DCI feeder families, with 4th graders, lottery?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BASIS DC is the best option for any academically minded kid.

I think the IB is a much more rigorous program than taking a bunch of AP tests. I think DCI offers much more in terms of sports, clubs, extracurricular, than Basis.

+1. Absolutely agree about IB and wanted to add that it focuses a lot on writing and critical analysis which I believe is very important. I say that as someone who is in a STEM field.

As to sports, clubs, and extracurriculars there is just no comparison. DCI blows Basis away.

Also, I want my child to have a good, happy well rounded middle and high school experience like I did, not some pressure cooker, AP focus at the expense of all else.

LOL. If these are the 16 or so clubs at DCI, I don't think the school blows anyone away:

https://dcinternationalschool.org/dci-life/clubs/q4-activities/

Seems pretty similar to BASIS DC except the latter doesn't have a dog walking club.

16 clubs and 8 sports for quarter 4. Other offerings in clubs and sports for quarters 1-3. So yes, totally blows Basis away.

Are you including the DCI Dog Walking Club?

You didn't cite any numbers for BASIS DC and you apparently know nothing about the school, so you obviously have no basis for your statement that DCI's clubs and sports "blow[] Basis away."

In fact, BASIS DC has over 100 clubs, teams, societies, and sports.

Come on, Basis does not have 100 active clubs, teams, sports, etc…. The school is lacking in extracurriculars, sports, and facilities. Many students go outside the school for this from neighbor.

So many threads on above about this.

I'm a very happy BASIS parent who frequently posts in defense of BASIS. PP is dead right on their assessment. BASIS is a great school and we are lucky to be there. It does a lot of things really well. Let's be honest, afterschool clubs, sports (non-e-sports anyway) and the like are not things at which it excels.

Agree with that. The point you missed is that DCI doesn't really offer anything better.

If you want high-level sports and lots of extracurriculars, head over to Deal or J-R.

Yea no, Deal and JR are way too overcrowded and have their own problems, the main being that many kids don’t even get to play many sports at all because travel kids or top players dominate. I’ve talked to parents there about this.

DCI has 8 sports in 4th quarter for spring. Why don’t you tell us exactly how many sports with real teams there are at Basis for spring term? Also how many real clubs there fielded with kids running them at the school for spring term? Are there 16 actually in house after school? Please list sports and clubs so we can all agree that Basis offers the same.

Serious question: is dog walking a sport or club at DCI?

Detract much. Still waiting for the list….

Here you go: https://enrollbasis.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/dc-tour-kit.pdf.

You obviously don’t have a child at the school. No, Basis DC currently does not have many of the clubs, sports listed above.

You obviously didn’t read the brochure. It says the activities vary from year to year based on student interest. In fact, the list doesn’t include some sports and clubs added this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCI scores in the bottom half of the word in IB scores.

Not impressed.

There are schools in India in areas with a fraction of the income of the DMV that do better in IB.

True. But at least DCI does better than Banneker or Eastern.

However, Montgomery County IB runs circles around it.

You can move to MC, apply for their IB program and basically have a 10% chance of getting a spot.

They just implemented a lottery so if your kid meets their admissions criteria, it’s now a lottery instead of a committee selecting. Still around 10% odds if they get similar number of applicants as in the past.

Good luck with that. They are also very well established programs that have been around for a while. Totally different than DCI program but if you self select only the top 1-2% kids in the city, sure comparison is similar.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCI scores in the bottom half of the word in IB scores.

Not impressed.

There are schools in India in areas with a fraction of the income of the DMV that do better in IB.

True. But at least DCI does better than Banneker or Eastern.

However, Montgomery County IB runs circles around it.

You can move to MC, apply for their IB program and basically have a 10% chance of getting a spot.

They just implemented a lottery so if your kid meets their admissions criteria, it’s now a lottery instead of a committee selecting. Still around 10% odds if they get similar number of applicants as in the past.

