Middle and high school on Capitol Hill

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Jefferson aside, if you're planning to return to Brent for 5th, it behooves you to let the school know ASAP. The school needs to know whether to lobby for another 5th grade teacher and figure out what to do for another classroom. That is the major impetus for the pestering. Jefferson is very secondary.

The major impetus for the pestering is the Jefferson situation. The boosters are claiming that most of the 4th grade families aren't even applying to Latin and BASIS this year. They're planning to return for 5th to make the jump to Jefferson en mass the following year. Many of us have doubts, but we're keeping this to ourselves to avoid tangling with the boosters. It doesn't behoove you to let the school know anything until after the Latin and BASIS lottery results are in.

I agree that there's no need to let the school know before lottery results are in (and you've made a decision), but the school will really need to know if a large cohort of 5th graders is returning.

And they will by May 2 -- private school contracts will be signed and the enrollment paperwork for people matched in the lottery is due 5/1. Plenty of time to recruit a new teacher if they need to.

The hard part isn't recruiting a new teacher. It is finding a classroom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a good idea of how it would work from what has happened at SH in the last 6 or 7 years. The Hobson experience teaches that if you attract at least a dozen high-performing students to a DCPS 6th grade, the school starts providing English, math classes and possibly science and social studies classes pitched at grade level. The parents organize after school foreign language. Electives like art, music and PE are not going to be ability tracked.

Make no mistake, housing project MS kids can be rough. When you're at a school like Brent, when there are few, you don't get a good feel for how tough their homes lives really are. My neighbors pulled out of SH after 6th grade, because their shy daughter was coming home in tears on a regular basis (after being called vulgar names, mildly threatened, shoved, tripped, pushed etc. by small groups of kids outside the building). Schools with lots of project kids generally foster a book camp type atmosphere inside the building to keep kids in line. What happens on the playground and on sidewalks around the school is another matter. Admins advised the family to suck it up. They didn't- they bailed for Deal by moving.

Has anyone observed a bootcamp like atmosphere inside Jefferson? Everything I've heard is that it is quite the opposite. I haven't hear much about the playground and around the school though. I imagine that could be rougher.

Get thee to a Jefferson open house to have your question answered. The discipline regime is presented as highly structured, to keep kids with unstructured home lives from spinning out of control inside the building. You'll hear a great deal about disciplinary practices at an open house. Their approach to discipline sounded like boot camp to me, at least compared to Brent, but others may disagree. If you attended Catholic school or military academy, you'll feel right at home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It isn't a question of segregation. How is a teacher suppose to teach kids who are above grade level alongside those who are below when kids reach MS age. Does the teacher assign 2-3 different books for students to read? Do the students who are at or above grade level review long division with the kids who haven't mastered the basics? Practically speaking, I would love to know how having kids performing at so man different levels would work. 11:56, please share your ideas instead of just accusing parents of supporting segregation. I wonder if you even have an older ES age kid because I can't think of one parent who would risk the education of their kid just to prove they don't believe in segregation.

Ask Jefferson -- they currently do this and they're making progress.

Too much in this post to break down, but as a practical matter this is not how the classrooms function. The curriculum is on grade level. They don't teach a 4th grade curriculum to 7th graders just because a majority are not 7th grade proficient. The students who struggle likely get additional supports to help them make up the difference. The classroom is not dialed back to make accomodations -- the benchmark is 7th grade learning objectives.

and yes -- students can and do read different levels books for independent reading (ie approved books rated for appropriate level of proficiency). That's how the schools address the range of proficiency levels common throughout the system.

in theory but practice no. If the slow kids were truly getting the support they need they would not be in the 6th grade reading at a 3rd grade level. DC just keeps passing them along. Jefferson teachers are attempting the impossible but they are not serving the advanced kids.

if a student starts at 2nd grade level and move to 4th in one year that's a big leap even if they still test well below grade level. DC does hold back students in some grades, but that often reflects lack of progress in addition to lack of proficiency.

