McKinley Tech-- anyone have a student there?

[Anonymous]

I just looked up the test scores out of curiousity, and am very pleasantly surprised! Maybe this is a viable option?

[Anonymous]

I don't have a child there (too young), but I'm an educator and very familiar with the school. It has a bad reputation that seems to be about ten years out of date, from when it first reopened as a STEM school and had some first years problems. I think it's a great option for young people who are interested in the STEM fields.

[Anonymous]

My kids are too young, but my neighbors have one of their kids there and seems to like it.

[Anonymous]

Our DC is there with seven hundred other kids. Teachers are excellent and the courses are well taught and challenging. Last year 1000 kids applied and 200 got in. What do you want to know?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our DC is there with seven hundred other kids. Teachers are excellent and the courses are well taught and challenging. Last year 1000 kids applied and 200 got in. What do you want to know?

Thanks! My DS is 3 and lego-obsessed, but it's a little hard to imagine him in high school at this point. Questions... what is the STEM curriculum like? Do they still have foreign languages, music, good English classes, all the non-STEM stuff? Does it feel like too big a school? Do you live in the neighborhood? Does your DC socialize with school friends outside of school?

[Anonymous]

Im a Tech parent. Love the school but it is very challenging for my child. Children are given options to be on the biotechnology, information technology or engineering path that starts in the 10th grade but selected in the 9th with the option to change before the 10th. My child is doing well with her STEM classes but not well in English b/c it is equally demanding. Yes he takes a foreign language and they even have Mandarin. They have state of the art equipment to learn from and very dedicated, qualified and energetic teachers. Its takes a lot to be accepted into the school and alot to stay. Children have the option to test out of classes to take a more challenging course so to me it means they get the individual child. I know a child taking Alegbra 2, honors geometry, honors world history, honors English etc in the 9th grade.
I think all students are encourage to join an after school activity to be apart of the community. And I think all students have to take JROTC. They have community and collegiate partnerships. This is not a school were students are left to figure out things on their own therefore parents are strongly encouraged to work with the school to develop the whole child so they won't get discourage by the rigors of the environment. I love the school and very honored my child was selected. The neighborhood is safe. They need and aquatic center. Im hearing of students being jumped by Dunbar students for clothing. The building is huge and shared with their middle school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids are too young, but my neighbors have one of their kids there and seems to like it.

I'm the PP here. I forgot to mention that my neighbors are in fact zoned for Wilson. Their kid at McKinley attended Deal prior, and they also have a younger kid at Deal.

My kid is just 3, so I wasn't paying close attention--but interesting that they had other options and could've chosen Wilson, but instead chose McKinley. Perhaps they have a STEM-loving kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids are too young, but my neighbors have one of their kids there and seems to like it.

I'm the PP here. I forgot to mention that my neighbors are in fact zoned for Wilson. Their kid at McKinley attended Deal prior, and they also have a younger kid at Deal.

My kid is just 3, so I wasn't paying close attention--but interesting that they had other options and could've chosen Wilson, but instead chose McKinley. Perhaps they have a STEM-loving kid.

Can anyone shed light as to their admission standards? Is it based on CAS scores? Some other assessment / aptitude test? Or is the "application" they're talking about simply the lottery?

[Anonymous]

McKinley Tech HS has a buzz about it. My son, who is in middle school and very interested in STEM options, came home from school the other day saying he really, really needed to go there. So we started looking into it and asking around and have found only very positive info. Turns out a good family friend of ours (who also had kids at Walls) has a child there and is very pleased. That friend says that while McKinley Tech is equally challenging as Walls, there is more guidance and close supervision of assignments and deadlines at McKinley tech. Students are less left to just get things done on their own, which I think can really be a great asset. It's also centrally located, which is nice.

Please keep answers coming!

