Middle school options

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just to be clear: Is there a place that officially reports out which DCPS middle schools the incoming class at the selective high schools came from? I didn't think there was. But I am surprised someone from the local press or some parent hasn't FOIA'ed that.

Edscape pathways but it won't give an exact number if it's under 10.

https://edscape.dc.gov/page/student-enrollment-pathways

For example, this year's SWW freshman class:

45 from Deal
24 not previously in DCPS or DCPCS
16 from Hardy
11 from Oyster-Adams
10 from John Francis
Less than 10 each from BASIS, Capitol Hill Montessori, Center City - Brightwood, Center City - Capitol Hill, Creative Minds International, DC Prep - Anacostia, District of Columbia International School, E.L. Haynes, Eliot-Hine, Howard University, Ingenuity Prep, Inspired Teaching, Jefferson, KIPP DC - WILL Academy, MacFarland, Stuart-Hobson, Sojourner Truth, Washington Global, Latin - Cooper, Latin

So depressing that the majority of these kids are from a middle school with a fantastic feeder high school (or private!); save some crumbs for the rest of us!

Deal had 8% of all 8th graders in public schools that year but was 30% of the Walls 9th grade class.

Hardy 3% of all 8th graders and 11% of Walls 9th grade class.

O-A was 1% of all 8th graders and 7% of Walls 9th grade class. John Francis basically the same.

It's at least partially driven by geography though. Probably more applications from students who would have the easiest commutes.

And if you go to schools like Latin or BASIS, you're probably not going to bother applying to Walls.

Simple untrue. No shortage of Latin and BASIS 8th graders who want out for a better public-school option. The Latin students want the much larger high-performing peer group found at Walls. The BASIS students want more choices/better extra curriculars, a more normal school and somewhat better facilities.

If that was actually true, and not completely made up, you'd see a substantial number of seats at Latin open up for ninth grade, but you don't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just to be clear: Is there a place that officially reports out which DCPS middle schools the incoming class at the selective high schools came from? I didn't think there was. But I am surprised someone from the local press or some parent hasn't FOIA'ed that.

Edscape pathways but it won't give an exact number if it's under 10.

https://edscape.dc.gov/page/student-enrollment-pathways

For example, this year's SWW freshman class:

45 from Deal
24 not previously in DCPS or DCPCS
16 from Hardy
11 from Oyster-Adams
10 from John Francis
Less than 10 each from BASIS, Capitol Hill Montessori, Center City - Brightwood, Center City - Capitol Hill, Creative Minds International, DC Prep - Anacostia, District of Columbia International School, E.L. Haynes, Eliot-Hine, Howard University, Ingenuity Prep, Inspired Teaching, Jefferson, KIPP DC - WILL Academy, MacFarland, Stuart-Hobson, Sojourner Truth, Washington Global, Latin - Cooper, Latin

So depressing that the majority of these kids are from a middle school with a fantastic feeder high school (or private!); save some crumbs for the rest of us!

Deal had 8% of all 8th graders in public schools that year but was 30% of the Walls 9th grade class.

Hardy 3% of all 8th graders and 11% of Walls 9th grade class.

O-A was 1% of all 8th graders and 7% of Walls 9th grade class. John Francis basically the same.

It's at least partially driven by geography though. Probably more applications from students who would have the easiest commutes.

And if you go to schools like Latin or BASIS, you're probably not going to bother applying to Walls.

Simple untrue. No shortage of Latin and BASIS 8th graders who want out for a better public-school option. The Latin students want the much larger high-performing peer group found at Walls. The BASIS students want more choices/better extra curriculars, a more normal school and somewhat better facilities.

Pathways data does not show this for Latin. Those kids are staying for 9th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just to be clear: Is there a place that officially reports out which DCPS middle schools the incoming class at the selective high schools came from? I didn't think there was. But I am surprised someone from the local press or some parent hasn't FOIA'ed that.

