26-27 Lottery data up

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All Spanish track students on the waitlist (45) will not get in this year, there is not space for them. There will be more waitlisted students as the feeders complete their growth.

I’m not anxious or worried. I have a child at a Spanish feeder and I would like to understand what middle school language options they will have. Can charter school students lottery in to the Spanish programs at DCPS middle schools? Do they just have to put Macfarland or CHEC on the lottery list or is there a separate process to get in the language track?

The real answer is that MacFarland and CHEC are so weak that you don’t need to bother with a formal process. List them in the lottery then tell them you want the Spanish track. Then panic when you simultaneously hear the stories your sixth grader comes home with and realize they aren’t learning a thing. And if you think things will miraculously change in the few years you have until middle school, go talk to the people on the Hill arguing about middle schools.

MacFarland bilingual school graduate family who did not continue to MacFarland for the reasons above.

This is one of the funniest but also saddest responses I’ve heard on this forum in a long time. It should be mandatory reading for all people considering middle school in dc.

Honestly what's crazy to me is the the Hill still doesn't have a viable high school equivalent to JR, although it's been gentrified and home to families for decades, longer than the upper NW. I am sure there is a history there, and I am hoping someone here can link out to a nice detailed article about it (or book!)...

Hill parent here. You hear a lot of noise on this forum and at school about how great the Hill middle schools are but I would not send my kids there (and don’t). The choices were lottery to a charter, private, or move. The people who send their kids there usually don’t really understand the US education system that well or are brainwashed by loudmouths emphasizing the importance of walking to school. Walking to school is great but having great writing skills is more important.

Can't guarantee great writing skills anywhere, including at private. We are supplementing writing to ensure our kids actually learn it correctly. We also supplement math. We have chosen to supplement and stay in DCPS instead of stretching for private, at least in middle school, and then have no budget left over for any needed supplementation. It's a choice and I know others wouldn't make it, including if you have demanding jobs etc or if private isn't as much of a stretch.

Where/how are you supplementing writing? It’s a massive weakness for one of my kids, and I’d love a rec

We have done CTY online classes -- not explicit writing instruction in all of their ELA/reading courses but enough writing assignments and tough grading that my kid had to up their game. If your DC's iReady score for reading is 98 percentile or above you can sign up for CTY classes even if they are not a strong writer. We are doing some camp research at the moment and considering Writopia or the Writers on the Hill summer camp. Also, I work in a writing-heavy profession and am strong in this area so part of the supplementing is just me working with them on writing assignments and teaching them grammar. This is especially true w/r/t anything they work on primarily at home, like CTY. We know of people who have used actual writing tutors but we are not there (yet) so I don't have any recs. There are two pieces to this, IMHO -- one is the child's willingness to write and ability to get over writer's block and just get some stuff out on the page. The other is the grammar and mechanics. You need both but they require different approaches. And if the first one is a big problem, you need to fix that first, which is why I am open to anything that gets them writing, whether or not it's expressly teaching them grammar and mechanics.

[Anonymous]

It does bother me that my kids won’t diagram any sentences at DCPS, if I’m understanding correctly. Yeah 3 paragraph essays are a little formulaic, but it’s like shooting free throws, you need the reps.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All Spanish track students on the waitlist (45) will not get in this year, there is not space for them. There will be more waitlisted students as the feeders complete their growth.

I’m not anxious or worried. I have a child at a Spanish feeder and I would like to understand what middle school language options they will have. Can charter school students lottery in to the Spanish programs at DCPS middle schools? Do they just have to put Macfarland or CHEC on the lottery list or is there a separate process to get in the language track?

The real answer is that MacFarland and CHEC are so weak that you don’t need to bother with a formal process. List them in the lottery then tell them you want the Spanish track. Then panic when you simultaneously hear the stories your sixth grader comes home with and realize they aren’t learning a thing. And if you think things will miraculously change in the few years you have until middle school, go talk to the people on the Hill arguing about middle schools.

MacFarland bilingual school graduate family who did not continue to MacFarland for the reasons above.

This is one of the funniest but also saddest responses I’ve heard on this forum in a long time. It should be mandatory reading for all people considering middle school in dc.

