DCI or Deal

[Anonymous]

What kind of support do the Chegg tutors provide?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCI didn't employ a full-time college counselor this school year. They're supposed to be hiring one, now that the program is moving into the IB Diploma years.

These posts about how to do the IB Diploma right in view of competitive college admissions are a wake-up call. We'll be shopping for an independent college coach shortly if the advising situation at DCI doesn't improve (and maybe even if it does improve).

This year, we're on track to spend more than 8K on our advanced DCI student for tutors, extra math on-line, language immersion summer camp abroad etc. At least we haven't spent 40K on Sidwell. We don't have access to Deal.

My kids is leaving DCPS for private this coming fall (two others are staying in DCPS) and we're paying $48.5K for the first year---$44.5K plus about $4K in total for extra fees (one time fees and yearly fees). It's crazy. I thought I was in for $40K but it's really closer to $50K.
Paying $8K for a tutor is a bargain! Stay with it as long as you can!!

Thanks, PP. Good to be reminded of this. We'll probably be paying more like 12-12K to supplement in 7th grade, still a deal by DC standards. You're right.

I can't help but think that if you need to supplement this much, your child's school is fundamentally not working for your kid. I'd be sorely tempted to homeschool or move to a high-quality school pyramid in the suburbs if private school tuition is out of reach.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCI didn't employ a full-time college counselor this school year. They're supposed to be hiring one, now that the program is moving into the IB Diploma years.

These posts about how to do the IB Diploma right in view of competitive college admissions are a wake-up call. We'll be shopping for an independent college coach shortly if the advising situation at DCI doesn't improve (and maybe even if it does improve).

This year, we're on track to spend more than 8K on our advanced DCI student for tutors, extra math on-line, language immersion summer camp abroad etc. At least we haven't spent 40K on Sidwell. We don't have access to Deal.

My kids is leaving DCPS for private this coming fall (two others are staying in DCPS) and we're paying $48.5K for the first year---$44.5K plus about $4K in total for extra fees (one time fees and yearly fees). It's crazy. I thought I was in for $40K but it's really closer to $50K.
Paying $8K for a tutor is a bargain! Stay with it as long as you can!!

Thanks, PP. Good to be reminded of this. We'll probably be paying more like 12-12K to supplement in 7th grade, still a deal by DC standards. You're right.

I don't think you can count immersion summer camp abroad as an expense that is attributable to a lack of rigor in the school. I spend 11K/year on sleepaway camp for my two children. That expense is not caused by the quality of their school, I want them to go to sleepaway camp to get the educational and social benefits that are very different than what they would get at any school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DCI didn't employ a full-time college counselor this school year. They're supposed to be hiring one, now that the program is moving into the IB Diploma years.

These posts about how to do the IB Diploma right in view of competitive college admissions are a wake-up call. We'll be shopping for an independent college coach shortly if the advising situation at DCI doesn't improve (and maybe even if it does improve).

This year, we're on track to spend more than 8K on our advanced DCI student for tutors, extra math on-line, language immersion summer camp abroad etc. At least we haven't spent 40K on Sidwell. We don't have access to Deal.

I'm pretty sure Ms Jefferies is a fulltime college counselor at this point. And of course, the oldest kids at the school (like 70 of them) are juniors now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCI didn't employ a full-time college counselor this school year. They're supposed to be hiring one, now that the program is moving into the IB Diploma years.

These posts about how to do the IB Diploma right in view of competitive college admissions are a wake-up call. We'll be shopping for an independent college coach shortly if the advising situation at DCI doesn't improve (and maybe even if it does improve).

This year, we're on track to spend more than 8K on our advanced DCI student for tutors, extra math on-line, language immersion summer camp abroad etc. At least we haven't spent 40K on Sidwell. We don't have access to Deal.

My kids is leaving DCPS for private this coming fall (two others are staying in DCPS) and we're paying $48.5K for the first year---$44.5K plus about $4K in total for extra fees (one time fees and yearly fees). It's crazy. I thought I was in for $40K but it's really closer to $50K.
Paying $8K for a tutor is a bargain! Stay with it as long as you can!!

Thanks, PP. Good to be reminded of this. We'll probably be paying more like 12-12K to supplement in 7th grade, still a deal by DC standards. You're right.

