Why doesn't DC have a competitive public high school like Stuyvesant in NYC?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have to agree...it can only be racism that is making you all leave Banneker, one of the best schools in the country that admits students BASED ON MERIT off your list. It is the Bronx Science of DC. I think the question you need to ask yourself is why aren't you considering it for your child? Perhaps what you really want is a merit based school in a different neighborhood in DC.

Lots of people don't want their DC to be the ONLY child of their race in their school. It doesn't make them racists - it makes them sensitive to the social dynamics of adolescents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have to agree...it can only be racism that is making you all leave Banneker, one of the best schools in the country that admits students BASED ON MERIT off your list. It is the Bronx Science of DC. I think the question you need to ask yourself is why aren't you considering it for your child? Perhaps what you really want is a merit based school in a different neighborhood in DC.

Lots of people don't want their DC to be the ONLY child of their race in their school. It doesn't make them racists - it makes them sensitive to the social dynamics of adolescents.

I am sympathetic to this argument because it can be tough for a kid of any race. However, what disturbs me is that white families from the upper NW don't even look at Banneker. When dd was applying to magnet schools we made our rounds of the 4 top schools. The open house at Banneker was extremely impressive -- well-organized (rare for DCPS) with administrators, faculty and students all showing up on a Saturday to welcome visitors. Faculty members kept apologizing that there weren't more of them there because they were off at an IB workshop. Students gave tours and confidently answered questions. It was unique in my experience in DCPS (don't even get me started on Walls's disorganized orientation).

Dd (who is white) made it to the interview stage but no further. She made it pretty clear that she didn't think she could handle the pressure of the workload at Banneker and the interviewers obviously thought it was better not to even let her in. I wish it had been different because I was confident that she would get a good education there. But it would not have been the right school for her no matter how much I liked it.

At any rate, yes, it's hard to be in the minority but don't reject the school out of hand. Go see for yourself. Go through the application process. Even if your kid doesn't end up there, it may be a revelation to you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think Banneker and School Without Walls are both excellent high schools but they might not appeal to all high caliber students. Banneker is an IB program, the student body is mostly African-American. And School without Walls seems to be best suited for students that are self-motivated and the school enjoys a close relationship with GWU. I agree with the pp that these schools are nowhere near Stuyvesant or Hunter. Both schools are also pretty small and I wonder how many applications they receive. I think parents are hungry for more options like this, just can't see how or when it will happen. Also wonder what keeps families of other races from considering Banneker.

Racism. DUH!

Black man posting here and I am relucant to call it racism. In many cases, it may be just fear of the unknown. I imagine that many white people in this country have rarely been in the position of being the "only one" in the room. The truth is that it takes an effort to become comfortable and confident when you are surrounded by people who look different than you and have different culture and mannerisms. That said, I think it is important for white people in this position to put in an effort to go through this process.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have to agree...it can only be racism that is making you all leave Banneker, one of the best schools in the country that admits students BASED ON MERIT off your list. It is the Bronx Science of DC. I think the question you need to ask yourself is why aren't you considering it for your child? Perhaps what you really want is a merit based school in a different neighborhood in DC.

I wondered why Bronx Sci wasn't mentioned in her original post -- liberal arts bias, maybe?

[Anonymous]

Maybe she didn't know about it. I wouldn't read anything negative into it. She was just using an example to make a case of NYC Publics vs. DC Publics. I think her point was a good one.

[Anonymous]

White parent here. I have school age children. I live in DC but outside NW washington. I looked at my local elementary school which is like 97% black and 3 % Hispanic.

Here is my thought process and the elements I juggled which I am sure is very similiar at the elementary level as it is at the high school level:

Local elementary school is ok Not excellent or ever listed as one of the top in the District, but numbers aren't that bad. Principal is good.

Positive factors: right next to my house. Administration supposed to be good. Reading and Math scores on the upswing.

However, now I add in my other options:

I applied 2 years ago to 4 charters that were interesting in various ways. They have scores as good or better than my local in bounds elementary. All have MORE diversity than local elementary.

By more diversity, I don't just mean that my white children would have fellow white children, but more of other ethnic groups as well.

I went with the charter and haven't looked back. If I am weighing options for free public education and I have choices, I'm going to balance several criteria, and unfortunately I think that this is going to present a real challenge to DCPS.

Many neighborhood schools could attract families if they were the only option, but its not. Same with Banneker

When I get to highschool, I'll give Banneker a look, but If I have a multiple of choices and one choice is putting my child in a monolithic student body with excellent academics, and one option is putting my child in a diverse student body with excellent academics, I'll make the same choice I did at the first go around.

Am I racist?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have to agree...it can only be racism that is making you all leave Banneker, one of the best schools in the country that admits students BASED ON MERIT off your list. It is the Bronx Science of DC. I think the question you need to ask yourself is why aren't you considering it for your child? Perhaps what you really want is a merit based school in a different neighborhood in DC.

I wondered why Bronx Sci wasn't mentioned in her original post -- liberal arts bias, maybe?

