What do families that do not get into an acceptable middle school do?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are at a DCI feeder. Scores were on par with Hardy but they weren't great. Only a 1/3 proficient or above. Hoping DCI works out but I am having trouble committing to a school where 2/3 of the student are not considered proficient. Would feel more comfortable at Hardy, which appears to be on the upswing, than DCI, which is still so new.

DCI results vary by feeder.

YY and LAMB students all do very well. Why did they have to include DC Bi? They are a drag on performance.

But they have actual native speakers of Spanish, which is helpful if your goal is for your kid to reach native-level proficiency.

Also because DCI's founders were interested in educating a range of children, not just the ones who will keep test scores high?

+1. Frankly it was hard enough to get the feeder path / DCI established with the charter school board. Had YY and LAMB tried to go it alone, which is what you are suggesting, it wouldn't have happened.

God forbid the charter board do anything for high-achieving kids!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many OOB kids get into Hardy and Hobson. Everyone gets into Basis. There are options.

So far BASIS has had lots of slots, but the new reality is that they have only so much space in that building and they will have 5-12 next year, even with the smaller leading grades. Word is that they will be shrinking the 5th grade class cohort to stay within the fire code limit.

BASIS also has enormous attrition and can only onboard young grades. There will be plenty of seats at entry for those willing and interested.

How many 9-12 students does BASIS project? I understand it's an extremely small cohort

[Anonymous]

We moved to be IB for Deal (and Wilson). If we didn't find a house we liked (or if we didn't think Deal/Wilson would be OK for our kid), we'd have moved to MD or VA (and we looked at houses in both these places).

One of my goals as a parent is to give my children the best education I can afford. Now, what each parent can afford and what they consider best is going to differ, but my point is that if you think best education would be achieved by moving and you can afford to do so, why not? I don't get the aversion people on this board have to moving to the suburbs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many OOB kids get into Hardy and Hobson. Everyone gets into Basis. There are options.

So far BASIS has had lots of slots, but the new reality is that they have only so much space in that building and they will have 5-12 next year, even with the smaller leading grades. Word is that they will be shrinking the 5th grade class cohort to stay within the fire code limit.

BASIS also has enormous attrition and can only onboard young grades. There will be plenty of seats at entry for those willing and interested.

How many 9-12 students does BASIS project? I understand it's an extremely small cohort

BASIS projects 60-80. Current 9th grade class is about 65.

By comparison last year Latin's graduating class was 64. Their 9th grade class is ~86.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We moved to be IB for Deal (and Wilson). If we didn't find a house we liked (or if we didn't think Deal/Wilson would be OK for our kid), we'd have moved to MD or VA (and we looked at houses in both these places).

One of my goals as a parent is to give my children the best education I can afford. Now, what each parent can afford and what they consider best is going to differ, but my point is that if you think best education would be achieved by moving and you can afford to do so, why not? I don't get the aversion people on this board have to moving to the suburbs.

If I'm going to move to the suburbs, I would move to Virginia before I'd move to upper NW.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We moved to be IB for Deal (and Wilson). If we didn't find a house we liked (or if we didn't think Deal/Wilson would be OK for our kid), we'd have moved to MD or VA (and we looked at houses in both these places).

One of my goals as a parent is to give my children the best education I can afford. Now, what each parent can afford and what they consider best is going to differ, but my point is that if you think best education would be achieved by moving and you can afford to do so, why not? I don't get the aversion people on this board have to moving to the suburbs.

If I'm going to move to the suburbs, I would move to Virginia before I'd move to upper NW.

Really? I'd move to Upper NW, MoCo, tossup between Arlington/Fairfax in that order

[Anonymous]

Don't buy into the hype. Well educated people have raised well educated children in this town for decades, not only in private schools I can tell you because I know enough to see the pattern. Not to say no one ever moved away. Many did and, still do, for schools maybe, but just as much because of housing or lifestyle issues (cars, a two-door garage, yards, dogs etc.). If you like living in the city and your house isn't forever pinching you, there are really plenty of "acceptable" options, and that's considering options before you get to Eliot-Hine, Jefferson, Brookland, which enough parents are considering "acceptable" these days for others to take notice.