Edscape pathways but it won't give an exact number if it's under 10.

https://edscape.dc.gov/page/student-enrollment-pathways

For example, this year's SWW freshman class:

45 from Deal
24 not previously in DCPS or DCPCS
16 from Hardy
11 from Oyster-Adams
10 from John Francis
Less than 10 each from BASIS, Capitol Hill Montessori, Center City - Brightwood, Center City - Capitol Hill, Creative Minds International, DC Prep - Anacostia, District of Columbia International School, E.L. Haynes, Eliot-Hine, Howard University, Ingenuity Prep, Inspired Teaching, Jefferson, KIPP DC - WILL Academy, MacFarland, Stuart-Hobson, Sojourner Truth, Washington Global, Latin - Cooper, Latin

So depressing that the majority of these kids are from a middle school with a fantastic feeder high school (or private!); save some crumbs for the rest of us!

Deal had 8% of all 8th graders in public schools that year but was 30% of the Walls 9th grade class.

Hardy 3% of all 8th graders and 11% of Walls 9th grade class.

O-A was 1% of all 8th graders and 7% of Walls 9th grade class. John Francis basically the same.

It's at least partially driven by geography though. Probably more applications from students who would have the easiest commutes.

And if you go to schools like Latin or BASIS, you're probably not going to bother applying to Walls.

Simple untrue. No shortage of Latin and BASIS 8th graders who want out for a better public-school option. The Latin students want the much larger high-performing peer group found at Walls. The BASIS students want more choices/better extra curriculars, a more normal school and somewhat better facilities.

Yes - thought Latin is suitable final solution for more families than Basis. Some decamp for private for similar reasons.

We left Basis for private earlier in middle school. We found DC’s time there to be an excellent bridge but were less certain that it was the best spot for high school, even if it would have been viable. Nothing bad to say about the place otherwise.

Pro tip: Unless you are writing a paper on the rise of the third reich and their desired end state you might want to avoid using this phrase. Anywhere. In any communication. Or email. Or sentence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just to be clear: Is there a place that officially reports out which DCPS middle schools the incoming class at the selective high schools came from? I didn't think there was. But I am surprised someone from the local press or some parent hasn't FOIA'ed that.

Edscape pathways but it won't give an exact number if it's under 10.

https://edscape.dc.gov/page/student-enrollment-pathways

For example, this year's SWW freshman class:

45 from Deal
24 not previously in DCPS or DCPCS
16 from Hardy
11 from Oyster-Adams
10 from John Francis
Less than 10 each from BASIS, Capitol Hill Montessori, Center City - Brightwood, Center City - Capitol Hill, Creative Minds International, DC Prep - Anacostia, District of Columbia International School, E.L. Haynes, Eliot-Hine, Howard University, Ingenuity Prep, Inspired Teaching, Jefferson, KIPP DC - WILL Academy, MacFarland, Stuart-Hobson, Sojourner Truth, Washington Global, Latin - Cooper, Latin

So depressing that the majority of these kids are from a middle school with a fantastic feeder high school (or private!); save some crumbs for the rest of us!

Deal had 8% of all 8th graders in public schools that year but was 30% of the Walls 9th grade class.

Hardy 3% of all 8th graders and 11% of Walls 9th grade class.

O-A was 1% of all 8th graders and 7% of Walls 9th grade class. John Francis basically the same.

It's at least partially driven by geography though. Probably more applications from students who would have the easiest commutes.

And if you go to schools like Latin or BASIS, you're probably not going to bother applying to Walls.

Simple untrue. No shortage of Latin and BASIS 8th graders who want out for a better public-school option. The Latin students want the much larger high-performing peer group found at Walls. The BASIS students want more choices/better extra curriculars, a more normal school and somewhat better facilities.

Yes - thought Latin is suitable final solution for more families than Basis. Some decamp for private for similar reasons.

We left Basis for private earlier in middle school. We found DC’s time there to be an excellent bridge but were less certain that it was the best spot for high school, even if it would have been viable. Nothing bad to say about the place otherwise.

Pro tip: Unless you are writing a paper on the rise of the third reich and their desired end state you might want to avoid using this phrase. Anywhere. In any communication. Or email. Or sentence.

