Wilson for HS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Actually Wilson doesn't dilute the quality of education all that much, it's more two schools in one. The first time I heard the term "Yale or jail" was in reference to Wilson. It's used to describe schools with gaping achievement gaps.


And I rather a Yale or Colgate school for my child. thus I send them to private. Oh and I pay my DC taxes so I subsidize Wilson.

You're not understanding. Some Wilson grads do go to Yale. And Colgate, and Williams, and Amherst and so on. Every single year. A lot of them, actually.

These, however, would not be the Wilson grads with less than a 2.0 GPA.

Two different groups of teens. That makes some people on this board upset, that reality. Some people call people like me "racist" for pointing out this reality.

Don't get why people call you racist for this. I am AA and this is one of the reasons I am on the fence about Wilson because of the jail/Yale disparity. The whole two schools in one rubs me the wrong way even though I know my kids don't fall in the jail category.

[Anonymous]

Why not put this on the DC public school forum to get replies from folks who have experienced Wilson firsthand. Why would you think private school parents would know or have experience with Wilson?

[Anonymous]

The question was are current private school parents considering Wilson for HS, as I know many private school families transfer to public for high school. For example 40% or more of last year's freshmen class at School Without Walls (a DCPS magnet) came from local private schools. Faculty at my children's private send their kids to Wilson, etc...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Actually Wilson doesn't dilute the quality of education all that much, it's more two schools in one. The first time I heard the term "Yale or jail" was in reference to Wilson. It's used to describe schools with gaping achievement gaps.


And I rather a Yale or Colgate school for my child. thus I send them to private. Oh and I pay my DC taxes so I subsidize Wilson.

You're not understanding. Some Wilson grads do go to Yale. And Colgate, and Williams, and Amherst and so on. Every single year. A lot of them, actually.

These, however, would not be the Wilson grads with less than a 2.0 GPA.

Two different groups of teens. That makes some people on this board upset, that reality. Some people call people like me "racist" for pointing out this reality.

Don't get why people call you racist for this. I am AA and this is one of the reasons I am on the fence about Wilson because of the jail/Yale disparity. The whole two schools in one rubs me the wrong way even though I know my kids don't fall in the jail category.

And that's why I said I'd rather a Yale or Colgate school i.e. most privates. Every kid in the private is expected by their parents and the school to make it to a 4year college/university. Of course there are loafers at Prep or Sidwell. But the overall environment is one of learning and making sure kids go on to at least a large 4year state school. Even if its a maligned SEC school, I'd rather my kid be friends with kids going to Bama or Miss State than being in a class where a great bunch of them know they have no future (so unfortunate) and are very disruptive. The very nature of public school system thus makes it almost impossible to keep these kids out of the school or from influencing the culture of the school. I'm not here to argue about how to fix this, but it's a reality.

Do you think I'd rather shell out $30k a year on private high school or spend $30k a year on local DC businesses? A lot of us have been tempted to just move to the suburbs, but I love my neighborhood, and my home and so thus I pay the price to live here. It's almost like an extra tax if you will.

[Anonymous]

PP here. It ultimately depends on the child. I know my child would get too distracted at Wilson. That's my DC. We are not wealthy, not by any stretch, but private works much better for us. If my DC were a star athlete and had been recruited by Wilson, I would have considered it. =

OP, the school decision is so multivariate and relative, you really have to decide for yourself. I know you know that! For input, the best folks to ask are those who've transferred from private. The folks who have not cannot make the comparison.

[Anonymous]

From what I understand, there is major tracking at Wilson so your child, if a strong student, is probably not going to see much of the so-called disruptive, going nowhere kids (this is a very harsh assumption btw which I don't really like). I am not sure you can know that your child would be distracted and not succeed at Wilson without really visiting and looking at it closely. Maybe you have done this, but in my experience, many parents go on hearsay and not on the reality.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"demanding a lions share of resources for Ward 3 schools generally doesn't turn you off at all?"

Actually, the Ward 3 schools get far, far less per pupil than most other schools in DCPS.

Don't blind them with facts. The view is that ward3 schools perform better because they receive more money which isn't true. They perform better due to parental involvement.

Somewhat less -- not "far,far less" than other DCPS schools. Three reasons: a school with a high population of poor kids is eligible for additional federal funding and will have to provide additional services not needed at an affluent school, Ward 3 schools have economies of scale, and they haven't dealt with the high rates of teacher turnover (which is really costly).

Where the real difference comes in is facilities and spending has been significantly higher and more comprehensive in Wards 2 and 3 than in the other wards. See, e.g. http://www.21csf.org/csf-home/DocUploads/DataShop/DS_274.pdf

The "we get less when in fact we deserve more because we're better parents" refrain in Ward 3 is never-ending (and pretty insufferable). It's not a situation where having affluent kids in the public schools raises standards systemwide. Too often, it's a zero-sum game and Ward 3 provides support and cover from policies that are destroying public education in other neighborhoods.

