Wilson for HS?

[Anonymous]

My kids are in private. the tuition is ridiculous but we can afford to pay it. How many of us wonder who our kids' classmates will be when the cost is beyond $30K per year per student, and in turn eliminates the ability for them to ever know our neighbors, day to day, whose wonderful kids will never be able to attend privates because of this wider and wider chasm? Bringing me back to the topic of Wilson -- the newly renovated campus is our in-boundary HS. I hear great things from pre-renovated Wilson days and always considered it worth consideration when my own approach HS. Anyone else out there in the private school world planning on touring? More than anything, I worry about the longer stretch from the "haves" and "have nots", and even our pre-school friends are easily "have nots". Could Wilson provide the same exceptional academic standards as our typical DC private?

[Anonymous]

Your child will experience that chasm firsthand at Wilson. I don't know what a "typical" DC private is at the HS level, but Wilson's academics certainly cannot compare to those of an excellent DC private. The trend over the past few years (across departments) has been to purge the most academically rigorous faculty from the campus. They were seen as trouble-makers.

Will sending your upper-middle class kid to Wilson prevent him or her from attending a great college? Absolutely not. The "haves" from Wilson will do fine. And you'll save a lot of money.

But why people think new buildings transform a school is beyond me (and it's a thought process I see from both private as well as public school parents).

[Anonymous]

I know many kids who have had a very good experience at Wilson and have gotten into *great* colleges. Was their educational experience as good as a top private? Maybe not, but in the end does it matter that much if the kid was happy and got into the same colleges as their peers from a private school? If money is a concern, then I would say it does NOT really matter in the long run. And this is not even to mention the diversity issue/ haves/ have nots which is another factor to consider.

[Anonymous]

Go to a few open houses. Have a parent email you some of the school's emails. The chasm: One-third of students have GPA's of 2.0 or lower.
We were in Oyster when the new building opened. It masked the schools problems for a bit. It did not solve them.
The standards, the attention is simply not the same, per friends who have transferred from privates.
I say transfer if there's a reason, like the athletic program.

[Anonymous]

Post this same question on the Public School Forum...I bet the responses you get are very different. Good to see all the angles.

[Anonymous]

The chasm: One-third of students have GPA's of 2.0 or lower.

np here. I know that that is true, but I don't really care too much because those kids won't be taking classes with my teen. While their plight would affect him indirectly by diverting resources so they can learn how to read and write, etc., there are few direct impacts I can foresee.

Now, if the Wilson Academies framework changes between now and the time my kids are ready for high school, that's a different story.

[Anonymous]

OP here, I think few believe a transformed building transforms academics, but improved surroundings certainly instill a sense of pride and being cared for, in turn may boost confidence in the students -particularly students who don't come from middle/upper class homes. I'm bringing up the topic now because my children are approaching HS and Wilson just happens to have this fabulous facility. Also, Deal drew many first-time public school families after the renovation and many families who would typically attend private HS are now planning to stay with public on into Wilson.

[Anonymous]

That's just it OP. The new building will draw people who were on the fence about Wilson - same thing happened at Deal. I happen to be one of those families. If we stretched we could afford private but so far my child had a wonderful experience at a DCPS public and I was on the fence about Deal, but I did my homework toured the school and grilled other families that had their children there. We've just completed the first week. I am also on the fence about Wilson, I've heard various things about it and will perform the same due diligence I did with Deal. At Wilson you already have a record of high performing kids going to great colleges. Even though it's probably politically incorrect to say it - but if you can draw enough middle class families back in who can push Wilson further in its academic offerings - it can help lift all the boats.

[Anonymous]

The current principal at Wilson got rid of a great Science teacher, Art Siebens, for no reason. That's really all I need to know about him.

[Anonymous]

I read those stories -- pretty bad. Has the Wilson community gotten over it or just stayed mad? I'm one to stay mad. Cahall seems pretty inflexible.

[Anonymous]

As long as Wilson allows for underperforming kids to be bussed in it will always be a subpar school. No way I'd ever send my kid there.

[Anonymous]

Ok, PP. THAT is so un-American. I mean, the reason our family even considers public school is for the BENEFIT of mingling with families who cross all socio-economic lines on equal footing. "bussed in?" wow. If you mean by "subpar" that it will never test 100% advanced, that may be true. But if you are focused on your own child's development and acceptance of the rest of the world and they learn and test fine, that's the brass ring. What we don't need in this day and age of divided political interests at the extreme are parents even using the word "bussed in". I bet your kid will turn out to be a real ass hole.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As long as Wilson allows for underperforming kids to be bussed in it will always be a subpar school. No way I'd ever send my kid there.

This kind of attitude is what scares me most about private schools--this kind of fear and snobbism by the parents who then teach this worldview to their kids. And most of the time, it is a very ignorant viewpoint as I bet many parents who think this way have never set foot in a DCPS and are generating their views based on hearsay. YUCK.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

The chasm: One-third of students have GPA's of 2.0 or lower.

np here. I know that that is true, but I don't really care too much because those kids won't be taking classes with my teen. While their plight would affect him indirectly by diverting resources so they can learn how to read and write, etc., there are few direct impacts I can foresee..

wow, you certainly are training your kid to have no sympathy

[Anonymous]

When I read threads like this I realize that I am probably going to have to take my kid out of her wonderful DC private. My main reason is that I don't like the attitudes of the parents and some of their kids. OP, I agree that there are some major advantages to attending public school and I am strongly considering this option for DD for high school. She tells me stories about how spoiled the other kids in her school are and how they think every non-white person is someone's nanny or housecleaner and I find it extremely worrisome. I do not want my child to grow up in an elitist environment like that. The education is great but I think my child will learn a lot more about the world and about how to actively get what she wants if she goes to public school. At her current school everything is handed to her on a silver platter.