Expectations for Future MS Differentiation EOTP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’d recommend that you you look at affordable privates. Charter, DCPS, etc. all teach to the middle. There is nothing more disappointing than having advanced kids being stymied because a teacher is trying to kid the rest of the class to grade level. You can’t supplement an entire curriculum no matter what you do. DC’s lack of a magnet program is just sad. Just real advice from someone that just hit middle school.

I do kinda have to agree as much as my social justice self doesn't want to. That used to happen to me sometimes growing up and WOW talk about a way to instill a hatred for school or a particular class. That was the only real result for me. Although, I won't go so far as to say that you need a private school because I still find that a bridge too far. Not sure what we'll do though when we get there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You're painting with too broad a brush. You absolutely get a cohort of bright kids at the strongest DC public charter middle school programs these days. The list is growing, and now includes Deal, Stuart Hobson, Hardy, Wash Latin, BASIS, DCI, Adams and possibly Two Rivers, Capitol City, Logan Montessori, Inspired Teaching and CMI.

What you don't get is a consistent push for kids who can work high above grade level to do so, other than at BASIS for math.

You also don't get great teaching across the board, strong writing instruction, or much individualized attention. Neither do you find a particularly rich humanities curriculum anywhere, or strong instruction in modern languages outside Adams. I speak two of the languages taught at DCI fluently, have volunteered there several times recently to work with the most "advanced" students studying both. I wasn't remotely impressed after all those years of immersion study.

In view of the above, many high SES parents are OK with getting the basics, or more, from one of the schools on the list and paying to supplement. Some pay to supplement a little, others go all out. The practice becomes less strange or unusual as time goes on in the City. DC parents dig in to avoid moving to Fairfax or MoCo for GT programs to get what they're looking for, or clobbering their retirement and college savings by paving for tony privates, where they may not like the cocoon arrangement anyway.

almost all the schools you named are charters, some very very difficult to get into. Or you need a million dollars to buy in woodly park or tenley town.

Not at the late es or middle school level.

For 18-19:

Latin offered 90 seats at 5th.

BASIS offers 120 seats at 5th.

Cap City offers 50 seats at 5th

DCI offered <30 at 6th for all languages

Adams offered 0 seats for 6th in the initial lottery (9 WL offers for 6th by Aug but none for monolingual English speakers)

Hardy offered 15 seats for 6th in initial lottery (57 WL offers by Aug)

2 Rivers offered 7 seats for 5th; 2 seats for 6th

IT offered 12 seats for 5th; 10 seats for 6th

CMI offered 6 seats for 6th

Logan offered 16 seats for 6th

SH offered 5 seats for 6th

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You're painting with too broad a brush. You absolutely get a cohort of bright kids at the strongest DC public charter middle school programs these days. The list is growing, and now includes Deal, Stuart Hobson, Hardy, Wash Latin, BASIS, DCI, Adams and possibly Two Rivers, Capitol City, Logan Montessori, Inspired Teaching and CMI.

What you don't get is a consistent push for kids who can work high above grade level to do so, other than at BASIS for math.

You also don't get great teaching across the board, strong writing instruction, or much individualized attention. Neither do you find a particularly rich humanities curriculum anywhere, or strong instruction in modern languages outside Adams. I speak two of the languages taught at DCI fluently, have volunteered there several times recently to work with the most "advanced" students studying both. I wasn't remotely impressed after all those years of immersion study.

In view of the above, many high SES parents are OK with getting the basics, or more, from one of the schools on the list and paying to supplement. Some pay to supplement a little, others go all out. The practice becomes less strange or unusual as time goes on in the City. DC parents dig in to avoid moving to Fairfax or MoCo for GT programs to get what they're looking for, or clobbering their retirement and college savings by paving for tony privates, where they may not like the cocoon arrangement anyway.

almost all the schools you named are charters, some very very difficult to get into. Or you need a million dollars to buy in woodly park or tenley town.

Not at the late es or middle school level.

For 18-19:

Latin offered 90 seats at 5th.