I can't help but think that if you need to supplement this much, your child's school is fundamentally not working for your kid. I'd be sorely tempted to homeschool or move to a high-quality school pyramid in the suburbs if private school tuition is out of reach.

The reality is whether it’s DCPS or charters, if you have a student who is advanced and way above grade level, you need to supplement to challenge if you don’t want to move out of the city and go to the burbs. If your child is average then it’s not a big issue. Therefore it depends on the child. But the burbs has its own issues though such as overcrowding and grade inflation.

As for true language proficiency, if you don’t speak the native language at home, then you need to support it outside of school also. Just having the kid learn and speak it in class is rarely enough. This could be native au pairs, nannies, immersion camps, tutors, travel/study abroad, etc...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I won't send my kid to any school that has 'brunch' on principle.

Ok.... it's just a 10 minute break between 2nd and third. Which I understand is incredibly helpful for busy kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Theory is not practice if the teaching to HL is not done.

In many high schools with IB that offer the diploma as an option, there are levels to the IB courses. Standard vs. HL. The difference is the HL is more challenging.

DCI is also offering the IB career-related program which requires at least 2 IB diploma classes and other "career-related" classes. So there won't necessarily be the full tracking that some suggest. https://www.ibo.org/programmes/career-related-programme/

They offer both. The IB diploma is for the advanced students. The IB career is basically the students who are unable to get the diploma who can take standard IB classes but don’t meet the requirements for the diploma.

https://dcinternationalschool.org/academic-program/international-baccalaureate/#1500566426164-81b7edeb-ccf9

That's not exactly true. There are really two paths in the career program - one is oriented toward computer science for tech=focused but college bound kids the other is for kids not necessarily going to college and looking for marketable job skills. There are some great students in the first pathway who could easily be in the diploma program but chose CP because it allows them to do more coursework in computer science and less in humanities. They still have to take a lot of IB Diploma classes, including HLs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Theory is not practice if the teaching to HL is not done.

In many high schools with IB that offer the diploma as an option, there are levels to the IB courses. Standard vs. HL. The difference is the HL is more challenging.

DCI is also offering the IB career-related program which requires at least 2 IB diploma classes and other "career-related" classes. So there won't necessarily be the full tracking that some suggest. https://www.ibo.org/programmes/career-related-programme/

They offer both. The IB diploma is for the advanced students. The IB career is basically the students who are unable to get the diploma who can take standard IB classes but don’t meet the requirements for the diploma.

https://dcinternationalschool.org/academic-program/international-baccalaureate/#1500566426164-81b7edeb-ccf9

That's not exactly true. There are really two paths in the career program - one is oriented toward computer science for tech=focused but college bound kids the other is for kids not necessarily going to college and looking for marketable job skills. There are some great students in the first pathway who could easily be in the diploma program but chose CP because it allows them to do more coursework in computer science and less in humanities. They still have to take a lot of IB Diploma classes, including HLs.

We are planning on going the DCI route and that’s very helpful and good to know. So in essence there are 3 “tracks” or pathways then - Diploma, tech CP, and CP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Theory is not practice if the teaching to HL is not done.

In many high schools with IB that offer the diploma as an option, there are levels to the IB courses. Standard vs. HL. The difference is the HL is more challenging.

DCI is also offering the IB career-related program which requires at least 2 IB diploma classes and other "career-related" classes. So there won't necessarily be the full tracking that some suggest. https://www.ibo.org/programmes/career-related-programme/

They offer both. The IB diploma is for the advanced students. The IB career is basically the students who are unable to get the diploma who can take standard IB classes but don’t meet the requirements for the diploma.

https://dcinternationalschool.org/academic-program/international-baccalaureate/#1500566426164-81b7edeb-ccf9

That's not exactly true. There are really two paths in the career program - one is oriented toward computer science for tech=focused but college bound kids the other is for kids not necessarily going to college and looking for marketable job skills. There are some great students in the first pathway who could easily be in the diploma program but chose CP because it allows them to do more coursework in computer science and less in humanities. They still have to take a lot of IB Diploma classes, including HLs.

We are planning on going the DCI route and that’s very helpful and good to know. So in essence there are 3 “tracks” or pathways then - Diploma, tech CP, and CP.

And students overlap depending on classes - even the tech CP and CP have to take a minimum of 2 IB courses. Which is ... a lot for a new school to manage.

