Middle school after Brent?

[Anonymous]

Sorry, 10 years couldn't bring enough change at Jefferson for us, also in 2nd grade at Brent (and we're AA).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can speak to many options, comparatively and otherwise, but would simply like to chime in here to say that we have been extremely happy at Jefferson and so is our 6th grader there. Our child has been an advanced student for all of ES, to whom nothing mattered more for MS than being challenged, especially in math. So finding the right school after 5th grade was indeed a concern for us. No longer. Jefferson has been a great fit and has proactively worked with us to achieve those objectives. Our child has a long list of friends and is clearly thriving socially. The teachers are without fail outstanding, really knowledgeable and all around personable, communicative, and proactive. Jefferson is deliberate and reliable about parent engagement. There is systematic follow-through on all of the promises made. What you hear at an open house, that's how it is. Last but not least, it has an outstanding leader, who has solid leadership and administrative skills while not forgetting that his heart is in the classroom and with students, all of whom he knows personally. No, Jefferson is not Brent but we sincerely love it.

Thanks for the info! What are the arts options like?

JA, as Jefferson likes to refer itself to (stands for Jefferson Academy), has individual schedules for each student, which blend "required courses" and "electives". "Required courses" are those any student has to take all the time, such as ELA, Math, Science, Social Studies (essentially geography at the start). "Electives" consist of those courses that are required at one point of another, usually one out of two semesters, including Spanish, PE, Health, Art, Music, as well as those that are not at all required by DCPS, for JA including Project Lead the Way and Globaloria (a coding course). Our child is all into math, science and coding, so hasn't signed up for art yet. I therefore can't speak to art at JA directly but can say that the art projects I see on exhibit look promising. JA follows the DCPS art curriculum (https://dcps.instructure.com/courses/33304/pages/curriculum), which you will see exposes students to a wide range of techniques. The art work of middle schoolers is naturally all over the place but how neat and organized it all is can tell you a lot about how an art teacher is able to work. JA offers a calm and focused environment, which are key ingredients to bringing the best out of any student artist. JA also has a partnership with Arena Stage, which takes place after school, and benefits from grants through the SW development efforts going towards art. You should ask for specifics on that.

[Anonymous]

This is the JA/Arena Stage partnership: http://www.arenastage.org/education/voices-of-now/washington/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Someone find that endless thread for OP.

which one and from which year? OP just be happy you have an option through 4th grade. Google WaPa article on all the kids leaving after 4th grade. And no Jefferson is not an option "getting better"..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, 10 years couldn't bring enough change at Jefferson for us, also in 2nd grade at Brent (and we're AA).

What do you plan to do for middle school? Also as an aside I've heard some AA families havent been happy at Brent. Is there any truth to that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can speak to many options, comparatively and otherwise, but would simply like to chime in here to say that we have been extremely happy at Jefferson and so is our 6th grader there. Our child has been an advanced student for all of ES, to whom nothing mattered more for MS than being challenged, especially in math. So finding the right school after 5th grade was indeed a concern for us. No longer. Jefferson has been a great fit and has proactively worked with us to achieve those objectives. Our child has a long list of friends and is clearly thriving socially. The teachers are without fail outstanding, really knowledgeable and all around personable, communicative, and proactive. Jefferson is deliberate and reliable about parent engagement. There is systematic follow-through on all of the promises made. What you hear at an open house, that's how it is. Last but not least, it has an outstanding leader, who has solid leadership and administrative skills while not forgetting that his heart is in the classroom and with students, all of whom he knows personally. No, Jefferson is not Brent but we sincerely love it.

Thanks for the info! What are the arts options like?

JA, as Jefferson likes to refer itself to (stands for Jefferson Academy), has individual schedules for each student, which blend "required courses" and "electives". "Required courses" are those any student has to take all the time, such as ELA, Math, Science, Social Studies (essentially geography at the start). "Electives" consist of those courses that are required at one point of another, usually one out of two semesters, including Spanish, PE, Health, Art, Music, as well as those that are not at all required by DCPS, for JA including Project Lead the Way and Globaloria (a coding course). Our child is all into math, science and coding, so hasn't signed up for art yet. I therefore can't speak to art at JA directly but can say that the art projects I see on exhibit look promising. JA follows the DCPS art curriculum (https://dcps.instructure.com/courses/33304/pages/curriculum), which you will see exposes students to a wide range of techniques. The art work of middle schoolers is naturally all over the place but how neat and organized it all is can tell you a lot about how an art teacher is able to work. JA offers a calm and focused environment, which are key ingredients to bringing the best out of any student artist. JA also has a partnership with Arena Stage, which takes place after school, and benefits from grants through the SW development efforts going towards art. You should ask for specifics on that.

thanks! And ha, a good friend has done a ton of PhD research on Globaloria, so I'm impressed they offer it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, 10 years couldn't bring enough change at Jefferson for us, also in 2nd grade at Brent (and we're AA).

