Duncan is patently less qualified than Willmore, doesn’t have experience with APS, and shows a willingness to job hop (he is leaving ACHS after just 3 years after all). Just because he INTERVIEWED well? They bonded over equity initiatives? I fear Durans roots as an equity officer are still showing; rather than addressing the broader student bodies needs, he is obsessed with closing the testing gaps, even if it means with lowering the top. |
Yorktown would probably be about 55% white, but the 2018 boundary changes moved a number of W-L neighborhoods to Yorktown. Still, W-L has more white students than most Northern Virginia high schools. We all live in one of the most multi-culturally diverse areas in the country, and Yorktown is the outlier, not the norm. W-L more closely resembles the current norm, while skewing more white and affluent. That said, DCPS poster would probably be happy at any of the APS high schools. Yorktown does have more of a country club culture than W-L. Perhaps the DCPS poster seeks to avoid the Upper NW country club scene at Wilson/Jackson-Reed and any perceived/real DCPS dysfunction? The newly appointed W-L principal appears to be okay, after the initial surprise. He hasn’t stood out in a bad or good way in his current job. Maybe he’s looking for a more stable high school environment and a long term gig. (I assume any principal at ACHS would have more challenges than one at a smaller high school located on one campus.) APS high school principals do tend to stay at their schools for 10-plus years on average so I hope he develops strong relationships with the staff and families. Past W-L principals have been generally well-liked and respected. |
OP again. My point is that we will NEVER know why Duncan was picked over Willmore. While we're wildly speculating, maybe Willmore was offered the job first and declined, choosing the MS administrator role instead. Who the F knows? We won't. |
Well let’s pivot. For someone who is transferring to WL as a IB from Yorktown, what is expected to change? The way he has ambitions to transform and clean house at a successful school worries us. |
+1 that's just public high school |
No one can know this. He was announced 2 days ago. |
Now we're in crazy-town. What, with all of this "equity", APS finally turns around standardized W-L EL standardized test scores with Duncan in charge? My man, let's wait for something to complain about. We don't know what's going to happen. It could be worst of times, or the best. |
Hi I am DCPS poster! I would like to stay in DC but I will be renting an apartment and the rental situation is better at W-L. I also like Ballston better than the neighborhoods around J-R in some respects. But the big deciding factor is access to state colleges especially since it looks like DC TAG (the program that gives DC kids $10k/year for college) may go away. I also am considering BCC and Blair. But I really just kinda like Ballston/Clarendon better. It grew on me! |
What’s uniquely special about W-L in this sprawling DC region, is that many students can safely walk to school for elementary, middle and high school. The renovated, historic Dorothy Hamm Middle School is just down the street under a mile away. That walkability has helped to create a unique sense of community. Yorktown and its middle and elementary schools are similarly walkable, but not from the more urban areas—those students are bussed to Yorktown. I have a connection to Bethesda, and B-CC is uniquely walkable, but not the middle schools—nearby Leland Junior High School was shortsightedly demolished in the 1980s. Both B-CC and W-L are really old schools with fascinating legacies and famous alumni. They are both roughly 100 years old. You’re probably only looking at high school options, but I thought you might find this context interesting. |
yes thanks!! Walkability is a huge thing for me and I am looking for that culture for my kid. If I could roll back time I might have just moved to send him to Dorothy Hamm but that ship has sailed. BCC - I dunno, when it comes down to it, I think I would just enjoy living in Arlington more than Bethesda, but feel free to try to change my mind. I would have considered the new MacArthur HS in DC, but the city decided to put it in a really inaccessible place. Not many rentals around there and really poor transit options. |
this happened at YHS too. A committee of staff and other stakeholders was made, a principal was chosen without their recommendation. Granted, YHS didn’t boo and heckle Clark at the school board announcement, but plenty of people were plenty angry. It simmered down |
Wait there really was heckling at Duncan?? |
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It’s clear that this is a principle was selected to promote equity. This is not rocket science. |
WL is rated a level one by Virginia, it has the lowest ratings for the achievement app. I.e. it is doing well. That is not something the school need to focus on. |