much weight with colleges?

For all the extra work DC will be doing, is it worth it?? Or should DC just go to Whitman, close to home? Thank you!

How many close friends from Eastern, and where are they going?
How passionate is DC about the CAP program?
What friends do they have at home school? How involved do they want to be with school clubs and events? Close to home is easier, but a magnet program is worth the distance if DC is strongly interested.
I wouldn’t make a decision on anticipated grades or guesses about what colleges will think in 4 years. Your DC can start at CAP, and then return to home school if they don’t like it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I thought Blair CAP was only for DCC kids.

That’s the beauty of going to a DCC MS, it opens up more opportunities

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have been debating whether DC should go to Blair CAP or Whitman (our home school). DC is currently at Eastern Humanities and got accepted at Blair CAP. Whitman is our zoned high school.

DC is neither a super-strong humanities kid nor a super-strong STEM kid. DC is relatively well-rounded. My guess is DC is probably average in his class at Eastern Humanities. DC is a good athlete.

1. How heavy is CAP's workload? I am worried that the humanities and media workload would prevent DC from participating in activities/sports.
2. How difficult is grading at Blair CAP? Humanities grading can be subjective I believe.
3. Does Blair CAP carry much weight with colleges?

For all the extra work DC will be doing, is it worth it?? Or should DC just go to Whitman, close to home? Thank you!

How many close friends from Eastern, and where are they going?
How passionate is DC about the CAP program?
What friends do they have at home school? How involved do they want to be with school clubs and events? Close to home is easier, but a magnet program is worth the distance if DC is strongly interested.
I wouldn’t make a decision on anticipated grades or guesses about what colleges will think in 4 years. Your DC can start at CAP, and then return to home school if they don’t like it.

Thanks so much! DC has some good friends from Eastern. Some are returning to their zoned high school. Some are going to Blair STEM and Richard Montgomery IB. Some are going to CAP. He is somewhat interested in CAP since it is similar to what he has been doing at Eastern Humanities. He wants to go to CAP mainly because it is his comfort zone and a few friends will be going. As simple as that for a 13-year-old.

[Anonymous]

I don’t know anything about Whitman, but my daughter is in CAP. She has about two hours of homework every night. She has straight As, but does need to work at it (she got As easily through middle school so I think it was a bit of a shock for her in 9th grade).

Maybe this is just her friends, but it seems like the kids that like CAP the most are quirky, proud of being smart, language and drama oriented kids. Lots of theater kids, into quirky fashion, love reading and talking about books and other language related topics, and social political debating.

Just some thoughts, though not necessarily particular to your question!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know anything about Whitman, but my daughter is in CAP. She has about two hours of homework every night. She has straight As, but does need to work at it (she got As easily through middle school so I think it was a bit of a shock for her in 9th grade).

Maybe this is just her friends, but it seems like the kids that like CAP the most are quirky, proud of being smart, language and drama oriented kids. Lots of theater kids, into quirky fashion, love reading and talking about books and other language related topics, and social political debating.

Just some thoughts, though not necessarily particular to your question!

Thanks a lot for sharing! My son is currently at Eastern and he complains about the amount of homework at Eastern. He struggles to get A's in English. But he wants to go to CAP because his friends are going. That is what I worry about. Homework might keep him away from sports and other activities, and he might still not be able to get good grades, plus the commute....then why bother? In addition, the qualities you described about your daughter and her friends are awesome. But that is not quite who my child is. He is not drama or language-oriented at all.... My main "concern" about CAP is that it might be time-consuming (commute, homework) and he might still not do that well from a GPA perspective.....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know anything about Whitman, but my daughter is in CAP. She has about two hours of homework every night. She has straight As, but does need to work at it (she got As easily through middle school so I think it was a bit of a shock for her in 9th grade).

Maybe this is just her friends, but it seems like the kids that like CAP the most are quirky, proud of being smart, language and drama oriented kids. Lots of theater kids, into quirky fashion, love reading and talking about books and other language related topics, and social political debating.

Just some thoughts, though not necessarily particular to your question!

Thanks a lot for sharing! My son is currently at Eastern and he complains about the amount of homework at Eastern. He struggles to get A's in English. But he wants to go to CAP because his friends are going. That is what I worry about. Homework might keep him away from sports and other activities, and he might still not be able to get good grades, plus the commute....then why bother? In addition, the qualities you described about your daughter and her friends are awesome. But that is not quite who my child is. He is not drama or language-oriented at all.... My main "concern" about CAP is that it might be time-consuming (commute, homework) and he might still not do that well from a GPA perspective.....

It sounds like you answered your own question.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know anything about Whitman, but my daughter is in CAP. She has about two hours of homework every night. She has straight As, but does need to work at it (she got As easily through middle school so I think it was a bit of a shock for her in 9th grade).

Maybe this is just her friends, but it seems like the kids that like CAP the most are quirky, proud of being smart, language and drama oriented kids. Lots of theater kids, into quirky fashion, love reading and talking about books and other language related topics, and social political debating.

Just some thoughts, though not necessarily particular to your question!

