Hill Middle Schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why is this choice being posed as Walls v Dunbar? Why is everyone pretending that Banneker and McKinley don’t exist?

Those are selective schools too. The point is, people "live their values" by attending their IB middle school despite its low performance, but that pro-IB rationale tends to fall apart when the price of a bad high school is too high to pay.

[Anonymous]

NP: Isn’t this thread about MS? It is amazing that when someone says they are happy with a Hill MS, people start talking about HSs. Start an Eastern thread if you want to talk about Hill HSs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why is this choice being posed as Walls v Dunbar? Why is everyone pretending that Banneker and McKinley don’t exist?

Because McKinley is a technology high school where 0% of the student body earned a 5 on the PARCC test. How is that even possible???

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is this choice being posed as Walls v Dunbar? Why is everyone pretending that Banneker and McKinley don’t exist?

Because McKinley is a technology high school where 0% of the student body earned a 5 on the PARCC test. How is that even possible???

Should clarify -- 0% in the PARCC math test.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is this choice being posed as Walls v Dunbar? Why is everyone pretending that Banneker and McKinley don’t exist?

Because McKinley is a technology high school where 0% of the student body earned a 5 on the PARCC test. How is that even possible???

I mean, the rate of 5s on the math PARCC at Walls is 1%, and everyone is talking about Walls. (And it’s actually exactly one student at each school.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP: Isn’t this thread about MS? It is amazing that when someone says they are happy with a Hill MS, people start talking about HSs. Start an Eastern thread if you want to talk about Hill HSs.

Yes, please do that, start another thread.

[Anonymous]

One big problem for the Hill middle schools is that 5th is the only significant entry year for Latin and Basis. You can always “try” Latin or Basis for a year or two and then switch back to your in-bound middle school. But you cannot do the reverse. This results in a lot of people with some inclination to attend the nearby school gradually deciding to at least participate in the 5th grade charter school lottery and then further deciding to try Latin/Basis for 5th grade. Repeat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One big problem for the Hill middle schools is that 5th is the only significant entry year for Latin and Basis. You can always “try” Latin or Basis for a year or two and then switch back to your in-bound middle school. But you cannot do the reverse. This results in a lot of people with some inclination to attend the nearby school gradually deciding to at least participate in the 5th grade charter school lottery and then further deciding to try Latin/Basis for 5th grade. Repeat.

But it does bear repeating. I'm SHOCKED at the number of parents at our former going-down-the-tubes charter school that didn't realize this....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One big problem for the Hill middle schools is that 5th is the only significant entry year for Latin and Basis. You can always “try” Latin or Basis for a year or two and then switch back to your in-bound middle school. But you cannot do the reverse. This results in a lot of people with some inclination to attend the nearby school gradually deciding to at least participate in the 5th grade charter school lottery and then further deciding to try Latin/Basis for 5th grade. Repeat.

100%. The biggest change I’d like to see to DC schools is ending DCPS & charter ESes in the same year. The current model is absurd and terrible for DCPS, which should frankly be the priority.

That said, this is exactly us. Our IB is SH and we’re actually not sure if we’d prefer it or BASIS, but will send our kid to BASIS if we lottery in, because if she hates it, she could still not only go to SH but start on time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One big problem for the Hill middle schools is that 5th is the only significant entry year for Latin and Basis. You can always “try” Latin or Basis for a year or two and then switch back to your in-bound middle school. But you cannot do the reverse. This results in a lot of people with some inclination to attend the nearby school gradually deciding to at least participate in the 5th grade charter school lottery and then further deciding to try Latin/Basis for 5th grade. Repeat.

100%. The biggest change I’d like to see to DC schools is ending DCPS & charter ESes in the same year. The current model is absurd and terrible for DCPS, which should frankly be the priority.

That said, this is exactly us. Our IB is SH and we’re actually not sure if we’d prefer it or BASIS, but will send our kid to BASIS if we lottery in, because if she hates it, she could still not only go to SH but start on time.

Sorry, should really be starting DCPS and charter middles in the same year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One big problem for the Hill middle schools is that 5th is the only significant entry year for Latin and Basis. You can always “try” Latin or Basis for a year or two and then switch back to your in-bound middle school. But you cannot do the reverse. This results in a lot of people with some inclination to attend the nearby school gradually deciding to at least participate in the 5th grade charter school lottery and then further deciding to try Latin/Basis for 5th grade. Repeat.

100%. The biggest change I’d like to see to DC schools is ending DCPS & charter ESes in the same year. The current model is absurd and terrible for DCPS, which should frankly be the priority.

That said, this is exactly us. Our IB is SH and we’re actually not sure if we’d prefer it or BASIS, but will send our kid to BASIS if we lottery in, because if she hates it, she could still not only go to SH but start on time.

Sorry, should really be starting DCPS and charter middles in the same year.

I agree. I can't believe DCPS let that happen in the first place. It is so bad for dcps elementary schools and I also like 5th graders being with the younger crew for that year too.

[Anonymous]

DCPS didn’t let it happen. Remember, the public schools and the charter schools are different systems over seen by the mayor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DCPS didn’t let it happen. Remember, the public schools and the charter schools are different systems over seen by the mayor.

They are both public schools though so it had to be approved by someone affiliated with DCPS, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCPS didn’t let it happen. Remember, the public schools and the charter schools are different systems over seen by the mayor.

They are both public schools though so it had to be approved by someone affiliated with DCPS, right?

No.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCPS didn’t let it happen. Remember, the public schools and the charter schools are different systems over seen by the mayor.

They are both public schools though so it had to be approved by someone affiliated with DCPS, right?

No.

Both systems are overseen by the Mayor. The PCSB is not under any DCPS person's authority, and yes things would be quite different if it were.

I do think it's ridiculous for charters to say they can't take anyone new after 5th. Oh soooo haaaaaard, oh our precious "culture" which is apparently a delicate flower that would be ruined by even one new kid. It's just avoiding doing a share of the harder jobs of a school system.