Ranking assistance - Cap Hill/Brookland area

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:School within a school is amazing amazing if you want a warm little place with no focus on academics. Parents who drink the kool-aid are happy. I found the bizarre focus on social justice issues and alarmingly weak academics to be a nonstarter for me. We switched to MV8. Rough uphill battle with spanish for a little while but my oldest is in dci now. Grateful not to be stuck with Eliot Hine as a middle school with is a nonstarter for our academically focused family. If you want majority white classroom with almost no focus on academics you found your school.

We have close friends and ludlow and they don’t recommend based on upper grades.

Are they actually in upper grades or afraid of the demographic change? Because the demographics do change as more kids lottery in, but the teaching in the upper grades is the best in the school. The 3rd grade team is especially amazing. This is a widely held view in th school.

+1, I don't get that comment. We have a kid in upper grades at L-T and are very happy with both academics and EC opportunities.

There is angst among *parents* in the upper grades over MS and HS. But that's true at any Hill elementary. There is no easy or obvious MS/HS path on the Hill if you value academics. There are options, but it's complicated. That's the case at L-T, Brent, Maury, Payne, SWS, CHML, Two Rivers, you name it. But I do think parents at elementaries that feed to S-H tend to be a smidge less stressed (but only a smidge, it's still not most parents' dream school and it doesn't solve the HS issue).

Ludlow has a 5th grade with a lot of academic high performers this year and AFAIK they're all headed for SH except 1 interviewing for privates. It's totally possible I'm not privy to every kid's plans, but I certainly get the sense that many/most families are comfortable giving SH a try.

I’m told (second hand) that there are a few high academic achievers from JO Wilson who will be attending SH next year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't be surprised if YY parents are splitting for Latin. The language has always been more of an after thought there and few native speaking families.

Nope. You can see from the waitlist how many kids went tracked to DCI for each school with seats they had. They all went to DCI.

Because all the people that got into Latin left after 4th grade. Then the schools backfilled. The 5th graders didn’t have a choice.

Not true. Anecdotal but we know families who rejected Latin and who did not play the lottery for Latin at all. They wanted DCI.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't be surprised if YY parents are splitting for Latin. The language has always been more of an after thought there and few native speaking families.

Nope. You can see from the waitlist how many kids went tracked to DCI for each school with seats they had. They all went to DCI.

Because all the people that got into Latin left after 4th grade. Then the schools backfilled. The 5th graders didn’t have a choice.

Not true. Anecdotal but we know families who rejected Latin and who did not play the lottery for Latin at all. They wanted DCI.

This will change now that DCI isn’t guaranteed. We want DCI but since it isn’t guaranteed, we are playing the lottery and will go to Latin or Basis, if needed. You know a bird in the hand…I wish this wasn’t the case.

[Anonymous]

Eleven kids from LAMB going to Latin really says something about DCI. That's a big proportion of the LAMB class. As well as great lottery luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Eleven kids from LAMB going to Latin really says something about DCI. That's a big proportion of the LAMB class. As well as great lottery luck!

It says a lot about lamb. The school at that time (probably worse now) was in such shambles parents straight up told me that they wanted out as soon as possible. Also of all of those kids who left, the vast majority were barely stumbling along in spanish. I wish them all well and it was a good choice for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Eleven kids from LAMB going to Latin really says something about DCI. That's a big proportion of the LAMB class. As well as great lottery luck!

Maybe the montessori kids would not do well with the structure at DCI and they need more handholding.

Anyway, great for the other immersion charters because they get the spots!

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Here is the bottom line if you have a high performing kid, it is Basis and DCI.

Average kid Latin

If your kid doesn’t get into the above, move to MD or VA. I would pick VA for state school benefit for college.

No good options for middle school other than above EOTP.

Don’t waste your time on settling for a poor middle school only to have to settle for another poor high school or move in high school which is worst.

Totally disagree with this. High performing kids definitely fit in at Latin. ITDS definitely has high-performers -- maybe not as many as some other middle schools because it's small -- and a really good track record of 8th graders getting into Banneker and Walls. I'm sure some Hill parents have something to say as well.

+1. The smartest kids at our DCI feeder went to Basis and Latin. We also know some super high performing kids at ITDS.

When was this? Because from our feeder all the smart kids went to DCI

One family with average kid did go to Latin because he needed more hand holding and smaller class but they are planning on sending younger kid to DCI.

