DCI or Deal

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, we are in the same boat. We are at a DCI feeder but in boundary for Deal. We are choosing to try DCI this year, thankfully knowing we can switch to Deal next year if DCI doesn't meet our goals. I know it would be harder on my DD to move in 7th than to just start new in 6th with everyone else. But we are encouraged by the improvements we see in DCI every year and more and more of my DD high performing classmates are going to DCI each year. I have toured both Deal and DCI and both seem to have similar cultures (granted, it was a one hour tour). Except that Deal had less diversity in terms of ethnicity and probably socioeconomic too, and I was more uncomfortable with that than I expected, coming from a feeder with a great diversity of backgrounds (and we are a white family who wants our kids to grow up with much more diversity than we did). I feel thankful to have these 2 options but are not looking back from our decision to go with DCI.

I am very surprised that you think Deal does not have diversity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, we are in the same boat. We are at a DCI feeder but in boundary for Deal. We are choosing to try DCI this year, thankfully knowing we can switch to Deal next year if DCI doesn't meet our goals. I know it would be harder on my DD to move in 7th than to just start new in 6th with everyone else. But we are encouraged by the improvements we see in DCI every year and more and more of my DD high performing classmates are going to DCI each year. I have toured both Deal and DCI and both seem to have similar cultures (granted, it was a one hour tour). Except that Deal had less diversity in terms of ethnicity and probably socioeconomic too, and I was more uncomfortable with that than I expected, coming from a feeder with a great diversity of backgrounds (and we are a white family who wants our kids to grow up with much more diversity than we did). I feel thankful to have these 2 options but are not looking back from our decision to go with DCI.

I am very surprised that you think Deal does not have diversity.

I didn't say it doesn't have diversity. I said it has less diversity than I expected and less than I would like. And less than DCI. Given that all the DCI feeders are full of families who are not native to this country, this shouldn't be surprising. As an example, my core group of 5-6 close families from different feeders have at least one parent who was born in a Latin American country.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, we are in the same boat. We are at a DCI feeder but in boundary for Deal. We are choosing to try DCI this year, thankfully knowing we can switch to Deal next year if DCI doesn't meet our goals. I know it would be harder on my DD to move in 7th than to just start new in 6th with everyone else. But we are encouraged by the improvements we see in DCI every year and more and more of my DD high performing classmates are going to DCI each year. I have toured both Deal and DCI and both seem to have similar cultures (granted, it was a one hour tour). Except that Deal had less diversity in terms of ethnicity and probably socioeconomic too, and I was more uncomfortable with that than I expected, coming from a feeder with a great diversity of backgrounds (and we are a white family who wants our kids to grow up with much more diversity than we did). I feel thankful to have these 2 options but are not looking back from our decision to go with DCI.

I am very surprised that you think Deal does not have diversity.

I didn't say it doesn't have diversity. I said it has less diversity than I expected and less than I would like. And less than DCI. Given that all the DCI feeders are full of families who are not native to this country, this shouldn't be surprising. As an example, my core group of 5-6 close families from different feeders have at least one parent who was born in a Latin American country.

NP here, and that makes it more diverse than Deal? Bizarre.

[Anonymous]

On diversity: DCI is obviously more diverse geographically than Deal -- the vast majority of Deal's students are in-boundary; DCI is a citywide charter school with most students equally split between Wards 1, 4, 5, and students from all 8 wards.

Deal is 8% at-risk, 28% black, 16% Latino, 47% white. (Data from DC School Report Card.) 5% ELL, 10% students with disabilities.
DCI is 19% at-risk, 39% black, 38% Latino, 15% white. 8% ELL, 14% students with disabilities.

So yes - DCI is more diverse economically/language background/disabilities, with no racial group as dominant as whites at Deal; and if you're white looking for a child to be among non-white students (as I am), the racial diversity at DCI is very much in your favor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCI isn’t exactly small and cozy either.

About 270 kids in a each grade.
Deal has just under 500 in each grade.

no, more like 550 in 6th grade at Deal

FWIW, the rising 6th grade apparently is smaller than in recent years; the principal said they’re expecting 475 instead of the 525-550 of the last few years. But then the numbers are projected to bounce back up, so it seems like an anomaly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve taught at Deal for a long time under far too many admin. There’s going to be a lot of turnover this year. Staff members are at their wits end with the lack of consequences for kids’ behavior. Skipping class is rampant. The bathrooms are disgusting right now. Multiple teachers have been hit by kids this year. I don’t know DCI, but I’d choose them.

Isn’t the current seventh grade a problem? I have heard parents of current seventh grade tell me they are a wild class with some pretty significant behavioral issues.