[Anonymous]

I go to School without walls, which has quite a few parents (especially in freshmen and sophomore classes) who believe SWW should be more like a private school and be more 'selective' (AKA only accept students who come from well-off families who can spend thousends on fancy tutors, etc). Going to eastern high just as visiters has really shown me just how stuck up those people were. People took their teens out of school for today and tomarrow because they were scared of interaction with the 'other side' of life, and quite a few were dropped off literally right in front of the School Without walls entrance RIGHT at 8:30 and then picked up right there exactly at 3:15. People are scared of letting their kids see the world as it is, and that is going to be our downfall as a nation.

My suggestion: let your kid choose, if money really isnt an issue for you. When he is old enough, let him make the choice, lay out the pros and cons of private and public school, and accept what he wants. If he goes into it wanted to go to public school, he will have a MUCH better experience, and if he goes in not wanting to go to public at all, he will hate it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't blind them with facts. The view is that ward3 schools perform better because they receive more money which isn't true. They perform better due to parental involvement.

why is everyone always mentioning the magical parental involvement?
Those sending their kids to fancy privates would never send kid to one of the ghetto schools believing he/she would be an outstanding student because of parental involvement
They send their kids to privates because a school environment and facilities and class size and teacher qualifications and operating budget really does make a difference. And no amount of parental involvement can make up for that

[Anonymous]

21:22 Interesting post, but how do you know for a fact that these parents think this about SWW? Or are you assuming this, based on snobbism of your own? I'm just saying ... Great point that the student has to be on board. My child wanted to transfer to public this year for high school. In the end the reasons were not compelling enough, mainly social.

[Anonymous]

That post about parents keeping kids out of school rather than allowing them to attend Eastern is appalling! In fact it should be in the news. My kids attended a very diverse (not W3) DCPS for years and transferred to a private MS where they hang out with other formerly public school kids, and note that many private "lifers" are impossibly snobby. I wonder if it's mostly parents from W3 or kids who have been in private until SWW that are the most offensive? Sounds like the families at SWW are setting their kids up for a very divided and perniciously toxic learning environment down the road.

[Anonymous]

11:24 It is from a student who seems to be able to read parents' minds. It might be true but then again, we really do not know. Maybe the commute was too tricky for working parents and they opted out?

[Anonymous]

The commute was too hectic 15:05. I think most high school kids are getting to school without the assitance of mommie and daddies dropoff. There is a subway a few blocks from Eastern. It's called Stadium Armory just in case you have never travelled beyond 14th Street, NW

[Anonymous]

The "we get less when in fact we deserve more because we're better parents" refrain in Ward 3 is never-ending (and pretty insufferable). It's not a situation where having affluent kids in the public schools raises standards systemwide. Too often, it's a zero-sum game and Ward 3 provides support and cover from policies that are destroying public education in other neighborhoods.

Where did you read that on this thread? Yes, there may be some folks who think that, but I don't think that was from posters in this thread.

We are in private. Our kids may end up as lifers. I struggle with it a lot. But the onus is on me to teach me children about the world. Tonight we may talk about the phrase "bus them in".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I go to School without walls, which has quite a few parents (especially in freshmen and sophomore classes) who believe SWW should be more like a private school and be more 'selective' (AKA only accept students who come from well-off families who can spend thousends on fancy tutors, etc). Going to eastern high just as visiters has really shown me just how stuck up those people were. People took their teens out of school for today and tomarrow because they were scared of interaction with the 'other side' of life, and quite a few were dropped off literally right in front of the School Without walls entrance RIGHT at 8:30 and then picked up right there exactly at 3:15. People are scared of letting their kids see the world as it is, and that is going to be our downfall as a nation.

My suggestion: let your kid choose, if money really isnt an issue for you. When he is old enough, let him make the choice, lay out the pros and cons of private and public school, and accept what he wants. If he goes into it wanted to go to public school, he will have a MUCH better experience, and if he goes in not wanting to go to public at all, he will hate it.

Hi Walls Poster,

I grew up in DC sneaking in to Tracks nightclub in SE or SW (Where was it?) at 14 with terrible IDs (where were the authorities?), working in neighborhoods as a young adult in which the parks had nicknames like "Murder Park" -- for the executions that were so commonplace in them. Having seen what I've seen, you'd better believe if I ever have any doubt about my child's safety I would drop them off and pick them up. It's not the majority of kids at Eastern; it's the fact that my kid is pretty clueless as I expect some of the Walls kids you reference are. Violence can happen anywhere, but statistically, some neighborhoods in DC are plain more dangerous than others. It sucks, but it is what it is. What I've learned in life is that if you look like you know what you're doing, you can probably skirt through safely. If you skirt in disoriented, you might as well paint a big ol' target on you. Your thoughts?

As to Wilson, 2 schools in one. Was treated to a group of Wilson student rapping across the street from McDonald's at school let out. Every other word a loud cuss word. M++ this, M, s** that, top of the lungs. Must be the pride of the school. Cahall should tell all kids to pull up their pants, and that maintaining a B- average to remain in an Academy is nothing to write home about. Wilson looks like a great school, and instead of accepting a yale or jail split, this gym teacher turned principal should find a way to reach and motivate those kids to not take such obvious, glowing pride in being future bottom-feeders. They could all reach the top, with the resources Wison has--even if it is one of the lowest/funded schools in the District. It has a strong community, and this community should take action to pull up these kids.