What do you plan to do for middle school? Also as an aside I've heard some AA families havent been happy at Brent. Is there any truth to that?

We plan to go private for middle school. Looking at a range of options.

Some families haven't been happy that the school's gone from being around 80% AA to 20% in the last ten years.

Others are happy that the dynamic new principal takes the diversity working group more seriously than the last one did. She really supports and guides it. I don't hear many complaints.

[Anonymous]

Current St. Peter Parent here. Don't assume a MS slot will be available at St. Peter. While it's true families used to bail in middle school for places like St. Anslem, that trend is changing fast. The school is at 97-98% capacity now including MS.
The previous principal also away from bringing in kids during middle school who had not been at SPS previously so as not to disrupt classroom continuity. Not sure how the new principal will handle that if there are openings, but the current trend of people staying through 8th may make it a moot point. Among the many reasons we went to SPS, the guarantee of a good Middle School was at the top of the list, as painful as it is to shell out the cash in the early years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are a Brent family with our oldest in 2nd grade. I pay close attention (to the extent that I can) to all things middle school in DC. Here is our current thinking.

We are definitely interested in St Anselm's (and maybe St Peters) for our son (we're Catholic), and we'll certainly apply for some charters (Latin and Two Rivers in particular). But we are also very comfortable with starting out at Jefferson if admissions/finances/desires dictate that it is the best option for us. Then we'd play it by ear to see if Jefferson is working for our child. If it didn't work, we'd explore other options including moving. I have been very impressed by the administration at Jefferson, and the experiences of most of the Brent/Maury families who have/are attending Jefferson (yes, they exist) has been very positive. And if there is a considerable movement of Brent kids to Jefferson by the time our son reaches 6th, we might consider it as our primary option.

If you really don't like any uncertainty with regard to schooling, yes, you might be better off applying to private now. CHDS seems like a lovely school. But it doesn't actually seem better than Brent to me, particularly for $30K a year.

+1

We are in the exact same boat. Not counting on Jefferson but know the next 3 years could bring a lot of change. I don't think it will be Deal but could it be closer to Hardy than SH?

Not even close. 99% of the kids are low income. Hardy as a sizable middler and upper class cohort.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are a Brent family with our oldest in 2nd grade. I pay close attention (to the extent that I can) to all things middle school in DC. Here is our current thinking.

We are definitely interested in St Anselm's (and maybe St Peters) for our son (we're Catholic), and we'll certainly apply for some charters (Latin and Two Rivers in particular). But we are also very comfortable with starting out at Jefferson if admissions/finances/desires dictate that it is the best option for us. Then we'd play it by ear to see if Jefferson is working for our child. If it didn't work, we'd explore other options including moving. I have been very impressed by the administration at Jefferson, and the experiences of most of the Brent/Maury families who have/are attending Jefferson (yes, they exist) has been very positive. And if there is a considerable movement of Brent kids to Jefferson by the time our son reaches 6th, we might consider it as our primary option.

If you really don't like any uncertainty with regard to schooling, yes, you might be better off applying to private now. CHDS seems like a lovely school. But it doesn't actually seem better than Brent to me, particularly for $30K a year.

+1

We are in the exact same boat. Not counting on Jefferson but know the next 3 years could bring a lot of change. I don't think it will be Deal but could it be closer to Hardy than SH?

Not even close. 99% of the kids are low income. Hardy as a sizable middler and upper class cohort.

How do you know how many kids are low income?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Current St. Peter Parent here. Don't assume a MS slot will be available at St. Peter. While it's true families used to bail in middle school for places like St. Anslem, that trend is changing fast. The school is at 97-98% capacity now including MS.
The previous principal also away from bringing in kids during middle school who had not been at SPS previously so as not to disrupt classroom continuity. Not sure how the new principal will handle that if there are openings, but the current trend of people staying through 8th may make it a moot point. Among the many reasons we went to SPS, the guarantee of a good Middle School was at the top of the list, as painful as it is to shell out the cash in the early years.

We are at a smaller catholic in Brookland that goes from PK3 - 8th grade (St. Anthony's Catholic School and so far we love it). It's a school that many Hill parents don't have on their radar but also sends many kids to St. Anslem's for high school (along with various other catholic high schools). It's similar in size to CHDS at around 220 kids for the entire school. Similar to St. Peter's however, I don't know how many spaces open up in middle school but it's something you can inquire about. Open houses start in February.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are a Brent family with our oldest in 2nd grade. I pay close attention (to the extent that I can) to all things middle school in DC. Here is our current thinking.

