New to Banneker

[Anonymous]

maybe don't let them come home until 5:30 pm?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On college readiness I think the gap is between what it takes to get in and how to succeed in college. The GPA requirement is achievable without good study habits at several middle schools. Then you’re put in a situation where you have to work a lot on your own and it’s academic culturally in ways many kids are not exposed to. They make the kids work and if they don’t know how to grind every day, there are consequences for only doing half the homework. They don’t solve it for you. A better school would probably hedge the gap. I don’t think that’s SWW, but rather a Banneker with more dedicated after school support eg staffed study hall. And who knows how much that would cost.

They 100% have staffed study hall after school at least twice a week and every one of my childs teachers has offered office hours thus far. The engaged and supportive staff is my favorite thing about the school as a parent (and I am not someone who is glazing. There are also many downsides including a wildly abrupt onboarding/first semester that it very difficult for even the best students to tackle)

The office hours and teacher-staffed study halls have been lifesavers for my kid! It was a rocky start, but they're feeling better as they learn to self advocate, talk to and work with teachers, etc.

Any advice on getting a kid to embrace that they need to take advantage of these resources?

Let them know that you will not tolerate poor grades without evidence that they have taken full advantage of these resources. Make the consequences severe and real. This is the time kids needs to grow up, because life gets real in 4 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, I heard from my daughter (who's friends go to Banneker) that they get A LOT of homework and many end up transferring to walls in sophomore year.

There are very few new Walls admits in 10th grade, so the idea that "many" students from one school end up transferring there is obviously completely ridiculous.

Even if only 2-3 transfer to walls, many still transfer out of Banneker.

Just to provide some hard numbers:

The class of 2026 had:
168 students in 9th grade,
162 students in 10th grade,
155 students in 11th grade, and now has
153 students in 12th grade.

Banneker does not backfill, so that’s a total of 15/168 students who have left over three years. I would not call that “many,” but I’m not really interested in debating the meaning of the word “many.” The numbers are what they are.

Actually that's not completely accurate. According to US News and & World Report there is an enrollment of 245 students in 9th grade and 162 in 10th grade. And as you stated, Banneker does not backfill so you can obviously see the numbers decreasing.
Please get your facts right.

Enrollment numbers are different due to the new building which can hold more students than the old building. Therefore the new classes are enrolling more students than they used to.

Way for some posters just to be spouting nonsense without actually knowing anything about Banneker. Typical DCUM.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, I heard from my daughter (who's friends go to Banneker) that they get A LOT of homework and many end up transferring to walls in sophomore year.

There are very few new Walls admits in 10th grade, so the idea that "many" students from one school end up transferring there is obviously completely ridiculous.

Even if only 2-3 transfer to walls, many still transfer out of Banneker.

Just to provide some hard numbers:

The class of 2026 had:
168 students in 9th grade,
162 students in 10th grade,
155 students in 11th grade, and now has
153 students in 12th grade.

Banneker does not backfill, so that’s a total of 15/168 students who have left over three years. I would not call that “many,” but I’m not really interested in debating the meaning of the word “many.” The numbers are what they are.

Actually that's not completely accurate. According to US News and & World Report there is an enrollment of 245 students in 9th grade and 162 in 10th grade. And as you stated, Banneker does not backfill so you can obviously see the numbers decreasing.
Please get your facts right.

I don't know who's correct but I as well have heard that Banneker can be extremely draining and overwhelming for students causing them to transfer out. They also have a disappointingly low college readiness rate (75) compared to Walls and Basis for all the hard work they put in.

It can be draining if you never had to work hard before. It comes as a shock. But if you know what you are going into, you'll see there's plenty of help for those who ask.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On college readiness I think the gap is between what it takes to get in and how to succeed in college. The GPA requirement is achievable without good study habits at several middle schools. Then you’re put in a situation where you have to work a lot on your own and it’s academic culturally in ways many kids are not exposed to. They make the kids work and if they don’t know how to grind every day, there are consequences for only doing half the homework. They don’t solve it for you. A better school would probably hedge the gap. I don’t think that’s SWW, but rather a Banneker with more dedicated after school support eg staffed study hall. And who knows how much that would cost.

