Jackson Reed Biomedical Academy

[Anonymous]

Does anyone have any recent experience with JR's biomedical academy? Would be interested to hear about the quality of the teaching and whether kids seem to enjoy it.

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

People seem very polarised about this academy. There is either love or hate for it. I’m not exactly sure what that means

[Anonymous]

My kid is in it. 9th grade. Teacher seems meh. Hard to get a good grade. Not sure they will stay in it next year.

[Anonymous]

In our experience, people considering the JR biomedical academy (aka Academy of Health Sciences) should think twice. Unfortunately, the teacher in charge of that academy has a history of questionable grading practices and playing favorites. Perfectly capable high-performing students who love the content continue to drop out as a result of her demoralizing behavior. Grading is largely mysterious and subjective, and most grades are not entered into Aspen until the very end of each term. There’s almost no feedback provided in Canvas, so students have no idea where they stand until it’s too late. Asking questions or challenging a grade is a risky proposition, usually entailing some form of retribution down the road. All of this is well-known among students and has much to do with their overall feeling about their time in this academy.

My student dropped JR’s biomed academy due to these circumstances, despite an ongoing interest in the content, and is far from the only one. There are plenty of other meaningful ways to demonstrate interest in this area, including AP Biology and internships, that don’t take an unnecessary mental health toll. This situation has been going on for years, parents have voiced concerns, and yet the problems persist.

If you choose the JR biomedical academy, please understand these risks. Unfortunately, in our experience, it’s not a matter of learning and enjoying the material.

[Anonymous]

The above seems a fairly accurate description

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The above seems a fairly accurate description

I hate Aspen grading. They need to go back to regular paper-based assignments that are returned to students after they are graded. Feedback is actually a core part of teaching, not optional!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The above seems a fairly accurate description

I hate Aspen grading. They need to go back to regular paper-based assignments that are returned to students after they are graded. Feedback is actually a core part of teaching, not optional!

Lots of teachers still use paper base assignments and return those to students. Aspen allows grades to be electronically updated and calculated immediately. I actually don’t think you’d like going back to the old system where grades were calculated by hand.

[Anonymous]

OP here.

Thank you for the very thoughtful and detailed reply. This is very discouraging to hear, but incredibly helpful perspective.

[Anonymous]

The lead Biomed teacher is also the head of science at JR. She works hard but always seems to be juggling a million things

[Anonymous]

The teachers in the Engineering academy vary a lot in quality so not sure it is a better choice

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The lead Biomed teacher is also the head of science at JR. She works hard but always seems to be juggling a million things

Actually, she is not the department chair of science at JR. She is the lead teacher of the biomedical academy, and perhaps the only teacher if students move beyond level 1 in that academy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The above seems a fairly accurate description

I hate Aspen grading. They need to go back to regular paper-based assignments that are returned to students after they are graded. Feedback is actually a core part of teaching, not optional!

Lots of teachers still use paper base assignments and return those to students. Aspen allows grades to be electronically updated and calculated immediately. I actually don’t think you’d like going back to the old system where grades were calculated by hand.

The key is work actually being returned to students so they know what they need to improve. I feel like that was better understood before everything moved online.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The above seems a fairly accurate description

I hate Aspen grading. They need to go back to regular paper-based assignments that are returned to students after they are graded. Feedback is actually a core part of teaching, not optional!

Lots of teachers still use paper base assignments and return those to students. Aspen allows grades to be electronically updated and calculated immediately. I actually don’t think you’d like going back to the old system where grades were calculated by hand.

The key is work actually being returned to students so they know what they need to improve. I feel like that was better understood before everything moved online.

I had teachers who never turned back paper assignments when I was in HS. This is not about technology; it’s about teacher quality. Most teachers grade in a timely fashion; some don’t.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The above seems a fairly accurate description

I hate Aspen grading. They need to go back to regular paper-based assignments that are returned to students after they are graded. Feedback is actually a core part of teaching, not optional!

Agreed!! How did we go so wrong with this? Without the marked assignments returned with feedback, it’s just a game of gotcha! Public school has gotten so terrible.

[Anonymous]

Biomed is not its own Academy but one of three pathways within the Scimatech Academy. The other 2 are Engineering and Information Technology. All of these names have changed slightly over the last several years as several of the academies have been going through a process of registering with the National Academy Foundation. Unfortunately all three Scimatech pathways have changed the requirements about what is required for completion every single year for at least four years in a row. They are constantly adding additional requirements for more field trips (which require the student to miss all their classes for a day and make up work on their own time), more certifications, more work-based learning, more clubs. It is maddening to have the bar constantly moved up and my own kid who is there now is thinking of quitting because of it. This student has other school activities that would have to be sacrificed to continue to make it work. And the Academy Director, who is wonderful in many ways, has a group of students she deems her leadership who she saves all the perks for so they aren’t available to all adademy students. In the most recent years it seems to be more about preparing ever more programming materials, perhaps for the professional benefit of the Director, then really serving the needs of HS students that should be able to participate in an academy without sacrificing time to participate in every other HS activity and elective.