How are things going at Walls this year?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Walls would be better off admitting by lottery for 8th graders with a halfway decent GPA. Firing a respected head and dropping most admissions requirements isn't sending the right message to prospective families.

This is by design -
DC thinks that if they send a message that it is not committed, more who MAY be able to afford private will go in that direction.

Why do you think St. John's is in such high demand? At 22K it is a bargain.

[Anonymous]

Admissions Requirements for Walls 2022:

*Final 7th grade report card showing GPA of 3.0 or above.
Interview if applicant selected for interview (based on which criteria? None enumerated at myschool.dc or Walls web site). If 2021 experience is any guide, interview will be student-led and 3-5 minutes via Zoom.
"Lottery status" for...sibling? at-risk? Lottery status categories not spelled out at myschool.dc or Walls web site

Thoughts?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Walls would be better off admitting by lottery for 8th graders with a halfway decent GPA. Firing a respected head and dropping most admissions requirements isn't sending the right message to prospective families.

This is by design -
DC thinks that if they send a message that it is not committed, more who MAY be able to afford private will go in that direction.

Why do you think St. John's is in such high demand? At 22K it is a bargain.

I don't get it. Why deliberately drive off top performers to privates? A high-performing public school system is an asset in any jurisdiction in this country.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Walls would be better off admitting by lottery for 8th graders with a halfway decent GPA. Firing a respected head and dropping most admissions requirements isn't sending the right message to prospective families.

This is by design -
DC thinks that if they send a message that it is not committed, more who MAY be able to afford private will go in that direction.

Why do you think St. John's is in such high demand? At 22K it is a bargain.

wow ... Catholic AND Junior ROTC. What a bargain!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Admissions Requirements for Walls 2022:

*Final 7th grade report card showing GPA of 3.0 or above.
Interview if applicant selected for interview (based on which criteria? None enumerated at myschool.dc or Walls web site). If 2021 experience is any guide, interview will be student-led and 3-5 minutes via Zoom.
"Lottery status" for...sibling? at-risk? Lottery status categories not spelled out at myschool.dc or Walls web site

Thoughts?

I really think this will lead to a lawsuit. The other DC application schools maintained their requirements and it's pretty straightforward. Walls seems to be on some "well if we like you" type of program. We will apply but we are very uneasy about the entire process.

[Anonymous]

This increasingly discretionary admissions process should lead to a lawsuit, with the courts forcing transparency and accountability, thereby embarrassing DCPS, Ferebee and Bowser.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Walls would be better off admitting by lottery for 8th graders with a halfway decent GPA. Firing a respected head and dropping most admissions requirements isn't sending the right message to prospective families.

This is by design -
DC thinks that if they send a message that it is not committed, more who MAY be able to afford private will go in that direction.

Why do you think St. John's is in such high demand? At 22K it is a bargain.

wow ... Catholic AND Junior ROTC. What a bargain!

If you're not OK with Walls letting in more poorly prepared kids are OK with Catholic and co-ed, St. John's offers bang for your buck. Most parochial options in this area are at least 5K more. St. John's student body is only thought to be around half practicing Catholic. Come on, Junior ROTC is optional. Plenty of public schools in VA offer it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This increasingly discretionary admissions process should lead to a lawsuit, with the courts forcing transparency and accountability, thereby embarrassing DCPS, Ferebee and Bowser.

What is the lawsuit? You did not win the lottery?

Ferebee can care less - he is all spin

and his kid is already in

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Walls would be better off admitting by lottery for 8th graders with a halfway decent GPA. Firing a respected head and dropping most admissions requirements isn't sending the right message to prospective families.

This is by design -
DC thinks that if they send a message that it is not committed, more who MAY be able to afford private will go in that direction.

Why do you think St. John's is in such high demand? At 22K it is a bargain.

wow ... Catholic AND Junior ROTC. What a bargain!

If you're not OK with Walls letting in more poorly prepared kids are OK with Catholic and co-ed, St. John's offers bang for your buck. Most parochial options in this area are at least 5K more. St. John's student body is only thought to be around half practicing Catholic. Come on, Junior ROTC is optional. Plenty of public schools in VA offer it.

It’s absurd to me that you think St Johns is better. Laughable. Catholic school student are aggressively mediocre, which is why we left. But good luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Walls would be better off admitting by lottery for 8th graders with a halfway decent GPA. Firing a respected head and dropping most admissions requirements isn't sending the right message to prospective families.

This is by design -
DC thinks that if they send a message that it is not committed, more who MAY be able to afford private will go in that direction.

Why do you think St. John's is in such high demand? At 22K it is a bargain.

wow ... Catholic AND Junior ROTC. What a bargain!

If you're not OK with Walls letting in more poorly prepared kids are OK with Catholic and co-ed, St. John's offers bang for your buck. Most parochial options in this area are at least 5K more. St. John's student body is only thought to be around half practicing Catholic. Come on, Junior ROTC is optional. Plenty of public schools in VA offer it.

It’s absurd to me that you think St Johns is better. Laughable. Catholic school student are aggressively mediocre, which is why we left. But good luck.

So you don’t actually have a student at St. John’s? Do you have a student at Walls?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Walls would be better off admitting by lottery for 8th graders with a halfway decent GPA. Firing a respected head and dropping most admissions requirements isn't sending the right message to prospective families.

This is by design -
DC thinks that if they send a message that it is not committed, more who MAY be able to afford private will go in that direction.

Why do you think St. John's is in such high demand? At 22K it is a bargain.

wow ... Catholic AND Junior ROTC. What a bargain!

If you're not OK with Walls letting in more poorly prepared kids are OK with Catholic and co-ed, St. John's offers bang for your buck. Most parochial options in this area are at least 5K more. St. John's student body is only thought to be around half practicing Catholic. Come on, Junior ROTC is optional. Plenty of public schools in VA offer it.

It’s absurd to me that you think St Johns is better. Laughable. Catholic school student are aggressively mediocre, which is why we left. But good luck.

I'm reserving judgment for my MS students on this one, with Walls becoming more "aggressively mediocre" with each passing year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This increasingly discretionary admissions process should lead to a lawsuit, with the courts forcing transparency and accountability, thereby embarrassing DCPS, Ferebee and Bowser.

What is the lawsuit? You did not win the lottery?

Ferebee can care less - he is all spin

and his kid is already in

Since when has admissions to Walls been marshalled by an open lottery? There's still an interview, opening Walls to accusations of race-based admissions. Not difficult to imagine a lawsuit arriving from the interview component to an application in this day and age. Ever hear about Boston Latin being forced to drop their interview more than 20 years ago, after being sued for using it to cherry pick applicants of color?

[Anonymous]

Increasing diversity =|= lowering standards.

There are plenty of minorities that are smart and gifted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Increasing diversity =|= lowering standards.

There are plenty of minorities that are smart and gifted.

Agreed.

DCPS has nothing for the gifted student, regardless of race.

[Anonymous]

Absolutely, admit as many as possible of them to Walls in 8th grade through an open, highly competitive, fully transparent, fair and thoughtful admissions process coupled with excellent prep for advanced learners at their public schools lower down the chain.