The time has come. Walls versus Jackson Reed

[Anonymous]

My oldesst walls kid is really into robotics and what they’re doing a Jackson Reed is a lot more advanced. He has friends there so he knows

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 11th grade son loves JR. Loves going to school and doesn't typically come home until 6 or 7 pm.

Same. And I cannot imagine this smart kid having even MORE academic pressure right now. It’s all just too much for kids. Send them where they’ll be happy.

[Anonymous]

Both schools have pluses and minuses.
One of my kids went through JR and one is a senior at Walls now.
My Walls kid has loved the school even though quality of his teachers has been mixed.
He has made a lot of great friends and they have all done very well with college admissions.
Even his STEM friends have landed at great schools. My JR kid is at college now and did not love JR but thought it was fine.
If it were me, I would encourage my kid to try out Walls for 9th grade. If you live in the JR boundary, you can always move back in 10th grade if you want.
9th grade at Walls is a lot better than at JR

[Anonymous]

What does you kid say?
For all 4 of my kids, they each made their choice between those two schools.
At that point, I told them I was proud that they put themselves in the position to make an intelligent choice.
My priority was to have the best chance at having happy teenagers. Giving them the final say in this limited choice (with informed discussion), worked for us.


Either choice will be fine

[Anonymous]

Do colleges prefer kids coming from one v another? Are the grades at each seen as being equal?

[Anonymous]

Can anyone outline pros and cons of each? TIA!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do colleges prefer kids coming from one v another? Are the grades at each seen as being equal?

I don’t believe colleges prefer either school.
Walls had strong college admissions this year.
I assume that JR did too although I don’t know for sure

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What kind of kids do well at Jackson Reed. It’s so hard to judge these things from the outside as to whether which school could be good for kids which is why I look on this website for answers. You can’t even tour the school!

Jackson-Reed has been running tons of tours. Not understanding this comment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone outline pros and cons of each? TIA!

I will take a shot:

Walls Pros
- Academically motivated kids and smaller overall school size
- Far fewer disruptive kids (close to none)
- Ability to do the Associates Degree with GW, though that is the only way to get DCPS credit at GW (i.e., if you want Dual Enrollment DCPS credit, you have to go elsewhere)...if you don't care about DCPS credit, then the convenience of GW is high
- Seems like very good college outcomes...though as you would expect fairly anecdotal
- If your kid just wants to play Varsity on a sports team (but doesn't really care if the team is good/great and no expectation of athletic recruiting), Walls allows that opportunity in many sports
- Offers Multivariable Calc at Walls vs. JR that stops at BC and then you have to do DE

Walls Cons
- Sports facilities are many times quite far away from the school...baseball practices at Banneker field, Soccer at RFK stadium fields, etc. and the teams are not top sports teams
- Walls has far fewer AP classes compared to JR...I think maybe 40% - 50% less...many of these are non-core APs, but probably big ones are AP CS Principles, AP CSA, AP Physics C (both sections...believe Walls only offers one of the sections). Walls does offer AP World History which JR eliminated
- If you are very interested in STEM, JR offers a ton more if you want to take engineering classes at the HS, participate in a range of STEM activities, etc.
- This is true for JR too...understand it is still a DCPS school, not a charter school...Walls sometimes has missing teachers (I believe they were missing a Biology teacher last year) with little to no back-up since it is a smaller school

JR Pros
- Lots of STEM classes and activities...more than McKinley Tech which is supposed to be the STEM Magnet school in DC
- 29 AP classes...most of any DCPS school
- The top 20-30% of kids at JR are the equivalent of Walls kids...highly motivated, 10+ APs, getting top college acceptances, etc.
- Good to great Sports teams, but quite competitive in a number (i.e., there are cuts)...Crew team is National champion, basketball team is often nationally ranked, baseball team is strong, Ultimate Frisbee team actually nationally ranked, etc. A number of D1 recruits across these different sports, including a number of Top 20 academic college recruits. They also offer football which Walls does not (if you care).
- Sports facilities are on-site...they have their own baseball field, football / soccer field, etc.
- Lots of EC opportunities in general...Beacon newspaper is well regarded, Model UN, Debate, etc....dozens

JR Cons
- Grade level classes are essentially a joke...you have to take a ton of APs because you either take AP USHistory or grade level US History (as an example)...no Honors or other accelerated classes that sit in between grade level and AP
- Had teacher issues...didn't have an AP Physics I teacher for Fall of 2021 (when school was on a semester system)...believe AP Environmental Science has had teacher problems...seems like it is getting corrected and a result of Covid teacher attrition
- Sure, there are more behavior problems and fights compared to Walls...although my kids in the top 20% says they don't even really know it is happening and doesn't seem to impact them

I am sure I missed things for both schools...but this gives you an idea I hope.

[Anonymous]

Perhaps the only helpful comment I’ve ever read on DCUM! 😂

[Anonymous]

How does Jackson Reed have such good outcomes if ninth and 10th grade are wasted there… What does that even mean

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Perhaps the only helpful comment I’ve ever read on DCUM! 😂

+1

That was a really well laid out list of pros and cons. As someone with very intimate knowledge of Walls I agree with the pros and cons. Now bring on posters who ignore that post and say ‘but but but’ . . . To trash each school!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How does Jackson Reed have such good outcomes if ninth and 10th grade are wasted there… What does that even mean

Parents supplement a lot. That’s what they don’t tell you. A whole lot

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How does Jackson Reed have such good outcomes if ninth and 10th grade are wasted there… What does that even mean

9th grade was a waste but 10th grade was not for either of my two kids who went to J-R (one is still there)…the rigor increase significantly between 9th and 10th, particularly because they could take some APs but also because some classes (languages, math) just became much more intense. In fact, 10th grade was no easier at JR than it was for my one who was at Walls (and I’d argue the teachers were better at JR).

[Anonymous]

My 10th grader is having a really good experience at JR. There is something for everyone and lots of extracurriculars to help with making friends and finding your people. Occasional dud teachers, just as we’ve heard from close friends at Walls and privates. It’s true the science/tech options at JR are terrific. Info on the Academies is on the website if you want more details. DC is getting a lot out of the BioMed track and I don’t know if there is anything quite like that at Walls. Agree with a PP that from what we’ve heard Walls may be stronger for a kid who leans towards English/Humanities.