Is Jackson Reed really that bad?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Everyone's experience is personal and anecdotal. So take theirs (and mine) with a grain of salt.

I have a 9th grader at JRHS. This year has been fine. Not great. Not horrible. Fine. Classes are not really challenging and lots of kids with a wide range of abilities (some super smart, some couldn't care less, some really behind). But lots of people saying that will change once they can take APs (plan is to take 3-4 next year), and have been some definite bright spots, including the academies (child only in one, of course, but several of the academies seems really good). Went without a teacher in one class for several months, but that has been fixed. Has been loving the huge range of activities and has been trying lots of them. A real year of exploring interests and learning about themselves.

I have to believe that with the pandemic lots of schools are struggling to catch kids up and if your kid is stronger academically, they will feel like their needs are not being met. I don't think JRHS is unique in that regard (and again all anecdotal, but friends with other 9th graders in public and private in DC area seem to confirm some of that). And I do appreciate that my child is really learning to advocate for themselves and see where gaps are in their learning and fill them. If your child is prone to get lost among the masses or need a lot of guidance, I could see how you might be hesitant to send your child to JRHS (or any large HS). But if they take advantage of what is offered and are or can learn to be a self-starter, then the school could, in principle, be a great place, especially given that life is not going to hand you things on a spoon.

This a great, balanced post, fair and thoughtful assessment, thanks, PP.

I agree this is a fair and balanced post (I had one graduate from J-R when it was Wilson and I have one there now). I would note that it is unlikely that your child can take 3-4 AP classes as a sophomore (1-2 is much more likely...maybe 3 but that's pretty rare). Even so, the rigor increases a lot between 9th and 10th. A lot. Plus, there are some very good academic clubs if your child is so inclined (mock trial, the Beacon, debate, robotics)....these clubs are really, really excellent and are also a lot of work. The point being that a high-achieving student can get a lot out of J-R if they want to (and can completely avoid trouble). The overcrowding is the one thing that is unavoidable and the teacher vacancies are problematic too...but the new high school should hopefully help a bit with the overcrowding.

I would nuance this a little with respect to APs...you can take that many as a Sophomore if you are at AP Calc in Math, and at AP level in a foreign language and then you take 2 elective APs. However, I would not recommend taking elective APs just for the heck of it. Colleges don't care that you took AP Psych (unless you plan to major in Psych) or AP Human Geography or any of the random elective APs if you did it simply for the GPA / class rank bump. If your student is really interested in them and/or plans to possibly major in them at college...go for it.

Fair enough...but it is extremely rare for a student to be in a position to take AP Calc or AP language as a sophomore, let alone both. If your student is, that's amazing. But it is not a "choice" for most students, as you have to be on that track from the time you enter J-R.

Having said that, there are plenty of APs available to get sophomores one or two plus the academies are quite rigorous (at least Biomed and Engineering, which are the two my kids were involved in). I do think colleges care about academic rigor and there are a lot of pathways to getting there (APs--including AP Human Geography and AP Psych, academy classes, all can get you there).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My two kids (11th and 9th) are happy there, and we’re happy with their experience. Their teachers this year range from fine to great, with most in the very good zone. The 11th grader had a few less-great teachers in 9th and 10th. Both have ECs they really enjoy and lots of friends. The new principal seems good.

As everyone says on the endless threads on this topic, it’s a big school that I’m sure can feel overwhelming/chaotic for some kids. A lot of what my kids complain about can be chalked up to DCPS/DGS neglect of facilities.

I don’t think you’re going to learn anything new here. Visit the school, talk with the principal, talk with JR families in real life.

This exactly for my kids

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP - I recommend you spend some time in Tenlytown both before and after school. Talk with the folks who work in the businesses around the school. Or just sit on the bench by the library and observe. It will give you a good feel for the school.

What exactly will you learn about the school from observing how kids behave as soon as they're done with school for the day?

NP here. You learn a lot, insomuch as the behavior of the kids that attend the school. Im in Tenleytown most days around that time, and have been threatened routinely inside of my car, outside of my car, I watch kids smoking weed out in the open, screaming at eachother, running in packs from various police officers posted to keep behavior in check, the stress of the managers at Target over shoplifting, the stress and eye-rolling of the local businesses, kids sneaking in the backdoor of Wawa to get around the timed entry. The general manners of the portion of the student body observed (terrible). The drive-by shooting that took place outside. Its precisely BECAUSE of the observation of students outside of the building that I would never send my kids there, and I'm in the feeder pattern. I don't what we are going to do because we can't afford private, but understanding my own expectations for my kids and their behavior, being surrounded by what I see every day around J-R makes this school a non option. Maybe we move in bounds for MacArthur. There is nothing to do or mess with retail wise so maybe kids will just...go home?

OP, I would encourage you to keep one fact in mind when reading this: this poster does not have children at JR or even seem to know anyone with children at JR. They are assuming all of the kids they are observing are JR kids, and they are extrapolating behavior from a group of kids who may or may not be JR students to a student body of 2200. (And this assumes you take the poster’s assertions about the observed behavior at face value. I mean, “threatened routinely”? Come on.)

