What Will My Kid Miss by Not Going to Jackson Reed?

[Anonymous]

PP here. Other issues you should be aware of. At the extremely low performing high school I attended, the following issues were present:
-College was a fringe, alternative option rather than the default
-No clubs met regularly
-Had trouble fielding sports teams because most kids had no organized sports experience and because kids had to miss practices a lot to go to work

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Walls is a complete crap shoot now. How about Banneker or McKinley?

OP, if you intend to move for JR, consider just moving over the line for Blair in MoCo.

No way will either of those schools become better than SWW. Removing the test doesn't eliminate the majority of kids.


I'd consider B-CC also. Blair is 3K kids. B-CC isn't as diverse but a lot smaller and an IB school.

[Anonymous]

Is the school you are considering (other than JR) safe? Whether within, or even outside getting there? I ask because elementary is one thing. By middle /HS there can be a lot of delineating who is in/out at any given time, and this can be expressed with violence at all schools, but moreso at lower income (ie fronting and jumping and beat downs and respect/disrespect) unless the schools takes a strong stand to build an ethos and provide security (not saying JR does a great job of this at all, but more $/less overall proclitivity to front for ones peers through violence rather than other means...). JR also has a sizable black population so your kid wouldn't be a singleton as a white kid (if that's what they like/are used to) but they could certainly find black friends. I am thinking of that white kid who attended the HBCU in the old Kid n' Play movies I would definitely have many more questions beyond academics OP. And yes, if your kid wants to be around lots of high achieving black kids and can meet the standard himself why not Banneker?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is OP. Not to get too technical but we sort of live in boundary. Today. I’d appreciate if you just trust me on this.

Just wondering what classes and extracurricular things my son won’t get. I get that he won’t have kids around him like him. I do wonder if the teachers anywhere really push any of the kids ever. Suspicious they really don’t anywhere.

OP- reading between the lines here but I’m guessing that you’re one of the ward 4 folks that has access to J/R that will ultimately “sunset” and the alternate is Roosevelt? Only asking because it’s really hard to compare J/R to a generic “everything else” and I know my advice (amongst others’) may vary depending on the school in question.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is OP. Not to get too technical but we sort of live in boundary. Today. I’d appreciate if you just trust me on this.

Just wondering what classes and extracurricular things my son won’t get. I get that he won’t have kids around him like him. I do wonder if the teachers anywhere really push any of the kids ever. Suspicious they really don’t anywhere.

My kid graduated from Wilson (then) a year ago. There were some teachers who definitely pushed my kid. My kid learned how to write from her amazing AP US History teacher. She also had a strong Calculus teacher. There were some strong clubs that she participated in. Some teachers were meh, some were batshit crazy but some were excellent. No idea about other DC high schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is OP. Not to get too technical but we sort of live in boundary. Today. I’d appreciate if you just trust me on this.

Just wondering what classes and extracurricular things my son won’t get. I get that he won’t have kids around him like him. I do wonder if the teachers anywhere really push any of the kids ever. Suspicious they really don’t anywhere.

OP- reading between the lines here but I’m guessing that you’re one of the ward 4 folks that has access to J/R that will ultimately “sunset” and the alternate is Roosevelt? Only asking because it’s really hard to compare J/R to a generic “everything else” and I know my advice (amongst others’) may vary depending on the school in question.

I think you are wrong about teachers. My kids are at a MCPS highschool (not a W school) and there are many good to excellent teachers who understand my kids and make sure to challenge them. MCPS has become extremely lax about discipline in schools so there is a good amount of chaos in schools but teacher quality is still high. I know teachers are having a rough year so I hope we don’t lose too many of them

[Anonymous]

DCPS HS teacher here. Here is what your kid will miss:
- advanced math. A Calculus track won’t even be in the cards.
- Stable teaching staff. Teacher turnover rate at neighborhood schools can be atrocious.This is a HUGE factor. This means programs that a teacher loved and wanted to grow could just disappear when they leave. This also means less experienced teachers (generally) and the possibility of long term subs “teaching” your kid.
- AP preparation
- Stable admin. Turnover is high, so school culture is difficult to improve or even maintain year to year. This also means lots of random “initiatives” each year that don’t do much to improve student outcomes.

[Anonymous]

Another DC HS teacher here. J-R is about to undergo a huge admin change, the search for a new Principal, and the expected loss a number of teachers, a bit higher than normal but likely on average with post COVID turnover rates. The facility is in need of extensive repair and additional space which has been requested, primarily in temporary form, and downtown is generally unsupportive of needed improvements. That said there is likely more academic opportunity than at other DCPS schools and many self funded extra curriculars.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is OP. Not to get too technical but we sort of live in boundary. Today. I’d appreciate if you just trust me on this.

