DCI or Deal

[Anonymous]

My kid at Wilson is fed up with the uneven quality of teachers. There are a few good teachers, a few horrible ones and many who are mediocre to sub-par. The administration doesn’t seem to care much about anything except talking about honors for all. We regret having picked Wilson. If you spend some time, looking beneath the surface, it is not a pretty picture. Talk to your kids - cheating is widespread.

Were you choosing among public options? Or would you pick private over Wilson?

[Anonymous]

How do they cheat? On tests or assignments? That’s very disconcerting to hear.

[Anonymous]

Ask any Wilson student about the cheating. They will tell you how common it is. Teachers will admit it is something they really struggle with if you ask them. It is hard to manage because of the overcrowded classrooms

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

You can spin it how you want but in real time in high school, it’s not about SAT scores and graduation rates. We know our child will do fine on the SAT and graduate. It’s about rigor and peer group. That’s tied to competency and PARCC. With only just over 1/2 of the students at grade level in ELA and not even 1/3rd at Math, that’s far from a school with high performing peers.

It is incorrect to say that only 1/3 of Wilson students are at grade level in math. PARCC math testing stops at Geometry, so many kids will never take PARCC math in high school at all. In 2018 only 328 students out of the whole school of 1800+ took a PARCC math test.

The kids taking PARCC math at Wilson are either 9th graders who are one year above grade level, or students who are in at or below grade level classes when they take the test. The rest never take PARCC in high school because they are too far above grade level. 80% of the 9th grade class comes from Deal and in 2018, 245 8th grade students at Deal were taking above grade level math classes.

[Anonymous]

OK, and Wilson does track for math (unavoidable not to). But what about 9th and 10th grade humanities classes? It's OK to water down advanced classes by adding students who lack basic skills? Why bother to run neighborhood schools that don't serve in-boundary families well? Why let the wimp politicians who support the ego maniacal Principal Martin and her myopic DCPS handlers off the hook like this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OK, and Wilson does track for math (unavoidable not to). But what about 9th and 10th grade humanities classes? It's OK to water down advanced classes by adding students who lack basic skills? Why bother to run neighborhood schools that don't serve in-boundary families well? Why let the wimp politicians who support the ego maniacal Principal Martin and her myopic DCPS handlers off the hook like this?

You sound angry. You also do not sound like you have a student at Wilson, or have even set foot in the building.

A majority of Wilson students live IB. Students are not leaving in droves.

If a DCPS school isn’t serving its students well, it would majority OOB (as Wilson did for a long time) or have a high attrition rate.

[Anonymous]

Not the poster you're responding - we're a Deal family.

Darn right that we're angry as rising Wilson families.

I think you're wrong about the low attrition rate as a barometer of Wilson's high quality. IB families stay and parents pay more and more to supplement.

OOB families aren't so choosy, given the dearth of remotely appealing by-right high school options in this particular city. Moving or going private is simply unworkable for many of us in the neighborhood, given that Wilson is OK and we've planned on enrolling there for years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not the poster you're responding - we're a Deal family.

Darn right that we're angry as rising Wilson families.

I think you're wrong about the low attrition rate as a barometer of Wilson's high quality. IB families stay and parents pay more and more to supplement.

OOB families aren't so choosy, given the dearth of remotely appealing by-right high school options in this particular city. Moving or going private is simply unworkable for many of us in the neighborhood, given that Wilson is OK and we've planned on enrolling there for years.

Angry? Seriously? Do you think you live IB for New Trier or something?

Wilson is better now than it has been in a decade, because the number of high needs kids is decreasing. The achievement gap between students by the time your kid arrives isn’t going to be much greater than it is at Deal.

If you want more acceleration and challenge, send your kid to Walls or Banneker. You have options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OK, and Wilson does track for math (unavoidable not to). But what about 9th and 10th grade humanities classes? It's OK to water down advanced classes by adding students who lack basic skills? Why bother to run neighborhood schools that don't serve in-boundary families well? Why let the wimp politicians who support the ego maniacal Principal Martin and her myopic DCPS handlers off the hook like this?

What makes you think it is watered down? Where did you get that information, or is that just a guess?

[Anonymous]

Wilson provided a well rounded atmosphere for my AA daughter. She was provided a solid academic offerings and is at a great university.

It may not work for some, but it's what you make of it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wilson provided a well rounded atmosphere for my AA daughter. She was provided a solid academic offerings and is at a great university.

It may not work for some, but it's what you make of it.

Right, but your daughter must have attended Wilson before Honors for All.

Principal Martin has made great strides in screwing up the experience for advanced students in humanities and science classes in the last two school years. Only math and foreign languages remain a safe bet.

Wilson is no longer just what a family "makes of it." Any high school is the sum of its parts, including appropriate rigor and good teaching the brightest, best prepared and most motivated students have access to. Political concerns should not trump academic prerogatives like this.

Banneker and Walls? Come on, where are the white and Asian kids at Banneker (we're Asian)? Where is the effort to recruit them? If your student doesn't crack Walls, what good option do you have in Upper NW if you can't afford privates for your strong and enthusiastic humanities student? They can sit in class alongside a bunch of kids who can't work at a middle school level in "Honors" classes. Sheet idiocy.

[Anonymous]

Sheer idiocy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wilson provided a well rounded atmosphere for my AA daughter. She was provided a solid academic offerings and is at a great university.

It may not work for some, but it's what you make of it.

Right, but your daughter must have attended Wilson before Honors for All.

Principal Martin has made great strides in screwing up the experience for advanced students in humanities and science classes in the last two school years. Only math and foreign languages remain a safe bet.

Wilson is no longer just what a family "makes of it." Any high school is the sum of its parts, including appropriate rigor and good teaching the brightest, best prepared and most motivated students have access to. Political concerns should not trump academic prerogatives like this.

Banneker and Walls? Come on, where are the white and Asian kids at Banneker (we're Asian)? Where is the effort to recruit them? If your student doesn't crack Walls, what good option do you have in Upper NW if you can't afford privates for your strong and enthusiastic humanities student? They can sit in class alongside a bunch of kids who can't work at a middle school level in "Honors" classes. Sheet idiocy.

If you child is all that, they will get into Walls. And find that it can be just as uneven as Wilson. Because you take a test to get in there isn’t tracking. But the test is only one part of admission and there is a wide range in preparedness. Toss in a few meh teachers — and you have a public school where it is on students to push themselves to a large degree.

As for Wilson, it had NEVER been what you are seeking. And DCPS probably doesn’t want it to be what you are describing. You can tail about Marting all you want, but the beloved former principal didn’t share your vision either.



Apply to private. You may get financial aid. If you have a boy St Anselm’s may be a good fit (many non-Catholic kids btw) and tuition is less than half of that of GDS of SFS.

[Anonymous]

Np. I'd love a St. Anselms for girls. Does something comparable exist here?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Np. I'd love a St. Anselms for girls. Does something comparable exist here?

Holy Cross is worth a look - $25K. Or Holton, much higher tuition but a large endowment and good financial aid for a student they really want.