What do we think about Latin second campus

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The class of 2021 has kids going to Stanford, UChicago, Penn, Cornell, and Harvard.

I seriously doubt this.

I hate playing your game, but also need to inform you that I personally know of Latin graduates from the last 3 years who are currently studying at Stanford, UChicago, Penn, Cornell and Harvard. Also Pomona.

OK, you might want to tell the Latin college counseling department about that so they can add it to the Latin website.

Where are you looking? and do other public high schools in DC have college counseling sites listing college acceptances current and historical? Would love to see links.

Google is your friend.

No. The question is where are YOU looking to see Latin’s college acceptances over the years to assume that some are missing and doubt the word of others? You. Where are YOU looking?

Here it is, Latin booster, copied right from the Latin college counseling website:

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/210/1015153.page

Latin publishes the 2020 list of acceptances. They did not publish anything for 2021, at least on their website.

Why should I trust the anonymous post of a Latin booster over Latin itself?

You want more data? Here you go:

-Latin Lower School has a 63% reading proficiency, which means that overall students are reading "well below expectations"
-Latin Lower School has a 48% math proficiency, which means that overall students are doing math "somewhat below expectations"
-Latin Upper School has a 83% reading proficiency
-Latin Upper School has a 41% math proficiency
-Latin has an 89% graduation rate.

In short, Latin Lower School ranks #14 in DC, Latin Upper School ranks #17 in DC, and Latin Upper School ranks #142 in the DC metro area.

Sources:

https://www.usnews.com/education/k12/district-of-columbia/washington-latin-pcs-middle-school-274673
https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/district-of-columbia/districts/washington-latin-public-school-system/washington-latin-public-charter-school-upper-school-91838

Your bare assertion that you "know" or "recall" that some Latin kid in the past was accepted to Stanford, Amherst, or wherever is meaningless. Just because some kid was accepted to some Ivy League or near Ivy League school a few years ago doesn't magically transform that school into an academic powerhouse.

I am sure Latin is a good school for many kids but please don't falsely claim that it is something it isn't.

Nailed it! Thank you!

A couple posters keep coming back here to pound their drum about how Washington Latin isn't up to their standards, isn't the greatest thing since sliced bread, isn't an academic powerhouse.

People who have students there have told you numerous times what the school is not. It is not an elite academy. It is not a test-in academic magnet school. It is not pulling from a rich zip code. It is not wealthy or endowed. It is not focused on PARCC scores. It is not concerned with lists of alum at the most prestigious colleges possible in order to impress....who? It is not a STEM school. It does not teach modern languages in middle school. It does not track in middle school.

They have also told you what it is: an excellent school with wide-ranging academics, laser focused on a particular mission:

We strive to help our students to become thoughtful people who will contribute to the public good and continue a lifelong quest towards a fuller humanity. We believe that education is a training of character, and character is the intersection of intellectual development and moral integrity.

It's a school that is diverse by design, that cares about words and people, that values the relationship between teachers and students, that is committed to a classical education model. It's a place where every adult in the building is focused on doing the best they can for every student that comes through their doors. It's a place of professionals who nurture students to reach their own personal goals. It's a place that values informed opinions and thoughtful discourse.

It has its weaknesses, it has its strengths.

Please, no one apply who doesn't think it is a good fit for your family.

But please quit coming on here and complaining that Latin isn't what YOU WANT IT TO BE. You've got your information, You've evaluated it. You've reiterated it. Now move on.

“Not focused on PARCC scores” is an excuse for having bad PARCC scores that doesn’t hold water with me. My kids also go to a school that is “not focused on PARCC scores” and that school’s PARCC scores are excellent.

Looks to me like Latin is bad at teaching math.

[Anonymous]

If you've had a kid at Latin who's bright, but not terribly hard-working or much of a self-starter, you know the drill. Latin is loosey-goosey about discipline. Kids can goof off, not work hard, still get socially promoted with mediocre grades and effort. Teachers can't teach to the top with so many middling and marginal students, and no academic tracking outside math in middle school. The strongest students are often somewhat homeschooled by ambitious parents, who sign them up for enrichment, help with homework, and essentially teach outside the curriculum. Some of the strongest students are so motivated that they teach themselves, e.g. via Khan Academy. Hence, the best Latin students are better than the school, much better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The class of 2021 has kids going to Stanford, UChicago, Penn, Cornell, and Harvard.

I seriously doubt this.