Honestly what's crazy to me is the the Hill still doesn't have a viable high school equivalent to JR, although it's been gentrified and home to families for decades, longer than the upper NW. I am sure there is a history there, and I am hoping someone here can link out to a nice detailed article about it (or book!)...

Hill parent here. You hear a lot of noise on this forum and at school about how great the Hill middle schools are but I would not send my kids there (and don’t). The choices were lottery to a charter, private, or move. The people who send their kids there usually don’t really understand the US education system that well or are brainwashed by loudmouths emphasizing the importance of walking to school. Walking to school is great but having great writing skills is more important.

Can't guarantee great writing skills anywhere, including at private. We are supplementing writing to ensure our kids actually learn it correctly. We also supplement math. We have chosen to supplement and stay in DCPS instead of stretching for private, at least in middle school, and then have no budget left over for any needed supplementation. It's a choice and I know others wouldn't make it, including if you have demanding jobs etc or if private isn't as much of a stretch.

Where/how are you supplementing writing? It’s a massive weakness for one of my kids, and I’d love a rec

We have done CTY online classes -- not explicit writing instruction in all of their ELA/reading courses but enough writing assignments and tough grading that my kid had to up their game. If your DC's iReady score for reading is 98 percentile or above you can sign up for CTY classes even if they are not a strong writer. We are doing some camp research at the moment and considering Writopia or the Writers on the Hill summer camp. Also, I work in a writing-heavy profession and am strong in this area so part of the supplementing is just me working with them on writing assignments and teaching them grammar. This is especially true w/r/t anything they work on primarily at home, like CTY. We know of people who have used actual writing tutors but we are not there (yet) so I don't have any recs. There are two pieces to this, IMHO -- one is the child's willingness to write and ability to get over writer's block and just get some stuff out on the page. The other is the grammar and mechanics. You need both but they require different approaches. And if the first one is a big problem, you need to fix that first, which is why I am open to anything that gets them writing, whether or not it's expressly teaching them grammar and mechanics.

How many writing assignments do your middle school kids typically have?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It does bother me that my kids won’t diagram any sentences at DCPS, if I’m understanding correctly. Yeah 3 paragraph essays are a little formulaic, but it’s like shooting free throws, you need the reps.

My kid diagrammed sentences all through 1st and 2nd grade in a DCPS Title 1 school EOTP. She understands parts of speech better than I do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It does bother me that my kids won’t diagram any sentences at DCPS, if I’m understanding correctly. Yeah 3 paragraph essays are a little formulaic, but it’s like shooting free throws, you need the reps.

My kid diagrammed sentences all through 1st and 2nd grade in a DCPS Title 1 school EOTP. She understands parts of speech better than I do.

Wow! Which EOTP school, Pp?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It does bother me that my kids won’t diagram any sentences at DCPS, if I’m understanding correctly. Yeah 3 paragraph essays are a little formulaic, but it’s like shooting free throws, you need the reps.

My kid diagrammed sentences all through 1st and 2nd grade in a DCPS Title 1 school EOTP. She understands parts of speech better than I do.

Wow! Which EOTP school, Pp?

I want to know too!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All Spanish track students on the waitlist (45) will not get in this year, there is not space for them. There will be more waitlisted students as the feeders complete their growth.

I’m not anxious or worried. I have a child at a Spanish feeder and I would like to understand what middle school language options they will have. Can charter school students lottery in to the Spanish programs at DCPS middle schools? Do they just have to put Macfarland or CHEC on the lottery list or is there a separate process to get in the language track?

The real answer is that MacFarland and CHEC are so weak that you don’t need to bother with a formal process. List them in the lottery then tell them you want the Spanish track. Then panic when you simultaneously hear the stories your sixth grader comes home with and realize they aren’t learning a thing. And if you think things will miraculously change in the few years you have until middle school, go talk to the people on the Hill arguing about middle schools.

MacFarland bilingual school graduate family who did not continue to MacFarland for the reasons above.

This is one of the funniest but also saddest responses I’ve heard on this forum in a long time. It should be mandatory reading for all people considering middle school in dc.

