*Lord of the Flies* is the 9th grade reading for Wilson. sigh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Aren’t reading lists coordinated across all grades in DCPS? Seems like bad management to assign same books in different year. But on par with DCPS in general I guess.

I was going to ask this, but then I googled ‘DCPS Summer Reading List’ and this popped up for SWW. So it seems things aren’t very cohesive.
http://www.swwhs.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/young-adults-choices-reading-list-2019.pdf

[Anonymous]

They are lucky to decipher picture books

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is that for the honors level 9th grade or the regular classes?

Honors for All, remember?

Yep, don’t expect a challenging reading list if students who are below grade level are in the class per their new honors for all. People can make all the excuses they want for poor PARCC scores but the reality is that only 1/2 the students at Wilson are even at grade level in ELA.

[Anonymous]

To the PP- -and we are all blinded by Wilson. It’s the best in DC but overall pretty substandard. Rereading a book in college is one thing. It’s a waste of trim for eread, in school, a book that was assigned in middle school. DCPS should coordinate this across grades. It’s not hard and yet DCPS fails again. There are also better books by more diverse authors for 9th grade. Stop making excuses Wilson parents, demand a better education for kids.

[Anonymous]

I totally agree that we’ve all been blinded by Wilson because it’s been dangled as a shiny silver bell. I think SWW is a far superior option based on research. I really do hope that Central Office would coordinate between all the high schools and come up with a comprehensive list for summer reading varied by level within certain parameters. There should be no reason why DCPS cannot do that for all learners. If students are ESOL/SPED then there should be a note on the reading list noting which books might be appropriate for those learners. But alas, DCPS is all politics and very little prose.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I totally agree that we’ve all been blinded by Wilson because it’s been dangled as a shiny silver bell. I think SWW is a far superior option based on research. I really do hope that Central Office would coordinate between all the high schools and come up with a comprehensive list for summer reading varied by level within certain parameters. There should be no reason why DCPS cannot do that for all learners. If students are ESOL/SPED then there should be a note on the reading list noting which books might be appropriate for those learners. But alas, DCPS is all politics and very little prose.

Based on research? You mean what the other snotty moms on the kindergarten playground are saying who know nothing about high school, teenagers, etc?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To the PP- -and we are all blinded by Wilson. It’s the best in DC but overall pretty substandard. Rereading a book in college is one thing. It’s a waste of trim for eread, in school, a book that was assigned in middle school. DCPS should coordinate this across grades. It’s not hard and yet DCPS fails again. There are also better books by more diverse authors for 9th grade. Stop making excuses Wilson parents, demand a better education for kids.

I am not a Wilson parent or teacher, but I disagree that it’s a waste of time to reread in HS a book read in middle. There’s a lot lost on younger kids due to more limited background knowledge and emotional immaturity. A lot happens between 11 and 15 to make it worth re-examining a book. Especially when there are cross-curricular connections with what is studied in social studies and science. The novel’s physical and temporal settings actually mesh well with the DCPS science and SS curriculum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I totally agree that we’ve all been blinded by Wilson because it’s been dangled as a shiny silver bell. I think SWW is a far superior option based on research. I really do hope that Central Office would coordinate between all the high schools and come up with a comprehensive list for summer reading varied by level within certain parameters. There should be no reason why DCPS cannot do that for all learners. If students are ESOL/SPED then there should be a note on the reading list noting which books might be appropriate for those learners. But alas, DCPS is all politics and very little prose.

There is no reason that Wilson would have the same books as SWW. SWW is a humanities focused application school where students test in.

Wilson shares a basic curriculum with Coolidge, Roosevelt, Dunbar, Ballou and so on until you reach the AP classes, when Wilson has more. If you want to attend a comprehensive high school, this is how it works.

If you want more academically look at SWW, Banneker, McKinley, Bard and Coolidge Early College.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I totally agree that we’ve all been blinded by Wilson because it’s been dangled as a shiny silver bell. I think SWW is a far superior option based on research. I really do hope that Central Office would coordinate between all the high schools and come up with a comprehensive list for summer reading varied by level within certain parameters. There should be no reason why DCPS cannot do that for all learners. If students are ESOL/SPED then there should be a note on the reading list noting which books might be appropriate for those learners. But alas, DCPS is all politics and very little prose.

There is no reason that Wilson would have the same books as SWW. SWW is a humanities focused application school where students test in.

Wilson shares a basic curriculum with Coolidge, Roosevelt, Dunbar, