Latin - diversity

[Anonymous]

Largo

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Latin has a longer school day, uniforms, stricter rules (behavior, phone usage, revokes privileges, etc.) asks a lot of their students academically and socially (character), and for most people -- a longer commute.

It's a lot more effort for the student and the parents. Regardless of race, a lot of students self-select into those characteristics and apply via the lottery and give it a high preference.


Latin also gives out A LOT of challenging homework. I, personally, love it, but we do a great deal of homework support at home. I wonder how other families manage it.

Latin's teachers stay after classroom hours end for 4 out of 5 school days for at least an extra 45 minutes. Those teacher "office hours" are referred to as "tutorial" in Latin's school terminology. Any child at Latin can attend tutorials after school every day of the week and get their homework done and can get extra help from teachers if they are having trouble understanding anything. Any child receiving a D or an F in a class is intensely encouraged to attend tutorial in order to catch up and make improvement. The teachers at Latin are very focused on what kids may not be getting support at home and the school tries to address those issues by offering these opportunities.

NP and I think those supports are fantastic. Unfortunately some kids have long commutes home and probably can’t stay late/it isn’t safe for them to stay late and travel after dark. Realities of DC and how unsafe it is these days.

My daughter does all of the tutorials. And the bus doesn't leave until after they are done. She gets home late, for sure. And it's dark. And she walks.

If you want super -safe, convenient, and great education, go to Bethesda. But I don't want to live there nor give my kids that experience.

Thanks for a real parent perspective. Latin seems to be really trying to serve kids well. This is why I don't understand these threads that are so negative about Latin or Basis. There is a larger school system that had (and has) the opportunity to provide the same supports and expanded programming to students who could benefit from them. Rather than asking why this isn't happening elsewhere, the effort seems to be spent on attacking Basis and Latin for providing programs that families want and need.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Latin has a longer school day, uniforms, stricter rules (behavior, phone usage, revokes privileges, etc.) asks a lot of their students academically and socially (character), and for most people -- a longer commute.

It's a lot more effort for the student and the parents. Regardless of race, a lot of students self-select into those characteristics and apply via the lottery and give it a high preference.


Latin also gives out A LOT of challenging homework. I, personally, love it, but we do a great deal of homework support at home. I wonder how other families manage it.

Latin's teachers stay after classroom hours end for 4 out of 5 school days for at least an extra 45 minutes. Those teacher "office hours" are referred to as "tutorial" in Latin's school terminology. Any child at Latin can attend tutorials after school every day of the week and get their homework done and can get extra help from teachers if they are having trouble understanding anything. Any child receiving a D or an F in a class is intensely encouraged to attend tutorial in order to catch up and make improvement. The teachers at Latin are very focused on what kids may not be getting support at home and the school tries to address those issues by offering these opportunities.

NP and I think those supports are fantastic. Unfortunately some kids have long commutes home and probably can’t stay late/it isn’t safe for them to stay late and travel after dark. Realities of DC and how unsafe it is these days.

My daughter does all of the tutorials. And the bus doesn't leave until after they are done. She gets home late, for sure. And it's dark. And she walks.

If you want super -safe, convenient, and great education, go to Bethesda. But I don't want to live there nor give my kids that experience.

Is the bus you are referring to the bus that goes to Eastern Market? I am not sure if there is an extra cost for that, but even if not, there are many families in DC who would need to travel much further home. Despite the uptick in crime, if you live on Capitol Hill, it is still a pretty safe place to walk around. There are a lot of kids who need to take multiple bus/metro lines to get to school - so it is not just the walk home at the end of day, it is the time on metro or bus that can also be unsafe. I know that is not directly the point of the thread, but folks need to get out of their bubbles and understand the real safety/transportation/sibling pick up decisions that a lot of the families in DC have to make. Most families in DC don't have the luxury of 'just moving to Bethesda'.

So what’s the upshot? Latin must reduce homework? Latin must provide bus service?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Latin has a longer school day, uniforms, stricter rules (behavior, phone usage, revokes privileges, etc.) asks a lot of their students academically and socially (character), and for most people -- a longer commute.

It's a lot more effort for the student and the parents. Regardless of race, a lot of students self-select into those characteristics and apply via the lottery and give it a high preference.


Latin also gives out A LOT of challenging homework. I, personally, love it, but we do a great deal of homework support at home. I wonder how other families manage it.

Latin's teachers stay after classroom hours end for 4 out of 5 school days for at least an extra 45 minutes. Those teacher "office hours" are referred to as "tutorial" in Latin's school terminology. Any child at Latin can attend tutorials after school every day of the week and get their homework done and can get extra help from teachers if they are having trouble understanding anything. Any child receiving a D or an F in a class is intensely encouraged to attend tutorial in order to catch up and make improvement. The teachers at Latin are very focused on what kids may not be getting support at home and the school tries to address those issues by offering these opportunities.

NP and I think those supports are fantastic. Unfortunately some kids have long commutes home and probably can’t stay late/it isn’t safe for them to stay late and travel after dark. Realities of DC and how unsafe it is these days.

My daughter does all of the tutorials. And the bus doesn't leave until after they are done. She gets home late, for sure. And it's dark. And she walks.

If you want super -safe, convenient, and great education, go to Bethesda. But I don't want to live there nor give my kids that experience.

Is the bus you are referring to the bus that goes to Eastern Market? I am not sure if there is an extra cost for that, but even if not, there are many families in DC who would need to travel much further home. Despite the uptick in crime, if you live on Capitol Hill, it is still a pretty safe place to walk around. There are a lot of kids who need to take multiple bus/metro lines to get to school - so it is not just the walk home at the end of day, it is the time on metro or bus that can also be unsafe. I know that is not directly the point of the thread, but folks need to get out of their bubbles and understand the real safety/transportation/sibling pick up decisions that a lot of the families in DC have to make. Most families in DC don't have the luxury of 'just moving to Bethesda'.

So what’s the upshot? Latin must reduce homework? Latin must provide bus service?

Not sure, it was more an observation about the self selection of who is able to stay enrolled at the school. With that schedule and homework load, and after school time for kids who need it - it will be difficult for kids from further away in the city to access the school. Which relates back to the initial topic on the thread about diversity of the student body. Ideally there would be schools with programs and supports like this across the city, which would decrease the distance needed to travel in the first place.