Thoughts on Brent?

[Anonymous]

Not fairly long ago for us. Last year in 5th grade for our youngest.

Brent has some good, long-serving teachers. Still, our kids would have been far behind many middle school peers in a Catholic school without several years of biweekly Mathnasium sessions and paying writing tutors in 4th and 5th grades. Seriously.

[Anonymous]

Also not long along for our family, and I am still tapped into the community.

Everything posted here thus far is accurate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not fairly long ago for us. Last year in 5th grade for our youngest.

Brent has some good, long-serving teachers. Still, our kids would have been far behind many middle school peers in a Catholic school without several years of biweekly Mathnasium sessions and paying writing tutors in 4th and 5th grades. Seriously.

That is really depressing especially considering the very weak academics at Catholic schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not fairly long ago for us. Last year in 5th grade for our youngest.

Brent has some good, long-serving teachers. Still, our kids would have been far behind many middle school peers in a Catholic school without several years of biweekly Mathnasium sessions and paying writing tutors in 4th and 5th grades. Seriously.

That is really depressing especially considering the very weak academics at Catholic schools.

Huh that’s…. Not my experience with catholic schools. As a student, college professor, and now parent they seem pretty strong to me. Certainly my DC Catholic school kids can write well, and their math is fine (you need calculus for my classes).
My kids were well served the year they went to a catholic school but they were very young. Ahead of all the kids at the charter they ended up at, though.

I concede that a lot of that is just a function of engaged, smart, parents, but in terms of curriculum the schools I’ve been exposed to seem at least at par with other privates.

[Anonymous]

I think you got your answer OP. You will put up with 2 potentially less than great years in the swing space, probably be happy for 2nd and 3rd in the new building, and then probably be increasingly ready to leave. I would think about staying at Miner (?) for one more year, lottery this and next year for Ludlow, Maury, and Payne, maybe even also think about some other backup plans like Peabody/Watkins, Tyler Spanish, Van Ness.

[Anonymous]

In regards to preparation for Basis or another rigorous middle school, overall the Brent students, by nature of the community and their parents, are a talented, smart group. The parents are highly invested in their children's education and the school. The PTA is super well funded and allows for a lot of community activities.

There is an unspoken divide between those that live in-bounds (or have proximity preference) vs. those don't (and are not military families) -- see the demographics online. If you are UMC and your student is bright, shy, and smart they will be fine despite the admin/principal. If you are not the "typical" in-bound family, she'll have a soft spot for your kid. But keep in mind this is a neighborhood school first and foremost despite what the principal wants (hence "conflict with strong parents") and they will advocate hard for what they think is best.

In general, I think the principal both likes and hates the local Brent parents. She'll gladly take advantage of the large PTA budget while at the same time ignore parent requests for more opportunities for high achieving students (and has killed moral among 4th/5th grade families with the Upper School that have long supported the school financially and otherwise).

Please see information regarding the Upper School in DCUM -- it REALLY IS THAT BAD if not worse. Great and engaged families are actively trying to avoid 5th, if not 4th grade because of it, which is really sad. The Principal will lie until her face is red about the "positive impact" but socially and emotionally it is really hurt kids (not just academically).

If you want your kid to go to Basis or something similar, you may have to take more control of their learning outside of school. However, keep in mind the Basis is a lottery not an application. Lots of Brent kids go to Basis and end up leaving an a year or two anyway for something different.

Brent is a great school and I hope it is able to maintain its strong community, and that eventually the principal leaves. She really is a politician. And the Upper School model needs to end asap.

[Anonymous]

Agree. But serious problems with her leadership cropped up long before 5th grade was effectively folded into 4th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think you got your answer OP. You will put up with 2 potentially less than great years in the swing space, probably be happy for 2nd and 3rd in the new building, and then probably be increasingly ready to leave. I would think about staying at Miner (?) for one more year, lottery this and next year for Ludlow, Maury, and Payne, maybe even also think about some other backup plans like Peabody/Watkins, Tyler Spanish, Van Ness.