I hate playing your game, but also need to inform you that I personally know of Latin graduates from the last 3 years who are currently studying at Stanford, UChicago, Penn, Cornell and Harvard. Also Pomona.

OK, you might want to tell the Latin college counseling department about that so they can add it to the Latin website.

Where are you looking? and do other public high schools in DC have college counseling sites listing college acceptances current and historical? Would love to see links.

Google is your friend.

No. The question is where are YOU looking to see Latin’s college acceptances over the years to assume that some are missing and doubt the word of others? You. Where are YOU looking?

Here it is, Latin booster, copied right from the Latin college counseling website:

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/210/1015153.page

Latin publishes the 2020 list of acceptances. They did not publish anything for 2021, at least on their website.

Why should I trust the anonymous post of a Latin booster over Latin itself?

You want more data? Here you go:

-Latin Lower School has a 63% reading proficiency, which means that overall students are reading "well below expectations"
-Latin Lower School has a 48% math proficiency, which means that overall students are doing math "somewhat below expectations"
-Latin Upper School has a 83% reading proficiency
-Latin Upper School has a 41% math proficiency
-Latin has an 89% graduation rate.

In short, Latin Lower School ranks #14 in DC, Latin Upper School ranks #17 in DC, and Latin Upper School ranks #142 in the DC metro area.

Sources:

https://www.usnews.com/education/k12/district-of-columbia/washington-latin-pcs-middle-school-274673
https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/district-of-columbia/districts/washington-latin-public-school-system/washington-latin-public-charter-school-upper-school-91838

Your bare assertion that you "know" or "recall" that some Latin kid in the past was accepted to Stanford, Amherst, or wherever is meaningless. Just because some kid was accepted to some Ivy League or near Ivy League school a few years ago doesn't magically transform that school into an academic powerhouse.

I am sure Latin is a good school for many kids but please don't falsely claim that it is something it isn't.

Nailed it! Thank you!

But no one is saying that it is an academic powerhouse. It is a wonderful, warm, nurturing school with exceptional teachers and administration that offers an engaging and interesting classical curriculum and helps kids find colleges that work for them on several different levels. There are some kids there who will end up at Ivies and others who will end up at HBCUs and others who will end up at small colleges and others who will end up a community colleges or UDC. What Latin does best is make students better thinkers and better human beings. They are not trying to be an academic powerhouse or only send kids to Ivies. Again, DON'T APPLY if you don't like it based on their list of college acceptances. You clearly don't want to listen to Latin parents about how amazing the school is. And to the poster who said that CH families that are double Ivies are expecting their kids to go to Ivies - good luck with that! No matter where you go to high school getting into an Ivy these days is a crapshoot for everyone.

Sure, it's a crapshoot... but it's pretty much just a *no* if the school has no or virtually no kids getting into these schools. It certainly suggests that the school is not preparing kids to be competitive applicants for such schools. My UMC white non-athlete kid is not going to be the *one* kid at Latin who gets into a super elite school, it's just vanishingly unlikely. BASIS/Walls/Wilson all have *some* acceptances and even DCI had a couple in the top tier (and is a much more diverse school in terms of SES), so at those schools it seems to be at least a crapshoot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The class of 2021 has kids going to Stanford, UChicago, Penn, Cornell, and Harvard.

I seriously doubt this.

I hate playing your game, but also need to inform you that I personally know of Latin graduates from the last 3 years who are currently studying at Stanford, UChicago, Penn, Cornell and Harvard. Also Pomona.

OK, you might want to tell the Latin college counseling department about that so they can add it to the Latin website.

Where are you looking? and do other public high schools in DC have college counseling sites listing college acceptances current and historical? Would love to see links.

Google is your friend.

No. The question is where are YOU looking to see Latin’s college acceptances over the years to assume that some are missing and doubt the word of others? You. Where are YOU looking?

Here it is, Latin booster, copied right from the Latin college counseling website:

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/210/1015153.page

Latin publishes the 2020 list of acceptances. They did not publish anything for 2021, at least on their website.

Why should I trust the anonymous post of a Latin booster over Latin itself?

You want more data? Here you go:

-Latin Lower School has a 63% reading proficiency, which means that overall students are reading "well below expectations"
-Latin Lower School has a 48% math proficiency, which means that overall students are doing math "somewhat below expectations"
-Latin Upper School has a 83% reading proficiency
-Latin Upper School has a 41% math proficiency
-Latin has an 89% graduation rate.

