Jefferson Middle School Academy

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, although DCPS already provides algebra at almost every middle school currently, it will do so in EVERY school with middle grades, whether it be a stand alone middle school or an education campus starting this coming school year. In addition to that, at 3 middle schools, where the majority of "advanced" middle school DCPS students are located (Deal, Stuart-Hobson, and Hardy), geometry is offered in 8th grade and algebra in 7th grade. This is a practice that is spreading in DCPS. So I don't agree that DCPS ignores the needs of advanced students--almost every "gifted" math student, who can take algebra in 7th grade, geometry in 8th grade, can end up taking 2 full years worth of either AP Calculus (AB and BC) or AP Statistics, or join in one of the DCPS dual college enrollment programs for their final two years of high school. I fail to see, as a DCPS employee, how that is NOT meeting the needs of advanced students. Should geometry be offered in more middle schools beyond Deal, Hardy, and Stuart-Hobson? Yes, and I have no doubt that it will.

Your own words disprove your premise because you're acknowledging that math is the only advanced course offered by some middle schools. If an entire school day were a sandwich, kids getting a piece of lettuce on their plates would be good enough, according to you. Me, I'd want my kid (assuming he's hungry) to be provided the full sandwich, or at least some bread with meat, cheese and mayonnaise. Why won't DCPS provide them with the whole sandwich? Just lettuce isn't good enough.

DCPS is failing most students, so clearly they are getting crumbs!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, although DCPS already provides algebra at almost every middle school currently, it will do so in EVERY school with middle grades, whether it be a stand alone middle school or an education campus starting this coming school year. In addition to that, at 3 middle schools, where the majority of "advanced" middle school DCPS students are located (Deal, Stuart-Hobson, and Hardy), geometry is offered in 8th grade and algebra in 7th grade. This is a practice that is spreading in DCPS. So I don't agree that DCPS ignores the needs of advanced students--almost every "gifted" math student, who can take algebra in 7th grade, geometry in 8th grade, can end up taking 2 full years worth of either AP Calculus (AB and BC) or AP Statistics, or join in one of the DCPS dual college enrollment programs for their final two years of high school. I fail to see, as a DCPS employee, how that is NOT meeting the needs of advanced students. Should geometry be offered in more middle schools beyond Deal, Hardy, and Stuart-Hobson? Yes, and I have no doubt that it will.

Your own words disprove your premise because you're acknowledging that math is the only advanced course offered by some middle schools. If an entire school day were a sandwich, kids getting a piece of lettuce on their plates would be good enough, according to you. Me, I'd want my kid (assuming he's hungry) to be provided the full sandwich, or at least some bread with meat, cheese and mayonnaise. Why won't DCPS provide them with the whole sandwich? Just lettuce isn't good enough.

Not the PP who's offering you lettuce, but there is not a single public school in the city that you will be satisfied with. It's not going to change enough in your timeframe.

You've got a few options:

Start your own charter school.
Move.
Homeschool.
Let it go.

[Anonymous]

Puh-leeze, silly person! You're forgetting about "Deal for All." Deal would be perfectly fine with me, even though it does not offer truly advanced courses. Hardy with advanced Math and English in 6th grade would be just fine with me. The Wilson High School under Cahill (with advanced courses in 9th grade) was perfectly fine with me.

Y'all haters of academics like to act like we academic lovers are impossible to please. You're wrong. It's. Just. Not. That. Hard. To. Please. Me. No one can adequately explain why DCPS won't do it, unless they just hate people like me, as apparently you do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Puh-leeze, silly person! You're forgetting about "Deal for All." Deal would be perfectly fine with me, even though it does not offer truly advanced courses. Hardy with advanced Math and English in 6th grade would be just fine with me. The Wilson High School under Cahill (with advanced courses in 9th grade) was perfectly fine with me.

Y'all haters of academics like to act like we academic lovers are impossible to please. You're wrong. It's. Just. Not. That. Hard. To. Please. Me. No one can adequately explain why DCPS won't do it, unless they just hate people like me, as apparently you do.

Then lottery or move for a Deal or Hardy feeder. It's not that hard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think schools get PARCC until September.

