Deciding whether to try for latin

[Anonymous]

there were almost no non-siblings who got lottery spots at latins this year. maybe open house with your child. but otherwise save your mental energy for after you get a spot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sorry but people are just naive if you think just sending your kid to failing school will make it better. It doesn’t and why families start leaving DCPS.

The education gap is too wide. All focus and resources are directed to the bottom. The your kid will be fine attitude is prevalent even if they are bored in school and not learning much.

Everything is about equity and lowering standards. Just look at honors for all at JR and the change in admissions standards at Walls. That is the direction it is going and has been for a long time. Now the ELA curriculum has kids just reading excerpts and the amplify curriculum is terrible and kids will gain less skills and knowledge.

Is there anyone here who can provide background on Amplify, and why it’s getting business from DC schools when I keep hearing parent AND TEACHER feedback that the content is a joke? We’re enrolled at a charter that’s switching to their ELA curriculum and are headed to DCPS (for other reasons), so know less about the ELA side but have seen some of the Science and well … people aren’t kidding.

[Anonymous]

PP - what’s science actually like at Latin?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry but people are just naive if you think just sending your kid to failing school will make it better. It doesn’t and why families start leaving DCPS.

The education gap is too wide. All focus and resources are directed to the bottom. The your kid will be fine attitude is prevalent even if they are bored in school and not learning much.

Everything is about equity and lowering standards. Just look at honors for all at JR and the change in admissions standards at Walls. That is the direction it is going and has been for a long time. Now the ELA curriculum has kids just reading excerpts and the amplify curriculum is terrible and kids will gain less skills and knowledge.

Is there anyone here who can provide background on Amplify, and why it’s getting business from DC schools when I keep hearing parent AND TEACHER feedback that the content is a joke? We’re enrolled at a charter that’s switching to their ELA curriculum and are headed to DCPS (for other reasons), so know less about the ELA side but have seen some of the Science and well … people aren’t kidding.

Amplify gets good ratings on EdReports which may school district use across the country to decide whether curriculum is "high quality". It's being used in districts across the country - New York City, California districts, Chicago, etc.
https://edreports.org/reports/overview/amplify-science-2022

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry but people are just naive if you think just sending your kid to failing school will make it better. It doesn’t and why families start leaving DCPS.

The education gap is too wide. All focus and resources are directed to the bottom. The your kid will be fine attitude is prevalent even if they are bored in school and not learning much.

Everything is about equity and lowering standards. Just look at honors for all at JR and the change in admissions standards at Walls. That is the direction it is going and has been for a long time. Now the ELA curriculum has kids just reading excerpts and the amplify curriculum is terrible and kids will gain less skills and knowledge.

Is there anyone here who can provide background on Amplify, and why it’s getting business from DC schools when I keep hearing parent AND TEACHER feedback that the content is a joke? We’re enrolled at a charter that’s switching to their ELA curriculum and are headed to DCPS (for other reasons), so know less about the ELA side but have seen some of the Science and well … people aren’t kidding.

Amplify gets good ratings on EdReports which may school district use across the country to decide whether curriculum is "high quality". It's being used in districts across the country - New York City, California districts, Chicago, etc.
https://edreports.org/reports/overview/amplify-science-2022

You can’t be serious PP by linking to an edtech site who of course is biased. Who do you think knows better? Edtech people or actual science teachers who are the ones raising the alarms?

PP who questioned amplify. See link below.

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1274834.page

[Anonymous]

DCPS is just getting worse and worse. And people here seem to be content to bury their heads in the sand. I remember thinking JR would be a great backup for my kids and the goal would be Walls. We literally declined a Walls spot today because I just don’t trust dcps. It’s really frightening how quickly things are degrading and how little parents seem to notice. Very subpar science curriculum, poor ELA curriculum, really below standard math offerings- and yet I see parents defending this approach over and over again. I’m genuinely t worried.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DCPS is just getting worse and worse. And people here seem to be content to bury their heads in the sand. I remember thinking JR would be a great backup for my kids and the goal would be Walls. We literally declined a Walls spot today because I just don’t trust dcps. It’s really frightening how quickly things are degrading and how little parents seem to notice. Very subpar science curriculum, poor ELA curriculum, really below standard math offerings- and yet I see parents defending this approach over and over again. I’m genuinely t worried.

I’m PP who asked about Amplify and am having the opposite experience re: parents defending it. With exception of ECE, most people I’ve talked to have expressed somewhere between concern, defeat, anger, and the like — they are noticing. Maybe what we need is better channels to advocate for better … I don’t know. I’m sure many have tried many things in past. Our kid is younger and we are not feeling good about this journey. We also don’t have 60k a year to seek out private school spots that may be better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCPS is just getting worse and worse. And people here seem to be content to bury their heads in the sand. I remember thinking JR would be a great backup for my kids and the goal would be Walls. We literally declined a Walls spot today because I just don’t trust dcps. It’s really frightening how quickly things are degrading and how little parents seem to notice. Very subpar science curriculum, poor ELA curriculum, really below standard math offerings- and yet I see parents defending this approach over and over again. I’m genuinely t worried.

