Banneker vs Wilson, any thoughts?
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Anonymous
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I'm looking at high school for my DD now at Deal. We love Banneker but are wondering if DD would feel isolated as both Jewish and white at Banneker. Does anyone have any experiences with Banneker?
We are also looking at Wilson, which does seems like a great place for motivated kids PLUS has what seems to be an excellent arts program. Banneker seems a little short on non academic activities...But there's no beating Banneker for academic excellence it seems, which is very attractive. thoughts/comments/experiences appreciated |
Anonymous
| My son attended Banneker, until he couldn't keep up. It happens to boys. He and his best friend (a white kid) both had to leave. I LOVED Banneker. The kids are so smart and accepting. Your DD will not be phased. The kids will accept her. It's that kind of place. My son and his best friend, both loved it. Boys just don't do as well there. No fights, no bullying, no drama. Just kids trying to get a good education. I wish more white parents would give it a chance and they would see. |
Anonymous
Thanks for your candor. What happened when he couldn't keep up? Was it really tough for him to accept? This is one of my concerns about sending a child there, both the inconvenience and disruption, and the demoralization factor. FWIW all the kids I have met at Banneker seemed really great, and could fit in with people of any income level. |
Anonymous
| Thanks, this was very helpful actually. |
Anonymous
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FWIW my niece graduated from Banneker did a semester at Coppin State (gag) and ended up in hair school.
Guess my brother let her do her own thing. |
Anonymous
| You can't compare Banneker and Wilson...one is an application school and the other is a comprehensive. Banneker has all the issues that other schools experience but probably not at high-level. So they have the bullying, cheating, fighting and so whatever else but Principal Berger handles it swiftly. This first and only issue just irks me to no end...what's with the description; white and Jewish. I guess the blacks and Baptist should be worried too. Once you go black, you won't go back. |
Anonymous
The SAT scores at Banneker are lower than the national average SAT scores To me, that says something significant. The responses from people on DCUM have been that they come from crappy DCPS schools and they cannot catch up in 4 years.... that is an excuse, not an adequate explanation Full disclosure - We have a few kids at BASIS DC, who are in accelerated math and thriving, and figure if they can get through it all the way (they are STEM kids) our college acceptances will look pretty darn good At Wilson, the kids who succeed really knock it out of the park, but then there all those others which determine their national ranking. In DC we only have one high school nationally in the top 500 - #198, SWW, which DC and the present principal seem intent on destroying (the merge with Francis Stevens, the proposal which was blocked by parents about moving the 11th graders to Stevens sometimes). Apparently, MoCo is implementing a new math program and especially in the upper grades there have been some situations where the teachers do not understand the system sufficiently to explain it to the kids. I have a friend there who has put her older kid in private but is hoping that by the time her younger child gets to the critical decision point everyone will understand it. So that is the critical issue with MoCo schools the way I understand it. Deal and then Wilson have several tracks, and if you are not on the right one, your college prospects are pretty damn dim. No clue about what the deal is with Banneker, do know that at Latin you will never get the math and science, and that at Wilson if you are not in those honor classes you might as well give up. SWW has the best college admissions, which is probably why they ranked in the top 500. And if I recall correctly, most of the names of universities/SLACS I recognized. Not true of Washington Latin in their first year, but since the population is different, many probably opted for free rides on merit scholarships to no names. I also have faith in BASIS DC, because our AP scores will measure the quality of the education our kids are actually getting, here and elsewhere, their DC CAS scores in their second year were only beaten by Deal, and I highly recommend it. We are Tier 1 in Charter Schools rankings, and Title I (over 40% FARMS kids), which makes us eligible for extra help from OSSE, but also proves that it does not take a majority white affluent population (less than 20% FARMS like Deal and Latin MS are now) to make the special sauce that allows kids to ace the CAS. So please apply if you have a kid in 4th grade, and figure it out later. But I would not move to MoCo just yet. Had BASIS DC opened a year later, we would have bought our Pyle/Whitman house, and have had to move back! |
Anonymous
| yet another forum hijacked by a BASIS recruiter ... |
Anonymous
| But he/she has faith in BASIS! |
Anonymous
Hardly hijacked. Basis is another school anyone with a STEM kid should consider, and early on, because they are still taking only 5th-6th graders, but it does go all the way through high school, and at this point should certainly be an option on the table for anyone who is considering Banneker. |
Anonymous
However, POINTLESS for this parent who has a child in 8th, not 5th or 6th. |
Anonymous
Sorry, my assumption, but definitely beyond 5th and may be beyond 6th. |
Anonymous
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The Basis recruiter must used the copy and paste function.
FYI, no one even mentioned or asked about Basis. |
Anonymous
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I ran the idea of Bannekar past my bi-racial child who has attended schools that are more majority non-white (60/40) split and her reaction was that she would not want to go to a school where everyone was non-white. She thought it would be weird. It's probably a good idea to actually ask your kid how they might feel about this experience before getting too vested.
As far as academics, my preliminary look at it, seemed that it was for kids who excelled in the DC public schools. But what exactly does that mean? I think that is still below kids who excelled in say Fairfax or Arlington. So while it's likely the best of the best of DC school students, that's a tough sell to me as a parent. |
Anonymous
Nap. Yes you hijacked the title stated Banneker vs Wilson. Basis was not mentioned until you brought it up. If Basis is so great, there really is no need for this constant pimping of the school. Enough already, unless specifically asked for information. |