Is your kid in 8th grade at Washington Latin?

[Anonymous]

a lot of heart, but little experience, no discipline, basically amateur hour. We're transferring to private.

[Anonymous]

Virtually all the 8th graders are leaving this year and heading to Wilson, Walls and different independent schools.

[Anonymous]

I respectfully disagree with the assesment above. We live in boundary for deal and Wilson and have not chosen to transfer. Our child loves the school and is learning. His friends are nice, straightforward happy kids - not catty, not cliquey. I think this years 8th had a particularly hard experience by virtue of having to take temporary classroom space until the mobile units arrived to provide the extra classroom space.That would wear in anyone. I'm really sorry 8th had that experience - I think it demoralized the class. Overall, kids in other classes are ecstatic. I would be careful of transfering to realize that you lost something good you had in the first place - though it sounds like your mind is made up so I wish you luck. New parents, what the school needs is space (eventually) and your active, positive involvement. I really think it has the rest down. Again, deal and Wilson are a stones throw from our house but we feel Latin is worth the trip across town.

[Anonymous]

Wow 20:08, I had to ask my DH if he had posted what you wrote.

Amateur hour--our thoughts exactly! I think the middle school gets raves because it's pretty much the only game in town other than Deal.

We've found the lack of classroom management appalling and the administration seems to believe their own press releases.

The school is a great idea, but it has so, so far to go. Sadly, there seems to be a smugness already and if you were to believe every post on DCUM, you would think unicorns were grazing on Latin's front lawn.

As for the building, I admit, it isn't everything. But DC told me today that there are mushrooms growing in the drama closet. If your child has any allergy or mold issues, this school is truly not safe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:a lot of heart, but little experience, no discipline, basically amateur hour. We're transferring to private.

I think this is true. The heart is there and can carry you through middle school, but you need more than that for a good high school. A huge chunk of the student population turns over every year in 9th, so the administration has to start fresh with instilling values and school culture. Discipline and learning differences are major issues at that level. Latin needs parent participation, teachers and students who stay, and an angel to provide a few million dollars to help with a building. If it gets those things, it will be a decent high school in five years or so. Not next year.

[Anonymous]

The teachers stay; they have very high retention. I am a little surprised at the negativity here. May I ask grade level? The 7th grade and down families that I have spoken with are very content, and basically are building a great school year by year. There is a lot if buzz in the seventh grade that due to it's cohesiveness and energy as a class, it will be the class that 'makes the jump' to HS and doesn't peel off. This is also a class with parents who tend to volunteer and get involved. Were you at the last school clean up day? If so, you could have tackled the mushrooms in the closet. My kid was out painting the shiny fence at the beginning of the year. It is the kind of school where if you keep an arms length you probably will see only the blemishes. If you dive in, there's lots to love. My kid toured Deal and chose to stay at Latin. My kid liked deals building a lot. my kid also flipped through the math books on display at deal and shrugged non plussed. A fancy building is not everything. I agree the school has more inroads to make, but it is a start up. If you come be prepared to dive in and help to make it a stronger institution doing the things parents to best - sending your kid to school with breakfast, helping with homework, attending school functions, helping with fundraising and clean ups etc. you will be part of the solution. You will also have a lot of credibility if you do point out some aspects that need changing. It sounds like your mind is made up, but hopefully the entire experience has not been a complete negative for your child. I hope they've learned something there and made some good friends. Have a good day

[Anonymous]

DC is in 8th. The class had buzz similar to what you describe at this point last year, but it evaporated quickly when parents took a close look at the high school. I'm not down on Latin. I think it's a good middle school, but the high school has problems. Have you observed classes at that level? If your alternative is an in-bounds public school then you should go ahead and try Latin for 9th, but if you're considering Walls or a private school, better to apply for 9th when there are openings. Maybe everything will change with your class, but I'd keep your options open.

Anonymous wrote:The teachers stay; they have very high retention. I am a little surprised at the negativity here. May I ask grade level? The 7th grade and down families that I have spoken with are very content, and basically are building a great school year by year. There is a lot if buzz in the seventh grade that due to it's cohesiveness and energy as a class, it will be the class that 'makes the jump' to HS and doesn't peel off. This is also a class with parents who tend to volunteer and get involved. Were you at the last school clean up day? If so, you could have tackled the mushrooms in the closet. My kid was out painting the shiny fence at the beginning of the year. It is the kind of school where if you keep an arms length you probably will see only the blemishes. If you dive in, there's lots to love. My kid toured Deal and chose to stay at Latin. My kid liked deals building a lot. my kid also flipped through the math books on display at deal and shrugged non plussed. A fancy building is not everything. I agree the school has more inroads to make, but it is a start up. If you come be prepared to dive in and help to make it a stronger institution doing the things parents to best - sending your kid to school with breakfast, helping with homework, attending school functions, helping with fundraising and clean ups etc. you will be part of the solution. You will also have a lot of credibility if you do point out some aspects that need changing. It sounds like your mind is made up, but hopefully the entire experience has not been a complete negative for your child. I hope they've learned something there and made some good friends. Have a good day

[Anonymous]

And why are none of these transfers applying and attending Banneker?

