Do Deal best students go to SWW or Banneker instead of Wilson?

[Anonymous]

The best students from across the city are recruited for SWW and Banneker...do remember that the top middle-school Kelly Miller was sending mores students to SWW, Banneker, Ellington than any other high-school. As for diversity more whites attend Wilson than the application high-schools.

[Anonymous]

parent of a Walls junior here. I second what PP's said -- it's more about the fit than the level. In my DS's Deal cohort, several very brilliant and talented kids went to Wilson. Many of my DS's very bright friends went to Walls. Those were the more nerdy kids. Walls has no EC to speak of.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I inquired with my daughter last night and she told me something which I found very interesting and wanted to share (disclaimer: this is a report from 15 year old girl, who thought about this issue for no more than 3 minutes):
- The brightest students from her class distributed more or less equally between Wilson and SWW. A smaller number went to Banneker.
- She said that on average "nerds" went to SWW, the cool/sporty ones went to Wilson.
- She said that on average white kids had a more positive attitude towards Wilson, while black high performing students wanted to go to SWW. I asked if she could think of a reason for this, she said that she herself (as mixed race and advanced student) was tired of having to share classes and be associated with black troubled students, and that's one of the reasons she was so vocal at home in not wanting to go to Wilson.

So to sum up, and according to my daughter (who is not at any of the mentioned schools now) , bright Deal kids go to either Wilson or SWW depending on whether they are cool or nerds (good luck with the definition) , and on their race, with black students less inclined to continue at Wilson if they can opt for SWW and Banneker.

Please do not make me regret I posted this. No racist comments or jokes please.

This is interesting. I have an AA son and we are choosing b/t private and Wilson. Wilson is actually a better choice for him, but he is a little afraid. He is an 8th grader at Deal. Most of the white kids are going to Wilson and most of the black kids are going to Walls or private. It's not because they are so smart that they want to go to private.

Given your explanation, I wonder if SJC is a more popular choice with Deal's AAs than Deal's whites. Totally makes sense from the perspective you shared, but it does really suck that AA families feel they must make that calculation. (Along with everything else about racial biases that sucks).

I'm an educated AA with a kid at Deal. Wilson is pretty much off the table because my daughter does not want to go there. Period. I think there is some truth to the 15 year old's description of the situation. Shooting for SJC (hubby is an alum), SWW or Banneker. I personally think she would be fine if she went to Wilson. I attended a large urban school. I co-mingled with kids from every race, religion and economic level. It was a good experience for the most part. I also learned that if you do your work and mind your business, you won't have many--if any-- issues. That was a life lesson .

My older son when to Banneker and I just can't say enough great things about it. He left b/c he was not mature enough to handle the load, but man, I loved it.

Was he kicked out? What did he do then?

PP, any update on this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I inquired with my daughter last night and she told me something which I found very interesting and wanted to share (disclaimer: this is a report from 15 year old girl, who thought about this issue for no more than 3 minutes):
- The brightest students from her class distributed more or less equally between Wilson and SWW. A smaller number went to Banneker.
- She said that on average "nerds" went to SWW, the cool/sporty ones went to Wilson.
- She said that on average white kids had a more positive attitude towards Wilson, while black high performing students wanted to go to SWW. I asked if she could think of a reason for this, she said that she herself (as mixed race and advanced student) was tired of having to share classes and be associated with black troubled students, and that's one of the reasons she was so vocal at home in not wanting to go to Wilson.

So to sum up, and according to my daughter (who is not at any of the mentioned schools now) , bright Deal kids go to either Wilson or SWW depending on whether they are cool or nerds (good luck with the definition) , and on their race, with black students less inclined to continue at Wilson if they can opt for SWW and Banneker.

Please do not make me regret I posted this. No racist comments or jokes please.

This is interesting. I have an AA son and we are choosing b/t private and Wilson. Wilson is actually a better choice for him, but he is a little afraid. He is an 8th grader at Deal. Most of the white kids are going to Wilson and most of the black kids are going to Walls or private. It's not because they are so smart that they want to go to private.

Given your explanation, I wonder if SJC is a more popular choice with Deal's AAs than Deal's whites. Totally makes sense from the perspective you shared, but it does really suck that AA families feel they must make that calculation. (Along with everything else about racial biases that sucks).

