school without walls essay prompt

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just sounds like an anxious parent of an eighth grader trying trying to figure out what to tell her kid to help him get ready for the essay test. Maybe grab a little intel from DCUM or crowdsource a halfway decent guess.

Nope. Just a DCPS parent sick and tired of watching DC destroy the few good schools we have in the name of equity.

This comment has a lot of racist undertones but how about you just not send your kid to Walls if you think it’s been ‘destroyed.’

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just sounds like an anxious parent of an eighth grader trying trying to figure out what to tell her kid to help him get ready for the essay test. Maybe grab a little intel from DCUM or crowdsource a halfway decent guess.

Nope. Just a DCPS parent sick and tired of watching DC destroy the few good schools we have in the name of equity.

This comment has a lot of racist undertones but how about you just not send your kid to Walls if you think it’s been ‘destroyed.’

There was a quote in the Washington Informer article from a Ward 8 dad saying the same thing. Like it or not, by HS, any competent educational system needs to provide HS programs reserved for the highly motivated college bound kids. Getting rid of those programs in the name of equity is educational malpractice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just sounds like an anxious parent of an eighth grader trying trying to figure out what to tell her kid to help him get ready for the essay test. Maybe grab a little intel from DCUM or crowdsource a halfway decent guess.

Nope. Just a DCPS parent sick and tired of watching DC destroy the few good schools we have in the name of equity.

This comment has a lot of racist undertones but how about you just not send your kid to Walls if you think it’s been ‘destroyed.’

There was a quote in the Washington Informer article from a Ward 8 dad saying the same thing. Like it or not, by HS, any competent educational system needs to provide HS programs reserved for the highly motivated college bound kids. Getting rid of those programs in the name of equity is educational malpractice.

Walls is still reserved for highly motivated college bound kids. There are just more kids meeting that description in DC than there used to be, and no practical way to expand Walls, so they can’t all go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just sounds like an anxious parent of an eighth grader trying trying to figure out what to tell her kid to help him get ready for the essay test. Maybe grab a little intel from DCUM or crowdsource a halfway decent guess.

Nope. Just a DCPS parent sick and tired of watching DC destroy the few good schools we have in the name of equity.

This comment has a lot of racist undertones but how about you just not send your kid to Walls if you think it’s been ‘destroyed.’

There was a quote in the Washington Informer article from a Ward 8 dad saying the same thing. Like it or not, by HS, any competent educational system needs to provide HS programs reserved for the highly motivated college bound kids. Getting rid of those programs in the name of equity is educational malpractice.

Walls is still reserved for highly motivated college bound kids. There are just more kids meeting that description in DC than there used to be, and no practical way to expand Walls, so they can’t all go.

Of course there is a practical way to expand Walls or increase admissions to other selective schools like McKinley. In case you didn’t notice, DC is perfectly happy to contemplate completely dismantling two schools to achieve bare demographic goals. The issue is that it is not “allowed” in DC to prioritize academic merit.

[Anonymous]

DC could create another Walls/Banneker. But that would mean putting more resources toward the smart motivated kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC could create another Walls/Banneker. But that would mean putting more resources toward the smart motivated kids.

You’re saying that if DC was willing to put more resources into college-prep programs for smart motivated kids, they could build a brand-new campus for Banneker and expand enrollment.

What makes you so certain that DC would never do that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just sounds like an anxious parent of an eighth grader trying trying to figure out what to tell her kid to help him get ready for the essay test. Maybe grab a little intel from DCUM or crowdsource a halfway decent guess.

Nope. Just a DCPS parent sick and tired of watching DC destroy the few good schools we have in the name of equity.

NP. Wow, overt racism. Really? I pray I don't know you IRL. Whatever privilege you were handed in life and subsequently handed that privilege over to your child, does not mean you or your child are better than anyone else. I get it. You are afraid of equity because it means you can't just use your privilege to succeed. You actually have to use merit.

Your child was allowed to start the race before the flag went down. Now, a referee is saying "Wait, the race was rigged. It is not fair that your kid started to run before the race actually began. We need equity. You are furious. But even still neither you nor your child will be penalized. Just stay where you are, but I'm going to stop the timer for a few seconds to try to let the other kids try to catch. Don't worry. I will not let them catch up because I can't start the game over, but they can try. " Now, your child is STILL in the lead but you are complaining that the race was slowed down to allow the others a "fairer" chance at a better score.

Equity is not a bad word. Racism is. Learn that now. Teach your child.

Serious question, I genuinely want to know, how do you think they "score" the interview? How much actual information about a kid can be obtained in a 10-minute interview?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC could create another Walls/Banneker. But that would mean putting more resources toward the smart motivated kids.

