Current views on J-R

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s a very good school that’s a little overcrowded and the administration is not great, leading to a bit of an exodus of good teachers. That being said, they’ll never have a shortage of good teachers because comparatively (at least to other public schools in DC), it’s a great gig.

Don't do this. You confuse causation with correlation. We see this all over DCUM about lots of schools. Like a Rorschach test. Think JR is overcrowded and don't like leadership? That's why teacher's are leaving! Don't like BASIS HOS and think the building stinks? That's why teachers are leaving!

Teachers are not a monolith. Even in the best of times they leave for lots of reasons - family, career, military spouse, burnout. Teacher burnout across the US is at an all time high and teachers are leaving the profession in droves. Stop with this already.

Lots of teachers leave Basis and JR because of the admin. I am a teacher and know - bunch of people who left these schools for just those reasons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you like low test scores, it's great.

Based on the latest CAPE scores, 69.8% of J-R students are BELOW grade level in math and 35% are BELOW grade level in English.

Good luck!

Can you provide those stats for a few other DCPS HSs for comparison?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you like low test scores, it's great.

Based on the latest CAPE scores, 69.8% of J-R students are BELOW grade level in math and 35% are BELOW grade level in English.

Good luck!

Can you provide those stats for a few other DCPS HSs for comparison?

All the information is at https://www.empowerk12.org/data-dashboard-source/dc-parcc-dash

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wish they would ban cell phones In classes. They didn’t have them at Deal and it was fine. Sounds like the principal is the stopper to getting rid of them.

Really??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wish they would ban cell phones In classes. They didn’t have them at Deal and it was fine. Sounds like the principal is the stopper to getting rid of them.

Really??

Principal is from Eastern I think and Eastern does allow kids to have their phones in class, so this is prob a principal thing. I don't understand it. I don't necessarily think phones should be locked in the office but they certainly should not be allowed in class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If your kid is self motivated, it will be good (not great). If your kid does the bare minimum, they will be fine and not stand out--teachers and administration will be happy to let them slide.
If your kid always aligns with the worst behaved kids and sinks to their level, they will struggle.

Exactly right from I’ve seen. I would only add that if your kid is self-motivated AND social or active in clubs/sports, then JR will be a great experience. Academics can be okay/mediocre to great/inspiring, so overall I think “good” is a fair overall impression. But high school is more than academics and it’s the combination of people and academics that make it a great school. I’m very happy to send my daughter there.

It’s true that Principal Brown has done his best to kill the culture and spirit that define the school community. The school is a wonderful place despite him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If your kid is self motivated, it will be good (not great). If your kid does the bare minimum, they will be fine and not stand out--teachers and administration will be happy to let them slide.
If your kid always aligns with the worst behaved kids and sinks to their level, they will struggle.

Exactly right from I’ve seen. I would only add that if your kid is self-motivated AND social or active in clubs/sports, then JR will be a great experience. Academics can be okay/mediocre to great/inspiring, so overall I think “good” is a fair overall impression. But high school is more than academics and it’s the combination of people and academics that make it a great school. I’m very happy to send my daughter there.

It’s true that Principal Brown has done his best to kill the culture and spirit that define the school community. The school is a wonderful place despite him.

Agree. I have two kids like this, and JR has been fantastic for them. And they love being part of a large, diverse community, which fosters maturity and independence.

I think the principal is simply a functionary—he’s there to do what DCPS says, which mostly means keeping things running relatively smoothly and avoiding bad publicity. The upshot is that the school does run relatively smoothly, but he never goes off-script, and he’s not going to go out on a limb for anyone not rowing in exactly the same direction as he is. A couple of really excellent teachers left last year because of this lack of support, which was upsetting. But the school also feels generally stable and reliable, which has not always been the case. So it’s a mixed bag.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you like low test scores, it's great.

Based on the latest CAPE scores, 69.8% of J-R students are BELOW grade level in math and 35% are BELOW grade level in English.

Good luck!

Can you provide those stats for a few other DCPS HSs for comparison?

CAPE HS Math scores are always misleading because they are based on the grade level math kids are taking, not the actual grade.

I believe CAPE testing stops at Geometry? As a result, any kids starting at Algebra II or higher, don’t take the test.

So, all the advanced Math JR kids (probably a good 25% of each class), don’t actually take the Math CAPE.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you like low test scores, it's great.

Based on the latest CAPE scores, 69.8% of J-R students are BELOW grade level in math and 35% are BELOW grade level in English.

Good luck!

Can you provide those stats for a few other DCPS HSs for comparison?

CAPE HS Math scores are always misleading because they are based on the grade level math kids are taking, not the actual grade.

I believe CAPE testing stops at Geometry? As a result, any kids starting at Algebra II or higher, don’t take the test.

So, all the advanced Math JR kids (probably a good 25% of each class), don’t actually take the Math CAPE.

CAPE goes up to Algebra II.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If your kid is self motivated, it will be good (not great). If your kid does the bare minimum, they will be fine and not stand out--teachers and administration will be happy to let them slide.
If your kid always aligns with the worst behaved kids and sinks to their level, they will struggle.

Exactly right from I’ve seen. I would only add that if your kid is self-motivated AND social or active in clubs/sports, then JR will be a great experience. Academics can be okay/mediocre to great/inspiring, so overall I think “good” is a fair overall impression. But high school is more than academics and it’s the combination of people and academics that make it a great school. I’m very happy to send my daughter there.

It’s true that Principal Brown has done his best to kill the culture and spirit that define the school community. The school is a wonderful place despite him.