Good to know I'm not the only one who thought EEEEEEK! when they saw this phrasing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just to be clear: Is there a place that officially reports out which DCPS middle schools the incoming class at the selective high schools came from? I didn't think there was. But I am surprised someone from the local press or some parent hasn't FOIA'ed that.

Edscape pathways but it won't give an exact number if it's under 10.

https://edscape.dc.gov/page/student-enrollment-pathways

For example, this year's SWW freshman class:

45 from Deal
24 not previously in DCPS or DCPCS
16 from Hardy
11 from Oyster-Adams
10 from John Francis
Less than 10 each from BASIS, Capitol Hill Montessori, Center City - Brightwood, Center City - Capitol Hill, Creative Minds International, DC Prep - Anacostia, District of Columbia International School, E.L. Haynes, Eliot-Hine, Howard University, Ingenuity Prep, Inspired Teaching, Jefferson, KIPP DC - WILL Academy, MacFarland, Stuart-Hobson, Sojourner Truth, Washington Global, Latin - Cooper, Latin

So depressing that the majority of these kids are from a middle school with a fantastic feeder high school (or private!); save some crumbs for the rest of us!

Deal had 8% of all 8th graders in public schools that year but was 30% of the Walls 9th grade class.

Hardy 3% of all 8th graders and 11% of Walls 9th grade class.

O-A was 1% of all 8th graders and 7% of Walls 9th grade class. John Francis basically the same.

It's at least partially driven by geography though. Probably more applications from students who would have the easiest commutes.

And if you go to schools like Latin or BASIS, you're probably not going to bother applying to Walls.

Simple untrue. No shortage of Latin and BASIS 8th graders who want out for a better public-school option. The Latin students want the much larger high-performing peer group found at Walls. The BASIS students want more choices/better extra curriculars, a more normal school and somewhat better facilities.

Yes - thought Latin is suitable final solution for more families than Basis. Some decamp for private for similar reasons.

We left Basis for private earlier in middle school. We found DC’s time there to be an excellent bridge but were less certain that it was the best spot for high school, even if it would have been viable. Nothing bad to say about the place otherwise.

Pro tip: Unless you are writing a paper on the rise of the third reich and their desired end state you might want to avoid using this phrase. Anywhere. In any communication. Or email. Or sentence.

Good to know I'm not the only one who thought EEEEEEK! when they saw this phrasing.

Well, given how some talk about Basis…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We did SH and are now at Banneker. No regrets. But I know folks have real issues with SH.

No regrets because your kid got into Banneker!

Pretty much everyone from the DCUM kids crew at SH this year got into Walls, Banneker or Duke. Most got their first choice of those. The minority who didn’t seemed to share a 7th grade English teacher, so choose wisely.

No, this is not true based on data given.

If you assume Walls is 5 kids for the <10, and count Banneker and Duke, that is only 26% of the class go into application high school.

This is based on the assumption that you even want your kid to go to all 3 schools which is a very, very small number of families if any.

If you just look at Walls and Banneker for kids from SH, it’s about only 14%. Again based on the assumption that families want both schools which some don’t. These numbers are not good.

Data is from SY24-25. Presumably this person is talking about SY25-26 admissions.

And you think 1 year is going to make any significant difference and it still won’t be less than 10 kids to Walls out of about 150 kids?

Best case scenario with 9 kids, that is 6%. Worst case with 2 it’s like 1%

I think you're not doing an appropriate comparison and therefore have no standing to say whether or not PP's anecdote is accurate.

It's probably not that different year to year, but many people are fine with an outcome other than Walls.

I think admissions are getting more competitive every year, not less. Moving to a MS on the assumption that your kid will get into Walls is not very smart.

If the only acceptable outcome is Walls, then sure. I don't think that's the conversation here.

Banneker isn’t a lock either. Duke is very particular and McKinley isn’t for everyone.

Not an application school but DCI does offer some spots for 9th but not many. You can list them also for high school. But going in this late, your kid won’t be in the highest track in lots of subjects and unlikely to get the IB diploma because of the language test.

Plenty of kids in schools outside of DCI speak better Spanish than the kids at DCI. The language test isn’t a problem for them.