I also call BS on the PP saying the “smart” kids went to Latin and basis. The only kids who ended up at Latin, Basis, or Deal were those who struggled with the target language or were burnt out with our charter administration. I’m not saying those kids are less intelligent but certainly would not describe them as the “smart” kids. DCI has been a great experience for us.

+1. I’m the PP and same at my feeder. Kids left because they just struggled with the language which of course affected core subjects.

I don’t blame them. I would pull my kid out too if they were struggling with math and ELA especially ELA where kids get 50% less teaching time.

Immersion isn’t for everyone and that’s OK. But it’s great for kids whom things coming easy in other subjects and who picks up languages easily.

We are a native Spanish speaking family that chose Latin over DCI. My kid scored 5s on Cape and advanced on Spanish MAP. I have seen this comment a few times here that kids that choose Latin over DCI are failing at the target language and that isn’t always the case. The screen usage at DCI is unappealing to us. Our neighbors kids go there and play video games during class. Some families want a different experience for their kids. That doesn’t mean they are immersion flunkies.

The spanish MAP you’re talking about is reading comprehension only. The gold standard in DC is the STAMP test which measures speaking, writing, comprehension, and understanding. I understand that only one immersion school continues to dupe their families by using this reading comprehension test as some sort of metric when there is so much more to spanish language learning. I’m glad you’re happy at Latin (great school!) but you’re deluded if you think that NWEA score means anything.

Also I am sure your kid is doing great but the majority of kids who did not continue at dci usually did because they struggled with spanish which is a really good move IMO. If your kid excelled at spanish beyond reading comprehension, I personally would not be at Latin but whatever. It’s a great place for the middle of the road kid!

Why are DCI supporters so nasty? Damn.

I think there is one truly nasty DCI poster, she has the same demeaning phrases "middle of the road kid" "not good enough for my kid" etc and feels the need to insult literally every other school.

Latin does an amazing job lifting kids up. I would argue better than any other school. But their stem program is weak. Their language program is weak. In the alternative, DCI does a great job with top and bottom and not great with the middle. I truly think if your kid is an average student I would take a very hard look at Latin and cross your fingers.

I don’t think anyone is trying to insult anyone. I personally know many super high achieving bright students at Latin but most are considering walls for high school. I don’t see the same number of high achievers from dci looking to leave. I do think if your kid is a really smart and hates stem they’d find a better fit at Latin or Walls.

Not touching basis with a 10 foot pole.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Eleven kids from LAMB going to Latin really says something about DCI. That's a big proportion of the LAMB class. As well as great lottery luck!

Maybe the montessori kids would not do well with the structure at DCI and they need more handholding.

Anyway, great for the other immersion charters because they get the spots!

Montessori shouldn’t limit your choices like that. That is a sign of a bad Montessori school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Eleven kids from LAMB going to Latin really says something about DCI. That's a big proportion of the LAMB class. As well as great lottery luck!

Can’t comment about LAMB but at our charter, almost all the kids went to DCI. The high performing group of kids my son was in all wanted DCI and all are in the higher track classes in math, spanish, etc….

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Eleven kids from LAMB going to Latin really says something about DCI. That's a big proportion of the LAMB class. As well as great lottery luck!

I wonder if it says something about sibling preference, as in lots of LAMB kids with older siblings at Latin.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't be surprised if YY parents are splitting for Latin. The language has always been more of an after thought there and few native speaking families.

Nope. You can see from the waitlist how many kids went tracked to DCI for each school with seats they had. They all went to DCI.

Because all the people that got into Latin left after 4th grade. Then the schools backfilled. The 5th graders didn’t have a choice.

Not true. Anecdotal but we know families who rejected Latin and who did not play the lottery for Latin at all. They wanted DCI.

This will change now that DCI isn’t guaranteed. We want DCI but since it isn’t guaranteed, we are playing the lottery and will go to Latin or Basis, if needed. You know a bird in the hand…I wish this wasn’t the case.

Definitely play the lottery. Add in Deal too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Eleven kids from LAMB going to Latin really says something about DCI. That's a big proportion of the LAMB class. As well as great lottery luck!

I wonder if it says something about sibling preference, as in lots of LAMB kids with older siblings at Latin.

