Are we all fooling ourselves?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes we are fooling ourselves if we thing our kid is getting the best in a class filled with 25 other students....over and over again it is shown that smaller class sizes are better. We are getting good but not the best. The only way it would be better is based on class size and it is not happening. My kid is doing fine but don't think for a moment that he would do even better in a smaller class that can differentiate! It is how it is and why the folks pay the big bucks.

Are you including charters in your assessment? Our charter only has 22 kids and at least 3 teachers/aids in each class.

[Anonymous]

There are so many places worse off- much of the rust belt struggles. My friend in Idaho was salavating when she came to visit and saw my school in Northwest. No DCPS schools don't compete with super well off comparisons like privates, parts of Fairfax and Montgomery or other well off jurisdication. But if you are in the sliver in Ward 3 your kids are getting a solid education. I would not say that going further east. Lots of reason, but many of them the same as in Cleveland, Philly, Detroit and LA- impoverished starts are hard to make up for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes we are fooling ourselves if we thing our kid is getting the best in a class filled with 25 other students....over and over again it is shown that smaller class sizes are better. We are getting good but not the best. The only way it would be better is based on class size and it is not happening. My kid is doing fine but don't think for a moment that he would do even better in a smaller class that can differentiate! It is how it is and why the folks pay the big bucks.

+1! If DC is one of 25 (6,7, ...) and s/he's weak in reading, S/he'll more likely get overlooked for an even weaker classmate. Conversely, if s/he is strong in math, there most likely won't be time to give him/her more advanced work.

What school has 25+ kids in a class? Only one teacher? Which grade?

The biggest class we ever had was 19 students and two teachers at a charter.

[Anonymous]

The fact that Wilson, Walls, and Banneker are the "best" the city has to offer speaks volumes . . . .

[Anonymous]

Baltimore is pretty awful. I have a friend who teaches there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The fact that Wilson, Walls, and Banneker are the "best" the city has to offer speaks volumes . . . .

Why? I know two kids from Wilson who went to Yale, and I'm sure many more are at great schools too. And some Walls kids at Columbia, and probably also at other good colleges. Our nation's top universities appear to disagree with you.

Signed, MoCo mom

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes we are fooling ourselves if we thing our kid is getting the best in a class filled with 25 other students....over and over again it is shown that smaller class sizes are better. We are getting good but not the best. The only way it would be better is based on class size and it is not happening. My kid is doing fine but don't think for a moment that he would do even better in a smaller class that can differentiate! It is how it is and why the folks pay the big bucks.

+1! If DC is one of 25 (6,7, ...) and s/he's weak in reading, S/he'll more likely get overlooked for an even weaker classmate. Conversely, if s/he is strong in math, there most likely won't be time to give him/her more advanced work.

What school has 25+ kids in a class? Only one teacher? Which grade?

The biggest class we ever had was 19 students and two teachers at a charter.

Um, a lot of schools have more kids than that per class. I know several dcps kindergarten classes with close to 30 kids - some of the most sought after schools as well as the less desirable ones.

[Anonymous]

I have friends/coworkers with kids in Fairfax county and Montgomery county as well as NYC schools that complain about class size, i.e., 28+ kids in class with 1 teacher. I think their kids will be fine. I think class size is not that big if a factor if the majority of the class is high SES.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:About DCPS? Its still the worst school system in the country, right?

You must live in the suburbs - or be the rare DCUMer who sends their kids to a terrible school.

DC has some of the worst schools in the country. But I doubt many people on this board attend those schools.

The schools most DCUMers kids attend? WOTP, up-and-coming EOTP schools, Wilson, Walls...those are all fine. Your kids can go there and do great.

Looking at a school system is a useful construct, but tells nothing about an individuals school and family situation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:About DCPS? Its still the worst school system in the country, right?

You must live in the suburbs - or be the rare DCUMer who sends their kids to a terrible school.

DC has some of the worst schools in the country. But I doubt many people on this board attend those schools.

The schools most DCUMers kids attend? WOTP, up-and-coming EOTP schools, Wilson, Walls...those are all fine. Your kids can go there and do great.

Looking at a school system is a useful construct, but tells nothing about an individuals school and family situation.

+100

Very true. It's unlikely this the OP lives in DC. We go to a great school. Unfortunately, there is a huge disparity between schools DCUMs send their kids to and ones that the vast majority of kids attend.

