DCI vs Latin Cooper

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

No it’s not big. The average is a little over 200 kids to a grade. It’s a medium size school. I graduated high school with about 350 kids.

Yes, it’s more competitive to get into some of the popular sports but at least they have a ton of sports options which Cooper basically doesn’t and they have fields. Plus they play against other schools in conferences since they can field teams and are competitive.

270-280 for this years 6th grade.

The schools are different. Much as people here want to tell you one is better than the other, the truth is just that they have different pros and cons. We didn't choose DCI and were very bummed to give up the language and have had to work hard to keep that up at home. We were not bummed to give up what felt like a choatic atmosphere. Friends of our kid thrived at DCI. Those were kids that are fine with some disorder and are good at charting themselves a path and are generally self directed. Other friends felt lost and got behind fast. Another example, our kid's sport is out of school and will stay out of school. That would be the same for DCI or Latin, so we didn't worry about fields. There is a definitely a big tech difference too. Some kids love being on a laptop all day and it's not good for others.

So choose for you kid and not for what others tell you is better or worse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My child likes language and is dong well. Math has been a challenge and ELA good. Cooper is much closer to us and we are attracted to the small class size at Cooper but since this all came as a big surprise (moving up the WL) so fast we do t know that much about the school. We are a little concerned about the size of DCI and that it would like depending on how to place your child might only have one language class. Of course the guarantee of getting into MS/HS is attractive.

With this update, I’d definitely take Cooper. I wouldn’t risk a bad lottery draw with uncertain preference odds when you have a closer, smaller, and likely to be academically stronger option right now.

This. OP just doesn't seem very enthused about DCI. And, if it isn't Spanish, I wouldn't totally rule out non-feeder DCI for 6th.

https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/aaron2446/viz/MSDCSeatsandWaitlistOfferData_draft/MSDCPublicDisplay

I have a kid at Yu Ying and parents seem really nervous about there being enough seats for Chinese. Is that a valid concern? I would dismiss it but it’s a lot of parents.

I think it's fine for everyone older than preschool and K this year, and not enough seats for kids in preschool and K this year.

I will point out that DCI has made a lot of Chinese non-feeder offers for 6th.

I checked and I think DCI’s total number of Chinese offers (70ish across YY- 48 this year, 52 last year- and the lottery- 8 on match day and 31 by June) would cover all of YY’s pre-k 3 offers the last two years (71). The question is if only 17 odd kids are going from YY to DCI, or whatever else is going on with that.

You can use the OSSE enrollment spreadsheets to more accurately determine class size.

[Anonymous]

I d not see much advantage at all to Cooper over DCI.

DCI has

- More high performing cohort
- More courses and curriculum offerings
- More tracking options with languages and courses offered in languages and math
- Way better facilities, night and day
- Way more sports, clubs, extracurriculars
- More diverse

What exactly does Copper offer that is better than DCI exactly? Maybe a little less tech, but it’s not like they are tech free.

[Anonymous]

OP - Thanks for the information. Curious because people keep talking about lack of fields, inferior facial at Cooper. I thought they are moving to a new building next year. Do any Cooper families know what the plan is?

[Anonymous]

Cooper is moving to a new facility at the old Kirov school the school year after this one. It still won’t have playing fields because all the campus space will be taken up by new buildings.

Not disagreeing with much that has been said earlier about Cooper except that the it changed its tech policy considerably from its first year to last year. The kids were on chrome books most of the first year but then very little last school year. A very welcome change in my opinion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My child likes language and is dong well. Math has been a challenge and ELA good. Cooper is much closer to us and we are attracted to the small class size at Cooper but since this all came as a big surprise (moving up the WL) so fast we do t know that much about the school. We are a little concerned about the size of DCI and that it would like depending on how to place your child might only have one language class. Of course the guarantee of getting into MS/HS is attractive.

With this update, I’d definitely take Cooper. I wouldn’t risk a bad lottery draw with uncertain preference odds when you have a closer, smaller, and likely to be academically stronger option right now.

This. OP just doesn't seem very enthused about DCI. And, if it isn't Spanish, I wouldn't totally rule out non-feeder DCI for 6th.

https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/aaron2446/viz/MSDCSeatsandWaitlistOfferData_draft/MSDCPublicDisplay

I have a kid at Yu Ying and parents seem really nervous about there being enough seats for Chinese. Is that a valid concern? I would dismiss it but it’s a lot of parents.

I think it's fine for everyone older than preschool and K this year, and not enough seats for kids in preschool and K this year.

I will point out that DCI has made a lot of Chinese non-feeder offers for 6th.

I checked and I think DCI’s total number of Chinese offers (70ish across YY- 48 this year, 52 last year- and the lottery- 8 on match day and 31 by June) would cover all of YY’s pre-k 3 offers the last two years (71). The question is if only 17 odd kids are going from YY to DCI, or whatever else is going on with that.

You can use the OSSE enrollment spreadsheets to more accurately determine class size.

I’m confused about wording of the question but:
1. Kids enter Chinese from lottery
2. Kids (who are above grade level) in other language tracks can take Mandarin as a second language track starting in 7th

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I d not see much advantage at all to Cooper over DCI.