I doubt it. At elite universities, science majors still belong to the college of liberal arts (which is an abbreviated way of saying "Liberal Arts and Sciences" the more traditional term).

[Anonymous]

Stuyvesant isn't really liberal arts. It is a math school. That is their real strength.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have to agree...it can only be racism that is making you all leave Banneker, one of the best schools in the country that admits students BASED ON MERIT off your list. It is the Bronx Science of DC. I think the question you need to ask yourself is why aren't you considering it for your child? Perhaps what you really want is a merit based school in a different neighborhood in DC.

I wondered why Bronx Sci wasn't mentioned in her original post -- liberal arts bias, maybe?

She was talking about the Manhattan schools, re-read the post. There are also competitive high schools in Brooklyn and Queens. Its not just two for the entire city.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

SWW only requires a 2.5 GPA -- that is terrible. DC is afraid of excellence. I actually think it is racism for the people who run DC schools to think the black students can't manage anything more -- they can and do in other major American Cities. DC is the capital of the free world. Every single government official here -- federal, state & local should be embarassed about our schools. They are not. They don't think the black kids deserve anything more. They accept mediocrity for them. It's a crime.

Amen, sister! It's not that they don't think that black kids deserve anything more, it's that they don't think black kids are capable of anything more. I tried repeatedly with the principal, LSRT and HSA of my upper NW DC school to talk about raising standards, offering enrichment and acceleration and I heard 2 constant refrains: 1) we can't do that, we are a "diverse" school (code: our non-white kids can't handle that) and 2) we wouldn't want to make any student feel bad about not being ahead so all students must stay at the same level.

There were a number of highly talented black youth at our school who were hurt by the poor curriculum and lack of enrichment/acceleration. They left DCPS, and so did I when I tired of banging my head against the wall.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:[quote=Anonymous}

quote]


PP, I am a black parent with a child in PK and I think that your post is spot on. The standards in the district are way too low. I was shocked when I went to a meeting at my local elementary school and the principal announced (without an ounce of shame) that a 67% score (out of 100) is considered "proficient". Isn't that a C. We are zone for Deal/Wilson but I think that we will likely bail at 4th grade if things do not improve system wide.

Please give Deal a hard look before you decide to bail. My DD is in 4th now and I was impressed with what I learned about Deal. I know everyone has their own decision to make, but we can't make this thing better if everyone keeps bailing. My feeling is that once Deal gets certified for IB those kids need to have a high school to go - just need to get to a critical mass.

I am not at Deal now, but was spectacularly UNimpressed with the principal, whom I heard speak. When asked a question about the availability of algebra at an accelerated schedule and gifted or advanced science classes, she acknowledged it was available but hardly any students were qualified for it and most were there because their pushy parents were asking for it, and as for any kind of advanced science, grouping or GT, well, "those kids need to learn how to get along with other students," not be separated into a different class.

So much for "higher standards".

[Anonymous]

Above -- I have met so many talented black students in this city who have so much untapped potential. I really think it is such a national disgrace that our officals are not looking out for their best interests. We need more black leaders. Everyone is resting on their laurels now that we have a black President thinking that everything is ok now. It is not. He is a great role model. And, we need many more role models like him.

I always say to people if a black man can escape all of the challenges of the inner city and make it in such a rarefied atmosphere in pro sports -- then every black child should have the chance to shine in some area in school. Teachers need to believe it is possible. What you described is so very depressing and limiting for our black youth.

Even if Rhee is well-intentioned (I can't read her mind) -- she has managed to turn off just about everyone she could partner with to try to make the schools better. She suffers from the "I know it all" syndrome. She is one in a long line of people who have failed the children of the district.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Black man posting here and I am relucant to call it racism. In many cases, it may be just fear of the unknown. I imagine that many white people in this country have rarely been in the position of being the "only one" in the room. The truth is that it takes an effort to become comfortable and confident when you are surrounded by people who look different than you and have different culture and mannerisms. That said, I think it is important for white people in this position to put in an effort to go through this process.




White woman who attended Howard U for several semesters. I agree with you that racism isn't necessarily what makes people reluctant to attend an institution where they'll be the only --- fill in the blank -- woman, black, hispanic, catholic, jew, whatever ..... I loved my time at Howard, but it was disconcerting that strangers would approach me and ask me why I was there (as if I didn't have a right to be). There was a whole different culture (not better, not worse) and that made it harder to make friends, connect with teachers, etc. You are always an outsider to some degree, and you never "blend in" on campus. I found it to be a great experience in so many ways, but I can definitely understand that not everyone would want to or be able to deal with it.

[Anonymous]

If white parents don't want to send their kids to Bannecker because they would be the only white kids at the school, it would only take little bit of coordinated action to solve that problem. If talented white kids apply every year then soon there will be a significant minority of white kids at the school, presumably in numbers similar to white population % in the city.

Isn't that what families at Ross and HD Cooke are trying to do. If the white folks go to the school, then it is no longer a black only school. But, someone has to be first.

[Anonymous]

What is this thread all about? Exclusivity? Excellent academic programs? Academic rigor? Or just sending your kids to a school where you think all the other kids are just as priviledged as your children are?