Does your kid love Walls?

[Anonymous]

My son was accepted at his first choice private but also has an interview for Walls coming up. If he is accepted there we are not sure what we will do. He has always been in public school but isn't particularly interested in the all work and no play vibe at Walls. (maybe this isn't accurate?) We can manage tuition for private but would be a bit of a stretch. Would love to hear from happy or unhappy families about Walls and school/life balance.

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

My 9th grade daughter is really enjoying her year there. A lot of it likely is because she is now reunited with a friend group from elementary school (they all went to different middle schools). Academics are reasonably good; but IMO the biggest plus factor at Walls is the well-behaved and mostly diligent/high performing peer group. If your son gets in, I'm sure he will enjoy it (and you will save lots of $$). Good luck!

[Anonymous]

My 11th grader does not love it. The clubs and sports are great fun, and some of the teachers are very good. My kid has made great friends. The workload is a grind.

The best thing Walls has going for it for my kid (beyond friend group) is that there aren't behavioral disruptions in classes; most of the other kids are less studious than my DC, which has been something of a disappointment for my kid. I agree with PP who called the peer group "mostly diligent/high performing." I think DC was expecting "pretty much all diligent/high performing."

[Anonymous]

My 10th grader mostly loves it. They've made a lot of great friends, finds the workload challenging but not overwhelming, and enjoys many ECs. In general, it is a positive, high-performing culture. That said, the building is pretty lousy, and there is a lot of bureaucracy ("because this is the way we've always done it"). Like many places, teachers are hit or miss.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son was accepted at his first choice private but also has an interview for Walls coming up. If he is accepted there we are not sure what we will do. He has always been in public school but isn't particularly interested in the all work and no play vibe at Walls. (maybe this isn't accurate?) We can manage tuition for private but would be a bit of a stretch. Would love to hear from happy or unhappy families about Walls and school/life balance.

Thanks!

Depends on the private.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 10th grader mostly loves it. They've made a lot of great friends, finds the workload challenging but not overwhelming, and enjoys many ECs. In general, it is a positive, high-performing culture. That said, the building is pretty lousy, and there is a lot of bureaucracy ("because this is the way we've always done it"). Like many places, teachers are hit or miss.

Why is the building lousy?

[Anonymous]

The building is cramped and old, and doesn't have basic things like lockers. It is nowhere near the league of Banneker or J-R. And there isn't a campus so all sports teams have to commute every day to where ever they can find practice fields. I know that is a bit of the point of the "without walls" part of the mission, but it gets old if you're having to do it every day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The building is cramped and old, and doesn't have basic things like lockers. It is nowhere near the league of Banneker or J-R. And there isn't a campus so all sports teams have to commute every day to where ever they can find practice fields. I know that is a bit of the point of the "without walls" part of the mission, but it gets old if you're having to do it every day.

It is a nicer (more attractive; high ceilings, lots of windows; exposed brick) building than BASIS, anyway! (Though at BASIS they do have lockers . . . .)

[Anonymous]

My 9th grader loves it! They found their niche right away in terms of academics, clubs, and new friends (some from middle school and some new). They don't have any complaints but it is a grind to always travel for sports. We knew that to be the case before enrolling, though, so it's just something to factor in. Mostly good teachers, some not amazing but we also see that as part of the hs experience. For our child, Walls is a perfect fit and we're glad they are there.

[Anonymous]

My 9th grader is happy! I its much less work than anticipated - I was actually hoping it would be more work so she would learn some better executive functioning skills. She has homework to finish, usually once a week, the rest gets done during the day.

[Anonymous]

My kid who graduated from Walls last year had a great time there. He made many wonderful friends and he was also active in multiple sports and clubs. I marveled at how well he got to know the city as he would metro and bus literally everywhere for sports practice, to visit friends and to attend games. Most teachers ranged from pretty good to excellent but there are a few duds. His counselor was excellent. Overall, I would recommend it.

[Anonymous]

I’m surprised to hear workload isn’t more. For parents of older kids does this change after freshman year or is it pretty manageable all the way through?

[Anonymous]

I heard there’s a basement with a basilisk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The building is cramped and old, and doesn't have basic things like lockers. It is nowhere near the league of Banneker or J-R. And there isn't a campus so all sports teams have to commute every day to where ever they can find practice fields. I know that is a bit of the point of the "without walls" part of the mission, but it gets old if you're having to do it every day.

It is a nicer (more attractive; high ceilings, lots of windows; exposed brick) building than BASIS, anyway! (Though at BASIS they do have lockers . . . .)

And all other DCPS schools they haven’t been renovated yet. I don’t think the building is old at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m surprised to hear workload isn’t more. For parents of older kids does this change after freshman year or is it pretty manageable all the way through?

Kid is a Soph and she has a pretty good workload. Homework most nights(2 hrs) and routinely has to study on the weekends for exams. She has a rigorous EC outside of Walls but it is manageable. It is very much like college in the sense there are not a lot of tests. But the tests count a great deal.