In reality, DCPS very seldom holds back elementary school or middle school students unless parents ask for this. Social promotion remains the norm across the board, although Catania challenged the practice fairly aggressively, with support from Grosso. What happens is that DCPS 9th graders who can't pass algebra and an English class are held back, more than one-third. Many of these kids simply drop out rather than repeat 9th grade. Social promotion motivates high SES parents of all races to bail by middle school outside Upper NW.

[Anonymous]

The Hill is Ground Zero for middle/upper-middle class families (which is less than 200K AHI) who want to actually live in the city.

Yes, there are lots of free amenities for the poor, and of course everything for those to whom money is no object.

Capital Hill is the battle ground where the poor and the corrupt city council choose to play out their battles. Upper NW has always been free from this influence, as has Anacostia.

Wards 1, 4, and 5 are gentrifying so quickly that the politicians have lost a lot of control. They're riding the tiger now. Hopefully another 10 years can turn this back into a middle class city.

For now, like all big cities, it's for the rich and the poor - and if you're in between you learn quickly to be crafty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It isn't a question of segregation. How is a teacher suppose to teach kids who are above grade level alongside those who are below when kids reach MS age. Does the teacher assign 2-3 different books for students to read? Do the students who are at or above grade level review long division with the kids who haven't mastered the basics? Practically speaking, I would love to know how having kids performing at so man different levels would work. 11:56, please share your ideas instead of just accusing parents of supporting segregation. I wonder if you even have an older ES age kid because I can't think of one parent who would risk the education of their kid just to prove they don't believe in segregation.

Ask Jefferson -- they currently do this and they're making progress.

Too much in this post to break down, but as a practical matter this is not how the classrooms function. The curriculum is on grade level. They don't teach a 4th grade curriculum to 7th graders just because a majority are not 7th grade proficient. The students who struggle likely get additional supports to help them make up the difference. The classroom is not dialed back to make accomodations -- the benchmark is 7th grade learning objectives.

and yes -- students can and do read different levels books for independent reading (ie approved books rated for appropriate level of proficiency). That's how the schools address the range of proficiency levels common throughout the system.

in theory but practice no. If the slow kids were truly getting the support they need they would not be in the 6th grade reading at a 3rd grade level. DC just keeps passing them along. Jefferson teachers are attempting the impossible but they are not serving the advanced kids.

if a student starts at 2nd grade level and move to 4th in one year that's a big leap even if they still test well below grade level. DC does hold back students in some grades, but that often reflects lack of progress in addition to lack of proficiency.

Again -- there are at least 5 students who scored 5 on PARCC in math and ELA (not necessarily the same 5 students on each). If Jefferson is such academic suicide how do these students manage to score highly?

You're going to get outliers. I've been helping a FARMs student at a failing DCPS HS who attended Eliot-Hine apply to colleges, as a volunteer for a non-profit. She scored remarkably well on the SATs for a kid in her situation, loves to read and has taken advantage of DC Public Libraries, DCPS and OSSE summer school programs over the years, including an all-expenses-paid residential program at an Ivy League school. She comes from a very religious family, enabling her to learn a great deal of vocabulary from scripture and spent time in public libraries on Khan Academy to prep for the SATs. When admissions results come out next week, I'm expecting big things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It isn't a question of segregation. How is a teacher suppose to teach kids who are above grade level alongside those who are below when kids reach MS age. Does the teacher assign 2-3 different books for students to read? Do the students who are at or above grade level review long division with the kids who haven't mastered the basics? Practically speaking, I would love to know how having kids performing at so man different levels would work. 11:56, please share your ideas instead of just accusing parents of supporting segregation. I wonder if you even have an older ES age kid because I can't think of one parent who would risk the education of their kid just to prove they don't believe in segregation.

Ask Jefferson -- they currently do this and they're making progress.

