Talk to me about McKinley

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

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"

The majority here have no clue how to navigate DC or the actual directional dividing lines. Nothing is central about Walls present location.

[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"

The majority here have no clue how to navigate DC or the actual directional dividing lines. Nothing is central about Walls present location.

... Right, that has been established by a couple of people already.
I think point is that walls is easier to access by many via Metro. That being said , McKinley's commute and neighborhood is also not as horrible as some are making it sound. I know several families with kids there are able to make it work. It is not impossible to get to, but the train tracks and major traffic arteries do make it a little harder to get to than other spots despite being more central.

[Anonymous]

Oh for Pete's sake. I live right near McKinley Tech and have happily done so for 10+ years.

[Anonymous]

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

I am the OP, and it's not my job to educate you as to why this statement is uninformed and useless. So I'll just reiterate, I want to hear about the experiences of kids who actually go there from their families. It is clear that your child does not go there. Why are you here?

(Before someone else chimes, in, yes, I know this is a DCUM thing where people just comment on everything they are uninformed about.)

To those who have kids who go there and have answered, thank you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a friend who sent both kids ther and he says it was great. That was a few years ago. But I think it's a very strong school and I will happily apply my DD if her math and science interest level is up to it.

Thank you.

[Anonymous]

Different students apply to McKinley than Walls. Students from Ward 7 and 8, which make up a big part of the McKinley student body, are not applying to Walls, or at least they weren't a couple of years ago:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/school-without-walls-admissions-test-diversity/2021/08/27/6959cec2-0293-11ec-a664-4f6de3e17ff0_story.html

“It could be that our families have gotten wind that certain schools are not for them, or not supportive of them,” said Carlene Reid, the Ward 8 representative on the D.C. State Board of Education. “I would not trust to put my child in a school that has systemically shut out students from Ward 8.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"For that and other reasons, nobody is choosing McKinley over Walls."

I am the OP, and it's not my job to educate you as to why this statement is uninformed and useless. So I'll just reiterate, I want to hear about the experiences of kids who actually go there from their families. It is clear that your child does not go there. Why are you here?

(Before someone else chimes, in, yes, I know this is a DCUM thing where people just comment on everything they are uninformed about.)

To those who have kids who go there and have answered, thank you!

OP, your problem is you are not asking for anything specific. So, WTF do you really want to know? What is the quality of the teaching? What is the caliber of the student body? To what colleges do kids matriculate? How are the sports? How are the EC opportunities?...the list could go another 10 specific questions easily.

So WTF do you really want to know?

[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"

The majority here have no clue how to navigate DC or the actual directional dividing lines. Nothing is central about Walls present location.

You realize most people aren’t driving their kids to school, right? It’s almost certainly faster to get to Walls than McKinley from most of W6,7 and 8.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"For that and other reasons, nobody is choosing McKinley over Walls."

I am the OP, and it's not my job to educate you as to why this statement is uninformed and useless. So I'll just reiterate, I want to hear about the experiences of kids who actually go there from their families. It is clear that your child does not go there. Why are you here?

(Before someone else chimes, in, yes, I know this is a DCUM thing where people just comment on everything they are uninformed about.)

To those who have kids who go there and have answered, thank you!

I mean, this is true. Let’s hear from all the people who turned down Walls for McKinley though …

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Different students apply to McKinley than Walls. Students from Ward 7 and 8, which make up a big part of the McKinley student body, are not applying to Walls, or at least they weren't a couple of years ago:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/school-without-walls-admissions-test-diversity/2021/08/27/6959cec2-0293-11ec-a664-4f6de3e17ff0_story.html

“It could be that our families have gotten wind that certain schools are not for them, or not supportive of them,” said Carlene Reid, the Ward 8 representative on the D.C. State Board of Education. “I would not trust to put my child in a school that has systemically shut out students from Ward 8.”

“Different” in the sense that they could not be admitted to Walls for academic reasons, but could be admitted to McKinley.

Look, I have a privileged white kid who likely would not have gotten into Walls with the prior more selective criteria, but could get into McKinley. No shame in admitting that!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh for Pete's sake. I live right near McKinley Tech and have happily done so for 10+ years.

https://www.wusa9.com/video/news/crime/65-9e48b891-f5a2-49d7-8590-3b67e50baf85

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Different students apply to McKinley than Walls. Students from Ward 7 and 8, which make up a big part of the McKinley student body, are not applying to Walls, or at least they weren't a couple of years ago:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/school-without-walls-admissions-test-diversity/2021/08/27/6959cec2-0293-11ec-a664-4f6de3e17ff0_story.html

“It could be that our families have gotten wind that certain schools are not for them, or not supportive of them,” said Carlene Reid, the Ward 8 representative on the D.C. State Board of Education. “I would not trust to put my child in a school that has systemically shut out students from Ward 8.”

“Different” in the sense that they could not be admitted to Walls for academic reasons, but could be admitted to McKinley.

Look, I have a privileged white kid who likely would not have gotten into Walls with the prior more selective criteria, but could get into McKinley. No shame in admitting that!

Test scores haven't been used since prior to COVID. The current criteria are GPA, recommendation letter, interview, and writing sample. It is entirely unclear how SWW is implementing any of those besides GPA, and there are kids with high GPAs who are going to McKinley. You have no idea if they could get admitted and neither do they. They are not applying *because they do not want to go*.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Different students apply to McKinley than Walls. Students from Ward 7 and 8, which make up a big part of the McKinley student body, are not applying to Walls, or at least they weren't a couple of years ago:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/school-without-walls-admissions-test-diversity/2021/08/27/6959cec2-0293-11ec-a664-4f6de3e17ff0_story.html

“It could be that our families have gotten wind that certain schools are not for them, or not supportive of them,” said Carlene Reid, the Ward 8 representative on the D.C. State Board of Education. “I would not trust to put my child in a school that has systemically shut out students from Ward 8.”

“Different” in the sense that they could not be admitted to Walls for academic reasons, but could be admitted to McKinley.

Look, I have a privileged white kid who likely would not have gotten into Walls with the prior more selective criteria, but could get into McKinley. No shame in admitting that!

Test scores haven't been used since prior to COVID. The current criteria are GPA, recommendation letter, interview, and writing sample. It is entirely unclear how SWW is implementing any of those besides GPA, and there are kids with high GPAs who are going to McKinley. You have no idea if they could get admitted and neither do they. They are not applying *because they do not want to go*.

as I wrote, he would not have gotten in under the “prior, more selective criteria.” I still think nobody is choosing McKinley over Walls (or Banneker) but feel free to show me data or anecdotes. also not sure why OP or anyone is defensive about this. It’s all part of the picture in understanding the schools.

[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"

The majority here have no clue how to navigate DC or the actual directional dividing lines. Nothing is central about Walls present location.

Foggy Bottom is among the most heavily traveled Metro stations in DC.