Private school to Janney

[Anonymous]

I am a very happy parent of a 3rd grader at Janney. First grade was our least satisfying year. My 3rd grader would be considered advanced in any third grade classroom and is challenged and engaged in her class.

Janney is a welcoming community and it is a great school. It is not private school.

Given all that has been written about Janney on this forum, I do not think you are going to get much more that is useful to your specific child without visiting the school and talking with the principal.

[Anonymous]

ok! good to know. will do more research on deal!

[Anonymous]

how is everyone so sure there kid would be "advanced" in other school systems, not just DC? this is an honest question. I am seriously considering staying in a wotp feeder pattern for the long haul, but not convinced with all these parents who seem so self assured if their kid was in FCPS or MCPS, for example, they would be "advanced." DC CAS cannot honestly be that challenging, so being advanced by that is not super convincing IMO. Not challenging the notion there are bright children at Janney, just how do you know how they honestly compare to other school districts, not just other DCPS?

[Anonymous]

pp. one way to know is the NAEP scores at national standardized tests. For several years white students in DCPS have outscored all other white students in participating cities.

First chart in this link shows the scores for white students - 8th graders.
http://educationnext.org/dcps-and-tuda/

And actually your informaiton about DC-CAS is a little incorrect - it was built of off a very rigorous test that is administered in Massachusetts. The bottom line is that DCPS works for some students - the problem is that it has a dismal record for other students.

[Anonymous]

thanks PP, super helpful! clearly i need to educate myself more, but appreciate these points. i am thankful you gave me a real response and not something snarky. sincerely, thanks and have a great weekend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:how is everyone so sure there kid would be "advanced" in other school systems, not just DC? this is an honest question. I am seriously considering staying in a wotp feeder pattern for the long haul, but not convinced with all these parents who seem so self assured if their kid was in FCPS or MCPS, for example, they would be "advanced." DC CAS cannot honestly be that challenging, so being advanced by that is not super convincing IMO. Not challenging the notion there are bright children at Janney, just how do you know how they honestly compare to other school districts, not just other DCPS?

I use the phrase advanced as synonymous with academically gifted. I had my child tested when my child was younger at a time when we were considering private school (and no, we did not "prep" for the testing). That is how I know. It has been born out in the development of my child's abilities over the years. My child's scores on the DC-CAS also bear this out, but that is not what my assessment is based on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:how is everyone so sure there kid would be "advanced" in other school systems, not just DC? this is an honest question. I am seriously considering staying in a wotp feeder pattern for the long haul, but not convinced with all these parents who seem so self assured if their kid was in FCPS or MCPS, for example, they would be "advanced." DC CAS cannot honestly be that challenging, so being advanced by that is not super convincing IMO. Not challenging the notion there are bright children at Janney, just how do you know how they honestly compare to other school districts, not just other DCPS?

I use the phrase advanced as synonymous with academically gifted. I had my child tested when my child was younger at a time when we were considering private school (and no, we did not "prep" for the testing). That is how I know. It has been born out in the development of my child's abilities over the years. My child's scores on the DC-CAS also bear this out, but that is not what my assessment is based on.

I thought most kids with well educated parents score highly on the preschool private testing, no? like most kids in the mid 90s or higher?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:how is everyone so sure there kid would be "advanced" in other school systems, not just DC? this is an honest question. I am seriously considering staying in a wotp feeder pattern for the long haul, but not convinced with all these parents who seem so self assured if their kid was in FCPS or MCPS, for example, they would be "advanced." DC CAS cannot honestly be that challenging, so being advanced by that is not super convincing IMO. Not challenging the notion there are bright children at Janney, just how do you know how they honestly compare to other school districts, not just other DCPS?

I use the phrase advanced as synonymous with academically gifted. I had my child tested when my child was younger at a time when we were considering private school (and no, we did not "prep" for the testing). That is how I know. It has been born out in the development of my child's abilities over the years. My child's scores on the DC-CAS also bear this out, but that is not what my assessment is based on.

I thought most kids with well educated parents score highly on the preschool private testing, no? like most kids in the mid 90s or higher?

i don't know about preschool private testing, but I think the DCCAS is crap. I have 2 kids at very different academic levels who have both been scoring 100% for years. And I don't know what gifted means. They are smart. At our jKLM (not Janney) education goes DOWNHILL after 3rd. Not kidding. We wish we had been at Janney, but have oldest in a great charter now and are preparing our other kid beforehand at home for the charter b/c it starts in fifth.

[Anonymous]

PP, which JKLM goes downhill after 3rd?

[Anonymous]

"how is everyone so sure there kid would be "advanced" in other school systems, not just DC? this is an honest question. I am seriously considering staying in a wotp feeder pattern for the long haul, but not convinced with all these parents who seem so self assured if their kid was in FCPS or MCPS, for example, they would be "advanced." DC CAS cannot honestly be that challenging, so being advanced by that is not super convincing IMO. Not challenging the notion there are bright children at Janney, just how do you know how they honestly compare to other school districts, not just other DCPS?"

