Entry into DCI

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why would any parents in the feeders support expansion if it means cutting their chances of getting into DCI?

Why would you think parents supported expansion in any of the cases? Parents have very little influence on these decisions.

+1. The PCSB encourages Tier 1 schools to expand, especially those that offer immersion, which is what so many parents say they want. That puts pressure on the schools, but usually, the plan is cooked (with the school's own board approving the plan) by the time parents are informed.

Adding to that, the feeder administration and boards have little to no influence on DCI's decisions. They really are six totally separate organizations.

The parents can’t collectively raise a stink, a vote of no confidence in leadership or take it public? Charters hate public fights from parents?

I don't think it would work. It isn't as if parents of the youngest students weren't told in time to make other plans or lottery elsewhere.

Also, remember when dozens of parents at MV signed petitions and testified before the PCSB objecting to MV expanding. The school leadership decided to seek a one year delay in their plans, and then the PCSB voted in favor of the expansion, and here we are.

[Anonymous]

Everyone needs to calm down.

Factors impacting attrition:

- Many kids who start at the feeders for pk do not stay on for DCI for sixth grade.

- Low MC families will continue to decrease at DCI because it’s expensive to live in the city, affordable housing options for low middle income earners (45-70k) are dwindling not increasing

- DCI has a LOT of work to do (school culture, student satisfaction) before anyone worries about demand for spaces there.

[Anonymous]

I disagree. Most students from feeders do choose DCI, and the number has grown substantially since it started. DCI has over 2000 applicants for less than 300 slots according to a teacher friend of mine who works there.
Every school is trying to improve and refine its work. DCI has done a better job than most with a more ambitious agenda. Actually, it's student satisfaction survey results are quite high.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I disagree. Most students from feeders do choose DCI, and the number has grown substantially since it started. DCI has over 2000 applicants for less than 300 slots according to a teacher friend of mine who works there.
Every school is trying to improve and refine its work. DCI has done a better job than most with a more ambitious agenda. Actually, it's student satisfaction survey results are quite high.

No way to know how many of the 2000 are applying to a spot on all 3 (we did). The number is high but not that high. And demand says as much about perceived issues at other schools as it does about faith in DCI. Many just want out of where they are and others are simply curious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I disagree. Most students from feeders do choose DCI, and the number has grown substantially since it started. DCI has over 2000 applicants for less than 300 slots according to a teacher friend of mine who works there.
Every school is trying to improve and refine its work. DCI has done a better job than most with a more ambitious agenda. Actually, it's student satisfaction survey results are quite high.

Sure, the thing is, the students DCI gets are generally not high performing in any subject. We are mired in relativism in this city as UMC consumers of public education.

Visit a strong suburban public IB Middle Years program in Fairfax or MoCo for a wake-up call.

[Anonymous]

Feeder parents don't want to deal with DCI's mediocrity. They don't want to give up on a city life, so cling to a vision of high-demand excellence by the time their child has reached 6th grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Feeder parents don't want to deal with DCI's mediocrity. They don't want to give up on a city life, so cling to a vision of high-demand excellence by the time their child has reached 6th grade.

I do n't t hink this is exactly it. I think they put a LOT of faith in the well-regarded IB curriculum, and trust that it will ensure a quality education.

Which is a little funny since most of the higher SES feeder and DCI parents would never consider sending their kids to Eliot-Hine or Eastern HS, both which offer the IB curriculum. Banneker does too, but white people avoid it for different reasons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Feeder parents don't want to deal with DCI's mediocrity. They don't want to give up on a city life, so cling to a vision of high-demand excellence by the time their child has reached 6th grade.

I do n't t hink this is exactly it. I think they put a LOT of faith in the well-regarded IB curriculum, and trust that it will ensure a quality education.

Which is a little funny since most of the higher SES feeder and DCI parents would never consider sending their kids to Eliot-Hine or Eastern HS, both which offer the IB curriculum. Banneker does too, but white people avoid it for different reasons.

