Talk to me about McKinley

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The students on the panel last night shared some of their application experiences. The one who'd already committed was accepted to 10 schools and selected NC A&T. Another said he was accepted to 5 schools and is waiting on financial packages. A third said he hasn't heard back yet but applied to Cornell, Stanford, Georgia Tech, and UMD, among others.

Seconding the PP who was also at the open house. It was very impressive!

+1 I was there, too, and the kids’ college acceptances were great. Something that people are missing is that you have to have both smart/ dedicated kids, and a good H.S. to be turning out college acceptances like that. And in a title 1 school no less. And no, it’s not just the odd kid who gets into good colleges in McKinley—I spent time talking to teachers there. A school with behavior issues, poor teachers, and crappy programs is not going to produce any of what McKinley is doing, even if they get some smart kids. So they are doing something right. I get it—some people want a school where every single kid is going to a top college (btw, that’s not JR either). But a smart and dedicated kid can and will find their peers at McKinley. There is something going on at McKinley that is kind of awesome.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We toured McKinley and I think it would be a good fit for my white kid. He wouldn't be the only, and the currently available statistics are a bit behind.

My son's generation of kids was one of the first much larger classes of charter schools to come online. The kids in his class have been in public schools since PK3. Also, this generation of parents has been and will be open to trying out unknown quantities. To be realistic, since test scores are no longer a factor for SWW. Banneker is getting harder to get into and there's more demand.

As more white kids stay in DC for high school, mark my words, McKinley Tech (which is a good school getting even better) will get more and more diverse every year until it reflects the diversity of DC students attending high schools.

I had a very good feeling touring there.

I would suggest that parents who have no actual experience with it beyond looking at the test scores zip it.

How old is your kid and what grade? I think my experience thus far in a DCPS MS is at least as relevant as yours. I have zero doubt that there are many great kids, administrators and teachers at McKinley. But you’re fooling yourself to think that the education is on par for college-bound kids. Test scores matter unless the school tracks, which DCPS does not do (except math). I may have no actual experience with McKinley but I think the notion that we should be happy with “unknown quantities” for our kids’ high school education is just frankly astonishing.

Once you're in high school, tracking vs non tracking is not an issue. Students are sorted by academic achievement and performance. Kids who can handle them go into AP classes and kids who can't don't.

Dream on. It’s AP for all and the classes are not rigorous. There is absolutely no academic requirement or threshold to take an AP class and it’s watered down because many of the kids should not be in the class.

Just wanted to clarify, because this thread sparked a lot of non-factual posts, that McKinley tech does indeed have placement tests to see who is and who is not ready for AP classes in freshman year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We toured McKinley and I think it would be a good fit for my white kid. He wouldn't be the only, and the currently available statistics are a bit behind.

My son's generation of kids was one of the first much larger classes of charter schools to come online. The kids in his class have been in public schools since PK3. Also, this generation of parents has been and will be open to trying out unknown quantities. To be realistic, since test scores are no longer a factor for SWW. Banneker is getting harder to get into and there's more demand.

As more white kids stay in DC for high school, mark my words, McKinley Tech (which is a good school getting even better) will get more and more diverse every year until it reflects the diversity of DC students attending high schools.

I had a very good feeling touring there.

I would suggest that parents who have no actual experience with it beyond looking at the test scores zip it.

How old is your kid and what grade? I think my experience thus far in a DCPS MS is at least as relevant as yours. I have zero doubt that there are many great kids, administrators and teachers at McKinley. But you’re fooling yourself to think that the education is on par for college-bound kids. Test scores matter unless the school tracks, which DCPS does not do (except math). I may have no actual experience with McKinley but I think the notion that we should be happy with “unknown quantities” for our kids’ high school education is just frankly astonishing.

Once you're in high school, tracking vs non tracking is not an issue. Students are sorted by academic achievement and performance. Kids who can handle them go into AP classes and kids who can't don't.

Dream on. It’s AP for all and the classes are not rigorous. There is absolutely no academic requirement or threshold to take an AP class and it’s watered down because many of the kids should not be in the class.

Just wanted to clarify, because this thread sparked a lot of non-factual posts, that McKinley tech does indeed have placement tests to see who is and who is not ready for AP classes in freshman year.

Very few 9th graders take AP at McKinley. Some do AP Human Geo and a student ready for precalc might do AP Precalc. Placement tests help determine Honors versus regular math and bio.