It is not just speaking is what you don’t understand. Are they able to read and comprehend novels and books of literature. Are they able to write whole papers in spanish at a high school level.

If not, then no matter if they do speak spanish, they are not going to pass the IB language test which is much harder than the AP.

You seriously think only kids at DCI can read and understand literature in Spanish as well as write papers in Spanish at a high school level? Of course there are kids outside of DCI that can do this and at a higher level than most DCI kids. These are children of Embassy staff and the World Bank. Kids of parents that were university professors in Latin America. You think their kids can’t write a high school paper in Spanish? Please.

New poster here. You’re being ridiculous.

Of course there are kids outside of DCI whose Spanish language skills beyond speaking are at least as good or better than a typical Spanish track DCI kid. It’s a big town with lots of kids with lots of different strengths and experiences.

But cmon, be serious and stop fighting just for the sake of fighting. Take out the native speakers and no, there’s probably not a whole lot of middle school kids who are as advanced in Spanish as your typical DCI Spanish track kid.

THIS. It’s laughable that PP thinks embassy staff and world bank people are the majority of native speakers in this town. They are not and are such a small percentage.

The overwhelming majority of native speakers in this town are uneducated immigrants who do not read or write at anywhere near a high school level. And their kids sure don’t. I would argue that yes the high performing kids in the IB diploma track are better than even many native speakers in this town.

As to non-natives, no contest.

Wow! Is this how DCI families feel about immigrants?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just to be clear: Is there a place that officially reports out which DCPS middle schools the incoming class at the selective high schools came from? I didn't think there was. But I am surprised someone from the local press or some parent hasn't FOIA'ed that.

Edscape pathways but it won't give an exact number if it's under 10.

https://edscape.dc.gov/page/student-enrollment-pathways

For example, this year's SWW freshman class:

45 from Deal
24 not previously in DCPS or DCPCS
16 from Hardy
11 from Oyster-Adams
10 from John Francis
Less than 10 each from BASIS, Capitol Hill Montessori, Center City - Brightwood, Center City - Capitol Hill, Creative Minds International, DC Prep - Anacostia, District of Columbia International School, E.L. Haynes, Eliot-Hine, Howard University, Ingenuity Prep, Inspired Teaching, Jefferson, KIPP DC - WILL Academy, MacFarland, Stuart-Hobson, Sojourner Truth, Washington Global, Latin - Cooper, Latin

So depressing that the majority of these kids are from a middle school with a fantastic feeder high school (or private!); save some crumbs for the rest of us!

Deal had 8% of all 8th graders in public schools that year but was 30% of the Walls 9th grade class.

Hardy 3% of all 8th graders and 11% of Walls 9th grade class.

O-A was 1% of all 8th graders and 7% of Walls 9th grade class. John Francis basically the same.

It's at least partially driven by geography though. Probably more applications from students who would have the easiest commutes.

And if you go to schools like Latin or BASIS, you're probably not going to bother applying to Walls.

Simple untrue. No shortage of Latin and BASIS 8th graders who want out for a better public-school option. The Latin students want the much larger high-performing peer group found at Walls. The BASIS students want more choices/better extra curriculars, a more normal school and somewhat better facilities.

Pathways data does not show this for Latin. Those kids are staying for 9th.

Pathways data show students from both Latin and BASIS matriculating into SWW every single year from SY20-21 to present.

More than 10% of a Latin or BASIS 8th grade class would have to go to SWW for pathways to show a value other than n<10.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We did SH and are now at Banneker. No regrets. But I know folks have real issues with SH.

No regrets because your kid got into Banneker!

Pretty much everyone from the DCUM kids crew at SH this year got into Walls, Banneker or Duke. Most got their first choice of those. The minority who didn’t seemed to share a 7th grade English teacher, so choose wisely.

No, this is not true based on data given.

If you assume Walls is 5 kids for the <10, and count Banneker and Duke, that is only 26% of the class go into application high school.

This is based on the assumption that you even want your kid to go to all 3 schools which is a very, very small number of families if any.

If you just look at Walls and Banneker for kids from SH, it’s about only 14%. Again based on the assumption that families want both schools which some don’t. These numbers are not good.