I'm an educated AA with a kid at Deal. Wilson is pretty much off the table because my daughter does not want to go there. Period. I think there is some truth to the 15 year old's description of the situation. Shooting for SJC (hubby is an alum), SWW or Banneker. I personally think she would be fine if she went to Wilson. I attended a large urban school. I co-mingled with kids from every race, religion and economic level. It was a good experience for the most part. I also learned that if you do your work and mind your business, you won't have many--if any-- issues. That was a life lesson .

My older son when to Banneker and I just can't say enough great things about it. He left b/c he was not mature enough to handle the load, but man, I loved it.

Was he kicked out? What did he do then?

PP, any update on this?

I'm not pp, but I currently have a son at Banneker. We are considering leaving after this year. I think it's a great school, but man it is tough and especially tough on boys. There are very few boys admitted in the first place (I can't remember the boy/girl ratio in my son's grade but it's ridiculous). Several of my son's male friends have left (some on their own and some were asked to leave) because it's just too much and honestly I don't see the support to try to retain those kids who might be struggling. You have all these wonderful boys that have met a high standards to even make it into the school but I see no real measures to keep them there. I think the school is very flippant about putting out boys (and kids in general) that are struggling. Oh and no, my son is not being kicked out, if we do end up leaving it will be our decision to do so. I think the school is great, but it is not a good fit for every child. Again, i can't remember the numbers but we were told by the school that the graduating class is always very small compared to when they were they were freshman.

[Anonymous]

From learndc

Banneker enrollment last year by grade:

9th grade - 167
10th grade - 114
11th grade - 74
12th grade - 94

Overall it was 75% female, 25% male. That data isn't broken out by grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I inquired with my daughter last night and she told me something which I found very interesting and wanted to share (disclaimer: this is a report from 15 year old girl, who thought about this issue for no more than 3 minutes):
- The brightest students from her class distributed more or less equally between Wilson and SWW. A smaller number went to Banneker.
- She said that on average "nerds" went to SWW, the cool/sporty ones went to Wilson.
- She said that on average white kids had a more positive attitude towards Wilson, while black high performing students wanted to go to SWW. I asked if she could think of a reason for this, she said that she herself (as mixed race and advanced student) was tired of having to share classes and be associated with black troubled students, and that's one of the reasons she was so vocal at home in not wanting to go to Wilson.

So to sum up, and according to my daughter (who is not at any of the mentioned schools now) , bright Deal kids go to either Wilson or SWW depending on whether they are cool or nerds (good luck with the definition) , and on their race, with black students less inclined to continue at Wilson if they can opt for SWW and Banneker.

Please do not make me regret I posted this. No racist comments or jokes please.

This is interesting. I have an AA son and we are choosing b/t private and Wilson. Wilson is actually a better choice for him, but he is a little afraid. He is an 8th grader at Deal. Most of the white kids are going to Wilson and most of the black kids are going to Walls or private. It's not because they are so smart that they want to go to private.

Given your explanation, I wonder if SJC is a more popular choice with Deal's AAs than Deal's whites. Totally makes sense from the perspective you shared, but it does really suck that AA families feel they must make that calculation. (Along with everything else about racial biases that sucks).

I'm an educated AA with a kid at Deal. Wilson is pretty much off the table because my daughter does not want to go there. Period. I think there is some truth to the 15 year old's description of the situation. Shooting for SJC (hubby is an alum), SWW or Banneker. I personally think she would be fine if she went to Wilson. I attended a large urban school. I co-mingled with kids from every race, religion and economic level. It was a good experience for the most part. I also learned that if you do your work and mind your business, you won't have many--if any-- issues. That was a life lesson .

My older son when to Banneker and I just can't say enough great things about it. He left b/c he was not mature enough to handle the load, but man, I loved it.

Was he kicked out? What did he do then?

PP, any update on this?

I'm not pp, but I currently have a son at Banneker. We are considering leaving after this year. I think it's a great school, but man it is tough and especially tough on boys. There are very few boys admitted in the first place (I can't remember the boy/girl ratio in my son's grade but it's ridiculous). Several of my son's male friends have left (some on their own and some were asked to leave) because it's just too much and honestly I don't see the support to try to retain those kids who might be struggling. You have all these wonderful boys that have met a high standards to even make it into the school but I see no real measures to keep them there. I think the school is very flippant about putting out boys (and kids in general) that are struggling. Oh and no, my son is not being kicked out, if we do end up leaving it will be our decision to do so. I think the school is great, but it is not a good fit for every child. Again, i can't remember the numbers but we were told by the school that the graduating class is always very small compared to when they were they were freshman.