Too much in this post to break down, but as a practical matter this is not how the classrooms function. The curriculum is on grade level. They don't teach a 4th grade curriculum to 7th graders just because a majority are not 7th grade proficient. The students who struggle likely get additional supports to help them make up the difference. The classroom is not dialed back to make accomodations -- the benchmark is 7th grade learning objectives.

and yes -- students can and do read different levels books for independent reading (ie approved books rated for appropriate level of proficiency). That's how the schools address the range of proficiency levels common throughout the system.

in theory but practice no. If the slow kids were truly getting the support they need they would not be in the 6th grade reading at a 3rd grade level. DC just keeps passing them along. Jefferson teachers are attempting the impossible but they are not serving the advanced kids.

if a student starts at 2nd grade level and move to 4th in one year that's a big leap even if they still test well below grade level. DC does hold back students in some grades, but that often reflects lack of progress in addition to lack of proficiency.

Again -- there are at least 5 students who scored 5 on PARCC in math and ELA (not necessarily the same 5 students on each). If Jefferson is such academic suicide how do these students manage to score highly?

You're going to get outliers. I've been helping a FARMs student at a failing DCPS HS who attended Eliot-Hine apply to colleges, as a volunteer for a non-profit. She scored remarkably well on the SATs for a kid in her situation, loves to read and has taken advantage of DC Public Libraries, DCPS and OSSE summer school programs over the years, including an all-expenses-paid residential program at an Ivy League school. She comes from a very religious family, enabling her to learn a great deal of vocabulary from scripture and spent time in public libraries on Khan Academy to prep for the SATs. When admissions results come out next week, I'm expecting big things.

Thank you for doing this! I'm AA and grew up middle class, but went to school with some kids from the projects etc. Definitely knew some who were bright and did well (or had the potential to do well) despite their circumstances. Hope to volunteer at some point too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the idea is that feeding sws, Brent and Maury to a common middle school ( along with other elementaries ) is gerrymandering.

However the biggest gerrymander EVER is the weird, diagonal swath across Capitol Hill that formed the Capitol Hill Cluster School SO THAT people like pp could AVOID going to middle school with anyone other than Watkins graduates. J.O. Wilson and LT were added as feeder schools in only the last 5-6 years. This is what PP and his/her kids benefited from and now enrages him/her about others

Hyperbole much? The boundary travels east/west to accomodate ECE at Peabody. If Peabody went away you'd see some of its boundary absorbed by Brent, Ludlow Taylor and Watkins. As it stands, K is compulsory and children IB for Watkins require an IB K option.

The weider boundary is the eastern portion of Watkins which surgically carves itself around Payne

No, the whole boundary is a hot mess.

-Inbounds for the cluster

But a Clevland Park parent IB for Eaton is just supposed to swallow that while Shepherd and Bancroft keep their Deal feed

Got -- Cluster is the snowflake of DCPS boundaries

And what makes the Cluster an extra-special snowflake, is that so much of the constituency is in Ward 9.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It isn't a question of segregation. How is a teacher suppose to teach kids who are above grade level alongside those who are below when kids reach MS age. Does the teacher assign 2-3 different books for students to read? Do the students who are at or above grade level review long division with the kids who haven't mastered the basics? Practically speaking, I would love to know how having kids performing at so man different levels would work. 11:56, please share your ideas instead of just accusing parents of supporting segregation. I wonder if you even have an older ES age kid because I can't think of one parent who would risk the education of their kid just to prove they don't believe in segregation.

Ask Jefferson -- they currently do this and they're making progress.

Too much in this post to break down, but as a practical matter this is not how the classrooms function. The curriculum is on grade level. They don't teach a 4th grade curriculum to 7th graders just because a majority are not 7th grade proficient. The students who struggle likely get additional supports to help them make up the difference. The classroom is not dialed back to make accomodations -- the benchmark is 7th grade learning objectives.

and yes -- students can and do read different levels books for independent reading (ie approved books rated for appropriate level of proficiency). That's how the schools address the range of proficiency levels common throughout the system.

in theory but practice no. If the slow kids were truly getting the support they need they would not be in the 6th grade reading at a 3rd grade level. DC just keeps passing them along. Jefferson teachers are attempting the impossible but they are not serving the advanced kids.

if a student starts at 2nd grade level and move to 4th in one year that's a big leap even if they still test well below grade level. DC does hold back students in some grades, but that often reflects lack of progress in addition to lack of proficiency.

