2024 DCPS Lottery

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son is doing better than his peers in math. I am afraid he will not be challenged next year and that is why I applied at the better schools. Seeing how easy math was for him, and how easy the math is in the school led me on the journey to investigate how different DC schools were performing in math and reading as he is well beyond their level of reading also. That is how I came to discover the DC lottery for the first time. It is also how I came to discover Brent, Maury, School within School, and Ludlow Taylor as the high performers for both math and reading in the Capitol Hill area.

SWS is anti-differentiation. If you have a high performing student (higher than grade level), I would absolutely not choose there looking for extra challenge. If you're just looking for grade level challenge, it's a fine choice with a large cohort of high performers.

Even if he doesn't get challenged too hard, I would still prefer he be in a class\school with other high performers so he can see he isn't necessarily the smartest kid in the room. Something still to strive for. If he is in fact the smartest kid in a room of high performers, well... I will just be proud then! In any case those are the friends I would prefer for him, other high performers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Via Standardized test score results, absolutely Brent is doing much better than most schools in D.C. and is doing much better than my son's current school. Almost three times better.

On the zero bullying you are right. It is why my son has been in martial arts for a while. However, what I noticed was the general teacher's lack of response to the bullying. That was what I found worrying.

To echo what the prior poster said, make sure to actually talk to folks to get a comparison before you change your kids school setting. Worst case scenario is you would have to change again. There have been a lot of posts on here about Brent families feeling like they need to use mathnasium or beast academy to supplement. I have also met people who have shared that same concern about other schools in the upper grades. Again, not saying that it is 100% accurate for all families but it is worth looking into depending on what you need. Standardized tests correlate to a lot of things, including the education level of the parents and how often they are able to supplement. The quality of instruction is part of it but by no means the only piece. There was another thread a week or so ago talking about how some of the strongest instruction happens in schools that don't have the highest test scores, because those teachers are working twice as hard to help bring kids from behind up to grade level. So if a higher achieving kid ends up with one of those teachers they really excel.
I read that post (of course, I can't remember what thread it was on now) It really resonated because my kids are now in upper elementary an middle school, having gone through a title 1 school that may not have the best scores. However, the teacher experience and growth the kids show is huge, and our kids have really done well.
Anyway, just food for thought and my regular reminder not to judge schools by test scores alone because there's a lot going on behind the scenes both for high scoring schools, and less high scoring schools.

We have had exactly the same experience at our Title 1. The range of abilities in the classes is enormous, the teachers are superstars, and my own kid scored in the 98th percentile in PARCC (and they let my kids and their cohort work well above grade level -- they small group them and give them appropriate material).

I remember being so worried when my oldest son was little and I thought I was taking a huge risk by staying, but it turned out to be a great decision.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is swing space?

The school is undergoing renovations, so all of the students will be relocated to a temporary space miles away.

[Anonymous]

^^ Sorry, I should specify that for Brent, it is not currently undergoing renovations, but will be in the near future. So you are signing your kid up to go to school with Brent students and Brent teachers, but not at Brent for at least a year (perhaps 1.5 years).

[Anonymous]

Have they announced where the Brent swing space will be yet? I can't seem to find the information.

[Anonymous]

It looks like my son's current school is doing the same thing around the same timeframe. Swing Space.

[Anonymous]

Brent is overall a good school with nurturing, smart teachers so fabulous for social emotional development. The community is involved—the PTA raises $$$—which makes for a very enriching experience in the younger grades. Academically, in the upper grades, the majority of parents supplement the child’s learning in math and reading as Brent administrators refuse to level up kids especially in math. The outcome: Brent looks like it has high test scores BUT parents are paying $$$ for tutoring programs and then Brent is taking credit. This can all feel demoralizing if you can’t keep up with IB community.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have they announced where the Brent swing space will be yet? I can't seem to find the information.

I heard it's the Emery building in Eckington, but I'm not sure that's a final decision.

[Anonymous]

If you are really concerned about math instruction have DS do Beast Academy, which will make whatever happens in school irrelevant. Don’t trust ANY of these schools on the math front.

[Anonymous]

My third grader at Brent is doing very challenging math! And the instruction has been great. And we have felt no need to supplement in anything.

Good luck with the lottery! We got in that way too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My third grader at Brent is doing very challenging math! And the instruction has been great. And we have felt no need to supplement in anything.

Good luck with the lottery! We got in that way too.

If your son thinks the 3rd grade math at Brent is challenging, he's not very good at math. The math is totally fine for kids who are squarely on grade level. It is definitely not challenging for kids who are advanced.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Via Standardized test score results, absolutely Brent is doing much better than most schools in D.C. and is doing much better than my son's current school. Almost three times better.