If OP is IB for Miner, add JO Wilson for this year and next. Better feeder, shorter commute to both the swing space and the actual school.
But I'm guessing it's Watkins.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you got your answer OP. You will put up with 2 potentially less than great years in the swing space, probably be happy for 2nd and 3rd in the new building, and then probably be increasingly ready to leave. I would think about staying at Miner (?) for one more year, lottery this and next year for Ludlow, Maury, and Payne, maybe even also think about some other backup plans like Peabody/Watkins, Tyler Spanish, Van Ness.

If OP is IB for Miner, add JO Wilson for this year and next. Better feeder, shorter commute to both the swing space and the actual school.
But I'm guessing it's Watkins.

I assume it’s Watkins too, because if it’s Miner she really undersold the test score difference. (Yes, Brent is heads and shoulders above Miner in terms of test scores however you want to measure them.) For Watkins, I would 100% stay for K at Peabody. It’s great; an actively good experience. Do the lottery next year with lots of options; I’d bet you’d still get into Brent if you really wanted, they’re going to burn through their whole WL because of swing space.

[Anonymous]

I don’t think the OP is IB for any of the schools being guessed as they originally say they are equidistant from the school and the swing space.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think the OP is IB for any of the schools being guessed as they originally say they are equidistant from the school and the swing space.

+1, I'm betting they are at Two Rivers 4th and live north of Florida Avenue.

[Anonymous]

Not sure guessing her school helps her (or I guess, him?)

Sounds like OP could be at Peabody/Watkins, Miner, Two Rivers and maybe Tyler/Chisholm, CHML, Van Ness, or even Amidon-Bowen if she's using a very generous definition of "the Hill. That's a pretty big range, but all those schools have lower test scores and potentially more behavior problems than Brent.

I don't have direct experience with any of these schools or Brent so I can't say beyond the publicly available info whether they're better bets than Brent in terms of what OP is looking for. But if you do, maybe go on that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think the OP is IB for any of the schools being guessed as they originally say they are equidistant from the school and the swing space.

+1, I'm betting they are at Two Rivers 4th and live north of Florida Avenue.

But then they would likely be IB for JOW, which they say they are not. If they are IB for Wheatley, then again the maybe test scores are a bit different is a massive undersell.

[Anonymous]

Brent is swinging way up to Meyer, so equidistant suggests somewhere in central city like Shaw. I would skip the commute and stay at a school more nearby for at least the next couple years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think the OP is IB for any of the schools being guessed as they originally say they are equidistant from the school and the swing space.

+1, I'm betting they are at Two Rivers 4th and live north of Florida Avenue.

But then they would likely be IB for JOW, which they say they are not. If they are IB for Wheatley, then again the maybe test scores are a bit different is a massive undersell.

They didn't discuss the test scores at their IB, only the test scores at their current school, which they say is on the Hill even though they live "near" but not on the Hill. Trinidad seems likely, as it is about equidistant from Brent and their swing space. Could also be Eckington if they are fudging a bit on on the "equidistant" bit (and Brent would be especially appealing to a family in Eckington because the swing space is actually pretty convenient for them and it would be a chance to grab a spot at a time when a lot of Hill families will pass).

But they aren't at their IB. They are at a Hill school with somewhat lower test scores than Brent and more behavioral issues. It's not JOW, so that means TR4 or Peabody/Watkins.

In any case, I would pick Brent over Wheatley, Langley, TR4, or Peabody/Watkins, unless the swing space situation will be a major imposition which it sounds like it won't be for this particular family. I would also probably take it over CHML because it's only a little further for a family coming from north of Florida Ave and much more solid in the upper grades. Would obviously choose it over Miner as well, and also JOW even though JOW will be out of their swing space sooner than Brent. OP has a rising Ker and they want a school they will be happy at for the next 5-6 years.

I would not choose Brent over L-T, Maury, Payne, SWS, or Chisolm.