Honestly what's crazy to me is the the Hill still doesn't have a viable high school equivalent to JR, although it's been gentrified and home to families for decades, longer than the upper NW. I am sure there is a history there, and I am hoping someone here can link out to a nice detailed article about it (or book!)...

First step to a viable HS is high quality MS feeders. The feeder pattern on the Hill and NoMa divides high performing cohorts into 3 different MS. This was DC at its most DC. The optics of having multiple gentrifying MS feed into the same MS was deemed offensive. The result was not to create 3 good MS that in turn would feed the HS. It was to encourage MS families to flee for charters or other MS options (that also came with HS paths).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UMC parents who can pay for private are at better odds to try SH or EH knowing that if Walls doesn't pan out, they can send their kid to private high school school. I think a lot of the BASIS/Latin boosters from the Hill are people who cannot pay for private and want to secure the path to 12th grade without the stress of trying to get into Walls and know that Eastern isn't going to cut it.

DCUM is so weird sometimes. The demographic data on these schools is published. Your gut is wrong. By the numbers SH is much, less affluent than BASIS or Latin. And has a much higher at risk populations. Plus, only 28% of SH is actually in boundary.

The reality is affluent parents are able to see the really bad quality of DCPS middle schools like SH and go to a charter or move. They have choices.

Why would affluence affect charter selection? What now?

As a family with the funds to move, I can tell you right now there is no way I would send my kid to a dcps middle. Any dcps middle. If my kid got into a solid charter path (basis, dci, latin) I would stay unless I felt that charter didn’t meet my kids needs.

Wow, you really went out on a limb there. To summarize, you'd keep your kid at a school...unless it didn't meet your needs?

Your bravery is laudable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UMC parents who can pay for private are at better odds to try SH or EH knowing that if Walls doesn't pan out, they can send their kid to private high school school. I think a lot of the BASIS/Latin boosters from the Hill are people who cannot pay for private and want to secure the path to 12th grade without the stress of trying to get into Walls and know that Eastern isn't going to cut it.

DCUM is so weird sometimes. The demographic data on these schools is published. Your gut is wrong. By the numbers SH is much, less affluent than BASIS or Latin. And has a much higher at risk populations. Plus, only 28% of SH is actually in boundary.

The reality is affluent parents are able to see the really bad quality of DCPS middle schools like SH and go to a charter or move. They have choices.

Why would affluence affect charter selection? What now?

As a family with the funds to move, I can tell you right now there is no way I would send my kid to a dcps middle. Any dcps middle. If my kid got into a solid charter path (basis, dci, latin) I would stay unless I felt that charter didn’t meet my kids needs.

Wow, you really went out on a limb there. To summarize, you'd keep your kid at a school...unless it didn't meet your needs?

Your bravery is laudable.

I was criticizing the people who put their kids in dcps schools and pretend they’re getting a halfway good education. I put my kids first.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All Spanish track students on the waitlist (45) will not get in this year, there is not space for them. There will be more waitlisted students as the feeders complete their growth.

I’m not anxious or worried. I have a child at a Spanish feeder and I would like to understand what middle school language options they will have. Can charter school students lottery in to the Spanish programs at DCPS middle schools? Do they just have to put Macfarland or CHEC on the lottery list or is there a separate process to get in the language track?

The real answer is that MacFarland and CHEC are so weak that you don’t need to bother with a formal process. List them in the lottery then tell them you want the Spanish track. Then panic when you simultaneously hear the stories your sixth grader comes home with and realize they aren’t learning a thing. And if you think things will miraculously change in the few years you have until middle school, go talk to the people on the Hill arguing about middle schools.

MacFarland bilingual school graduate family who did not continue to MacFarland for the reasons above.

This is one of the funniest but also saddest responses I’ve heard on this forum in a long time. It should be mandatory reading for all people considering middle school in dc.

Honestly what's crazy to me is the the Hill still doesn't have a viable high school equivalent to JR, although it's been gentrified and home to families for decades, longer than the upper NW. I am sure there is a history there, and I am hoping someone here can link out to a nice detailed article about it (or book!)...

