Recent Walls Admits from Private?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here: testing - thanks - I probably got old information re CAPE scores. Good to know about the recent process.

Those saying "stay in private" I wonder if you have experience in DCPS and private. I do. I admit, I was surprised when I first heard of kids leaving top DC privates for Walls... I thought "why would you do that?" These are teens who I hired to work with my kids on various sports coaching. I asked "oh and do you like it?" They said they loved it. I don't know, maybe they appreciated co-ed or their school was a pressure cooker. One said "the social drama at private was too much". I decided that our plans should be flexible based on a variety of factors that fit the child and our family. Mine is thriving academically in private, but there are reasons to make the change. My other child has been DCPS all the way and it's been comparable with the private kid TBH. I would think with all these options of students and the admissions criteria of grades, letters, and nterviews, Walls has high achieving bright students who want to attend every day, want to learn and engage with inspiring teachers, want to do sports and clubs that interest them. If they have Math Olympiad, debate, model UN, that should work for mine. Hopefully some of the clubs would be during the school day. We are keeping our options open, but from where I sit, Walls is an EXCELLENT option and I'm frankly surprised to find people dogging it. Hmmmmm... I'll search to find out what's "wrong" at Walls. But my child knows people there and we know a few families. We are only hearing good things.

Have you visited the school? I would go to an open house with your kid before making any sort of decision. We decided not to apply after attending an open house.

I was super excited about the school until I saw my stem kid would not have the courses they need to get into the college/major of their choosing. I’m sure it’s great for some but not for us.

PP - thanks so much for pointing this out! We’ve been considering this school for our 7th grader, and I’m now seeing they don’t offer AP Biology and AP Chemistry?!

I'm curious what course are lacking for what college/major? To answer PP's question, AP Biology is offered every other year; no AP Chemistry is offered. AP Physics 1 and C are offered every year.

Math goes up to calc BC in AP's, then multivariate. They also have AP Stats. In science, they also offer AP environmental science.

It's not a STEM-focused school, but a family friend graduated last year and is at Johns Hopkins in a STEM major, so STEM kids definitely go there.

Sure. If they have no other choice a stem kid will do fine as long as they figure out how to get the courses they need. Tons of dual enrollment I imagine? Not what I want for my kid. I want them to be in a high school class with other math nerds. Walls just doesn’t offer enough for my kids.

This might come across as rude but whatever. I have seen comments here about the science curriculum at dcps and made efforts to understand more from smart kids i know at dcps. I don’t want my kid in the same class as kids who are that poorly prepared in science and math. Sorry. Being honest.

You're not sorry. It's perfectly possible to say that Walls didn't seem like a good fit for you kid without being rude, and if you weren't being rude, you wouldn'thave to apologize for it. Walls might not be the best place for a kid who's really focused on science and engineering. That's fine. Not every school is the right place for every kid.

Just a reminder I need to get off DCUM because people here are so much more obnoxious then the people I know in real life.

No, honey, we are the same people you know in real life.

[Anonymous]

I know tons of people who (probably rightly) assume a dcps kid won’t be as well prepared as a private school kid. This isn’t news. I don’t blame people whose kids want a stem degree to stay at schools that prepare you for that. Not sure why there are people trying to argue about this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here: testing - thanks - I probably got old information re CAPE scores. Good to know about the recent process.

Those saying "stay in private" I wonder if you have experience in DCPS and private. I do. I admit, I was surprised when I first heard of kids leaving top DC privates for Walls... I thought "why would you do that?" These are teens who I hired to work with my kids on various sports coaching. I asked "oh and do you like it?" They said they loved it. I don't know, maybe they appreciated co-ed or their school was a pressure cooker. One said "the social drama at private was too much". I decided that our plans should be flexible based on a variety of factors that fit the child and our family. Mine is thriving academically in private, but there are reasons to make the change. My other child has been DCPS all the way and it's been comparable with the private kid TBH. I would think with all these options of students and the admissions criteria of grades, letters, and nterviews, Walls has high achieving bright students who want to attend every day, want to learn and engage with inspiring teachers, want to do sports and clubs that interest them. If they have Math Olympiad, debate, model UN, that should work for mine. Hopefully some of the clubs would be during the school day. We are keeping our options open, but from where I sit, Walls is an EXCELLENT option and I'm frankly surprised to find people dogging it. Hmmmmm... I'll search to find out what's "wrong" at Walls. But my child knows people there and we know a few families. We are only hearing good things.

Have you visited the school? I would go to an open house with your kid before making any sort of decision. We decided not to apply after attending an open house.

