Hidden Gems

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:While I think the Brookings report that was based on DCUM posts is utter trash that was only saved from being used to line our cats' litter box by the fact that is it digital and not physical, several posters have asked me to reflect on what DCUM could do better. With the understanding that we all can always do better, I agree that DCUM could do more. I propose with this thread that posters nominate "hidden gem" schools. These should be schools that don't get much attention on DCUM, but are worth posters' attention. To keep the list to "hidden" schools, let's eliminate from nomination any of the schools mentioned in the Brookings report as "high-attention". On page 10 of the report:

https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Discussions_DC_public_school_options_online_forum_Brookings-Report.pdf

There are clusters of schools categorized by the amount of attention they get on DCUM. Please do not nominate schools from the 145 Charter Cluster, the 145 Traditional Cluster, the High-Attention ES Cluster, the High-Attention MS/HS Cluster, or the Ward 6 Cluster. Any schools outside those lists are fair game.

Here is my nomination: McKinley Technology High School.

McKinley Technology High School has a Five Star rating, but only 3% of its students are white. Personally, I think the biggest challenge with the school is its location which might not work for everyone. While a STEM focus might not be for everyone, for those who are interested it seems like an excellent choice. I think McKinley is deserving of more attention on DCUM.

How much do you actually know about McKinley Tech? Are you just going on general impressions or do you know quite a bit about it? I looked into it in detail. My son actually tried it for 9th grade but it was mediocre. He transferred back to Wilson and the STEM offerings actually seemed stronger at Wilson. Disappointing but true for us. It is not really a magnet school in any sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

jsteele wrote:While I think the Brookings report that was based on DCUM posts is utter trash that was only saved from being used to line our cats' litter box by the fact that is it digital and not physical, several posters have asked me to reflect on what DCUM could do better. With the understanding that we all can always do better, I agree that DCUM could do more. I propose with this thread that posters nominate "hidden gem" schools. These should be schools that don't get much attention on DCUM, but are worth posters' attention. To keep the list to "hidden" schools, let's eliminate from nomination any of the schools mentioned in the Brookings report as "high-attention". On page 10 of the report:

https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Discussions_DC_public_school_options_online_forum_Brookings-Report.pdf

There are clusters of schools categorized by the amount of attention they get on DCUM. Please do not nominate schools from the 145 Charter Cluster, the 145 Traditional Cluster, the High-Attention ES Cluster, the High-Attention MS/HS Cluster, or the Ward 6 Cluster. Any schools outside those lists are fair game.

Here is my nomination: McKinley Technology High School.

McKinley Technology High School has a Five Star rating, but only 3% of its students are white. Personally, I think the biggest challenge with the school is its location which might not work for everyone. While a STEM focus might not be for everyone, for those who are interested it seems like an excellent choice. I think McKinley is deserving of more attention on DCUM.

How much do you actually know about McKinley Tech? Are you just going on general impressions or do you know quite a bit about it? I looked into it in detail. My son actually tried it for 9th grade but it was mediocre. He transferred back to Wilson and the STEM offerings actually seemed stronger at Wilson. Disappointing but true for us. It is not really a magnet school in any sense.

I don’t think high schools or middle schools can be hidden gems. The word gets out as folks are desperate for good secondary schools. But I guess magic can happen at the elementary school level. That might be more plausible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

jsteele wrote:While I think the Brookings report that was based on DCUM posts is utter trash that was only saved from being used to line our cats' litter box by the fact that is it digital and not physical, several posters have asked me to reflect on what DCUM could do better. With the understanding that we all can always do better, I agree that DCUM could do more. I propose with this thread that posters nominate "hidden gem" schools. These should be schools that don't get much attention on DCUM, but are worth posters' attention. To keep the list to "hidden" schools, let's eliminate from nomination any of the schools mentioned in the Brookings report as "high-attention". On page 10 of the report:

https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Discussions_DC_public_school_options_online_forum_Brookings-Report.pdf

There are clusters of schools categorized by the amount of attention they get on DCUM. Please do not nominate schools from the 145 Charter Cluster, the 145 Traditional Cluster, the High-Attention ES Cluster, the High-Attention MS/HS Cluster, or the Ward 6 Cluster. Any schools outside those lists are fair game.

