Jackson Reed Biomedical Academy

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our kid is also dropping biomed next year… all these comments ring true. Wish they never signed up. So much stress for young kids. I looked through the study guide for the final exam. It’s like cramming a bunch of random info, from crime scene forensics to genetics. I’m not a scientist, but even I think this curriculum seems half baked.

Between this class and a terrible math teacher, I haven’t been too impressed with JR yet. Hoping it gets a lot better next year.

You are smart to move on. The biomed teacher (there’s really only one biomed teacher) doesn’t actually know the subject matter, but she does know how to manipulate grades so term grades end up lower than expected. As others noted, she also delays posting most grades until the end of the term. It’s one of her favorite games. The administration knows all about it, but nothing ever changes.

There is one primary biomed teacher and a secondary one. I will say that all of what everyone says is true but they are leaving out the good. Primary teacher is also an energetic and dynamic woman who does inspire kids. She also pushes the kids and makes them learn. My oldest in college is thriving and she gives that teacher much of the credit for teaching her how to research, write papers, do presentations and survive without coddling. Should she give more feedback and get grades done sooner? Yes. Does she grade unfairly? I have multiple kids in the pathway and have seen no evidence of that. What she won't do is take late grades and is extremely hard on revisions. Which are some of the things I hate about JR. There is not enough rigor at JR and at least she provides it.

Addressing kids taking computer science classes - those classes are already full just with IT academy kid but there should be more classes so more kids can take coding.

She "pushes kids and makes them learn" because she doesn't know the material. Kids have to teach it to themselves, which they will do because they are high-performing, enjoy the subject matter, and want to succeed. If you ask any student in the academy, they will also tell you that the teacher plays favorites (yours are likely among them), is subjective about grading, and provides no feedback to justify her random grades. I'm the first to agree that the late assignment and revisions policies are far too relaxed and don't serve students well, and I would love to see more rigor across the board. But the behavior of this teacher is indefensible and is the reason why the vast majority of students drop the academy.

Isn’t the lead teacher out for q4 for health reasons? Is there a long term substitute?

[Anonymous]

I just don’t understand how teachers don’t share grading rubrics with students when assigning something that will be graded. It is importantly for them to not how they are assessed