[Anonymous]

We have the back up you mention and have chosen WL. At art night, many 7th grade families that are Wilson in-bounds indicated that they want their kids to continue on. I'm sorry 8th had such a rough ride. Truly. I do think the school has put a good curriculum and has good teachers in place. In some classes they need to make a greater push on discipline - agreed. When I am at the school I feel free to address children about uniform tucks, loud voices etc. At the end of the day though, I think when a class with enough parental buy-in makes the jump HS will immediately take off. I also think the middle school is in good shape. Again, we toured deal and could put our child in tomorrow but haven't. Nothing against deal, but WL has worked just fine for this family so far.

[Anonymous]

I love WL for my middle school-er, and hope that we still feel the same way through HS. Like so many other growing charter schools, it seems the top grades suffer while lower grades enjoy the path that the previous grades tread. But if enough people jump ship, it will take longer to make the upper grades strong.

[Anonymous]

Every single family I know with kids at Latin, Haynes, and Cap City (and I know a LOT) left between 6th and 8th grade. Including some founding families.

[Anonymous]

When was this? WL had a turnover 3 years ago when the old head left and many 'loyalists' (trying to think of a better term) with him. Barely any families left from our 6th to 7th this past year. You can speak from anecdotal experience but please clarify, as statements like that can be very scary to people. It does not speak to the fact of this year's rising 8th grade class. I know at least 10 other Tenleytown/Spring Valley families that have been there for the duration (since 5th) and NONE are leaving. None. In fact, we are planning our end of the year parent get-together/celebrations now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When was this? WL had a turnover 3 years ago when the old head left and many 'loyalists' (trying to think of a better term) with him. Barely any families left from our 6th to 7th this past year. You can speak from anecdotal experience but please clarify, as statements like that can be very scary to people. It does not speak to the fact of this year's rising 8th grade class. I know at least 10 other Tenleytown/Spring Valley families that have been there for the duration (since 5th) and NONE are leaving. None. In fact, we are planning our end of the year parent get-together/celebrations now.

It's the 8th graders who are leaving, not the 7th graders. Virtually all the strong 8th grade students are leaving for other high schools. Same thing last year. Same the year before. The issue is the high school.

[Anonymous]

The issue is (mostly) white flight. Or 'economic' flight. It is not "all the 8th graders leaving"--it is the ones who can, based on, for this 8th grade a mixed experience--for other 8th grades the fact that others who 'could' 'did'. You have to admit, when you hear the sucking sound of kids leaving you begin to swim towards the drain. Who wants to be the 'last man standing'?
More time has actually been devoted to the HS curriculum than any other part of the school. It's in good shape. I agree that the admin has not 'sold' it enough. If you actually go to a curriculum night (usually under-advertised) there is some pretty heady stuff being discussed. It's waiting for all the kids to come and partake. I understand, completely, the desire of some kids for a bigger school, marching bands, or another kind of specialty program. I understand the desire of some parents for a school with a gleaming Science Lab and less that is 'cobbled together'.
That being said, I remember my amazing, small classics HS with its dusty labs and weird begged, borrowed and stolen equipment (we had a human fetus for no apparent reason in a jar on a shelf--where the heck did that come from?). I remember it for great friendships, connections to teachers, smart teachers, a sense of excitement and burgeoning independence, opportunities to explore an urban environment and topics deeply. I think that if/when an entire Middle School Class--an ENTIRE Middle School Class with NORMAL attrition--enters the HS, it will take off. I hope it's our class.

[Anonymous]

I am the PP so clearly you know where my heart lies. Still, I thought I would share this - I am feeling a little bad for the WL HS rep right now. This is recent news about the HS :http://wamu.org/news/10/05/26.php

Students In D.C. Public Charter School Learn Arabic

May 26, 2010 - By Kavitha Cardoza

There's been a decrease in foreign languages such as French and German taught in schools across the country, according to a study funded by the U.S. Department of Education. But there's been a growing interest in more non-traditional foreign languages such as Chinese. In one middle school in Northwest D.C., students are learning Arabic.

At Washington Latin Public Charter School, Erica Perry is introducing herself to her classmates. She slowly writes her name on the board in the ornate script.

"In Arabic we write right to left," she says, "It was like writing backwards."

Another student, Guy Wilson, says at first he was intimidated.

"A big relief was, it's actually only 28 letters," he says. "When I originally looked at it I thought, oh my God, those must be hundreds of something, like Chinese."

Michael Scott says he's proud of his students because Arabic can be a difficult language to learn.

"The word 'blue' in English and 'bleu' in French, there's a kind of easy connection," he says. "But there's no connection between 'blue' and 'azarakh' in Arabic."

Yet there's demand for the class. Principal Martha Cutts says she hoped for five students; 75 applied. Cutts says knowing Arabic is a valuable skill, especially in government and business.

"They have to be able to understand this global perspective and understand the world is a very small place," she says.

The program is funded with $150,000 from the non-profit Qatar Foundation International. Students got to visit Doha, the capital city of Qatar, during spring break and meet students from their partner schools there.