Data is from SY24-25. Presumably this person is talking about SY25-26 admissions.

And you think 1 year is going to make any significant difference and it still won’t be less than 10 kids to Walls out of about 150 kids?

Best case scenario with 9 kids, that is 6%. Worst case with 2 it’s like 1%

I think you're not doing an appropriate comparison and therefore have no standing to say whether or not PP's anecdote is accurate.

It's probably not that different year to year, but many people are fine with an outcome other than Walls.

I think admissions are getting more competitive every year, not less. Moving to a MS on the assumption that your kid will get into Walls is not very smart.

If the only acceptable outcome is Walls, then sure. I don't think that's the conversation here.

Banneker isn’t a lock either. Duke is very particular and McKinley isn’t for everyone.

Not an application school but DCI does offer some spots for 9th but not many. You can list them also for high school. But going in this late, your kid won’t be in the highest track in lots of subjects and unlikely to get the IB diploma because of the language test.

Plenty of kids in schools outside of DCI speak better Spanish than the kids at DCI. The language test isn’t a problem for them.

It is not just speaking is what you don’t understand. Are they able to read and comprehend novels and books of literature. Are they able to write whole papers in spanish at a high school level.

If not, then no matter if they do speak spanish, they are not going to pass the IB language test which is much harder than the AP.

You seriously think only kids at DCI can read and understand literature in Spanish as well as write papers in Spanish at a high school level? Of course there are kids outside of DCI that can do this and at a higher level than most DCI kids. These are children of Embassy staff and the World Bank. Kids of parents that were university professors in Latin America. You think their kids can’t write a high school paper in Spanish? Please.

New poster here. You’re being ridiculous.

Of course there are kids outside of DCI whose Spanish language skills beyond speaking are at least as good or better than a typical Spanish track DCI kid. It’s a big town with lots of kids with lots of different strengths and experiences.

But cmon, be serious and stop fighting just for the sake of fighting. Take out the native speakers and no, there’s probably not a whole lot of middle school kids who are as advanced in Spanish as your typical DCI Spanish track kid.

THIS. It’s laughable that PP thinks embassy staff and world bank people are the majority of native speakers in this town. They are not and are such a small percentage.

The overwhelming majority of native speakers in this town are uneducated immigrants who do not read or write at anywhere near a high school level. And their kids sure don’t. I would argue that yes the high performing kids in the IB diploma track are better than even many native speakers in this town.

As to non-natives, no contest.

Wow! Is this how DCI families feel about immigrants?

I cannot imagine many DCI families, and I know many, share this (insanely offensive) world view that their non-native speaking kids (by virtue of taking INS in Spanish) are more literate than kids whose entire families are Spanish speakers, whose home life includes radio and books in Spanish, whose TV shows are Spanish, etc.

My kids went to a feeder with a high percent of native Spanish speaking families and this idea that the parents are not literate is so off base.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We did SH and are now at Banneker. No regrets. But I know folks have real issues with SH.

No regrets because your kid got into Banneker!

Pretty much everyone from the DCUM kids crew at SH this year got into Walls, Banneker or Duke. Most got their first choice of those. The minority who didn’t seemed to share a 7th grade English teacher, so choose wisely.

No, this is not true based on data given.

If you assume Walls is 5 kids for the <10, and count Banneker and Duke, that is only 26% of the class go into application high school.

This is based on the assumption that you even want your kid to go to all 3 schools which is a very, very small number of families if any.

If you just look at Walls and Banneker for kids from SH, it’s about only 14%. Again based on the assumption that families want both schools which some don’t. These numbers are not good.

Data is from SY24-25. Presumably this person is talking about SY25-26 admissions.

And you think 1 year is going to make any significant difference and it still won’t be less than 10 kids to Walls out of about 150 kids?

Best case scenario with 9 kids, that is 6%. Worst case with 2 it’s like 1%

I think you're not doing an appropriate comparison and therefore have no standing to say whether or not PP's anecdote is accurate.

It's probably not that different year to year, but many people are fine with an outcome other than Walls.