They 100% have staffed study hall after school at least twice a week and every one of my childs teachers has offered office hours thus far. The engaged and supportive staff is my favorite thing about the school as a parent (and I am not someone who is glazing. There are also many downsides including a wildly abrupt onboarding/first semester that it very difficult for even the best students to tackle)

The office hours and teacher-staffed study halls have been lifesavers for my kid! It was a rocky start, but they're feeling better as they learn to self advocate, talk to and work with teachers, etc.

Any advice on getting a kid to embrace that they need to take advantage of these resources?

Let them know that you will not tolerate poor grades without evidence that they have taken full advantage of these resources. Make the consequences severe and real. This is the time kids needs to grow up, because life gets real in 4 years.

This approach leans more toward the “stick,” where I as a parent lean more toward the “carrot,” but I guess each parent-child combo has its own dynamic. I endorse this person’s view that learning to approach a teacher and ask for help is a valuable life skill. Far more valuable, actually, than being effortlessly good at everything, because no one is effortlessly good at everything forever; everyone needs to ask for help sometime. Maybe start with their favorite teacher, or their advisor, and build courage as they go? However you help them build this skill, it’s worth it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On college readiness I think the gap is between what it takes to get in and how to succeed in college. The GPA requirement is achievable without good study habits at several middle schools. Then you’re put in a situation where you have to work a lot on your own and it’s academic culturally in ways many kids are not exposed to. They make the kids work and if they don’t know how to grind every day, there are consequences for only doing half the homework. They don’t solve it for you. A better school would probably hedge the gap. I don’t think that’s SWW, but rather a Banneker with more dedicated after school support eg staffed study hall. And who knows how much that would cost.

They 100% have staffed study hall after school at least twice a week and every one of my childs teachers has offered office hours thus far. The engaged and supportive staff is my favorite thing about the school as a parent (and I am not someone who is glazing. There are also many downsides including a wildly abrupt onboarding/first semester that it very difficult for even the best students to tackle)

The office hours and teacher-staffed study halls have been lifesavers for my kid! It was a rocky start, but they're feeling better as they learn to self advocate, talk to and work with teachers, etc.

Any advice on getting a kid to embrace that they need to take advantage of these resources?

Honestly, begging and pleading my kid to “just do it!!!” It can be really hard to ask for help.

But the teachers have all been receptive and helpful. In person, face-to-face requests seem to get a better response than email or portal requests. And, from what I gather, you can also talk to another teacher that teaches a different section of the same-level course; they might staff a study hall or be otherwise available when your kid’s teacher is not. Hope this helps!

[Anonymous]

Gosh Banneker seems hard. My DD was planning on applying but now after reading all this, I’d rather she not. Walls has less work and is still number 1. Win-Win and probably way better for the children’s stress level and mental health. We can’t forget that they aren’t adults yet and also need a break from time to time. Overworking them is not the solution.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, I heard from my daughter (who's friends go to Banneker) that they get A LOT of homework and many end up transferring to walls in sophomore year.

There are very few new Walls admits in 10th grade, so the idea that "many" students from one school end up transferring there is obviously completely ridiculous.

Even if only 2-3 transfer to walls, many still transfer out of Banneker.

