DCI middle and high school current experience?

[Anonymous]

Our children attend a DCI feeder school but we aren’t really sure if DCI will be the right pathway for middle and high school. We are attending the open house and trying to do a shadow day, but it would be great to hear about the following from current DCI families (pre—CoVID seems like a lifetime ago):

-academic rigor (math, sciences, ELA, writing, etc)
-specials (languages, music, art, sports, etc)
-socio-emotional support and behavior management (middle school and high school)
-sports (all genders)
-diversity (students, teachers, staff, etc)-we’ve looked at the available data from 2021 on student demographics
-commute (do most kids live nearby…we don’t!)
-technology (how much time are they really on laptops)
-other

Thanks in advance for sharing your current experience at DCI. Please note that we have mixed feelings on our feeder school after many years (teachers have been generally good; admin/other areas identified above are sub-par), so it makes us hesitant about DCI as “more of the same”. Thanks in advance for your help.

[Anonymous]

so many threads already on DCI

[Anonymous]

I think DCI is definitely more of the same. For a middle of the road kid that was decently challenged at their DCI feeder, it’s a good option for the lottery. Lots of activities and programs that some of the other lottery middle schools lack. But particularly if academics are a concern for your child, it will be more of the same. For us, we know happy families there, but we’ll temporarily move to Ward 3 or MoCo once our child hits middle.

[Anonymous]

Sounds like you don't currently attend if you are planning to move when your kid hits middleS - OP asked for current families. I too am interested and yes there have been other chains on this topic but things change from year to year.
For academics at DcI is it beneficial to have a tutor?
We have same thoughts on DCI as OP but will probably attend as other options such as BASIS seem too intense academically.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like you don't currently attend if you are planning to move when your kid hits middleS - OP asked for current families. I too am interested and yes there have been other chains on this topic but things change from year to year.
For academics at DcI is it beneficial to have a tutor?
We have same thoughts on DCI as OP but will probably attend as other options such as BASIS seem too intense academically.

PP here. Yes, that is true. Feel free to disregard!

[Anonymous]

I'd say the science classes have been engaging (I have a middler schooler and pre-IB program high schooler).

Math has been so-so. One child is advanced one year and finds that suitably challenging.

I'd say ELA teachers have been good/quite good.

Sports programs and clubs are pretty strong.

Art and music seem to be enjoyed by my kids.

Both kids are bothered, though, by the number of disinterested students in their classes.

[Anonymous]

A few more: tech use seems to be ok, which had been a huge issue for us.

Plenty of kids do not live nearby.

[Anonymous]

Our additional language classes (Spanish) have been pretty bad, though. Very hard to retain teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd say the science classes have been engaging (I have a middler schooler and pre-IB program high schooler).

Math has been so-so. One child is advanced one year and finds that suitably challenging.

I'd say ELA teachers have been good/quite good.

Sports programs and clubs are pretty strong.

Art and music seem to be enjoyed by my kids.

Both kids are bothered, though, by the number of disinterested students in their classes.

We are a DCI family, with 9th & 6th graders. We are overall happy and plan to continue through to graduation. Your observations are good ones. I think I would flip the science & math comments, for our family. Science has been hit or miss and it depends on the teacher. My 9th grader has 2 different science classes and one is great, the other not so much. 6th grader's is so-so. But MS was positive for my 9th grader. I agree about ELA teachers.

Math has been good for my kids. You are right that being able to advance a year is beneficial.

And my 9th grader has expressed frustration with disinterested students. She is a motivated and engaged student, so she can work around it. My 6th grader is less so and we will have to see how this affects her learning. I wonder how widespread the issue of disinterested students is in other public MS/HS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our additional language classes (Spanish) have been pretty bad, though. Very hard to retain teachers.

Additional language classes (advanced Chinese) haven't been as good as at YuYing. The teacher has been fine, but the most serious families don't seem as motivated as when younger. No native speakers in the 7th and 8th grade classes and nobody else seems to be sending kids to summer immersion, which DCI doesn't offer (really too bad). We're going with Concordia this summer.

[Anonymous]

You'd think that DCI would take language partial immersion a lot more seriously. I hear similar stories about "advanced" French. I don't know about advanced Spanish. DCI just isn't MoCo.

[Anonymous]

I have one child in middle school. She would prefer not to stay for high school. I don't have answers for all your questions, but here are some:

-academic rigor (math, sciences, ELA, writing, etc)
Varies a lot by class/teacher. No homework and generally no assignments that require memorization for a kid who is bright (so, they are learning, but not the way I hear BASIS students are required to memorize things)

Math and science have been disappointing.

-specials (languages, music, art, sports, etc)
My athletic kid hates PE. Music is only available to kids who are taking electives in Spanish. Language response would depend on which language you're coming in with. I think kids coming from Yu Ying with decent Chinese are generally happy. I've seen in DCUM that the Spanish program is better than the others, but can't speak to that.

-socio-emotional support and behavior management (middle school and high school)
It's middle school and chaotic, but I hear that from kids at other middle schools too. Don't know much beyond that. My kid complains about a lot of things, but not about other students
-diversity (students, teachers, staff, etc)-we’ve looked at the available data from 2021 on student demographics
I get a sense that the Spanish-speaking kids are the cool demographic. I also get a sense that the school is truly diverse (lots of different kinds of kids)
-commute (do most kids live nearby…we don’t!)
There is always a crowd of kids coming from Takoma Metro station in the mornings, so no, I don't think most kids live nearby.
-technology (how much time are they really on laptops)
Constantly. I hate it.
-other
I have kids at two different charters, and I feel like I know much less about DCI than about the other one. It's a large school, my kid is fine, I wish academics were better, but it's acceptable, to get through middle school.

[Anonymous]

Interesting. You sound like a parent who never got off the BASIS wait list for a math oriented student. Thanks for all the detail.

How do you cope with the lack of challenge and homework and the fact that the kid hates DCI (if I got that right). You supplement in core subjects? Language?

So you don't plan to stay for high school? You're shooting for...Walls? Privates? Planning to move from DC? We're in a DCI feeder, wondering if we should jump to BASIS or one of the Latins if we have the chance this year.

[Anonymous]

-academic rigor (math, sciences, ELA, writing, etc)

This depends on your particular child. An average student would find the work rigorous, an advanced student (like beyond one grade level) probably not. There's very little homework and not many students to push the academics.

-specials (languages, music, art, sports, etc)

This varies so much depending on the language. Actual specials classes have been more of a miss than the extra curricular activities.

-socio-emotional support and behavior management (middle school and high school)

Behavior management is a mess, and the school is large, so it's an issue.

-sports (all genders)

They do offer a lot of sports and club options! This is the best thing about the school imo.

-diversity (students, teachers, staff, etc)-we’ve looked at the available data from 2021 on student demographics

Very diverse in all senses.

-commute (do most kids live nearby…we don’t!)

Kids come from everywhere is what it seems like.

-technology (how much time are they really on laptops)

Depends on the class, but it's probably too much and likely not good for their eyes and development.

-other

lots of staff vacancies! Lots of people leave midyear as well, and your kid might be without an actual teacher. You might get lucky and you might be unlucky.

[Anonymous]

My kid is an 8th grader and they like it there. In advanced math and Spanish. Has had consistently great experiences in science (their favorite subject).

Also just heard that college admissions news is that kids have already gotten into Smith, Harvard, and Yale and lots of other early decision admits!