DCI or Deal

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You're missing the crux of the problem. No GT programs in traditional schools in this City, no law on GT education in the District, no focus on challenging the brightest kids.

The only real challenge in a public middle school can be found at BASIS, and their facilities are weak, their curriculum inflexible and their approach fairly brutal.

Outside BASIS, most of us pay to supplement, a lot.

all this talk of supplementing has me wondering:
- how do you know when/if you need to supplement
- are we talking tutors?
- how to find a good tutor that is worth the $$?

I have kids at Deal and supplement. I'm moving one to a Big3 school. Why do we supplement? 1) My kids get As at Deal with very little effort. "Little effort" this past year meaning that they had one standing assignment per week but otherwise did no homework outside of class. They never studied for a test or quiz at home. Rarely (I'd say once a month) did they do a math problem outside of school. 2) They always get 5's on the 2 PARCCs (math and ELA). They score in the 99% of the city and high 90s in their upper NW schools on the PARCC. 3) their writing (as learned in DCPS) is fairly abysmal.
So we supplement at home and during the summer with extra ELA work and writing and they take writing classes outside of school during the year and during the summer.
I know MANY Deal parents who are supplementing heavily this summer. Most don't advertise it (and others look at us like we have two heads) but there is a ton of summer supplementing going on. Many kids taking classes outside of Deal, doing work-books, working with tutors, etc. etc.

This … and then Deal teachers or any teachers at the west of the park schools were much of this goes on get credit, test scores on PARCC etc and the rest of the city (admin) look to copy what they are doing for the other schools, when in reality it is nothing, it is the parents. This is why this whole testing and comparing schools is ridiculous, it means neither low or high students get what they need and in reality it is all a farce, or as DC teachers like to say "smoke and mirrors". The involved parents know the real deal with DCPS.

[Anonymous]

We are supplementing heavily after 6th grade at Deal because my child (who just got 4 straight quarters worth of As at Deal after being a top student at a JKLM) can barely write and had ZERO idea what either an adverb or a preposition were.

[Anonymous]

Not remotely surprised to hear this. Writing instruction is minimal in DCPS all the way up. In fact, the entire humanities curriculum is paper thin. The system does a much better job with math and science.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You're missing the crux of the problem. No GT programs in traditional schools in this City, no law on GT education in the District, no focus on challenging the brightest kids.

The only real challenge in a public middle school can be found at BASIS, and their facilities are weak, their curriculum inflexible and their approach fairly brutal.

Outside BASIS, most of us pay to supplement, a lot.

all this talk of supplementing has me wondering:
- how do you know when/if you need to supplement
- are we talking tutors?
- how to find a good tutor that is worth the $$?

I have kids at Deal and supplement. I'm moving one to a Big3 school. Why do we supplement? 1) My kids get As at Deal with very little effort. "Little effort" this past year meaning that they had one standing assignment per week but otherwise did no homework outside of class. They never studied for a test or quiz at home. Rarely (I'd say once a month) did they do a math problem outside of school. 2) They always get 5's on the 2 PARCCs (math and ELA). They score in the 99% of the city and high 90s in their upper NW schools on the PARCC. 3) their writing (as learned in DCPS) is fairly abysmal.
So we supplement at home and during the summer with extra ELA work and writing and they take writing classes outside of school during the year and during the summer.
I know MANY Deal parents who are supplementing heavily this summer. Most don't advertise it (and others look at us like we have two heads) but there is a ton of summer supplementing going on. Many kids taking classes outside of Deal, doing work-books, working with tutors, etc. etc.

This … and then Deal teachers or any teachers at the west of the park schools were much of this goes on get credit, test scores on PARCC etc and the rest of the city (admin) look to copy what they are doing for the other schools, when in reality it is nothing, it is the parents. This is why this whole testing and comparing schools is ridiculous, it means neither low or high students get what they need and in reality it is all a farce, or as DC teachers like to say "smoke and mirrors". The involved parents know the real deal with DCPS.

Agreed that a big problem is lack of challenge and programs for kids working above PARCC level.

One way parents can help fix this: opt out of the PARCC. Take the focus away from testing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You're missing the crux of the problem. No GT programs in traditional schools in this City, no law on GT education in the District, no focus on challenging the brightest kids.

The only real challenge in a public middle school can be found at BASIS, and their facilities are weak, their curriculum inflexible and their approach fairly brutal.

Outside BASIS, most of us pay to supplement, a lot.

all this talk of supplementing has me wondering:
- how do you know when/if you need to supplement
- are we talking tutors?
- how to find a good tutor that is worth the $$?

I have kids at Deal and supplement. I'm moving one to a Big3 school. Why do we supplement? 1) My kids get As at Deal with very little effort. "Little effort" this past year meaning that they had one standing assignment per week but otherwise did no homework outside of class. They never studied for a test or quiz at home. Rarely (I'd say once a month) did they do a math problem outside of school. 2) They always get 5's on the 2 PARCCs (math and ELA). They score in the 99% of the city and high 90s in their upper NW schools on the PARCC. 3) their writing (as learned in DCPS) is fairly abysmal.
So we supplement at home and during the summer with extra ELA work and writing and they take writing classes outside of school during the year and during the summer.
I know MANY Deal parents who are supplementing heavily this summer. Most don't advertise it (and others look at us like we have two heads) but there is a ton of summer supplementing going on. Many kids taking classes outside of Deal, doing work-books, working with tutors, etc. etc.

