How are things going at Walls this year?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Increasing diversity =|= lowering standards.

There are plenty of minorities that are smart and gifted.

Agreed.

DCPS has nothing for the gifted student, regardless of race.

Nothing is an exaggeration. Our DCPS ES offers upper grades math instruction up to 2 years ahead of the curriculum, but only because pushy UMC parents have fought for it for years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Walls would be better off admitting by lottery for 8th graders with a halfway decent GPA. Firing a respected head and dropping most admissions requirements isn't sending the right message to prospective families.

This is by design -
DC thinks that if they send a message that it is not committed, more who MAY be able to afford private will go in that direction.

Why do you think St. John's is in such high demand? At 22K it is a bargain.

wow ... Catholic AND Junior ROTC. What a bargain!

If you're not OK with Walls letting in more poorly prepared kids are OK with Catholic and co-ed, St. John's offers bang for your buck. Most parochial options in this area are at least 5K more. St. John's student body is only thought to be around half practicing Catholic. Come on, Junior ROTC is optional. Plenty of public schools in VA offer it.

It’s absurd to me that you think St Johns is better. Laughable. Catholic school student are aggressively mediocre, which is why we left. But good luck.

Aggressively bigoted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Walls would be better off admitting by lottery for 8th graders with a halfway decent GPA. Firing a respected head and dropping most admissions requirements isn't sending the right message to prospective families.

This is by design -
DC thinks that if they send a message that it is not committed, more who MAY be able to afford private will go in that direction.

Why do you think St. John's is in such high demand? At 22K it is a bargain.

wow ... Catholic AND Junior ROTC. What a bargain!

If you're not OK with Walls letting in more poorly prepared kids are OK with Catholic and co-ed, St. John's offers bang for your buck. Most parochial options in this area are at least 5K more. St. John's student body is only thought to be around half practicing Catholic. Come on, Junior ROTC is optional. Plenty of public schools in VA offer it.

It’s absurd to me that you think St Johns is better. Laughable. Catholic school student are aggressively mediocre, which is why we left. But good luck.

Aggressively bigoted.

No my kid needed high achieving peers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Walls would be better off admitting by lottery for 8th graders with a halfway decent GPA. Firing a respected head and dropping most admissions requirements isn't sending the right message to prospective families.

This is by design -
DC thinks that if they send a message that it is not committed, more who MAY be able to afford private will go in that direction.

Why do you think St. John's is in such high demand? At 22K it is a bargain.

wow ... Catholic AND Junior ROTC. What a bargain!

Agreed. St. John’s has a lot to be desired IMO. Instruction is far better in DCPS public (at least Wilson) without the Trump loyalist families and 1950’s era Catholic vibe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Walls would be better off admitting by lottery for 8th graders with a halfway decent GPA. Firing a respected head and dropping most admissions requirements isn't sending the right message to prospective families.

This is by design -
DC thinks that if they send a message that it is not committed, more who MAY be able to afford private will go in that direction.

Why do you think St. John's is in such high demand? At 22K it is a bargain.

wow ... Catholic AND Junior ROTC. What a bargain!

If you're not OK with Walls letting in more poorly prepared kids are OK with Catholic and co-ed, St. John's offers bang for your buck. Most parochial options in this area are at least 5K more. St. John's student body is only thought to be around half practicing Catholic. Come on, Junior ROTC is optional. Plenty of public schools in VA offer it.

It’s absurd to me that you think St Johns is better. Laughable. Catholic school student are aggressively mediocre, which is why we left. But good luck.

Aggressively bigoted.

No my kid needed high achieving peers.

Nope, not a justification for crude statements about all Catholic students.

[Anonymous]

DC parents will have to fight for a true magnet experience. Fenty may have had the right idea but the wrong messenger.

No idea why basic recommendations wouldn't be required. That at least gives the committee a clue about the student and capabilities.

All the reqs for the other schools--https://www.myschooldc.org/sites/default/files/dc/sites/myschooldc/SY22-23%20Selective%20High%20School%20Requirements.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Walls would be better off admitting by lottery for 8th graders with a halfway decent GPA. Firing a respected head and dropping most admissions requirements isn't sending the right message to prospective families.

This is by design -
DC thinks that if they send a message that it is not committed, more who MAY be able to afford private will go in that direction.

Why do you think St. John's is in such high demand? At 22K it is a bargain.

wow ... Catholic AND Junior ROTC. What a bargain!

Agreed. St. John’s has a lot to be desired IMO. Instruction is far better in DCPS public (at least Wilson) without the Trump loyalist families and 1950’s era Catholic vibe.

Pick your poison. I'll take the Trump loyalists and vibe over 4x4 schedules, brawls at sporting events and Honors for All.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Walls would be better off admitting by lottery for 8th graders with a halfway decent GPA. Firing a respected head and dropping most admissions requirements isn't sending the right message to prospective families.

