Middle Schools for Cap Hill

Anonymous
I'm not sure what the "real issue" is, or if it's "progress" that Brent's 5th grade is always jammed with families who struck out at BASIS and the Latins. Still, I'm glad that a number of my kid's old pals will likely be returning for 5th grade.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure what the "real issue" is, or if it's "progress" that Brent's 5th grade is always jammed with families who struck out at BASIS and the Latins. Still, I'm glad that a number of my kid's old pals will likely be returning for 5th grade.



Of course, I'd imagine for many of the Brent-zoned families, it's something like "Yeah, too bad we stuck out at Latin/Basis, so we'll just have to settle for GDS next year."
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure what the "real issue" is, or if it's "progress" that Brent's 5th grade is always jammed with families who struck out at BASIS and the Latins. Still, I'm glad that a number of my kid's old pals will likely be returning for 5th grade.



Of course, I'd imagine for many of the Brent-zoned families, it's something like "Yeah, too bad we stuck out at Latin/Basis, so we'll just have to settle for GDS next year."


*struck
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure what the "real issue" is, or if it's "progress" that Brent's 5th grade is always jammed with families who struck out at BASIS and the Latins. Still, I'm glad that a number of my kid's old pals will likely be returning for 5th grade.


Pretty sure it could be “jammed with families that struck out at BASIS and the Latins” but they aren’t families that are zoned for Brent—most of those kids are gone by fifth. Old info, but this was the best I could find: “Such decisions are common at Brent. After the 2014-15 school year, 70 percent of 4th-graders didn’t return for 5th grade. That’s actually an improvement from the year before, when more than 80 percent left.” https://wamu.org/story/16/03/02/5th_grade_dropoff/
Anonymous
2015 data. LOL.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:2015 data. LOL.


Brent is less than 70% IB now, so I actually think it’s likely correct to say that 5th grade has very few IBers given that PK is obviously fully IB and the lower grades have very few OOBs students.
Anonymous
Correct - the number of 5th graders is of no relevance if they are all angry to be there because they struck out at the lottery. My kid was in that situation and it was awful. No real friends left in his class. It was disproportionately the long-time trouble makers. And he was constantly hearing from his friends at basis about the cool things they were learning at basis while he was stuck with “growth mindset” math, etc. We wound up moving to the burbs where the academics are far superior and regret not making that choice years ago.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure what the "real issue" is, or if it's "progress" that Brent's 5th grade is always jammed with families who struck out at BASIS and the Latins. Still, I'm glad that a number of my kid's old pals will likely be returning for 5th grade.


Pretty sure it could be “jammed with families that struck out at BASIS and the Latins” but they aren’t families that are zoned for Brent—most of those kids are gone by fifth. Old info, but this was the best I could find: “Such decisions are common at Brent. After the 2014-15 school year, 70 percent of 4th-graders didn’t return for 5th grade. That’s actually an improvement from the year before, when more than 80 percent left.” https://wamu.org/story/16/03/02/5th_grade_dropoff/


Just not true. We stayed for 5th grade at Brent last year. There were more than 30 students, down from around 65 in 4th grade, so almost half of the kids stayed. Same story this school year. Many of these kids were unable to get off 5th grade wait lists for Latin and Basis. Others were heading abroad for a parent's job, or to privates, or planning to go to Jefferson Academy all along. The great majority of these 5th graders were zoned for Brent. We've known most of them since they were toddlers.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Correct - the number of 5th graders is of no relevance if they are all angry to be there because they struck out at the lottery. My kid was in that situation and it was awful. No real friends left in his class. It was disproportionately the long-time trouble makers. And he was constantly hearing from his friends at basis about the cool things they were learning at basis while he was stuck with “growth mindset” math, etc. We wound up moving to the burbs where the academics are far superior and regret not making that choice years ago.


You're painting with too broad a brush, PP. All the UMC families of 5th graders in Ward 6 DCPS elementary schools in Ward 6 weren't planning to stay in DC public schools for middle school, or to go charter. Some parents were annoyed that they struck out in the 5th grade charter lottery, yes, but others were set on middle school alternatives all along. We turned down a spot at BASIS for a better fit that we'd had in mind for years.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:2015 data. LOL.


Brent is less than 70% IB now, so I actually think it’s likely correct to say that 5th grade has very few IBers given that PK is obviously fully IB and the lower grades have very few OOBs students.


Most of the OOB students at Brent live on Capitol Hill, many just a few blocks outside the school's boundary. BS that the 5th grade has very few IBers this year. It's mostly IBers again. It is correct to say that there are hardly any poor kids left at Brent, around 5% at risk.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure what the "real issue" is, or if it's "progress" that Brent's 5th grade is always jammed with families who struck out at BASIS and the Latins. Still, I'm glad that a number of my kid's old pals will likely be returning for 5th grade.