I think admissions are getting more competitive every year, not less. Moving to a MS on the assumption that your kid will get into Walls is not very smart.

If the only acceptable outcome is Walls, then sure. I don't think that's the conversation here.

Banneker isn’t a lock either. Duke is very particular and McKinley isn’t for everyone.

Not an application school but DCI does offer some spots for 9th but not many. You can list them also for high school. But going in this late, your kid won’t be in the highest track in lots of subjects and unlikely to get the IB diploma because of the language test.

Plenty of kids in schools outside of DCI speak better Spanish than the kids at DCI. The language test isn’t a problem for them.

It is not just speaking is what you don’t understand. Are they able to read and comprehend novels and books of literature. Are they able to write whole papers in spanish at a high school level.

If not, then no matter if they do speak spanish, they are not going to pass the IB language test which is much harder than the AP.

You seriously think only kids at DCI can read and understand literature in Spanish as well as write papers in Spanish at a high school level? Of course there are kids outside of DCI that can do this and at a higher level than most DCI kids. These are children of Embassy staff and the World Bank. Kids of parents that were university professors in Latin America. You think their kids can’t write a high school paper in Spanish? Please.

New poster here. You’re being ridiculous.

Of course there are kids outside of DCI whose Spanish language skills beyond speaking are at least as good or better than a typical Spanish track DCI kid. It’s a big town with lots of kids with lots of different strengths and experiences.

But cmon, be serious and stop fighting just for the sake of fighting. Take out the native speakers and no, there’s probably not a whole lot of middle school kids who are as advanced in Spanish as your typical DCI Spanish track kid.

THIS. It’s laughable that PP thinks embassy staff and world bank people are the majority of native speakers in this town. They are not and are such a small percentage.

The overwhelming majority of native speakers in this town are uneducated immigrants who do not read or write at anywhere near a high school level. And their kids sure don’t. I would argue that yes the high performing kids in the IB diploma track are better than even many native speakers in this town.

As to non-natives, no contest.

Wow! Is this how DCI families feel about immigrants?

I cannot imagine many DCI families, and I know many, share this (insanely offensive) world view that their non-native speaking kids (by virtue of taking INS in Spanish) are more literate than kids whose entire families are Spanish speakers, whose home life includes radio and books in Spanish, whose TV shows are Spanish, etc.

My kids went to a feeder with a high percent of native Spanish speaking families and this idea that the parents are not literate is so off base.

To be fair, at our feeder the majority of native speakers were educated families fluent in English who prioritized spanish. They tend to congregate at the charters.

But if you look at the stats in the city. these families are in the minority. The larger overwhelming majority of spanish natives are ESL uneducated immigrants. They tend to congregate in the DCPS bilingual schools more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We did SH and are now at Banneker. No regrets. But I know folks have real issues with SH.

No regrets because your kid got into Banneker!

Pretty much everyone from the DCUM kids crew at SH this year got into Walls, Banneker or Duke. Most got their first choice of those. The minority who didn’t seemed to share a 7th grade English teacher, so choose wisely.

No, this is not true based on data given.

If you assume Walls is 5 kids for the <10, and count Banneker and Duke, that is only 26% of the class go into application high school.

This is based on the assumption that you even want your kid to go to all 3 schools which is a very, very small number of families if any.

If you just look at Walls and Banneker for kids from SH, it’s about only 14%. Again based on the assumption that families want both schools which some don’t. These numbers are not good.

Data is from SY24-25. Presumably this person is talking about SY25-26 admissions.

And you think 1 year is going to make any significant difference and it still won’t be less than 10 kids to Walls out of about 150 kids?

Best case scenario with 9 kids, that is 6%. Worst case with 2 it’s like 1%

I think you're not doing an appropriate comparison and therefore have no standing to say whether or not PP's anecdote is accurate.

It's probably not that different year to year, but many people are fine with an outcome other than Walls.

I think admissions are getting more competitive every year, not less. Moving to a MS on the assumption that your kid will get into Walls is not very smart.

If the only acceptable outcome is Walls, then sure. I don't think that's the conversation here.

Banneker isn’t a lock either. Duke is very particular and McKinley isn’t for everyone.

