Banneker vs. Walls

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:i think some of the posters a missing the point. some umc black children with very highly educated parents are specifically choosing to attend banneker but similarly-situated dc white families statistically make different choices. its worth looking at why.

Being around lots of other high-achieving black kids is a major draw for black families, and most white kids don't want to be in a small minority (and they can get the academics that they're looking for from other schools.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:i think some of the posters a missing the point. some umc black children with very highly educated parents are specifically choosing to attend banneker but similarly-situated dc white families statistically make different choices. its worth looking at why.

I think that you are missing the point. Some UMC black children with very highly educated parents are specifically choosing not to attend Banneker because of lack of rigor and lower than expected test scores.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i think some of the posters a missing the point. some umc black children with very highly educated parents are specifically choosing to attend banneker but similarly-situated dc white families statistically make different choices. its worth looking at why.

I think that you are missing the point. Some UMC black children with very highly educated parents are specifically choosing not to attend Banneker because of lack of rigor and lower than expected test scores.

NP. WHAT!!!??? PPP to whom you responded said "some". No one is saying it is the panacea or solution for all black families.

Is your position here that if it isn't the perfect school or solution for everyone then it isn't for anyone? For the life of me I cannot figure out the axe some of you have to grind here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The homework overkill is my main worry about the school. THAT seems very old school to me. What’s the point of all the homework/busywork if it’s not producing better students?

I think the huge emphasis on so much homework without producing great results at the expense of everything else such as extracurriculars with spurts, clubs, etc.. is a big negative why many middle class families don’t send their kids to Banneker.

I support homework but with the volume till 1 or 2am in addition to Saturday prep classes. Not for our DC.

If your kid is up till 2am doing homework then you need to reach out to the school to figure out what is wrong. That should not be the case. Clear indication that your kid is not processing and/or able to express their knowledge in a reasonable process or timeline.

This is not intended as a shot at your kid. Just an observation based on the facts you have presented.

I’m the PP you are responding to. Re-read the thread. It’s not my kid. It’s the PP above whose kid is at Banneker who is staying up to 1-2am and going to Saturday prep classes.

I'm the poster who spoke about the junior a Banneker. I want to amend my comment about homework. I didn't word it well and it has made this thread even more difficult. My son plays on a sports team and has typical teenager time management issues. That's why he's up until 1 or 2 am sometimes. I estimate that he has about 4 to 4.5 hours of work per night. It's a lot. But, he could finish earlier if he didn't have practice/games and used his time better. He can process the information as evidenced by his standardized test scores (see earlier post). He just needs to become better organized.

As for the rest of this thread, I'm not touching it and returning to my promise to stop contributing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i think some of the posters a missing the point. some umc black children with very highly educated parents are specifically choosing to attend banneker but similarly-situated dc white families statistically make different choices. its worth looking at why.

I think that you are missing the point. Some UMC black children with very highly educated parents are specifically choosing not to attend Banneker because of lack of rigor and lower than expected test scores.

BS. My son went to Banneker. It was a lot harder than the private we moved him too. It has too much rigor. It was intense. BTW, I am a lawyer and dad is an Exec. I think UMC black families didn't send their kids there because the ice was colder at other schools.

[Anonymous]

Can someone tell me about summer work requirements for each school? I read that Banneker has a rather long in person requirement over the summer. Is this accurate? Does walls have anything similar? Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can someone tell me about summer work requirements for each school? I read that Banneker has a rather long in person requirement over the summer. Is this accurate? Does walls have anything similar? Thanks!

Last summer it was a two week session but Covid caused problems (delta surge). They really just did assessments for fall class placement and did some discussions on the days not closed by Covid. I feel like they will likely have a better run this summer because of the experience last summer. I think Walls is more team building and class placement based on my conversation with DS when he compared with his friends at Walls.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for this. So is it only for 2 weeks a summer normally or was that just due to covid last year?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for this. So is it only for 2 weeks a summer normally or was that just due to covid last year?

It was supposed to be 3 weeks last summer at Banneker but the middle week was canceled b/c of COVID. In previous years, it's been 5 weeks, but for whatever reason, they shortened it last year. I'm not sure whether it'll be 3 weeks or 5 weeks, or something else altogether, going forward.

Walls has a one-week session.

Banneker also assigns far more summer homework (reading, math, etc) than Walls for incoming 9th graders.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for this. So is it only for 2 weeks a summer normally or was that just due to covid last year?

It was supposed to be 3 weeks last summer at Banneker but the middle week was canceled b/c of COVID. In previous years, it's been 5 weeks, but for whatever reason, they shortened it last year. I'm not sure whether it'll be 3 weeks or 5 weeks, or something else altogether, going forward.

Walls has a one-week session.

Banneker also assigns far more summer homework (reading, math, etc) than Walls for incoming 9th graders.

Thanks again for this. So is this summer session all set? I looked at their website but can’t tell anything really. As in do families know well ahead of time what is expected and when so that they can plan their summers? If not I would assume the in person portion isn’t mandatory? I realize I need to call the school to try and better understand it before we decide if we will apply. Neither myself or DD wants to spend the summers tied to a school schedule.

[Anonymous]

Parent here of an accepted student at Banneker I have heard the summer program is from July 5-29 from 9-12 but I have not heard anything from the school yet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Parent here of an accepted student at Banneker I have heard the summer program is from July 5-29 from 9-12 but I have not heard anything from the school yet.

Congrats to your student! It sounds like it must not be "required" since you haven't heard from school about it. If that's the case it's nice to have it in place for kids who may feel they need it or want to do extra summer studies. I hope the school year goes well!

[Anonymous]

PP, IDK if it is required, but it's highly recommended. From talking with current and former families who attended Banneker missing the summer program is not a good way to start your experience with the school. Plus, I would not want my child to be behind in making social connections. We decided to schedule our usual summer plans around the July dates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP, IDK if it is required, but it's highly recommended. From talking with current and former families who attended Banneker missing the summer program is not a good way to start your experience with the school. Plus, I would not want my child to be behind in making social connections. We decided to schedule our usual summer plans around the July dates.

Ok good to know. Seems strange they don’t tell you the dates when you apply if it’s so important.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i think some of the posters a missing the point. some umc black children with very highly educated parents are specifically choosing to attend banneker but similarly-situated dc white families statistically make different choices. its worth looking at why.

I think that you are missing the point. Some UMC black children with very highly educated parents are specifically choosing not to attend Banneker because of lack of rigor and lower than expected test scores.

BS. My son went to Banneker. It was a lot harder than the private we moved him too. It has too much rigor. It was intense. BTW, I am a lawyer and dad is an Exec. I think UMC black families didn't send their kids there because the ice was colder at other schools.

This is what I've heard about the school- that it's a very grind-y place. Not unlike the reputation of some private schools that require a ton of work for not nessescarily better results in the end.