non-DC Walls high school alternative
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Anonymous
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So, no interview at Walls. And we can no longer afford private. Our IB option is not a good fit in any way for our kid.
If you could move anywhere to get a school similar to Walls in both size (<200 per grade and quality, where would you go and to which school? (WFH, so moving is truly an option... and could be good for us overall!) |
Anonymous
| I’d stay in DC and try one of the other charter high schools or DCPS application programs. |
Anonymous
| Walter Johnson |
Anonymous
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Alexandria
I think the quality ship has sailed for you. Start looking for smaller honors programs within larger schools. |
Anonymous
| City of Falls Church high school is the only near-DC high school that is not huge. |
Anonymous
I assume it's too late if OP was applying for fall. |
Anonymous
Yes, this. and - fwiw - we also entered lottery during middle grades. People like us exist in greater numbers than many people may realize. - OP |
Anonymous
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How about Poolesville High School? It's not close to DC, but it's a relatively small high school with several rigorous magnet programs that serve students from several different areas of Montgomery County. There is also an "individual studies" option for Poolesville residents who either lack the grades and test scores to qualify for a magnet program or opt out for other reasons.
It's my understanding that Poolesville residents enrolled in the "individual studies" program can take classes within any of the application-based magnet programs. I would guess (but don't know for sure) that some students prove themselves that way and later reapply to a magnet. Students rave about how close-knit and nurturing the PHS school community is. They credit two things: the fact that most of the magnet programs emphasize off-site, experiential learning, which promotes bonding among students; and the fact that, while the total student body is in the range of 1200-1300, students spend all four years with the same cohort of <100 kids who are in their chosen magnet program. I would not want to commute every day from Poolesville to DC, but if you are able to work mostly from home, it might be worth looking at. |
Anonymous
If you work from home, can you actually move to a small-mid sized town where you have many friends or family? This is what I would do. Maybe for us it would be Boston, or possibly Durham. |
Anonymous
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Is it too late to try to lottery into Macarthur OOBs?
Walls is unique in that it is a small, application curated public school within a large city. NYC actually has a number of public schools like Walls (my understanding is they are nearly all application schools), but clearly that will be an expensive move. |
Anonymous
| Chapel Hill, NC. |
Anonymous
Walter Johnson has 3000 students for 4 grades. OP says she wants less than 200 kids per grade |
Anonymous
OP isn't gonna get what she wants. |
Anonymous
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Did you apply to other application schools like McKinley and also not get interviews? Knowing who else you struck out in already would be helpful. You could move in bound for McArthur. Would the IB program at Eastern be a possibility.
You say you want a small school but why? What needs does your kid have that you think a small school provides? This info will also help inform suggestions. |
Anonymous
Yeah, I'm curious if OP put Banneker, McKinley, Latin and MacArthur on her lottery list? Maybe still some hope for a high school. |