Whose happy with Jackson Reed this year. Considering new Macarthur school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FWIW Frederick is great. We'd love if some DC families would follow and are convincing our friends. Covid has hit schools hard. To be fair they were doing well pre-covid in many instances but this is what is happening around the country. Smaller schools are better equipt to manage all the social issues Covid has brought coupled with an overcrowded school system.

Hard pass.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Could you be a little more specific? J-R has over 2000 kids. Mine is happy, athlete, B student, 1 AP, doing just fine. I’m sure that would make many on this list head for MD. And many others have different kids with different interests. So maybe let us know what you are looking for and we can offer more info.

Not OP, but I have a B student with the option for JR. I’m worried about this kid falling into the gap between the high-fliers and the kids who barely graduate. I would love to know how JR works for kids in that middle group, who aren’t much talked about on here. Do they actually master algebra and the five paragraph essay? Do they need to have a certain personality to thrive? Does anyone at JR encourage them to join a team, or to do any extracurriculars, or do you have to be a self-starter? And same question for everything, really: will anyone at JR help my kid pick appropriate electives, or notice if their grades slip into C territory? I’ve been thinking that even with all the unknowns, MacArthur might be better purely on size.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Could you be a little more specific? J-R has over 2000 kids. Mine is happy, athlete, B student, 1 AP, doing just fine. I’m sure that would make many on this list head for MD. And many others have different kids with different interests. So maybe let us know what you are looking for and we can offer more info.

Not OP, but I have a B student with the option for JR. I’m worried about this kid falling into the gap between the high-fliers and the kids who barely graduate. I would love to know how JR works for kids in that middle group, who aren’t much talked about on here. Do they actually master algebra and the five paragraph essay? Do they need to have a certain personality to thrive? Does anyone at JR encourage them to join a team, or to do any extracurriculars, or do you have to be a self-starter? And same question for everything, really: will anyone at JR help my kid pick appropriate electives, or notice if their grades slip into C territory? I’ve been thinking that even with all the unknowns, MacArthur might be better purely on size.

I have the same question for my B- student. He has some mild LD and I am curious how these kids do as well. I always here smart kids do so well. What about the others? Also do they have remedial classes? Or just regular classes and honors or aps?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is schoolwork easy? Guess the smarter kids will get all A's then and get into better schools. Seems like a win-win if you ask me. Also, to the Maryland comment, we love that JR starts 9am. My kids love to sleep in. I believe the bell is at 7:30 am in Maryland Montgomery County schools. You couldn't pay me to move there!javascript:void(0);

No, opposite is true. When anyone that does anything gets As then it's very hard on admissions. Friend's kids who are seniors are finding this to be the case.

Also, people forget that once you get in to these "better schools", kids need to be able to do well. If they are not being educated well in high school, it will be a struggle. It's easier for the UMD grad with a 4.0 gpa to get that first job than a Harvard grad with 2.5.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FWIW Frederick is great. We'd love if some DC families would follow and are convincing our friends. Covid has hit schools hard. To be fair they were doing well pre-covid in many instances but this is what is happening around the country. Smaller schools are better equipt to manage all the social issues Covid has brought coupled with an overcrowded school system.

Fredneck? No thanks.

Exactly... Some serious racial issues ..I'll pass

THIS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is schoolwork easy? Guess the smarter kids will get all A's then and get into better schools. Seems like a win-win if you ask me. Also, to the Maryland comment, we love that JR starts 9am. My kids love to sleep in. I believe the bell is at 7:30 am in Maryland Montgomery County schools. You couldn't pay me to move there!javascript:void(0);

No, opposite is true. When anyone that does anything gets As then it's very hard on admissions. Friend's kids who are seniors are finding this to be the case.

Also, people forget that once you get in to these "better schools", kids need to be able to do well. If they are not being educated well in high school, it will be a struggle. It's easier for the UMD grad with a 4.0 gpa to get that first job than a Harvard grad with 2.5.

No, it's not. The Harvard grad wins every time. She me something that says something different. Signed undistinguished but very marketable Harvard Law grad

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is schoolwork easy? Guess the smarter kids will get all A's then and get into better schools. Seems like a win-win if you ask me. Also, to the Maryland comment, we love that JR starts 9am. My kids love to sleep in. I believe the bell is at 7:30 am in Maryland Montgomery County schools. You couldn't pay me to move there!javascript:void(0);

No, opposite is true. When anyone that does anything gets As then it's very hard on admissions. Friend's kids who are seniors are finding this to be the case.

Also, people forget that once you get in to these "better schools", kids need to be able to do well. If they are not being educated well in high school, it will be a struggle. It's easier for the UMD grad with a 4.0 gpa to get that first job than a Harvard grad with 2.5.

No, it's not. The Harvard grad wins every time. She me something that says something different. Signed undistinguished but very marketable Harvard Law grad

+1. UMD grads with a 4.0 are a dime a dozen.

Oh and OP - it's Who's, not Whose

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is schoolwork easy? Guess the smarter kids will get all A's then and get into better schools. Seems like a win-win if you ask me. Also, to the Maryland comment, we love that JR starts 9am. My kids love to sleep in. I believe the bell is at 7:30 am in Maryland Montgomery County schools. You couldn't pay me to move there!javascript:void(0);

No, opposite is true. When anyone that does anything gets As then it's very hard on admissions. Friend's kids who are seniors are finding this to be the case.

Also, people forget that once you get in to these "better schools", kids need to be able to do well. If they are not being educated well in high school, it will be a struggle. It's easier for the UMD grad with a 4.0 gpa to get that first job than a Harvard grad with 2.5.

