Benefits of being a high school graduate in DC

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This discussion is nauseating. I have a high schooler in DCPS that is doing great and is getting a good education that will ensure a successful future. This “get your kid out of DCPS” while you can talk is unbelievable and demoralizing.

This thread was mainly about DC TAG vs in-state tuition. Then people started inventing benefits that come from being toughened by a chaotic public school system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DcTag also has an income threshold so make sure you'll actually eligible for it.

Second, the education in the burbs will be superior to the education you get in DC.

I dispute your second point if we are talking about college prep kids taking APs.

Get out of DC public schools as quickly as you can. DCPS is dismal.

Students in third through eighth grades, as well as high school students, took assessments in the spring for the first time in two years. The Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) on Friday released the results, which show declines in math and reading across the board.

"We saw declines across all eight wards, and we saw more declines in the elementary school grades than we did in the higher grades," D.C. Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Christina Grant said.

Grant said math scores dropped significantly from 31% of students testing at grade level in 2019 to 19% testing at grade level in 2022.

Reading scores were slightly better with 31% of students testing at grade level this year. In 2019, 37% of students tested at grade level.

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/dc-students-show-major-decline-in-math-reading-since-pandemic-began/3148351/

HS PARCC scores are notoriously hard to interpret. Only 10th graders take PARCC, but only 10th graders in Algebra II or below. Many of the advanced kids are done with Algebra II in 9th, so they aren't taking the test. So, Walls has a 95% English rate of a 4 or 5, but it drops to 73% in Math...only because everyone is taking the English, but only the less advanced Math kids take the Math. Add to that the genius of administering PARCC (which is meaningless to the student) when AP tests happen (which are meaningful to the student), and you have some kids skipping PARCC or just randomly completing it because they are focused on AP tests.

If PARCC is irrelevant to the student (no awards or $$$s for scoring high...no impact on their grades, etc.)...then they need to figure out a better way of gauging HS progress.

This comment neatly sidesteps the fact that the biggest declines were at the elementary level, and will have ripple effects up to HS as those cohorts age. DCPS is getting worse, and it wasn't great to begin with.

If you are a parent making longterm plans about where to live and where to send your child to school, quibbling over whether PARCC math scores are accurate because some kids at Walls (a HS you truly have to win a lottery to attending the first place) have advanced beyond the subject being tested is just rearranging deck chairs.

Even if you can assume that a higher percentage of Walls students are at or above grade level in math than PARCC results show, the truth is that the vast majority of DCPS high school students area below grade level in reading and in math. And those that are at or above generally have parents who supplement considerably because DCPS does very little to meet on-grade-level or advanced students where they are at, as their focus is and will always be on the many, many students who are below grade level.

Still don't understand why the overall results of DCPS as a whole are relevant. If you are in a position to leave DC for HS, then you are not choosing Einstein or Blair or Alexandria Public Schools...you are choosing to move to get in-bounds for a specific school such as Whitman or Langley.

Without a doubt someone could be making the decision that I will wait and see if I get into Walls, and if not then I will move to Whitman or Langley.

OP specifically asks about HS. In general, the families that are seriously considering Walls usually have high performing kids.

You have no clue of what you're talking about. More people moved to these schools (especially Blair) than the W schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DcTag also has an income threshold so make sure you'll actually eligible for it.

Second, the education in the burbs will be superior to the education you get in DC.

I dispute your second point if we are talking about college prep kids taking APs.

Get out of DC public schools as quickly as you can. DCPS is dismal.

Students in third through eighth grades, as well as high school students, took assessments in the spring for the first time in two years. The Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) on Friday released the results, which show declines in math and reading across the board.

"We saw declines across all eight wards, and we saw more declines in the elementary school grades than we did in the higher grades," D.C. Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Christina Grant said.

Grant said math scores dropped significantly from 31% of students testing at grade level in 2019 to 19% testing at grade level in 2022.

Reading scores were slightly better with 31% of students testing at grade level this year. In 2019, 37% of students tested at grade level.