The school itself says that? And it's a public school?

[Anonymous]

I have noticed that admission only schools are allowed to let many children fail or do poorly. There is really no accountability at both SWW and now it looks like Banneker, to have every child succeed. In part because if you accept highly motivated academic achievers you can be really lazy about instruction and supporting struggling students.

The story about the AP Calculus teacher in LA who had one of his students score a perfect score on the AP Calculus BC test is telling. That was impressive, but most impressive was his determination that EVERY student in his class score a 3 or higher. I feel like that dedication is missing at some schools.

[Anonymous]

Yep. They are alldo it because they are an "application-only" school. If you don't maintain a certain GPA (I think 3.3 or 3.5?) you can be asked to leave.

DCPS is "able to do this" legally because students always have the option of returning to a home school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From learndc

Banneker enrollment last year by grade:

9th grade - 167
10th grade - 114
11th grade - 74
12th grade - 94

Overall it was 75% female, 25% male. That data isn't broken out by grade.

Wow.

OP, there you have your answer. "Deal best students" do not go to Banneker -- most would do perfectly fine there.

For those half of Banneker students who start there but cannot graduate, what middle schools did they come from?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I inquired with my daughter last night and she told me something which I found very interesting and wanted to share (disclaimer: this is a report from 15 year old girl, who thought about this issue for no more than 3 minutes):
- The brightest students from her class distributed more or less equally between Wilson and SWW. A smaller number went to Banneker.
- She said that on average "nerds" went to SWW, the cool/sporty ones went to Wilson.
- She said that on average white kids had a more positive attitude towards Wilson, while black high performing students wanted to go to SWW. I asked if she could think of a reason for this, she said that she herself (as mixed race and advanced student) was tired of having to share classes and be associated with black troubled students, and that's one of the reasons she was so vocal at home in not wanting to go to Wilson.

So to sum up, and according to my daughter (who is not at any of the mentioned schools now) , bright Deal kids go to either Wilson or SWW depending on whether they are cool or nerds (good luck with the definition) , and on their race, with black students less inclined to continue at Wilson if they can opt for SWW and Banneker.

Please do not make me regret I posted this. No racist comments or jokes please.

This is interesting. I have an AA son and we are choosing b/t private and Wilson. Wilson is actually a better choice for him, but he is a little afraid. He is an 8th grader at Deal. Most of the white kids are going to Wilson and most of the black kids are going to Walls or private. It's not because they are so smart that they want to go to private.

Given your explanation, I wonder if SJC is a more popular choice with Deal's AAs than Deal's whites. Totally makes sense from the perspective you shared, but it does really suck that AA families feel they must make that calculation. (Along with everything else about racial biases that sucks).

I'm an educated AA with a kid at Deal. Wilson is pretty much off the table because my daughter does not want to go there. Period. I think there is some truth to the 15 year old's description of the situation. Shooting for SJC (hubby is an alum), SWW or Banneker. I personally think she would be fine if she went to Wilson. I attended a large urban school. I co-mingled with kids from every race, religion and economic level. It was a good experience for the most part. I also learned that if you do your work and mind your business, you won't have many--if any-- issues. That was a life lesson .

My older son when to Banneker and I just can't say enough great things about it. He left b/c he was not mature enough to handle the load, but man, I loved it.

Was he kicked out? What did he do then?

PP, any update on this?

I'm not pp, but I currently have a son at Banneker. We are considering leaving after this year. I think it's a great school, but man it is tough and especially tough on boys. There are very few boys admitted in the first place (I can't remember the boy/girl ratio in my son's grade but it's ridiculous). Several of my son's male friends have left (some on their own and some were asked to leave) because it's just too much and honestly I don't see the support to try to retain those kids who might be struggling. You have all these wonderful boys that have met a high standards to even make it into the school but I see no real measures to keep them there. I think the school is very flippant about putting out boys (and kids in general) that are struggling. Oh and no, my son is not being kicked out, if we do end up leaving it will be our decision to do so. I think the school is great, but it is not a good fit for every child. Again, i can't remember the numbers but we were told by the school that the graduating class is always very small compared to when they were they were freshman.