This … and then Deal teachers or any teachers at the west of the park schools were much of this goes on get credit, test scores on PARCC etc and the rest of the city (admin) look to copy what they are doing for the other schools, when in reality it is nothing, it is the parents. This is why this whole testing and comparing schools is ridiculous, it means neither low or high students get what they need and in reality it is all a farce, or as DC teachers like to say "smoke and mirrors". The involved parents know the real deal with DCPS.

Agreed that a big problem is lack of challenge and programs for kids working above PARCC level.

One way parents can help fix this: opt out of the PARCC. Take the focus away from testing.

How would that help?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not remotely surprised to hear this. Writing instruction is minimal in DCPS all the way up. In fact, the entire humanities curriculum is paper thin. The system does a much better job with math and science.

Actually, there is a lot of writing instruction at Deal. It just doesn't involve grammar, usage, and mechanics. All of the writing is geared toward learning how to respond to a PARCC prompt using the formula known as RACE. If teachers spend any time teaching GUM or spelling, they receive feedback from coaches that this isn't a good use of teaching time. I would also agree that the humanities curriculum, if you could call it that, because social studies and ELA are in separate silos, is pretty thin gruel. But the curriculum is determined by central office, where they spend a lot of time developing units that bore the heck out students (and teachers as well).

[Anonymous]

Opting out of PARCC would limit students’ options as they would be unable to apply to DCPS application high schools.

FWIW, my two children had very solid writing instruction in their JKLM elementary school and my Deal graduate is a strong writer. This DC has, however, always been a voracious reader and a grammar nerd, I have never supplemented beyond purchasing a literal mountain of books. And this DC is also not impressed with the Deal ELA instruction as DC notes they have taught the same method of story analysis every year but (I think) renamed it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who said there is widespread cheating at Deal? Those comments were about Wilson.

Also, I believe the categories are formatives, homework and summatives.

Don’t forget the 50% policy

What is the 50% policy?

The only one I know of is that "No more than 50% of a summative task may be completed outside of class for seventh and eighth grade students."

It's at HS. A student who makes even a basic attempt at an assignment or test (anything but leaving it blank) receives 50%.

The same policy is in effect in MCPS too; it is a trend in public high schools to reflect effort and attempts. Or, some say, to boost graduation rates.

Terrible policy. Just take it and even if I get only 1 question right, I’ll get a 50%. This is grade inflation. Then Ill cheat and can still pass without knowing anything. Then take that into the equation for DC ranking (graduation rates) from 1-5 for their schools.

That may be the policy in MCPS, but that is absolutely NOT a policy at Deal. My kids have the zeros on assignments to prove it, sadly.

Yest but the gradebook automatically counts zeros as 50%, there is no such thing as a zero. The kids know ask them...

This is inaccurate

[Anonymous]

PP, it just isn't true that students can't apply to DCPS application high schools without PARCC scores, not now, not ever.

We've opted out since 3rd grade yet child was admitted to SWW this year. We submitted SAT scores instead of PARCC with Walls application. Child took SAT in fall of 7th grade to submit as required component of Johns Hopkins CTY summer camp and scored high enough (low 600s after some prep) to access the camp. You just explain that you opted out on the Walls application, with supporting documentation (e.g. letter to Deal admins stating that you are opting out, perhaps with a few lines about why).

Students coming in from other public school systems or privates routinely apply to DCPS application high schools WITHOUT PARCC SCORES, along with the small and growing number of applicants whose parents have opted them out of PARCC.

[Anonymous]

How would opting out of PARCC affect the curriculum at DCI, Deal or Wilson?

[Anonymous]

So we know what Deal is doing (maybe?) What is DCI doing? I am sure the grass is not greener.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So we know what Deal is doing (maybe?) What is DCI doing? I am sure the grass is not greener.

True. We've had several DCI kids transfer to Deal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP, it just isn't true that students can't apply to DCPS application high schools without PARCC scores, not now, not ever.

We've opted out since 3rd grade yet child was admitted to SWW this year. We submitted SAT scores instead of PARCC with Walls application. Child took SAT in fall of 7th grade to submit as required component of Johns Hopkins CTY summer camp and scored high enough (low 600s after some prep) to access the camp. You just explain that you opted out on the Walls application, with supporting documentation (e.g. letter to Deal admins stating that you are opting out, perhaps with a few lines about why).

Students coming in from other public school systems or privates routinely apply to DCPS application high schools WITHOUT PARCC SCORES, along with the small and growing number of applicants whose parents have opted them out of PARCC.

Thank you for sharing this. This is good to know.
Hopefully they will update the SWW application page with this info!

[Anonymous]

Just to counter-balance: several Deal kids have transferred to DCI!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just to counter-balance: several Deal kids have transferred to DCI!

How are these kids coping with the language aspect of DCI? I thought DCI kids were all bilingual already or at least very advanced. Who would switch to an immersion school in MS?