The IB CP is so new, especially in this country, that if your child takes that path and plans on attending a 4-year college the admissions office may have no reference point for the rigor of the program. I am sure the DCI counselor will provide information on teh data sheet that must be submitted with every student's application.

Per the IBO, IB CP students are attending or have attended 9 colleges or universities in the United States to date https://www.ibo.org/information-for-parents/cp-for-parents/

Academy of Art University, San Francisco
Florida Atlantic University
The United States Military Academy at West Point
University of Maryland
University of Massachusetts at Boston
University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth
University of Massachusetts at Lowell
University of Miami, Florida
University of New Hampshire

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCI didn't employ a full-time college counselor this school year. They're supposed to be hiring one, now that the program is moving into the IB Diploma years.

These posts about how to do the IB Diploma right in view of competitive college admissions are a wake-up call. We'll be shopping for an independent college coach shortly if the advising situation at DCI doesn't improve (and maybe even if it does improve).

This year, we're on track to spend more than 8K on our advanced DCI student for tutors, extra math on-line, language immersion summer camp abroad etc. At least we haven't spent 40K on Sidwell. We don't have access to Deal.

My kids is leaving DCPS for private this coming fall (two others are staying in DCPS) and we're paying $48.5K for the first year---$44.5K plus about $4K in total for extra fees (one time fees and yearly fees). It's crazy. I thought I was in for $40K but it's really closer to $50K.
Paying $8K for a tutor is a bargain! Stay with it as long as you can!!

Thanks, PP. Good to be reminded of this. We'll probably be paying more like 12-12K to supplement in 7th grade, still a deal by DC standards. You're right.

I can't help but think that if you need to supplement this much, your child's school is fundamentally not working for your kid. I'd be sorely tempted to homeschool or move to a high-quality school pyramid in the suburbs if private school tuition is out of reach.

You may be right. We're just taking DCI one year at a time. Next year may well be our last.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Theory is not practice if the teaching to HL is not done.

In many high schools with IB that offer the diploma as an option, there are levels to the IB courses. Standard vs. HL. The difference is the HL is more challenging.

DCI is also offering the IB career-related program which requires at least 2 IB diploma classes and other "career-related" classes. So there won't necessarily be the full tracking that some suggest. https://www.ibo.org/programmes/career-related-programme/

They offer both. The IB diploma is for the advanced students. The IB career is basically the students who are unable to get the diploma who can take standard IB classes but don’t meet the requirements for the diploma.

https://dcinternationalschool.org/academic-program/international-baccalaureate/#1500566426164-81b7edeb-ccf9

That's not exactly true. There are really two paths in the career program - one is oriented toward computer science for tech=focused but college bound kids the other is for kids not necessarily going to college and looking for marketable job skills. There are some great students in the first pathway who could easily be in the diploma program but chose CP because it allows them to do more coursework in computer science and less in humanities. They still have to take a lot of IB Diploma classes, including HLs.

I'm not convinced. Such students could surely scrape by in the two or three humanities subjects they'd need to take to earn the Diploma if they put their minds to it. If a kid can handle HL IB classes, they can earn the Diploma. They're being give poor advice if they settling for IB career, which isn't particularly rigorous, well respected or prevalent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Theory is not practice if the teaching to HL is not done.

In many high schools with IB that offer the diploma as an option, there are levels to the IB courses. Standard vs. HL. The difference is the HL is more challenging.

DCI is also offering the IB career-related program which requires at least 2 IB diploma classes and other "career-related" classes. So there won't necessarily be the full tracking that some suggest. https://www.ibo.org/programmes/career-related-programme/

They offer both. The IB diploma is for the advanced students. The IB career is basically the students who are unable to get the diploma who can take standard IB classes but don’t meet the requirements for the diploma.

https://dcinternationalschool.org/academic-program/international-baccalaureate/#1500566426164-81b7edeb-ccf9

That's not exactly true. There are really two paths in the career program - one is oriented toward computer science for tech=focused but college bound kids the other is for kids not necessarily going to college and looking for marketable job skills. There are some great students in the first pathway who could easily be in the diploma program but chose CP because it allows them to do more coursework in computer science and less in humanities. They still have to take a lot of IB Diploma classes, including HLs.

I'm not convinced. Such students could surely scrape by in the two or three humanities subjects they'd need to take to earn the Diploma if they put their minds to it. If a kid can handle HL IB classes, they can earn the Diploma. They're being give poor advice if they settling for IB career, which isn't particularly rigorous, well respected or prevalent.

