DCI middle school

[Anonymous]

THEN DON'T GO TO DCI. Just stop cackling about how the school and its model should be changed for YOU and YOUR SNOWFLAKE.

[Anonymous]

19:59, many of the posters are engaging in a discussion. We might disagree or agree with the points other posters are making. That's the fun of the forum. I haven't made up my mind about DCI yet so I happen to find the opinions helpful.

I think you should just skip the thread if you find the exchanges boring or irritating.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:THEN DON'T GO TO DCI. Just stop cackling about how the school and its model should be changed for YOU and YOUR SNOWFLAKE.

Love my mother, drunk or sober. Isn't the IB curriculum all about critical thinking and inquiry-based learning? That aside, those of us in the feeder schools already "go" to DCI - it positions itself as a continuation of the curricula at 5 schools. We are stakeholders and enough of us are very concerned about the screen time issue, and because we are not being engaged by the DCI administration, there seems to be no other outlet to express ourselves than here on DCUM. Speaking for myself, it is not the best tool but it has been at least marginally helpful, so I would like to politely suggest a moratorium on comments such as the one above, which really only serve as a game of whack-a-mole, since we keep coming back.

Regarding the suggestion that our concerns serve only our special snowflakes, I would like to add that the children least represented on this forum are actually at highest risk from the detrimental effects of so much screen time. I will not list the well-regarded studies because they are so voluminous. As someone who works daily with underserved children and families, I am completely taken aback by this approach by the administration. Honestly, I keep thinking I will wake up one morning to find it will all have been a weird dream.

[Anonymous]

20:37 I couldn't agree more. I also work with underserved families and I was also surprised by the approach and justifications made to support this model.

[Anonymous]

bullshit. the administration has engaged with families and continues to do so. stop your whinging. Your kids don't go there yet.

[Anonymous]

00:15 please share how the administration has engaged with families.

[Anonymous]

Please share how the administration has shared with families from feeder schools in a meaningful way (besides generic presentations.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:bullshit. the administration has engaged with families and continues to do so. stop your whinging. Your kids don't go there yet.

Yes, and we are trying to determine if our kids WILL go there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:bullshit. the administration has engaged with families and continues to do so. stop your whinging. Your kids don't go there yet.

In a feeder and have only seen Show and Tell presentations. All inquiries regarding tech get shut down pretty quickly. Found admin to be pretty defensive. I am also disappointed my feeder school told me to they have no say in the matter. Please don't tell me just to move schools. You know darn well how hard that is to do in DC. And NO, I can't move to the burbs (serious implications regarding custody and finances).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:bullshit. the administration has engaged with families and continues to do so. stop your whinging. Your kids don't go there yet.

Yes, and we are trying to determine if our kids WILL go there.

DC is currently in 4th grade feeder. Along with a couple other families I know, we played the Latin lottery. Yeah, yeah, I know. Our chances without sibling preference is are 1:1000. However, I think it speaks volumes when several families who were initially excited about DCI are currently looking to jump ship in the 5th grade. Husband and I have not figured out what we will do for 6th grade if don't get excepted into Latin. We will probably try for Latin again in the 1:3000 chance and then resign ourselves to 6th grade DCI. If DCI is as bad as we predict based on these boards, and lack of better information from DCI proper, DC will begin the process of 7th grade private school applications. No, we are not moving to the suburbs, for what we can afford the schools in PGCO and MOCO are not much better with larger class sizes. And, FFX and Loudon is just too damn far. SMH

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:THEN DON'T GO TO DCI. Just stop cackling about how the school and its model should be changed for YOU and YOUR SNOWFLAKE.

Love my mother, drunk or sober. Isn't the IB curriculum all about critical thinking and inquiry-based learning? That aside, those of us in the feeder schools already "go" to DCI - it positions itself as a continuation of the curricula at 5 schools. We are stakeholders and enough of us are very concerned about the screen time issue, and because we are not being engaged by the DCI administration, there seems to be no other outlet to express ourselves than here on DCUM. Speaking for myself, it is not the best tool but it has been at least marginally helpful, so I would like to politely suggest a moratorium on comments such as the one above, which really only serve as a game of whack-a-mole, since we keep coming back.

Regarding the suggestion that our concerns serve only our special snowflakes, I would like to add that the children least represented on this forum are actually at highest risk from the detrimental effects of so much screen time. I will not list the well-regarded studies because they are so voluminous. As someone who works daily with underserved children and families, I am completely taken aback by this approach by the administration. Honestly, I keep thinking I will wake up one morning to find it will all have been a weird dream.