What you're looking at in this discussion is a lot of insecurity from parents who themselves may not have a solid college education or who may have grown up in a homogeneous suburb and never known anything else or who may not have the disposable income their parents did to buy their way into a private school pipeline. All of them are looking at something new here, finding a new lifestyle, new type of schools. They may just not know what to look for and how, coming to these boards every so often in exacerbation (or maybe with an agenda, sometimes I wonder). If you're truly new to this, most important of all, take a deep breath. Then, rather than looking at middle school (and high school) in panic and grasping at these pseudo-scenarios of "moving to suburban nirvana", which by the way no longer exists as your parents can probably tell you, you need to arm yourself with facts and speak to people who've successfully moved through our school system, 2 years ago, 5 years ago, 10 years ago, 20 years. Deliberately ask for them, look for them, speak to them, ask them questions. In all likelihood, you'll find that what made them successful and happy with their achievements is their particular path, the support they got from their parents, opportunities they seized, the right investment at the right time, a tight-night relationship with neighbors, friends, and teachers. DCUM cannot help you with that, but your neighbors can.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't buy into the hype. Well educated people have raised well educated children in this town for decades, not only in private schools I can tell you because I know enough to see the pattern. Not to say no one ever moved away. Many did and, still do, for schools maybe, but just as much because of housing or lifestyle issues (cars, a two-door garage, yards, dogs etc.). If you like living in the city and your house isn't forever pinching you, there are really plenty of "acceptable" options, and that's considering options before you get to Eliot-Hine, Jefferson, Brookland, which enough parents are considering "acceptable" these days for others to take notice.

What you're looking at in this discussion is a lot of insecurity from parents who themselves may not have a solid college education or who may have grown up in a homogeneous suburb and never known anything else or who may not have the disposable income their parents did to buy their way into a private school pipeline. All of them are looking at something new here, finding a new lifestyle, new type of schools. They may just not know what to look for and how, coming to these boards every so often in exacerbation (or maybe with an agenda, sometimes I wonder). If you're truly new to this, most important of all, take a deep breath. Then, rather than looking at middle school (and high school) in panic and grasping at these pseudo-scenarios of "moving to suburban nirvana", which by the way no longer exists as your parents can probably tell you, you need to arm yourself with facts and speak to people who've successfully moved through our school system, 2 years ago, 5 years ago, 10 years ago, 20 years. Deliberately ask for them, look for them, speak to them, ask them questions. In all likelihood, you'll find that what made them successful and happy with their achievements is their particular path, the support they got from their parents, opportunities they seized, the right investment at the right time, a tight-night relationship with neighbors, friends, and teachers. DCUM cannot help you with that, but your neighbors can.

Agree. as someone who grew up in the deep south, went to crappy public schools and then on to the big state school college (which was second tier), let me assure you, my friends and I all did fine (if we came from educated families - that is a big if though). I am a tenured college professor. brother graduated from an ivy law school. It's really ok not to go to good schools in your teens and to go to a "eh" college. You can still shine and end up exactly where you want to be. The 90s is not so different than now in this regard. However, if you are from a less high ses family, middle and high school may be more important.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't buy into the hype. Well educated people have raised well educated children in this town for decades, not only in private schools I can tell you because I know enough to see the pattern. Not to say no one ever moved away. Many did and, still do, for schools maybe, but just as much because of housing or lifestyle issues (cars, a two-door garage, yards, dogs etc.). If you like living in the city and your house isn't forever pinching you, there are really plenty of "acceptable" options, and that's considering options before you get to Eliot-Hine, Jefferson, Brookland, which enough parents are considering "acceptable" these days for others to take notice.