Again -- there are at least 5 students who scored 5 on PARCC in math and ELA (not necessarily the same 5 students on each). If Jefferson is such academic suicide how do these students manage to score highly?

You're going to get outliers. I've been helping a FARMs student at a failing DCPS HS who attended Eliot-Hine apply to colleges, as a volunteer for a non-profit. She scored remarkably well on the SATs for a kid in her situation, loves to read and has taken advantage of DC Public Libraries, DCPS and OSSE summer school programs over the years, including an all-expenses-paid residential program at an Ivy League school. She comes from a very religious family, enabling her to learn a great deal of vocabulary from scripture and spent time in public libraries on Khan Academy to prep for the SATs. When admissions results come out next week, I'm expecting big things.

Was it merit-based? There are a lot of middle-income families who would benefit from all-expenses-paid programs locally, much less at an Ivy. They don't have a low enough family income level to apply. They make too much money for nice opportunities. And then people wonder why they resent the poor and flee to the suburbs where the schools are good and the crime is low.

SMH.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Jefferson aside, if you're planning to return to Brent for 5th, it behooves you to let the school know ASAP. The school needs to know whether to lobby for another 5th grade teacher and figure out what to do for another classroom. That is the major impetus for the pestering. Jefferson is very secondary.

The major impetus for the pestering is the Jefferson situation. The boosters are claiming that most of the 4th grade families aren't even applying to Latin and BASIS this year. They're planning to return for 5th to make the jump to Jefferson en mass the following year. Many of us have doubts, but we're keeping this to ourselves to avoid tangling with the boosters. It doesn't behoove you to let the school know anything until after the Latin and BASIS lottery results are in.

I agree that there's no need to let the school know before lottery results are in (and you've made a decision), but the school will really need to know if a large cohort of 5th graders is returning.

And they will by May 2 -- private school contracts will be signed and the enrollment paperwork for people matched in the lottery is due 5/1. Plenty of time to recruit a new teacher if they need to.

The hard part isn't recruiting a new teacher. It is finding a classroom.

Jefferson isn't bursting at the seams. They'll find a classroom or twenty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Jefferson aside, if you're planning to return to Brent for 5th, it behooves you to let the school know ASAP. The school needs to know whether to lobby for another 5th grade teacher and figure out what to do for another classroom. That is the major impetus for the pestering. Jefferson is very secondary.

The major impetus for the pestering is the Jefferson situation. The boosters are claiming that most of the 4th grade families aren't even applying to Latin and BASIS this year. They're planning to return for 5th to make the jump to Jefferson en mass the following year. Many of us have doubts, but we're keeping this to ourselves to avoid tangling with the boosters. It doesn't behoove you to let the school know anything until after the Latin and BASIS lottery results are in.

I agree that there's no need to let the school know before lottery results are in (and you've made a decision), but the school will really need to know if a large cohort of 5th graders is returning.

And they will by May 2 -- private school contracts will be signed and the enrollment paperwork for people matched in the lottery is due 5/1. Plenty of time to recruit a new teacher if they need to.

The hard part isn't recruiting a new teacher. It is finding a classroom.

Jefferson isn't bursting at the seams. They'll find a classroom or twenty.