Here is my nomination: McKinley Technology High School.

McKinley Technology High School has a Five Star rating, but only 3% of its students are white. Personally, I think the biggest challenge with the school is its location which might not work for everyone. While a STEM focus might not be for everyone, for those who are interested it seems like an excellent choice. I think McKinley is deserving of more attention on DCUM.

How much do you actually know about McKinley Tech? Are you just going on general impressions or do you know quite a bit about it? I looked into it in detail. My son actually tried it for 9th grade but it was mediocre. He transferred back to Wilson and the STEM offerings actually seemed stronger at Wilson. Disappointing but true for us. It is not really a magnet school in any sense.

I don’t think high schools or middle schools can be hidden gems. The word gets out as folks are desperate for good secondary schools. But I guess magic can happen at the elementary school level. That might be more plausible.

This. There are not enough large high schools for any of them to be hidden. I suppose I might propose Friendship Tech.

[Anonymous]

Thurgood Marshall turns out high quality graduates and has a great teaching staff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:maybe if people go into a hidden gem with their head down to learn and list vs. coming in that they know how to do it; they know how all families live or should live; that they are the expert on an area they have never been a part of until their child was there. then people won't think you are a colonizer or a bigot or a racist.

and maybe if you go in you think - hmmmmmm i can learn something from "those people" and not be there to save them.

That's not a tenable way to approach a child's education. I say this as a mom with a kid with SN/behavioral issues/just all around tricky kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree. I think the concept of "hidden gem," is weird among people seeking equity in schools. Its like someone is bargain shopping.

This is an impossible double bind. The critique (such as it is discernable) from Brookings is that DCUM only discusses a small portion of schools and thereby assists segregation. This was Jeff's attempt to broaden the discussion to additional schools.

[Anonymous]

Let me promote a school that is not my kids but is my neighbors - WEST - people need to know more about West. A big thing about it is that when you see it next, it's going to be open in an awesome new building. The neighborhood isn't that dense, so it will probably be able to accept at least some out of boundary kids. (I think?)

We're looking at boosting the MacFarland area feeders (we're at another one with 2 kids and aren't a Deal-Wilson family) and think West is going to be awesome in its new space with its students and staff.

As usual - you got to know what's up before it gets full, so use this knowledge for good!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree. I think the concept of "hidden gem," is weird among people seeking equity in schools. Its like someone is bargain shopping.

This is an impossible double bind. The critique (such as it is discernable) from Brookings is that DCUM only discusses a small portion of schools and thereby assists segregation. This was Jeff's attempt to broaden the discussion to additional schools.

And I find that criticism odd, because it seems like a large portion of schools do get at least mentioned. Not so much DCPS neighborhood elementaries EOTR other than Leckie, Orr, Houston, and Kimball, but the sheer number of schools mentioned is pretty large. Being discussed here is not always a good thing and does not always correlate with the desirability of the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let me promote a school that is not my kids but is my neighbors - WEST - people need to know more about West. A big thing about it is that when you see it next, it's going to be open in an awesome new building. The neighborhood isn't that dense, so it will probably be able to accept at least some out of boundary kids. (I think?)

We're looking at boosting the MacFarland area feeders (we're at another one with 2 kids and aren't a Deal-Wilson family) and think West is going to be awesome in its new space with its students and staff.

As usual - you got to know what's up before it gets full, so use this knowledge for good!

It's already on one of the lists on page 10.

[Anonymous]

Seriously, folks, look inward. The huge majority of posts on the DC public school pages talk incessantly of the (silly-named) JKLM schools and disparage anything else. And when a poster talks about, say, buying in Logan or Shaw you invariably hear "but where are your kids going to go to school?" "Good luck with that! (snark)"

This is an extraordinarily elitist forum of the worst kind, where NIMBYism really and truly rules the day. It's basically "sure, I'm a Democrat and I'm liberal, and the hell with Trump, but there's no way I'm going to experiment with education with MY kid!"

