Walls admissions article in the Post

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am curious how many students were accepted that live in ward 7 or 8 but didn't go to middle school there. Maybe part of the issue is that students from wards 7 or 8 who are academically inclined are looking for middle schools elsewhere. Is that really Walls' fault?

Huh? First it’s a high school. Second, they screen out kids with IEPs (which is illegal). They screen out kids in wards 7 and 8. What else is there to know?

Isn’t the whole point of an IEP is that the kid can’t keep up with normal kids without help? That should eliminate them from contention from high achieving spots in a competitive field…. Because they can’t keep up without help. There is no IEP allowances at my office. Eventually the cold B-smack of reality will come down on the kids who can’t keep up.

I’m all for helping them through but we shouldn’t pretend they are normal.

Pls try to stick to things you know something about. This is public school, not a job site. Many kids with IEPs are capable of doing the work at Walls. If their grades and scores show they can’t, they would not be offered a spot. It’s almost per se discrimination to eliminate a kid with an IEP solely on that basis.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am curious how many students were accepted that live in ward 7 or 8 but didn't go to middle school there. Maybe part of the issue is that students from wards 7 or 8 who are academically inclined are looking for middle schools elsewhere. Is that really Walls' fault?

Huh? First it’s a high school. Second, they screen out kids with IEPs (which is illegal). They screen out kids in wards 7 and 8. What else is there to know?

Isn’t the whole point of an IEP is that the kid can’t keep up with normal kids without help? That should eliminate them from contention from high achieving spots in a competitive field…. Because they can’t keep up without help. There is no IEP allowances at my office. Eventually the cold B-smack of reality will come down on the kids who can’t keep up.

I’m all for helping them through but we shouldn’t pretend they are normal.

Let's not pretend you are a good person either

[Anonymous]

Please ignore the IEP person's inflammatory post.


As to Walls, I'm sure that kids from wards 7/8 applied and had the required 3.0+ grades. The middle schools in those wards do give As and Bs. They don't have to attend Deal to get a 3.0, in fact I'd guess that it wound be harder for them to get a 3.0 from Deal.

So likely they applied but weren't chosen by the bogus interview process. Which is crazy. They interviewed these kids for 2 minutes each and then didn't select the black kids from SE. They also didn't select the highest achieving white kids from NW. What they did get was a good number of mediocre white kids from NW. Craziness, really.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Please ignore the IEP person's inflammatory post.


As to Walls, I'm sure that kids from wards 7/8 applied and had the required 3.0+ grades. The middle schools in those wards do give As and Bs. They don't have to attend Deal to get a 3.0, in fact I'd guess that it wound be harder for them to get a 3.0 from Deal.

So likely they applied but weren't chosen by the bogus interview process. Which is crazy. They interviewed these kids for 2 minutes each and then didn't select the black kids from SE. They also didn't select the highest achieving white kids from NW. What they did get was a good number of mediocre white kids from NW. Craziness, really.

I’m truly surprised that there aren’t any lawsuits already. The process is an actual joke.

Based on the “selection” of students last year, what is Walls’s argument about what the school is? I don’t even understand what Walls is even supposed to be anymore. It’s just another high school at this point. But somehow, everyone associated with it feels special. It’s kind of stomach turning at this point. “Come to Walls! We aren’t Wilson. “

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please ignore the IEP person's inflammatory post.


As to Walls, I'm sure that kids from wards 7/8 applied and had the required 3.0+ grades. The middle schools in those wards do give As and Bs. They don't have to attend Deal to get a 3.0, in fact I'd guess that it wound be harder for them to get a 3.0 from Deal.

So likely they applied but weren't chosen by the bogus interview process. Which is crazy. They interviewed these kids for 2 minutes each and then didn't select the black kids from SE. They also didn't select the highest achieving white kids from NW. What they did get was a good number of mediocre white kids from NW. Craziness, really.

I’m truly surprised that there aren’t any lawsuits already. The process is an actual joke.

Based on the “selection” of students last year, what is Walls’s argument about what the school is? I don’t even understand what Walls is even supposed to be anymore. It’s just another high school at this point. But somehow, everyone associated with it feels special. It’s kind of stomach turning at this point. “Come to Walls! We aren’t Wilson. “

I don't think as many people are falling for this thinking this year.
The Walls waitlist has moved 90 spots since the lottery so while they had 132 kids say yes, they had 90 them down (and we're not at the first day of school yet).

[Anonymous]

Is there any data on application numbers across the city? None of this means anything to me if lie 5 kids applied from Ward 8. It's also not like Walls is 90% white. they are 50% white and 43% of the city is white. And yes DC has some serious class divide among racial lines. Everyone just wants to point fingers. It's probably not that bad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is there any data on application numbers across the city? None of this means anything to me if lie 5 kids applied from Ward 8. It's also not like Walls is 90% white. they are 50% white and 43% of the city is white. And yes DC has some serious class divide among racial lines. Everyone just wants to point fingers. It's probably not that bad.

Like DCUM clockwork

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is there any data on application numbers across the city? None of this means anything to me if lie 5 kids applied from Ward 8. It's also not like Walls is 90% white. they are 50% white and 43% of the city is white. And yes DC has some serious class divide among racial lines. Everyone just wants to point fingers. It's probably not that bad.

