Do parents choose Latin/BASIS over Deal/J-R?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My multiple kids are at a dci feeder and dci. We are happy with dci. The only kids who chose Latin over dci were the kids who were already struggling with the admittedly weak academics at our feeder. The kids who still didn’t speak spanish after 8 years of immersion clearly were going to continue to struggle at dci. Latin is just a better fit for kids who aren’t super academically focused, not terribly motivated, and aren’t the kid of kids who will do well in IB math. Some kids need small class sizes and don’t need the added challenge of multiple languages.

Latin actually has much better middle school math CAPE scores than DCI.

Overall meeting or exceeding in MS:
Latin - 56% (220/391)
DCI - 33% (250/754)

Algebra I meeting or exceeding in MS:
Latin - 49% (32/66)
DCI - less than 10

Geometry meeting or exceeding in MS:
Latin - 90% (35/39)
DCI - 31% (18/58)

I think DCI and Latin are both perfectly fine schools. I only pulled these numbers so that it's clear to others that you have no idea what you're talking about.

You can’t extrapolate the data above to say that the weaker kids from feeders are not going to Latin.

You actually need to know the kids and where they stand academically.

The data above skews majority non feeder, non immersion kids.

Latin also has significantly less at risk kids. Plus DCI offers more advance math tracks at middle school and I would want to know what percentage of kids of any are not even taking CAPE. Lastly IB math is different in that some of the topics are combined and not as delineated as traditional track

DCI is 19% at risk. Latin is 11%.

Both schools offer advanced math. As you can see from the MS scores above, Latin has a fair number of students taking both Algebra I and Geometry. In fact, from the CAPE testing it appears that more Latin students than DCI students are taking advanced math in middle school, even though DCI has nearly double the student population.

Almost all students are taking math CAPE at the middle school level. Latin MS had 393 enrolled, of which 391 took CAPE. DCI MS had 777 enrolled, of which 754 took CAPE.

Again, you have no idea what you're talking about.

Latin has one advanced math track, dci has several. You cannot compare the math offered at Deal and DCI to Latin. Latin has other positives, relax.

And yet, it is objectively the case that Latin’s MS kids do *much* better in Geometry than DCI’s. Their non-at risk kids do better too.

I’m not dumping on DCI. It’s a good school that’s a natural destination of immersion families. But most Capitol Hill kids don’t go to immersion schools because their neighborhood ESes are good and the immersion schools are far away. The calculation in, e.g., Brentwood is far different. But in Brent or Maury or LT’s IB, it’s not like the kids who attend the IB are the weak ones academically; in general, they’re outperforming immersion schools overall and controlling for demographics. Those kids don’t then choose between DCI and Latin; 95% of them never even consider DCI. Not because they’re dumb or can’t hack immersion, but because they’ve never done immersion and are looking to guarantee an MS in 5th grade. It may be that the kids who leave YY are the least good at languages — I would totally believe that — but that’s not the average profile of a Latin student and certainly not of the kids coming from the Hill.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My multiple kids are at a dci feeder and dci. We are happy with dci. The only kids who chose Latin over dci were the kids who were already struggling with the admittedly weak academics at our feeder. The kids who still didn’t speak spanish after 8 years of immersion clearly were going to continue to struggle at dci. Latin is just a better fit for kids who aren’t super academically focused, not terribly motivated, and aren’t the kid of kids who will do well in IB math. Some kids need small class sizes and don’t need the added challenge of multiple languages.

What a weirdly negative post. In my experience, and I know a lot of Latin kids, Basis kids, and DCI kids, the Latin families are by far the happiest and complain the least about their school.

So much negativity! We are at Latin and our kid has been very happy there. But we also know folks at Deal and privates who are happy. We know a few people who tried Basis but only 1-2 are still there in 8th. Maybe this is good news that there are lots of decent options out there?

There is no negativity. I think you won’t be happy unless people are praising Latin and saying it’s the best. It’s not a good fit for kids who are good at languages and the math/science depts are weak. But it’s so great for kids who like a smaller school and a less intense experience.

You have a very narrow experience with Latin and Latin families and it shows.

Yes, maybe the handful of kids that left your DCI feeder for Latin did it because immersion wasn't working for their kid anymore.

My impression is that the vast majority of families opt for Latin because their "good" neighborhood elementary feeds into a much weaker middle school and high school. These families didn't do immersion in elementary because they didn't see enough value in it to make the sacrifices to make it work. Still, I think if Latin and DCI had the same entry year a lot of these families would probably lottery for both as the goal is primarily to get into a middle school (and high school feed) with better academics than their IB.

[Anonymous]

Latin posters can believe it or not.

But Latin is known in DCI circles as the weaker school with limited offerings.