I was super excited about the school until I saw my stem kid would not have the courses they need to get into the college/major of their choosing. I’m sure it’s great for some but not for us.

PP - thanks so much for pointing this out! We’ve been considering this school for our 7th grader, and I’m now seeing they don’t offer AP Biology and AP Chemistry?!

I'm curious what course are lacking for what college/major? To answer PP's question, AP Biology is offered every other year; no AP Chemistry is offered. AP Physics 1 and C are offered every year.

Math goes up to calc BC in AP's, then multivariate. They also have AP Stats. In science, they also offer AP environmental science.

It's not a STEM-focused school, but a family friend graduated last year and is at Johns Hopkins in a STEM major, so STEM kids definitely go there.

Sure. If they have no other choice a stem kid will do fine as long as they figure out how to get the courses they need. Tons of dual enrollment I imagine? Not what I want for my kid. I want them to be in a high school class with other math nerds. Walls just doesn’t offer enough for my kids.

This might come across as rude but whatever. I have seen comments here about the science curriculum at dcps and made efforts to understand more from smart kids i know at dcps. I don’t want my kid in the same class as kids who are that poorly prepared in science and math. Sorry. Being honest.

You're not sorry. It's perfectly possible to say that Walls didn't seem like a good fit for you kid without being rude, and if you weren't being rude, you wouldn'thave to apologize for it. Walls might not be the best place for a kid who's really focused on science and engineering. That's fine. Not every school is the right place for every kid.

Just a reminder I need to get off DCUM because people here are so much more obnoxious then the people I know in real life.

No, honey, we are the same people you know in real life.

NP - but yes, this is true. These are the people you know irl. Anonymity is a funny thing because people say whatever they want here and often filter things depending who they are talking to irl. This is why I like DCUM, because it shows me what people really think- not the facade they put on to the masses.

[Anonymous]

OP: LOL to the comment about detouring my questions... Also I find it helpful that some had reservations just by being there. It seems like some people think I should not put Walls on a "pedestal" so to speak. Go to an open house and keep our minds and options open. I am not thinking "hey it's a free private" but I am hoping for challenging curriculum, excellent college preparation, social/clubs, safe, and reasonable to navigate student/teacher communications and relationships. My child has friends at Walls through sports. I'm leaning toward talking to their parents in real life to get a sense of the overall vibe. I am not surprised that they get few private admits. It's a big, expensive decision if it's accessible at all to go to private. Most probably don't shift for various reasons that would not have to do with the quality of Walls compared to private. Since only 15 admits came from private, I'm not likely to find a critical mass of responses to my targeted "what's different about the process since we don't do CAPE" question, but now that's answered... I guess back to lurking on other Walls posts. I know kids at JR and they love it. I have to wonder if parents are overthinking high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP: LOL to the comment about detouring my questions... Also I find it helpful that some had reservations just by being there. It seems like some people think I should not put Walls on a "pedestal" so to speak. Go to an open house and keep our minds and options open. I am not thinking "hey it's a free private" but I am hoping for challenging curriculum, excellent college preparation, social/clubs, safe, and reasonable to navigate student/teacher communications and relationships. My child has friends at Walls through sports. I'm leaning toward talking to their parents in real life to get a sense of the overall vibe. I am not surprised that they get few private admits. It's a big, expensive decision if it's accessible at all to go to private. Most probably don't shift for various reasons that would not have to do with the quality of Walls compared to private. Since only 15 admits came from private, I'm not likely to find a critical mass of responses to my targeted "what's different about the process since we don't do CAPE" question, but now that's answered... I guess back to lurking on other Walls posts. I know kids at JR and they love it. I have to wonder if parents are overthinking high school.

I think talking to current and recent Walls parents and students is your best bet. That's what we did, and it was really helpful. Did we come away thinking Walls was the best thing since sliced bread? No. Did we come away thinking that it offered sufficient challenge, good college prep and outcomes, nice kids, accessible teachers, and EC's our kid wanted? Absolutely. People we talked to IRL were generally happy and their kids were happy with their education and their college options (which were more affordable because their parents weren't paying for private HS). See what your kid's friends' parents have to say.