[Anonymous]

I recently learned when collecting info about high schools for my rising 8th grader: McKinley’s High School is not Title I on its own. Since it’s an education campus with the middle school it qualifies as Title I (neighborhood middle school/ cannot select its students the way the high school can)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I recently learned when collecting info about high schools for my rising 8th grader: McKinley’s High School is not Title I on its own. Since it’s an education campus with the middle school it qualifies as Title I (neighborhood middle school/ cannot select its students the way the high school can)

The McKinley Tech HS is 38% at risk. The middle school is 68%.

For reference Banneker is 29%, walls is 12% and JR is 32% at risk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I recently learned when collecting info about high schools for my rising 8th grader: McKinley’s High School is not Title I on its own. Since it’s an education campus with the middle school it qualifies as Title I (neighborhood middle school/ cannot select its students the way the high school can)

The McKinley Tech HS is 38% at risk. The middle school is 68%.

For reference Banneker is 29%, walls is 12% and JR is 32% at risk.

If a school has over 35% at risk, it is title 1. So both the middle school and high school "make it".

https://dcps.dc.gov/TitleI#:~:text=A%20DCPS%20school%20is%20eligible,school%20is%2035%25%20or%20more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I recently learned when collecting info about high schools for my rising 8th grader: McKinley’s High School is not Title I on its own. Since it’s an education campus with the middle school it qualifies as Title I (neighborhood middle school/ cannot select its students the way the high school can)

The McKinley Tech HS is 38% at risk. The middle school is 68%.

For reference Banneker is 29%, walls is 12% and JR is 32% at risk.

Banneker is Title 1 again so the numbers must have increased recently.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I recently learned when collecting info about high schools for my rising 8th grader: McKinley’s High School is not Title I on its own. Since it’s an education campus with the middle school it qualifies as Title I (neighborhood middle school/ cannot select its students the way the high school can)

The McKinley Tech HS is 38% at risk. The middle school is 68%.

For reference Banneker is 29%, walls is 12% and JR is 32% at risk.

Banneker is Title 1 again so the numbers must have increased recently.

Interesting. Do they do at-risk set asides? If so, maybe that's an incentive for schools that are close to the cut off to get more funding.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know you believe it is mediocre, but what should we do about the applicant pool? McKinley Tech does seem reasonably aligned with the student body that it is likely to get. It feels like the "it should be Bronx Science" people wouldn't send their kids there anyway, since it's not close enough to Ward 3 anyway.

I think parents actually would send them for the “Bronx Science” equivalent…but you have to start from scratch.

You can’t transition the current McKinley to that type of school because you won’t get the first Bronx Science class filled if there is still 3 years of the old McKinley.

So…how you actually make it happen is quite tricky.

Hear me out, what if little by little more high performing students start attending, pulled by the excellent teaching and atmosphere, and pushed by the fact that it's getting harder and harder to get into J.R., SWW and Banneker. The percentage of high performing students goes from 5% to 10% to 15%, etc. over the course of say, 10 years and then within a decade you have school with 50% high performing students. I think that would be a good outcome, don't you?

That's what the Magnet high school I attended did. We never had more than a cohort of, say 50% high performing kids. It may even have been 30%. And it was plenty to serve as a critical mass and it even served as a pressure cooker environment. Which, from my perspective, isn't a great thing but it did push me to perform to get a higher rank. To me, this kind of school would serve our school and our city well. And it's quite possible that this is where McKinley is headed if it keeps attracting good leadership, teachers and students.

Good luck with that. People have been making the same argument for the last 25 years or longer. And here we are—

It's interesting that you would argue that DC schools haven't changed in 25 years. I would argue that they have changed quite a bit. In 2002, 15% of the District's students attended Charter Schools. Now, that number is more than double the number it was at in 2007. The number of students in the school system as a whole has grown by about that same number. Charter schools are "growing the pie" of students who stay in DC for education.

That can be seen clearly in the district's own statistics.
https://osse.dc.gov/release/osse-announces-audited-dc-enrollment-numbers-2022-23-school-year

It makes sense that as charter high schools are now basically impossible to get into after 5th grade, (DCI was once an option to enter into at High School), and as SWW no longer considers test scores, some students will have made it all the way through middle school in public schools in DC but find their zoned high school to be unacceptable. To be honest, unless you're attending JR, who wouldn't find their zoned high school unacceptable?

The conversation around both Banneker and SWW has changed significantly in the last few years. Both are seen as good options and competitive.