It's pathetic.

(BTW I am a white parent with kids in a "hidden gem" DC public school that I'm not going to mention here. I don't want any of you sending your kids there!)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Seriously, folks, look inward. The huge majority of posts on the DC public school pages talk incessantly of the (silly-named) JKLM schools and disparage anything else. And when a poster talks about, say, buying in Logan or Shaw you invariably hear "but where are your kids going to go to school?" "Good luck with that! (snark)"

This is an extraordinarily elitist forum of the worst kind, where NIMBYism really and truly rules the day. It's basically "sure, I'm a Democrat and I'm liberal, and the hell with Trump, but there's no way I'm going to experiment with education with MY kid!"

It's pathetic.

(BTW I am a white parent with kids in a "hidden gem" DC public school that I'm not going to mention here. I don't want any of you sending your kids there!)

+1.

I wonder if we go to the same school.

Did we talk about this on Saturday in the park?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seriously, folks, look inward. The huge majority of posts on the DC public school pages talk incessantly of the (silly-named) JKLM schools and disparage anything else. And when a poster talks about, say, buying in Logan or Shaw you invariably hear "but where are your kids going to go to school?" "Good luck with that! (snark)"

This is an extraordinarily elitist forum of the worst kind, where NIMBYism really and truly rules the day. It's basically "sure, I'm a Democrat and I'm liberal, and the hell with Trump, but there's no way I'm going to experiment with education with MY kid!"

It's pathetic.

(BTW I am a white parent with kids in a "hidden gem" DC public school that I'm not going to mention here. I don't want any of you sending your kids there!)

+1.

I wonder if we go to the same school.

Did we talk about this on Saturday in the park?

Ha ha, nope. Still good to new there are kindred spirits out there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Seriously, folks, look inward. The huge majority of posts on the DC public school pages talk incessantly of the (silly-named) JKLM schools and disparage anything else. And when a poster talks about, say, buying in Logan or Shaw you invariably hear "but where are your kids going to go to school?" "Good luck with that! (snark)"

This is an extraordinarily elitist forum of the worst kind, where NIMBYism really and truly rules the day. It's basically "sure, I'm a Democrat and I'm liberal, and the hell with Trump, but there's no way I'm going to experiment with education with MY kid!"

It's pathetic.

(BTW I am a white parent with kids in a "hidden gem" DC public school that I'm not going to mention here. I don't want any of you sending your kids there!)

Probably not as much of a hidden gem as you think.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seriously, folks, look inward. The huge majority of posts on the DC public school pages talk incessantly of the (silly-named) JKLM schools and disparage anything else. And when a poster talks about, say, buying in Logan or Shaw you invariably hear "but where are your kids going to go to school?" "Good luck with that! (snark)"

This is an extraordinarily elitist forum of the worst kind, where NIMBYism really and truly rules the day. It's basically "sure, I'm a Democrat and I'm liberal, and the hell with Trump, but there's no way I'm going to experiment with education with MY kid!"

It's pathetic.

(BTW I am a white parent with kids in a "hidden gem" DC public school that I'm not going to mention here. I don't want any of you sending your kids there!)

+1.

I wonder if we go to the same school.

Did we talk about this on Saturday in the park?

Ha ha, nope. Still good to new there are kindred spirits out there.

you’re not actually better than everyone else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Seriously, folks, look inward. The huge majority of posts on the DC public school pages talk incessantly of the (silly-named) JKLM schools and disparage anything else. And when a poster talks about, say, buying in Logan or Shaw you invariably hear "but where are your kids going to go to school?" "Good luck with that! (snark)"

This is an extraordinarily elitist forum of the worst kind, where NIMBYism really and truly rules the day. It's basically "sure, I'm a Democrat and I'm liberal, and the hell with Trump, but there's no way I'm going to experiment with education with MY kid!"

It's pathetic.

(BTW I am a white parent with kids in a "hidden gem" DC public school that I'm not going to mention here. I don't want any of you sending your kids there!)

You like to feel superior to people I guess. Not a very appealing quality if I may say so.
We can all benefit from reflection including you.