What's Banneker HS like?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had wanted to consider it for my non-white child but when I looked closely at the scores for the school including the SAT scores as well as the general info about the courses offered including quite a bit of remediation courses, I realized that the students are doing well for students in DCPS and do better than those in other DCPS high schools but compared to suburb schools or other charter schools, they are only doing about average.

Thats true of probably every single DCPS schools We look at one school that has 30% of the kids meeting expectations and we think thats GOOD because it is better than most DCPS third graders. But its a terrible comparison. Definitely need to compare to the suburban schools

NP here. I went to a top school in the DC suburbs, and I am fighting tooth and nail to find a way to not have to move back there. I think that going to a less demanding school, but having a better quality of life is probably a better trade off. Living in Fairfax was a nightmare for me as a 13-18 year old. (I also don't want to move back there as an adult.) I think if I had access to things to do and different people in the city, I would've been a lot healthier and happier. I found that out when I went to college in a small city and life didn't revolve around frat parties or on-campus activities. Life is less limiting in DC, and if I find my children are anything like me, we will try for Banneker or SWW or even Wilson to keep our quality of life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had wanted to consider it for my non-white child but when I looked closely at the scores for the school including the SAT scores as well as the general info about the courses offered including quite a bit of remediation courses, I realized that the students are doing well for students in DCPS and do better than those in other DCPS high schools but compared to suburb schools or other charter schools, they are only doing about average.

Thats true of probably every single DCPS schools We look at one school that has 30% of the kids meeting expectations and we think thats GOOD because it is better than most DCPS third graders. But its a terrible comparison. Definitely need to compare to the suburban schools

NP here. I went to a top school in the DC suburbs, and I am fighting tooth and nail to find a way to not have to move back there. I think that going to a less demanding school, but having a better quality of life is probably a better trade off. Living in Fairfax was a nightmare for me as a 13-18 year old. (I also don't want to move back there as an adult.) I think if I had access to things to do and different people in the city, I would've been a lot healthier and happier. I found that out when I went to college in a small city and life didn't revolve around frat parties or on-campus activities. Life is less limiting in DC, and if I find my children are anything like me, we will try for Banneker or SWW or even Wilson to keep our quality of life.

That's sobering! What did teenage you find so difficult about Fairfax?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The attrition rate is very high. They lose at least 30% of students by 12th grade, graduating about 75 each year. They start with 125-150.

+1, especially for boys. Fewer than half incoming boys at 9th grade end up graduating HS from Banneker. It's the open secret no one talks about.

[Anonymous]

OP here - I love this thread. Thank you to everyone who gave such insightful input (especially the alumni)!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I graduated from Banneker. I apologize if this is slightly incoherent and rambling. I'm rushing to an appointment, but wanted to seize the chance to talk about my alma mater. To understand what it's like, you have to first consider what it's like growing up in DCPS for the majority of its students.

90% of us went to elementary and middle schools with lackluster academics and rampant behavior problems. The risks of confidently displaying your intelligence far outnumber the rewards. You're either harassed (physically or verbally) all of the time or you're ignored because the teachers have to focus on the kids who are behind. Most incentive programs like field trips and parties are targeted toward the bad kids and they're often canceled at a moment's notice due to behavior problems. You learn to just keep your head down and try to get through the day the best you can. Be smart, but don't draw attention to yourself.

The first thing you realize at Banneker is that everyone is just like you. With the exception of the handful of kids who went to private schools or relocated from somewhere outside of the District, everyone had to deal with the same B.S. and is happy to be done with that. Everyone raises their hand. Everyone tries to answer questions. It's corny, but we used to say that we were like the X-Men. We found a place where we could use our gifts and not be chastised for it.

In the morning, the people who get there early go to the auditorium. A handful are just talking, but the majority of students are doing homework. The cool part is that there's usually someone playing the piano. It's so cool to walk into a place and hear someone confident enough around their peers to play Mozart or some classical piece. No one is going to laugh. We used to have Celebrate Success assemblies where every month or so, people would get up and play an instrument, give a speech, or share something about their culture. Banneker always tried to undo the damage and the tunnel vision that we experienced in DCPS. We celebrated other cultures and people's differences. They pushed us to learn to think critically and outside of the box.