Agree. I have two kids like this, and JR has been fantastic for them. And they love being part of a large, diverse community, which fosters maturity and independence.

I think the principal is simply a functionary—he’s there to do what DCPS says, which mostly means keeping things running relatively smoothly and avoiding bad publicity. The upshot is that the school does run relatively smoothly, but he never goes off-script, and he’s not going to go out on a limb for anyone not rowing in exactly the same direction as he is. A couple of really excellent teachers left last year because of this lack of support, which was upsetting. But the school also feels generally stable and reliable, which has not always been the case. So it’s a mixed bag.

I would like to thank these posters for this assessment as it allowed me to have a really good talk with my son. He knows he is not that self motivated but wants to do well in school and he does respond well to an environment that has the external push. He thinks JR would be harder for him because he would have to be more self motivated; I was impressed by his self-awareness.

[Anonymous]

Our oldest graduates from J-R in 5 weeks.

Lots of very good teachers and good classes and a lot of very motivated/ambitious students.

Extracurriculars are varied and are mostly well organized.

Haven't had to deal with school admins too much but mostly got responses.

On the negative side doesn't seem to be much homework and from what we can tell next to no reading so it really isn't very rigorous and our sense and that of most of the parents we've spoken to is that there is widespread grade inflation.

And from what we can tell from our kid close to zero school spirit.

Our kid has had a fair amount of complaints about the shape of the school (things not working, no TP etc) but surprisingly few complaints about behavior issues both inside and outside of school.

There have been some random public safety issues (including two the same week this winter) and the school was good with initial communications and even hosted parent meetings and then just never communicated again so as an example we have no idea what happened with the kid who tried to get a gun thru the metal detector in November.

A lot of the parents we've spoken to who've had kids in college the last couple of years have said the workload the first semester was a shock to their kids but they did say they thought subject matter/critical thinking wise their kids were well prepared.

I think motivated kids can get a great education at J-R and I think less motivated kids can appear to get a great education at J-R while doing a lot of coasting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our oldest graduates from J-R in 5 weeks.

Lots of very good teachers and good classes and a lot of very motivated/ambitious students.

Extracurriculars are varied and are mostly well organized.

Haven't had to deal with school admins too much but mostly got responses.

On the negative side doesn't seem to be much homework and from what we can tell next to no reading so it really isn't very rigorous and our sense and that of most of the parents we've spoken to is that there is widespread grade inflation.

And from what we can tell from our kid close to zero school spirit.

Our kid has had a fair amount of complaints about the shape of the school (things not working, no TP etc) but surprisingly few complaints about behavior issues both inside and outside of school.

There have been some random public safety issues (including two the same week this winter) and the school was good with initial communications and even hosted parent meetings and then just never communicated again so as an example we have no idea what happened with the kid who tried to get a gun thru the metal detector in November.

A lot of the parents we've spoken to who've had kids in college the last couple of years have said the workload the first semester was a shock to their kids but they did say they thought subject matter/critical thinking wise their kids were well prepared.

I think motivated kids can get a great education at J-R and I think less motivated kids can appear to get a great education at J-R while doing a lot of coasting.

The lack of reading is hardly limited to J-R, it's a nationwide issue:

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2024/11/the-elite-college-students-who-cant-read-books/679945/

[Anonymous]

We really enjoyed the JR musical last night. Very imaginative staging. Some of the kids were really amazing.

[Anonymous]

Agreed. The musical was great, and the theater program overall is one of the gems of the school. I'm so glad that the repairs to the auditorium are finally complete (after 3 years and countless missed deadlines).

I am a bit worried about next year, with some teacher layoffs, and in the following years, with DC expected to go into recession meaning possible future cuts.

Now, that budget increases are largely off the table, I'm hoping City Council will turn to improving DCPS through reform. I feel like JR could be run a lot better. School leadership and teachers need to work together better. There is way too much conflict and unhappiness. I'm also curious about the cell phone ban, which I think is critical if it's implemented well. I know this is controversial but I'd like to see more moderate discipline -- not necessarily suspensions but holding students accountable with things like detention for skipping class or being disruptive. All of this could be put into effect at JR right away, and the school shouldn't wait. But I'd also like to see leadership from DCPS (with prodding from City Council). DCPS could use an audit from an outside group (but not from anti-public education group).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If your kid is self motivated, it will be good (not great). If your kid does the bare minimum, they will be fine and not stand out--teachers and administration will be happy to let them slide.
If your kid always aligns with the worst behaved kids and sinks to their level, they will struggle.

Exactly right from I’ve seen. I would only add that if your kid is self-motivated AND social or active in clubs/sports, then JR will be a great experience. Academics can be okay/mediocre to great/inspiring, so overall I think “good” is a fair overall impression. But high school is more than academics and it’s the combination of people and academics that make it a great school. I’m very happy to send my daughter there.

It’s true that Principal Brown has done his best to kill the culture and spirit that define the school community. The school is a wonderful place despite him.

Agree. I have two kids like this, and JR has been fantastic for them. And they love being part of a large, diverse community, which fosters maturity and independence.

I think the principal is simply a functionary—he’s there to do what DCPS says, which mostly means keeping things running relatively smoothly and avoiding bad publicity. The upshot is that the school does run relatively smoothly, but he never goes off-script, and he’s not going to go out on a limb for anyone not rowing in exactly the same direction as he is. A couple of really excellent teachers left last year because of this lack of support, which was upsetting. But the school also feels generally stable and reliable, which has not always been the case. So it’s a mixed bag.

Which good teachers left last year? Anyone know who might be leaving at the end of this year?