On the zero bullying you are right. It is why my son has been in martial arts for a while. However, what I noticed was the general teacher's lack of response to the bullying. That was what I found worrying.

To echo what the prior poster said, make sure to actually talk to folks to get a comparison before you change your kids school setting. Worst case scenario is you would have to change again. There have been a lot of posts on here about Brent families feeling like they need to use mathnasium or beast academy to supplement. I have also met people who have shared that same concern about other schools in the upper grades. Again, not saying that it is 100% accurate for all families but it is worth looking into depending on what you need. Standardized tests correlate to a lot of things, including the education level of the parents and how often they are able to supplement. The quality of instruction is part of it but by no means the only piece. There was another thread a week or so ago talking about how some of the strongest instruction happens in schools that don't have the highest test scores, because those teachers are working twice as hard to help bring kids from behind up to grade level. So if a higher achieving kid ends up with one of those teachers they really excel.
I read that post (of course, I can't remember what thread it was on now) It really resonated because my kids are now in upper elementary an middle school, having gone through a title 1 school that may not have the best scores. However, the teacher experience and growth the kids show is huge, and our kids have really done well.
Anyway, just food for thought and my regular reminder not to judge schools by test scores alone because there's a lot going on behind the scenes both for high scoring schools, and less high scoring schools.

We have had exactly the same experience at our Title 1. The range of abilities in the classes is enormous, the teachers are superstars, and my own kid scored in the 98th percentile in PARCC (and they let my kids and their cohort work well above grade level -- they small group them and give them appropriate material).

I remember being so worried when my oldest son was little and I thought I was taking a huge risk by staying, but it turned out to be a great decision.

PPs - which schools?

This is often asked on DCUM as a challenge, like 'I don't believe you, name your school!' but I'm genuinely curious because I may want to check them out for our family. I think my kid's Title I, which also has experienced teachers and iffy test scores, would be similar - we may even be at the same place! - but I like to know about other good Title I options that others who read this site tend to avoid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Via Standardized test score results, absolutely Brent is doing much better than most schools in D.C. and is doing much better than my son's current school. Almost three times better.

On the zero bullying you are right. It is why my son has been in martial arts for a while. However, what I noticed was the general teacher's lack of response to the bullying. That was what I found worrying.

To echo what the prior poster said, make sure to actually talk to folks to get a comparison before you change your kids school setting. Worst case scenario is you would have to change again. There have been a lot of posts on here about Brent families feeling like they need to use mathnasium or beast academy to supplement. I have also met people who have shared that same concern about other schools in the upper grades. Again, not saying that it is 100% accurate for all families but it is worth looking into depending on what you need. Standardized tests correlate to a lot of things, including the education level of the parents and how often they are able to supplement. The quality of instruction is part of it but by no means the only piece. There was another thread a week or so ago talking about how some of the strongest instruction happens in schools that don't have the highest test scores, because those teachers are working twice as hard to help bring kids from behind up to grade level. So if a higher achieving kid ends up with one of those teachers they really excel.
I read that post (of course, I can't remember what thread it was on now) It really resonated because my kids are now in upper elementary an middle school, having gone through a title 1 school that may not have the best scores. However, the teacher experience and growth the kids show is huge, and our kids have really done well.
Anyway, just food for thought and my regular reminder not to judge schools by test scores alone because there's a lot going on behind the scenes both for high scoring schools, and less high scoring schools.

We have had exactly the same experience at our Title 1. The range of abilities in the classes is enormous, the teachers are superstars, and my own kid scored in the 98th percentile in PARCC (and they let my kids and their cohort work well above grade level -- they small group them and give them appropriate material).

I remember being so worried when my oldest son was little and I thought I was taking a huge risk by staying, but it turned out to be a great decision.

PPs - which schools?

This is often asked on DCUM as a challenge, like 'I don't believe you, name your school!' but I'm genuinely curious because I may want to check them out for our family. I think my kid's Title I, which also has experienced teachers and iffy test scores, would be similar - we may even be at the same place! - but I like to know about other good Title I options that others who read this site tend to avoid.

I'm not the PP, but I'd suggest you look in DC School Report Card for schools with the highest math growth stats. Because that indicates quality teaching.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Via Standardized test score results, absolutely Brent is doing much better than most schools in D.C. and is doing much better than my son's current school. Almost three times better.

On the zero bullying you are right. It is why my son has been in martial arts for a while. However, what I noticed was the general teacher's lack of response to the bullying. That was what I found worrying.