Meanwhile, throwing in the shooting is a real dog whistle. The shooting had nothing to do with the school except for proximity. I suspect the poster knows this, since it was widely reported, but they really want you to think JR students were involved.

The only good thing about this post is the poster’s promise not to send their kids to JR. Thank goodness for that.

Ditto. My kid has THE NICEST friend group! All highly motivated kids with terrific parents and lots of potential. They aren’t shoplifting or threatening anyone. But they have learned to navigate that smaller group of troubled students (mostly by ignoring them and realizing their circumstances in life are not ideal so…empathy).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a long-term DCPS parent who bailed from Deal for private for 9th for kids 1 and 2 and am really torn about kid number 3.
My concerns about JR which I see echoed by many parents:

-missing teachers. My understanding is that last year there was no physics teacher(s) (AP or otherwise) for an entire semester. The kids just sat in a room(s). This year my daughter's friend is missing a teachers in AP environmental science and AP psychology. She just sits in a room and has for months. I know that some parents are really chill about this but it would really bother me for a high schooler. We had this happen several times at Deal and I was okay with it then but this is high school! You don't learn physics what happens when you get to college and are in class with kids who had excellent instruction?

-really weak writing, humanities and foreign language instruction. My kids left Deal and with great grades but could barely write a critical essay and knew next to no foreign language. They hit private school and had their a$$es kicked for a good year in these subjects (as they wrote a collective 50 pages of essays across all subjects in 9th grade). Meanwhile, their JR friends continued on their trajectory of doing next to no writing, learning no foreign language and getting high As. I just can't reconcile this in my brain. I know that one does not need to be able to critique and analyze literature at a high level in most jobs OR do advanced Spanish grammar but it still bothers me. I know many kids who graduate JR and (in the words of another DCUM) "can't write their way out of a paper bag." I have a hard time being ok with this.

+1. The sad writing and language instruction deficit starts at Deal and continues unabated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP - I recommend you spend some time in Tenlytown both before and after school. Talk with the folks who work in the businesses around the school. Or just sit on the bench by the library and observe. It will give you a good feel for the school.

What exactly will you learn about the school from observing how kids behave as soon as they're done with school for the day?

NP here. You learn a lot, insomuch as the behavior of the kids that attend the school. Im in Tenleytown most days around that time, and have been threatened routinely inside of my car, outside of my car, I watch kids smoking weed out in the open, screaming at eachother, running in packs from various police officers posted to keep behavior in check, the stress of the managers at Target over shoplifting, the stress and eye-rolling of the local businesses, kids sneaking in the backdoor of Wawa to get around the timed entry. The general manners of the portion of the student body observed (terrible). The drive-by shooting that took place outside. Its precisely BECAUSE of the observation of students outside of the building that I would never send my kids there, and I'm in the feeder pattern. I don't what we are going to do because we can't afford private, but understanding my own expectations for my kids and their behavior, being surrounded by what I see every day around J-R makes this school a non option. Maybe we move in bounds for MacArthur. There is nothing to do or mess with retail wise so maybe kids will just...go home?

WTAF! I’ve never been harassed when I’m in Tenley at that time. Not once in over a decade. Also, a Target employee told me they have everything locked up because of professional criminals who steal an entire row of detergent, not students. If you think there is a school in America that doesn’t have pot smoking kids, who jump around and are loud when together, you are delusional.

I have a JR grad at a top-25 college, who is thriving. I have one there now and I think the teaching staff has improved, or this kid has lucked out with teachers. The kids all seem to love it there.

[Anonymous]

pp here, and I agree English is weak link. But, I’m the daughter of a HS English teacher and they’ve all been struggling with common core in public for years.

[Anonymous]

I may be wrong but JR appears to be more mentally healthy than the MoCo schools. You don’t hear about high stress, depression, suicide. I wonder if the greater diversity and freedom of the school and comparatively less academic emphasis, is better for teens? Even just the ability to take Metro instead of getting loaded onto school buses.

[Anonymous]

Can the one adult who is irrationally afraid of large groups of teenagers yet still visits the neighborhood where the largest DC high school is located on a regular basis please stop commenting? You have issues that you should be processing in therapy and your opinions are at best not valid or helpful, and at worst are unduly offensive to teenagers (who are children).

Jackson Reed has plenty of areas of room for improvement but many families, including my own, believe that the school has done a good job educating my students in the classroom as well as helping them grow into mature and well rounded adults. We have 2 current students. Both are doing well in challenging classes, have found extracurricular activities that they are really enjoying and have nice groups of friends. Neither reports being afraid of going to school and they have both learned to navigate a community of diverse peers and a challenging public school bureaucracy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:JR is not horrible. It is ok.
My oldest went there but we avoided it for younger kids.
It has some bright spots for sure but the overall chaos is shocking.
Administration incompetence is off the charts. Because it is better than the other comprehensive high schools in DCPS, there is no incentive to improve it.
Where else are kids going to go anyway?

+1. Total chaos. Stressful environment. Major behavior issues. Forget getting the actual classes you want. AP classes are way too big with 35 plus kids.