Not an application school but DCI does offer some spots for 9th but not many. You can list them also for high school. But going in this late, your kid won’t be in the highest track in lots of subjects and unlikely to get the IB diploma because of the language test.

Plenty of kids in schools outside of DCI speak better Spanish than the kids at DCI. The language test isn’t a problem for them.

It is not just speaking is what you don’t understand. Are they able to read and comprehend novels and books of literature. Are they able to write whole papers in spanish at a high school level.

If not, then no matter if they do speak spanish, they are not going to pass the IB language test which is much harder than the AP.

You seriously think only kids at DCI can read and understand literature in Spanish as well as write papers in Spanish at a high school level? Of course there are kids outside of DCI that can do this and at a higher level than most DCI kids. These are children of Embassy staff and the World Bank. Kids of parents that were university professors in Latin America. You think their kids can’t write a high school paper in Spanish? Please.

New poster here. You’re being ridiculous.

Of course there are kids outside of DCI whose Spanish language skills beyond speaking are at least as good or better than a typical Spanish track DCI kid. It’s a big town with lots of kids with lots of different strengths and experiences.

But cmon, be serious and stop fighting just for the sake of fighting. Take out the native speakers and no, there’s probably not a whole lot of middle school kids who are as advanced in Spanish as your typical DCI Spanish track kid.

THIS. It’s laughable that PP thinks embassy staff and world bank people are the majority of native speakers in this town. They are not and are such a small percentage.

The overwhelming majority of native speakers in this town are uneducated immigrants who do not read or write at anywhere near a high school level. And their kids sure don’t. I would argue that yes the high performing kids in the IB diploma track are better than even many native speakers in this town.

As to non-natives, no contest.

Wow! Is this how DCI families feel about immigrants?

I cannot imagine many DCI families, and I know many, share this (insanely offensive) world view that their non-native speaking kids (by virtue of taking INS in Spanish) are more literate than kids whose entire families are Spanish speakers, whose home life includes radio and books in Spanish, whose TV shows are Spanish, etc.

My kids went to a feeder with a high percent of native Spanish speaking families and this idea that the parents are not literate is so off base.

To be fair, at our feeder the majority of native speakers were educated families fluent in English who prioritized spanish. They tend to congregate at the charters.

But if you look at the stats in the city. these families are in the minority. The larger overwhelming majority of spanish natives are ESL uneducated immigrants. They tend to congregate in the DCPS bilingual schools more.

I think there are some assumptions built in here about Central American immigrants (including undocumented immigrants) being uneducated and uneducated meaning not literate. Both of these assumptions are very flawed.

Living a LMC lifestyle in an English dominant city is in not a mark that you are illiterate in your first language — and this is especially true if you have limited economic opportunities precisely because you are undocumented. Not the population we’re talking about, but ask your Ethiopian cab drivers for their education credentials — sounds like you’d be shocked.

[Anonymous]

We’ve lived in Ward 6 for 30 years and have 2 teenagers, so we know a whole bunch of families with kids at Latin, BASIS, Walls, DCI and various privates for HS. We also know a bunch of families who bailed on DCPS at DCPCS for the burbs along the way, seemingly without regret. The best suburban public schools are obviously much better than anything we have in DC. What’s also clear is that Latin doesn’t offer the same rigor for the highest achievers as Walls, BASIS and arguably, DCI. None of these DC public schools offer a combo of excellent ECs and academics. You can protest all you want and point to data and pathways without changing any of it. If you can swing a private or a move to the burbs, you go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We’ve lived in Ward 6 for 30 years and have 2 teenagers, so we know a whole bunch of families with kids at Latin, BASIS, Walls, DCI and various privates for HS. We also know a bunch of families who bailed on DCPS at DCPCS for the burbs along the way, seemingly without regret. The best suburban public schools are obviously much better than anything we have in DC. What’s also clear is that Latin doesn’t offer the same rigor for the highest achievers as Walls, BASIS and arguably, DCI. None of these DC public schools offer a combo of excellent ECs and academics. You can protest all you want and point to data and pathways without changing any of it. If you can swing a private or a move to the burbs, you go.