To echo what the prior poster said, make sure to actually talk to folks to get a comparison before you change your kids school setting. Worst case scenario is you would have to change again. There have been a lot of posts on here about Brent families feeling like they need to use mathnasium or beast academy to supplement. I have also met people who have shared that same concern about other schools in the upper grades. Again, not saying that it is 100% accurate for all families but it is worth looking into depending on what you need. Standardized tests correlate to a lot of things, including the education level of the parents and how often they are able to supplement. The quality of instruction is part of it but by no means the only piece. There was another thread a week or so ago talking about how some of the strongest instruction happens in schools that don't have the highest test scores, because those teachers are working twice as hard to help bring kids from behind up to grade level. So if a higher achieving kid ends up with one of those teachers they really excel.
I read that post (of course, I can't remember what thread it was on now) It really resonated because my kids are now in upper elementary an middle school, having gone through a title 1 school that may not have the best scores. However, the teacher experience and growth the kids show is huge, and our kids have really done well.
Anyway, just food for thought and my regular reminder not to judge schools by test scores alone because there's a lot going on behind the scenes both for high scoring schools, and less high scoring schools.

We have had exactly the same experience at our Title 1. The range of abilities in the classes is enormous, the teachers are superstars, and my own kid scored in the 98th percentile in PARCC (and they let my kids and their cohort work well above grade level -- they small group them and give them appropriate material).

I remember being so worried when my oldest son was little and I thought I was taking a huge risk by staying, but it turned out to be a great decision.

PPs - which schools?

This is often asked on DCUM as a challenge, like 'I don't believe you, name your school!' but I'm genuinely curious because I may want to check them out for our family. I think my kid's Title I, which also has experienced teachers and iffy test scores, would be similar - we may even be at the same place! - but I like to know about other good Title I options that others who read this site tend to avoid.

I'm not the PP, but I'd suggest you look in DC School Report Card for schools with the highest math growth stats. Because that indicates quality teaching.

Yup, completely agree with this. I'm one of the PPs whose kids go to a title 1 where they are really thriving, and the schools has extremely high Math Growth scores... i think a few years ago they had the highest in DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Via Standardized test score results, absolutely Brent is doing much better than most schools in D.C. and is doing much better than my son's current school. Almost three times better.

On the zero bullying you are right. It is why my son has been in martial arts for a while. However, what I noticed was the general teacher's lack of response to the bullying. That was what I found worrying.

To echo what the prior poster said, make sure to actually talk to folks to get a comparison before you change your kids school setting. Worst case scenario is you would have to change again. There have been a lot of posts on here about Brent families feeling like they need to use mathnasium or beast academy to supplement. I have also met people who have shared that same concern about other schools in the upper grades. Again, not saying that it is 100% accurate for all families but it is worth looking into depending on what you need. Standardized tests correlate to a lot of things, including the education level of the parents and how often they are able to supplement. The quality of instruction is part of it but by no means the only piece. There was another thread a week or so ago talking about how some of the strongest instruction happens in schools that don't have the highest test scores, because those teachers are working twice as hard to help bring kids from behind up to grade level. So if a higher achieving kid ends up with one of those teachers they really excel.
I read that post (of course, I can't remember what thread it was on now) It really resonated because my kids are now in upper elementary an middle school, having gone through a title 1 school that may not have the best scores. However, the teacher experience and growth the kids show is huge, and our kids have really done well.
Anyway, just food for thought and my regular reminder not to judge schools by test scores alone because there's a lot going on behind the scenes both for high scoring schools, and less high scoring schools.

We have had exactly the same experience at our Title 1. The range of abilities in the classes is enormous, the teachers are superstars, and my own kid scored in the 98th percentile in PARCC (and they let my kids and their cohort work well above grade level -- they small group them and give them appropriate material).

I remember being so worried when my oldest son was little and I thought I was taking a huge risk by staying, but it turned out to be a great decision.

PPs - which schools?

This is often asked on DCUM as a challenge, like 'I don't believe you, name your school!' but I'm genuinely curious because I may want to check them out for our family. I think my kid's Title I, which also has experienced teachers and iffy test scores, would be similar - we may even be at the same place! - but I like to know about other good Title I options that others who read this site tend to avoid.

I'm not the PP, but I'd suggest you look in DC School Report Card for schools with the highest math growth stats. Because that indicates quality teaching.

Yup, completely agree with this. I'm one of the PPs whose kids go to a title 1 where they are really thriving, and the schools has extremely high Math Growth scores... i think a few years ago they had the highest in DC.

NP, but thanks for this! What are good/"extremely high" math growth scores? Our Title 1 is around 65% for math (and ELA) growth to proficiency.