Same with CH IB families looking at Basis and Latin. Latin for the weaker kids. Got a top performing star, it’s Basis. Got a middle of the road kid, it’s Latin.

[Anonymous]

Latin kicks DCI’s ass.

Full stop.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Latin posters can believe it or not.

But Latin is known in DCI circles as the weaker school with limited offerings.

Same with CH IB families looking at Basis and Latin. Latin for the weaker kids. Got a top performing star, it’s Basis. Got a middle of the road kid, it’s Latin.

I guess what I’m trying to say is… DCI isn’t know in Latin circles. It was never a consideration.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Latin posters can believe it or not.

But Latin is known in DCI circles as the weaker school with limited offerings.

Same with CH IB families looking at Basis and Latin. Latin for the weaker kids. Got a top performing star, it’s Basis. Got a middle of the road kid, it’s Latin.

This is such an odd and kind of sad post. At our feeder, almost everyone lotteried for Latin and very few had the opportunity to make the choice between the two. That doesn't mean DCI is better or worse. It's just the realism of lottery odds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Latin posters can believe it or not.

But Latin is known in DCI circles as the weaker school with limited offerings.

Same with CH IB families looking at Basis and Latin. Latin for the weaker kids. Got a top performing star, it’s Basis. Got a middle of the road kid, it’s Latin.

This is such an odd and kind of sad post. At our feeder, almost everyone lotteried for Latin and very few had the opportunity to make the choice between the two. That doesn't mean DCI is better or worse. It's just the realism of lottery odds.

We are at a feeder in 5th and did not lottery for Latin or Basis. We wanted DCI. I don’t think we are unique.


Also FWIW, know family with kid at DCI who got into Walls and they ultimately decided to stay at DCI.

[Anonymous]

People on this website really need to adapt to the fact that there are multiple decent public high schools in DC. Your school does not have to beat out every other school for the title. There’s more than one good option, and that’s a good thing.

[Anonymous]

Yes, but the fact remains that these aren't great options as compared to the best options in the near burbs, not even close.

Our family keeps in close touch with friends who moved from Cap Hill to MoCo, Arlington and Fairfax for schools. We also visit their kids' schools now and again for sporting events, competitions, high school musicals and the like.

It's clear to me that none of our public high school options in the District--BASIS, Latin, DCI, Walls, J-R--can touch these suburban programs on any level. Top suburban schools might as well be on a different planet. If you never tour suburban schools and aren't familiar with their offerings, this fact may be lost on you. I'm particularly jealous of honors middle school classes across the board in Arlington and Fairfax.

I've been shown printouts from suburban high schools listing more than 100 serious sounding electives any student can take. None of you ask yourselves how BASIS, Latin, DCI, J-R and Walls compare because....moving to the burbs for high school is a fate worse than death or what?

[Anonymous]

Probably because this is a board about DC schools. When I want to know about suburban schools I post on those boards.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My multiple kids are at a dci feeder and dci. We are happy with dci. The only kids who chose Latin over dci were the kids who were already struggling with the admittedly weak academics at our feeder. The kids who still didn’t speak spanish after 8 years of immersion clearly were going to continue to struggle at dci. Latin is just a better fit for kids who aren’t super academically focused, not terribly motivated, and aren’t the kid of kids who will do well in IB math. Some kids need small class sizes and don’t need the added challenge of multiple languages.

Latin actually has much better middle school math CAPE scores than DCI.

Overall meeting or exceeding in MS:
Latin - 56% (220/391)
DCI - 33% (250/754)

Algebra I meeting or exceeding in MS:
Latin - 49% (32/66)
DCI - less than 10

Geometry meeting or exceeding in MS:
Latin - 90% (35/39)
DCI - 31% (18/58)

I think DCI and Latin are both perfectly fine schools. I only pulled these numbers so that it's clear to others that you have no idea what you're talking about.

You can’t extrapolate the data above to say that the weaker kids from feeders are not going to Latin.

You actually need to know the kids and where they stand academically.

The data above skews majority non feeder, non immersion kids.

Latin also has significantly less at risk kids. Plus DCI offers more advance math tracks at middle school and I would want to know what percentage of kids of any are not even taking CAPE. Lastly IB math is different in that some of the topics are combined and not as delineated as traditional track

DCI is 19% at risk. Latin is 11%.

Both schools offer advanced math. As you can see from the MS scores above, Latin has a fair number of students taking both Algebra I and Geometry. In fact, from the CAPE testing it appears that more Latin students than DCI students are taking advanced math in middle school, even though DCI has nearly double the student population.

Almost all students are taking math CAPE at the middle school level. Latin MS had 393 enrolled, of which 391 took CAPE. DCI MS had 777 enrolled, of which 754 took CAPE.

Again, you have no idea what you're talking about.