As someone who had kids at lamb I can tell you it’s hard to have them there long term. There has been tremendous churn at the administrative level and over time you see the academics declining. I was thrilled to leave and jumped at the first chance I could. We had a great time for primary and lower el, but things changed for the worse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is the bottom line if you have a high performing kid, it is Basis and DCI.

Average kid Latin

If your kid doesn’t get into the above, move to MD or VA. I would pick VA for state school benefit for college.

No good options for middle school other than above EOTP.

Don’t waste your time on settling for a poor middle school only to have to settle for another poor high school or move in high school which is worst.

Totally disagree with this. High performing kids definitely fit in at Latin. ITDS definitely has high-performers -- maybe not as many as some other middle schools because it's small -- and a really good track record of 8th graders getting into Banneker and Walls. I'm sure some Hill parents have something to say as well.

+1. The smartest kids at our DCI feeder went to Basis and Latin. We also know some super high performing kids at ITDS.

When was this? Because from our feeder all the smart kids went to DCI

One family with average kid did go to Latin because he needed more hand holding and smaller class but they are planning on sending younger kid to DCI.

I also call BS on the PP saying the “smart” kids went to Latin and basis. The only kids who ended up at Latin, Basis, or Deal were those who struggled with the target language or were burnt out with our charter administration. I’m not saying those kids are less intelligent but certainly would not describe them as the “smart” kids. DCI has been a great experience for us.

+1. I’m the PP and same at my feeder. Kids left because they just struggled with the language which of course affected core subjects.

I don’t blame them. I would pull my kid out too if they were struggling with math and ELA especially ELA where kids get 50% less teaching time.

Immersion isn’t for everyone and that’s OK. But it’s great for kids whom things coming easy in other subjects and who picks up languages easily.

We are a native Spanish speaking family that chose Latin over DCI. My kid scored 5s on Cape and advanced on Spanish MAP. I have seen this comment a few times here that kids that choose Latin over DCI are failing at the target language and that isn’t always the case. The screen usage at DCI is unappealing to us. Our neighbors kids go there and play video games during class. Some families want a different experience for their kids. That doesn’t mean they are immersion flunkies.

The spanish MAP you’re talking about is reading comprehension only. The gold standard in DC is the STAMP test which measures speaking, writing, comprehension, and understanding. I understand that only one immersion school continues to dupe their families by using this reading comprehension test as some sort of metric when there is so much more to spanish language learning. I’m glad you’re happy at Latin (great school!) but you’re deluded if you think that NWEA score means anything.

Also I am sure your kid is doing great but the majority of kids who did not continue at dci usually did because they struggled with spanish which is a really good move IMO. If your kid excelled at spanish beyond reading comprehension, I personally would not be at Latin but whatever. It’s a great place for the middle of the road kid!

Why are DCI supporters so nasty? Damn.

I think there is one truly nasty DCI poster, she has the same demeaning phrases "middle of the road kid" "not good enough for my kid" etc and feels the need to insult literally every other school.

Latin does an amazing job lifting kids up. I would argue better than any other school. But their stem program is weak. Their language program is weak. In the alternative, DCI does a great job with top and bottom and not great with the middle. I truly think if your kid is an average student I would take a very hard look at Latin and cross your fingers.

I don’t think anyone is trying to insult anyone. I personally know many super high achieving bright students at Latin but most are considering walls for high school. I don’t see the same number of high achievers from dci looking to leave. I do think if your kid is a really smart and hates stem they’d find a better fit at Latin or Walls.

Not touching basis with a 10 foot pole.

True about DCI retaining their high performers. Anecdotal but I know of 5 kids at DCI who got spots at Walls and all declined.

BTW, some great early decision admits so far at DCI for this year - Stanford (2), Dartmouth, Cornell, Columbia. All different kids, not one kid. I’m not saying college admission is the be all and end all but at least high performing kids coming out are competitive admits for college with peers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Eleven kids from LAMB going to Latin really says something about DCI. That's a big proportion of the LAMB class. As well as great lottery luck!

I wonder if it says something about sibling preference, as in lots of LAMB kids with older siblings at Latin.

Okay, but why do those siblings not go to DCI?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Eleven kids from LAMB going to Latin really says something about DCI. That's a big proportion of the LAMB class. As well as great lottery luck!

I wonder if it says something about sibling preference, as in lots of LAMB kids with older siblings at Latin.

Twins? Both more likely to have gotten PK3 spots at LAMB and 5th grade spots at Latin.