What a silly thing to say. Obviously the appeal of DCI isn't solely the IB curriculum; it's the opportunity to keep the kids with their cohort from elementary school and continue with language studies. I know DCUM is pretty harsh on DCI for not realizing its potential yet, but face it, DCI has a hell of a lot more potential than Elliot-Hine. Come on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Feeder parents don't want to deal with DCI's mediocrity. They don't want to give up on a city life, so cling to a vision of high-demand excellence by the time their child has reached 6th grade.

I do n't t hink this is exactly it. I think they put a LOT of faith in the well-regarded IB curriculum, and trust that it will ensure a quality education.

Which is a little funny since most of the higher SES feeder and DCI parents would never consider sending their kids to Eliot-Hine or Eastern HS, both which offer the IB curriculum. Banneker does too, but white people avoid it for different reasons.

What a silly thing to say. Obviously the appeal of DCI isn't solely the IB curriculum; it's the opportunity to keep the kids with their cohort from elementary school and continue with language studies. I know DCUM is pretty harsh on DCI for not realizing its potential yet, but face it, DCI has a hell of a lot more potential than Elliot-Hine. Come on.

DCI has been open for 6 (well 5.5) years now. Parents have reason to be asking hard questions. The amount of teacher and admin turnover alone is troubling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Feeder parents don't want to deal with DCI's mediocrity. They don't want to give up on a city life, so cling to a vision of high-demand excellence by the time their child has reached 6th grade.

I do n't t hink this is exactly it. I think they put a LOT of faith in the well-regarded IB curriculum, and trust that it will ensure a quality education.

Which is a little funny since most of the higher SES feeder and DCI parents would never consider sending their kids to Eliot-Hine or Eastern HS, both which offer the IB curriculum. Banneker does too, but white people avoid it for different reasons.

What a silly thing to say. Obviously the appeal of DCI isn't solely the IB curriculum; it's the opportunity to keep the kids with their cohort from elementary school and continue with language studies. I know DCUM is pretty harsh on DCI for not realizing its potential yet, but face it, DCI has a hell of a lot more potential than Elliot-Hine. Come on.

DCI has been open for 6 (well 5.5) years now. Parents have reason to be asking hard questions. The amount of teacher and admin turnover alone is troubling.

Sure, but that's not what the PP was talking about. She was wondering why people choose the IB program at DCI over Eliot-Hine and Eastern.

[Anonymous]

People choose DCI over Elliot or eastern for the language classes. Why is this hard to grasp?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Feeder parents don't want to deal with DCI's mediocrity. They don't want to give up on a city life, so cling to a vision of high-demand excellence by the time their child has reached 6th grade.

I do n't t hink this is exactly it. I think they put a LOT of faith in the well-regarded IB curriculum, and trust that it will ensure a quality education.

Which is a little funny since most of the higher SES feeder and DCI parents would never consider sending their kids to Eliot-Hine or Eastern HS, both which offer the IB curriculum. Banneker does too, but white people avoid it for different reasons.

What do most of these parents really know about the "well-regarded curriculum." The IB curriculum is only as good as the teaching and the preparation of the cohort of students pursuing the Diploma. Overall, DCI students' communication skills in target languages and writing skills in English seem likely to fall short. A program just can't do IB Diploma on good form with one-way immersion in its elementary school feeders (the case with French, Spanish and too much of the Spanish) unless families supplement extensively with bona fide immersion experiences.

Those of us who earned the IB Diploma with respectable pass point totals (in the mid 30s to low 40s) have our real doubts about the faith of the uninitiated in the curriculum itself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People choose DCI over Elliot or eastern for the language classes. Why is this hard to grasp?

Although the DCI language classes themselves aren't all that hot, other than perhaps the most advanced Spanish classes.

Hard to grasp why many parents believe that the immersion and partial immersion classes offered in the feeders/at DCI are first rate. They aren't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People choose DCI over Elliot or eastern for the language classes. Why is this hard to grasp?

Although the DCI language classes themselves aren't all that hot, other than perhaps the most advanced Spanish classes.

Hard to grasp why many parents believe that the immersion and partial immersion classes offered in the feeders/at DCI are first rate. They aren't.

Oh great one of those anti Yu Ying tigers again.

[Anonymous]

This tiger is simply disappointed with our Spanish "immersion" feeder.

Can't see us sticking around until DCI.