I'm just saying that, when you've been reading this board for over a decade like I have, you notice that how schools are talked about changes. I think it's more likely than not that McKinley Tech will attract more high performing students. And if they can educate them well (which I believe they can) then that's a good thing.

Whether or not the word on the street or conversation on this board will change is another matter.

Please note that you’re only speaking for white people with that statement. I’m black, went to HYPS undergrad, and there were at least 10 kids from Banneker in the BSU.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know you believe it is mediocre, but what should we do about the applicant pool? McKinley Tech does seem reasonably aligned with the student body that it is likely to get. It feels like the "it should be Bronx Science" people wouldn't send their kids there anyway, since it's not close enough to Ward 3 anyway.

I think parents actually would send them for the “Bronx Science” equivalent…but you have to start from scratch.

You can’t transition the current McKinley to that type of school because you won’t get the first Bronx Science class filled if there is still 3 years of the old McKinley.

So…how you actually make it happen is quite tricky.

Hear me out, what if little by little more high performing students start attending, pulled by the excellent teaching and atmosphere, and pushed by the fact that it's getting harder and harder to get into J.R., SWW and Banneker. The percentage of high performing students goes from 5% to 10% to 15%, etc. over the course of say, 10 years and then within a decade you have school with 50% high performing students. I think that would be a good outcome, don't you?

That's what the Magnet high school I attended did. We never had more than a cohort of, say 50% high performing kids. It may even have been 30%. And it was plenty to serve as a critical mass and it even served as a pressure cooker environment. Which, from my perspective, isn't a great thing but it did push me to perform to get a higher rank. To me, this kind of school would serve our school and our city well. And it's quite possible that this is where McKinley is headed if it keeps attracting good leadership, teachers and students.

Good luck with that. People have been making the same argument for the last 25 years or longer. And here we are—

It's interesting that you would argue that DC schools haven't changed in 25 years. I would argue that they have changed quite a bit. In 2002, 15% of the District's students attended Charter Schools. Now, that number is more than double the number it was at in 2007. The number of students in the school system as a whole has grown by about that same number. Charter schools are "growing the pie" of students who stay in DC for education.

That can be seen clearly in the district's own statistics.
https://osse.dc.gov/release/osse-announces-audited-dc-enrollment-numbers-2022-23-school-year

It makes sense that as charter high schools are now basically impossible to get into after 5th grade, (DCI was once an option to enter into at High School), and as SWW no longer considers test scores, some students will have made it all the way through middle school in public schools in DC but find their zoned high school to be unacceptable. To be honest, unless you're attending JR, who wouldn't find their zoned high school unacceptable?

The conversation around both Banneker and SWW has changed significantly in the last few years. Both are seen as good options and competitive.

I'm just saying that, when you've been reading this board for over a decade like I have, you notice that how schools are talked about changes. I think it's more likely than not that McKinley Tech will attract more high performing students. And if they can educate them well (which I believe they can) then that's a good thing.

Whether or not the word on the street or conversation on this board will change is another matter.

Please note that you’re only speaking for white people with that statement. I’m black, went to HYPS undergrad, and there were at least 10 kids from Banneker in the BSU.

The conversation I was referring to was on this message board alone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I recently learned when collecting info about high schools for my rising 8th grader: McKinley’s High School is not Title I on its own. Since it’s an education campus with the middle school it qualifies as Title I (neighborhood middle school/ cannot select its students the way the high school can)

The McKinley Tech HS is 38% at risk. The middle school is 68%.

For reference Banneker is 29%, walls is 12% and JR is 32% at risk.

Banneker is Title 1 again so the numbers must have increased recently.

Interesting. Do they do at-risk set asides? If so, maybe that's an incentive for schools that are close to the cut off to get more funding.

That's my assumption as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know you believe it is mediocre, but what should we do about the applicant pool? McKinley Tech does seem reasonably aligned with the student body that it is likely to get. It feels like the "it should be Bronx Science" people wouldn't send their kids there anyway, since it's not close enough to Ward 3 anyway.

I think parents actually would send them for the “Bronx Science” equivalent…but you have to start from scratch.

You can’t transition the current McKinley to that type of school because you won’t get the first Bronx Science class filled if there is still 3 years of the old McKinley.

So…how you actually make it happen is quite tricky.

Hear me out, what if little by little more high performing students start attending, pulled by the excellent teaching and atmosphere, and pushed by the fact that it's getting harder and harder to get into J.R., SWW and Banneker. The percentage of high performing students goes from 5% to 10% to 15%, etc. over the course of say, 10 years and then within a decade you have school with 50% high performing students. I think that would be a good outcome, don't you?