This is by design -
DC thinks that if they send a message that it is not committed, more who MAY be able to afford private will go in that direction.

Why do you think St. John's is in such high demand? At 22K it is a bargain.

wow ... Catholic AND Junior ROTC. What a bargain!

If you're not OK with Walls letting in more poorly prepared kids are OK with Catholic and co-ed, St. John's offers bang for your buck. Most parochial options in this area are at least 5K more. St. John's student body is only thought to be around half practicing Catholic. Come on, Junior ROTC is optional. Plenty of public schools in VA offer it.

It’s absurd to me that you think St Johns is better. Laughable. Catholic school student are aggressively mediocre, which is why we left. But good luck.

Aggressively bigoted.

No my kid needed high achieving peers.

Nope, not a justification for crude statements about all Catholic students.

It’s the same accusation leveled at minority students all the time here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Walls would be better off admitting by lottery for 8th graders with a halfway decent GPA. Firing a respected head and dropping most admissions requirements isn't sending the right message to prospective families.

This is by design -
DC thinks that if they send a message that it is not committed, more who MAY be able to afford private will go in that direction.

Why do you think St. John's is in such high demand? At 22K it is a bargain.

wow ... Catholic AND Junior ROTC. What a bargain!

If you're not OK with Walls letting in more poorly prepared kids are OK with Catholic and co-ed, St. John's offers bang for your buck. Most parochial options in this area are at least 5K more. St. John's student body is only thought to be around half practicing Catholic. Come on, Junior ROTC is optional. Plenty of public schools in VA offer it.

It’s absurd to me that you think St Johns is better. Laughable. Catholic school student are aggressively mediocre, which is why we left. But good luck.

Aggressively bigoted.

No my kid needed high achieving peers.

Nope, not a justification for crude statements about all Catholic students.

It’s the same accusation leveled at minority students all the time here.

Yep, bigotry always operates according to the same mechanism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Walls would be better off admitting by lottery for 8th graders with a halfway decent GPA. Firing a respected head and dropping most admissions requirements isn't sending the right message to prospective families.

This is by design -
DC thinks that if they send a message that it is not committed, more who MAY be able to afford private will go in that direction.

Why do you think St. John's is in such high demand? At 22K it is a bargain.

wow ... Catholic AND Junior ROTC. What a bargain!

If you're not OK with Walls letting in more poorly prepared kids are OK with Catholic and co-ed, St. John's offers bang for your buck. Most parochial options in this area are at least 5K more. St. John's student body is only thought to be around half practicing Catholic. Come on, Junior ROTC is optional. Plenty of public schools in VA offer it.

It’s absurd to me that you think St Johns is better. Laughable. Catholic school student are aggressively mediocre, which is why we left. But good luck.

Aggressively bigoted.

No my kid needed high achieving peers.

Nope, not a justification for crude statements about all Catholic students.

It’s the same accusation leveled at minority students all the time here.

Did you realize you are insulting all the Black students at St. John’s? Probably not because you actually don’t have any experience with the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Increasing diversity =|= lowering standards.

There are plenty of minorities that are smart and gifted.

Agreed.

DCPS has nothing for the gifted student, regardless of race.

Nothing is an exaggeration. Our DCPS ES offers upper grades math instruction up to 2 years ahead of the curriculum, but only because pushy UMC parents have fought for it for years.

There is zero structured programming. There is no program. There is only the kindness of strangers who may or may not be at your school or any school when you child shows up there in August.

[Anonymous]

Isn't that the truth. Fenty and Rhee wanted ES GT, they just didn't have time to get to it. But then Bowser essentially runs unopposed, so most DC voters must not give a hoot about GT instruction in our public schools.

[Anonymous]

Will admission to Walls be worth suing over at this rate?

Give it 5 years/another Bowser term, probably not.

[Anonymous]

No, it won’t.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Isn't that the truth. Fenty and Rhee wanted ES GT, they just didn't have time to get to it. But then Bowser essentially runs unopposed, so most DC voters must not give a hoot about GT instruction in our public schools.

Gifted program in ES is just to satisfy parents that their precious is as smart as they think he/she is. people I know who have genuinely very smart kids and ES don't need them in gifted programs, they do need the school to have the structure to support those kids at their level and DCPS does do a bad job on this. No incentive, especially when there is so much work to do to get get kids to pass PARC.

At the high school level, the jury is in a bit early on this years 9th grade cohort, and judging a bit harshly given their pre application school conditions. While I do agree that "lowering entry" to help kids get accepted who simply could not pass the test otherwise is bad practice, but as it was these kids needed a 3 GPA and be decent human beings as presented at an interview. So frankly this sounds like a respectable cohort of great kids, and the city has a lot of these kids to choose from.