Why are DC schools the pits?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:agree that advanced/honors courses/tracks with fluid entry is best. being right around the cutoff for a rigid track program is tough.

Say what you want about Basis, it provides an accelerated program without gate-keeping.

Schools like BASIS and Latin allow kids to get a top flight education even if they live in Congress Heights. You have to be lucky to get in, but you don't have to be rich, and you certainty don't have to live west of the park.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:agree that advanced/honors courses/tracks with fluid entry is best. being right around the cutoff for a rigid track program is tough.

Say what you want about Basis, it provides an accelerated program without gate-keeping.

Schools like BASIS and Latin allow kids to get a top flight education even if they live in Congress Heights. You have to be lucky to get in, but you don't have to be rich, and you certainty don't have to live west of the park.

Also don’t have to meet some standardized test threshold, which is often arbitrary at the margins.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:agree that advanced/honors courses/tracks with fluid entry is best. being right around the cutoff for a rigid track program is tough.

Say what you want about Basis, it provides an accelerated program without gate-keeping.

Schools like BASIS and Latin allow kids to get a top flight education even if they live in Congress Heights. You have to be lucky to get in, but you don't have to be rich, and you certainty don't have to live west of the park.

Also don’t have to meet some standardized test threshold, which is often arbitrary at the margins.

I would not call Basis a top flight education with the lack of facikities, EC, sports. Also curriculum is very narrow.

Only a few charters like Basis, DCI, and Latin might better meet the higher performing kids but far from best all around education like the burbs.

The issue is that DCPS won’t uphold high standards and actually continue to low standards. And the city forbids tracking except in math. Nothing anyone can do about when it comes from the top. That is why families are clamoring to few charters above or moving or going private.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:agree that advanced/honors courses/tracks with fluid entry is best. being right around the cutoff for a rigid track program is tough.

Say what you want about Basis, it provides an accelerated program without gate-keeping.

Schools like BASIS and Latin allow kids to get a top flight education even if they live in Congress Heights. You have to be lucky to get in, but you don't have to be rich, and you certainty don't have to live west of the park.

Also don’t have to meet some standardized test threshold, which is often arbitrary at the margins.

I would not call Basis a top flight education with the lack of facikities, EC, sports. Also curriculum is very narrow.

Only a few charters like Basis, DCI, and Latin might better meet the higher performing kids but far from best all around education like the burbs.

The issue is that DCPS won’t uphold high standards and actually continue to low standards. And the city forbids tracking except in math. Nothing anyone can do about when it comes from the top. That is why families are clamoring to few charters above or moving or going private.

Plenty use Basis as a spring board to other options for HS. The ones that stay for HS seem to do quite well, notwithstanding its limitations. That’s a win for most people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:agree that advanced/honors courses/tracks with fluid entry is best. being right around the cutoff for a rigid track program is tough.

Say what you want about Basis, it provides an accelerated program without gate-keeping.

Schools like BASIS and Latin allow kids to get a top flight education even if they live in Congress Heights. You have to be lucky to get in, but you don't have to be rich, and you certainty don't have to live west of the park.

Also don’t have to meet some standardized test threshold, which is often arbitrary at the margins.

I would not call Basis a top flight education with the lack of facikities, EC, sports. Also curriculum is very narrow.

Only a few charters like Basis, DCI, and Latin might better meet the higher performing kids but far from best all around education like the burbs.

The issue is that DCPS won’t uphold high standards and actually continue to low standards. And the city forbids tracking except in math. Nothing anyone can do about when it comes from the top. That is why families are clamoring to few charters above or moving or going private.

Plenty use Basis as a spring board to other options for HS. The ones that stay for HS seem to do quite well, notwithstanding its limitations. That’s a win for most people.

And what about the one it doesn’t work for!???? What about the ones traumatized by Basis?!??? We’ve been away from that school for over a decade and it still hurts!!!!

Shame!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:agree that advanced/honors courses/tracks with fluid entry is best. being right around the cutoff for a rigid track program is tough.

Say what you want about Basis, it provides an accelerated program without gate-keeping.