That's what the Magnet high school I attended did. We never had more than a cohort of, say 50% high performing kids. It may even have been 30%. And it was plenty to serve as a critical mass and it even served as a pressure cooker environment. Which, from my perspective, isn't a great thing but it did push me to perform to get a higher rank. To me, this kind of school would serve our school and our city well. And it's quite possible that this is where McKinley is headed if it keeps attracting good leadership, teachers and students.

Good luck with that. People have been making the same argument for the last 25 years or longer. And here we are—

It's interesting that you would argue that DC schools haven't changed in 25 years. I would argue that they have changed quite a bit. In 2002, 15% of the District's students attended Charter Schools. Now, that number is more than double the number it was at in 2007. The number of students in the school system as a whole has grown by about that same number. Charter schools are "growing the pie" of students who stay in DC for education.

That can be seen clearly in the district's own statistics.
https://osse.dc.gov/release/osse-announces-audited-dc-enrollment-numbers-2022-23-school-year

It makes sense that as charter high schools are now basically impossible to get into after 5th grade, (DCI was once an option to enter into at High School), and as SWW no longer considers test scores, some students will have made it all the way through middle school in public schools in DC but find their zoned high school to be unacceptable. To be honest, unless you're attending JR, who wouldn't find their zoned high school unacceptable?

The conversation around both Banneker and SWW has changed significantly in the last few years. Both are seen as good options and competitive.

I'm just saying that, when you've been reading this board for over a decade like I have, you notice that how schools are talked about changes. I think it's more likely than not that McKinley Tech will attract more high performing students. And if they can educate them well (which I believe they can) then that's a good thing.

Whether or not the word on the street or conversation on this board will change is another matter.

Please note that you’re only speaking for white people with that statement. I’m black, went to HYPS undergrad, and there were at least 10 kids from Banneker in the BSU.

+1. Agreed. In addition, some kids are HYPS legacies.

[Anonymous]

McKinley parent here.

Best kept secret in DC low key.

Oldest nephew graduates this year, heading to Cornell.

Wonderful school , tight knit environment, with lots of extra-curricular activities for students to stay well rounded. Good parent communication as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
The commute was too much for us as well...if it was located where Walls is located (or anywhere in central DC) then the calculation would have been different

I'm curious where you live, given your perspective that Walls is central and McKinley is not...

lol +1...McKinley is about as close to "central DC" as you can get. 1.5 block from North Capitol that divides the city. I think PP means "central to her upper Caucasia area"

False. McKinley is a 15-20 minute walk from the red line metro, through one of the worst neighborhoods in NE DC where more than one child has been shot or stabbed to death after school in recent memory.

Walls is a 5-7 minute walk from the blue/orange/silver line (so actually accessible to W 7 and 8) and the walk is through one of the safest neighborhoods in DC.

For that and other reasons, nobody is choosing McKinley over Walls.

Alum here. I DID choose Tech over Walls and friends that went to Walls had way less of a personal or even extracurricular life than I did. I enjoyed my time at Tech AND earned a full ride into a good school. My friends at Walls also got into good schools but hated their lives and needed mental health support way more. My teachers cared about more than my grades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Gawd what are you looking for? If you met Jackson Reed's best/most average/worst students would you change your views of the school? Just get a little perspective, people.

I’m looking for a school that sends a strong cohort of kids to the kind of colleges my kid can aspire to, because that means the school will adequately prepare him. It’s actually not … all that complicated!

So here’s the problem. Most of the state schools you’re probably looking at (UMCP, UVA, Michigan, Penn State, UC schools, etc.) are objectively terrible choices for poor and middle class students. They don’t provide much or any need-based financial aid, and they don’t provide enough merit aid to be within reach for a poorer family. These students are much better off going to either higher-ranked schools that give more need-based aid, or lower-ranked schools that give more merit-based aid. So when you say you want a high school that sends a “strong cohort” to those big-name state schools, you’re effectively saying you want a school full of UMC kids. If that’s what you really want, you should admit that to yourself and move to the richest suburb you can afford. If what you care about is the education, the fact that parents don’t have enough money to pay OOS rates for UVA or Michigan shouldn’t affect your decision.

I'd expect a large number of McKinley to be getting full rides to Ivies/T20, because they are exactly what those types of schools are looking for.