New to DC. If your child is zoned for Deal....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What kind of student is your child? We have decided to go to private school, so my knowledge is from touring the school and talking to friends. My sense is that it's a fabulous school for strong students who are self starters; I've also heard good things about the school from kids who high levels of special education needs. Kids in the middle, especially if they struggle with executive function or anxiety (both of which describe my child) don't do as well there.

My child has executive functioning problems. She's a good student and gets all As and Bs, but we're coming from a small school where her teachers are all invested in her. She came off of an IEP last year, but still struggles. We're working on those skills, but afraid she'll fall through the cracks in such a large school. I don't mind homeschooling and would love to do it if it weren't for lack of social opportunities. It's the main reason I'm considering trying out Deal.

My daughter has ADHD inattentive and very very poor executive functioning skills. I was also very nervous about Deal. I want to type in all caps: DEAL IS FABULOUS. Each grade is divided into teams, and each team has <100 kids on it. Kids take classes with other team members and more importantly, every teacher in the team teaches every kid on the team. So it's a lot like a school with 100 kids. The team works closely together and we have found our team to be responsive, timely, proactive, understanding, and DEDICATED to our child. It has been a really good growth year for her, and I am SO GLAD she is there.

I am a PP who is leaving private for Deal. This is truly representative of all the parents I talked to about Deal. I have never heard a parent of a private school give this level of enthusiasm about a MS program. Ever! I have talked to many parents over the years too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did you pursue charter schools or different bounds schools? My daughter is going into 6th grade and I'm not sure if I'll homeschool or send her to Deal. Any thoughts?

You have it backward ... people not zoned for Deal pursue charters or try to get into Deal OOB.

[Anonymous]

If you have the flexibility to homeschool, I would try out Deal and get the services / support you need.

I have a child with a 504 and we have to stay on top of everything. My DS does not do a good job advocating for himself. In fact he will do just about everything he can to piss the people who are trying to help him off. But that is not uncommon with ADHD.

We are very specific in getting homework modified - for example - math he does 1/2 the assignment.

Does your child have a 504? Can she get one?

[Anonymous]

A lot of people want to live in the Deal/Wilson zone because it's arguably the best public option DC has to offer right now. That doesn't make it someplace I want to send my child. Only 68 percent of Deal kids are proficient in reading and 55 percent in math. And it's huge. I haven't been impressed with anything I've seen or heard. Middle school is 6 years away for us. If things are significantly better by then, great. If not, we will either move or go private.

[Anonymous]

Mom of a younger kid with an IEP here who will probably enroll him in Deal eventually. My take is that Deal is as good if not better than any public middle school. So if you think your daughter can go to public middle school, then you should try Deal. I truly don't think Deal is that much different in terms of special needs compared to any other public middle school in the area. ALL public middle schools are going to be a big uptick in the independence expected of students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A lot of people want to live in the Deal/Wilson zone because it's arguably the best public option DC has to offer right now. That doesn't make it someplace I want to send my child. Only 68 percent of Deal kids are proficient in reading and 55 percent in math. And it's huge. I haven't been impressed with anything I've seen or heard. Middle school is 6 years away for us. If things are significantly better by then, great. If not, we will either move or go private.

well la-di-da.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A lot of people want to live in the Deal/Wilson zone because it's arguably the best public option DC has to offer right now. That doesn't make it someplace I want to send my child. Only 68 percent of Deal kids are proficient in reading and 55 percent in math. And it's huge. I haven't been impressed with anything I've seen or heard. Middle school is 6 years away for us. If things are significantly better by then, great. If not, we will either move or go private.

What have you seen and heard?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of people want to live in the Deal/Wilson zone because it's arguably the best public option DC has to offer right now. That doesn't make it someplace I want to send my child. Only 68 percent of Deal kids are proficient in reading and 55 percent in math. And it's huge. I haven't been impressed with anything I've seen or heard. Middle school is 6 years away for us. If things are significantly better by then, great. If not, we will either move or go private.

well la-di-da.