In short, Latin Lower School ranks #14 in DC, Latin Upper School ranks #17 in DC, and Latin Upper School ranks #142 in the DC metro area.

Sources:

https://www.usnews.com/education/k12/district-of-columbia/washington-latin-pcs-middle-school-274673
https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/district-of-columbia/districts/washington-latin-public-school-system/washington-latin-public-charter-school-upper-school-91838

Your bare assertion that you "know" or "recall" that some Latin kid in the past was accepted to Stanford, Amherst, or wherever is meaningless. Just because some kid was accepted to some Ivy League or near Ivy League school a few years ago doesn't magically transform that school into an academic powerhouse.

I am sure Latin is a good school for many kids but please don't falsely claim that it is something it isn't.

Nailed it! Thank you!

But no one is saying that it is an academic powerhouse. It is a wonderful, warm, nurturing school with exceptional teachers and administration that offers an engaging and interesting classical curriculum and helps kids find colleges that work for them on several different levels. There are some kids there who will end up at Ivies and others who will end up at HBCUs and others who will end up at small colleges and others who will end up a community colleges or UDC. What Latin does best is make students better thinkers and better human beings. They are not trying to be an academic powerhouse or only send kids to Ivies. Again, DON'T APPLY if you don't like it based on their list of college acceptances. You clearly don't want to listen to Latin parents about how amazing the school is. And to the poster who said that CH families that are double Ivies are expecting their kids to go to Ivies - good luck with that! No matter where you go to high school getting into an Ivy these days is a crapshoot for everyone.

Sure, it's a crapshoot... but it's pretty much just a *no* if the school has no or virtually no kids getting into these schools. It certainly suggests that the school is not preparing kids to be competitive applicants for such schools. My UMC white non-athlete kid is not going to be the *one* kid at Latin who gets into a super elite school, it's just vanishingly unlikely. BASIS/Walls/Wilson all have *some* acceptances and even DCI had a couple in the top tier (and is a much more diverse school in terms of SES), so at those schools it seems to be at least a crapshoot.

The year our child graduated, he and most of his friends got into "reach" schools. We were happy with that. Our sense was that another school, our child might have fallen through the cracks of the middle kids and college options would have reflected that... Our child was definitely not ignored at Latin and lots of pathways opened up. To me that also makes a school "good". If our child had been a super achiever, I would imagine there would have been "super elite options". He wasn't, and that's OK.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The class of 2021 has kids going to Stanford, UChicago, Penn, Cornell, and Harvard.

I seriously doubt this.

I hate playing your game, but also need to inform you that I personally know of Latin graduates from the last 3 years who are currently studying at Stanford, UChicago, Penn, Cornell and Harvard. Also Pomona.

OK, you might want to tell the Latin college counseling department about that so they can add it to the Latin website.

Where are you looking? and do other public high schools in DC have college counseling sites listing college acceptances current and historical? Would love to see links.

Google is your friend.

No. The question is where are YOU looking to see Latin’s college acceptances over the years to assume that some are missing and doubt the word of others? You. Where are YOU looking?

Here it is, Latin booster, copied right from the Latin college counseling website:

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/210/1015153.page

Latin publishes the 2020 list of acceptances. They did not publish anything for 2021, at least on their website.

Why should I trust the anonymous post of a Latin booster over Latin itself?

You want more data? Here you go:

-Latin Lower School has a 63% reading proficiency, which means that overall students are reading "well below expectations"
-Latin Lower School has a 48% math proficiency, which means that overall students are doing math "somewhat below expectations"
-Latin Upper School has a 83% reading proficiency
-Latin Upper School has a 41% math proficiency
-Latin has an 89% graduation rate.

In short, Latin Lower School ranks #14 in DC, Latin Upper School ranks #17 in DC, and Latin Upper School ranks #142 in the DC metro area.

Sources:

https://www.usnews.com/education/k12/district-of-columbia/washington-latin-pcs-middle-school-274673
https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/district-of-columbia/districts/washington-latin-public-school-system/washington-latin-public-charter-school-upper-school-91838

Your bare assertion that you "know" or "recall" that some Latin kid in the past was accepted to Stanford, Amherst, or wherever is meaningless. Just because some kid was accepted to some Ivy League or near Ivy League school a few years ago doesn't magically transform that school into an academic powerhouse.

I am sure Latin is a good school for many kids but please don't falsely claim that it is something it isn't.