The school itself says that? And it's a public school?

And, if the school already knows this, why does it keep admitting so many unqualified students? Just trying to grab their tuition dollars for a while??????

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I inquired with my daughter last night and she told me something which I found very interesting and wanted to share (disclaimer: this is a report from 15 year old girl, who thought about this issue for no more than 3 minutes):
- The brightest students from her class distributed more or less equally between Wilson and SWW. A smaller number went to Banneker.
- She said that on average "nerds" went to SWW, the cool/sporty ones went to Wilson.
- She said that on average white kids had a more positive attitude towards Wilson, while black high performing students wanted to go to SWW. I asked if she could think of a reason for this, she said that she herself (as mixed race and advanced student) was tired of having to share classes and be associated with black troubled students, and that's one of the reasons she was so vocal at home in not wanting to go to Wilson.

So to sum up, and according to my daughter (who is not at any of the mentioned schools now) , bright Deal kids go to either Wilson or SWW depending on whether they are cool or nerds (good luck with the definition) , and on their race, with black students less inclined to continue at Wilson if they can opt for SWW and Banneker.

Please do not make me regret I posted this. No racist comments or jokes please.

This is interesting. I have an AA son and we are choosing b/t private and Wilson. Wilson is actually a better choice for him, but he is a little afraid. He is an 8th grader at Deal. Most of the white kids are going to Wilson and most of the black kids are going to Walls or private. It's not because they are so smart that they want to go to private.

Given your explanation, I wonder if SJC is a more popular choice with Deal's AAs than Deal's whites. Totally makes sense from the perspective you shared, but it does really suck that AA families feel they must make that calculation. (Along with everything else about racial biases that sucks).

I'm an educated AA with a kid at Deal. Wilson is pretty much off the table because my daughter does not want to go there. Period. I think there is some truth to the 15 year old's description of the situation. Shooting for SJC (hubby is an alum), SWW or Banneker. I personally think she would be fine if she went to Wilson. I attended a large urban school. I co-mingled with kids from every race, religion and economic level. It was a good experience for the most part. I also learned that if you do your work and mind your business, you won't have many--if any-- issues. That was a life lesson .

My older son when to Banneker and I just can't say enough great things about it. He left b/c he was not mature enough to handle the load, but man, I loved it.

Was he kicked out? What did he do then?

PP, any update on this?

I'm not pp, but I currently have a son at Banneker. We are considering leaving after this year. I think it's a great school, but man it is tough and especially tough on boys. There are very few boys admitted in the first place (I can't remember the boy/girl ratio in my son's grade but it's ridiculous). Several of my son's male friends have left (some on their own and some were asked to leave) because it's just too much and honestly I don't see the support to try to retain those kids who might be struggling. You have all these wonderful boys that have met a high standards to even make it into the school but I see no real measures to keep them there. I think the school is very flippant about putting out boys (and kids in general) that are struggling. Oh and no, my son is not being kicked out, if we do end up leaving it will be our decision to do so. I think the school is great, but it is not a good fit for every child. Again, i can't remember the numbers but we were told by the school that the graduating class is always very small compared to when they were they were freshman.

The school itself says that? And it's a public school?

And, if the school already knows this, why does it keep admitting so many unqualified students? Just trying to grab their tuition dollars for a while??????

Ummm...no one said the kids weren't qualified. The PPs were talking about the fact that boys who made the initial cut, sometimes have difficulty keeping up for a variety of reasons. I have boy/girl twins. The maturity levels are vastly different. They are both very bright and would both make the cut, but my son would struggle. His twin sister would do just fine. I can absolutely see were the school wouldn't be a good fit for a lot of boys. I also believe they should address this issue.

In any case, your statement reeked of cluelessness.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I inquired with my daughter last night and she told me something which I found very interesting and wanted to share (disclaimer: this is a report from 15 year old girl, who thought about this issue for no more than 3 minutes):
- The brightest students from her class distributed more or less equally between Wilson and SWW. A smaller number went to Banneker.
- She said that on average "nerds" went to SWW, the cool/sporty ones went to Wilson.
- She said that on average white kids had a more positive attitude towards Wilson, while black high performing students wanted to go to SWW. I asked if she could think of a reason for this, she said that she herself (as mixed race and advanced student) was tired of having to share classes and be associated with black troubled students, and that's one of the reasons she was so vocal at home in not wanting to go to Wilson.