The poster was referring to Brent, which might need a second 5th grade next year but is out of classroom space.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It isn't a question of segregation. How is a teacher suppose to teach kids who are above grade level alongside those who are below when kids reach MS age. Does the teacher assign 2-3 different books for students to read? Do the students who are at or above grade level review long division with the kids who haven't mastered the basics? Practically speaking, I would love to know how having kids performing at so man different levels would work. 11:56, please share your ideas instead of just accusing parents of supporting segregation. I wonder if you even have an older ES age kid because I can't think of one parent who would risk the education of their kid just to prove they don't believe in segregation.

Ask Jefferson -- they currently do this and they're making progress.

Too much in this post to break down, but as a practical matter this is not how the classrooms function. The curriculum is on grade level. They don't teach a 4th grade curriculum to 7th graders just because a majority are not 7th grade proficient. The students who struggle likely get additional supports to help them make up the difference. The classroom is not dialed back to make accomodations -- the benchmark is 7th grade learning objectives.

and yes -- students can and do read different levels books for independent reading (ie approved books rated for appropriate level of proficiency). That's how the schools address the range of proficiency levels common throughout the system.

in theory but practice no. If the slow kids were truly getting the support they need they would not be in the 6th grade reading at a 3rd grade level. DC just keeps passing them along. Jefferson teachers are attempting the impossible but they are not serving the advanced kids.

if a student starts at 2nd grade level and move to 4th in one year that's a big leap even if they still test well below grade level. DC does hold back students in some grades, but that often reflects lack of progress in addition to lack of proficiency.

Again -- there are at least 5 students who scored 5 on PARCC in math and ELA (not necessarily the same 5 students on each). If Jefferson is such academic suicide how do these students manage to score highly?

You're going to get outliers. I've been helping a FARMs student at a failing DCPS HS who attended Eliot-Hine apply to colleges, as a volunteer for a non-profit. She scored remarkably well on the SATs for a kid in her situation, loves to read and has taken advantage of DC Public Libraries, DCPS and OSSE summer school programs over the years, including an all-expenses-paid residential program at an Ivy League school. She comes from a very religious family, enabling her to learn a great deal of vocabulary from scripture and spent time in public libraries on Khan Academy to prep for the SATs. When admissions results come out next week, I'm expecting big things.

Was it merit-based? There are a lot of middle-income families who would benefit from all-expenses-paid programs locally, much less at an Ivy. They don't have a low enough family income level to apply. They make too much money for nice opportunities. And then people wonder why they resent the poor and flee to the suburbs where the schools are good and the crime is low.

SMH.

SMH at you. Of course it's merit based as well as need based. Just like Stanford is free for families making less than $100k. You still have to get in to school. People like you make me sick. You do know your ancestors likely received handouts too right?

To PP that volunteers, thank you! I'd love to hear where she gets accepted!

[Anonymous]

I really doubt that Brent has to worry about having too many 5th graders next year. . .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I really doubt that Brent has to worry about having too many 5th graders next year. . .

Maybe they can eliminate PK3. Kill 2 birds with one stone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It isn't a question of segregation. How is a teacher suppose to teach kids who are above grade level alongside those who are below when kids reach MS age. Does the teacher assign 2-3 different books for students to read? Do the students who are at or above grade level review long division with the kids who haven't mastered the basics? Practically speaking, I would love to know how having kids performing at so man different levels would work. 11:56, please share your ideas instead of just accusing parents of supporting segregation. I wonder if you even have an older ES age kid because I can't think of one parent who would risk the education of their kid just to prove they don't believe in segregation.

Ask Jefferson -- they currently do this and they're making progress.

Too much in this post to break down, but as a practical matter this is not how the classrooms function. The curriculum is on grade level. They don't teach a 4th grade curriculum to 7th graders just because a majority are not 7th grade proficient. The students who struggle likely get additional supports to help them make up the difference. The classroom is not dialed back to make accomodations -- the benchmark is 7th grade learning objectives.

and yes -- students can and do read different levels books for independent reading (ie approved books rated for appropriate level of proficiency). That's how the schools address the range of proficiency levels common throughout the system.

in theory but practice no. If the slow kids were truly getting the support they need they would not be in the 6th grade reading at a 3rd grade level. DC just keeps passing them along. Jefferson teachers are attempting the impossible but they are not serving the advanced kids.

if a student starts at 2nd grade level and move to 4th in one year that's a big leap even if they still test well below grade level. DC does hold back students in some grades, but that often reflects lack of progress in addition to lack of proficiency.