I have a 7th grader and haven’t heard anything to suggest that this class is worse than any other. However, the longtime 7th grade AP, whose reputation was not great, was out for a long time before being replaced a few months ago, so I wonder if that contributed to the perception of things being out of control? I don’t know much about the new AP, but my kid really likes him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:On diversity: DCI is obviously more diverse geographically than Deal -- the vast majority of Deal's students are in-boundary; DCI is a citywide charter school with most students equally split between Wards 1, 4, 5, and students from all 8 wards.

Deal is 8% at-risk, 28% black, 16% Latino, 47% white. (Data from DC School Report Card.) 5% ELL, 10% students with disabilities.
DCI is 19% at-risk, 39% black, 38% Latino, 15% white. 8% ELL, 14% students with disabilities.

So yes - DCI is more diverse economically/language background/disabilities, with no racial group as dominant as whites at Deal; and if you're white looking for a child to be among non-white students (as I am), the racial diversity at DCI is very much in your favor.

It’s not like Deal has zero diversity. It’s certainly not enough to opt for an inferior schools. If I had the choice, there would be no option. DCI is just not on the level of Deal and still has major kinks. There is a reason a lot of feeder kids don’t opt for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve taught at Deal for a long time under far too many admin. There’s going to be a lot of turnover this year. Staff members are at their wits end with the lack of consequences for kids’ behavior. Skipping class is rampant. The bathrooms are disgusting right now. Multiple teachers have been hit by kids this year. I don’t know DCI, but I’d choose them.

Isn’t the current seventh grade a problem? I have heard parents of current seventh grade tell me they are a wild class with some pretty significant behavioral issues.

I have a 7th grader and haven’t heard anything to suggest that this class is worse than any other. However, the longtime 7th grade AP, whose reputation was not great, was out for a long time before being replaced a few months ago, so I wonder if that contributed to the perception of things being out of control? I don’t know much about the new AP, but my kid really likes him.

Do the APs move with the grade or stay as the AP for the same grade the following year? Sorry, not a very clear question. Will the new AP of the current seventh grade be the AP of the eighth grade next year or stay and be the AP for the seventh grade next year (the current sixth graders)?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd choose Deal.

DCI has promise and probably will be a good school in a few more years. They are working hard on getting it right.

But it has high teacher turnover and has had several changes in administration in the short times it's been open.

My kids attended a DCI feeder but didn't attend (went to private). Our friends with typical kids are generally happy; friends with kids with 504s and IEPs (I know 5) are less so. It isn't that the school fights the; the goals and plans are good. But many teachers are green or from other countries where they don't have a lot of experience in working with different learners. Telling a parent of a kid with ADHD that Larla could do much better if she would 'just focus.'

This, except DCi *might* be a good school in a few more years. It's too early too tell. There are some major hurdles to overcome, SPED (as you mentioned), lack of inclusion (all team sports are try outs only despite parents' requests that not all should be), high teacher turnover, and low quality of many of the teachers. From what I hear, the admin doesn't seem concerned with fixing the first two issues. They would have to pay more for higher quality teachers or at least train them to overcome it. We have the same issue at our feeder in that the teachers don't have the skills to implement 504s and IEPs. Your example of telling parents of a kid with ADHD that Larla could do much better if she would 'just focus' (while the teacher fails to implement IEP requirements) is exactly what we've experienced at our feeder and we have no desire to repeat this in MS.

We're choosing Deal for our rising 6th grader. It's not an easy choice, as both schools have pros and cons. It depends what you're looking for in a school, and that's so specific to each family and child. For us, the inclusion aspects are very important. Deal recognizes that team sports are important for kids so there are some that take all comers. Everyone who participates gets a role in the school play. Things like that. Our feeder lacks this inclusion with a very weak SPED program, try outs for choir, etc. We also like the fact that Deal is more established and has stronger academics. Plus DC can continue in their target language from elementary.

We'll see which we choose for our younger kids. Schools change and kids' strengths and weaknesses become more apparent as they get older. I hope we made the right choice and I wish all other parents the best of luck as they make their decisions.

[Anonymous]

Thoughtful post, thanks, PP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd choose Deal.

DCI has promise and probably will be a good school in a few more years. They are working hard on getting it right.

But it has high teacher turnover and has had several changes in administration in the short times it's been open.

My kids attended a DCI feeder but didn't attend (went to private). Our friends with typical kids are generally happy; friends with kids with 504s and IEPs (I know 5) are less so. It isn't that the school fights the; the goals and plans are good. But many teachers are green or from other countries where they don't have a lot of experience in working with different learners. Telling a parent of a kid with ADHD that Larla could do much better if she would 'just focus.'