+1. Parents making Middle School decisions for their First Grader are comical and insane. OP ignore this woman. She is a know-nothing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of people want to live in the Deal/Wilson zone because it's arguably the best public option DC has to offer right now. That doesn't make it someplace I want to send my child. Only 68 percent of Deal kids are proficient in reading and 55 percent in math. And it's huge. I haven't been impressed with anything I've seen or heard. Middle school is 6 years away for us. If things are significantly better by then, great. If not, we will either move or go private.

well la-di-da.

+1. Parents making Middle School decisions for their First Grader are comical and insane. OP ignore this woman. She is a know-nothing.

Did you even read what I said? I'm NOT making decisions until the time comes. And to the PP: what have I seen? I've seen the unimpressive PARCC scores (which I cited). What have I heard? I've heard parents saying that their children feel lost at the massive school, that they teach to the middle and that if they had the option they would choose private for middle school. Some could move, but feel it's worth it for other reasons to stay in DC. Does every parent and every child feel that way? Of course not. But as for the the ones who I speak with in the neighborhood -- when they open up they confide that it's not all buttercups and rainbows.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of people want to live in the Deal/Wilson zone because it's arguably the best public option DC has to offer right now. That doesn't make it someplace I want to send my child. Only 68 percent of Deal kids are proficient in reading and 55 percent in math. And it's huge. I haven't been impressed with anything I've seen or heard. Middle school is 6 years away for us. If things are significantly better by then, great. If not, we will either move or go private.

well la-di-da.

+1. Parents making Middle School decisions for their First Grader are comical and insane. OP ignore this woman. She is a know-nothing.

Did you even read what I said? I'm NOT making decisions until the time comes. And to the PP: what have I seen? I've seen the unimpressive PARCC scores (which I cited). What have I heard? I've heard parents saying that their children feel lost at the massive school, that they teach to the middle and that if they had the option they would choose private for middle school. Some could move, but feel it's worth it for other reasons to stay in DC. Does every parent and every child feel that way? Of course not. But as for the the ones who I speak with in the neighborhood -- when they open up they confide that it's not all buttercups and rainbows.

Definitely move or go private. Please.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of people want to live in the Deal/Wilson zone because it's arguably the best public option DC has to offer right now. That doesn't make it someplace I want to send my child. Only 68 percent of Deal kids are proficient in reading and 55 percent in math. And it's huge. I haven't been impressed with anything I've seen or heard. Middle school is 6 years away for us. If things are significantly better by then, great. If not, we will either move or go private.

well la-di-da.

+1. Parents making Middle School decisions for their First Grader are comical and insane. OP ignore this woman. She is a know-nothing.

Did you even read what I said? I'm NOT making decisions until the time comes. And to the PP: what have I seen? I've seen the unimpressive PARCC scores (which I cited). What have I heard? I've heard parents saying that their children feel lost at the massive school, that they teach to the middle and that if they had the option they would choose private for middle school. Some could move, but feel it's worth it for other reasons to stay in DC. Does every parent and every child feel that way? Of course not. But as for the the ones who I speak with in the neighborhood -- when they open up they confide that it's not all buttercups and rainbows.

Definitely move or go private. Please.

She’s not IB for Deal. She’s rationalizing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What kind of student is your child? We have decided to go to private school, so my knowledge is from touring the school and talking to friends. My sense is that it's a fabulous school for strong students who are self starters; I've also heard good things about the school from kids who high levels of special education needs. Kids in the middle, especially if they struggle with executive function or anxiety (both of which describe my child) don't do as well there.

My child has executive functioning problems. She's a good student and gets all As and Bs, but we're coming from a small school where her teachers are all invested in her. She came off of an IEP last year, but still struggles. We're working on those skills, but afraid she'll fall through the cracks in such a large school. I don't mind homeschooling and would love to do it if it weren't for lack of social opportunities. It's the main reason I'm considering trying out Deal.

My daughter has ADHD inattentive and very very poor executive functioning skills. I was also very nervous about Deal. I want to type in all caps: DEAL IS FABULOUS. Each grade is divided into teams, and each team has <100 kids on it. Kids take classes with other team members and more importantly, every teacher in the team teaches every kid on the team. So it's a lot like a school with 100 kids. The team works closely together and we have found our team to be responsive, timely, proactive, understanding, and DEDICATED to our child. It has been a really good growth year for her, and I am SO GLAD she is there.