What you're looking at in this discussion is a lot of insecurity from parents who themselves may not have a solid college education or who may have grown up in a homogeneous suburb and never known anything else or who may not have the disposable income their parents did to buy their way into a private school pipeline. All of them are looking at something new here, finding a new lifestyle, new type of schools. They may just not know what to look for and how, coming to these boards every so often in exacerbation (or maybe with an agenda, sometimes I wonder). If you're truly new to this, most important of all, take a deep breath. Then, rather than looking at middle school (and high school) in panic and grasping at these pseudo-scenarios of "moving to suburban nirvana", which by the way no longer exists as your parents can probably tell you, you need to arm yourself with facts and speak to people who've successfully moved through our school system, 2 years ago, 5 years ago, 10 years ago, 20 years. Deliberately ask for them, look for them, speak to them, ask them questions. In all likelihood, you'll find that what made them successful and happy with their achievements is their particular path, the support they got from their parents, opportunities they seized, the right investment at the right time, a tight-night relationship with neighbors, friends, and teachers. DCUM cannot help you with that, but your neighbors can.

Agree. as someone who grew up in the deep south, went to crappy public schools and then on to the big state school college (which was second tier), let me assure you, my friends and I all did fine (if we came from educated families - that is a big if though). I am a tenured college professor. brother graduated from an ivy law school. It's really ok not to go to good schools in your teens and to go to a "eh" college. You can still shine and end up exactly where you want to be. The 90s is not so different than now in this regard. However, if you are from a less high ses family, middle and high school may be more important.

The goal isn't a college name, the goal is a degree and profession you love. We got it. The latin kids will get a degree and a profession they love if they work hard at those colleges.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't buy into the hype. Well educated people have raised well educated children in this town for decades, not only in private schools I can tell you because I know enough to see the pattern. Not to say no one ever moved away. Many did and, still do, for schools maybe, but just as much because of housing or lifestyle issues (cars, a two-door garage, yards, dogs etc.). If you like living in the city and your house isn't forever pinching you, there are really plenty of "acceptable" options, and that's considering options before you get to Eliot-Hine, Jefferson, Brookland, which enough parents are considering "acceptable" these days for others to take notice.

What you're looking at in this discussion is a lot of insecurity from parents who themselves may not have a solid college education or who may have grown up in a homogeneous suburb and never known anything else or who may not have the disposable income their parents did to buy their way into a private school pipeline. All of them are looking at something new here, finding a new lifestyle, new type of schools. They may just not know what to look for and how, coming to these boards every so often in exacerbation (or maybe with an agenda, sometimes I wonder). If you're truly new to this, most important of all, take a deep breath. Then, rather than looking at middle school (and high school) in panic and grasping at these pseudo-scenarios of "moving to suburban nirvana", which by the way no longer exists as your parents can probably tell you, you need to arm yourself with facts and speak to people who've successfully moved through our school system, 2 years ago, 5 years ago, 10 years ago, 20 years. Deliberately ask for them, look for them, speak to them, ask them questions. In all likelihood, you'll find that what made them successful and happy with their achievements is their particular path, the support they got from their parents, opportunities they seized, the right investment at the right time, a tight-night relationship with neighbors, friends, and teachers. DCUM cannot help you with that, but your neighbors can.

Agree. as someone who grew up in the deep south, went to crappy public schools and then on to the big state school college (which was second tier), let me assure you, my friends and I all did fine (if we came from educated families - that is a big if though). I am a tenured college professor. brother graduated from an ivy law school. It's really ok not to go to good schools in your teens and to go to a "eh" college. You can still shine and end up exactly where you want to be. The 90s is not so different than now in this regard. However, if you are from a less high ses family, middle and high school may be more important.

me too. but I have enough sense to know that the prpblems that plague large, impoverished urban schools are very different from the problems of the underachieving kids in my southern small high school. Military was pretty much the only option for a lot of my classmates after HS and they were happy to have that. But groups of ten teenagers were robbing random people or wilding in public places against innocent people. Very different behavioral issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't buy into the hype. Well educated people have raised well educated children in this town for decades, not only in private schools I can tell you because I know enough to see the pattern. Not to say no one ever moved away. Many did and, still do, for schools maybe, but just as much because of housing or lifestyle issues (cars, a two-door garage, yards, dogs etc.). If you like living in the city and your house isn't forever pinching you, there are really plenty of "acceptable" options, and that's considering options before you get to Eliot-Hine, Jefferson, Brookland, which enough parents are considering "acceptable" these days for others to take notice.