DCI has

- More high performing cohort
- More courses and curriculum offerings
- More tracking options with languages and courses offered in languages and math
- Way better facilities, night and day
- Way more sports, clubs, extracurriculars
- More diverse

What exactly does Copper offer that is better than DCI exactly? Maybe a little less tech, but it’s not like they are tech free.

We left a DCI feeder for 2nd street, and the draw for us were the smaller class sizes. All of my kid's classes at 2nd St. have had 18 or 19 kids in them. Everything I have heard from friends at DCI are that the classes have 24-28 kids in them. There are plenty of kids for whom that might not really matter, but it makes a big difference for my kid. We are sad to miss out on some of the things DCI has to offer, but it has absolutely been the right choice for us to move to Latin.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I d not see much advantage at all to Cooper over DCI.

DCI has

- More high performing cohort
- More courses and curriculum offerings
- More tracking options with languages and courses offered in languages and math
- Way better facilities, night and day
- Way more sports, clubs, extracurriculars
- More diverse

What exactly does Copper offer that is better than DCI exactly? Maybe a little less tech, but it’s not like they are tech free.

We left a DCI feeder for 2nd street, and the draw for us were the smaller class sizes. All of my kid's classes at 2nd St. have had 18 or 19 kids in them. Everything I have heard from friends at DCI are that the classes have 24-28 kids in them. There are plenty of kids for whom that might not really matter, but it makes a big difference for my kid. We are sad to miss out on some of the things DCI has to offer, but it has absolutely been the right choice for us to move to Latin.

This does not track with the class sizes described by my DCI middle schooler, perhaps high school classes run larger

[Anonymous]

Not sure DCI has a "more high performing cohort." I Didn't think DCI college acceptances were that great and their IB scores are mediocre.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not sure DCI has a "more high performing cohort." I Didn't think DCI college acceptances were that great and their IB scores are mediocre.

I’ve been following DCI.

Forget about Cooper. Let’s look at 2nd St. Yes, DCI has almost twice as many kids at/above grade level then 2nd St. in math and a little under that in ELA. That is a huge difference. I’m basing this on PARCC scores of 4 and above.

Latin high school - 382 kids
ELA 70% = 267 kids
Math 20% = 76 kids

Latin middle school - 384 kids
ELA 68% - 261 kids
math 53% - 203 kids

DCI 6-12th, no breakdown like latin with middle/high - 1600 kids
ELA 50% = 800 kids
Math 32% = 512 kids

TOTAL
Latin ELA - 538 kids, math 279 kids
DCI ELA - 800 kids, math 512 kids

Not only does DCI in raw numbers have a more high performing cohort of kids then Latin, but the kids at DCI are learning advance languages where Latin is basic 101. In addition, some of these kids are getting significantly less ELA instruction due to languages and still 1/2 of them are doing fine in ELA.

If you want to compare college acceptances then you need to look at both schools so I can’t comment on that. But DCI is getting kids into Ivy’s and the number for total scholarships in terms of money awarded to the class the other year was really high.

Lastly, what do you mean by mediocre and in what context? For a school that is not private and does not self select, their IB scores are impressive. They are in the middle and close to WIS which is 55k a year in this town.

[Anonymous]

Again, these conversations about scores etc. are silly. DCI is much larger, so yes, there will be a larger cohort of kids of any type (high performing, disruptive, low performing, etc.)

The schools are different. If you think Latin would benefit your kid and they are already fluent in Spanish, Latin is great. If your kid wants to keep taking social studies in Spanish, DCI is great.

If your kid likes class discussion and relationships with staff, Latin is great. If your kid thrives in a lecture format and is good at getting outside help when they need it, DCI is great.

Choose for your kid. Not for someone on the internet that needs to justify the choices they've made.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Again, these conversations about scores etc. are silly. DCI is much larger, so yes, there will be a larger cohort of kids of any type (high performing, disruptive, low performing, etc.)

The schools are different. If you think Latin would benefit your kid and they are already fluent in Spanish, Latin is great. If your kid wants to keep taking social studies in Spanish, DCI is great.

If your kid likes class discussion and relationships with staff, Latin is great. If your kid thrives in a lecture format and is good at getting outside help when they need it, DCI is great.

Choose for your kid. Not for someone on the internet that needs to justify the choices they've made.

I’m the PP above responding to a poster saying that they are not sure DCI has more of a high performing peer group. DCI does and the data proves it. My kid is not at DCI and I have no need to justify anything. But if you don’t like like objective data then that’s you but plenty of people do then believing some BS comment on an anonymous board.

The discussion was what exactly does Latin offer that is better then DCI?

How do you know DCI doesn’t have class discussions and relationships with staff when a previous poster pointed out that their kids class sizes are not larger then Latins?

How do you know that DCI classes are run on lecture format and kids get outside help? You don’t think teachers have classroom discussions or available to help students who need it in class or after class?

