BASIS DC to open in 2012-2013
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Anonymous
More and more families are actually staying at Latin for HS. They had very few spots open for 9th grade this year. |
Anonymous
As a parent of a 4th grade YY student, there is NO WAY I would join another first year charter. I think YY will be an excellent school one day and the parents of 1st graders (maybe 2nd) and lower are extremely lucky to have their children enrolled there. |
Anonymous
| PP, are you going to keep your 4th grader at YY? |
Anonymous
Yes. |
Anonymous
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THIS IS NOT A YY FORUM.
STOP HIGHJACKING |
Anonymous
TAKE A VALIUM! |
Anonymous
You sound like you are not happy with the YY upper grades. |
Anonymous
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Anonymous
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More and more families are actually staying at Latin for HS. They had very few spots open for 9th grade this year.
Depends on what sort of high school program you want/need. I'm with pps thinking that selective admissions work best for the top/most disciplined kids (but that it's in the DC DNA not to agree). We didn't stay after 8th, moved, and sent him to the Blair math magnet because we don't have the money for independents (we work for nonprofits) and he's the sort of kid who has the talent/drive to compete in natl science competitions (he will start projects for Google and Siemens in 10th grade, and can take AP Latin at Blair). We still own a house in the District and may try to send our younger son to Latin for ms. I was disappointed that in Latin's first graduating class very few kids, if any, applied to Ivies, Little Ivies, military academies, MIT etc. True, more and more families are staying for HS, but science competitions and taking more than a few AP classes are not what Latin seems to have in mind. In our experience, excellent tends to be code for above average in the DC charter world. Not bad, just mediocre compared to the burbs. I went to the US Naval Academy and MIT and couldn't see a path for him to reach either from Latin. But if you're chasing state school admissions, or 2-4 star colleges, you're good at Latin now, and will surely be better off in a few years. |
Anonymous
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+1, good point.
I have an 8th grader heading to Wilson (turned down Walls, and Latin ms for Deal). Guidance counselors at city high schools tend to greatly exaggerate the extent to which grads are being admitted to elite colleges. They will have, say, one kid in at Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Stanford etc. every other year, and spin the story to give you the impression that 10 are admitted annually. The stats are hard to come by (I like how some privates make college admissions info public), leaving parents hard pressed to find an administrator who takes ivy league admissions seriously. The schools do seem to do a good job heping kids get into state college and universities. Maybe Basis will actually change all this, but I'd be surprised with so few parents who know the ropes stay for hS to keep administrators honest. I plan to keep an open mind about Basis for our younger son, but am not holding my breath. 
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Anonymous
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So what do you think is the crux of the problem with admission to top colleges now? Not enough strong students? Not enough savvy administrators, guidance counselors and parents or something more?
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Anonymous
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All of the above and more. The empahsis on what's "equitable" can CROWD OUT other concerns. Not equitable to give special attention to especially promising kids, #$%*!.
Most top DCPS students don't know how to enter the sci competitions, or to reach for other high wattage resume polishing opportunities of the type that private and suburban schools direct kids to. With so few graduates getting to 5-star schools, few return to spread the word about how to go. Area alums tend to be willing to give talks about their schools to 9th-11th graders, and to interview applicants, with relatively few doing that for Walls and Wilson. Well, maybe the increase in the number of Latin kids staying for HS and Basis expertise imported from out West will alter the equation..... |
Anonymous
Hello--sounds like you are a family with aspirations, an apparently brilliant and motivated kid, and a fantastic academic background, who left Latin and are disappointed in its first graduating class (this year). Many founding Latin families like yours left this first graduating class and a few of the subsequent ones for reasons that can be dug up on many another thread. I would (sincerely) suggest flipping your disappointment to congratulate the children who stayed and pressed on. Considering that they were not the ones who peeled off for Walls and privates, Latin's very small first graduating class has done extremely well in both admissions and scholarships. The children are going to schools that are a good match, and they are getting tons of support to do so. I believe almost every single student has been accepted, and the combined scholarships are astounding. Latin's first graduating class rose above a huge brain drain to form a cohesive class with heart that has set a very positive example for the children coming into High School. I congratulate them for sticking through some Latin transitions, and it looks to me like they have all found good academic footholds --places where they can succeed, put money away, and perhaps attend a more storied grad program (if they are inclined). In today's economy, that may be a smarter road forward than some Ivies (!), though of course it is always nice to have the option to turn an Ivy down. As more academically prepared students have stayed each year, the honors classes are filling up and the potential as you say for Ivy admissions is rising. I agree that Latin should have more science projects and partnerships in mind--though these things take time. In only their third year of State Science Fair I will say that FOUR Latin Upper School students placed in the top three for their category, with TWO freshmen taking 1st place: Behavioral Science and Biochemistry. This is a state (all city) competition against schools public and private (Wilson, Walls, Visitation, Banneker). That's not going to look too shabby when these students apply to MIT, especially when MIT takes into consideration how motivated these kids had to be to accomplish this without all the bells and whistles of a Blair. Please check out the results yourself: http://www.dcps.dc.gov/DCPS/DCSTEMFair Good luck to you and your family; I'm glad your children found a good foothold. Google and Siemens, watch out, the Latin kids may be coming on board soon ! 
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Anonymous
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In today's economy, that may be a smarter road forward than some Ivies (!), though of course it is always nice to have the option to turn an Ivy down.
It all sounds nice, but common sense dictates that students accepted at Ivies, admitting not even 10% of applicants, rarely turn them all down. In today's economy, if you are a student whose parents don't earn six figures, it may be smarter (just maybe) to attend an Ivy where you pay little or no tuition than to attend a state school or private liberal arts college where you emerge tens of thousands of dollars in debt. While teaching at the U of MD in College Park, a common destination for the new Latin class, this year I was troubled to discover how many of the low and moderate income kids I was teaching were about to emerge owing $50,000 or more just in Stafford Loans. Most Ivies are now giving families earning 4 or 5 figures a full ride, or very close, not the case when I attended 20 years ago. The ES TAG and rigorous academic middle school magnets deficit is clearly croaking top students at the best public high schools in the city. Almost to a kid, they can't compete with Mo. Co. and Fairfax kids who've come up through such programs - far too much challenge is poured on at the very end in the form of honors/AP classes. When I look at the list of schools the Latin kids were admitted to in 2011 (more power to the school for publishing it, which doesn't seem to happen in DCPS) I see a very long way to go before Ivies, MITs and military academies make the list. Charter schools like Latin that want to be all things to all comers, however well intentioned, do end up shortchanging their best students. The "bells and whistles" at Blair aren't bells and whistles, they're what top kids need and deserve. |
Anonymous
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