That’s not the same as “many end up transferring to walls in sophomore year”.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:maybe don't let them come home until 5:30 pm?

tell me you have a daughter without telling m you have a daughter

[Anonymous]

I feel this challenge of a student unwilling to seek help! Starting with building the muscle with a trusted and liked teacher is a great start. Also, my kid found it easier when a friend also needed help, so they could approach the teacher together. We also have talked it out in advance so my (perfectionist, introverted) kid felt comfortable saying what they needed. Even as far as writing down some notes so if they got flustered they could refer to them. If it's not those types of concerns about anxiety/perfectionism, then yes it could be time to lay down the law a bit and make sure they know you are expecting them to do this and report back, and if they don't, the consequences will be XY or Z. good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Gosh Banneker seems hard. My DD was planning on applying but now after reading all this, I’d rather she not. Walls has less work and is still number 1. Win-Win and probably way better for the children’s stress level and mental health. We can’t forget that they aren’t adults yet and also need a break from time to time. Overworking them is not the solution.

Right. And this is why there are several selective schools; not every school is the best fit for every kid. My kid goes to Banneker and loves it. Yours might or might not.

Good luck to your kid getting into Walls. That's a tough one! I'd also try McKinley and perhaps others. And there's always the in-bound option.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If they applied for a summer job, I would suggest designating BSI as their preferred location so that they get paid for attending.

Can someone explain this to me?

DC kids age 14 and up can participate in the Marion Barry Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP). You fill out the paperwork and they place you at a job site where you get paid minimum wage for the summer (pools, summer camps, libraries, etc).

Banneker "requires" incoming freshmen to attend the Banneker Summer Institute (BSI) during that same window. You can request BSI as your worksite with SYEP and essentially get paid to attend BSI.

When does the BSI start and for how many weeks is it in the summer normally?

Good discussion -again- about Banneker's workload. But does anyone actually have an answer to my original question about the summer before Freshman year? When does it usually start, how many hours per day and for how many weeks?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Gosh Banneker seems hard. My DD was planning on applying but now after reading all this, I’d rather she not. Walls has less work and is still number 1. Win-Win and probably way better for the children’s stress level and mental health. We can’t forget that they aren’t adults yet and also need a break from time to time. Overworking them is not the solution.

Right. And this is why there are several selective schools; not every school is the best fit for every kid. My kid goes to Banneker and loves it. Yours might or might not.

Good luck to your kid getting into Walls. That's a tough one! I'd also try McKinley and perhaps others. And there's always the in-bound option.

Yeah my two oldest sons are at walls and they love it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If they applied for a summer job, I would suggest designating BSI as their preferred location so that they get paid for attending.

Can someone explain this to me?

DC kids age 14 and up can participate in the Marion Barry Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP). You fill out the paperwork and they place you at a job site where you get paid minimum wage for the summer (pools, summer camps, libraries, etc).

Banneker "requires" incoming freshmen to attend the Banneker Summer Institute (BSI) during that same window. You can request BSI as your worksite with SYEP and essentially get paid to attend BSI.

When does the BSI start and for how many weeks is it in the summer normally?

Good discussion -again- about Banneker's workload. But does anyone actually have an answer to my original question about the summer before Freshman year? When does it usually start, how many hours per day and for how many weeks?

When my kid did it a few years ago, it was 3 weeks, and it was mornings M-F. the exact timing was released late in the spring, annoyingly enough. Ours was I believe all in July post-July 4th. I think others have gone mid-july to early august. As others have shared, get your kid enrolled in the Summer Youth Employment Program even before HS placement is known, so if they come to Banneker they can get paid for BSI.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Gosh Banneker seems hard. My DD was planning on applying but now after reading all this, I’d rather she not. Walls has less work and is still number 1. Win-Win and probably way better for the children’s stress level and mental health. We can’t forget that they aren’t adults yet and also need a break from time to time. Overworking them is not the solution.

Right. And this is why there are several selective schools; not every school is the best fit for every kid. My kid goes to Banneker and loves it. Yours might or might not.

Good luck to your kid getting into Walls. That's a tough one! I'd also try McKinley and perhaps others. And there's always the in-bound option.

Yeah my two oldest sons are at walls and they love it.

Of course, lots of kids love it! But, there is no sibling preference and you can't bank on it.