Latin - diversity

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"As a classical school, we align ourselves with the established wisdom of the ancients, particularly the cultures of Greece and Rome."

How much attention does Washington Latin pay to the established wisdom of other ancient cultures outside of the cultures of Greece and Rome?

This is one of the things that makes me hesitate to put my non-white kid into Latin. But maybe my hesitation is unwarranted?

This got lost, but it feels significant. This school appeals to "European" descended Americans. FWIW I'm a UMC non white person and am probably not going to add Latin to our lottery list for this reason.

[Anonymous]

Beggars of whatever background can't be choosers.

If you want to pay for private or move to the burbs or wherever else for MS, or deal with the ridiculous headaches of DCPS middle schools, or risk not having lottery luck for BASIS, go for it.

Fact is, there are few better choices than Latin and Latin Cooper with their classics-based curricula in our chronically troubled and poorly performing urban public school system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"As a classical school, we align ourselves with the established wisdom of the ancients, particularly the cultures of Greece and Rome."

How much attention does Washington Latin pay to the established wisdom of other ancient cultures outside of the cultures of Greece and Rome?

This is one of the things that makes me hesitate to put my non-white kid into Latin. But maybe my hesitation is unwarranted?

This got lost, but it feels significant. This school appeals to "European" descended Americans. FWIW I'm a UMC non white person and am probably not going to add Latin to our lottery list for this reason.

This is an absolutely hilarious statement - the amount of reading and exposure my kids are getting at Latin from different cultures and points of view is 100 times better than they ever got at DCPS - but you do you - more room in the lottery for others

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"As a classical school, we align ourselves with the established wisdom of the ancients, particularly the cultures of Greece and Rome."

How much attention does Washington Latin pay to the established wisdom of other ancient cultures outside of the cultures of Greece and Rome?

This is one of the things that makes me hesitate to put my non-white kid into Latin. But maybe my hesitation is unwarranted?

This got lost, but it feels significant. This school appeals to "European" descended Americans. FWIW I'm a UMC non white person and am probably not going to add Latin to our lottery list for this reason.

This is an absolutely hilarious statement - the amount of reading and exposure my kids are getting at Latin from different cultures and points of view is 100 times better than they ever got at DCPS - but you do you - more room in the lottery for others

As a fellow Latin parent, this is 100% right. Latin is NOT Euro-centric, other than their foundational exploration of the ideas and cultures of the Greeks and Romans. But beyond that, my kids have been exposed to so many cultures and points of view.

[Anonymous]

It is great that Latin is a good school option. But the point is that a free public charter school should make itself known and available to all kids, including the neighborhood in which it is based. It should not be catering only to the high ses families in ward 6 through shuttles etc. is there a ward 8 shuttle?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is great that Latin is a good school option. But the point is that a free public charter school should make itself known and available to all kids, including the neighborhood in which it is based. It should not be catering only to the high ses families in ward 6 through shuttles etc. is there a ward 8 shuttle?

There are multiple shuttles to Cooper, including one for wards 7/8.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"As a classical school, we align ourselves with the established wisdom of the ancients, particularly the cultures of Greece and Rome."

How much attention does Washington Latin pay to the established wisdom of other ancient cultures outside of the cultures of Greece and Rome?

This is one of the things that makes me hesitate to put my non-white kid into Latin. But maybe my hesitation is unwarranted?

This got lost, but it feels significant. This school appeals to "European" descended Americans. FWIW I'm a UMC non white person and am probably not going to add Latin to our lottery list for this reason.

This is an absolutely hilarious statement - the amount of reading and exposure my kids are getting at Latin from different cultures and points of view is 100 times better than they ever got at DCPS - but you do you - more room in the lottery for others

As a fellow Latin parent, this is 100% right. Latin is NOT Euro-centric, other than their foundational exploration of the ideas and cultures of the Greeks and Romans. But beyond that, my kids have been exposed to so many cultures and points of view.

