Is Duke Ellington also good for academically bright kiddos?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To be clear, Duke Ellington is ranked #5 in the city on academics (USNWR), but of the top 5 it is the only one that does not accept kids based on academics. Entry is solely based on the audition, so saying Duke does not do well in academics ignores the fact that (a) arts is not included in the rankings and (b) it stands at #5 with many kids coming in with far lower academic standing than SWW, Banneker, McKinley. Also many Duke grads do not go into the arts for college or a profession, but the training is pre-professional, so as others said, if your child is a "like" the arts person and not a "love the arts" person, a 8:30-5pm day will not serve them well.

Do people really refer to the school as "Duke" now? All the other schools named after people go by the person's last name (like Banneker and McKinley above). Duke just sounds off.

My daughter went there for a year and her friends all referred to it that way. Also want to support what the pp said. Ellington is for kids who want pre-professional training and it's very siloed. My kid went for literary media and I was very pleased with how much they required the kids to write and how many contacts they had with professional writers but she couldn't have tried out for the fall play or the choir. You pretty much go in for one area and you focus strongly in that.

And it was quite a few years ago when she was there - so it could have changed since then - but math and science was not strong. But you don't go there for high level academics, you go there for pre-professional training. That's the key thing to understand about whether your child should go there or not. Is your child driven to focus on that area? Her friends who went there are still involved professionally in the arts in some way shape or form. One sings opera. Another is trying to break into standup and improv. Another is a poet. So it served them well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To be clear, Duke Ellington is ranked #5 in the city on academics (USNWR), but of the top 5 it is the only one that does not accept kids based on academics. Entry is solely based on the audition, so saying Duke does not do well in academics ignores the fact that (a) arts is not included in the rankings and (b) it stands at #5 with many kids coming in with far lower academic standing than SWW, Banneker, McKinley. Also many Duke grads do not go into the arts for college or a profession, but the training is pre-professional, so as others said, if your child is a "like" the arts person and not a "love the arts" person, a 8:30-5pm day will not serve them well.

Do people really refer to the school as "Duke" now? All the other schools named after people go by the person's last name (like Banneker and McKinley above). Duke just sounds off.

DESA, Ellington and Duke and used pretty interchangeably. On a listserv when people are typing quickly, Duke seems fine.

[Anonymous]

Now? People who know the school have been saying that since it opened. It's easier in conversation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To be clear, Duke Ellington is ranked #5 in the city on academics (USNWR), but of the top 5 it is the only one that does not accept kids based on academics. Entry is solely based on the audition, so saying Duke does not do well in academics ignores the fact that (a) arts is not included in the rankings and (b) it stands at #5 with many kids coming in with far lower academic standing than SWW, Banneker, McKinley. Also many Duke grads do not go into the arts for college or a profession, but the training is pre-professional, so as others said, if your child is a "like" the arts person and not a "love the arts" person, a 8:30-5pm day will not serve them well.

To be ranked #5 in DC for academics is actually pretty bad. Our #1-3 schools don’t hold a candle academically to many large suburban public high schools.
As others have said, you pick DE if you are hoping to make it in the arts professionally. Risky choice for anyone else.

[Anonymous]

Does anyone know if they are planning to expand the number of students at Duke? Why else is half the school empty? Are there plans to use that space for something else?

[Anonymous]

Ellington did reasonable on PARCC - 88% 3+ on ELA, 83% 3+ on Math. Your kids won’t be surrounded by morons by any means.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know if they are planning to expand the number of students at Duke? Why else is half the school empty? Are there plans to use that space for something else?

Yes the enrollment is going up, but it won't double.

Half the school is not empty. Essentially the school has two parts - one is traditional classrooms and is used 6 periods a day for regular high school classes (ELA, Math, History, etc). The other part of the building has space for each of the disciplines (instrumental music, visual art, theatre, vocal, dance...). Those parts are used 3 hours a day during the arts block (from 2-5 pm).