Latin has one advanced math track, dci has several. You cannot compare the math offered at Deal and DCI to Latin. Latin has other positives, relax.

And yet, it is objectively the case that Latin’s MS kids do *much* better in Geometry than DCI’s. Their non-at risk kids do better too.

I’m not dumping on DCI. It’s a good school that’s a natural destination of immersion families. But most Capitol Hill kids don’t go to immersion schools because their neighborhood ESes are good and the immersion schools are far away. The calculation in, e.g., Brentwood is far different. But in Brent or Maury or LT’s IB, it’s not like the kids who attend the IB are the weak ones academically; in general, they’re outperforming immersion schools overall and controlling for demographics. Those kids don’t then choose between DCI and Latin; 95% of them never even consider DCI. Not because they’re dumb or can’t hack immersion, but because they’ve never done immersion and are looking to guarantee an MS in 5th grade. It may be that the kids who leave YY are the least good at languages — I would totally believe that — but that’s not the average profile of a Latin student and certainly not of the kids coming from the Hill.

Some people choose immersion because of their heritsge, since we aren’t all white.

Also please cite your source re Latin kids doing better in geometry. Every Latin parent I know is grateful for the weak math curriculum. I honestly don’t care enough to waste time looking things up but those scores look rough last time I checked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Latin posters can believe it or not.

But Latin is known in DCI circles as the weaker school with limited offerings.

Same with CH IB families looking at Basis and Latin. Latin for the weaker kids. Got a top performing star, it’s Basis. Got a middle of the road kid, it’s Latin.

This is such an odd and kind of sad post. At our feeder, almost everyone lotteried for Latin and very few had the opportunity to make the choice between the two. That doesn't mean DCI is better or worse. It's just the realism of lottery odds.

Everyone I know plays the lottery every year because it costs you nothing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My multiple kids are at a dci feeder and dci. We are happy with dci. The only kids who chose Latin over dci were the kids who were already struggling with the admittedly weak academics at our feeder. The kids who still didn’t speak spanish after 8 years of immersion clearly were going to continue to struggle at dci. Latin is just a better fit for kids who aren’t super academically focused, not terribly motivated, and aren’t the kid of kids who will do well in IB math. Some kids need small class sizes and don’t need the added challenge of multiple languages.

What a weirdly negative post. In my experience, and I know a lot of Latin kids, Basis kids, and DCI kids, the Latin families are by far the happiest and complain the least about their school.

I hear that. It’s also just less stressful. Smaller class sizes, not as intense, easier for kids. I hear basis kids complaining all the time. It’s exhausting. I think it’s a more pleasant experience.

Our friends at Latin do seem less stressed and happier, and when asked I recommend Latin everyone with no reservations, even though we are at BASIS and strongly prefer it to Latin and would not switch. I do recommend BASIS to kids who I think would thrive there. But Latin seems like a good spot for almost every kind of kid.

I genuinely don’t understand how it’s negative to point out that if your kid cannot speak spanish after 7-8 years at a school latin would be a better choice than dci. The kids I know just couldn’t figure out spanish no matter how hard they tried. They hated it. Latin just made them so much happier. My kids would be miserable at basis. Does being miserable mean that it’s a better school? I dont think so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Latin posters can believe it or not.

But Latin is known in DCI circles as the weaker school with limited offerings.

Same with CH IB families looking at Basis and Latin. Latin for the weaker kids. Got a top performing star, it’s Basis. Got a middle of the road kid, it’s Latin.

This is such an odd and kind of sad post. At our feeder, almost everyone lotteried for Latin and very few had the opportunity to make the choice between the two. That doesn't mean DCI is better or worse. It's just the realism of lottery odds.

Everyone I know plays the lottery every year because it costs you nothing.

Why when you are happy where you are? Why waste the time and energy. Grass is not always greener on the other side.


There is a satisfaction and relief to not have to ever, ever deal with uncertainty or the lottery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, but the fact remains that these aren't great options as compared to the best options in the near burbs, not even close.

Our family keeps in close touch with friends who moved from Cap Hill to MoCo, Arlington and Fairfax for schools. We also visit their kids' schools now and again for sporting events, competitions, high school musicals and the like.

It's clear to me that none of our public high school options in the District--BASIS, Latin, DCI, Walls, J-R--can touch these suburban programs on any level. Top suburban schools might as well be on a different planet. If you never tour suburban schools and aren't familiar with their offerings, this fact may be lost on you. I'm particularly jealous of honors middle school classes across the board in Arlington and Fairfax.

I've been shown printouts from suburban high schools listing more than 100 serious sounding electives any student can take. None of you ask yourselves how BASIS, Latin, DCI, J-R and Walls compare because....moving to the burbs for high school is a fate worse than death or what?

Whoever wrote this knows nothing about J-R.