Good luck with that. They are also very well established programs that have been around for a while. Totally different than DCI program but if you self select only the top 1-2% kids in the city, sure comparison is similar.

To add, there are academic/test score criteria’s you need meet to apply. That’s why I said too 1-2% because these are the students in MC that meet the criteria

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCI scores in the bottom half of the word in IB scores.

Not impressed.

There are schools in India in areas with a fraction of the income of the DMV that do better in IB.

True. But at least DCI does better than Banneker or Eastern.

However, Montgomery County IB runs circles around it.

Why don’t you tell us the IB averages of these schools then if you think so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BASIS DC is the best option for any academically minded kid.

I think the IB is a much more rigorous program than taking a bunch of AP tests. I think DCI offers much more in terms of sports, clubs, extracurricular, than Basis.

+1. Absolutely agree about IB and wanted to add that it focuses a lot on writing and critical analysis which I believe is very important. I say that as someone who is in a STEM field.

As to sports, clubs, and extracurriculars there is just no comparison. DCI blows Basis away.

Also, I want my child to have a good, happy well rounded middle and high school experience like I did, not some pressure cooker, AP focus at the expense of all else.

LOL. If these are the 16 or so clubs at DCI, I don't think the school blows anyone away:

https://dcinternationalschool.org/dci-life/clubs/q4-activities/

Seems pretty similar to BASIS DC except the latter doesn't have a dog walking club.

16 clubs and 8 sports for quarter 4. Other offerings in clubs and sports for quarters 1-3. So yes, totally blows Basis away.

Are you including the DCI Dog Walking Club?

You didn't cite any numbers for BASIS DC and you apparently know nothing about the school, so you obviously have no basis for your statement that DCI's clubs and sports "blow[] Basis away."

In fact, BASIS DC has over 100 clubs, teams, societies, and sports.

Come on, Basis does not have 100 active clubs, teams, sports, etc…. The school is lacking in extracurriculars, sports, and facilities. Many students go outside the school for this from neighbor.

So many threads on above about this.

I'm a very happy BASIS parent who frequently posts in defense of BASIS. PP is dead right on their assessment. BASIS is a great school and we are lucky to be there. It does a lot of things really well. Let's be honest, afterschool clubs, sports (non-e-sports anyway) and the like are not things at which it excels.

Agree with that. The point you missed is that DCI doesn't really offer anything better.

If you want high-level sports and lots of extracurriculars, head over to Deal or J-R.

Yea no, Deal and JR are way too overcrowded and have their own problems, the main being that many kids don’t even get to play many sports at all because travel kids or top players dominate. I’ve talked to parents there about this.

DCI has 8 sports in 4th quarter for spring. Why don’t you tell us exactly how many sports with real teams there are at Basis for spring term? Also how many real clubs there fielded with kids running them at the school for spring term? Are there 16 actually in house after school? Please list sports and clubs so we can all agree that Basis offers the same.

Serious question: is dog walking a sport or club at DCI?

Detract much. Still waiting for the list….

Here you go: https://enrollbasis.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/dc-tour-kit.pdf.

You obviously don’t have a child at the school. No, Basis DC currently does not have many of the clubs, sports listed above.

You obviously didn’t read the brochure. It says the activities vary from year to year based on student interest. In fact, the list doesn’t include some sports and clubs added this year.

Reality is the school is small and not enough interest for many clubs, extracurriculars. Same to field sport teams and no facilities to practice/play.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DCI scores in the bottom half of the word in IB scores.

Not impressed.

There are schools in India in areas with a fraction of the income of the DMV that do better in IB.

Really? Please share the link to your source for this info. I'd really like to see it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BASIS DC is the best option for any academically minded kid.

I think the IB is a much more rigorous program than taking a bunch of AP tests. I think DCI offers much more in terms of sports, clubs, extracurricular, than Basis.

+1. Absolutely agree about IB and wanted to add that it focuses a lot on writing and critical analysis which I believe is very important. I say that as someone who is in a STEM field.