Not to mention the fact that the whole idea is to anchor the curriculum in the most significant of the ancient cultures...which is why the 4 languages offered include Arabic and Chinese.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is great that Latin is a good school option. But the point is that a free public charter school should make itself known and available to all kids, including the neighborhood in which it is based. It should not be catering only to the high ses families in ward 6 through shuttles etc. is there a ward 8 shuttle?

They recruit from all over the city and pushed for the at-risk preference for schools. Not sure what else they are supposed to do beyond that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is great that Latin is a good school option. But the point is that a free public charter school should make itself known and available to all kids, including the neighborhood in which it is based. It should not be catering only to the high ses families in ward 6 through shuttles etc. is there a ward 8 shuttle?

There are multiple shuttles to Cooper, including one for wards 7/8.

Second street also runs a shuttle to wards 7/8. Second street is also an easy walk from Fort Totten. The school works hard to publicize itself across the city, and really does work to ensure kids from all eight wards have real awareness of, and meaningful access to, the school. Asking sincerely - what else is the school supposed to do?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is great that Latin is a good school option. But the point is that a free public charter school should make itself known and available to all kids, including the neighborhood in which it is based. It should not be catering only to the high ses families in ward 6 through shuttles etc. is there a ward 8 shuttle?

They recruit from all over the city and pushed for the at-risk preference for schools. Not sure what else they are supposed to do beyond that.

Agree. I don't have kids at Latin, but maybe other schools are more appealing to various people for various reasons. Why is everyone assuming there's a problem here to be solved?

[Anonymous]

The fact that Latin had trouble filling its EA spots is telling. Almost not other school had trouble filling these spots and most had a waitlist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"As a classical school, we align ourselves with the established wisdom of the ancients, particularly the cultures of Greece and Rome."

How much attention does Washington Latin pay to the established wisdom of other ancient cultures outside of the cultures of Greece and Rome?

This is one of the things that makes me hesitate to put my non-white kid into Latin. But maybe my hesitation is unwarranted?

This got lost, but it feels significant. This school appeals to "European" descended Americans. FWIW I'm a UMC non white person and am probably not going to add Latin to our lottery list for this reason.

If people like that actively seek out ways to take offense at everything stay away, it will only help Latin both in the classroom and in their test scores. Good school strategy.

[Anonymous]

Starting at 5th grade rather than 6th grade means a lot of DCPS families are not going to consider. I know a good handful of black kids, some EA, who tried to get into Cooper at 6th because they stayed at their local ward 5 school through the end.

The open house for Cooper last year had two kids asking if the math classes were advanced enough (both white and black). If you have a kid who is not on grade level, that makes you question if it's the right place.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is great that Latin is a good school option. But the point is that a free public charter school should make itself known and available to all kids, including the neighborhood in which it is based. It should not be catering only to the high ses families in ward 6 through shuttles etc. is there a ward 8 shuttle?

There are multiple shuttles to Cooper, including one for wards 7/8.

Second street also runs a shuttle to wards 7/8. Second street is also an easy walk from Fort Totten. The school works hard to publicize itself across the city, and really does work to ensure kids from all eight wards have real awareness of, and meaningful access to, the school. Asking sincerely - what else is the school supposed to do?

They appear to have a pretty strong marketing outreach to me in the local neighborhood. We all have access to the same information on these lottery schools. The fact is, the quality of the school/strong reputation and the waiting lists translate into high demand. Recruitment is not an issue. For that reason, school resources don't need to be spent on extensive outreach.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Starting at 5th grade rather than 6th grade means a lot of DCPS families are not going to consider. I know a good handful of black kids, some EA, who tried to get into Cooper at 6th because they stayed at their local ward 5 school through the end.

The open house for Cooper last year had two kids asking if the math classes were advanced enough (both white and black). If you have a kid who is not on grade level, that makes you question if it's the right place.

That's certainly a short-sighted strategy, given the lack of quality MS and HS public options in this city.

But I believe you, as I heard parents saying the same thing when DS was a 4th grader at a low performing charter school. Couple that with parents exclaiming post-lottery, "I didn't realize Basis and Latin started in 5th grade." Honestly.