Harvard has huge grade inflation. No one leaves Harvard with less than a 3.0.
In many classes, perhaps not science and math, the minimum grade awarded is a B

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Could you be a little more specific? J-R has over 2000 kids. Mine is happy, athlete, B student, 1 AP, doing just fine. I’m sure that would make many on this list head for MD. And many others have different kids with different interests. So maybe let us know what you are looking for and we can offer more info.

Not OP, but I have a B student with the option for JR. I’m worried about this kid falling into the gap between the high-fliers and the kids who barely graduate. I would love to know how JR works for kids in that middle group, who aren’t much talked about on here. Do they actually master algebra and the five paragraph essay? Do they need to have a certain personality to thrive? Does anyone at JR encourage them to join a team, or to do any extracurriculars, or do you have to be a self-starter? And same question for everything, really: will anyone at JR help my kid pick appropriate electives, or notice if their grades slip into C territory? I’ve been thinking that even with all the unknowns, MacArthur might be better purely on size.

I have the same question for my B- student. He has some mild LD and I am curious how these kids do as well. I always here smart kids do so well. What about the others? Also do they have remedial classes? Or just regular classes and honors or aps?

I would be concerned about sending a B- student to JR. You will have to monitor and push them from home. No one at school will be keeping track of them getting Cs or pushing them to join clubs. That being said, your kid may mature and develop a lot during HS and they may change their academic outlook on their own. Adolescents grow both emotionally and physically during the high school years. Your kid may also enjoy JR as many kids find it a fun experience

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is schoolwork easy? Guess the smarter kids will get all A's then and get into better schools. Seems like a win-win if you ask me. Also, to the Maryland comment, we love that JR starts 9am. My kids love to sleep in. I believe the bell is at 7:30 am in Maryland Montgomery County schools. You couldn't pay me to move there!javascript:void(0);

Ugh. Is this what DCPS thinks?! Do you not understand that colleges pay attention to HS’s overall profile? Colleges hate schools that are too easy and where everybody gets As, so they can’t actually distinguish performance.

A school with J-R’s profile makes standardized test scores matter more. It’s good for some kids and bad for others, in terms of what it does to their admissions prospects.

A small group might benefit in admissions. No one benefits in actual learning or college preparation.

Yet another way that DCPS sacrifices education and the achievement of the hardest working students for the sake of optics.

+1 million. And the kids are not prepare and struggle in college. The end goal is not getting easy A’s but being academically prepared for a much higher level playing field.

DS was a 2022 graduate of JR/Wilson. The above is not true. His friend cohort is not struggling in college and they are at several different T25s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why is schoolwork easy? Guess the smarter kids will get all A's then and get into better schools. Seems like a win-win if you ask me. Also, to the Maryland comment, we love that JR starts 9am. My kids love to sleep in. I believe the bell is at 7:30 am in Maryland Montgomery County schools. You couldn't pay me to move there!javascript:void(0);

It’s 7:45 in MCPS but agree that DCPS start time is better.

[Anonymous]

My kid who graduated in 2020 couldn’t write his way out of a paper bag but once he got to college (he and his friends had pretty great acceptances) he discovered that neither could most of the kids there. I don’t think writing is really taught in HS anymore. Teachers just don’t have time to grade essays for the number of kids they have to teach these days.

[Anonymous]

I keep hearing about how teachers don’t have time to grade essays anymore. How do teachers do it in Europe then? There are large class sizes there as well. I think this has more to do with the fact that writing is not tested, unlike reading and math so there is a who cares attitude about it..

I have seen graded math work for my DC but never ELA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is schoolwork easy? Guess the smarter kids will get all A's then and get into better schools. Seems like a win-win if you ask me. Also, to the Maryland comment, we love that JR starts 9am. My kids love to sleep in. I believe the bell is at 7:30 am in Maryland Montgomery County schools. You couldn't pay me to move there!javascript:void(0);

Ugh. Is this what DCPS thinks?! Do you not understand that colleges pay attention to HS’s overall profile? Colleges hate schools that are too easy and where everybody gets As, so they can’t actually distinguish performance.

A school with J-R’s profile makes standardized test scores matter more. It’s good for some kids and bad for others, in terms of what it does to their admissions prospects.

A small group might benefit in admissions. No one benefits in actual learning or college preparation.

Yet another way that DCPS sacrifices education and the achievement of the hardest working students for the sake of optics.

+1 million. And the kids are not prepare and struggle in college. The end goal is not getting easy A’s but being academically prepared for a much higher level playing field.

And the more kids are admitted to colleges where they end up struggling, the fewer admits from the same high school those colleges will take the next years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is schoolwork easy? Guess the smarter kids will get all A's then and get into better schools. Seems like a win-win if you ask me. Also, to the Maryland comment, we love that JR starts 9am. My kids love to sleep in. I believe the bell is at 7:30 am in Maryland Montgomery County schools. You couldn't pay me to move there!javascript:void(0);

Ugh. Is this what DCPS thinks?! Do you not understand that colleges pay attention to HS’s overall profile? Colleges hate schools that are too easy and where everybody gets As, so they can’t actually distinguish performance.

A school with J-R’s profile makes standardized test scores matter more. It’s good for some kids and bad for others, in terms of what it does to their admissions prospects.

A small group might benefit in admissions. No one benefits in actual learning or college preparation.

Yet another way that DCPS sacrifices education and the achievement of the hardest working students for the sake of optics.

+1 million. And the kids are not prepare and struggle in college. The end goal is not getting easy A’s but being academically prepared for a much higher level playing field.

And the more kids are admitted to colleges where they end up struggling, the fewer admits from the same high school those colleges will take the next years.

Except no one has cited evidence of either of these things—that JR alumni are underprepared for college relative to peers OR that college admissions suffer because of it. If anything, JR’s ED admissions this year suggest that JR has a pretty good reputation with top schools….