Making statements without actual experiences or data doesn’t give you much credibility. Scores and data may be “silly” to you but to many they are not and the most reliable, objective measure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Again, these conversations about scores etc. are silly. DCI is much larger, so yes, there will be a larger cohort of kids of any type (high performing, disruptive, low performing, etc.)

The schools are different. If you think Latin would benefit your kid and they are already fluent in Spanish, Latin is great. If your kid wants to keep taking social studies in Spanish, DCI is great.

If your kid likes class discussion and relationships with staff, Latin is great. If your kid thrives in a lecture format and is good at getting outside help when they need it, DCI is great.

Choose for your kid. Not for someone on the internet that needs to justify the choices they've made.

I’m the PP above responding to a poster saying that they are not sure DCI has more of a high performing peer group. DCI does and the data proves it. My kid is not at DCI and I have no need to justify anything. But if you don’t like like objective data then that’s you but plenty of people do then believing some BS comment on an anonymous board.

The discussion was what exactly does Latin offer that is better then DCI?

How do you know DCI doesn’t have class discussions and relationships with staff when a previous poster pointed out that their kids class sizes are not larger then Latins?

How do you know that DCI classes are run on lecture format and kids get outside help? You don’t think teachers have classroom discussions or available to help students who need it in class or after class?

Making statements without actual experiences or data doesn’t give you much credibility. Scores and data may be “silly” to you but to many they are not and the most reliable, objective measure.

When people say “more” of a high performing cohort, they may mean percentage wise not just raw numbers. I’d rather my kid be at a school with 70% of kids on grade level than one with 50% of kids on grade level all else being equal; I certainly wouldn’t describe the latter as having a more high performing cohort just because it’s bigger.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Again, these conversations about scores etc. are silly. DCI is much larger, so yes, there will be a larger cohort of kids of any type (high performing, disruptive, low performing, etc.)

The schools are different. If you think Latin would benefit your kid and they are already fluent in Spanish, Latin is great. If your kid wants to keep taking social studies in Spanish, DCI is great.

If your kid likes class discussion and relationships with staff, Latin is great. If your kid thrives in a lecture format and is good at getting outside help when they need it, DCI is great.

Choose for your kid. Not for someone on the internet that needs to justify the choices they've made.

I’m the PP above responding to a poster saying that they are not sure DCI has more of a high performing peer group. DCI does and the data proves it. My kid is not at DCI and I have no need to justify anything. But if you don’t like like objective data then that’s you but plenty of people do then believing some BS comment on an anonymous board.

The discussion was what exactly does Latin offer that is better then DCI?

How do you know DCI doesn’t have class discussions and relationships with staff when a previous poster pointed out that their kids class sizes are not larger then Latins?

How do you know that DCI classes are run on lecture format and kids get outside help? You don’t think teachers have classroom discussions or available to help students who need it in class or after class?

Making statements without actual experiences or data doesn’t give you much credibility. Scores and data may be “silly” to you but to many they are not and the most reliable, objective measure.

When people say “more” of a high performing cohort, they may mean percentage wise not just raw numbers. I’d rather my kid be at a school with 70% of kids on grade level than one with 50% of kids on grade level all else being equal; I certainly wouldn’t describe the latter as having a more high performing cohort just because it’s bigger.

100%. Unless you can track in all classes (which you can’t), percentages are far more important than raw numbers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Again, these conversations about scores etc. are silly. DCI is much larger, so yes, there will be a larger cohort of kids of any type (high performing, disruptive, low performing, etc.)

The schools are different. If you think Latin would benefit your kid and they are already fluent in Spanish, Latin is great. If your kid wants to keep taking social studies in Spanish, DCI is great.

If your kid likes class discussion and relationships with staff, Latin is great. If your kid thrives in a lecture format and is good at getting outside help when they need it, DCI is great.

Choose for your kid. Not for someone on the internet that needs to justify the choices they've made.

I’m the PP above responding to a poster saying that they are not sure DCI has more of a high performing peer group. DCI does and the data proves it. My kid is not at DCI and I have no need to justify anything. But if you don’t like like objective data then that’s you but plenty of people do then believing some BS comment on an anonymous board.

The discussion was what exactly does Latin offer that is better then DCI?

How do you know DCI doesn’t have class discussions and relationships with staff when a previous poster pointed out that their kids class sizes are not larger then Latins?

How do you know that DCI classes are run on lecture format and kids get outside help? You don’t think teachers have classroom discussions or available to help students who need it in class or after class?

Making statements without actual experiences or data doesn’t give you much credibility. Scores and data may be “silly” to you but to many they are not and the most reliable, objective measure.

When people say “more” of a high performing cohort, they may mean percentage wise not just raw numbers. I’d rather my kid be at a school with 70% of kids on grade level than one with 50% of kids on grade level all else being equal; I certainly wouldn’t describe the latter as having a more high performing cohort just because it’s bigger.

I would counter that all else is not equal though and that is the crux of the issue and why raw numbers matter much. BTW DCI also has about 30% more at risk kids then Latin.

Latin may have a higher percentage of students but they are too small to offer these students what DCI does. There is only so much you can do in a classroom with different ability levels for differentiation when you are not able to scale up and offer more courses and curriculum offerings and more tracking options.