New to DCI-Anything we should know?

[Anonymous]

I would disagree that BASIS throws out students with IEPs. My own DC made it through BASIS with an IEP - autism and serious medical issues - cardiological, respiratory and central nervous system. Graduated and now a college student. And some of the other families that we got to know at BASIS were in similar medical and neurodivergent situations, but managed to make it through BASIS.

[Anonymous]

Isn’t BASIS part of a chain?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Isn’t BASIS part of a chain?

They started with some schools in Arizona 15 years ago or so and have been expanding.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCI just graduated what their 3rd class? 3 classes. The high school has barely started and people on here complaining they don’t have their stuff together and are not as strong as some of the suburban programs. No sh’t Sherlock Holmes. These people have no perspective. Why don’t you tell us how the other programs did after they graduated their 3rd class, not now when they have been around for 30, 40 years or whatever.

I’ve been watching the trajectory of the school. They are on a rapid trajectory and getting better. They already have kids getting into Ivy’s URM or not. They already have kids scoring high in the 40. Sure some of these families might have supplemented or not but if you don’t have a solid IB program, you are not going to be scoring anywhere even in the mid 30’s. Not only that, but the high school offers 3 tracks, not just IB diploma, and juggling to manage those tracks and offers variety of pathways for different kids.

Bottom line. You want what the good suburban IB schools offer now, move to the burbs. BTW, good luck getting your kid into some of those programs. But if you have time like some of us do, watch the trajectory of the school in the next 3-5 years. This is just the beginning and early infancy.

Huh?

BASIS DC has only graduated a few classes and has a much smaller senior class than DCI. Yet it seems a lot stronger academically.

JFC, it’s exhausting how Basis boosters want to hijack every thread. What don’t you get about self selection?

Open the school for all kids, take all kids in every grade, increase your at risk 3 fold, increase your SPED 3 fold. Then come back and talk to us.

NP... not sure I understand your point about "self selection" - ALL charters, including DCI are self-selected. Also, do you have some data to show that DCI has 3 times more SPED than BASIS or other schools?

Yes they have 3 times as many SPED. The data is in the DC report card

[Anonymous]

OP, lots of posters on here with no kids at the school. Ignore the haters and trolls.

We are in a feeder and know a number of families with kids who started at the school this year. They all have had very positive experiences and are happy at the school.

[Anonymous]

The sort of post above deserves to be taken with a grain of salt, if.not a bag. The inconvenient truth is that the “haters” and the “trolls” make valid points about DCI’s lack of ambition for top performers, particularly those who aren’t URMs. Sure, parents who don’t give a hoot about above-grade level academics in middle school, high IB points totals, serious ECs in HS, summer language immersion/fluency in languages are “happy” with DCI. The arrangement should still give us pause because the school has the students to aim higher, much higher.

[Anonymous]

This hater/troll parent has seen how the problems for advanced DCI students start years before DCI.

Feeder students ready to learn above-grade level math aren't taught it at school. English instruction is v. uneven.

All feeder students are given good grades for speaking target languages, even where their skills are weak. Feeder admins don't want to penalize poor kids whose families can't afford to supplement. The feeders seldom offer break immersion camps. YuYing used to, but stopped after summer 2017. Feeder and DCI admins don't urge families to seek out immersion opportunities (e.g. weekend heritage programs in MoCo), don't clue families into good options, don't help them team up to travel to camps. In a nutshell, immersion programs favor high SES families, so aren't encouraged, and funds aren't raised to enable low-income families to access them.

And on and on it goes. By the time DCI students take IBD exams, they score in the 20s to mid 30s, no surprises there. I remember the parent presentation showing IB exams scores. The language scores weren't good, mostly 3s and 4s on SL, never mind 6s and 6s on HL. If you care, you avoid DCI or leave for HS. Those are your options.

[Anonymous]

The message from DCI has been clear since they opened. If you want more than mediocre academics, please leave.

On a bright note, they seem willing to offer more 8th-th grade math challenge than in the past.

[Anonymous]

I would never understand DCUM’s hate for DCI and its feeder. These thread are always the same and most people have no direct experience with the school.

[Anonymous]

The part I don't get is why parents like us, with direct experience with the school, who left disappointed for good reason are slammed as haters and trolls.

Sorry, but valid criticism has been levelled on this DCI thread, and past threads. You can gloss over all the leadership failings if you want but I'm not sure how that helps OP. How does it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would never understand DCUM’s hate for DCI and its feeder. These thread are always the same and most people have no direct experience with the school.

I don't think it's hate at all; it's frustration and disappointment when considering what might have been.

The problem is two-fold. DC public schools don't do a great job in teaching languages or creating desirable in-boundary elementary and middle schools serving most high SES families. The result is that the DCI feeders mainly drawn families escaping low-performing in-boundary schools. Immersion can only be so serious when the push factors are stronger than pull factors.

I used to teach ES in Fairfax, where nobody runs to an immersion school to escape a disastrous in-boundary school, and ordinary elementary and middle schools teach languages fairly seriously from 4th grade. What you see in the burbs is a stronger commitment to language instruction overall from a young age. Suburban immersion is designed as the dual/two-way type, with many native speakers in most programs. The result is that, by the time suburban students who went through immersion/partial immersion programs get to IB Diploma, the results are good or great.

What we're seeing at DCI are relatively few graduating seniors excelling on IB Diploma exams after years of one-way immersion and mediocre academics. I don't see why we should expect that to change in the coming years as long as the feeder system stays the same and the only core subject taught at the advanced level in DC public middle schools, both charter and DCPS, is math. BASIS is the exception, also teaching advanced science.

[Anonymous]

We seem to have come full circle.

DCI is just OK, never more than adequate for their most advanced students.

A few of their grads knock it out of the park on college admissions anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We seem to have come full circle.

DCI is just OK, never more than adequate for their most advanced students.

A few of their grads knock it out of the park on college admissions anyway.

Oh shut up. Seriously.

[Anonymous]

If only shutting DCI's critics up would make the program great. We're on the fence about staying for after this year, 8th grade. Really torn. Come on, give it a shot, convince us to stay.

[Anonymous]

Oh shut up, seriously, just go.