Nailed it! Thank you!

A couple posters keep coming back here to pound their drum about how Washington Latin isn't up to their standards, isn't the greatest thing since sliced bread, isn't an academic powerhouse.

People who have students there have told you numerous times what the school is not. It is not an elite academy. It is not a test-in academic magnet school. It is not pulling from a rich zip code. It is not wealthy or endowed. It is not focused on PARCC scores. It is not concerned with lists of alum at the most prestigious colleges possible in order to impress....who? It is not a STEM school. It does not teach modern languages in middle school. It does not track in middle school.

They have also told you what it is: an excellent school with wide-ranging academics, laser focused on a particular mission:

We strive to help our students to become thoughtful people who will contribute to the public good and continue a lifelong quest towards a fuller humanity. We believe that education is a training of character, and character is the intersection of intellectual development and moral integrity.

It's a school that is diverse by design, that cares about words and people, that values the relationship between teachers and students, that is committed to a classical education model. It's a place where every adult in the building is focused on doing the best they can for every student that comes through their doors. It's a place of professionals who nurture students to reach their own personal goals. It's a place that values informed opinions and thoughtful discourse.

It has its weaknesses, it has its strengths.

Please, no one apply who doesn't think it is a good fit for your family.

But please quit coming on here and complaining that Latin isn't what YOU WANT IT TO BE. You've got your information, You've evaluated it. You've reiterated it. Now move on.

“Not focused on PARCC scores” is an excuse for having bad PARCC scores that doesn’t hold water with me. My kids also go to a school that is “not focused on PARCC scores” and that school’s PARCC scores are excellent.

Looks to me like Latin is bad at teaching math.

My issue with the bolded is that every good school does these things? These are base minimum requirements. It's true that because of truly unfortunate societal reasons, there are many schools in DC that struggle to reach these base requirements. But for a school to say they set themselves apart because they are focused on these minimums is sad?

[Anonymous]

No. Not every middle/high school prioritizes intellectual development and moral integrity. Not by a long shot. Take a poll next time you are visiting schools. Ask them “what is education for?” See what answers you get.

[Anonymous]

If Latin actually knocked it out of the park in prioritizing intellectual development, they wouldn't toss 5th-8th graders who work one, two, even three of four grade levels behind many of their peers in all subjects into the very same EL, social studies and science classes as the most advanced students. It's very easy to proclaim that intellectual development is their strong suit. The reality is more complicated, particularly for the strongest MS humanities and science students and their families.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No. Not every middle/high school prioritizes intellectual development and moral integrity. Not by a long shot. Take a poll next time you are visiting schools. Ask them “what is education for?” See what answers you get.

I know both BASIS and Stuart Hobson very well, having kids at both. I can tell you that both schools prioritize intellectual development and moral integrity. I'm not saying that Latin is a bad school. I'm just saying it's not the only middle school in DC doing those things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No. Not every middle/high school prioritizes intellectual development and moral integrity. Not by a long shot. Take a poll next time you are visiting schools. Ask them “what is education for?” See what answers you get.

I know both BASIS and Stuart Hobson very well, having kids at both. I can tell you that both schools prioritize intellectual development and moral integrity. I'm not saying that Latin is a bad school. I'm just saying it's not the only middle school in DC doing those things.

Well that is great news. I used to live next to SH and "moral integrity" did not seem to be one of the values shared by the kids fighting, swearing, stealing from the corner store and throwing rocks at cars but maybe things have changed in the last few years.

[Anonymous]

Not necessarily. There was an appalling fight in front of SH a couple weeks ago, a dozen kids slugging each other without adults from the school on the scene. Around 50 students surrounded the fighters to clap and cheer. Police broke up the fight eventually.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The class of 2021 has kids going to Stanford, UChicago, Penn, Cornell, and Harvard.

I seriously doubt this.

I hate playing your game, but also need to inform you that I personally know of Latin graduates from the last 3 years who are currently studying at Stanford, UChicago, Penn, Cornell and Harvard. Also Pomona.

OK, you might want to tell the Latin college counseling department about that so they can add it to the Latin website.

Where are you looking? and do other public high schools in DC have college counseling sites listing college acceptances current and historical? Would love to see links.

Google is your friend.

No. The question is where are YOU looking to see Latin’s college acceptances over the years to assume that some are missing and doubt the word of others? You. Where are YOU looking?