So to sum up, and according to my daughter (who is not at any of the mentioned schools now) , bright Deal kids go to either Wilson or SWW depending on whether they are cool or nerds (good luck with the definition) , and on their race, with black students less inclined to continue at Wilson if they can opt for SWW and Banneker.

Please do not make me regret I posted this. No racist comments or jokes please.

This is interesting. I have an AA son and we are choosing b/t private and Wilson. Wilson is actually a better choice for him, but he is a little afraid. He is an 8th grader at Deal. Most of the white kids are going to Wilson and most of the black kids are going to Walls or private. It's not because they are so smart that they want to go to private.

Given your explanation, I wonder if SJC is a more popular choice with Deal's AAs than Deal's whites. Totally makes sense from the perspective you shared, but it does really suck that AA families feel they must make that calculation. (Along with everything else about racial biases that sucks).

I'm an educated AA with a kid at Deal. Wilson is pretty much off the table because my daughter does not want to go there. Period. I think there is some truth to the 15 year old's description of the situation. Shooting for SJC (hubby is an alum), SWW or Banneker. I personally think she would be fine if she went to Wilson. I attended a large urban school. I co-mingled with kids from every race, religion and economic level. It was a good experience for the most part. I also learned that if you do your work and mind your business, you won't have many--if any-- issues. That was a life lesson .

My older son when to Banneker and I just can't say enough great things about it. He left b/c he was not mature enough to handle the load, but man, I loved it.

Was he kicked out? What did he do then?

PP, any update on this?

I'm not pp, but I currently have a son at Banneker. We are considering leaving after this year. I think it's a great school, but man it is tough and especially tough on boys. There are very few boys admitted in the first place (I can't remember the boy/girl ratio in my son's grade but it's ridiculous). Several of my son's male friends have left (some on their own and some were asked to leave) because it's just too much and honestly I don't see the support to try to retain those kids who might be struggling. You have all these wonderful boys that have met a high standards to even make it into the school but I see no real measures to keep them there. I think the school is very flippant about putting out boys (and kids in general) that are struggling. Oh and no, my son is not being kicked out, if we do end up leaving it will be our decision to do so. I think the school is great, but it is not a good fit for every child. Again, i can't remember the numbers but we were told by the school that the graduating class is always very small compared to when they were they were freshman.

The school itself says that? And it's a public school?

And, if the school already knows this, why does it keep admitting so many unqualified students? Just trying to grab their tuition dollars for a while??????

Ummm...no one said the kids weren't qualified. The PPs were talking about the fact that boys who made the initial cut, sometimes have difficulty keeping up for a variety of reasons. I have boy/girl twins. The maturity levels are vastly different. They are both very bright and would both make the cut, but my son would struggle. His twin sister would do just fine. I can absolutely see were the school wouldn't be a good fit for a lot of boys. I also believe they should address this issue.

In any case, your statement reeked of cluelessness.

Really? When you ignore the very data shared in this thread...it makes you pretty clueless.

Someone shared these student numbers:

9th grade - 167
10th grade - 114
11th grade - 74
12th grade - 94

Assuming stable incoming class size at 9th grade, that means 56% of incoming students do not make it even to 11th grade. That means A LOT of unqualified students were allowed in, and a pretty broken system.

[Anonymous]

Students do not have to stay at Banneker. Or any of the application schools or any of the charters or any of the privates. That doesn't mean they are unqualified, it means they want to go to an easier or harder school ot play sports or their family does not like the commute or tuition or they needed to move out of DC. Attrition has many causes.

[Anonymous]

Assuming a stable or constant incoming class at 9th is a big assumption. I think the size varies quite a bit year to year.

As the parent of 2 boys I really dislike the implication that there's some reason that boys can't hack it. Let's at least say that some boys and some girls can't hack it.

In fact, since we're discussing anecdotes the only person I know who left Banneker before graduating was a girl.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Assuming a stable or constant incoming class at 9th is a big assumption. I think the size varies quite a bit year to year.

As the parent of 2 boys I really dislike the implication that there's some reason that boys can't hack it. Let's at least say that some boys and some girls can't hack it.

In fact, since we're discussing anecdotes the only person I know who left Banneker before graduating was a girl.

I agree with you. Still, such a huge drop-out rate is something worth investigating and preventing. It cannot be good for the school or for the kids.