[Anonymous]

Walls is a good option but I didn’t like the crowded feeling during the open house. I find quibbling over courses as not that differentiating in the long run unless specifically required by a target college.
For subject deep dives there is Gemini and so many videos and podcasts and interest groups to supplement. The advanced kids truly interested in a topic were doing stuff building robots doing intricate craft or writing their own novels and not at all confined to what the teacher is providing in a classroom setting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP: LOL to the comment about detouring my questions... Also I find it helpful that some had reservations just by being there. It seems like some people think I should not put Walls on a "pedestal" so to speak. Go to an open house and keep our minds and options open. I am not thinking "hey it's a free private" but I am hoping for challenging curriculum, excellent college preparation, social/clubs, safe, and reasonable to navigate student/teacher communications and relationships. My child has friends at Walls through sports. I'm leaning toward talking to their parents in real life to get a sense of the overall vibe. I am not surprised that they get few private admits. It's a big, expensive decision if it's accessible at all to go to private. Most probably don't shift for various reasons that would not have to do with the quality of Walls compared to private. Since only 15 admits came from private, I'm not likely to find a critical mass of responses to my targeted "what's different about the process since we don't do CAPE" question, but now that's answered... I guess back to lurking on other Walls posts. I know kids at JR and they love it. I have to wonder if parents are overthinking high school.

I totally think parents overthink high schools. My high school and college education have zero to do with my success in life. I actually think teaching life and social skills would do a lot more good. The problem is we live in a keeping up with the Jones’s society here, where people think academics are more important than resiliency, resourcefulness, sociability , adaptability, etc. The most successful people I know are the ones that have these skills that seem to be innate. I think the best life lesson you can give a kid is to show them they can adapt to any situation and to let them figure out how to be resilient in the face of challenges.

[Anonymous]

“I totally think parents overthink high schools. My high school and college education have zero to do with my success in life. I actually think teaching life and social skills would do a lot more good. The problem is we live in a keeping up with the Jones’s society here, where people think academics are more important than resiliency, resourcefulness, sociability , adaptability, etc. The most successful people I know are the ones that have these skills that seem to be innate. I think the best life lesson you can give a kid is to show them they can adapt to any situation and to let them figure out how to be resilient in the face of challenges.”

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

“I totally think parents overthink high schools. My high school and college education have zero to do with my success in life. I actually think teaching life and social skills would do a lot more good. The problem is we live in a keeping up with the Jones’s society here, where people think academics are more important than resiliency, resourcefulness, sociability , adaptability, etc. The most successful people I know are the ones that have these skills that seem to be innate. I think the best life lesson you can give a kid is to show them they can adapt to any situation and to let them figure out how to be resilient in the face of challenges.”

+1

It doesn’t have to be one or other. You can have a kid get a great academic experience and also be resilient and adaptable. It’s not like private school kids can’t have both. It’s not like the top performers at Deal who leave to go private don’t already have acquired these traits in the chaotic, dysfunctional sh’tshow that is DCPS.

The reality is that the academics in DCPS is subpar. Most families with options leave. It’s not about keeping up with the Jones. It’s about meeting the academic needs of the top kids which in DCPS leaves much to be desired.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here: testing - thanks - I probably got old information re CAPE scores. Good to know about the recent process.

Those saying "stay in private" I wonder if you have experience in DCPS and private. I do. I admit, I was surprised when I first heard of kids leaving top DC privates for Walls... I thought "why would you do that?" These are teens who I hired to work with my kids on various sports coaching. I asked "oh and do you like it?" They said they loved it. I don't know, maybe they appreciated co-ed or their school was a pressure cooker. One said "the social drama at private was too much". I decided that our plans should be flexible based on a variety of factors that fit the child and our family. Mine is thriving academically in private, but there are reasons to make the change. My other child has been DCPS all the way and it's been comparable with the private kid TBH. I would think with all these options of students and the admissions criteria of grades, letters, and nterviews, Walls has high achieving bright students who want to attend every day, want to learn and engage with inspiring teachers, want to do sports and clubs that interest them. If they have Math Olympiad, debate, model UN, that should work for mine. Hopefully some of the clubs would be during the school day. We are keeping our options open, but from where I sit, Walls is an EXCELLENT option and I'm frankly surprised to find people dogging it. Hmmmmm... I'll search to find out what's "wrong" at Walls. But my child knows people there and we know a few families. We are only hearing good things.

LOL.

Doesn’t sound like you are “searching” much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP: LOL to the comment about detouring my questions... Also I find it helpful that some had reservations just by being there. It seems like some people think I should not put Walls on a "pedestal" so to speak. Go to an open house and keep our minds and options open. I am not thinking "hey it's a free private" but I am hoping for challenging curriculum, excellent college preparation, social/clubs, safe, and reasonable to navigate student/teacher communications and relationships. My child has friends at Walls through sports. I'm leaning toward talking to their parents in real life to get a sense of the overall vibe. I am not surprised that they get few private admits. It's a big, expensive decision if it's accessible at all to go to private. Most probably don't shift for various reasons that would not have to do with the quality of Walls compared to private. Since only 15 admits came from private, I'm not likely to find a critical mass of responses to my targeted "what's different about the process since we don't do CAPE" question, but now that's answered... I guess back to lurking on other Walls posts. I know kids at JR and they love it. I have to wonder if parents are overthinking high school.

