Tell me about Latin Cooper

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a happy medium that we don't seem to have in DC public schools. My small-town middle and high school in a working-class community had decent electives, playing fields/sports, music, performing arts, academics (including extensive ability grouping in classes from 7th grade), diversity, etc. My spouse attended a NYC magnet middle/high school (Hunter). We left DC public schools for middle school because we weren't impressed with the next steps. We got into Latin Cooper last year and didn't take the spot.

It is very weird how many people who went to Hunter post on this forum. (I did too, so not criticizing at all. Just noticing.)

Maybe that explains why so many people on this site think in the same weird way?

[Anonymous]

Weird way? Come on, when you attended a NYC magnet on your merits, it can be challenging to think in terms of DC charter schools like Latin Cooper offering a world-class middle or high school education. These schools are OK, often better than by-right DCPS alternatives, not more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a happy medium that we don't seem to have in DC public schools. My small-town middle and high school in a working-class community had decent electives, playing fields/sports, music, performing arts, academics (including extensive ability grouping in classes from 7th grade), diversity, etc. My spouse attended a NYC magnet middle/high school (Hunter). We left DC public schools for middle school because we weren't impressed with the next steps. We got into Latin Cooper last year and didn't take the spot.

It is very weird how many people who went to Hunter post on this forum. (I did too, so not criticizing at all. Just noticing.)

Actually, it is just one person.

[Anonymous]

And just person doesn't think that the Latin Cooper is a fantastic choice. Precisely one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Weird way? Come on, when you attended a NYC magnet on your merits, it can be challenging to think in terms of DC charter schools like Latin Cooper offering a world-class middle or high school education. These schools are OK, often better than by-right DCPS alternatives, not more.

I went to Hunter. My half-sister went to Sidwell. My DS is at Latin in HS. Is he as academically-inclined as we were in high school? No. Is he happier and having an overall more joyful MS and HS experience compared to either of our experiences. Absolutely.

[Anonymous]

It is not just one person. The school is still pretty new. A lot of the teachers are new. The temporary facilities are not great, and Kirov will certainly be better but no one really knows how much better right now. Does this make it a bad option? No, not at all. But it is not just one person claiming the school is less that totally perfect right now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Weird way? Come on, when you attended a NYC magnet on your merits, it can be challenging to think in terms of DC charter schools like Latin Cooper offering a world-class middle or high school education. These schools are OK, often better than by-right DCPS alternatives, not more.

World-class? You are insane. No one is saying that. Why would you assume that a public charter will offer that? OP coming here to ask about Cooper isn't asking if it's world class, no one is that delusional.

[Anonymous]

Disagree. Plenty of the Ward 6 parents we've known in our 20 years on CH are in fact that delusional. They routinely talk about Latin high school in the same category as top DC privates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Disagree. Plenty of the Ward 6 parents we've known in our 20 years on CH are in fact that delusional. They routinely talk about Latin high school in the same category as top DC privates.

I 💯 think people somehow conflate Washington Latin with Boston Latin, which is actually an incredible school. Not literally, but in a subtle subconscious way.

[Anonymous]

OK, I will concede that Latin has these quirky things that make it seem like a private school, but yeah, of course it's not like a private school AT ALL.

The parents I know of kids at both campuses are not delusional about what the school is, but they do tend to be grateful that their kids can attend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Disagree. Plenty of the Ward 6 parents we've known in our 20 years on CH are in fact that delusional. They routinely talk about Latin high school in the same category as top DC privates.

If their kids' graduated and they were happy with the HS, how exactly does that hurt you? St Albans is a fantastic school that would eat my child and spit him out. NOT EVERYONE WANTS THE SAME THINGS.

[Anonymous]

For MS, Latin Cooper PARCC 4+ scores are a bit lower than Latin Second Street and both are lower than BASIS.

For HS, Latin Second Street 4+ scores are really low compared to BASIS, which doesn't bode well for Latin Cooper as it adds high school grades.

Latin Cooper MS

ELA 64.51
Math 47.31

Latin MS

68.24
52.49

BASIS MS

ELA 72.00
Math 62.44

Latin HS

ELA 70.71
Math 30.47

ELA 92.06
Math 66.12

[Anonymous]

HS PARCC Scores aren't as telling as you suggest. There's nothing in it for the teens to score high, so many don't try too hard on the test. Some don't even turn up on testing days without penalty (a real issues at J-R). Many states now use PSAT or SAT to meet HS standardized test requirements, to incentivize the kids to score high on a test that might be useful to them individually. I'd like to see an apples-to-apples comparison between Latin Second Street and BASIS on AP scores and college acceptances.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:HS PARCC Scores aren't as telling as you suggest. There's nothing in it for the teens to score high, so many don't try too hard on the test. Some don't even turn up on testing days without penalty (a real issues at J-R). Many states now use PSAT or SAT to meet HS standardized test requirements, to incentivize the kids to score high on a test that might be useful to them individually. I'd like to see an apples-to-apples comparison between Latin Second Street and BASIS on AP scores and college acceptances.

I would not be surprised if BASIS AP scores were higher, but that isn't a sole reason to choose BASIS over Latin. Latin is better for providing a more rounded education for kids who are less studious in a traditional sense, and who would not do well in a rigid environment, but have a chance to get a decent classical-style education.

But yeah... My middle schooler did not take PARCC seriously at all this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Weird way? Come on, when you attended a NYC magnet on your merits, it can be challenging to think in terms of DC charter schools like Latin Cooper offering a world-class middle or high school education. These schools are OK, often better than by-right DCPS alternatives, not more.

World-class? You are insane. No one is saying that. Why would you assume that a public charter will offer that? OP coming here to ask about Cooper isn't asking if it's world class, no one is that delusional.

+1. This is what I meant by Hunter people being weird. Why would they assume OP is asking whether Washington Latin is a world-class institution?