First step to a viable HS is high quality MS feeders. The feeder pattern on the Hill and NoMa divides high performing cohorts into 3 different MS. This was DC at its most DC. The optics of having multiple gentrifying MS feed into the same MS was deemed offensive. The result was not to create 3 good MS that in turn would feed the HS. It was to encourage MS families to flee for charters or other MS options (that also came with HS paths).

Yes - a Deal-like middle school on cap hill is a political non-starter. The equity folks would howl and not (entirely) unjustifiably so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All Spanish track students on the waitlist (45) will not get in this year, there is not space for them. There will be more waitlisted students as the feeders complete their growth.

I’m not anxious or worried. I have a child at a Spanish feeder and I would like to understand what middle school language options they will have. Can charter school students lottery in to the Spanish programs at DCPS middle schools? Do they just have to put Macfarland or CHEC on the lottery list or is there a separate process to get in the language track?

The real answer is that MacFarland and CHEC are so weak that you don’t need to bother with a formal process. List them in the lottery then tell them you want the Spanish track. Then panic when you simultaneously hear the stories your sixth grader comes home with and realize they aren’t learning a thing. And if you think things will miraculously change in the few years you have until middle school, go talk to the people on the Hill arguing about middle schools.

MacFarland bilingual school graduate family who did not continue to MacFarland for the reasons above.

This is one of the funniest but also saddest responses I’ve heard on this forum in a long time. It should be mandatory reading for all people considering middle school in dc.

Honestly what's crazy to me is the the Hill still doesn't have a viable high school equivalent to JR, although it's been gentrified and home to families for decades, longer than the upper NW. I am sure there is a history there, and I am hoping someone here can link out to a nice detailed article about it (or book!)...

First step to a viable HS is high quality MS feeders. The feeder pattern on the Hill and NoMa divides high performing cohorts into 3 different MS. This was DC at its most DC. The optics of having multiple gentrifying MS feed into the same MS was deemed offensive. The result was not to create 3 good MS that in turn would feed the HS. It was to encourage MS families to flee for charters or other MS options (that also came with HS paths).

Yes - a Deal-like middle school on cap hill is a political non-starter. The equity folks would howl and not (entirely) unjustifiably so.

I mean, how unfair and inequitable would it be for there to be a MS on the Hill that provided a quality education to all of its students? We can't have that. We'll just ignore the more than 50% of the kids who will be POC and the 30% who will be ED that will benefit from a quality MS. Because the SJW don't care about those kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UMC parents who can pay for private are at better odds to try SH or EH knowing that if Walls doesn't pan out, they can send their kid to private high school school. I think a lot of the BASIS/Latin boosters from the Hill are people who cannot pay for private and want to secure the path to 12th grade without the stress of trying to get into Walls and know that Eastern isn't going to cut it.

DCUM is so weird sometimes. The demographic data on these schools is published. Your gut is wrong. By the numbers SH is much, less affluent than BASIS or Latin. And has a much higher at risk populations. Plus, only 28% of SH is actually in boundary.

The reality is affluent parents are able to see the really bad quality of DCPS middle schools like SH and go to a charter or move. They have choices.

Why would affluence affect charter selection? What now?

As a family with the funds to move, I can tell you right now there is no way I would send my kid to a dcps middle. Any dcps middle. If my kid got into a solid charter path (basis, dci, latin) I would stay unless I felt that charter didn’t meet my kids needs.

Wow, you really went out on a limb there. To summarize, you'd keep your kid at a school...unless it didn't meet your needs?

Your bravery is laudable.

I was criticizing the people who put their kids in dcps schools and pretend they’re getting a halfway good education. I put my kids first.

Have you ever had a kid in a DCPS middle? I’m assuming not, so how can you possibly speak to this with any knowledge?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UMC parents who can pay for private are at better odds to try SH or EH knowing that if Walls doesn't pan out, they can send their kid to private high school school. I think a lot of the BASIS/Latin boosters from the Hill are people who cannot pay for private and want to secure the path to 12th grade without the stress of trying to get into Walls and know that Eastern isn't going to cut it.

DCUM is so weird sometimes. The demographic data on these schools is published. Your gut is wrong. By the numbers SH is much, less affluent than BASIS or Latin. And has a much higher at risk populations. Plus, only 28% of SH is actually in boundary.