Now, it's not for everyone. Yes, we had a lot of people leave before sophomore year. It's not that those people weren't smart, but after years of getting A's for doing little to no work, some people couldn't adjust to 2-3 hours of homework every night and being challenged for small mistakes. I was a straight A student my entire life. Banneker is the first place I ever got a C, then a D, and eventually an F. They used to tell us all the time that being in the top 10% of our middle school class meant absolutely nothing because DC has the worst education system in the country. We weren't competing against DC schools out there in the real world. We were competing against VA. We were told to use Jefferson in VA as our benchmark for success. The work was hard...to us. Like I said, some people came from private schools and didn't think Banneker was anything special, but my personal opinion is that Banneker is for those kids who are from DCPS and who need to be given adequate college prep and need to erase some of the damage that DCPS does.

There are no fights. No one steals. If you go on a tour, you'll see all of the backpacks lined up in front of the lockers. The lockers work, but they're narrow, so everyone just leaves their stuff in front of their lockers. There's a lot of work, but it's not busy work. By the time you graduate, you can write a 10 page paper in a day if you have to. All of us get into college and it's not just UDC or some school with open admission(no disrespect intended). I graduated second from the bottom of my class at Banneker. I was lazy by Banneker standards and broke the sacred rule of not focusing solely on school. I ran track and played basketball at a rec center near my house. I also had two part time jobs on top of the hectic community service that Banneker required. I'll also admit that I was lazy and waited until the last minute to do all of my work. I got a partial scholarship to five schools and ended up at UNC. I got my masters from GW. At no point in college did I feel challenged anywhere near the level of what I experienced at Banneker. Most alumni will say the same. I even used some of my thesis papers from Banneker in college.
Gotta run. Sorry for the rant. Hope this helps.

This is one of the best, most hopeful posts I've read on DCUM. I went to school in a working class rustbelt factory town, and my school experience was exactly like you describe in the first paragraph --- very violent, chaotic and populated with teachers who ignored me to focus on kids with serious behavioral and learning issues. I would have loved a school like Banneker, and it's awesome that DC kids have such a school available.

[Anonymous]

What's Banneker like? The HS version of an historically black college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What's Banneker like? The HS version of an historically black college.

I would have to disagree. I don't know any alumni who've ever made that comparison. Could you elaborate?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What's Banneker like? The HS version of an historically black college.

All HBCUs are not the same. I'm an alum of one, and there's a lot of variability among them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What's Banneker like? The HS version of an historically black college.

All HBCUs are not the same. I'm an alum of one, and there's a lot of variability among them.

Sorry, didn't finish my post. There's a lot of variability in terms of selectivity, academic rigor, general feel, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I graduated from Banneker. I apologize if this is slightly incoherent and rambling. I'm rushing to an appointment, but wanted to seize the chance to talk about my alma mater. To understand what it's like, you have to first consider what it's like growing up in DCPS for the majority of its students.

90% of us went to elementary and middle schools with lackluster academics and rampant behavior problems. The risks of confidently displaying your intelligence far outnumber the rewards. You're either harassed (physically or verbally) all of the time or you're ignored because the teachers have to focus on the kids who are behind. Most incentive programs like field trips and parties are targeted toward the bad kids and they're often canceled at a moment's notice due to behavior problems. You learn to just keep your head down and try to get through the day the best you can. Be smart, but don't draw attention to yourself.

The first thing you realize at Banneker is that everyone is just like you. With the exception of the handful of kids who went to private schools or relocated from somewhere outside of the District, everyone had to deal with the same B.S. and is happy to be done with that. Everyone raises their hand. Everyone tries to answer questions. It's corny, but we used to say that we were like the X-Men. We found a place where we could use our gifts and not be chastised for it.

