I am confused between Stuart Hobson Middle School vs. Deal Middle School

[Anonymous]

Bard Early College HS was placed in Ward 8 specifically to give advanced students in Ward 7 and 8 a closer option compared with Banneker or Walls.
I have no information on how that school is doing. It was tiny but hopefully it has expanded over time

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Put BASIS in ward 7 and the kids who currently pick KIPP over their DCPS will keep picking it, the small minority of kids who go to their zoned schools will keep going there, and the new BASIS will still be heavily UMC kids. The charters in that area are there because they are popular among the people who live there.

I would like to see Basis or Kipp take over all the failing DCPS high schools, actually.

That would be my motivation to go private

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Racism and segregation are way worse in NYC, not better. The school system is much more segregated and Black schools are much more underfunded.

We should not be looking to NYC for how to reform schools.

Right, Stuyvesant, Bronx Science, Brooklyn Twch etc. suck. No poor kids or students of color allowed to enroll, ever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Put BASIS in ward 7 and the kids who currently pick KIPP over their DCPS will keep picking it, the small minority of kids who go to their zoned schools will keep going there, and the new BASIS will still be heavily UMC kids. The charters in that area are there because they are popular among the people who live there.

I would like to see Basis or Kipp take over all the failing DCPS high schools, actually.

That would be my motivation to go private

Right, all the kids at Ballou can just go private.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bard Early College HS was placed in Ward 8 specifically to give advanced students in Ward 7 and 8 a closer option compared with Banneker or Walls.
I have no information on how that school is doing. It was tiny but hopefully it has expanded over time

they just had a giant brawl at Bard with heavy police presence. So not looking great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So a teacher at a DCPS school serving one of the wealthiest parts of DC provided additional math after school free of charge and that’s supposed to help folks realize there was not much of a math barrier to Walls?! That anecdote does nothing for folks of lesser means at middle schools EOTP. Check your privilege. It’s crazy how unequal the DCPS middle school options are with even the best in the wealthiest areas not offering enough. What will it take to raise the standards everywhere? Just because some schools are full of UMC kids does not mean the education is great as another poster mentioned. Just means the parents have the means to take matters more into their own hands…

Adams is a pretty mediocre school though.

[Anonymous]

summer 2021: dcps schools held invite only summer programs for the students identified as the most in need of further academic support. there is also a pretty good article in the wash post re the benefit of additional pandemic funding at dunbar. good question as to whether there should be more efforts like this (as well as more efforts to support more advanced learners). funding/resources can be challenging.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t see how having a bunch of 16 year olds in 7th grade helps anyone, anywhere. That’s what “end social promotion” means, in practical terms. It’s a terrible, terrible, terrible idea.

Some of the other rich countries have much better ways of dealing with academic stragglers than the equity obsessed US.

I recently visited a highly diverse government primary school in London England where upper grades students who tested a year+ behind grade level were pulled out of mainstream classrooms for intensive instruction in core subjects. The kids who were behind were taught separately in small group settings for half the school day. These kids were required to attend after school and Sat morning tutoring and were only permitted to return to mainstream classes once they could test at grade level. Was that such a horrible arrangement? Such a thoughtful system to support academic stragglers would obviously take money, organization, political will to implement, but why not do it here in DC? The arrangement seemed to be working very well for all concerned in the UK.

Isn’t this already DCPS policy? It’s what they did for my kid, anyway. Pretty bewildering to come on here and read that they should do it, but never will, when you’ve already lived it …

Your kid was pulled from gen ed, taught in small groups half the day, and rquired to go to Saturday school, and not allowed to rejoin until they got their scores up? I don't think so. Even with kids with significant learning disabilities, pull-outs are like 1-2 hrs/day and not on the weekends.

Self-contained math, plus self-contained ELA, plus pull-outs during advisory for the LD, adds up to 3/7 periods a day. Since one of the four other classes was PE, I think it’s fair to call that half the day. Weekend sessions were optional.

Went back to gen ed ELA after getting a grade-level lexile score. Went back to gen ed math after getting a grade-level iReady score. I don’t know about “allowed,” I wasn’t looking to go back early.

I don’t see how any of that is remotely difficult to believe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t see how having a bunch of 16 year olds in 7th grade helps anyone, anywhere. That’s what “end social promotion” means, in practical terms. It’s a terrible, terrible, terrible idea.

Some of the other rich countries have much better ways of dealing with academic stragglers than the equity obsessed US.

I recently visited a highly diverse government primary school in London England where upper grades students who tested a year+ behind grade level were pulled out of mainstream classrooms for intensive instruction in core subjects. The kids who were behind were taught separately in small group settings for half the school day. These kids were required to attend after school and Sat morning tutoring and were only permitted to return to mainstream classes once they could test at grade level. Was that such a horrible arrangement? Such a thoughtful system to support academic stragglers would obviously take money, organization, political will to implement, but why not do it here in DC? The arrangement seemed to be working very well for all concerned in the UK.

Isn’t this already DCPS policy? It’s what they did for my kid, anyway. Pretty bewildering to come on here and read that they should do it, but never will, when you’ve already lived it …

Your kid was pulled from gen ed, taught in small groups half the day, and rquired to go to Saturday school, and not allowed to rejoin until they got their scores up? I don't think so. Even with kids with significant learning disabilities, pull-outs are like 1-2 hrs/day and not on the weekends.