As to sports, clubs, and extracurriculars there is just no comparison. DCI blows Basis away.

Also, I want my child to have a good, happy well rounded middle and high school experience like I did, not some pressure cooker, AP focus at the expense of all else.

LOL. If these are the 16 or so clubs at DCI, I don't think the school blows anyone away:

https://dcinternationalschool.org/dci-life/clubs/q4-activities/

Seems pretty similar to BASIS DC except the latter doesn't have a dog walking club.

16 clubs and 8 sports for quarter 4. Other offerings in clubs and sports for quarters 1-3. So yes, totally blows Basis away.

Actually, you have no idea what you are talking about.

I'm not the person you're replying to, but saying "Actually, you have no idea what you're talking about" and then not providing a shred of "corrective info" to show what YOU are talking about is useless. So for now, that other poster's info still sounds good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The anecdotes and scores at DCI discussed above are consistent with what we have heard. While I can agree with a philosophy about minimizing homework during elementary school years, I do believe homework is essential beginning in middle school. We were shocked when current DCI MS students told us they did not have homework. More rigor and tracking in MS would inevitably help raise IB scores in HS but we didn’t get the impression that this is a priority at DCI. I think families have to go in with their eyes open just like at any of the other schools and think about which part(s) of their child’s education they are prioritizing and which part(s) they are capable of supplementing to fill in gaps.

DCI parent here, and seriously wondering which teachers all these kids who have "no homework" have?? I believe kids are telling you this, but it is SO inconsistent with our experience with both kids, it's really puzzling. My kid who is now in 8th grade, granted 6th grade was lockdown year, so can't say she had a ton of homework. But 7th grade she went back in person and she is a good student but was pretty stressed out with how much homework she had on a regular basis. This year 8th grade for her is more manageable because she's learning how to manage her homework.

Our oldest definitely had homework all 3 yrs of middle school but it did also ramp up a lot more in 7th and 8th. But he had it in 6th too.

So no idea who these kids with no homework, who their teachers are, but as I talk to other DCI parents I do not hear anyone saying their kid has no homework.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCI scores in the bottom half of the word in IB scores.

Not impressed.

There are schools in India in areas with a fraction of the income of the DMV that do better in IB.

True. But at least DCI does better than Banneker or Eastern.

However, Montgomery County IB runs circles around it.

You can move to MC, apply for their IB program and basically have a 10% chance of getting a spot.

They just implemented a lottery so if your kid meets their admissions criteria, it’s now a lottery instead of a committee selecting. Still around 10% odds if they get similar number of applicants as in the past.

Good luck with that. They are also very well established programs that have been around for a while. Totally different than DCI program but if you self select only the top 1-2% kids in the city, sure comparison is similar.

What are you talking about? The IB Diploma at Richard Montgomery HS in Rockville? There are SEVEN high school IB programs in MoCo but only the one at Richard Montgomery is an application magnet. The Bethesda Chevy Chase IBD program is just as high-performing as RM, but not test-in. A few of the others IBD programs in MoCo are higher-performing than DCI. https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/specialprograms/high/ib.aspx#tabs-4

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The anecdotes and scores at DCI discussed above are consistent with what we have heard. While I can agree with a philosophy about minimizing homework during elementary school years, I do believe homework is essential beginning in middle school. We were shocked when current DCI MS students told us they did not have homework. More rigor and tracking in MS would inevitably help raise IB scores in HS but we didn’t get the impression that this is a priority at DCI. I think families have to go in with their eyes open just like at any of the other schools and think about which part(s) of their child’s education they are prioritizing and which part(s) they are capable of supplementing to fill in gaps.

DCI parent here, and seriously wondering which teachers all these kids who have "no homework" have?? I believe kids are telling you this, but it is SO inconsistent with our experience with both kids, it's really puzzling. My kid who is now in 8th grade, granted 6th grade was lockdown year, so can't say she had a ton of homework. But 7th grade she went back in person and she is a good student but was pretty stressed out with how much homework she had on a regular basis. This year 8th grade for her is more manageable because she's learning how to manage her homework.