Here it is, Latin booster, copied right from the Latin college counseling website:

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/210/1015153.page

Latin publishes the 2020 list of acceptances. They did not publish anything for 2021, at least on their website.

Why should I trust the anonymous post of a Latin booster over Latin itself?

You want more data? Here you go:

-Latin Lower School has a 63% reading proficiency, which means that overall students are reading "well below expectations"
-Latin Lower School has a 48% math proficiency, which means that overall students are doing math "somewhat below expectations"
-Latin Upper School has a 83% reading proficiency
-Latin Upper School has a 41% math proficiency
-Latin has an 89% graduation rate.

In short, Latin Lower School ranks #14 in DC, Latin Upper School ranks #17 in DC, and Latin Upper School ranks #142 in the DC metro area.

Sources:

https://www.usnews.com/education/k12/district-of-columbia/washington-latin-pcs-middle-school-274673
https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/district-of-columbia/districts/washington-latin-public-school-system/washington-latin-public-charter-school-upper-school-91838

Your bare assertion that you "know" or "recall" that some Latin kid in the past was accepted to Stanford, Amherst, or wherever is meaningless. Just because some kid was accepted to some Ivy League or near Ivy League school a few years ago doesn't magically transform that school into an academic powerhouse.

I am sure Latin is a good school for many kids but please don't falsely claim that it is something it isn't.

Nailed it! Thank you!

A couple posters keep coming back here to pound their drum about how Washington Latin isn't up to their standards, isn't the greatest thing since sliced bread, isn't an academic powerhouse.

People who have students there have told you numerous times what the school is not. It is not an elite academy. It is not a test-in academic magnet school. It is not pulling from a rich zip code. It is not wealthy or endowed. It is not focused on PARCC scores. It is not concerned with lists of alum at the most prestigious colleges possible in order to impress....who? It is not a STEM school. It does not teach modern languages in middle school. It does not track in middle school.

They have also told you what it is: an excellent school with wide-ranging academics, laser focused on a particular mission:

We strive to help our students to become thoughtful people who will contribute to the public good and continue a lifelong quest towards a fuller humanity. We believe that education is a training of character, and character is the intersection of intellectual development and moral integrity.

It's a school that is diverse by design, that cares about words and people, that values the relationship between teachers and students, that is committed to a classical education model. It's a place where every adult in the building is focused on doing the best they can for every student that comes through their doors. It's a place of professionals who nurture students to reach their own personal goals. It's a place that values informed opinions and thoughtful discourse.

It has its weaknesses, it has its strengths.

Please, no one apply who doesn't think it is a good fit for your family.

But please quit coming on here and complaining that Latin isn't what YOU WANT IT TO BE. You've got your information, You've evaluated it. You've reiterated it. Now move on.

“Not focused on PARCC scores” is an excuse for having bad PARCC scores that doesn’t hold water with me. My kids also go to a school that is “not focused on PARCC scores” and that school’s PARCC scores are excellent.

Looks to me like Latin is bad at teaching math.

My issue with the bolded is that every good school does these things? These are base minimum requirements. It's true that because of truly unfortunate societal reasons, there are many schools in DC that struggle to reach these base requirements. But for a school to say they set themselves apart because they are focused on these minimums is sad?

FFS, people, this is simply marketing messaging.

[Anonymous]

It's always a good idea to talk to actual parents at a school. Some of the assumptions made on DCUM are straight up appalling.

[Anonymous]

"Moral integrity" needs to be taught by both parents and schools. When I log into DCUM and see parents talking about how they are writing their kids' college essays because "their kids are too burned out by this point in the application season to write one more essay" I wonder where the moral integrity went. Or are we only concerned about the moral integrity of kids who fight on the school ground but not the ones who are faking college applications in their millions dollar homes?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's always a good idea to talk to actual parents at a school. Some of the assumptions made on DCUM are straight up appalling.

And some of them are spot on. Latin certainly has its shortcomings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"Moral integrity" needs to be taught by both parents and schools. When I log into DCUM and see parents talking about how they are writing their kids' college essays because "their kids are too burned out by this point in the application season to write one more essay" I wonder where the moral integrity went. Or are we only concerned about the moral integrity of kids who fight on the school ground but not the ones who are faking college applications in their millions dollar homes?

Er, yes, but this is a schools thread. When I see someone bragging about moral integrity being taught AT SCHOOL, I don't expect to regularly see kids fighting AT SCHOOL or screaming obscenities at passersby FROM THE SCHOOL.