The reality is affluent parents are able to see the really bad quality of DCPS middle schools like SH and go to a charter or move. They have choices.

Why would affluence affect charter selection? What now?

As a family with the funds to move, I can tell you right now there is no way I would send my kid to a dcps middle. Any dcps middle. If my kid got into a solid charter path (basis, dci, latin) I would stay unless I felt that charter didn’t meet my kids needs.

Wow, you really went out on a limb there. To summarize, you'd keep your kid at a school...unless it didn't meet your needs?

Your bravery is laudable.

I was criticizing the people who put their kids in dcps schools and pretend they’re getting a halfway good education. I put my kids first.

Thanks for visiting our forum then! Lol

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UMC parents who can pay for private are at better odds to try SH or EH knowing that if Walls doesn't pan out, they can send their kid to private high school school. I think a lot of the BASIS/Latin boosters from the Hill are people who cannot pay for private and want to secure the path to 12th grade without the stress of trying to get into Walls and know that Eastern isn't going to cut it.

DCUM is so weird sometimes. The demographic data on these schools is published. Your gut is wrong. By the numbers SH is much, less affluent than BASIS or Latin. And has a much higher at risk populations. Plus, only 28% of SH is actually in boundary.

The reality is affluent parents are able to see the really bad quality of DCPS middle schools like SH and go to a charter or move. They have choices.

Why would affluence affect charter selection? What now?

As a family with the funds to move, I can tell you right now there is no way I would send my kid to a dcps middle. Any dcps middle. If my kid got into a solid charter path (basis, dci, latin) I would stay unless I felt that charter didn’t meet my kids needs.

Wow, you really went out on a limb there. To summarize, you'd keep your kid at a school...unless it didn't meet your needs?

Your bravery is laudable.

Brave since there are many who want to bash charters - until they need one. It’s like a badge of courage to choose your DCPS elementary school while criticizing others who choose charters. All that noise stops around middle school, when the formerly DCPS-righteous refuse to even give a DCPS middle a chance and start jumping ship for charters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All Spanish track students on the waitlist (45) will not get in this year, there is not space for them. There will be more waitlisted students as the feeders complete their growth.

I’m not anxious or worried. I have a child at a Spanish feeder and I would like to understand what middle school language options they will have. Can charter school students lottery in to the Spanish programs at DCPS middle schools? Do they just have to put Macfarland or CHEC on the lottery list or is there a separate process to get in the language track?

The real answer is that MacFarland and CHEC are so weak that you don’t need to bother with a formal process. List them in the lottery then tell them you want the Spanish track. Then panic when you simultaneously hear the stories your sixth grader comes home with and realize they aren’t learning a thing. And if you think things will miraculously change in the few years you have until middle school, go talk to the people on the Hill arguing about middle schools.

MacFarland bilingual school graduate family who did not continue to MacFarland for the reasons above.

This is one of the funniest but also saddest responses I’ve heard on this forum in a long time. It should be mandatory reading for all people considering middle school in dc.

Honestly what's crazy to me is the the Hill still doesn't have a viable high school equivalent to JR, although it's been gentrified and home to families for decades, longer than the upper NW. I am sure there is a history there, and I am hoping someone here can link out to a nice detailed article about it (or book!)...

First step to a viable HS is high quality MS feeders. The feeder pattern on the Hill and NoMa divides high performing cohorts into 3 different MS. This was DC at its most DC. The optics of having multiple gentrifying MS feed into the same MS was deemed offensive. The result was not to create 3 good MS that in turn would feed the HS. It was to encourage MS families to flee for charters or other MS options (that also came with HS paths).

Yes - a Deal-like middle school on cap hill is a political non-starter. The equity folks would howl and not (entirely) unjustifiably so.

I mean, how unfair and inequitable would it be for there to be a MS on the Hill that provided a quality education to all of its students? We can't have that. We'll just ignore the more than 50% of the kids who will be POC and the 30% who will be ED that will benefit from a quality MS. Because the SJW don't care about those kids.

Right - if too many of the “wrong” folks (ie, white folks) are benefitting, it can’t happen.