I’m PP who asked about Amplify and am having the opposite experience re: parents defending it. With exception of ECE, most people I’ve talked to have expressed somewhere between concern, defeat, anger, and the like — they are noticing. Maybe what we need is better channels to advocate for better … I don’t know. I’m sure many have tried many things in past. Our kid is younger and we are not feeling good about this journey. We also don’t have 60k a year to seek out private school spots that may be better.

Amplify has unfortunately been adopted by public school systems all over the country (i think in all 50 states). Not in private nor charter schools. I think edtech generally (with amplify as an example) is going to drive down the quality of traditional public schools everywhere. Awful.

[Anonymous]

You should certainly not apply. Your performative nonsense and posturing are way more important that the quality of your kid's education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCPS is just getting worse and worse. And people here seem to be content to bury their heads in the sand. I remember thinking JR would be a great backup for my kids and the goal would be Walls. We literally declined a Walls spot today because I just don’t trust dcps. It’s really frightening how quickly things are degrading and how little parents seem to notice. Very subpar science curriculum, poor ELA curriculum, really below standard math offerings- and yet I see parents defending this approach over and over again. I’m genuinely t worried.

I’m PP who asked about Amplify and am having the opposite experience re: parents defending it. With exception of ECE, most people I’ve talked to have expressed somewhere between concern, defeat, anger, and the like — they are noticing. Maybe what we need is better channels to advocate for better … I don’t know. I’m sure many have tried many things in past. Our kid is younger and we are not feeling good about this journey. We also don’t have 60k a year to seek out private school spots that may be better.

I am in the same boat as you. I don’t know what to do. I have some time and money to spend on supplementation but I’m furious that I have to spend my time and money to do what I can to help my children. It bugs me that charter schools are my only hope and i don’t really like them either!

[Anonymous]

Even if the charters were fantastic options, that hope is so slim looking at these numbers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like OP is against school choice for others, but ok with it the minute it would benefit her kid.

And ignorant enough not to have anticipated that her high minded stance might feel different when it came to her own DCs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like OP is against school choice for others, but ok with it the minute it would benefit her kid.

And ignorant enough not to have anticipated that her high minded stance might feel different when it came to her own DCs.

This. We all have our limits. And it was foreseeable that OP's kids would grow older!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Next year we will have a 4th grader. We are at an east of the park elementary (not capital hill) and have been reasonably happy with our experience. Our child is learning well and happy with school. We have neighbors that have had good experiences at our zoned middle and have landed happily at application DCPS HS’s. That said we also have many friends who have already left our elementary for deal/Hardy feeder DCPS elementary schools and charters (mostly bilingual charters).

In general I am not a fan of charter schools and want to avoid opting out of DCPS in the anticipation of issues like I see so many other families do. I think many schools are amazing individually but have issues with their cumulative impact on the larger system. I believe our local schools would be stronger if everyone was invested in the inbound schools. I would not keep my child at a school not meeting their needs but am not interested in stressing over optimizing their experience by finding the absolute best school.

All that said doing the lottery for 5th grade at Latin is tempting. Both campuses would be reasonable commutes. Not as easy as our inbound but not onerous. I also know our chances of getting in are low and dislike the idea of getting my kid or myself excited about the possibility only to be 200 on the waitlist. That said I also don’t yet know enough about the details of Latin beyond reputation to make an informed decision.

So do I ignore Latin and keep sticking with DCPS unless my kid starts having a bad experience. Throw Latin into the lottery and only get more info if we get in (will we have enough time to learn enough about the school between getting in and needing to decide). Or do we learn about Latin and try to make an informed decision before the lottery and run the risk of falling in love with something we likely can’t have?

To me, the two bolded lines point to this approach: Next year, do a serious investigation of your inbound middle school. Not just "I know families who like it." Do a bunch of research, go to an open house during school hours. Put out a call on a neighborhood listserv for people who have sent kids, and take them out for coffee to hear their experiences. Look for both people who are happy overall, and people who are unhappy overall (or who have left).

Basically, dig deep and determine if your inbound school seems like it will work. If you're happy with what you learn and it feels like your kids can do well there, then your question is answered - you don't want to opt out, you have no reason to opt out, so go to your IB. If you find yourself really questioning whether that school can meet your child's needs, then you lottery (and you should probably expand your search beyond just Latin).

[Anonymous]

I was pro-DCPS all through elementary school and up until April of the month we did the middle school charter lottery, got a spot at BASIS, and had a candid conversation with a DCPS middle school teacher who told me straight-up to take the BASIS spot because her DCPS did not meet the needs of advanced students. she wanted to, but the structure of the curriculum, her inabiity to fail students, her principal all kept her from adding enrichment and appropriate instruction for advanced students.

She was really unequivocal and I made my decision immediately after that conversation. She also said getting a seat at BASIS is like getting a prep school education for free, which I think it true about Latin as well. I'm very, very glad we took the spot.

I'm sure I trash talked charters when my kids were young. But the middle school ecosystem in DC is very different than elementary. I recommend doing some research and allowing yourself some grace to change your mind.