Our oldest definitely had homework all 3 yrs of middle school but it did also ramp up a lot more in 7th and 8th. But he had it in 6th too.

So no idea who these kids with no homework, who their teachers are, but as I talk to other DCI parents I do not hear anyone saying their kid has no homework.

My 7th grader can do most of her homework during her hour-long commute to DCI from SE via public transportation. She doesn't seem to get more than around an hour of homework per weekday. We enroll her in extra academics/tutoring on-line to bump up her homework. She gets maybe 15-minutes worth of homework in her language class, not nearly enough to really learn the language, so we supplement. We will be looking for a more rigorous HS experience.

[Anonymous]

Same here. DCI just doesn’t offer much rigor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The anecdotes and scores at DCI discussed above are consistent with what we have heard. While I can agree with a philosophy about minimizing homework during elementary school years, I do believe homework is essential beginning in middle school. We were shocked when current DCI MS students told us they did not have homework. More rigor and tracking in MS would inevitably help raise IB scores in HS but we didn’t get the impression that this is a priority at DCI. I think families have to go in with their eyes open just like at any of the other schools and think about which part(s) of their child’s education they are prioritizing and which part(s) they are capable of supplementing to fill in gaps.

DCI parent here, and seriously wondering which teachers all these kids who have "no homework" have?? I believe kids are telling you this, but it is SO inconsistent with our experience with both kids, it's really puzzling. My kid who is now in 8th grade, granted 6th grade was lockdown year, so can't say she had a ton of homework. But 7th grade she went back in person and she is a good student but was pretty stressed out with how much homework she had on a regular basis. This year 8th grade for her is more manageable because she's learning how to manage her homework.

Our oldest definitely had homework all 3 yrs of middle school but it did also ramp up a lot more in 7th and 8th. But he had it in 6th too.

So no idea who these kids with no homework, who their teachers are, but as I talk to other DCI parents I do not hear anyone saying their kid has no homework.

My 7th grader can do most of her homework during her hour-long commute to DCI from SE via public transportation. She doesn't seem to get more than around an hour of homework per weekday. We enroll her in extra academics/tutoring on-line to bump up her homework. She gets maybe 15-minutes worth of homework in her language class, not nearly enough to really learn the language, so we supplement. We will be looking for a more rigorous HS experience.

I'm the PP you replied to, fair enough, I can understand that take. My daughter had way more language homework on most days, but she came from a feeder school so if your daughter is new to her language, we didn't have that experience at DCI. If she came from years at a feeder school, what language is she learning? But again, fair enough that the rigor that is at DCI isn't consistent enough.

[Anonymous]

My seventh grader completes all her work at school. Homework is when you couldn't complete your work on time. Sometimes she does do her homework during downtime in other classes, but mostly there is no homework. She gets very good grades, so it's not like she's pretending there's no homework.

Homework is actually not my worry, with DCI. I wish there was more rigor in Chinese lower-level classes and more options for higher-level math (not just one grade above) for those kids who are ahead.

[Anonymous]

DCI’s policy is to not over do it with the homework. Core classes in middle school can only assign 15 minutes of homework per night. Of course there are teachers who give more than this, which I would bring up if that were the case, and there are teachers who don’t assign any. Homework has been proven to not be helpful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My seventh grader completes all her work at school. Homework is when you couldn't complete your work on time. Sometimes she does do her homework during downtime in other classes, but mostly there is no homework. She gets very good grades, so it's not like she's pretending there's no homework.

Homework is actually not my worry, with DCI. I wish there was more rigor in Chinese lower-level classes and more options for higher-level math (not just one grade above) for those kids who are ahead.

Sounds like you should try to break into higher level Chinese classes if you can. Also sounds like you should keep plugging on higher-level math on the road to appropriate HS rigor.
.