And none of they other schools use PARCC for placement anyway. They used iReady to place my DC at Deal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Puh-leeze, silly person! You're forgetting about "Deal for All." Deal would be perfectly fine with me, even though it does not offer truly advanced courses. Hardy with advanced Math and English in 6th grade would be just fine with me. The Wilson High School under Cahill (with advanced courses in 9th grade) was perfectly fine with me.

Y'all haters of academics like to act like we academic lovers are impossible to please. You're wrong. It's. Just. Not. That. Hard. To. Please. Me. No one can adequately explain why DCPS won't do it, unless they just hate people like me, as apparently you do.

Then lottery or move for a Deal or Hardy feeder. It's not that hard.

Right, this is the solution in Ward 6, year after year, decade after decade, give up, move. Perfect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, although DCPS already provides algebra at almost every middle school currently, it will do so in EVERY school with middle grades, whether it be a stand alone middle school or an education campus starting this coming school year. In addition to that, at 3 middle schools, where the majority of "advanced" middle school DCPS students are located (Deal, Stuart-Hobson, and Hardy), geometry is offered in 8th grade and algebra in 7th grade. This is a practice that is spreading in DCPS. So I don't agree that DCPS ignores the needs of advanced students--almost every "gifted" math student, who can take algebra in 7th grade, geometry in 8th grade, can end up taking 2 full years worth of either AP Calculus (AB and BC) or AP Statistics, or join in one of the DCPS dual college enrollment programs for their final two years of high school. I fail to see, as a DCPS employee, how that is NOT meeting the needs of advanced students. Should geometry be offered in more middle schools beyond Deal, Hardy, and Stuart-Hobson? Yes, and I have no doubt that it will.

Your own words disprove your premise because you're acknowledging that math is the only advanced course offered by some middle schools. If an entire school day were a sandwich, kids getting a piece of lettuce on their plates would be good enough, according to you. Me, I'd want my kid (assuming he's hungry) to be provided the full sandwich, or at least some bread with meat, cheese and mayonnaise. Why won't DCPS provide them with the whole sandwich? Just lettuce isn't good enough.

This was the first example, and because math works best with an acceleration approach. Your child can get his/her "sandwich", Miss Hungry Hungry Hippo--both Stuart Hobson and Hardy offer Honors courses, Deal has a strong IB program and then in the DCPS high schools almost everyone offers at least 15 AP courses. Wilson and School Without Walls each offers 20+ AP courses. All DCPS high schools have dual enrollment college agreements as well, if they want to go that route. Snack on that, hon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, although DCPS already provides algebra at almost every middle school currently, it will do so in EVERY school with middle grades, whether it be a stand alone middle school or an education campus starting this coming school year. In addition to that, at 3 middle schools, where the majority of "advanced" middle school DCPS students are located (Deal, Stuart-Hobson, and Hardy), geometry is offered in 8th grade and algebra in 7th grade. This is a practice that is spreading in DCPS. So I don't agree that DCPS ignores the needs of advanced students--almost every "gifted" math student, who can take algebra in 7th grade, geometry in 8th grade, can end up taking 2 full years worth of either AP Calculus (AB and BC) or AP Statistics, or join in one of the DCPS dual college enrollment programs for their final two years of high school. I fail to see, as a DCPS employee, how that is NOT meeting the needs of advanced students. Should geometry be offered in more middle schools beyond Deal, Hardy, and Stuart-Hobson? Yes, and I have no doubt that it will.

Your own words disprove your premise because you're acknowledging that math is the only advanced course offered by some middle schools. If an entire school day were a sandwich, kids getting a piece of lettuce on their plates would be good enough, according to you. Me, I'd want my kid (assuming he's hungry) to be provided the full sandwich, or at least some bread with meat, cheese and mayonnaise. Why won't DCPS provide them with the whole sandwich? Just lettuce isn't good enough.

Actually MATH isn't analogous to "just lettuce" on a sandwich. And I chose it because the Peanut Gallery on here often bemoans how few advanced academic programs there are in DCPS middle schools and (almost) always use BASIS AND ITS MATH PROGRAM as a yardstick. Thus I provided you with a math example. The vast majority of academically talented math students would be very well served by taking the DCPS accelerated math approach wherein they take algebra in 7th grade and geometry in 8th grade. Does it work for every kid advanced math student? No, but it will serve the vast majority of them. Being able to take AP Calculus AB and AP Calculus BC or AP Calculus Statistics or a college course in math at one of DCPS' dual enrollment programs like GWU, Howard, or American should be very satisfactory.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Puh-leeze, silly person! You're forgetting about "Deal for All." Deal would be perfectly fine with me, even though it does not offer truly advanced courses. Hardy with advanced Math and English in 6th grade would be just fine with me. The Wilson High School under Cahill (with advanced courses in 9th grade) was perfectly fine with me.