Of course, I'd imagine for many of the Brent-zoned families, it's something like "Yeah, too bad we stuck out at Latin/Basis, so we'll just have to settle for GDS next year."


Untrue. Yes, there are a few Brent family who can afford GDS, and others who attend on a lot of fi aid. But most Brent parents work for Uncle Sam (with the House office buildings a 10-min walk from the school), or in jobs associated with govt work. They're not raking it in, even if their houses are worth more than a million dollars. Capitol Hill just isn't Upper NW. A lot of us bought Brent District real estate many years ago, before the Hill was nearly as pricey as it is now.

Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Reading this is so depressing. The answer is clear and it's right in front of all of us: send all of our kids to the inboundary public middle school and then high school. The end. The quality of the public schools in our neighborhoods depend on the families that attend. You want better ones? Join the PTO and make the school more attractive.

I hear a lot of people on here saying there aren't tracked classes and then that tracked classes are in name only and no one is prepared for the next level. Well, then tracking isn't the solution. Just get a commitment from your other parent friend circles to attend. And do it! The end. That's what happened at Hardy and now all of y'all are salivating over it. Just do it in your own neighborhood.


I know groups of Hill families who have tried to do this, at least for S-H, but it has not worked out. People chicken out and it doesn't take long for everyone else to bail too. No one wants to be the one family that sticks to the plan only to have everyone else flee for charters, privates, and suburbs -- they you'll really feel like you failed your kids because not only has your plan to improve the IB MS fallen apart, now all their friends are elsewhere.

I think one reason it worked at Hardy but you see so people on the Hill struggling is that there are actually a number of viable options for Hill families for MS outside the IB. Two Rivers, ITS, CHML, Basis, Latin. All of these are more viable for Hill families than for Hardy. Plus PPs are right that having the Hill divided among three MS also undercuts the ability to create a cohort. One thing I've seen happen is that people get influenced by what their friends at other schools are doing. So for instance if you have friends at Brent and they aren't even looking at Jefferson as a possibility (common) and eyeing Basis instead, then even if your feeder is S-H, that is going to make you give Basis a harder look than if they were just going to Jefferson. So it's not just that any cohort is split between 3 schools, it's that dissatisfaction with Jeffersion and EH seems to spill over into S-H families because there is a lot of mixing among families on the Hill outside of school boundaries. As another PP pointed out, people tend to put a lot of faith in what their friends with older kids have done, too, because as a parent it's hard to chart a new path.

But anyway, I don't think people on the Hill "salivate" over Hardy that much. I think the main envy is Wilson. And Wilson was already established as a good option before Hardy started retaining more students, because Deal was already established. But Eastern doesn't have a feeder like Deal. Eastern is an incredibly tough sell for any family who is invested in their kid going to college. It's really hard for me to imagine sending my kid there even if we do stick with the plan to go to S-H. Eastern is the problem.


All of this

It's even worse for high school

Anybody still in DCPS who cares about education is going to go Walls or Banneker for HS, the former super woke school board rep eventually broke down and sent his kid to Walls over Eastern, can't blame him

If DCPS was smart they would have 1 hill based honors type public middle school and then funnel that into a high school ala what was done to make Deal/Wilson.


Ha, DCPS would never allow having just one consolidated MS and HS for all of the Hill.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:2015 data. LOL.


Brent is less than 70% IB now, so I actually think it’s likely correct to say that 5th grade has very few IBers given that PK is obviously fully IB and the lower grades have very few OOBs students.


Most of the OOB students at Brent live on Capitol Hill, many just a few blocks outside the school's boundary. BS that the 5th grade has very few IBers this year. It's mostly IBers again. It is correct to say that there are hardly any poor kids left at Brent, around 5% at risk.


For Brent to be less than 70% IB, it is nearly mathematically impossible for it to be the case that 5th grade in “mostly” IB students given the demographics of the younger grades.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:2015 data. LOL.


Brent is less than 70% IB now, so I actually think it’s likely correct to say that 5th grade has very few IBers given that PK is obviously fully IB and the lower grades have very few OOBs students.


Most of the OOB students at Brent live on Capitol Hill, many just a few blocks outside the school's boundary. BS that the 5th grade has very few IBers this year. It's mostly IBers again. It is correct to say that there are hardly any poor kids left at Brent, around 5% at risk.


For Brent to be less than 70% IB, it is nearly mathematically impossible for it to be the case that 5th grade in “mostly” IB students given the demographics of the younger grades.


OTOH I do agree that most Brent OOBers are from the Hill. Watkins zone is by far the biggest source of them. Quite a few Watkins families actually have proximity preference to Brent because of where Watkins is physically located.
Anonymous
Where do the boys at Gonzaga go for 6th-8th?
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