What you're looking at in this discussion is a lot of insecurity from parents who themselves may not have a solid college education or who may have grown up in a homogeneous suburb and never known anything else or who may not have the disposable income their parents did to buy their way into a private school pipeline. All of them are looking at something new here, finding a new lifestyle, new type of schools. They may just not know what to look for and how, coming to these boards every so often in exacerbation (or maybe with an agenda, sometimes I wonder). If you're truly new to this, most important of all, take a deep breath. Then, rather than looking at middle school (and high school) in panic and grasping at these pseudo-scenarios of "moving to suburban nirvana", which by the way no longer exists as your parents can probably tell you, you need to arm yourself with facts and speak to people who've successfully moved through our school system, 2 years ago, 5 years ago, 10 years ago, 20 years. Deliberately ask for them, look for them, speak to them, ask them questions. In all likelihood, you'll find that what made them successful and happy with their achievements is their particular path, the support they got from their parents, opportunities they seized, the right investment at the right time, a tight-night relationship with neighbors, friends, and teachers. DCUM cannot help you with that, but your neighbors can.

Agree. as someone who grew up in the deep south, went to crappy public schools and then on to the big state school college (which was second tier), let me assure you, my friends and I all did fine (if we came from educated families - that is a big if though). I am a tenured college professor. brother graduated from an ivy law school. It's really ok not to go to good schools in your teens and to go to a "eh" college. You can still shine and end up exactly where you want to be. The 90s is not so different than now in this regard. However, if you are from a less high ses family, middle and high school may be more important.

The goal isn't a college name, the goal is a degree and profession you love. We got it. The latin kids will get a degree and a profession they love if they work hard at those colleges.

I do not think this is true anymore, sadly enough.

[Anonymous]

I do not think this is true anymore, sadly enough.

I feel sorry for you. I really do.

But if you're right, then your own little HYP overachievers will just be the first up under the guillotine at some point. Do you really want to live in a world that polarized? That's where you want to put your kids? What a way to live.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We moved to be IB for Deal (and Wilson). If we didn't find a house we liked (or if we didn't think Deal/Wilson would be OK for our kid), we'd have moved to MD or VA (and we looked at houses in both these places).

One of my goals as a parent is to give my children the best education I can afford. Now, what each parent can afford and what they consider best is going to differ, but my point is that if you think best education would be achieved by moving and you can afford to do so, why not? I don't get the aversion people on this board have to moving to the suburbs.

If I'm going to move to the suburbs, I would move to Virginia before I'd move to upper NW.

How old are you? This canard is getting boresome.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I do not think this is true anymore, sadly enough.

I feel sorry for you. I really do.

But if you're right, then your own little HYP overachievers will just be the first up under the guillotine at some point. Do you really want to live in a world that polarized? That's where you want to put your kids? What a way to live.

Well, I was a HYP overachiever and will like to give my kids the same opportunities. In DC, it does not look possible (for high SES, not underrepresented minority kid) unless you go private. Good bye.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are at a DCI feeder. Scores were on par with Hardy but they weren't great. Only a 1/3 proficient or above. Hoping DCI works out but I am having trouble committing to a school where 2/3 of the student are not considered proficient. Would feel more comfortable at Hardy, which appears to be on the upswing, than DCI, which is still so new.

DCI results vary by feeder.

YY and LAMB students all do very well. Why did they have to include DC Bi? They are a drag on performance.

How do you know this. It isn't as if DCI separate the feeder schools in groups to take the test. Or, do they?