Again -- there are at least 5 students who scored 5 on PARCC in math and ELA (not necessarily the same 5 students on each). If Jefferson is such academic suicide how do these students manage to score highly?

You're going to get outliers. I've been helping a FARMs student at a failing DCPS HS who attended Eliot-Hine apply to colleges, as a volunteer for a non-profit. She scored remarkably well on the SATs for a kid in her situation, loves to read and has taken advantage of DC Public Libraries, DCPS and OSSE summer school programs over the years, including an all-expenses-paid residential program at an Ivy League school. She comes from a very religious family, enabling her to learn a great deal of vocabulary from scripture and spent time in public libraries on Khan Academy to prep for the SATs. When admissions results come out next week, I'm expecting big things.

Was it merit-based? There are a lot of middle-income families who would benefit from all-expenses-paid programs locally, much less at an Ivy. They don't have a low enough family income level to apply. They make too much money for nice opportunities. And then people wonder why they resent the poor and flee to the suburbs where the schools are good and the crime is low.

SMH.

Yeah -- the poors have it way too good. You're a horrible person.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It isn't a question of segregation. How is a teacher suppose to teach kids who are above grade level alongside those who are below when kids reach MS age. Does the teacher assign 2-3 different books for students to read? Do the students who are at or above grade level review long division with the kids who haven't mastered the basics? Practically speaking, I would love to know how having kids performing at so man different levels would work. 11:56, please share your ideas instead of just accusing parents of supporting segregation. I wonder if you even have an older ES age kid because I can't think of one parent who would risk the education of their kid just to prove they don't believe in segregation.

Ask Jefferson -- they currently do this and they're making progress.

Too much in this post to break down, but as a practical matter this is not how the classrooms function. The curriculum is on grade level. They don't teach a 4th grade curriculum to 7th graders just because a majority are not 7th grade proficient. The students who struggle likely get additional supports to help them make up the difference. The classroom is not dialed back to make accomodations -- the benchmark is 7th grade learning objectives.

and yes -- students can and do read different levels books for independent reading (ie approved books rated for appropriate level of proficiency). That's how the schools address the range of proficiency levels common throughout the system.

in theory but practice no. If the slow kids were truly getting the support they need they would not be in the 6th grade reading at a 3rd grade level. DC just keeps passing them along. Jefferson teachers are attempting the impossible but they are not serving the advanced kids.

if a student starts at 2nd grade level and move to 4th in one year that's a big leap even if they still test well below grade level. DC does hold back students in some grades, but that often reflects lack of progress in addition to lack of proficiency.

Again -- there are at least 5 students who scored 5 on PARCC in math and ELA (not necessarily the same 5 students on each). If Jefferson is such academic suicide how do these students manage to score highly?

You're going to get outliers. I've been helping a FARMs student at a failing DCPS HS who attended Eliot-Hine apply to colleges, as a volunteer for a non-profit. She scored remarkably well on the SATs for a kid in her situation, loves to read and has taken advantage of DC Public Libraries, DCPS and OSSE summer school programs over the years, including an all-expenses-paid residential program at an Ivy League school. She comes from a very religious family, enabling her to learn a great deal of vocabulary from scripture and spent time in public libraries on Khan Academy to prep for the SATs. When admissions results come out next week, I'm expecting big things.

Congrats. Yes, they are outliers, but that's my point. Eliot Hine certainly didn't impede this student's from being a successful student. The Hill kids could be outliers too and still succeed. There are false assumptions about the makeup of some schools like it will automatically hold back bright and motivated students. Yet there are anecdotal examples throughout the system of students who thrive in similar settings.