Or, maybe the student is getting mostly 3s now and want to take as few HL classes as possible. Isn't it possible that some DCI students want to pursue STEM in college, and think this is the better choice? I don't disagree about poor advice, and hopefully the parent meetings to explain all this are conducted in both English and Spanish for parents whose English skills aren't strong (not a small population at DCI). But it's hard to know from the outside.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCI didn't employ a full-time college counselor this school year. They're supposed to be hiring one, now that the program is moving into the IB Diploma years.

These posts about how to do the IB Diploma right in view of competitive college admissions are a wake-up call. We'll be shopping for an independent college coach shortly if the advising situation at DCI doesn't improve (and maybe even if it does improve).

This year, we're on track to spend more than 8K on our advanced DCI student for tutors, extra math on-line, language immersion summer camp abroad etc. At least we haven't spent 40K on Sidwell. We don't have access to Deal.

My kids is leaving DCPS for private this coming fall (two others are staying in DCPS) and we're paying $48.5K for the first year---$44.5K plus about $4K in total for extra fees (one time fees and yearly fees). It's crazy. I thought I was in for $40K but it's really closer to $50K.
Paying $8K for a tutor is a bargain! Stay with it as long as you can!!

Thanks, PP. Good to be reminded of this. We'll probably be paying more like 12-12K to supplement in 7th grade, still a deal by DC standards. You're right.

I can't help but think that if you need to supplement this much, your child's school is fundamentally not working for your kid. I'd be sorely tempted to homeschool or move to a high-quality school pyramid in the suburbs if private school tuition is out of reach.

The reality is whether it’s DCPS or charters, if you have a student who is advanced and way above grade level, you need to supplement to challenge if you don’t want to move out of the city and go to the burbs. If your child is average then it’s not a big issue. Therefore it depends on the child. But the burbs has its own issues though such as overcrowding and grade inflation.

As for true language proficiency, if you don’t speak the native language at home, then you need to support it outside of school also. Just having the kid learn and speak it in class is rarely enough. This could be native au pairs, nannies, immersion camps, tutors, travel/study abroad, etc...

This has not been our experience with our advanced kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^THIS. Problems with lack of rigor and weak language instruction lower down the chain are hardly restricted to charters in this badly run city!

The lousy Wilson head really (really, really) needs to go.

What are Wilson parents doing about this? Are they actually going to just let honors for all happen? Deal parents should be watching this closely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCI didn't employ a full-time college counselor this school year. They're supposed to be hiring one, now that the program is moving into the IB Diploma years.

These posts about how to do the IB Diploma right in view of competitive college admissions are a wake-up call. We'll be shopping for an independent college coach shortly if the advising situation at DCI doesn't improve (and maybe even if it does improve).

This year, we're on track to spend more than 8K on our advanced DCI student for tutors, extra math on-line, language immersion summer camp abroad etc. At least we haven't spent 40K on Sidwell. We don't have access to Deal.

My kids is leaving DCPS for private this coming fall (two others are staying in DCPS) and we're paying $48.5K for the first year---$44.5K plus about $4K in total for extra fees (one time fees and yearly fees). It's crazy. I thought I was in for $40K but it's really closer to $50K.
Paying $8K for a tutor is a bargain! Stay with it as long as you can!!

Thanks, PP. Good to be reminded of this. We'll probably be paying more like 12-12K to supplement in 7th grade, still a deal by DC standards. You're right.

I can't help but think that if you need to supplement this much, your child's school is fundamentally not working for your kid. I'd be sorely tempted to homeschool or move to a high-quality school pyramid in the suburbs if private school tuition is out of reach.

The reality is whether it’s DCPS or charters, if you have a student who is advanced and way above grade level, you need to supplement to challenge if you don’t want to move out of the city and go to the burbs. If your child is average then it’s not a big issue. Therefore it depends on the child. But the burbs has its own issues though such as overcrowding and grade inflation.

As for true language proficiency, if you don’t speak the native language at home, then you need to support it outside of school also. Just having the kid learn and speak it in class is rarely enough. This could be native au pairs, nannies, immersion camps, tutors, travel/study abroad, etc...

This has not been our experience with our advanced kids.

Same. DCPS did right by our kids. No complaints.