Brent parents: Give me the lowdown on the school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow, this is a long thread, lol. In response to the original request "Brent parents: Give me the lowdown on the school", It simply is a great school. It's the kind of school that most middle class/upper middle class families want in Capitol Hill and the Capitol Riverfront. If you have the opportunity for your child to get into Brent, you should take it!

I agree that it's a fine school for high SES families, but only those with little kids and kids who aren't too far off to one side of the bell curve academically. If your kid has special needs or is "advanced" and above 2nd grade, not so much.

Many high SES kids still get bored in 3rd and 4th grades because the curriculum and teaching just aren't geared toward advanced learners, particularly those with parents who pay for enrichment (tutors, outside lessons, academic camps etc.). Bored tends to mean badly-behaved -there's too much mischief making in the higher grades, and not enough "on" for big kids (from appropriate library books to extra curriculars).

Also, Brent doesn't seem to have processed that MS starts at 5th grade--at BASIS, Latin and elsewhere---so 4th graders need to be ready to move on to tough math, multiple classroom teachers and so forth. Perhaps things will change with all the strategic planning in the air, but I wouldn't count on it.

Yep. This is so true. And the principal is scared to admit it...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow, this is a long thread, lol. In response to the original request "Brent parents: Give me the lowdown on the school", It simply is a great school. It's the kind of school that most middle class/upper middle class families want in Capitol Hill and the Capitol Riverfront. If you have the opportunity for your child to get into Brent, you should take it!

I agree that it's a fine school for high SES families, but only those with little kids and kids who aren't too far off to one side of the bell curve academically. If your kid has special needs or is "advanced" and above 2nd grade, not so much.

Many high SES kids still get bored in 3rd and 4th grades because the curriculum and teaching just aren't geared toward advanced learners, particularly those with parents who pay for enrichment (tutors, outside lessons, academic camps etc.). Bored tends to mean badly-behaved -there's too much mischief making in the higher grades, and not enough "on" for big kids (from appropriate library books to extra curriculars).

Also, Brent doesn't seem to have processed that MS starts at 5th grade--at BASIS, Latin and elsewhere---so 4th graders need to be ready to move on to tough math, multiple classroom teachers and so forth. Perhaps things will change with all the strategic planning in the air, but I wouldn't count on it.

Yep. This is so true. And the principal is scared to admit it...

Well said.

[Anonymous]

Sincere question. Has any Brent parent who sent a child onto middle school felt that their student struggled or was ill-prepared for the work in 5th or 6th grade. I get the complaints about lack of rigor in the upper grades but the proof is in the pudding. The kids are alright.

[Anonymous]

Worst thing about Brent: nannies who change infant and toddler diapers and then simply toss them in playground trash receptacles.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sincere question. Has any Brent parent who sent a child onto middle school felt that their student struggled or was ill-prepared for the work in 5th or 6th grade. I get the complaints about lack of rigor in the upper grades but the proof is in the pudding. The kids are alright.

Alright is relative. Talk to practically any parent of a Brent grad who a) isn't a math whiz and, b) landed at BASIS, a suburban GT program, or a top independent. Brent grads certainly aren't going to struggle at any of the by-right Cap Hill middle schools or St. Peters.

If you're heading to BASIS and your kid isn't a quantitative natural, you're going to want to hire a tutor or tutor yourself, pay for math camp (e.g. Johns Hopkins CTY at St. Stephen and St. Agnes in Alexandria), use Khan Academy etc. in 3rd and 4th grade to avoid tears and late homework-filled nights at BASIS. Also, Brent puts very little emphasis on structured writing. The kids write in journals, but aren't taught to develop arguments, take the right preposition, or structure coherent paragraphs. You wind up teaching them at home.

I don't see all that much rigor in 5th and 6th grade in DC public outside BASIS and Deal. Latin puts kids who can barely add/subtract (after a little remediation) and those who can do advanced math in the same MS math classes. Same for every other subject.

[Anonymous]

Many Brent parents have tutors.

[Anonymous]

Here's an interesting development. Several BASIS parents with younger sibs still at Brent are talking to Principal Young about the need to ramp up math instruction for the BASIS-bound. As a result, I won't be surprised to see an after-school "BASIS prep club" emerge shortly.

[Anonymous]

There is a lot of emphasis on structured writing now. It started last year and it starts in kindergarten. PP's complaint about that isn't true anymore.

All of the children I know at Basis are doing fine. It's a lottery too, it's not based on ability.

[Anonymous]

Tears over two hours worth of homework each night, half of it math, are common enough. Ask around. Lottery or no, BASIS encourages a good many families to leave. Their eight Arizona campuses lose at least one-third of the families between 5th and 8th grades, on purpose.

Agree that the writing situation is improving, but it still isn't great.

[Anonymous]

The LATEST a BASIS student can take algebra is 7th grade. Brent parents, are you listening?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The LATEST a BASIS student can take algebra is 7th grade. Brent parents, are you listening?

Yes, that is why we are sending our kids there.

[Anonymous]

Too many Brent parents aren't listening or pushing for a more academic upper grades experience. They're enjoying row house life and cruising, thinking in terms of changing demographics sorting MS and HS out before their kids arrive. Right.

[Anonymous]

If people think that Brent Elementary School is not a good option, then the only good DCPS Elementary School options must be JKLMM, huh?

[Anonymous]

Clearly no room for improvement at Brent, none at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The LATEST a BASIS student can take algebra is 7th grade. Brent parents, are you listening?

Algebra in 7th grade is ridiculous. Maybe for a few math whiz kids, OK, but across the board is abusive. When do BASIS kids have time to relax? We need more quality alternatives than BASIS, Latin, or language immersion, clearly.