Like DCUM clockwork

God forbid we actually seek the truth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is there any data on application numbers across the city? None of this means anything to me if lie 5 kids applied from Ward 8. It's also not like Walls is 90% white. they are 50% white and 43% of the city is white. And yes DC has some serious class divide among racial lines. Everyone just wants to point fingers. It's probably not that bad.

Like DCUM clockwork

Wouldn't it be helpful to know this? To know whether the racism is directly from the admissions or whether we need to work on identifying children from across the city to support and help apply? I mean, throwing your hands up and just assuming the interviewer is racist is racist and not helpful. Figuring out how to fight the systemic racism that is multi-faceted might actually make a difference. But hey, you just be you.

[Anonymous]

DC's POPULATION:
45.4% Black or African American
4.1% Asian
5.2% Hispanic White
0.3% Native American and Alaskan Native
42.5% White
4.4% Some Other Race, 0.1% Pacific Islander and 3.3% from two or more races

WALLS BREAKDOWN:
25% Black/African-American
7% Asian
13% Hispanic / Latino
<1% Native American / Alaska Native
50% White non-Hispanic
5% Multiracial

So Walls is actually quite diverse, people always use this word incorrectly. A 95% black school isn't diverse. The problem is we need to get more Black students into Walls. The problem is DC's Black population skews poor. That's what needs to be fixed. Those kids aren't going to elementary and middle schools that prepare them for success. They are lacking resources at home, at school, and in their communities. My guess is most poor Black kids are never told they can take the test and get into a good HS. Walls should start a program, but the problem is far too entrenched for it to be on the shoulders of one magnet public school in the city.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is there any data on application numbers across the city? None of this means anything to me if lie 5 kids applied from Ward 8. It's also not like Walls is 90% white. they are 50% white and 43% of the city is white. And yes DC has some serious class divide among racial lines. Everyone just wants to point fingers. It's probably not that bad.

Like DCUM clockwork

God forbid we actually seek the truth.

Reading is fundamental: “According to the school system, 50 students attending the five neighborhood schools in Wards 7 and 8 applied to be part of the incoming freshmen at Walls. Overall, 138 students living in the two wards applied.” But “Just three eighth graders at middle schools in Wards 7 and 8 — Hart, Johnson, Kelly Miller, Kramer and Sousa middle schools — made the cut of 500 students and accepted interviews, according to city data.” And “Preliminary data shows the new freshman class includes four students from Wards 7 and 8.”

Also your 43% of the city is white stat is not relevant: “Walls, for example, is 51 percent White. The public school system is about 15 percent White, with the percentage of White high-schoolers smaller than that. A quarter of Walls students are Black, compared to 60 percent of students in the school system.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is there any data on application numbers across the city? None of this means anything to me if lie 5 kids applied from Ward 8. It's also not like Walls is 90% white. they are 50% white and 43% of the city is white. And yes DC has some serious class divide among racial lines. Everyone just wants to point fingers. It's probably not that bad.

Like DCUM clockwork

God forbid we actually seek the truth.

It’s not our job to teach you about white privilege

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC's POPULATION:
45.4% Black or African American
4.1% Asian
5.2% Hispanic White
0.3% Native American and Alaskan Native
42.5% White
4.4% Some Other Race, 0.1% Pacific Islander and 3.3% from two or more races

WALLS BREAKDOWN:
25% Black/African-American
7% Asian
13% Hispanic / Latino
<1% Native American / Alaska Native
50% White non-Hispanic
5% Multiracial

So Walls is actually quite diverse, people always use this word incorrectly. A 95% black school isn't diverse. The problem is we need to get more Black students into Walls. The problem is DC's Black population skews poor. That's what needs to be fixed. Those kids aren't going to elementary and middle schools that prepare them for success. They are lacking resources at home, at school, and in their communities. My guess is most poor Black kids are never told they can take the test and get into a good HS. Walls should start a program, but the problem is far too entrenched for it to be on the shoulders of one magnet public school in the city.

City population isn’t relevant. DCPS population is. According to the Post article, 15% of DCPS students are white; 60% are black.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am curious how many students were accepted that live in ward 7 or 8 but didn't go to middle school there. Maybe part of the issue is that students from wards 7 or 8 who are academically inclined are looking for middle schools elsewhere. Is that really Walls' fault?

Huh? First it’s a high school. Second, they screen out kids with IEPs (which is illegal). They screen out kids in wards 7 and 8. What else is there to know?

Isn’t the whole point of an IEP is that the kid can’t keep up with normal kids without help? That should eliminate them from contention from high achieving spots in a competitive field…. Because they can’t keep up without help. There is no IEP allowances at my office. Eventually the cold B-smack of reality will come down on the kids who can’t keep up.

I’m all for helping them through but we shouldn’t pretend they are normal.

Let's not pretend you are a good person either

Seriously. That language was objectively bad.

[Anonymous]

I’ve been a DCPS educator for 10+ years (gen Ed). Some of my most intelligent and successful students have had an IEP. It’s beyond ableist to think that students (or adults) who have/had an IEP can’t thrive in gen Ed settings.