BASIS offers 120 seats at 5th.

Cap City offers 50 seats at 5th

DCI offered <30 at 6th for all languages

Adams offered 0 seats for 6th in the initial lottery (9 WL offers for 6th by Aug but none for monolingual English speakers)

Hardy offered 15 seats for 6th in initial lottery (57 WL offers by Aug)

2 Rivers offered 7 seats for 5th; 2 seats for 6th

IT offered 12 seats for 5th; 10 seats for 6th

CMI offered 6 seats for 6th

Logan offered 16 seats for 6th

SH offered 5 seats for 6th

Latin and Basis are where you need to be if you want your child to have an adequate education and can't afford a private. Otherwise relocate. There is no differentiation in middle school. Case in point in the suburbs the top kids take Algebra 1 in 7th at the latest. Saying its offered in 8th in DCPS is a joke.

[Anonymous]

I’m one where if the charters were true alternative schools and not tainted by segregation and privilege maintenance I’d love to have my kids there seeing as they’re about to exit elementary school way ahead of their peers. But I’m trying to not just look out for me and mine. So I really feel conflicted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m one where if the charters were true alternative schools and not tainted by segregation and privilege maintenance I’d love to have my kids there seeing as they’re about to exit elementary school way ahead of their peers. But I’m trying to not just look out for me and mine. So I really feel conflicted.

How are charter schools tainted by segregation when DC's charter elementary schools are pretty much the only ones with a balanced diversity that doesn't reflect the city's segregation or the city's demographic imbalance?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m one where if the charters were true alternative schools and not tainted by segregation and privilege maintenance I’d love to have my kids there seeing as they’re about to exit elementary school way ahead of their peers. But I’m trying to not just look out for me and mine. So I really feel conflicted.

Deal isn’t about segregation and privilege maintenance? How about Ellington? SWW? Brent? JKLM?

[Anonymous]

Don't agree with the poster who claims that Latin and BASIS are the only DC public middle schools worth bothering with, in ignorance of alternatives.

My child a big book worm reading two or three years above grade level, is challenged in Stuart Hobson honors classes, and challenge her even more by supplementing. We do well with her 2-minute commute to Hobson, time that can be put into extra academics, along with rich extra-curriculars in and outside the school. I hear similar stories from Deal and Hardy parents of advanced learners. Latin is around a 40-minute commute from our home - not worth it. We really don't like the cramped facility at BASIS and lack of emphasis on the arts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m one where if the charters were true alternative schools and not tainted by segregation and privilege maintenance I’d love to have my kids there seeing as they’re about to exit elementary school way ahead of their peers. But I’m trying to not just look out for me and mine. So I really feel conflicted.

How are charter schools tainted by segregation when DC's charter elementary schools are pretty much the only ones with a balanced diversity that doesn't reflect the city's segregation or the city's demographic imbalance?

When the city's student population is 15% white, your ward's student population is 5% white, and and your school's white percentage is above 30%, I'd start to explain what you mean when you say your school is 'diverse.'

Basically, if these schools weren't a route to separation of communities, I'd be less concerned. We don't live in 1910s Alabama but we could definitely do better at helping children of privilege and children of poor communities mingle and grow together into the country we want. But we separate ourselves and then get defensive about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m one where if the charters were true alternative schools and not tainted by segregation and privilege maintenance I’d love to have my kids there seeing as they’re about to exit elementary school way ahead of their peers. But I’m trying to not just look out for me and mine. So I really feel conflicted.

How are charter schools tainted by segregation when DC's charter elementary schools are pretty much the only ones with a balanced diversity that doesn't reflect the city's segregation or the city's demographic imbalance?

When the city's student population is 15% white, your ward's student population is 5% white, and and your school's white percentage is above 30%, I'd start to explain what you mean when you say your school is 'diverse.'

Basically, if these schools weren't a route to separation of communities, I'd be less concerned. We don't live in 1910s Alabama but we could definitely do better at helping children of privilege and children of poor communities mingle and grow together into the country we want. But we separate ourselves and then get defensive about it.

