Seaton vs. ITS

[Anonymous]

The thing about lists of where kids got in is it might be just one or two kids getting into many schools and others not getting into any at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If this is for lowe elementary or you care about math, Seaton. If 4th grade or older, ITS.

Because Seaton is a rockstar at math, or because ITS isn’t?

Seaton has great MGP scores and differentiates well, according to my friend whose kids go there. ITS does not differentiate math much at all in lower elementary, to my surprise and disappointment.

FWIW this isn't our experience re: math instruction and differentiation. Our kid has been very well served on both fronts, and the math instructional coaches keep getting better and better. Sorry you haven't had a good experience, though.

It seems to depend a LOT on your teacher.last year math was differentiated in many ways. This year it has been horrible and now we are questioning their comment to access in all classes.
I think the learning gap is proof they don't do this well across the board..if they did differentiate in practice as much as they talk about it the learning gap would be getting smaller.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:ITS continues it have solid middle school performances. This year, the first year to have 40+ in graduating 8th graders, I’ve heard they had double digits in elite privates (Maret, SJC, Gonzaga, Sidwell), double digits at SWW/Banneker/McKinley. I’ve heard nothing but great things about the new head of school.

A LOT of that has to do more the the upper income families than the school. Many of these kids would have done fine at any school with tutoring and all kids of resources. The middle school seems okay but I want to know how much they lifted up the lower preforming students?? What about those kids that joined in 5th or 6th and we're behind.. did ITDS catch them up?? Did the already high preforming kids grow of just keep up enough to look good?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:ITS continues it have solid middle school performances. This year, the first year to have 40+ in graduating 8th graders, I’ve heard they had double digits in elite privates (Maret, SJC, Gonzaga, Sidwell), double digits at SWW/Banneker/McKinley. I’ve heard nothing but great things about the new head of school.

A LOT of that has to do more the the upper income families than the school. Many of these kids would have done fine at any school with tutoring and all kids of resources. The middle school seems okay but I want to know how much they lifted up the lower preforming students?? What about those kids that joined in 5th or 6th and we're behind.. did ITDS catch them up?? Did the already high preforming kids grow of just keep up enough to look good?

This is an excellent point. Inspired has pretty impressive test scores if you just look at the total of kids who are at 3 or 4 or above, but their scores are about on par with the demographics, generally, and their growth rates seem lackluster. For example, their ELA median growth percentile is lower than DC averages for most subgroups (including white kids). So, this suggests to me that a typical UMC kid can get a fine education there, but I'm not sure the scores suggest the instruction is better than other schools with lower test scores. I think the kids who got into fancy prep schools probably would have gotten into them from any school, not because of or despite ITS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:ITS continues it have solid middle school performances. This year, the first year to have 40+ in graduating 8th graders, I’ve heard they had double digits in elite privates (Maret, SJC, Gonzaga, Sidwell), double digits at SWW/Banneker/McKinley. I’ve heard nothing but great things about the new head of school.

A LOT of that has to do more the the upper income families than the school. Many of these kids would have done fine at any school with tutoring and all kids of resources. The middle school seems okay but I want to know how much they lifted up the lower preforming students?? What about those kids that joined in 5th or 6th and we're behind.. did ITDS catch them up?? Did the already high preforming kids grow of just keep up enough to look good?

This is an excellent point. Inspired has pretty impressive test scores if you just look at the total of kids who are at 3 or 4 or above, but their scores are about on par with the demographics, generally, and their growth rates seem lackluster. For example, their ELA median growth percentile is lower than DC averages for most subgroups (including white kids). So, this suggests to me that a typical UMC kid can get a fine education there, but I'm not sure the scores suggest the instruction is better than other schools with lower test scores. I think the kids who got into fancy prep schools probably would have gotten into them from any school, not because of or despite ITS.

Well, the more 5s you start with, the harder it is to have a high MGP, because they can't increase. But I agree, it is not over performing demographics. I think a lot of people like ITS for reasons other than test scores-- location, small size, ability to have all your kids in one place, and general approach and feel. Not all differences across schools are academic performance differences but they are still valid reasons.

[Anonymous]

I'm skeptical that Inspired is sending kids to elite private schools in the double digits. 10+ really?!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm skeptical that Inspired is sending kids to elite private schools in the double digits. 10+ really?!

I really don't know but I don't see why not. A lot of high achieving kids, some wealthy parents, and a dedicated team to help students navigate the admissions process all help. Throw in some test prep, and it's certainly possible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm skeptical that Inspired is sending kids to elite private schools in the double digits. 10+ really?!

I really don't know but I don't see why not. A lot of high achieving kids, some wealthy parents, and a dedicated team to help students navigate the admissions process all help. Throw in some test prep, and it's certainly possible.

I think it depends what you consider elite. But they usually publish a list. Also, got into a school isn't the same as attending. One kid can get into more than one school.

[Anonymous]

How screwed up is that we base an elementary and middle scho education on if it can save you from a neighborhood high school. We play the lottery, read research all to try and find the least bad and maybe good school for our kids. It is just really sad sometimes.

[Anonymous]

Has Inspired opened up more fully this term? We have a low waitlist number and are considering for next year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Has Inspired opened up more fully this term? We have a low waitlist number and are considering for next year.

They say they want to be fully open, but I don't know. The new head of school is just arriving so it's hard to know what her approach will be.

[Anonymous]

Has anyone gotten a waitlist offer from Inspired yet? Also have a low waitlist number.

[Anonymous]

Nope and our number hasn't moved at all for 1st grade.

[Anonymous]

This is our first complete cohort of 8th-grade students, with 38 students--of which 15 joined us in first grade or earlier!

Starting in 7th grade, we invited students and families to engage in a careful and intentional inquiry into the high school landscape in DC through our High School Application Support program. 34 families chose to participate, and of these, 100% successfully completed the MySchoolDC application, 85% chose to apply to at least one selective school in DC, and they fared very well!

Seven ITDS 8th graders plan to attend School Without Walls
Two or three plan to attend Banneker
Two plan to attend Duke Ellington
Two plan to attend McKinley Tech
Two plan to attend Phelps Academy
This year, we also made sure families were aware of the many exceptional independent school options in DC, and 13 of our 8th graders applied to 12 different independent schools--again, with great success. Two ITDS 8th graders have accepted spots at Maret and Templeton Academy; eight others were accepted or waitlisted at these and other highly selective schools, including Georgetown Day School, St. John’s, Elizabeth Seton, the Field School, Edmund Burke, Dematha, Gonzaga, and Sidwell Friends.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is our first complete cohort of 8th-grade students, with 38 students--of which 15 joined us in first grade or earlier!

Starting in 7th grade, we invited students and families to engage in a careful and intentional inquiry into the high school landscape in DC through our High School Application Support program. 34 families chose to participate, and of these, 100% successfully completed the MySchoolDC application, 85% chose to apply to at least one selective school in DC, and they fared very well!

Seven ITDS 8th graders plan to attend School Without Walls
Two or three plan to attend Banneker
Two plan to attend Duke Ellington
Two plan to attend McKinley Tech
Two plan to attend Phelps Academy
This year, we also made sure families were aware of the many exceptional independent school options in DC, and 13 of our 8th graders applied to 12 different independent schools--again, with great success. Two ITDS 8th graders have accepted spots at Maret and Templeton Academy; eight others were accepted or waitlisted at these and other highly selective schools, including Georgetown Day School, St. John’s, Elizabeth Seton, the Field School, Edmund Burke, Dematha, Gonzaga, and Sidwell Friends.

SEVEN at Walls? Cripes.