This.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:bullshit. the administration has engaged with families and continues to do so. stop your whinging. Your kids don't go there yet.

Yes, and we are trying to determine if our kids WILL go there.

DC is currently in 4th grade feeder. Along with a couple other families I know, we played the Latin lottery. Yeah, yeah, I know. Our chances without sibling preference is are 1:1000. However, I think it speaks volumes when several families who were initially excited about DCI are currently looking to jump ship in the 5th grade. Husband and I have not figured out what we will do for 6th grade if don't get excepted into Latin. We will probably try for Latin again in the 1:3000 chance and then resign ourselves to 6th grade DCI. If DCI is as bad as we predict based on these boards, and lack of better information from DCI proper, DC will begin the process of 7th grade private school applications. No, we are not moving to the suburbs, for what we can afford the schools in PGCO and MOCO are not much better with larger class sizes. And, FFX and Loudon is just too damn far. SMH

It's funny, but based on what I read on these boards I come away thinking that DCI sounds pretty great, with some things that need working out, like any new school. Just to show that evidence can be read (and filtered) in different ways by different people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:bullshit. the administration has engaged with families and continues to do so. stop your whinging. Your kids don't go there yet.

Yes, and we are trying to determine if our kids WILL go there.

DC is currently in 4th grade feeder. Along with a couple other families I know, we played the Latin lottery. Yeah, yeah, I know. Our chances without sibling preference is are 1:1000. However, I think it speaks volumes when several families who were initially excited about DCI are currently looking to jump ship in the 5th grade. Husband and I have not figured out what we will do for 6th grade if don't get excepted into Latin. We will probably try for Latin again in the 1:3000 chance and then resign ourselves to 6th grade DCI. If DCI is as bad as we predict based on these boards, and lack of better information from DCI proper, DC will begin the process of 7th grade private school applications. No, we are not moving to the suburbs, for what we can afford the schools in PGCO and MOCO are not much better with larger class sizes. And, FFX and Loudon is just too damn far. SMH

It's funny, but based on what I read on these boards I come away thinking that DCI sounds pretty great, with some things that need working out, like any new school. Just to show that evidence can be read (and filtered) in different ways by different people.

Agree with the above. We are excited about DCI and confident it will be a great school. Kids are K and 2, though, so there's less urgency for us than 4th and 5th grade parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I, too, am concerned about DCI' s focus on technology (which does not appear evidence-based). In fact, there is some evidence that suggests that the best way to learn is to read a real book and to handwrite real notes. My DC is at a feeder school and we were initially excited because of the possibility to continue a bilingual education and attend an IB school. We will wait and see how DCI handles parents' valid concerns.

I agree with this. We may not choose to go there based on the focus on technology for the above reasons. We are going to wait and see. Heavy reliance on tech hinders learning, is inappropriate, and frankly, unimaginative in my option. There is more and more research that the best way to learn is reading real books (you process differently than on a screen) and actual handwriting. Search the New York Times archives for articles on this. I see this as a misguided attempt similar to the attempt to widely distribute laptops in Africa, a program (with very different objectives) that failed miserably, but was supported by the tech industry with misaligned objectives with the communities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I, too, am concerned about DCI' s focus on technology (which does not appear evidence-based). In fact, there is some evidence that suggests that the best way to learn is to read a real book and to handwrite real notes. My DC is at a feeder school and we were initially excited because of the possibility to continue a bilingual education and attend an IB school. We will wait and see how DCI handles parents' valid concerns.

I agree with this. We may not choose to go there based on the focus on technology for the above reasons. We are going to wait and see. Heavy reliance on tech hinders learning, is inappropriate, and frankly, unimaginative in my option. There is more and more research that the best way to learn is reading real books (you process differently than on a screen) and actual handwriting. Search the New York Times archives for articles on this. I see this as a misguided attempt similar to the attempt to widely distribute laptops in Africa, a program (with very different objectives) that failed miserably, but was supported by the tech industry with misaligned objectives with the communities.

By the way, a few DCI parents have weighed in that their kids do most of the reading on paper--either buying books, getting them from the library, or printing out materials. Handwriting is another story altogether, as many schools nationwide, not just the tech-heavy ones, are opting to teach keyboarding versus cursive.