McKinley Tech Tech Vs. Truth

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm very interested to hear your thoughts on Truth as a high school, OP. Personally I'm not sure which option is better.

I don’t have any real insight about high school. As a middle schooler, my kid has been a fairly high performer, but there is little interest from the school in providing additional challenging materials. He’s doing fine overall, but the the promise of customized education has not really been delivered on for those on the top end of the spectrum.

This is exactly my experience with a middle schooler at Truth. Very high performer who is getting insufficient differentiation. School is fine for average or slightly above average kid, not so much for those at the top or bottom of the spectrum. We’re definitely not staying for high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm very interested to hear your thoughts on Truth as a high school, OP. Personally I'm not sure which option is better.

I don’t have any real insight about high school. As a middle schooler, my kid has been a fairly high performer, but there is little interest from the school in providing additional challenging materials. He’s doing fine overall, but the the promise of customized education has not really been delivered on for those on the top end of the spectrum.

This is exactly my experience with a middle schooler at Truth. Very high performer who is getting insufficient differentiation. School is fine for average or slightly above average kid, not so much for those at the top or bottom of the spectrum. We’re definitely not staying for high school.

What are you considering for HS? I think there is a strong chance we end up at Truth for MS but won’t want to stay at HS, which I know can be very tricky so curious what you are considering.

[Anonymous]

Will apply for Walls and Banneker if neither of those materialize we will go private or potentially homeschool/duel enrollment with community college.

[Anonymous]

We are at Truth for HS.

Pros: really caring staff, strong connection with several adults at the school that are uber-responsive when we have questions, very low work-load (which is important to my kid), and lots of opportunities to engage in ACT/workforce programming.

Cons: SPED (communication and implementation are awful), rigor is highly dependent on teacher, standards-based grading and access to assignments/grades is really confusing and hard to track, very little homework (which we as parents don't like because we feel they aren't prepped for what comes next).

It's also hard to say what is going to happen next year with a new ED. The outgoing ED will still be around as a teacher. Overall, it was likely the best choice for our kid and we've had a (mostly) positive experience.

I can't comment on McKinnley...but I do have a kid in another large DCPS school and find that while I can go online and get more info about classes, work, etc. I don't have a single person at the school that I can reliably text or email and get a response. I don't think the teachers know my kid as deeply as they do at Truth.

I think Truth gives a more personalized relationship with school, but DCPS is a more "standard" experience- it really depends on what you need for your kid.

It's a hard choice- good luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm very interested to hear your thoughts on Truth as a high school, OP. Personally I'm not sure which option is better.

I don’t have any real insight about high school. As a middle schooler, my kid has been a fairly high performer, but there is little interest from the school in providing additional challenging materials. He’s doing fine overall, but the the promise of customized education has not really been delivered on for those on the top end of the spectrum.

This is exactly my experience with a middle schooler at Truth. Very high performer who is getting insufficient differentiation. School is fine for average or slightly above average kid, not so much for those at the top or bottom of the spectrum. We’re definitely not staying for high school.

What are you considering for HS? I think there is a strong chance we end up at Truth for MS but won’t want to stay at HS, which I know can be very tricky so curious what you are considering.

Thus far it seems like lots of 8th graders get into the application high schools - Walls, Banneker, McKinley. So there's obviously no guarantees, but seems like strong cohorts so far. I think more kids will start staying for HS as well as the HS continues to grow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are at Truth for HS.

Pros: really caring staff, strong connection with several adults at the school that are uber-responsive when we have questions, very low work-load (which is important to my kid), and lots of opportunities to engage in ACT/workforce programming.

Cons: SPED (communication and implementation are awful), rigor is highly dependent on teacher, standards-based grading and access to assignments/grades is really confusing and hard to track, very little homework (which we as parents don't like because we feel they aren't prepped for what comes next).

It's also hard to say what is going to happen next year with a new ED. The outgoing ED will still be around as a teacher. Overall, it was likely the best choice for our kid and we've had a (mostly) positive experience.

I can't comment on McKinnley...but I do have a kid in another large DCPS school and find that while I can go online and get more info about classes, work, etc. I don't have a single person at the school that I can reliably text or email and get a response. I don't think the teachers know my kid as deeply as they do at Truth.

I think Truth gives a more personalized relationship with school, but DCPS is a more "standard" experience- it really depends on what you need for your kid.

It's a hard choice- good luck.

Justin is no longer going to be ED?! Where can this be verified?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are at Truth for HS.

Pros: really caring staff, strong connection with several adults at the school that are uber-responsive when we have questions, very low work-load (which is important to my kid), and lots of opportunities to engage in ACT/workforce programming.

Cons: SPED (communication and implementation are awful), rigor is highly dependent on teacher, standards-based grading and access to assignments/grades is really confusing and hard to track, very little homework (which we as parents don't like because we feel they aren't prepped for what comes next).

It's also hard to say what is going to happen next year with a new ED. The outgoing ED will still be around as a teacher. Overall, it was likely the best choice for our kid and we've had a (mostly) positive experience.

I can't comment on McKinnley...but I do have a kid in another large DCPS school and find that while I can go online and get more info about classes, work, etc. I don't have a single person at the school that I can reliably text or email and get a response. I don't think the teachers know my kid as deeply as they do at Truth.

I think Truth gives a more personalized relationship with school, but DCPS is a more "standard" experience- it really depends on what you need for your kid.

It's a hard choice- good luck.

Justin is no longer going to be ED?! Where can this be verified?

I think it’s been pretty public for awhile now. I’ve been hearing it for months.

[Anonymous]

Yeah, he announced it to the school a while back (January 5). He's stepping down as ED to go back to the classroom (teaching at the HS). The ED search has been underway and he's obviously been involved.

[Anonymous]

My DS’s best friend went to McKinley Tech and got a full ride at UMD. He is doing well there too. Great school if your kid is STEM oriented.