In the morning, the people who get there early go to the auditorium. A handful are just talking, but the majority of students are doing homework. The cool part is that there's usually someone playing the piano. It's so cool to walk into a place and hear someone confident enough around their peers to play Mozart or some classical piece. No one is going to laugh. We used to have Celebrate Success assemblies where every month or so, people would get up and play an instrument, give a speech, or share something about their culture. Banneker always tried to undo the damage and the tunnel vision that we experienced in DCPS. We celebrated other cultures and people's differences. They pushed us to learn to think critically and outside of the box.

Now, it's not for everyone. Yes, we had a lot of people leave before sophomore year. It's not that those people weren't smart, but after years of getting A's for doing little to no work, some people couldn't adjust to 2-3 hours of homework every night and being challenged for small mistakes. I was a straight A student my entire life. Banneker is the first place I ever got a C, then a D, and eventually an F. They used to tell us all the time that being in the top 10% of our middle school class meant absolutely nothing because DC has the worst education system in the country. We weren't competing against DC schools out there in the real world. We were competing against VA. We were told to use Jefferson in VA as our benchmark for success. The work was hard...to us. Like I said, some people came from private schools and didn't think Banneker was anything special, but my personal opinion is that Banneker is for those kids who are from DCPS and who need to be given adequate college prep and need to erase some of the damage that DCPS does.

There are no fights. No one steals. If you go on a tour, you'll see all of the backpacks lined up in front of the lockers. The lockers work, but they're narrow, so everyone just leaves their stuff in front of their lockers. There's a lot of work, but it's not busy work. By the time you graduate, you can write a 10 page paper in a day if you have to. All of us get into college and it's not just UDC or some school with open admission(no disrespect intended). I graduated second from the bottom of my class at Banneker. I was lazy by Banneker standards and broke the sacred rule of not focusing solely on school. I ran track and played basketball at a rec center near my house. I also had two part time jobs on top of the hectic community service that Banneker required. I'll also admit that I was lazy and waited until the last minute to do all of my work. I got a partial scholarship to five schools and ended up at UNC. I got my masters from GW. At no point in college did I feel challenged anywhere near the level of what I experienced at Banneker. Most alumni will say the same. I even used some of my thesis papers from Banneker in college.
Gotta run. Sorry for the rant. Hope this helps.

Wow, good for you! Sounds like an amazing school. I grew up in a suburb with amazing public schools in the Midwest, and I wish my HS had been like this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I graduated from Banneker. I apologize if this is slightly incoherent and rambling. I'm rushing to an appointment, but wanted to seize the chance to talk about my alma mater. To understand what it's like, you have to first consider what it's like growing up in DCPS for the majority of its students.

90% of us went to elementary and middle schools with lackluster academics and rampant behavior problems. The risks of confidently displaying your intelligence far outnumber the rewards. You're either harassed (physically or verbally) all of the time or you're ignored because the teachers have to focus on the kids who are behind. Most incentive programs like field trips and parties are targeted toward the bad kids and they're often canceled at a moment's notice due to behavior problems. You learn to just keep your head down and try to get through the day the best you can. Be smart, but don't draw attention to yourself.

The first thing you realize at Banneker is that everyone is just like you. With the exception of the handful of kids who went to private schools or relocated from somewhere outside of the District, everyone had to deal with the same B.S. and is happy to be done with that. Everyone raises their hand. Everyone tries to answer questions. It's corny, but we used to say that we were like the X-Men. We found a place where we could use our gifts and not be chastised for it.

In the morning, the people who get there early go to the auditorium. A handful are just talking, but the majority of students are doing homework. The cool part is that there's usually someone playing the piano. It's so cool to walk into a place and hear someone confident enough around their peers to play Mozart or some classical piece. No one is going to laugh. We used to have Celebrate Success assemblies where every month or so, people would get up and play an instrument, give a speech, or share something about their culture. Banneker always tried to undo the damage and the tunnel vision that we experienced in DCPS. We celebrated other cultures and people's differences. They pushed us to learn to think critically and outside of the box.

