Parent Essay critical of DCI

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think it’s about “low expectations” I think it’s about reality. Many many kids in DC, including those at DCI are below grade level. The problem is parents can’t believe it because the test scores are their achool arwmatill better compared to other DC schools. But most of these kids wouldn’t cut it in Arlington gifted classrooms. DCI, like everybschool, is teaching to middle/bottom of the cohort.

Let's step back. Using PARCC to determine at/below grade level -- DCI is doing pretty well, at least in ELA -- compared to other middle schools.

Ranking MS with 10 highest ELA scores (math is complicated to parse for MS because of all the different levels taken (math 6, 7, 8, Alg 1, Geometry, Integrated Math etc)

Adams 83*
Deal 81
BASIS 81*
Hardy 68
Latin 63
DCI 61

Whether DCI is challenging students to advance beyond proficiency (concern of parent essay) OR preparing students for HL IB courses / achieving the IB diploma is a totally different thing.

*Since these schools have scores reported for more than just 6-8, I averaged the percentage at 4+ in 6,7 and 8 (73/88/82 for Basis and 83/88/80 for Adams -- but that is a quick estimate because I didn't add the numbers of students taking the exams).

Great job Adams!

Remember- they kicked out all the kids with special needs. So not impressive actually.

Lies! There are 5 special needs students in my DC’s class at Adams right now—one of whom has Downs Syndrome I suspect.

[Anonymous]

At SH, students with 4 or 5 on PARCC and/or 3 or 4 on final quarter grades from the previous year are sorted into honors classes before school starts.

You can request a placement test for your student in ELA and/or math if you don't like your placement, and/or bring in a portfolio of relevant school work. Placements can also change during the school year in consultation with admins and teachers.

Placement system at SH is transparent and straightforward.

[Anonymous]

Sorry, posted on wrong thread - this one belongs on MS class placement thread.

Too bad that DCI isn't sorting students for ELA, social studies or science. If they were, we might be there.

[Anonymous]

This thread is getting ridiculously drawn out. If you think DCPS middle school, esp EOTP, is going to make any progress at all in the next 3-7 years, then stay at your IB DCPS school and feeder pattern.

If you think no chance whatsoever, then stay at your current charter to track to DCI. Or try to lottery in at a feeder or DCI. But this is getting more and more difficult so reality is that parents taking the long view are looking at ECE with taking feeder patterns in mind with their decision.

So if mom in the article if not happy at DCI, she can always send her kid to their neighborhood IB middle. Done deal.

End of thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not the poster you're responding to but we'd swap Mundo-DCI for Oyster-Adams-Wilson in a heartbeat if we had access to the latter pyramid

We're not native speakers of Spanish so couldn't apply to Oyster through the Spanish dominant lottery.

"pyramid"??????

ILLUMINATI

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
This thread is getting ridiculously drawn out. If you think DCPS middle school, esp EOTP, is going to make any progress at all in the next 3-7 years, then stay at your IB DCPS school and feeder pattern.

If you think no chance whatsoever, then stay at your current charter to track to DCI. Or try to lottery in at a feeder or DCI. But this is getting more and more difficult so reality is that parents taking the long view are looking at ECE with taking feeder patterns in mind with their decision.

So if mom in the article if not happy at DCI, she can always send her kid to their neighborhood IB middle. Done deal.

End of thread.

So DC parents of teens who speak, read and write French, Mandarin and Spanish pretty well aren't legit stakeholders in our public schools? They're peons awaiting their marching orders, happy to be pushed around for their tax dollars?

You know what else you can do, enroll at DCI and assert yourself by lobbying for change, as the mom who wrote the critical article effectively did. Parent leaders can organize to ask for help on improving DCI from city council members on the Committee on Ed. They can even push to get certain council members on the Committee on Ed voted out (suburban PA organizations routinely do this). For starters, they can advocate to ditch the disastrous Chromebooks.

If admins won't start to track for ELA, social studies or science, parents can start sending around notices inviting particular advanced students to pay-to-play private tutoring groups for advanced learners, with "scholarship" tuition for qualified poor kids. They can organize their own language immersion camp carpools and scholarships. Both pesky steps were taken within our school last year and they certainly got admins' attention/drew their ire. Parents are also free to research and implement IB Diploma studies support options, like early test taking junior year and hiring IBD-savvy private college applications coaches (again, providing financial support to low SES kids who would benefit) to help with applications, and advertise them within the school community.