The number of private admits is some subset of 15…it could just be a few.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP: LOL to the comment about detouring my questions... Also I find it helpful that some had reservations just by being there. It seems like some people think I should not put Walls on a "pedestal" so to speak. Go to an open house and keep our minds and options open. I am not thinking "hey it's a free private" but I am hoping for challenging curriculum, excellent college preparation, social/clubs, safe, and reasonable to navigate student/teacher communications and relationships. My child has friends at Walls through sports. I'm leaning toward talking to their parents in real life to get a sense of the overall vibe. I am not surprised that they get few private admits. It's a big, expensive decision if it's accessible at all to go to private. Most probably don't shift for various reasons that would not have to do with the quality of Walls compared to private. Since only 15 admits came from private, I'm not likely to find a critical mass of responses to my targeted "what's different about the process since we don't do CAPE" question, but now that's answered... I guess back to lurking on other Walls posts. I know kids at JR and they love it. I have to wonder if parents are overthinking high school.

I totally think parents overthink high schools. My high school and college education have zero to do with my success in life. I actually think teaching life and social skills would do a lot more good. The problem is we live in a keeping up with the Jones’s society here, where people think academics are more important than resiliency, resourcefulness, sociability , adaptability, etc. The most successful people I know are the ones that have these skills that seem to be innate. I think the best life lesson you can give a kid is to show them they can adapt to any situation and to let them figure out how to be resilient in the face of challenges.

Just send your kid to Eastern and they can pull themselves up by their bootstraps, amirite?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP: LOL to the comment about detouring my questions... Also I find it helpful that some had reservations just by being there. It seems like some people think I should not put Walls on a "pedestal" so to speak. Go to an open house and keep our minds and options open. I am not thinking "hey it's a free private" but I am hoping for challenging curriculum, excellent college preparation, social/clubs, safe, and reasonable to navigate student/teacher communications and relationships. My child has friends at Walls through sports. I'm leaning toward talking to their parents in real life to get a sense of the overall vibe. I am not surprised that they get few private admits. It's a big, expensive decision if it's accessible at all to go to private. Most probably don't shift for various reasons that would not have to do with the quality of Walls compared to private. Since only 15 admits came from private, I'm not likely to find a critical mass of responses to my targeted "what's different about the process since we don't do CAPE" question, but now that's answered... I guess back to lurking on other Walls posts. I know kids at JR and they love it. I have to wonder if parents are overthinking high school.

I totally think parents overthink high schools. My high school and college education have zero to do with my success in life. I actually think teaching life and social skills would do a lot more good. The problem is we live in a keeping up with the Jones’s society here, where people think academics are more important than resiliency, resourcefulness, sociability , adaptability, etc. The most successful people I know are the ones that have these skills that seem to be innate. I think the best life lesson you can give a kid is to show them they can adapt to any situation and to let them figure out how to be resilient in the face of challenges.

Just send your kid to Eastern and they can pull themselves up by their bootstraps, amirite?

Eastern definitely works for some kids. And there are kids who attend the most selective privates who never develop resilience and proceed to fall apart as adults. I’d pick Walls over Eastern or private, tbqh, but the PP is right that many high schools are good enough and none are perfect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here: testing - thanks - I probably got old information re CAPE scores. Good to know about the recent process.

Those saying "stay in private" I wonder if you have experience in DCPS and private. I do. I admit, I was surprised when I first heard of kids leaving top DC privates for Walls... I thought "why would you do that?" These are teens who I hired to work with my kids on various sports coaching. I asked "oh and do you like it?" They said they loved it. I don't know, maybe they appreciated co-ed or their school was a pressure cooker. One said "the social drama at private was too much". I decided that our plans should be flexible based on a variety of factors that fit the child and our family. Mine is thriving academically in private, but there are reasons to make the change. My other child has been DCPS all the way and it's been comparable with the private kid TBH. I would think with all these options of students and the admissions criteria of grades, letters, and nterviews, Walls has high achieving bright students who want to attend every day, want to learn and engage with inspiring teachers, want to do sports and clubs that interest them. If they have Math Olympiad, debate, model UN, that should work for mine. Hopefully some of the clubs would be during the school day. We are keeping our options open, but from where I sit, Walls is an EXCELLENT option and I'm frankly surprised to find people dogging it. Hmmmmm... I'll search to find out what's "wrong" at Walls. But my child knows people there and we know a few families. We are only hearing good things.