We are definitely interested in St Anselm's (and maybe St Peters) for our son (we're Catholic), and we'll certainly apply for some charters (Latin and Two Rivers in particular). But we are also very comfortable with starting out at Jefferson if admissions/finances/desires dictate that it is the best option for us. Then we'd play it by ear to see if Jefferson is working for our child. If it didn't work, we'd explore other options including moving. I have been very impressed by the administration at Jefferson, and the experiences of most of the Brent/Maury families who have/are attending Jefferson (yes, they exist) has been very positive. And if there is a considerable movement of Brent kids to Jefferson by the time our son reaches 6th, we might consider it as our primary option.

If you really don't like any uncertainty with regard to schooling, yes, you might be better off applying to private now. CHDS seems like a lovely school. But it doesn't actually seem better than Brent to me, particularly for $30K a year.

+1

We are in the exact same boat. Not counting on Jefferson but know the next 3 years could bring a lot of change. I don't think it will be Deal but could it be closer to Hardy than SH?

Not even close. 99% of the kids are low income. Hardy as a sizable middler and upper class cohort.

I don't think that thinking about it as a possible Hardy (or Deal or Stuart Hobson) is necessarily the right way to approach it. Jefferson is its own entity with its own history and culture, although, yes, it is adding history constantly and the culture could change rapidly if demographics change. Some of the questions I would ask when considering it are: 1) Will my child grow academically and socially while there? 2) Will he or she learn the skills they need to succeed at a range of possible high schools? 3) Will they be able to make friends and be reasonably happy (given that they are middle schoolers)? 4) Are there extracurricular activities that they would enjoy/be passionate about? 5) Will they be safe physically and emotionally?

I don't think test scores are going to look great even in 3 or 4 years although they may look better. But I disagree with the common philosophy on this forum that "good" schools are the ones with good test scores and schools with bad test scores are "bad" schools. It's so tied into demographics, and the value add of a particular school isn't always clear.

But, yes, as a prospective Jefferson family, my spouse and I are looking at test scores. But we are paying even more attention to the experiences of families we know/meet with kids there. And that is looking pretty good.

[Anonymous]

The next several years will be interesting to watch. With a small middle school, changes could theoretically happen fast. Very different from an elementary school where kids are there for 6-8 years.

Van Ness will also start feeding Jefferson in 3 school years from now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are a Brent family with our oldest in 2nd grade. I pay close attention (to the extent that I can) to all things middle school in DC. Here is our current thinking.

We are definitely interested in St Anselm's (and maybe St Peters) for our son (we're Catholic), and we'll certainly apply for some charters (Latin and Two Rivers in particular). But we are also very comfortable with starting out at Jefferson if admissions/finances/desires dictate that it is the best option for us. Then we'd play it by ear to see if Jefferson is working for our child. If it didn't work, we'd explore other options including moving. I have been very impressed by the administration at Jefferson, and the experiences of most of the Brent/Maury families who have/are attending Jefferson (yes, they exist) has been very positive. And if there is a considerable movement of Brent kids to Jefferson by the time our son reaches 6th, we might consider it as our primary option.

If you really don't like any uncertainty with regard to schooling, yes, you might be better off applying to private now. CHDS seems like a lovely school. But it doesn't actually seem better than Brent to me, particularly for $30K a year.

+1

We are in the exact same boat. Not counting on Jefferson but know the next 3 years could bring a lot of change. I don't think it will be Deal but could it be closer to Hardy than SH?

Not even close. 99% of the kids are low income. Hardy as a sizable middler and upper class cohort.

How do you know how many kids are low income?

DCPS school profile pages or learndc.org (click on equity report / click on 'by need')

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are a Brent family with our oldest in 2nd grade. I pay close attention (to the extent that I can) to all things middle school in DC. Here is our current thinking.

We are definitely interested in St Anselm's (and maybe St Peters) for our son (we're Catholic), and we'll certainly apply for some charters (Latin and Two Rivers in particular). But we are also very comfortable with starting out at Jefferson if admissions/finances/desires dictate that it is the best option for us. Then we'd play it by ear to see if Jefferson is working for our child. If it didn't work, we'd explore other options including moving. I have been very impressed by the administration at Jefferson, and the experiences of most of the Brent/Maury families who have/are attending Jefferson (yes, they exist) has been very positive. And if there is a considerable movement of Brent kids to Jefferson by the time our son reaches 6th, we might consider it as our primary option.

If you really don't like any uncertainty with regard to schooling, yes, you might be better off applying to private now. CHDS seems like a lovely school. But it doesn't actually seem better than Brent to me, particularly for $30K a year.

+1

We are in the exact same boat. Not counting on Jefferson but know the next 3 years could bring a lot of change. I don't think it will be Deal but could it be closer to Hardy than SH?

Not even close. 99% of the kids are low income. Hardy as a sizable middler and upper class cohort.

How do you know how many kids are low income?

DCPS school profile pages or learndc.org (click on equity report / click on 'by need')

This is misleading, though I don't think the PP misled intentionally. My understanding is that once a school reaches Title I level (45%? 50%?) then it is simply reported that all the students are low income. That is the case for our elementary school, which has a lot of SES diversity.