This, except DCi *might* be a good school in a few more years. It's too early too tell. There are some major hurdles to overcome, SPED (as you mentioned), lack of inclusion (all team sports are try outs only despite parents' requests that not all should be), high teacher turnover, and low quality of many of the teachers. From what I hear, the admin doesn't seem concerned with fixing the first two issues. They would have to pay more for higher quality teachers or at least train them to overcome it. We have the same issue at our feeder in that the teachers don't have the skills to implement 504s and IEPs. Your example of telling parents of a kid with ADHD that Larla could do much better if she would 'just focus' (while the teacher fails to implement IEP requirements) is exactly what we've experienced at our feeder and we have no desire to repeat this in MS.

We're choosing Deal for our rising 6th grader. It's not an easy choice, as both schools have pros and cons. It depends what you're looking for in a school, and that's so specific to each family and child. For us, the inclusion aspects are very important. Deal recognizes that team sports are important for kids so there are some that take all comers. Everyone who participates gets a role in the school play. Things like that. Our feeder lacks this inclusion with a very weak SPED program, try outs for choir, etc. We also like the fact that Deal is more established and has stronger academics. Plus DC can continue in their target language from elementary.

We'll see which we choose for our younger kids. Schools change and kids' strengths and weaknesses become more apparent as they get older. I hope we made the right choice and I wish all other parents the best of luck as they make their decisions.

This is not true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd choose Deal.

DCI has promise and probably will be a good school in a few more years. They are working hard on getting it right.

But it has high teacher turnover and has had several changes in administration in the short times it's been open.

My kids attended a DCI feeder but didn't attend (went to private). Our friends with typical kids are generally happy; friends with kids with 504s and IEPs (I know 5) are less so. It isn't that the school fights the; the goals and plans are good. But many teachers are green or from other countries where they don't have a lot of experience in working with different learners. Telling a parent of a kid with ADHD that Larla could do much better if she would 'just focus.'

This, except DCi *might* be a good school in a few more years. It's too early too tell. There are some major hurdles to overcome, SPED (as you mentioned), lack of inclusion (all team sports are try outs only despite parents' requests that not all should be), high teacher turnover, and low quality of many of the teachers. From what I hear, the admin doesn't seem concerned with fixing the first two issues. They would have to pay more for higher quality teachers or at least train them to overcome it. We have the same issue at our feeder in that the teachers don't have the skills to implement 504s and IEPs. Your example of telling parents of a kid with ADHD that Larla could do much better if she would 'just focus' (while the teacher fails to implement IEP requirements) is exactly what we've experienced at our feeder and we have no desire to repeat this in MS.

We're choosing Deal for our rising 6th grader. It's not an easy choice, as both schools have pros and cons. It depends what you're looking for in a school, and that's so specific to each family and child. For us, the inclusion aspects are very important. Deal recognizes that team sports are important for kids so there are some that take all comers. Everyone who participates gets a role in the school play. Things like that. Our feeder lacks this inclusion with a very weak SPED program, try outs for choir, etc. We also like the fact that Deal is more established and has stronger academics. Plus DC can continue in their target language from elementary.

We'll see which we choose for our younger kids. Schools change and kids' strengths and weaknesses become more apparent as they get older. I hope we made the right choice and I wish all other parents the best of luck as they make their decisions.

This is not true.

Are you saying that you know of an instance when a child wanted to participate in the Deal school play was turned away? At the tour, the Deal Principal said that everyone who wanted to participate got a role, although not every role was on stage. I'd love to know if this isn't the case and would appreciate more info.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve taught at Deal for a long time under far too many admin. There’s going to be a lot of turnover this year. Staff members are at their wits end with the lack of consequences for kids’ behavior. Skipping class is rampant. The bathrooms are disgusting right now. Multiple teachers have been hit by kids this year. I don’t know DCI, but I’d choose them.

Isn’t the current seventh grade a problem? I have heard parents of current seventh grade tell me they are a wild class with some pretty significant behavioral issues.

I have a 7th grader and haven’t heard anything to suggest that this class is worse than any other. However, the longtime 7th grade AP, whose reputation was not great, was out for a long time before being replaced a few months ago, so I wonder if that contributed to the perception of things being out of control? I don’t know much about the new AP, but my kid really likes him.

Do the APs move with the grade or stay as the AP for the same grade the following year? Sorry, not a very clear question. Will the new AP of the current seventh grade be the AP of the eighth grade next year or stay and be the AP for the seventh grade next year (the current sixth graders)?