Now, it's not for everyone. Yes, we had a lot of people leave before sophomore year. It's not that those people weren't smart, but after years of getting A's for doing little to no work, some people couldn't adjust to 2-3 hours of homework every night and being challenged for small mistakes. I was a straight A student my entire life. Banneker is the first place I ever got a C, then a D, and eventually an F. They used to tell us all the time that being in the top 10% of our middle school class meant absolutely nothing because DC has the worst education system in the country. We weren't competing against DC schools out there in the real world. We were competing against VA. We were told to use Jefferson in VA as our benchmark for success. The work was hard...to us. Like I said, some people came from private schools and didn't think Banneker was anything special, but my personal opinion is that Banneker is for those kids who are from DCPS and who need to be given adequate college prep and need to erase some of the damage that DCPS does.

There are no fights. No one steals. If you go on a tour, you'll see all of the backpacks lined up in front of the lockers. The lockers work, but they're narrow, so everyone just leaves their stuff in front of their lockers. There's a lot of work, but it's not busy work. By the time you graduate, you can write a 10 page paper in a day if you have to. All of us get into college and it's not just UDC or some school with open admission(no disrespect intended). I graduated second from the bottom of my class at Banneker. I was lazy by Banneker standards and broke the sacred rule of not focusing solely on school. I ran track and played basketball at a rec center near my house. I also had two part time jobs on top of the hectic community service that Banneker required. I'll also admit that I was lazy and waited until the last minute to do all of my work. I got a partial scholarship to five schools and ended up at UNC. I got my masters from GW. At no point in college did I feel challenged anywhere near the level of what I experienced at Banneker. Most alumni will say the same. I even used some of my thesis papers from Banneker in college.
Gotta run. Sorry for the rant. Hope this helps.

Thank you for this post. I rarely consider the opinions of ppl on this board and make decisions that fit my family. So far, we have done well. I must say, no DCPS HS has been or my radar. I've only considered private. After reading your post, I have a new perspective. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Love the school. My daughter is graduate, completed college and is now an engineer (mechanical).

[Anonymous]

Wesley Snipes black

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The attrition rate is very high. They lose at least 30% of students by 12th grade, graduating about 75 each year. They start with 125-150.

Basis apparently only KEEPS about 30%, losing 60-70% of their students by graduation, yet some people think it's a great school. So apparently attrition isn't something many parents consider, for better or worse.

Basis loses most student at 8th. The attrition from 9th to 12th is negligible.

Comparing a 5th-12th grade school to a 9th-12th is misleading.

I'm not so sure it's a bad comparison. Banneker, I've heard, has highly demanding standards that results in a sort of up-or-out dynamic. I've heard the same thing about Basis. Since basis starts at 5th grade it makes sense that the attrition would happen earlier on.

I LOVED IT! However, my son left after his freshman year. You have to compare the scores to similar students with the same socio-economic status. I think the education is similar to top privates, but because they accept really smart kids without means, they work and develop all kids. Privates have the ability to weed out who they want. Banneker is application only, but they take the kids who are naturally bright without a bunch of advantages.

Unfortunately, it was just too intense for him. 6 to 7 hours of homework a night with very few activities. They really only focus on academics. That is one of the reasons they lose so many boys.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^ You're welcome. I should also add, one of the things I hear over and over again from Banneker alumni is that while everyone else is catching the freshmen blues in college and struggling to adjust to the rigorous requirements and workload, Banneker grads have no problem being successful right off the bat. Also, there are zero disciplinary problems at Banneker so there are none of those distractions. Their disciplinary problems are basically kids not doing homework.

I was going to say something similar. Many of my former students attended Banneker and found that college, especially freshman and sophomore years, were a breeze. They were better positioned to take advantage of internship opportunities earlier on because they had the coursework down pat. I will say that they were absolutely sick of school by the time the graduated from high school though and many of them approached attending college like going to the gallows. They were tired.