When I said that my kid tests several grade levels ahead, I meant on standardize intelligence/cognitive tests given by educational psychologists and developmental specialists, tests that are used nationally. My kid tends to test around the 95%, which puts him probably around the top 1/3 or 1/4 of his class at Janney, but certainly does not make him standout. I think this is pretty common for any high-performing, high-SES school, whether in DCPS or burbs. As I was told, scoring 95% nationally is really like 80% in the DMV.

In any event, I don't believe G&T programs are necessary except for those really smart, top 1% kids (and perhaps a few quirky learner types), especially in grades 3-8. I believe that tracking and differentiation can challenge the majority of kids, and that the G&T programs in Fairfax and MoCo have gotten out of control because parents are obsessed with pushing their kids. So I don't think DCPS students suffer by not having a G&T program, at least if they are at a functional school with caring teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP, which JKLM goes downhill after 3rd?

Don't take much from this statement. There is always someone who is disappointed, no matter what.

In this case, the poster is probably frustrated that Key and Mann particularly see more of an exodus in later years (between 4th and 5th mainly). For Key and Mann, most parents do not believe the current Hardy setup meets their needs. There is good reason to expect this frustration to be temporary however. The new principal has been working very closely with in-bounds parents to adjust the curriculum to suit the needs of IB students (who tend to be much better prepared, both academically and in terms of behavior). You should expect to see changes to the language and math (I think) curricula this summer, with changes to other curricula following next year. The parents involved with this process are reportedly pleased with the progress being made and the receptiveness of the principal and DCPS. (I'm not one of the parents involved, so I cannot report anything more than second-hand.) Even though it doesn't matter to us (apart from property values), I'd put good money on Hardy being a destination middle school (akin to Deal) within a few years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"how is everyone so sure there kid would be "advanced" in other school systems, not just DC? this is an honest question. I am seriously considering staying in a wotp feeder pattern for the long haul, but not convinced with all these parents who seem so self assured if their kid was in FCPS or MCPS, for example, they would be "advanced." DC CAS cannot honestly be that challenging, so being advanced by that is not super convincing IMO. Not challenging the notion there are bright children at Janney, just how do you know how they honestly compare to other school districts, not just other DCPS?"

When I said that my kid tests several grade levels ahead, I meant on standardize intelligence/cognitive tests given by educational psychologists and developmental specialists, tests that are used nationally. My kid tends to test around the 95%, which puts him probably around the top 1/3 or 1/4 of his class at Janney, but certainly does not make him standout. I think this is pretty common for any high-performing, high-SES school, whether in DCPS or burbs. As I was told, scoring 95% nationally is really like 80% in the DMV.

In any event, I don't believe G&T programs are necessary except for those really smart, top 1% kids (and perhaps a few quirky learner types), especially in grades 3-8. I believe that tracking and differentiation can challenge the majority of kids, and that the G&T programs in Fairfax and MoCo have gotten out of control because parents are obsessed with pushing their kids. So I don't think DCPS students suffer by not having a G&T program, at least if they are at a functional school with caring teachers.

I share this opinion about the need (or lack thereof) for a special G&T program in grades 3 through 8 when there is good differentiation at a school. My children are not "profoundly" gifted such that they cannot be served by good differentiation. I would be supportive of the idea that a profoundly gifted child could be entitled to an IEP that would support private school if their needs could not be met, but that would be a private school specializing in meeting the needs of such children, not a run of the mill fancy DC private along the lines of NCS, Georgetown Day, Sidwell, etc. I do not think such children are as common as people think, I am speaking of the types of kids that are academically ready for college at 12.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If they are truly accelerated, you could move just across MoCo border and get a better education. Kids not in school yet, but if my kid was really above grade level, I'd do it in a heartbeat no natter how much I love DC and city living.

Yes, and that would be idiotic. Janney is beyond anything in moco and AU Park is a dream neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

When I said that my kid tests several grade levels ahead, I meant on standardize intelligence/cognitive tests given by educational psychologists and developmental specialists, tests that are used nationally. My kid tends to test around the 95%, which puts him probably around the top 1/3 or 1/4 of his class at Janney, but certainly does not make him standout. I think this is pretty common for any high-performing, high-SES school, whether in DCPS or burbs. As I was told, scoring 95% nationally is really like 80% in the DMV.

I find this fascinating as a private school parent of a 4th grader in DC, who has taken only one intelligence test in his life (WPPSI).

Keeping in mind that Janney only goes to 5th grade ... why do you keep having your child take standardized intelligence testS? (multiple times, am copying your plural use of the word). Is that common?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If they are truly accelerated, you could move just across MoCo border and get a better education. Kids not in school yet, but if my kid was really above grade level, I'd do it in a heartbeat no natter how much I love DC and city living.

Yes, and that would be idiotic. Janney is beyond anything in moco and AU Park is a dream neighborhood.

What do you mean Janney is beyond MoCo? By what standard? Sure, the parents are likely equally highly educated as those in MoCo, but what makes Janney actually better? By educational standards, not housing stock. The school itself. Am interested in a sincere response.