Wilson High

[Anonymous]

Anyone have input on the new principal at Wilson and his plans for the future of Wilson? Any Wilson parents out there who care to post about how their kids are doing at Wilson, particularly those in AP classes? How is the physical facility inside and are any major renovations planned? Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anyone have input on the new principal at Wilson and his plans for the future of Wilson? Any Wilson parents out there who care to post about how their kids are doing at Wilson, particularly those in AP classes? How is the physical facility inside and are any major renovations planned? Thanks.

And to add to these questions, can anybody address the security environment at Wilson? I don't have kids there yet, but was really uneasy about what I have read in the last year -- the number of assaults, the lunch time lockdown routine that existed for a while, etc.

[Anonymous]

I don't have any kids there yet, but I have friends who do and they think the new principal is fantastic. He has completely turned the school around and has totally gotten a handle on control issue. No more kids roaming the halls, disrupting class, etc. My friend said that Pete Cahall said at a meeting of incoming parents that the kids were going to think there were 10 of him-he's everywhere! He instituted a loose dress code-no hats, miniskirts, undergarments showing, etc., He also brought in a lot of talent from MoCo, and absolutely loves his job. I do think that he has ruffled feathers of some parents who were used to being more in charge of running the school, but I think he felt he had to take over total control and really own the problems there. Full disclosure: my husband was AP at Wilson back in '92-00, and had a lot to do with getting Cahall in at Wilson. He was on the search committee and had actually wanted to hire him in Anne Arundel Co. (where my husband is the Chief School Performance Officer) but was glad when he got the job at Wilson, as our son may well be there (if we get in out of boundary) in under 2 years. I think that in another year or so, Wilson will once again be one of the top high schools in the city-public or private.

Gina Arlotto
Capitol Hill mom with 7th, 4th and 1st grader at the Cap Hill cluster.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't have any kids there yet, but I have friends who do and they think the new principal is fantastic. He has completely turned the school around and has totally gotten a handle on control issue. No more kids roaming the halls, disrupting class, etc. My friend said that Pete Cahall said at a meeting of incoming parents that the kids were going to think there were 10 of him-he's everywhere! He instituted a loose dress code-no hats, miniskirts, undergarments showing, etc., He also brought in a lot of talent from MoCo, and absolutely loves his job. I do think that he has ruffled feathers of some parents who were used to being more in charge of running the school, but I think he felt he had to take over total control and really own the problems there. Full disclosure: my husband was AP at Wilson back in '92-00, and had a lot to do with getting Cahall in at Wilson. He was on the search committee and had actually wanted to hire him in Anne Arundel Co. (where my husband is the Chief School Performance Officer) but was glad when he got the job at Wilson, as our son may well be there (if we get in out of boundary) in under 2 years. I think that in another year or so, Wilson will once again be one of the top high schools in the city-public or private.

Gina Arlotto
Capitol Hill mom with 7th, 4th and 1st grader at the Cap Hill cluster.

Interesting. What kind of talent did Cahall bring from MoCo -- teachers, administrators? Why did he bring it from MoCo -- just him bringing people he knew or was there some kind of problem w/ the DCPS talent pool -- poor selection or too much red tape?

I was struck by your comment about ruffling the feathers of parents at the school who were used to being in charge -- at our DCPS elementary parents are far TOO in charge of instructional and structural/behavioral issues and the principal is fairly deferential, resulting in happy parents but a lackluster academic environment.

[Anonymous]

He brought in all new assts principals and an athletic director. I think the pool was shallow, and he really needed his own team. I think he wanted to keep the former AD, the legendary Eddie Saah, but Eddie had turned in his retirement papers and DCPS wouldn't let him retract them. I agree, that is an issue when parents are too much in charge. The same thing has happened at my own kids school. Honestly, I think parents say that they want a visionary leader, but are often scared when that person shows up and actually DOES take charge. I think it's great, though, and usually parents who were skeptical are often won over by the end of one year. I think this is already happening at Wilson with the teachers, or at least that's what I've heard from a few.

[Anonymous]

Well, judging from what I see in the afternoons when school lets out, the dress code isn't working. And some of those students are out of control.

[Anonymous]

What are they doing that is out of control? Just curious.

[Anonymous]

Do you have teenagers? Have you ever stepped foot in Wilson? Do you go and watch the kids get out at any other high school, public or private, suburban or urban? Teenagers are teenagers, and they are nothing to be afraid of and are not "out of control" their loudness and exuberant behavior notwithstanding. I find that people who have much younger children and have never yet raised a teenager often think that teenagers appear wild when they're just being kids. And the dress code is working-much better than in years past. Maybe not up to your own standards perhaps, depending on when you were raised.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you have teenagers? Have you ever stepped foot in Wilson? Do you go and watch the kids get out at any other high school, public or private, suburban or urban? Teenagers are teenagers, and they are nothing to be afraid of and are not "out of control" their loudness and exuberant behavior notwithstanding. I find that people who have much younger children and have never yet raised a teenager often think that teenagers appear wild when they're just being kids. And the dress code is working-much better than in years past. Maybe not up to your own standards perhaps, depending on when you were raised.

Particularly worth noting that the poster is observing "out of control" when the students are not actually in school. Sounds like kids blowing off smoke, and if that's happening after school because there is good control within the school, I can live with that.

[Anonymous]

Let's see, how shall I put this? The joyous and boisterous behavior I see regularly around the Tenley metro station, in CVS and in front of Starbucks in no way resembles the way teenagers act after school at other schools I am familiar with. Those aren't urban schools in a large city, they are in Minnesota and Denver.

It's not universally true that teenagers just need to punch each other, and shove each other and ME (with my preschooler) while yelling "FUUUUUUUUCK!!!!!!" I'm not buying it.

[Anonymous]

Go to events at the school and any other public or private school. Don't limit yourself to open houses. Football season is a good time to gage the student body - now go to basketball and anything else available. That includes plays -- if kids sit and watch tactfully it's good. If they're heckling -- not good. You can't judge a whole school by the yahoos outside CVS. And yes. I've seen them and wonder what the heck they are thinking. Nothing better to do? No activties, jobs, homework?

[Anonymous]

6:35 again. Teenage girls like to wear the abercrombie/hollister/juicy/BCBG look and knock-offs of this stuff. It is hard to dress like this unless the girl is thin. It's like bikinis - ok on some and gross on others. So Wilson girls are not dressing any differently than others when you see them out and about in this style. Occurs at all schools.

[Anonymous]

Occasionally I see a few obnoxious Wilson students on the metro in the morning but I realize that I happen to be noticing them because they're obnoxious. I never notice the quiet ones.....because they're quiet. Like a pp noted, take a look at what is happening "in" the school and don't judge all the students by the kids you see at the CVS.

[Anonymous]

Yeah, well maybe they're just being "exuberant" but there's a lot of cursing and roughousing, and it's a turnoff. To say nothing of the fact that a teacher got beaten up pretty badly a year or two ago, there've been shootings and fights over the years, and the school is pretty segregated. I'm a DC lifer, and I'm no stranger to urban nieghborhoods, but no way do I think that the atmosphere there is conducive to learning. Yes, I know some kids do well there, but I don't sense that that's the norm, and yes, I've actually set foot inside the school.

[Anonymous]

I'd be interested in hearing from somebody besides the Wilson booster, who actually has a kid in the school, to hear about what goes on on the inside.