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/dc-students-show-major-decline-in-math-reading-since-pandemic-began/3148351/

HS PARCC scores are notoriously hard to interpret. Only 10th graders take PARCC, but only 10th graders in Algebra II or below. Many of the advanced kids are done with Algebra II in 9th, so they aren't taking the test. So, Walls has a 95% English rate of a 4 or 5, but it drops to 73% in Math...only because everyone is taking the English, but only the less advanced Math kids take the Math. Add to that the genius of administering PARCC (which is meaningless to the student) when AP tests happen (which are meaningful to the student), and you have some kids skipping PARCC or just randomly completing it because they are focused on AP tests.

If PARCC is irrelevant to the student (no awards or $$$s for scoring high...no impact on their grades, etc.)...then they need to figure out a better way of gauging HS progress.

This comment neatly sidesteps the fact that the biggest declines were at the elementary level, and will have ripple effects up to HS as those cohorts age. DCPS is getting worse, and it wasn't great to begin with.

If you are a parent making longterm plans about where to live and where to send your child to school, quibbling over whether PARCC math scores are accurate because some kids at Walls (a HS you truly have to win a lottery to attending the first place) have advanced beyond the subject being tested is just rearranging deck chairs.

Even if you can assume that a higher percentage of Walls students are at or above grade level in math than PARCC results show, the truth is that the vast majority of DCPS high school students area below grade level in reading and in math. And those that are at or above generally have parents who supplement considerably because DCPS does very little to meet on-grade-level or advanced students where they are at, as their focus is and will always be on the many, many students who are below grade level.

Still don't understand why the overall results of DCPS as a whole are relevant. If you are in a position to leave DC for HS, then you are not choosing Einstein or Blair or Alexandria Public Schools...you are choosing to move to get in-bounds for a specific school such as Whitman or Langley.

Without a doubt someone could be making the decision that I will wait and see if I get into Walls, and if not then I will move to Whitman or Langley.

OP specifically asks about HS. In general, the families that are seriously considering Walls usually have high performing kids.

You have no clue of what you're talking about. More people moved to these schools (especially Blair) than the W schools.

People go to Blair magnet, but nobody who has more than two nickels to rub together moves to those school boundaries.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DcTag also has an income threshold so make sure you'll actually eligible for it.

Second, the education in the burbs will be superior to the education you get in DC.

I dispute your second point if we are talking about college prep kids taking APs.

Get out of DC public schools as quickly as you can. DCPS is dismal.

Students in third through eighth grades, as well as high school students, took assessments in the spring for the first time in two years. The Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) on Friday released the results, which show declines in math and reading across the board.

"We saw declines across all eight wards, and we saw more declines in the elementary school grades than we did in the higher grades," D.C. Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Christina Grant said.

Grant said math scores dropped significantly from 31% of students testing at grade level in 2019 to 19% testing at grade level in 2022.

Reading scores were slightly better with 31% of students testing at grade level this year. In 2019, 37% of students tested at grade level.

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/dc-students-show-major-decline-in-math-reading-since-pandemic-began/3148351/

HS PARCC scores are notoriously hard to interpret. Only 10th graders take PARCC, but only 10th graders in Algebra II or below. Many of the advanced kids are done with Algebra II in 9th, so they aren't taking the test. So, Walls has a 95% English rate of a 4 or 5, but it drops to 73% in Math...only because everyone is taking the English, but only the less advanced Math kids take the Math. Add to that the genius of administering PARCC (which is meaningless to the student) when AP tests happen (which are meaningful to the student), and you have some kids skipping PARCC or just randomly completing it because they are focused on AP tests.

If PARCC is irrelevant to the student (no awards or $$$s for scoring high...no impact on their grades, etc.)...then they need to figure out a better way of gauging HS progress.

This comment neatly sidesteps the fact that the biggest declines were at the elementary level, and will have ripple effects up to HS as those cohorts age. DCPS is getting worse, and it wasn't great to begin with.

If you are a parent making longterm plans about where to live and where to send your child to school, quibbling over whether PARCC math scores are accurate because some kids at Walls (a HS you truly have to win a lottery to attending the first place) have advanced beyond the subject being tested is just rearranging deck chairs.

Even if you can assume that a higher percentage of Walls students are at or above grade level in math than PARCC results show, the truth is that the vast majority of DCPS high school students area below grade level in reading and in math. And those that are at or above generally have parents who supplement considerably because DCPS does very little to meet on-grade-level or advanced students where they are at, as their focus is and will always be on the many, many students who are below grade level.