[Anonymous]

I'm the PP who posted about top DCPS students not getting the college counseling they need. If I had kids in DCPS, or Latin or BASIS, who were elite college material, had some money to spare (maybe 1K), and didn't know much about playing the Ivy League admissions game in 2014, I'd absolutely invest in a first-rate college private college counselor. And I'd hire them before senior year. Search on-line - there are many services, most provided remotely. You want your kid doing mock Ivy League interviews with the counselor.

You also want your kid to get involved in unusual extra curriculars early, without worrying about being "well-rounded." Being well lopsided works better these days. If the kid chooses extra-curriculars that aren't unusual, participating at the regional, national or international level is important. Also, he or she should take the SATs as many times as necessary to crack at least 700 on each section, and at least 7 or 8 AP tests with all 4s and 5s on the exams. Wilson's guidance counselors don't seem to have hit on the concept of students preparing for one or two AP tests via self study, particularly the social studies and math tests, not uncommon in the burbs. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm the PP who posted about top DCPS students not getting the college counseling they need. If I had kids in DCPS, or Latin or BASIS, who were elite college material, had some money to spare (maybe 1K), and didn't know much about playing the Ivy League admissions game in 2014, I'd absolutely invest in a first-rate college private college counselor. And I'd hire them before senior year. Search on-line - there are many services, most provided remotely. You want your kid doing mock Ivy League interviews with the counselor.

You also want your kid to get involved in unusual extra curriculars early, without worrying about being "well-rounded." Being well lopsided works better these days. If the kid chooses extra-curriculars that aren't unusual, participating at the regional, national or international level is important. Also, he or she should take the SATs as many times as necessary to crack at least 700 on each section, and at least 7 or 8 AP tests with all 4s and 5s on the exams. Wilson's guidance counselors don't seem to have hit on the concept of students preparing for one or two AP tests via self study, particularly the social studies and math tests, not uncommon in the burbs. Good luck.

If you can't have a meaningful say in creating a neighborhood school, then yes you are fooling yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm the PP who posted about top DCPS students not getting the college counseling they need. If I had kids in DCPS, or Latin or BASIS, who were elite college material, had some money to spare (maybe 1K), and didn't know much about playing the Ivy League admissions game in 2014, I'd absolutely invest in a first-rate college private college counselor. And I'd hire them before senior year. Search on-line - there are many services, most provided remotely. You want your kid doing mock Ivy League interviews with the counselor.

You also want your kid to get involved in unusual extra curriculars early, without worrying about being "well-rounded." Being well lopsided works better these days. If the kid chooses extra-curriculars that aren't unusual, participating at the regional, national or international level is important. Also, he or she should take the SATs as many times as necessary to crack at least 700 on each section, and at least 7 or 8 AP tests with all 4s and 5s on the exams. Wilson's guidance counselors don't seem to have hit on the concept of students preparing for one or two AP tests via self study, particularly the social studies and math tests, not uncommon in the burbs. Good luck.

This is great feedback, thanks!

I'm curious about what "unusual" extra curriculars are?

Here are some things that come to mind for me. Are these are on the right track?

* Chess
* Debate
* Harp
* Ice Staking
* Tennis

I really have no idea what is unusual. What are the most unusual extra curriculars you've seen at Ivy's.

I am very curious. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

You are fooling yourselves.

DCPS is pretty bad, but not for the reasons you think.

It's not the test scores that matter, but the generally weak curriculum, which is high octane on skills but anemic on content.

If you're looking for a curriculum that is rich in humanities, history, literature, you're not going to get that at any DCPS school, WOTP, EOTP, whatever. It's all the same lousy curriculum, heavily based on Common Core Standards, which, if you've actually read them, you would know how incredibly awful they are.

I know. I use them everyday.

Test scores are a distraction.

When your kids go to your precious Ivy, they will feel inferior, because, compared to students who attended good private schools that have excellent curricula, your kids won't know as much.

Take that to David Catania.

[Anonymous]

FCPS is a mess also, but most kids seem to do fairly well. FCPS is able to maintain their high national ranking not because of the quality of classroom instruction, but because of parental involvement.

Whether it's DCPS or FCPS, if your child's education begins and ends at the schoolhouse door your child is going to be woefully underserved.

Children learn as much over the dinner table as they do in the classroom.