Frustrated parents don't always have to take DCI's lack of ambition to serve advanced learners sitting down.

Jeff decides when a thread ends, not you.

[Anonymous]

to 15:01 - I think you sound unhinged.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:to 15:01 - I think you sound unhinged.

+ 1000.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
This thread is getting ridiculously drawn out. If you think DCPS middle school, esp EOTP, is going to make any progress at all in the next 3-7 years, then stay at your IB DCPS school and feeder pattern.

If you think no chance whatsoever, then stay at your current charter to track to DCI. Or try to lottery in at a feeder or DCI. But this is getting more and more difficult so reality is that parents taking the long view are looking at ECE with taking feeder patterns in mind with their decision.

So if mom in the article if not happy at DCI, she can always send her kid to their neighborhood IB middle. Done deal.

End of thread.

So DC parents of teens who speak, read and write French, Mandarin and Spanish pretty well aren't legit stakeholders in our public schools? They're peons awaiting their marching orders, happy to be pushed around for their tax dollars?

You know what else you can do, enroll at DCI and assert yourself by lobbying for change, as the mom who wrote the critical article effectively did. Parent leaders can organize to ask for help on improving DCI from city council members on the Committee on Ed. They can even push to get certain council members on the Committee on Ed voted out (suburban PA organizations routinely do this). For starters, they can advocate to ditch the disastrous Chromebooks.

If admins won't start to track for ELA, social studies or science, parents can start sending around notices inviting particular advanced students to pay-to-play private tutoring groups for advanced learners, with "scholarship" tuition for qualified poor kids. They can organize their own language immersion camp carpools and scholarships. Both pesky steps were taken within our school last year and they certainly got admins' attention/drew their ire. Parents are also free to research and implement IB Diploma studies support options, like early test taking junior year and hiring IBD-savvy private college applications coaches (again, providing financial support to low SES kids who would benefit) to help with applications, and advertise them within the school community.

Frustrated parents don't always have to take DCI's lack of ambition to serve advanced learners sitting down.

Jeff decides when a thread ends, not you.

Why don’t you replace DCI above with DCPS.........much more relevant to a ton more families

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
This thread is getting ridiculously drawn out. If you think DCPS middle school, esp EOTP, is going to make any progress at all in the next 3-7 years, then stay at your IB DCPS school and feeder pattern.

If you think no chance whatsoever, then stay at your current charter to track to DCI. Or try to lottery in at a feeder or DCI. But this is getting more and more difficult so reality is that parents taking the long view are looking at ECE with taking feeder patterns in mind with their decision.

So if mom in the article if not happy at DCI, she can always send her kid to their neighborhood IB middle. Done deal.

End of thread.

So DC parents of teens who speak, read and write French, Mandarin and Spanish pretty well aren't legit stakeholders in our public schools? They're peons awaiting their marching orders, happy to be pushed around for their tax dollars?

You know what else you can do, enroll at DCI and assert yourself by lobbying for change, as the mom who wrote the critical article effectively did. Parent leaders can organize to ask for help on improving DCI from city council members on the Committee on Ed. They can even push to get certain council members on the Committee on Ed voted out (suburban PA organizations routinely do this). For starters, they can advocate to ditch the disastrous Chromebooks.

If admins won't start to track for ELA, social studies or science, parents can start sending around notices inviting particular advanced students to pay-to-play private tutoring groups for advanced learners, with "scholarship" tuition for qualified poor kids. They can organize their own language immersion camp carpools and scholarships. Both pesky steps were taken within our school last year and they certainly got admins' attention/drew their ire. Parents are also free to research and implement IB Diploma studies support options, like early test taking junior year and hiring IBD-savvy private college applications coaches (again, providing financial support to low SES kids who would benefit) to help with applications, and advertise them within the school community.

Frustrated parents don't always have to take DCI's lack of ambition to serve advanced learners sitting down.

Jeff decides when a thread ends, not you.

Why don’t you replace DCI above with DCPS.........much more relevant to a ton more families

Oh you mean all the families in DCPS language immersion programs EOTP feeding into Macfarland.......

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:to 15:01 - I think you sound unhinged.

She may b nuts but she has a point. Passive DC public school parents/voters are a big part of the problem. Move to the burbs and you'll get it, hon.

BTW, it's not unusual for Deal parents to band together to hire tutors, particularly to teach writing. The emails asking for takers go around. You'll see this at DCI eventually.