It sounds like don't know the definition of diverse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’d recommend that you you look at affordable privates. Charter, DCPS, etc. all teach to the middle. There is nothing more disappointing than having advanced kids being stymied because a teacher is trying to kid the rest of the class to grade level. You can’t supplement an entire curriculum no matter what you do. DC’s lack of a magnet program is just sad. Just real advice from someone that just hit middle school.

Oh sure, all those affordable privates. We're Jewish and work for non-profits. We wouldn't be comfortable at "affordable" parochial schools running families around 20K a year, even if we could afford that kind of dough for two kids. We'll probably just move to the burbs.

Well I can save you time! Privatedont offer much differentiation either. We left private school because of this. Why pay a lot of money to have your child bored and working on unchallenging material?!

but at private you are much more likely to have a class of peers. My kid is at a Title 1 school and the gap is already glaring in kindergarten. Kids who know 50 sight words and kids who don't know the alphabet.

It’s Kindergarten though! My kid didn’t know his letters and struggled with reading until 2 grade by 5th he was passing assessments (private school assessments not parcc in the 99th percentile nationally). Kindergarten is all over the place.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't agree with the poster who claims that Latin and BASIS are the only DC public middle schools worth bothering with, in ignorance of alternatives.

My child a big book worm reading two or three years above grade level, is challenged in Stuart Hobson honors classes, and challenge her even more by supplementing. We do well with her 2-minute commute to Hobson, time that can be put into extra academics, along with rich extra-curriculars in and outside the school. I hear similar stories from Deal and Hardy parents of advanced learners. Latin is around a 40-minute commute from our home - not worth it. We really don't like the cramped facility at BASIS and lack of emphasis on the arts.

lol don;t you get it you are supplementing

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't agree with the poster who claims that Latin and BASIS are the only DC public middle schools worth bothering with, in ignorance of alternatives.

My child a big book worm reading two or three years above grade level, is challenged in Stuart Hobson honors classes, and challenge her even more by supplementing. We do well with her 2-minute commute to Hobson, time that can be put into extra academics, along with rich extra-curriculars in and outside the school. I hear similar stories from Deal and Hardy parents of advanced learners. Latin is around a 40-minute commute from our home - not worth it. We really don't like the cramped facility at BASIS and lack of emphasis on the arts.

lol don;t you get it you are supplementing

+1 think how little the commute would be if you just admitted that you are homeschooling with socialization at SH.

[Anonymous]

Ya know some of us at BASIS and supplement for literature, music and art. The humanities curriculum is nothing to write home about and the arts education is dismal.

We sent our kid to CTY in Alexandria for a literature camp for after a school year where he read around THREE BOOKS, three too-easy books.

I know Latin families who supplement for Spanish after years of immersion study in DCPS. Spanish which isn't taught at LaTin.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ya know some of us at BASIS and supplement for literature, music and art. The humanities curriculum is nothing to write home about and the arts education is dismal.

We sent our kid to CTY in Alexandria for a literature camp for after a school year where he read around THREE BOOKS, three too-easy books.

I know Latin families who supplement for Spanish after years of immersion study in DCPS. Spanish which isn't taught at LaTin.

Thank You none of the schools in DCPS are adequate lolz

[Anonymous]

That's because we don't have a single ambitious middle school with great facilities. We have an ambitious middle school for math with mediocre instruction (no tracking) for English and crap facilities - BASIS. We have a few OK middle schools with good facilities (Deal, Hobson, Hardy etc.). But as a city, we aren't able to combine these two critical elements in any one middle school. Latin comes closest at integrating the two, which isn't saying all that much. In a nutshell, this is why so many ambitious parents supplement. They aren't tiger parents as much as they're looking for basic offerings that are standard offerings in the better public schools in surrounding jurisdictions.

Think about it - BASIS has no stage, library or real gym. Deal puts kids who read at a 4th grade level in the same English classrooms as kids who read at a 9th grade level. And on and on the glaring deficiencies go.