Intensity at Banneker

[Anonymous]

My kid got in, but is deeply concerned about the intensity and competition. The interview panel really stressed the amount of hard work and competitive nature of the school. He truly didn’t think he’d get in after the interview.

My kid is a smart cookie and works hard, but moves at a somewhat slower pace than many. He’s got a gentle nature and is extremely worried about this!

Thoughts? What’s it really like? Is it a friendly atmosphere among the kids?

[Anonymous]

How hard the work is depends on the courses your kid chooses, and on how academically gifted your kid is. They hype the hard work to make it seem like a good school but also because for many of the applicants it genuinely will be a lot of work. If your kid is on or above grade level without a huge effort, it should be fine.

[Anonymous]

Where was he for middle, and do you know families who went from that middle to Banneker? That might give a better sense of how much of a step up in intensity it is. I'm sure it's different for different kids, but I think a smart cookie who works hard will be fine. My student has not found the work overwhelming nor the school too competitive. Kids seem friendly and supportive.

[Anonymous]

Also curious about this.

My kid sounds similar -- and is also really into art and playing in school band -- and I can't seem to get a read on how much of these options are offered at the school. I don't think she'd be happy without them in her life. Anyone know?

[Anonymous]

The kids are great, it’s a very supportive atmosphere. A kid with a gentle nature will be fine, socially. It’s the school itself that is competitive. This is what I wrote on here a few weeks ago:

Banneker likes to highlight the kids who do well. They rank. Teachers let the class know who had the top score on a test. They highlight great passages from student essays, and identify the authors. There are classroom assignments that feed into broader competitions, like Project Soapbox and Poetry Out Loud. All the freshmen (except pre-IB students) take the national Latin exam, all the sophomores take the AP World exam, all the juniors (except IB students) take the AP Lang exam, and there’s an assembly in the fall where all the names of students who passed those exams are announced. They make a big deal out of kids who qualify for the NHS, kids who qualify for AP scholar awards, etc.

This is all very different from what we might call DCUM culture where it’s considered gauche to mention your grades or scores or rank or other academic achievements. Most private schools don’t rank. Many suburban schools don’t rank. Walls doesn’t rank.

I will add that the school notably refrains from highlighting the kids who fail the exams, or who have the lowest score on a test. It’s a culture of celebrating the best, not one of shaming the kids who struggle.

As to the work: Banneker is a lot of work. They’re teaching study skills as well as the substantive material, so things like “annotate the text” or “make flashcards” or “complete the study guide” will be required tasks even if your kid could ace the quiz/essay/exam without needing to do that stuff. Some people are going to regard that as busywork. I figure one day my kid will need those skills, and high school isn’t a bad place to learn them. My kid has gotten much more efficient about some of these tasks. Vocabulary assignments that they used to labor over they now toss off. Stuff like that.

Banneker also seems to grade on a more demanding scale than other DCPS schools. My kid had As in middle school and scores high on standardized tests, but they’ve gotten plenty of Bs and Cs on individual assignments at Banneker. That means that despite various inflationary grading policies from DCPS, your kid will need to keep putting in the effort, revising assignments and keeping up with the homework to keep their grades up. The whole thing makes for a strong education but it isn’t necessarily fun at 11pm on a Thursday night.

Finally, I will say that if your kid comes from a strong middle school Banneker starts out pretty slow, as they seem to have a laudable policy of admitting high-potential students from inadequate middle schools. But those kids catch up, and then the classes begin to get more intense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also curious about this.

My kid sounds similar -- and is also really into art and playing in school band -- and I can't seem to get a read on how much of these options are offered at the school. I don't think she'd be happy without them in her life. Anyone know?

Mine is a 10th grader at Banneker and also fits this profile. There is an orchestra that meets twice a week after school and this year there is now a "jam band" club that meets during lunch and puts on performances for all of the events-- they're great! The music teacher just acquired a new PA system and new non-orchestral instruments to support the new club (trap set, bass guitar, amps, etc).

In terms of intensity, I agree with the PP. If your kid came from a middle school and has a strong background, the workload is not nearly as intense as it is often made out to be. Sometimes an hour of homework, sometimes more, sometimes less, but it's never been unmanageable.