As someone who grew up in DC public schools and as a normal, functioning adult, I can’t believe how absolutely spoiled some people are, and passing that entitlement down to their kids. I can’t imagine moving just so my kid can go to a high school with “better EC’s”… or whatever. My kids have been happy in DCPS, if there are things that aren’t perfect (god forbid not enough EC’s to choose from, for example), they adapt and move on. No complaints. I am just glad that we made our kids aware from a young age what real problems actually are- an Ebola outbreak in Congo, civil wars in Sudan, horrific poverty, genocide, starvation, in places like Palestine, Lebanon, Yemen. Not to mention, the kids who live in DC and don’t have any choices with schools and don’t have meals to eat every day. As long as some of you can segregate from these kids, it’ll all be ok, right?

My main point to the people who can’t just pick up and move or pay for private, your kid will be fine in DCPS. Deep breaths. There are much bigger things to worry about- especially with the way things are going in the world right now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We’ve lived in Ward 6 for 30 years and have 2 teenagers, so we know a whole bunch of families with kids at Latin, BASIS, Walls, DCI and various privates for HS. We also know a bunch of families who bailed on DCPS at DCPCS for the burbs along the way, seemingly without regret. The best suburban public schools are obviously much better than anything we have in DC. What’s also clear is that Latin doesn’t offer the same rigor for the highest achievers as Walls, BASIS and arguably, DCI. None of these DC public schools offer a combo of excellent ECs and academics. You can protest all you want and point to data and pathways without changing any of it. If you can swing a private or a move to the burbs, you go.

Comments like this really reveal how much we all live in our own little bubbles.

[Anonymous]

PP is right. Exit your own bubble perhaps, the one mired in relativism. Look around. Our near neighbors--Arlington, MoCo, Fairfax--know how to support large, well-run high schools offering much stronger academics and ECs than anything found in DC public schools. Claiming that we can do just fine without such institutions, and that the best of our public middle and high schools are just as good, is silly.

Things were much better just 5 years ago, when an applicant to Walls needed 2 standardized test scores to apply, a general score (from the DC-CAS, later the PARCC, or PSAT 8/9) and the Walls-specific test. Since 2021, no standardized test scores needed, which is unforgiveable.

I was just looking at IB Diploma offerings in some of the suburban schools to compare them to those at Eastern, Banneker and DCI. There's no comparison. The best public suburban programs are offering at least 2x, even 3 or 4x times the IBD courses on offer here in the District. We're not talking about a quality gap; it's a chasm.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We’ve lived in Ward 6 for 30 years and have 2 teenagers, so we know a whole bunch of families with kids at Latin, BASIS, Walls, DCI and various privates for HS. We also know a bunch of families who bailed on DCPS at DCPCS for the burbs along the way, seemingly without regret. The best suburban public schools are obviously much better than anything we have in DC. What’s also clear is that Latin doesn’t offer the same rigor for the highest achievers as Walls, BASIS and arguably, DCI. None of these DC public schools offer a combo of excellent ECs and academics. You can protest all you want and point to data and pathways without changing any of it. If you can swing a private or a move to the burbs, you go.

As someone who grew up in DC public schools and as a normal, functioning adult, I can’t believe how absolutely spoiled some people are, and passing that entitlement down to their kids. I can’t imagine moving just so my kid can go to a high school with “better EC’s”… or whatever. My kids have been happy in DCPS, if there are things that aren’t perfect (god forbid not enough EC’s to choose from, for example), they adapt and move on. No complaints. I am just glad that we made our kids aware from a young age what real problems actually are- an Ebola outbreak in Congo, civil wars in Sudan, horrific poverty, genocide, starvation, in places like Palestine, Lebanon, Yemen. Not to mention, the kids who live in DC and don’t have any choices with schools and don’t have meals to eat every day. As long as some of you can segregate from these kids, it’ll all be ok, right?

My main point to the people who can’t just pick up and move or pay for private, your kid will be fine in DCPS. Deep breaths. There are much bigger things to worry about- especially with the way things are going in the world right now.

This comment is wearing UMBC gear as we speak