Still don't understand why the overall results of DCPS as a whole are relevant. If you are in a position to leave DC for HS, then you are not choosing Einstein or Blair or Alexandria Public Schools...you are choosing to move to get in-bounds for a specific school such as Whitman or Langley.

Without a doubt someone could be making the decision that I will wait and see if I get into Walls, and if not then I will move to Whitman or Langley.

OP specifically asks about HS. In general, the families that are seriously considering Walls usually have high performing kids.

You have no clue of what you're talking about. More people moved to these schools (especially Blair) than the W schools.

People go to Blair magnet, but nobody who has more than two nickels to rub together moves to those school boundaries.

Like I said, you are talking out of your @$$. You have no idea of what you are talking about. Typical of DCUM.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We decided to get out after reading the revised Social Studies Standards.

What is the issue with the revised Social Studies Standards?

I second this question - what exactly is your issue with the social studies standards? I am current getting a master's degree from Georgetown and noticed this past month that some of the content in my son's middle school social studies curriculum overlapped with ideas we discussed in our classes. Which I think is a good thing.
But regardless if you agree with the standards, can you provide examples of what you are concerned about?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We decided to get out after reading the revised Social Studies Standards.

What is the issue with the revised Social Studies Standards?

I second this question - what exactly is your issue with the social studies standards? I am current getting a master's degree from Georgetown and noticed this past month that some of the content in my son's middle school social studies curriculum overlapped with ideas we discussed in our classes. Which I think is a good thing.
But regardless if you agree with the standards, can you provide examples of what you are concerned about?

Well, you just said the quiet part out loud. For years many have been saying that elementary age school kids are being taught grad level CRT and identity politics in school. Well there’s a whole lot of that in the revised DC standards. Which, not surprisingly, eventually leads to a push for activism in the later grades. It’s just horrible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We decided to get out after reading the revised Social Studies Standards.

What is the issue with the revised Social Studies Standards?

I second this question - what exactly is your issue with the social studies standards? I am current getting a master's degree from Georgetown and noticed this past month that some of the content in my son's middle school social studies curriculum overlapped with ideas we discussed in our classes. Which I think is a good thing.
But regardless if you agree with the standards, can you provide examples of what you are concerned about?

Well, you just said the quiet part out loud. For years many have been saying that elementary age school kids are being taught grad level CRT and identity politics in school. Well there’s a whole lot of that in the revised DC standards. Which, not surprisingly, eventually leads to a push for activism in the later grades. It’s just horrible.

“Many have been saying?” Come on. I doubt that anyone who says this was considering keeping kids in DCPS anyway. For the PP who was asking, the new social studies standards are available on the OSSE website. They are fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We decided to get out after reading the revised Social Studies Standards.

What is the issue with the revised Social Studies Standards?

I second this question - what exactly is your issue with the social studies standards? I am current getting a master's degree from Georgetown and noticed this past month that some of the content in my son's middle school social studies curriculum overlapped with ideas we discussed in our classes. Which I think is a good thing.
But regardless if you agree with the standards, can you provide examples of what you are concerned about?

Well, you just said the quiet part out loud. For years many have been saying that elementary age school kids are being taught grad level CRT and identity politics in school. Well there’s a whole lot of that in the revised DC standards. Which, not surprisingly, eventually leads to a push for activism in the later grades. It’s just horrible.

Gasp, the radical notion that Black people are actual human beings with rights! And kids might actually want to participate in the democratic process to advance that notion! Horrible!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We decided to get out after reading the revised Social Studies Standards.

What is the issue with the revised Social Studies Standards?

Well, you just said the quiet part out loud. For years many have been saying that elementary age school kids are being taught grad level CRT and identity politics in school. Well there’s a whole lot of that in the revised DC standards. Which, not surprisingly, eventually leads to a push for activism in the later grades. It’s just horrible.

This is why we haven’t left DCPS! They do an excellent job of making out kids seen, heard, included in books, part of history, etc. I fear moving to a school in VA where I might meet someone who thinks like the person above. Scary thought.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DcTag also has an income threshold so make sure you'll actually eligible for it.

Second, the education in the burbs will be superior to the education you get in DC.

I dispute your second point if we are talking about college prep kids taking APs.

Get out of DC public schools as quickly as you can. DCPS is dismal.