Thanks a lot for sharing! My son is currently at Eastern and he complains about the amount of homework at Eastern. He struggles to get A's in English. But he wants to go to CAP because his friends are going. That is what I worry about. Homework might keep him away from sports and other activities, and he might still not be able to get good grades, plus the commute....then why bother? In addition, the qualities you described about your daughter and her friends are awesome. But that is not quite who my child is. He is not drama or language-oriented at all.... My main "concern" about CAP is that it might be time-consuming (commute, homework) and he might still not do that well from a GPA perspective.....

It sounds like you answered your own question.

True...I guess I did. My child really wants to go to CAP. Being with his friends is the biggest motivator, and I am trying to remind him about what he didn't enjoy much at Eastern. Right now I am fighting an uphill battle, and I am trying to understand his perspective and trying to appreciate CAP more. But I think logically Whitman should be the better choice....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know anything about Whitman, but my daughter is in CAP. She has about two hours of homework every night. She has straight As, but does need to work at it (she got As easily through middle school so I think it was a bit of a shock for her in 9th grade).

Maybe this is just her friends, but it seems like the kids that like CAP the most are quirky, proud of being smart, language and drama oriented kids. Lots of theater kids, into quirky fashion, love reading and talking about books and other language related topics, and social political debating.

Just some thoughts, though not necessarily particular to your question!

Thanks a lot for sharing! My son is currently at Eastern and he complains about the amount of homework at Eastern. He struggles to get A's in English. But he wants to go to CAP because his friends are going. That is what I worry about. Homework might keep him away from sports and other activities, and he might still not be able to get good grades, plus the commute....then why bother? In addition, the qualities you described about your daughter and her friends are awesome. But that is not quite who my child is. He is not drama or language-oriented at all.... My main "concern" about CAP is that it might be time-consuming (commute, homework) and he might still not do that well from a GPA perspective.....

I just want to state that there are kids at CAP definitely into sports and on their teams. It is a lot of work, but my kid wanted to go to Blair after making friends at Eastern. Still, Whitman is an excellent choice. I wouldn’t let GPA play a role in your decision making because he will like take tough classes at either school.

[Anonymous]

You need to factor in commute too. If your kid isn't passionate about the CAP program, and sounds like a good fit for Whitman, why spend that much more time commuting, especially when the homework load goes up. You can take plenty of challenging humanities and other classes at Whitman if that's what he wants to do.

My DC entered Whitman in 9th from a private school and knew only a few kids from sports and other activities and found the social transition very easy. Does your DC still have friends from ES or the neighborhood?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know anything about Whitman, but my daughter is in CAP. She has about two hours of homework every night. She has straight As, but does need to work at it (she got As easily through middle school so I think it was a bit of a shock for her in 9th grade).

Maybe this is just her friends, but it seems like the kids that like CAP the most are quirky, proud of being smart, language and drama oriented kids. Lots of theater kids, into quirky fashion, love reading and talking about books and other language related topics, and social political debating.

Just some thoughts, though not necessarily particular to your question!

Thanks a lot for sharing! My son is currently at Eastern and he complains about the amount of homework at Eastern. He struggles to get A's in English. But he wants to go to CAP because his friends are going. That is what I worry about. Homework might keep him away from sports and other activities, and he might still not be able to get good grades, plus the commute....then why bother? In addition, the qualities you described about your daughter and her friends are awesome. But that is not quite who my child is. He is not drama or language-oriented at all.... My main "concern" about CAP is that it might be time-consuming (commute, homework) and he might still not do that well from a GPA perspective.....

I have a CAP student who participates in 2 sports without issues to school work or social life. No commuting though and every child is different.

Since your son is at Eastern, then it should be an easy transition to Blair CAP. However, if he is not naturally adept in English and writing overall, then you might want to weigh your considerations. CAP is geared for the liberal arts and social sciences types of students. If that is not what he is inclined or geared towards, then it might not be his cup of tea.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know anything about Whitman, but my daughter is in CAP. She has about two hours of homework every night. She has straight As, but does need to work at it (she got As easily through middle school so I think it was a bit of a shock for her in 9th grade).

Maybe this is just her friends, but it seems like the kids that like CAP the most are quirky, proud of being smart, language and drama oriented kids. Lots of theater kids, into quirky fashion, love reading and talking about books and other language related topics, and social political debating.

Just some thoughts, though not necessarily particular to your question!

Thanks a lot for sharing! My son is currently at Eastern and he complains about the amount of homework at Eastern. He struggles to get A's in English. But he wants to go to CAP because his friends are going. That is what I worry about. Homework might keep him away from sports and other activities, and he might still not be able to get good grades, plus the commute....then why bother? In addition, the qualities you described about your daughter and her friends are awesome. But that is not quite who my child is. He is not drama or language-oriented at all.... My main "concern" about CAP is that it might be time-consuming (commute, homework) and he might still not do that well from a GPA perspective.....

I just want to state that there are kids at CAP definitely into sports and on their teams. It is a lot of work, but my kid wanted to go to Blair after making friends at Eastern. Still, Whitman is an excellent choice. I wouldn’t let GPA play a role in your decision making because he will like take tough classes at either school.

Good point on GPA.... I guess he was frustrated for two years for not getting A's in English (6th and 7th grade), and that is impacting my decision making process as well.