[Anonymous]

One thing that concerned me about Tech was the website, particularly the teacher interviews. They all--even the English teachers--had multiple grammatical errors. I want to give them the benefit of the doubt and assume that someone else typed them up and put them on the site, and the syllabi posted (while from 2010) seemed better-written, but does anyone have insight into how well reading and writing are taught?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One thing that concerned me about Tech was the website, particularly the teacher interviews. They all--even the English teachers--had multiple grammatical errors. I want to give them the benefit of the doubt and assume that someone else typed them up and put them on the site, and the syllabi posted (while from 2010) seemed better-written, but does anyone have insight into how well reading and writing are taught?

Wow! I just read these, and they are terrible. There is no way I would trust any of these English teachers to teach my children to write.

[Anonymous]

Website is atrocious. Teachers are terrific. Education is age and grade appropriate with ability to work higher than grade level if warranted. Kids are nice. They do not have to join ROTC. Fewer electives than a larger school because of STEM requirements. If it were double the size it would have a better budget. Gets the short end of the DCPS central office stick compared to other high schools IMO making resources scarcer than they ought to be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids are too young, but my neighbors have one of their kids there and seems to like it.

I'm the PP here. I forgot to mention that my neighbors are in fact zoned for Wilson. Their kid at McKinley attended Deal prior, and they also have a younger kid at Deal.

My kid is just 3, so I wasn't paying close attention--but interesting that they had other options and could've chosen Wilson, but instead chose McKinley. Perhaps they have a STEM-loving kid.

Can anyone shed light as to their admission standards? Is it based on CAS scores? Some other assessment / aptitude test? Or is the "application" they're talking about simply the lottery?

DC CAS, essay, report card, recommendation, testing for placement once accepted

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:McKinley Tech HS has a buzz about it. My son, who is in middle school and very interested in STEM options, came home from school the other day saying he really, really needed to go there. So we started looking into it and asking around and have found only very positive info. Turns out a good family friend of ours (who also had kids at Walls) has a child there and is very pleased. That friend says that while McKinley Tech is equally challenging as Walls, there is more guidance and close supervision of assignments and deadlines at McKinley tech. Students are less left to just get things done on their own, which I think can really be a great asset. It's also centrally located, which is nice.

I would just add for kids interested in STEM options that BASIS DC is a STEM school in disguise - it is a lottery charter, only accepts 5th and 6th graders, but we have two STEM kids there and they are challenged and happy, and it will go through 12th (oldest class is in 10th now). We lost kids to Walls but none to McKinley Tech that I know of. New school, some bumps in the road but getting better every year. A ton of work but a smaller school and sounds like it may be easier to get into than McKinley - they had open spaces in 6th this year. Part of a chain from AZ, 2nd highest DC CAS scores last year for MS after Deal, so getting a bunch of pretty well prepared students. 6th-8th the kids all take Bio, Chem and Physics each year. Plus Logic in 7th and Econ in 8th, and advanced science starts in 8th.

They test for math before school starts (some 8th graders in AP Calc AB, larger group of 5th graders going in that direction (about 14 in Algebra I this year)), best way to get your kid in with the hardcore STEM kids is to get them ready for Algebra I in 5th or Algebra II in 6th if you can. You have to do it yourself - or Khan Academy on line (free) can probably teach your kid enough to do the placement test. Also has some kids who may not get to Calculus until 12th, not all STEM. Also real diversity - some zoned for Deal, some home schooled, some from private and we are a Title I school as well (>40% FARMS). Post said 30% white - not sure, but maybe. Just wanted to offer it up because there don't seem to be that many schools like McKinley Tech - my husband knew BASIS was STEM, put our first kid in when it opened, but a lot still don't seem to because it doesn't really say it. Anyway, not trying to hijack just sounds like as always there is a supply/demand issue, and for STEM kids it is great - but your kid also has to be prepared to work hard, even in 5th. 30 math problems each night, etc.... As I said, our kids are happy even with the workload.

[Anonymous]

My daughter and her best friend entered as 9th graders and graduated first and second of their senior class. Both are now juniors at University NC and North Carolina State respectively majoring in engineering. Both were also accepted to Banneker but selected McKinley because of the extra-curricular activities.