They have added options recently. The early college program at Coolidge is very new, selective, and students attend real college classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC could create another Walls/Banneker. But that would mean putting more resources toward the smart motivated kids.

They have added options recently. The early college program at Coolidge is very new, selective, and students attend real college classes.

Criteria: https://enrolldcps.dc.gov/sites/dcpsenrollment/files/page_content/attachments/SY2122_Early%20College%20at%20Coolidge%20Rubric_Final%202.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, first year. DCPS was concerned that the prior year's standardless "interviews" might not be watering down the applicant pool quite enough. I heard the prompts under consideration are:

Tell us why you think academic merit and objective tests are bad? Bonus points if you can explain why diversity is more important than what you learn.

This is a joke, right? At EdFest, the principal said the essays would be based on PARC, but I don't know what that means...

Well, it’s a “joke” in the sense that racists tend to think saying racist things is somehow funny in and of itself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC could create another Walls/Banneker. But that would mean putting more resources toward the smart motivated kids.

They have added options recently. The early college program at Coolidge is very new, selective, and students attend real college classes.

Criteria: https://enrolldcps.dc.gov/sites/dcpsenrollment/files/page_content/attachments/SY2122_Early%20College%20at%20Coolidge%20Rubric_Final%202.pdf

Though it is Trinity, not Georgetown, GW, AU, or even Catholic. The Trinity https://www.princetonreview.com/college/trinity-washington-university-1022806 data reflect average HS GPA of 2.8, 75th percentile students on SAT have a 480 each in Math and English. No surprise to me that this program is similar to those in other states where the university involved is a community college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC could create another Walls/Banneker. But that would mean putting more resources toward the smart motivated kids.

You’re saying that if DC was willing to put more resources into college-prep programs for smart motivated kids, they could build a brand-new campus for Banneker and expand enrollment.

What makes you so certain that DC would never do that?

Because the trend is in the other direction, although Banneker gets a pass since it is historically black.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not sure why adding an essay would water down the applicant pool. Or was this an attempt at a (bad) joke?

Tests are objective. But they didn't yield the demographics desired. So they moved on to subjective measures like interviews and essays.

Want me to explain it with smaller words and slower?

Haha. you need to test something in yourself. Standardized tests are not necessarily objective -- unless you mean testing, sometimes, who can afford to get their kids better prepped or afford to live in a better school district etc etc. Having a more diverse school filled with kids who want to be there is a good thing. And if it means my white upper class kid doesn't get in, so be it.

How old is your kid and where do they go to school?

I’m pretty tired of this holier-than-thou attitude about the virtues of decreasing academic expectations. It doesn’t do anyone any good, especially not promising disadvantaged black kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just sounds like an anxious parent of an eighth grader trying trying to figure out what to tell her kid to help him get ready for the essay test. Maybe grab a little intel from DCUM or crowdsource a halfway decent guess.

Nope. Just a DCPS parent sick and tired of watching DC destroy the few good schools we have in the name of equity.

NP. Wow, overt racism. Really? I pray I don't know you IRL. Whatever privilege you were handed in life and subsequently handed that privilege over to your child, does not mean you or your child are better than anyone else. I get it. You are afraid of equity because it means you can't just use your privilege to succeed. You actually have to use merit.

Your child was allowed to start the race before the flag went down. Now, a referee is saying "Wait, the race was rigged. It is not fair that your kid started to run before the race actually began. We need equity. You are furious. But even still neither you nor your child will be penalized. Just stay where you are, but I'm going to stop the timer for a few seconds to try to let the other kids try to catch. Don't worry. I will not let them catch up because I can't start the game over, but they can try. " Now, your child is STILL in the lead but you are complaining that the race was slowed down to allow the others a "fairer" chance at a better score.

Equity is not a bad word. Racism is. Learn that now. Teach your child.

Equity is literally the opposite of merit. And used in the way it is used now, it actually reduces opportunity for black kids because it covers up the actual deficits of the system. Open access to Walls wouldn’t do anything for DC kids except remove academic preparation for the kids who need it - including black kids. Somehow Banneker doesn’t shy away from expecting a lot from DC black kids …

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC could create another Walls/Banneker. But that would mean putting more resources toward the smart motivated kids.

They have added options recently. The early college program at Coolidge is very new, selective, and students attend real college classes.

Why in the world would sending unprepared kids to “real college classes” (at a low stats college) be considered a good idea? It reeks of an inability to actually face the fact of what it takes to teach HS kids to study hard and learn. “Oh it’s ok that they get 1s/2s on AP calculus because they can take Sociology 101 at Trinity.” Please!