Some families don’t have other options. But if you do, I would not send my kid there.

I would suggest OP you stay where you are and if not happy with your school choices, go private instead of spending that money to move to ward 3

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a long-term DCPS parent who bailed from Deal for private for 9th for kids 1 and 2 and am really torn about kid number 3.
My concerns about JR which I see echoed by many parents:

-missing teachers. My understanding is that last year there was no physics teacher(s) (AP or otherwise) for an entire semester. The kids just sat in a room(s). This year my daughter's friend is missing a teachers in AP environmental science and AP psychology. She just sits in a room and has for months. I know that some parents are really chill about this but it would really bother me for a high schooler. We had this happen several times at Deal and I was okay with it then but this is high school! You don't learn physics what happens when you get to college and are in class with kids who had excellent instruction?

-really weak writing, humanities and foreign language instruction. My kids left Deal and with great grades but could barely write a critical essay and knew next to no foreign language. They hit private school and had their a$$es kicked for a good year in these subjects (as they wrote a collective 50 pages of essays across all subjects in 9th grade). Meanwhile, their JR friends continued on their trajectory of doing next to no writing, learning no foreign language and getting high As. I just can't reconcile this in my brain. I know that one does not need to be able to critique and analyze literature at a high level in most jobs OR do advanced Spanish grammar but it still bothers me. I know many kids who graduate JR and (in the words of another DCUM) "can't write their way out of a paper bag." I have a hard time being ok with this.

Look...JR only offers grade level or AP classes for humanities. Grade level is weak, but the AP classes are strong. Kids taking AP English Lit and Lang, APUSH, AP Gov, AP Comparative Gov, AP foreign language, etc. are developing good writing skills. I believe at least 60% of kids in AP language score 3 or above...which is at or above the national average.

Private schools are able to curate their student body to a higher average level and teach everyone to a higher level. I get that...however, if a private school had to take the first 100 kids that walk through the door regardless of ability to pay...they probably would have to teach differently.

I think everyone forgets that JR is an URBAN comprehensive public school. I don't know anyone living in other major cities like NY, LA or Chicago that would even remotely consider sending their kid to the comprehensive public HS for their boundary. Sure, they have application and charter schools that are good options...but their assigned "matter of right" school?

[Anonymous]

My 10th grader is having a great experience. Nice group of friends, and has found new ECs she’s really enjoying. Is every single teacher exceptional? No, there have been 1 or 2 that were not. Same as with her friends at MoCo W publics and DC privates. But she has had some wonderful teachers who have pulled her up in subjects she struggled with during the pandemic, and gotten her interested and engaged in new subjects. Her grades are excellent and that’s a direct credit to some wonderful teachers.

We heard before DC attended that it’s big and could be easy to get lost but most kids find their people, and there's something for everyone. This has been true for DC.

I live in Tenleytown and do not feel unsafe at all. Never had an issue before or after school.

[Anonymous]

There is some wild censorship going on in this post.

What are JR parents so afraid of? To the OP, I might keep in mind that fact that JR parents are having posts removed to try and paint the school in a more positive light, deeming negative opinions "invalid."

[Anonymous]

It is absolutely true that either Wilson or maybe even Deal kids shoplift in Tenley after school. I have been in the CVS when it happens. It is absolutely true that kids smoke weed pretty much in front of the police officers stationed there to keep them under control. I have seen it and my Deal son reports it. It is absolutely true that core teachers go missing.

Will this and other chaos affect your child? Good question. You will have no idea until they get to Deal or JRR. It did for mine, and no one would have ever guessed it. We are figuring it out, but knowing what I know now, I never ever would have let my child go into Deal/JRR.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is absolutely true that either Wilson or maybe even Deal kids shoplift in Tenley after school. I have been in the CVS when it happens. It is absolutely true that kids smoke weed pretty much in front of the police officers stationed there to keep them under control. I have seen it and my Deal son reports it. It is absolutely true that core teachers go missing.

Will this and other chaos affect your child? Good question. You will have no idea until they get to Deal or JRR. It did for mine, and no one would have ever guessed it. We are figuring it out, but knowing what I know now, I never ever would have let my child go into Deal/JRR.

This is a good perspective. JR chaos may or may not affect your kid. You might luck out with mostly good teachers or you may end up with a sucky schedule.
Fights in the hallway may not bother your kid or perhaps they will find it a frustrating environment.
For high achieving self motivated kids who want to load up on AP classes, it is probably fine.
For others, who don’t want a ton of APs, it is meh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I may be wrong but JR appears to be more mentally healthy than the MoCo schools. You don’t hear about high stress, depression, suicide. I wonder if the greater diversity and freedom of the school and comparatively less academic emphasis, is better for teens? Even just the ability to take Metro instead of getting loaded onto school buses.

This is why we’re sticking with DCPS instead of moving to MOCO. I struggled with my mental health as a young adult and do not want to put my kids in an environment that exacerbates it. I’m just not going to send burnt out teenagers to college to sink or swim. If you had kids that weren’t JR AP material, then maybe it would be a different decision. But even then I’d be looking for a well rounded school that isn’t a W.