Just wondering what classes and extracurricular things my son won’t get. I get that he won’t have kids around him like him. I do wonder if the teachers anywhere really push any of the kids ever. Suspicious they really don’t anywhere.

There's lots of information on school websites. Go to the JR site and look at the courses offered for next year and compare that to your other school. Look at the academies, which each have a summary of the courses offered. Look at the clubs and think about what your child is interested in.

For a strong math student, at JR you will find alot of students taking AB or BC Calculus in grade 11 - some in grade 10. They then go on to take AP Stats and/or a duel enrollment course at GW. Look at the other HS you are considering and see how this pathway compares. Some only go through pre-Calc and others only offer A/B calc. Also look at the SciMaTech academy offerings.

At JR, there is really strong theatre, school newspaper, several computer hacking clubs and a strong robotics team, lots of sports teams and many many clubs. What offerings does the other school(s) have?

These are the benefits of the relative size of JR. There are some negatives (crowded hallways, large class sizes), but at the HS level I think lots of families find that the benefits of a large school outweigh the negatives.

[Anonymous]

Peer group, larger advanced cohort = advanced classes, lots of extracurriculars and sports, good location with easy walkability to safe places for teens to hang out (cafes, etc.).

OP, we looked at this calculation a few years ago and decided to move in bounds for Deal and Wilson (now JR). For us, it was much better than the charter track we were on. Our oldest is going to JR next year and we're very excited about it. We're also glad that JR is dumping the 4x4 schedule for next year.

Also, the large school aspect doesn't bother us or DC. At Deal, it keeps a bit of the mean girl stuff and bullying at bay because most students won't even know who your kid is. It's made it easy for our kid to find her people, too. If your child goes to JR, then have them join some clubs and activities that interest them to find their tribe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DCPS HS teacher here. Here is what your kid will miss:
- advanced math. A Calculus track won’t even be in the cards.
- Stable teaching staff. Teacher turnover rate at neighborhood schools can be atrocious.This is a HUGE factor. This means programs that a teacher loved and wanted to grow could just disappear when they leave. This also means less experienced teachers (generally) and the possibility of long term subs “teaching” your kid.
- AP preparation
- Stable admin. Turnover is high, so school culture is difficult to improve or even maintain year to year. This also means lots of random “initiatives” each year that don’t do much to improve student outcomes.

DCPS teacher here seconding the above!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DCPS HS teacher here. Here is what your kid will miss:
- advanced math. A Calculus track won’t even be in the cards.
- Stable teaching staff. Teacher turnover rate at neighborhood schools can be atrocious. This is a HUGE factor. This means programs that a teacher loved and wanted to grow could just disappear when they leave. This also means less experienced teachers (generally) and the possibility of long term subs “teaching” your kid.
- AP preparation
- Stable admin. Turnover is high, so school culture is difficult to improve or even maintain year to year. This also means lots of random “initiatives” each year that don’t do much to improve student outcomes.

Are these available at Jackson-Reed? Or are you saying that OP needs to go to the suburbs/private?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCPS HS teacher here. Here is what your kid will miss:
- advanced math. A Calculus track won’t even be in the cards.
- Stable teaching staff. Teacher turnover rate at neighborhood schools can be atrocious.This is a HUGE factor. This means programs that a teacher loved and wanted to grow could just disappear when they leave. This also means less experienced teachers (generally) and the possibility of long term subs “teaching” your kid.
- AP preparation
- Stable admin. Turnover is high, so school culture is difficult to improve or even maintain year to year. This also means lots of random “initiatives” each year that don’t do much to improve student outcomes.

DCPS teacher here seconding the above!

Are you MS or HS teachers?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCPS HS teacher here. Here is what your kid will miss:
- advanced math. A Calculus track won’t even be in the cards.
- Stable teaching staff. Teacher turnover rate at neighborhood schools can be atrocious. This is a HUGE factor. This means programs that a teacher loved and wanted to grow could just disappear when they leave. This also means less experienced teachers (generally) and the possibility of long term subs “teaching” your kid.
- AP preparation
- Stable admin. Turnover is high, so school culture is difficult to improve or even maintain year to year. This also means lots of random “initiatives” each year that don’t do much to improve student outcomes.

Are these available at Jackson-Reed? Or are you saying that OP needs to go to the suburbs/private?

Im the PP. These are more available at JR than at any other neighborhood (and some application) schools.

[Anonymous]

This is OP: Can you get calculus at Banneker?