Signed
Unhinged Deal Parent who was in a DCI Feeder

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
This thread is getting ridiculously drawn out. If you think DCPS middle school, esp EOTP, is going to make any progress at all in the next 3-7 years, then stay at your IB DCPS school and feeder pattern.

If you think no chance whatsoever, then stay at your current charter to track to DCI. Or try to lottery in at a feeder or DCI. But this is getting more and more difficult so reality is that parents taking the long view are looking at ECE with taking feeder patterns in mind with their decision.

So if mom in the article if not happy at DCI, she can always send her kid to their neighborhood IB middle. Done deal.

End of thread.

So DC parents of teens who speak, read and write French, Mandarin and Spanish pretty well aren't legit stakeholders in our public schools? They're peons awaiting their marching orders, happy to be pushed around for their tax dollars?

You know what else you can do, enroll at DCI and assert yourself by lobbying for change, as the mom who wrote the critical article effectively did. Parent leaders can organize to ask for help on improving DCI from city council members on the Committee on Ed. They can even push to get certain council members on the Committee on Ed voted out (suburban PA organizations routinely do this). For starters, they can advocate to ditch the disastrous Chromebooks.

If admins won't start to track for ELA, social studies or science, parents can start sending around notices inviting particular advanced students to pay-to-play private tutoring groups for advanced learners, with "scholarship" tuition for qualified poor kids. They can organize their own language immersion camp carpools and scholarships. Both pesky steps were taken within our school last year and they certainly got admins' attention/drew their ire. Parents are also free to research and implement IB Diploma studies support options, like early test taking junior year and hiring IBD-savvy private college applications coaches (again, providing financial support to low SES kids who would benefit) to help with applications, and advertise them within the school community.

Frustrated parents don't always have to take DCI's lack of ambition to serve advanced learners sitting down.

Jeff decides when a thread ends, not you.

Why don’t you replace DCI above with DCPS.........much more relevant to a ton more families

No it's not more relevant in DCPS, not with almost half of the city's pub school students in charters and the best public schools in the city being traditional public schools (jklm etc.()

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
This thread is getting ridiculously drawn out. If you think DCPS middle school, esp EOTP, is going to make any progress at all in the next 3-7 years, then stay at your IB DCPS school and feeder pattern.

If you think no chance whatsoever, then stay at your current charter to track to DCI. Or try to lottery in at a feeder or DCI. But this is getting more and more difficult so reality is that parents taking the long view are looking at ECE with taking feeder patterns in mind with their decision.

So if mom in the article if not happy at DCI, she can always send her kid to their neighborhood IB middle. Done deal.

End of thread.

So DC parents of teens who speak, read and write French, Mandarin and Spanish pretty well aren't legit stakeholders in our public schools? They're peons awaiting their marching orders, happy to be pushed around for their tax dollars?

You know what else you can do, enroll at DCI and assert yourself by lobbying for change, as the mom who wrote the critical article effectively did. Parent leaders can organize to ask for help on improving DCI from city council members on the Committee on Ed. They can even push to get certain council members on the Committee on Ed voted out (suburban PA organizations routinely do this). For starters, they can advocate to ditch the disastrous Chromebooks.

If admins won't start to track for ELA, social studies or science, parents can start sending around notices inviting particular advanced students to pay-to-play private tutoring groups for advanced learners, with "scholarship" tuition for qualified poor kids. They can organize their own language immersion camp carpools and scholarships. Both pesky steps were taken within our school last year and they certainly got admins' attention/drew their ire. Parents are also free to research and implement IB Diploma studies support options, like early test taking junior year and hiring IBD-savvy private college applications coaches (again, providing financial support to low SES kids who would benefit) to help with applications, and advertise them within the school community.

Frustrated parents don't always have to take DCI's lack of ambition to serve advanced learners sitting down.

Jeff decides when a thread ends, not you.

Why don’t you replace DCI above with DCPS.........much more relevant to a ton more families

No it's not more relevant in DCPS, not with almost half of the city's pub school students in charters and the best public schools in the city being traditional public schools (jklm etc.()

Are you kidding? We are talking middle school here. So relevant.

[Anonymous]

Sounds like PP was arguing that "replacing" DCI with DCPS isn't appropriate. Both charter middle schools and traditional middle schools mostly shy away from appropriate rigor/tracking, other than for math, with political pressure needed to change the equation.

Unhinged, right.

[Anonymous]

“Can you go deeper?” is seriously a question the writer believes constitutes effective parenting? Oy.