Have you visited the school? I would go to an open house with your kid before making any sort of decision. We decided not to apply after attending an open house.

I was super excited about the school until I saw my stem kid would not have the courses they need to get into the college/major of their choosing. I’m sure it’s great for some but not for us.

PP - thanks so much for pointing this out! We’ve been considering this school for our 7th grader, and I’m now seeing they don’t offer AP Biology and AP Chemistry?!

I'm curious what course are lacking for what college/major? To answer PP's question, AP Biology is offered every other year; no AP Chemistry is offered. AP Physics 1 and C are offered every year.

Math goes up to calc BC in AP's, then multivariate. They also have AP Stats. In science, they also offer AP environmental science.

It's not a STEM-focused school, but a family friend graduated last year and is at Johns Hopkins in a STEM major, so STEM kids definitely go there.

Sure. If they have no other choice a stem kid will do fine as long as they figure out how to get the courses they need. Tons of dual enrollment I imagine? Not what I want for my kid. I want them to be in a high school class with other math nerds. Walls just doesn’t offer enough for my kids.

This might come across as rude but whatever. I have seen comments here about the science curriculum at dcps and made efforts to understand more from smart kids i know at dcps. I don’t want my kid in the same class as kids who are that poorly prepared in science and math. Sorry. Being honest.

If there's one school where the main criteria for getting in is being really smart, and another school where the main criteria is being really rich, then it seems almost impossible for kids at the second school to keep up with the first. Sorry. Being honest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here: testing - thanks - I probably got old information re CAPE scores. Good to know about the recent process.

Those saying "stay in private" I wonder if you have experience in DCPS and private. I do. I admit, I was surprised when I first heard of kids leaving top DC privates for Walls... I thought "why would you do that?" These are teens who I hired to work with my kids on various sports coaching. I asked "oh and do you like it?" They said they loved it. I don't know, maybe they appreciated co-ed or their school was a pressure cooker. One said "the social drama at private was too much". I decided that our plans should be flexible based on a variety of factors that fit the child and our family. Mine is thriving academically in private, but there are reasons to make the change. My other child has been DCPS all the way and it's been comparable with the private kid TBH. I would think with all these options of students and the admissions criteria of grades, letters, and nterviews, Walls has high achieving bright students who want to attend every day, want to learn and engage with inspiring teachers, want to do sports and clubs that interest them. If they have Math Olympiad, debate, model UN, that should work for mine. Hopefully some of the clubs would be during the school day. We are keeping our options open, but from where I sit, Walls is an EXCELLENT option and I'm frankly surprised to find people dogging it. Hmmmmm... I'll search to find out what's "wrong" at Walls. But my child knows people there and we know a few families. We are only hearing good things.

Have you visited the school? I would go to an open house with your kid before making any sort of decision. We decided not to apply after attending an open house.

I was super excited about the school until I saw my stem kid would not have the courses they need to get into the college/major of their choosing. I’m sure it’s great for some but not for us.

PP - thanks so much for pointing this out! We’ve been considering this school for our 7th grader, and I’m now seeing they don’t offer AP Biology and AP Chemistry?!

I'm curious what course are lacking for what college/major? To answer PP's question, AP Biology is offered every other year; no AP Chemistry is offered. AP Physics 1 and C are offered every year.

Math goes up to calc BC in AP's, then multivariate. They also have AP Stats. In science, they also offer AP environmental science.

It's not a STEM-focused school, but a family friend graduated last year and is at Johns Hopkins in a STEM major, so STEM kids definitely go there.

Sure. If they have no other choice a stem kid will do fine as long as they figure out how to get the courses they need. Tons of dual enrollment I imagine? Not what I want for my kid. I want them to be in a high school class with other math nerds. Walls just doesn’t offer enough for my kids.

This might come across as rude but whatever. I have seen comments here about the science curriculum at dcps and made efforts to understand more from smart kids i know at dcps. I don’t want my kid in the same class as kids who are that poorly prepared in science and math. Sorry. Being honest.

If there's one school where the main criteria for getting in is being really smart, and another school where the main criteria is being really rich, then it seems almost impossible for kids at the second school to keep up with the first. Sorry. Being honest.

NP. You don’t have to be really smart to get into Walls. You can even be below grade level in certain subjects. The criteria for entrance has significantly degraded with the admission changes.

You have to be really smart to get into the top privates in high school. Being rich definately makes it easier to attend. But let’s not pretend that the kids who actually have the optiins of privates or Walls are not really smart.

Being honest.