DCI current views
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Anonymous
| How is the middle school lately? I haven't seen any vibrant recent threads on DCI whether MS or HS. More interested in the MS - how is the learning environment? Are there outstanding issues? Is there tracking for certain subjects? What are the extracurriculars like? Have things stabilized since a few years ago (covid-times)? |
Anonymous
| Also curious. How is behavior? I heard some negative comments about this from kids who are now in the high school. |
Anonymous
|
Pretty much the worst of both worlds.
Public bilingual schools in the US don't do a good job teaching foreign languages and also do a poor job teaching basis skills like reading, writing, and math. CAPE scores for DCI for 8th grade (after kids have been at the school for a couple of years) are terrible. More than half the class is below grade level in English and over 90 percent is below grade level in math. |
Anonymous
|
Do you have a link to those scores?
Given that these feeders are basically strong, I'm surprised that doesn't carry over. They generally have good scores, at least certainly not 90% below grade. Is there tracking? |
Anonymous
| The DC report card says 49.5% met/ exceeded expectations in reading and 26.5% met/ exceeded expectations in math. |
Anonymous
https://schoolreportcard.dc.gov/lea/181/school/248/report#measure-100 Here it is. It's... not good. 26 percent meet/exceed expectations in math. 11 percent meet/exceed expectations in science. |
Anonymous
|
I wasn't thrilled with DCI in middle school. Of course part of that was covid, but there were some teachers who weren't up to the task and some social issues that my kid hadn't encountered before and wasn't equipped to deal with. This had me feeling really negative for a while.
That said, my child is graduating in a few weeks, and with a holistic look back, I'm really happy we stuck it out. My kid and all their friends have gotten into great colleges. They all speak their target language comfortably, if not quite fluently. The study abroad thing was huge for motivating them. This week they're studying for IB exams, and they have great support from teachers. I don't know what it's like for kids who aren't motivated, aren't supported at home, and/or fall into a bad social environment. I assume terrible, since the overall scores are bad and I definitely know of kids who cut more classes than they attend, have sex in school bathrooms, come to class stoned, etc. And it's a very segregated environment. There have been brawls between cliques, just like in the movies about "inner city schools." My kid is in a high achieving social crowd that doesn't drink or smoke. The extra curriculars were a little rocky until the disruptive kids wandered off to smoke weed by the dumpsters. Now that it's mostly the kids who really want to be there, it's a joy. The better teachers are at the higher levels. I would say that middle school was rough, but high school has been overall very positive. |
Anonymous
| My kid is happy at DCI middle. Good support and extracurricular activities in his view. Taking two languages and advanced math. He manages school work independently and is on the honor roll. Also commutes with other kids on the metro and that has been working well. |
Anonymous
| Sounds like it’s a fine place for a high achiever that can tune out the noise. That doesn’t seem great for most kids. |
Anonymous
Cannot speak for all kids obviously but there are multiple levels in foreign language and mathematics. For foreign language you can basically start from scratch. If you’re especially advanced you can take other subjects in that language such as individuals and societies and electives like music, art, and conversation. They offer great support classes for those needing extra help, including in math, self advocacy, executive skills, and writing. For math you can get extra support, get into advanced math or do double advanced math if you’re especially gifted. It’s middle school and there will be behavioral issues. That said I have not heard anything much from my kids. I think restorative justice is nonsense but the vice principals and middle school principal (who is leaving bc of Trump) are excellent. I think it’s truly a great school for a motivated high flier but it’s also a great school for everyone else. |
Anonymous
Same poster from above- my kids have not had issues on the commute. I was very worried about this obviously but there are just so many kids it feels very safe. We also liked that there were many elective offerings, and lots of interesting after school activities too. |
Anonymous
The key here why it’s a good school overall for all kids is because of the official tracking (math and languages) and unofficial tracking (electives, AP classes, remedial classes, support classes, pull outs, etc..) For the high achieving kid, it’s basically a school within a school. |
Anonymous
| Are they better at monitoring screen usage? My neighbors kids go to DCI (now in high school) and they say some kids will binge watch seasons of shows while at school. |
Anonymous
| My kid is in high school now, but I have not heard of any schoolwide initiative to limit use of Chromebooks in class. However, i believe middle schoolers now don't have access to their phones. I wish they would do it for high school students too. |
Anonymous
| I can’t speak for the high school but the middle school certainly has. Many classes have moved to paper and pencil and the kids phones are locked up in class. |