As an arts high school its space requirements for students is greater than other DCPS high schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To be clear, Duke Ellington is ranked #5 in the city on academics (USNWR), but of the top 5 it is the only one that does not accept kids based on academics. Entry is solely based on the audition, so saying Duke does not do well in academics ignores the fact that (a) arts is not included in the rankings and (b) it stands at #5 with many kids coming in with far lower academic standing than SWW, Banneker, McKinley. Also many Duke grads do not go into the arts for college or a profession, but the training is pre-professional, so as others said, if your child is a "like" the arts person and not a "love the arts" person, a 8:30-5pm day will not serve them well.

Do people really refer to the school as "Duke" now? All the other schools named after people go by the person's last name (like Banneker and McKinley above). Duke just sounds off.

DESA, Ellington and Duke and used pretty interchangeably. On a listserv when people are typing quickly, Duke seems fine.

For all the Deal convos I’ve seen here, never seen an Alice posting. Or a Teddy or a Paul Dunbar, or whoever Brent’s first name was.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To be clear, Duke Ellington is ranked #5 in the city on academics (USNWR), but of the top 5 it is the only one that does not accept kids based on academics. Entry is solely based on the audition, so saying Duke does not do well in academics ignores the fact that (a) arts is not included in the rankings and (b) it stands at #5 with many kids coming in with far lower academic standing than SWW, Banneker, McKinley. Also many Duke grads do not go into the arts for college or a profession, but the training is pre-professional, so as others said, if your child is a "like" the arts person and not a "love the arts" person, a 8:30-5pm day will not serve them well.

To be ranked #5 in DC for academics is actually pretty bad. Our #1-3 schools don’t hold a candle academically to many large suburban public high schools.
As others have said, you pick DE if you are hoping to make it in the arts professionally. Risky choice for anyone else.

And the large suburban high schools you are referring to do not have the same socio-economic challenges as DC/DCPS. You need to compare DE to large urban high schools, preferably arts high schools.

[Anonymous]

We are acquaintances of two students who go there.

The parents told me there are plenty of AP classes for students who want them - I think they said about 11 or 12? Both families said it's for kids who are serious about whatever their art is, and are willing to put the time in to their art and truly enjoy spending their time that way. One may continue to study the art in college, the other may not but will still have it in his life. However, both are having a good experience overall.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are acquaintances of two students who go there.

The parents told me there are plenty of AP classes for students who want them - I think they said about 11 or 12? Both families said it's for kids who are serious about whatever their art is, and are willing to put the time in to their art and truly enjoy spending their time that way. One may continue to study the art in college, the other may not but will still have it in his life. However, both are having a good experience overall.

And, unlike some DCPS', students do have to do things to demonstrate their interest and commitment to doing AP work (summer reading, essays, etc). It isn't 'test-in' but you need to show you understand it will be more work and be committed to it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ellington did reasonable on PARCC - 88% 3+ on ELA, 83% 3+ on Math. Your kids won’t be surrounded by morons by any means.

Sure but 3 isn’t even competency at grade level. That’s a 4. DC scores are abysmal and so are what people consider “good”. That doesnat I press me at the high school level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ellington did reasonable on PARCC - 88% 3+ on ELA, 83% 3+ on Math. Your kids won’t be surrounded by morons by any means.

Sure but 3 isn’t even competency at grade level. That’s a 4. DC scores are abysmal and so are what people consider “good”. That doesnat I press me at the high school level.

Typo, doesn’t impress

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ellington did reasonable on PARCC - 88% 3+ on ELA, 83% 3+ on Math. Your kids won’t be surrounded by morons by any means.

Sure but 3 isn’t even competency at grade level. That’s a 4. DC scores are abysmal and so are what people consider “good”. That doesnat I press me at the high school level.

Typo, doesn’t impress

Then don't have your kid apply. I don't think OP's question was whether you personally are impressed with Ellington or not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ellington did reasonable on PARCC - 88% 3+ on ELA, 83% 3+ on Math. Your kids won’t be surrounded by morons by any means.

Sure but 3 isn’t even competency at grade level. That’s a 4. DC scores are abysmal and so are what people consider “good”. That doesnat I press me at the high school level.

Typo, doesn’t impress

Then don't have your kid apply. I don't think OP's question was whether you personally are impressed with Ellington or not.

It’s very relevant to OP’s question because OP asked about academics for her child. 83-88% below grade level is far from being anywhere in the ballpark of an academic school.