Y'all haters of academics like to act like we academic lovers are impossible to please. You're wrong. It's. Just. Not. That. Hard. To. Please. Me. No one can adequately explain why DCPS won't do it, unless they just hate people like me, as apparently you do.

Then lottery or move for a Deal or Hardy feeder. It's not that hard.

Right, this is the solution in Ward 6, year after year, decade after decade, give up, move. Perfect.

We bailed from DCPS after Fourth.

[Anonymous]

So many Hill parents still bailing to Latin and BASIS after fourth. DCPS is incompetent as the steward of our middle schools. Henderson couldn't make a good decision on Ward 6 middle schools to save her life. Antwan Wilson doesn't seem interested. We give up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, although DCPS already provides algebra at almost every middle school currently, it will do so in EVERY school with middle grades, whether it be a stand alone middle school or an education campus starting this coming school year. In addition to that, at 3 middle schools, where the majority of "advanced" middle school DCPS students are located (Deal, Stuart-Hobson, and Hardy), geometry is offered in 8th grade and algebra in 7th grade. This is a practice that is spreading in DCPS. So I don't agree that DCPS ignores the needs of advanced students--almost every "gifted" math student, who can take algebra in 7th grade, geometry in 8th grade, can end up taking 2 full years worth of either AP Calculus (AB and BC) or AP Statistics, or join in one of the DCPS dual college enrollment programs for their final two years of high school. I fail to see, as a DCPS employee, how that is NOT meeting the needs of advanced students. Should geometry be offered in more middle schools beyond Deal, Hardy, and Stuart-Hobson? Yes, and I have no doubt that it will.

Your own words disprove your premise because you're acknowledging that math is the only advanced course offered by some middle schools. If an entire school day were a sandwich, kids getting a piece of lettuce on their plates would be good enough, according to you. Me, I'd want my kid (assuming he's hungry) to be provided the full sandwich, or at least some bread with meat, cheese and mayonnaise. Why won't DCPS provide them with the whole sandwich? Just lettuce isn't good enough.

Actually MATH isn't analogous to "just lettuce" on a sandwich. And I chose it because the Peanut Gallery on here often bemoans how few advanced academic programs there are in DCPS middle schools and (almost) always use BASIS AND ITS MATH PROGRAM as a yardstick. Thus I provided you with a math example. The vast majority of academically talented math students would be very well served by taking the DCPS accelerated math approach wherein they take algebra in 7th grade and geometry in 8th grade. Does it work for every kid advanced math student? No, but it will serve the vast majority of them. Being able to take AP Calculus AB and AP Calculus BC or AP Calculus Statistics or a college course in math at one of DCPS' dual enrollment programs like GWU, Howard, or American should be very satisfactory.

Dual enrollment programs are fine on paper, but are often hard to navigate logistically when there are other required high school classes offered at specific times and commutes need to be factored in. Yes they can be done, but it is a whole lot easier for the high school students to be able to take math classes in their own building.

[Anonymous]

As one prior poster pointed out, DCPS teachers already have the ability and training to teach advanced classes (Math, English, other subjects too) at Jefferson Academy, DCPS just doesn't want to make it happen.

[Anonymous]

I think we need to look at the data, which shows there are just not as many advanced kids coming out of Brent as parents here like to think.

The 2015-16 PARCC scores for Brent 3rd graders (a class of 60) showed that 43% were not proficient or advanced in ELA, and 33% were not proficient or advanced in Math.

The scores of the 4th graders (53 students) that year were better (70% proficient or advanced ELA and 60% math).

Only 9-10% of Brent 4th graders the last 2 years have scored 5s in PARCC math.

There are simple not dozens of underserved kids that people on this board think there are in that feeder pattern.

[Anonymous]

All you need is 20 kids to fill a class; less if it's the first year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All you need is 20 kids to fill a class; less if it's the first year.

And they don't have 20 who are advanced. They have 6-10 kids.

A 5 on PARCC is above grade level; 4 is at grade level.