I am a PP who is leaving private for Deal. This is truly representative of all the parents I talked to about Deal. I have never heard a parent of a private school give this level of enthusiasm about a MS program. Ever! I have talked to many parents over the years too.

Thank you. I am very excited about Deal next year!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of people want to live in the Deal/Wilson zone because it's arguably the best public option DC has to offer right now. That doesn't make it someplace I want to send my child. Only 68 percent of Deal kids are proficient in reading and 55 percent in math. And it's huge. I haven't been impressed with anything I've seen or heard. Middle school is 6 years away for us. If things are significantly better by then, great. If not, we will either move or go private.

well la-di-da.

+1. Parents making Middle School decisions for their First Grader are comical and insane. OP ignore this woman. She is a know-nothing.

Did you even read what I said? I'm NOT making decisions until the time comes. And to the PP: what have I seen? I've seen the unimpressive PARCC scores (which I cited). What have I heard? I've heard parents saying that their children feel lost at the massive school, that they teach to the middle and that if they had the option they would choose private for middle school. Some could move, but feel it's worth it for other reasons to stay in DC. Does every parent and every child feel that way? Of course not. But as for the the ones who I speak with in the neighborhood -- when they open up they confide that it's not all buttercups and rainbows.

Definitely move or go private. Please.

She’s not IB for Deal. She’s rationalizing.

She's not even a DC resident - she's an unhappy SAHM who probably lives in Rockville and sends her kids to private Catholic schools and is upset her husband doesn't make enough money for them to live in Bethesda.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A lot of people want to live in the Deal/Wilson zone because it's arguably the best public option DC has to offer right now. That doesn't make it someplace I want to send my child. Only 68 percent of Deal kids are proficient in reading and 55 percent in math. And it's huge. I haven't been impressed with anything I've seen or heard. Middle school is 6 years away for us. If things are significantly better by then, great. If not, we will either move or go private.

The scores are even much much lower for students with Special education needs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of people want to live in the Deal/Wilson zone because it's arguably the best public option DC has to offer right now. That doesn't make it someplace I want to send my child. Only 68 percent of Deal kids are proficient in reading and 55 percent in math. And it's huge. I haven't been impressed with anything I've seen or heard. Middle school is 6 years away for us. If things are significantly better by then, great. If not, we will either move or go private.

well la-di-da.

+1. Parents making Middle School decisions for their First Grader are comical and insane. OP ignore this woman. She is a know-nothing.

Did you even read what I said? I'm NOT making decisions until the time comes. And to the PP: what have I seen? I've seen the unimpressive PARCC scores (which I cited). What have I heard? I've heard parents saying that their children feel lost at the massive school, that they teach to the middle and that if they had the option they would choose private for middle school. Some could move, but feel it's worth it for other reasons to stay in DC. Does every parent and every child feel that way? Of course not. But as for the the ones who I speak with in the neighborhood -- when they open up they confide that it's not all buttercups and rainbows.

Definitely move or go private. Please.

She’s not IB for Deal. She’s rationalizing.

She's not even a DC resident - she's an unhappy SAHM who probably lives in Rockville and sends her kids to private Catholic schools and is upset her husband doesn't make enough money for them to live in Bethesda.

Why are you guys being so rude?

I'm sending a kid to Deal next year and the PARCC scores are concerning. Half the kids aren't even on grade level for math and the PARCC isn't rocket science. My kids are not super smart and they get 5's simply by attending class for the school year and then applying what they've learned. We do no enrichment.



I don't understand the culture on DCUM where you aren't allowed to say anything even negative about these upper NW public schools or imply that they aren't the greatest schools on the planet. If you do, you're not even questioned---you're outright ridiculed.

I've had kids in an upper NW JKLM elementary for 7 years. Yes, it's a good school. But it also has problems, some of them big. It's not perfect the epicenter of awesomeness.