Students in third through eighth grades, as well as high school students, took assessments in the spring for the first time in two years. The Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) on Friday released the results, which show declines in math and reading across the board.

"We saw declines across all eight wards, and we saw more declines in the elementary school grades than we did in the higher grades," D.C. Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Christina Grant said.

Grant said math scores dropped significantly from 31% of students testing at grade level in 2019 to 19% testing at grade level in 2022.

Reading scores were slightly better with 31% of students testing at grade level this year. In 2019, 37% of students tested at grade level.

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/dc-students-show-major-decline-in-math-reading-since-pandemic-began/3148351/

HS PARCC scores are notoriously hard to interpret. Only 10th graders take PARCC, but only 10th graders in Algebra II or below. Many of the advanced kids are done with Algebra II in 9th, so they aren't taking the test. So, Walls has a 95% English rate of a 4 or 5, but it drops to 73% in Math...only because everyone is taking the English, but only the less advanced Math kids take the Math. Add to that the genius of administering PARCC (which is meaningless to the student) when AP tests happen (which are meaningful to the student), and you have some kids skipping PARCC or just randomly completing it because they are focused on AP tests.

If PARCC is irrelevant to the student (no awards or $$$s for scoring high...no impact on their grades, etc.)...then they need to figure out a better way of gauging HS progress.

This comment neatly sidesteps the fact that the biggest declines were at the elementary level, and will have ripple effects up to HS as those cohorts age. DCPS is getting worse, and it wasn't great to begin with.

If you are a parent making longterm plans about where to live and where to send your child to school, quibbling over whether PARCC math scores are accurate because some kids at Walls (a HS you truly have to win a lottery to attending the first place) have advanced beyond the subject being tested is just rearranging deck chairs.

Even if you can assume that a higher percentage of Walls students are at or above grade level in math than PARCC results show, the truth is that the vast majority of DCPS high school students area below grade level in reading and in math. And those that are at or above generally have parents who supplement considerably because DCPS does very little to meet on-grade-level or advanced students where they are at, as their focus is and will always be on the many, many students who are below grade level.

Still don't understand why the overall results of DCPS as a whole are relevant. If you are in a position to leave DC for HS, then you are not choosing Einstein or Blair or Alexandria Public Schools...you are choosing to move to get in-bounds for a specific school such as Whitman or Langley.

Without a doubt someone could be making the decision that I will wait and see if I get into Walls, and if not then I will move to Whitman or Langley.

OP specifically asks about HS. In general, the families that are seriously considering Walls usually have high performing kids.

You have no clue of what you're talking about. More people moved to these schools (especially Blair) than the W schools.

People go to Blair magnet, but nobody who has more than two nickels to rub together moves to those school boundaries.

Like I said, you are talking out of your @$$. You have no idea of what you are talking about. Typical of DCUM.

So all the HHI DC families are moving to the parts of Silver Spring that are in boundary for these schools? Explain why I am wrong.

I have known many families move to the burbs…my family considered it as well. Like all the other HHI families, we looked at Whitman, Churchill, Langley, etc.

[Anonymous]

My kids did well graduating from a DCPS high school. Realize though that the 10K you can get from dctag is now a drop in the bucket towards instate tuition nowadays. The amount was never adjusted to current college costs.

One kid went to a state school and used dctag, and this was still the most we ended up paying for college. The others ending up getting significant merit and need based money at small liberal arts schools, one was full tuition.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DcTag also has an income threshold so make sure you'll actually eligible for it.

Second, the education in the burbs will be superior to the education you get in DC.

I dispute your second point if we are talking about college prep kids taking APs.

Get out of DC public schools as quickly as you can. DCPS is dismal.

Students in third through eighth grades, as well as high school students, took assessments in the spring for the first time in two years. The Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) on Friday released the results, which show declines in math and reading across the board.

"We saw declines across all eight wards, and we saw more declines in the elementary school grades than we did in the higher grades," D.C. Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Christina Grant said.

Grant said math scores dropped significantly from 31% of students testing at grade level in 2019 to 19% testing at grade level in 2022.

Reading scores were slightly better with 31% of students testing at grade level this year. In 2019, 37% of students tested at grade level.