Schools like BASIS and Latin allow kids to get a top flight education even if they live in Congress Heights. You have to be lucky to get in, but you don't have to be rich, and you certainty don't have to live west of the park.

Also don’t have to meet some standardized test threshold, which is often arbitrary at the margins.

I would not call Basis a top flight education with the lack of facikities, EC, sports. Also curriculum is very narrow.

Only a few charters like Basis, DCI, and Latin might better meet the higher performing kids but far from best all around education like the burbs.

The issue is that DCPS won’t uphold high standards and actually continue to low standards. And the city forbids tracking except in math. Nothing anyone can do about when it comes from the top. That is why families are clamoring to few charters above or moving or going private.

Plenty use Basis as a spring board to other options for HS. The ones that stay for HS seem to do quite well, notwithstanding its limitations. That’s a win for most people.

How do you know that BASIS is a "win" for most people who enroll their children? Just as easy to argue that it's not a win when the 12th grade class is less than half the size of the entering class. Is there some sort of exit interview that you're using to claim this? No, because that data isn't collected. If as many families stayed for HS as left before HS, I might be persuaded of your argument. Just not the case.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC's poor don't need gifted and talented programs. They need to learn enough to not repeat 9th grade academy or drop out.

G&T isn't for them. It's for us, me and you, and the rest of the children of graduate degree holders.

As much as we love love love the rhetoric of identifying geniuses blooming among the families doing poorly in DC, it's not a statistical reality.

Not true. How did the mostly poor kids at Center City Congress Height’s score among BASIS and Latin for 8th grade math? The school put them in advanced coursework. The greatest failure is that we don’t give poor kids higher level work early enough and sometimes never at all. I say this as someone who has helped multiple of those poor kids you dismiss get to Ivy League schools.

Gifted and Talented isn’t about all. It’s about some. Deciding income is the measure or gateway for some is flat out wrong.

+1. The option shouldn’t be that rich kids get to supplement what DCPS doesn’t provide and poor bright kids go without.

The option should be that poor bright kids get to be lifted up with the help of DCPS. This may mean adding services for rich kid too. Nothing wrong with poor and rich kids being in the same, strong G&T programs.

[Anonymous]

I just think that the main problem is that DC parents are not an organized constituency. We need to speak up more and vote as a voting block if we want to have a say in our city.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC's poor don't need gifted and talented programs. They need to learn enough to not repeat 9th grade academy or drop out.

G&T isn't for them. It's for us, me and you, and the rest of the children of graduate degree holders.

As much as we love love love the rhetoric of identifying geniuses blooming among the families doing poorly in DC, it's not a statistical reality.

Not true. How did the mostly poor kids at Center City Congress Height’s score among BASIS and Latin for 8th grade math? The school put them in advanced coursework. The greatest failure is that we don’t give poor kids higher level work early enough and sometimes never at all. I say this as someone who has helped multiple of those poor kids you dismiss get to Ivy League schools.

Gifted and Talented isn’t about all. It’s about some. Deciding income is the measure or gateway for some is flat out wrong.

+1. The option shouldn’t be that rich kids get to supplement what DCPS doesn’t provide and poor bright kids go without.

The option should be that poor bright kids get to be lifted up with the help of DCPS. This may mean adding services for rich kid too. Nothing wrong with poor and rich kids being in the same, strong G&T programs.

It would be better if we had a strong tracking system at every school. It would give everyone more of a reason to stick with their local schools. The same school should be able to accommodate kids who want to be doctors and kids who want to become electricians.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:agree that advanced/honors courses/tracks with fluid entry is best. being right around the cutoff for a rigid track program is tough.

Say what you want about Basis, it provides an accelerated program without gate-keeping.

Schools like BASIS and Latin allow kids to get a top flight education even if they live in Congress Heights. You have to be lucky to get in, but you don't have to be rich, and you certainty don't have to live west of the park.

Also don’t have to meet some standardized test threshold, which is often arbitrary at the margins.

I would not call Basis a top flight education with the lack of facikities, EC, sports. Also curriculum is very narrow.

Only a few charters like Basis, DCI, and Latin might better meet the higher performing kids but far from best all around education like the burbs.