No, the APs stay with the numeric grade. So, this year's 7th graders will have Mr. Rottman next year in 8th grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd choose Deal.

DCI has promise and probably will be a good school in a few more years. They are working hard on getting it right.

But it has high teacher turnover and has had several changes in administration in the short times it's been open.

My kids attended a DCI feeder but didn't attend (went to private). Our friends with typical kids are generally happy; friends with kids with 504s and IEPs (I know 5) are less so. It isn't that the school fights the; the goals and plans are good. But many teachers are green or from other countries where they don't have a lot of experience in working with different learners. Telling a parent of a kid with ADHD that Larla could do much better if she would 'just focus.'

This, except DCi *might* be a good school in a few more years. It's too early too tell. There are some major hurdles to overcome, SPED (as you mentioned), lack of inclusion (all team sports are try outs only despite parents' requests that not all should be), high teacher turnover, and low quality of many of the teachers. From what I hear, the admin doesn't seem concerned with fixing the first two issues. They would have to pay more for higher quality teachers or at least train them to overcome it. We have the same issue at our feeder in that the teachers don't have the skills to implement 504s and IEPs. Your example of telling parents of a kid with ADHD that Larla could do much better if she would 'just focus' (while the teacher fails to implement IEP requirements) is exactly what we've experienced at our feeder and we have no desire to repeat this in MS.

We're choosing Deal for our rising 6th grader. It's not an easy choice, as both schools have pros and cons. It depends what you're looking for in a school, and that's so specific to each family and child. For us, the inclusion aspects are very important. Deal recognizes that team sports are important for kids so there are some that take all comers. Everyone who participates gets a role in the school play. Things like that. Our feeder lacks this inclusion with a very weak SPED program, try outs for choir, etc. We also like the fact that Deal is more established and has stronger academics. Plus DC can continue in their target language from elementary.

We'll see which we choose for our younger kids. Schools change and kids' strengths and weaknesses become more apparent as they get older. I hope we made the right choice and I wish all other parents the best of luck as they make their decisions.

This is not true.

Are you saying that you know of an instance when a child wanted to participate in the Deal school play was turned away? At the tour, the Deal Principal said that everyone who wanted to participate got a role, although not every role was on stage. I'd love to know if this isn't the case and would appreciate more info.

Oh. Ok now it makes sense... (NP)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd choose Deal.

DCI has promise and probably will be a good school in a few more years. They are working hard on getting it right.

But it has high teacher turnover and has had several changes in administration in the short times it's been open.

My kids attended a DCI feeder but didn't attend (went to private). Our friends with typical kids are generally happy; friends with kids with 504s and IEPs (I know 5) are less so. It isn't that the school fights the; the goals and plans are good. But many teachers are green or from other countries where they don't have a lot of experience in working with different learners. Telling a parent of a kid with ADHD that Larla could do much better if she would 'just focus.'

This, except DCi *might* be a good school in a few more years. It's too early too tell. There are some major hurdles to overcome, SPED (as you mentioned), lack of inclusion (all team sports are try outs only despite parents' requests that not all should be), high teacher turnover, and low quality of many of the teachers. From what I hear, the admin doesn't seem concerned with fixing the first two issues. They would have to pay more for higher quality teachers or at least train them to overcome it. We have the same issue at our feeder in that the teachers don't have the skills to implement 504s and IEPs. Your example of telling parents of a kid with ADHD that Larla could do much better if she would 'just focus' (while the teacher fails to implement IEP requirements) is exactly what we've experienced at our feeder and we have no desire to repeat this in MS.

We're choosing Deal for our rising 6th grader. It's not an easy choice, as both schools have pros and cons. It depends what you're looking for in a school, and that's so specific to each family and child. For us, the inclusion aspects are very important. Deal recognizes that team sports are important for kids so there are some that take all comers. Everyone who participates gets a role in the school play. Things like that. Our feeder lacks this inclusion with a very weak SPED program, try outs for choir, etc. We also like the fact that Deal is more established and has stronger academics. Plus DC can continue in their target language from elementary.

We'll see which we choose for our younger kids. Schools change and kids' strengths and weaknesses become more apparent as they get older. I hope we made the right choice and I wish all other parents the best of luck as they make their decisions.

This is not true.

Are you saying that you know of an instance when a child wanted to participate in the Deal school play was turned away? At the tour, the Deal Principal said that everyone who wanted to participate got a role, although not every role was on stage. I'd love to know if this isn't the case and would appreciate more info.

ah, ok. I think roles are generally considered to be parts on stage. If being in stage crew is considered a "role" then yes, I'm sure every child with an interest can participate! (and an have a great time doing so!)