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/dc-students-show-major-decline-in-math-reading-since-pandemic-began/3148351/

HS PARCC scores are notoriously hard to interpret. Only 10th graders take PARCC, but only 10th graders in Algebra II or below. Many of the advanced kids are done with Algebra II in 9th, so they aren't taking the test. So, Walls has a 95% English rate of a 4 or 5, but it drops to 73% in Math...only because everyone is taking the English, but only the less advanced Math kids take the Math. Add to that the genius of administering PARCC (which is meaningless to the student) when AP tests happen (which are meaningful to the student), and you have some kids skipping PARCC or just randomly completing it because they are focused on AP tests.

If PARCC is irrelevant to the student (no awards or $$$s for scoring high...no impact on their grades, etc.)...then they need to figure out a better way of gauging HS progress.

This comment neatly sidesteps the fact that the biggest declines were at the elementary level, and will have ripple effects up to HS as those cohorts age. DCPS is getting worse, and it wasn't great to begin with.

If you are a parent making longterm plans about where to live and where to send your child to school, quibbling over whether PARCC math scores are accurate because some kids at Walls (a HS you truly have to win a lottery to attending the first place) have advanced beyond the subject being tested is just rearranging deck chairs.

Even if you can assume that a higher percentage of Walls students are at or above grade level in math than PARCC results show, the truth is that the vast majority of DCPS high school students area below grade level in reading and in math. And those that are at or above generally have parents who supplement considerably because DCPS does very little to meet on-grade-level or advanced students where they are at, as their focus is and will always be on the many, many students who are below grade level.

Still don't understand why the overall results of DCPS as a whole are relevant. If you are in a position to leave DC for HS, then you are not choosing Einstein or Blair or Alexandria Public Schools...you are choosing to move to get in-bounds for a specific school such as Whitman or Langley.

Without a doubt someone could be making the decision that I will wait and see if I get into Walls, and if not then I will move to Whitman or Langley.

OP specifically asks about HS. In general, the families that are seriously considering Walls usually have high performing kids.

You have no clue of what you're talking about. More people moved to these schools (especially Blair) than the W schools.

People go to Blair magnet, but nobody who has more than two nickels to rub together moves to those school boundaries.

Like I said, you are talking out of your @$$. You have no idea of what you are talking about. Typical of DCUM.

So all the HHI DC families are moving to the parts of Silver Spring that are in boundary for these schools? Explain why I am wrong.

I have known many families move to the burbs…my family considered it as well. Like all the other HHI families, we looked at Whitman, Churchill, Langley, etc.

NP. We are a middle class family with a kid in DCPS who is considering moving to Silver Spring for MS/HS due to poor options where we live in NE DC. We could not afford to move IB for the schools you mention.

Our kid is academically advanced and I think Walls is possible, but since tons of kids have the GPA for it and it's a total crapshoot to get in, we don't want to count on that.

We are looking at Blair, Einstein, and other schools in SS, Wheaton area. Budget probably 600k. We currently live in a condo.

We like that many of the suburban schools offer broader course offerings (including far more AP and IB options) than any school in DC, as well as a lot more electives and extra-curriculars (including way more than Walls or Latin or BASIS). Plus better foreign language, we matters to us because we didn't get an immersion spot and thus are locked out of DCI. Our kid is definitely college bound but we don't only care about academics or grades. We want a well rounded, positive experience .

I think it's sad that you think your tiny bubble of wealthy families in upper NW is representative of DC as a whole. My experience is far more typical of DC parents than yours, but you don't socialize with anyone outside your narrow experience so you can't see it.

[Anonymous]

One area that you're probably advantaged as a DC resident is Service academy nominations since it's a much smaller pool of seniors and, traditionally, not as much interest. You will have to have HS sports and STEM classes, so one of the smaller schools probably wouldn't set you up for success.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DcTag also has an income threshold so make sure you'll actually eligible for it.

Second, the education in the burbs will be superior to the education you get in DC.

I dispute your second point if we are talking about college prep kids taking APs.

Get out of DC public schools as quickly as you can. DCPS is dismal.

Students in third through eighth grades, as well as high school students, took assessments in the spring for the first time in two years. The Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) on Friday released the results, which show declines in math and reading across the board.

"We saw declines across all eight wards, and we saw more declines in the elementary school grades than we did in the higher grades," D.C. Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Christina Grant said.

Grant said math scores dropped significantly from 31% of students testing at grade level in 2019 to 19% testing at grade level in 2022.