The issue is that DCPS won’t uphold high standards and actually continue to low standards. And the city forbids tracking except in math. Nothing anyone can do about when it comes from the top. That is why families are clamoring to few charters above or moving or going private.

“[L]ack of facikities“?

I would not call that evidence of a top-flight education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:agree that advanced/honors courses/tracks with fluid entry is best. being right around the cutoff for a rigid track program is tough.

Say what you want about Basis, it provides an accelerated program without gate-keeping.

Schools like BASIS and Latin allow kids to get a top flight education even if they live in Congress Heights. You have to be lucky to get in, but you don't have to be rich, and you certainty don't have to live west of the park.

Also don’t have to meet some standardized test threshold, which is often arbitrary at the margins.

I would not call Basis a top flight education with the lack of facikities, EC, sports. Also curriculum is very narrow.

Only a few charters like Basis, DCI, and Latin might better meet the higher performing kids but far from best all around education like the burbs.

The issue is that DCPS won’t uphold high standards and actually continue to low standards. And the city forbids tracking except in math. Nothing anyone can do about when it comes from the top. That is why families are clamoring to few charters above or moving or going private.

Plenty use Basis as a spring board to other options for HS. The ones that stay for HS seem to do quite well, notwithstanding its limitations. That’s a win for most people.

How do you know that BASIS is a "win" for most people who enroll their children? Just as easy to argue that it's not a win when the 12th grade class is less than half the size of the entering class. Is there some sort of exit interview that you're using to claim this? No, because that data isn't collected. If as many families stayed for HS as left before HS, I might be persuaded of your argument. Just not the case.

Because they stayed.

Obviously.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:agree that advanced/honors courses/tracks with fluid entry is best. being right around the cutoff for a rigid track program is tough.

Say what you want about Basis, it provides an accelerated program without gate-keeping.

Schools like BASIS and Latin allow kids to get a top flight education even if they live in Congress Heights. You have to be lucky to get in, but you don't have to be rich, and you certainty don't have to live west of the park.

Also don’t have to meet some standardized test threshold, which is often arbitrary at the margins.

I would not call Basis a top flight education with the lack of facikities, EC, sports. Also curriculum is very narrow.

Only a few charters like Basis, DCI, and Latin might better meet the higher performing kids but far from best all around education like the burbs.

The issue is that DCPS won’t uphold high standards and actually continue to low standards. And the city forbids tracking except in math. Nothing anyone can do about when it comes from the top. That is why families are clamoring to few charters above or moving or going private.

Plenty use Basis as a spring board to other options for HS. The ones that stay for HS seem to do quite well, notwithstanding its limitations. That’s a win for most people.

How do you know that BASIS is a "win" for most people who enroll their children? Just as easy to argue that it's not a win when the 12th grade class is less than half the size of the entering class. Is there some sort of exit interview that you're using to claim this? No, because that data isn't collected. If as many families stayed for HS as left before HS, I might be persuaded of your argument. Just not the case.

Because they stayed.

Obviously.

If Basis works for a decided critical mass of tax-paying DC families, it works period. And if folks leave early for greener pastures (eg, Walls, Banneker, private, burbs) why is that necessarily a failure, especially if Basis got them over/through the tricky DC middle school hump?

That Basis may have been less than ideal means little if their middle school alternatives were patently unacceptable. Not everyone has Deal, Hardy (or even Stuart Hobson) to fall back on. Our zoned middle school has ELA and Math proficiency rates in the high teens and single digits, respectively, for God sake!

[Anonymous]

we're west of rock creek. k-8 seems fine. worst case for HS is St. John's which doesn't seem too bad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:we're west of rock creek. k-8 seems fine. worst case for HS is St. John's which doesn't seem too bad.

Yeah - pretty sure the post was scoped to DC public schools. But yeah, if you have St. John’s in your back pocket, you good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:we're west of rock creek. k-8 seems fine. worst case for HS is St. John's which doesn't seem too bad.

Yeah - pretty sure the post was scoped to DC public schools. But yeah, if you have St. John’s in your back pocket, you good.

St John’s is cheaper than daycare. It’s not beyond ANYONE. It’s a great school too. Only people who won’t go there are weird about the parochial aspect.