Self-contained math, plus self-contained ELA, plus pull-outs during advisory for the LD, adds up to 3/7 periods a day. Since one of the four other classes was PE, I think it’s fair to call that half the day. Weekend sessions were optional.

Went back to gen ed ELA after getting a grade-level lexile score. Went back to gen ed math after getting a grade-level iReady score. I don’t know about “allowed,” I wasn’t looking to go back early.

I don’t see how any of that is remotely difficult to believe.

Because as you very well know - this is just for kids with IEPs, not for kids academically behind. In fact IDEA specifically excludes kids who are behind only due to poor instruction.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Put BASIS in ward 7 and the kids who currently pick KIPP over their DCPS will keep picking it, the small minority of kids who go to their zoned schools will keep going there, and the new BASIS will still be heavily UMC kids. The charters in that area are there because they are popular among the people who live there.

I would like to see Basis or Kipp take over all the failing DCPS high schools, actually.

My kids are at BASIS. BASIS has been great for my family. And I (like every other BASIS family) know that this is a TERRIBLE idea. BASIS does not deviate from the curriculum set by AZ. They do not socially promote. They make lots of resources available to parents and kids but they won't force those families and kids to use them. Plus, BASIS doesn't give two sh*ts about performative "equity".

[Anonymous]

BASIS also doesn't care much about offering a well-rounded education. Where's their music program? Stuart Hobson has a decent one. Where's their stage for performances? Where's their serious art instruction? Where's their language instruction prior to 8th grade or post AP level? Deal teaches languages from 6th grade, Walls lets kids take college level languages at GW univ, and even JR and DCI teach Spanish past AP.

Sure, BASIS is a decent option for your tax dollars in a sea of mediocrity and failure, just not all that great other than for math and science. "STEM" is a real stretch for BASIS. The franchise can't afford much in the way of tech or engineering.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:BASIS also doesn't care much about offering a well-rounded education. Where's their music program? Stuart Hobson has a decent one. Where's their stage for performances? Where's their serious art instruction? Where's their language instruction prior to 8th grade or post AP level? Deal teaches languages from 6th grade, Walls lets kids take college level languages at GW univ, and even JR and DCI teach Spanish past AP.

Sure, BASIS is a decent option for your tax dollars in a sea of mediocrity and failure, just not all that great other than for math and science. "STEM" is a real stretch for BASIS. The franchise can't afford much in the way of tech or engineering.

Here you go: https://enrollbasis.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/dc-tour-kit.pdf.

Enjoy!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BASIS also doesn't care much about offering a well-rounded education. Where's their music program? Stuart Hobson has a decent one. Where's their stage for performances? Where's their serious art instruction? Where's their language instruction prior to 8th grade or post AP level? Deal teaches languages from 6th grade, Walls lets kids take college level languages at GW univ, and even JR and DCI teach Spanish past AP.

Sure, BASIS is a decent option for your tax dollars in a sea of mediocrity and failure, just not all that great other than for math and science. "STEM" is a real stretch for BASIS. The franchise can't afford much in the way of tech or engineering.

Here you go: https://enrollbasis.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/dc-tour-kit.pdf.

Enjoy!

That is odd. That brochure shows that all of the PP's points are incorrect. Why is PP attacking BASIS with lies?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bard Early College HS was placed in Ward 8 specifically to give advanced students in Ward 7 and 8 a closer option compared with Banneker or Walls.
I have no information on how that school is doing. It was tiny but hopefully it has expanded over time

Coolidge Early College program was opened for the same reason and to attract high performers to Coolidge.
Their partnership is with Trinity University, DC. 2 years at Coolidge and 2 years at Trinity.
Neither of these programs have gained traction unfortunately. All you hear about still is Walls and Banneker.
I personally think it was a mistake for DCPS to open two early college programs at the same time. Our middle schools are not strong enough to generate a pipeline of advanced learners who are ready to transition to college after 10th grade. And most parents including me just want access to a strong high performing comprehensive high school - not early college, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BASIS also doesn't care much about offering a well-rounded education. Where's their music program? Stuart Hobson has a decent one. Where's their stage for performances? Where's their serious art instruction? Where's their language instruction prior to 8th grade or post AP level? Deal teaches languages from 6th grade, Walls lets kids take college level languages at GW univ, and even JR and DCI teach Spanish past AP.

Sure, BASIS is a decent option for your tax dollars in a sea of mediocrity and failure, just not all that great other than for math and science. "STEM" is a real stretch for BASIS. The franchise can't afford much in the way of tech or engineering.

Here you go: https://enrollbasis.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/dc-tour-kit.pdf.

Enjoy!

We're at BASIS so we know that every point argued above is correct in the case of BASIS DC. Maybe other public BASIS campuses in this country offer more. We'd love it if BASIS started teaching languages in 5th grade and taught them past AP level. We love a stage, a music program, a good art program, technology and engineering electives like TJ etc.. BASIS is still our best option by a long shot, so we're taking it.