Reading scores were slightly better with 31% of students testing at grade level this year. In 2019, 37% of students tested at grade level.

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/dc-students-show-major-decline-in-math-reading-since-pandemic-began/3148351/

HS PARCC scores are notoriously hard to interpret. Only 10th graders take PARCC, but only 10th graders in Algebra II or below. Many of the advanced kids are done with Algebra II in 9th, so they aren't taking the test. So, Walls has a 95% English rate of a 4 or 5, but it drops to 73% in Math...only because everyone is taking the English, but only the less advanced Math kids take the Math. Add to that the genius of administering PARCC (which is meaningless to the student) when AP tests happen (which are meaningful to the student), and you have some kids skipping PARCC or just randomly completing it because they are focused on AP tests.

If PARCC is irrelevant to the student (no awards or $$$s for scoring high...no impact on their grades, etc.)...then they need to figure out a better way of gauging HS progress.

This comment neatly sidesteps the fact that the biggest declines were at the elementary level, and will have ripple effects up to HS as those cohorts age. DCPS is getting worse, and it wasn't great to begin with.

If you are a parent making longterm plans about where to live and where to send your child to school, quibbling over whether PARCC math scores are accurate because some kids at Walls (a HS you truly have to win a lottery to attending the first place) have advanced beyond the subject being tested is just rearranging deck chairs.

Even if you can assume that a higher percentage of Walls students are at or above grade level in math than PARCC results show, the truth is that the vast majority of DCPS high school students area below grade level in reading and in math. And those that are at or above generally have parents who supplement considerably because DCPS does very little to meet on-grade-level or advanced students where they are at, as their focus is and will always be on the many, many students who are below grade level.

Still don't understand why the overall results of DCPS as a whole are relevant. If you are in a position to leave DC for HS, then you are not choosing Einstein or Blair or Alexandria Public Schools...you are choosing to move to get in-bounds for a specific school such as Whitman or Langley.

Without a doubt someone could be making the decision that I will wait and see if I get into Walls, and if not then I will move to Whitman or Langley.

OP specifically asks about HS. In general, the families that are seriously considering Walls usually have high performing kids.

You have no clue of what you're talking about. More people moved to these schools (especially Blair) than the W schools.

People go to Blair magnet, but nobody who has more than two nickels to rub together moves to those school boundaries.

Like I said, you are talking out of your @$$. You have no idea of what you are talking about. Typical of DCUM.

So all the HHI DC families are moving to the parts of Silver Spring that are in boundary for these schools? Explain why I am wrong.

I have known many families move to the burbs…my family considered it as well. Like all the other HHI families, we looked at Whitman, Churchill, Langley, etc.

NP. We are a middle class family with a kid in DCPS who is considering moving to Silver Spring for MS/HS due to poor options where we live in NE DC. We could not afford to move IB for the schools you mention.

Our kid is academically advanced and I think Walls is possible, but since tons of kids have the GPA for it and it's a total crapshoot to get in, we don't want to count on that.

We are looking at Blair, Einstein, and other schools in SS, Wheaton area. Budget probably 600k. We currently live in a condo.

We like that many of the suburban schools offer broader course offerings (including far more AP and IB options) than any school in DC, as well as a lot more electives and extra-curriculars (including way more than Walls or Latin or BASIS). Plus better foreign language, we matters to us because we didn't get an immersion spot and thus are locked out of DCI. Our kid is definitely college bound but we don't only care about academics or grades. We want a well rounded, positive experience .

I think it's sad that you think your tiny bubble of wealthy families in upper NW is representative of DC as a whole. My experience is far more typical of DC parents than yours, but you don't socialize with anyone outside your narrow experience so you can't see it.

JR actually offers more AP classes than nearly any school in Montgomery County...they offer 29 which is almost 100% of all AP classes that are offered by the College Board (I believe the max is like 33).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One area that you're probably advantaged as a DC resident is Service academy nominations since it's a much smaller pool of seniors and, traditionally, not as much interest. You will have to have HS sports and STEM classes, so one of the smaller schools probably wouldn't set you up for success.

My son is in private school in DC, but this is very much one of the things we've kept in mind. Small population of qualified applicants plus low interest gives a huge advantage for those who are so inclined.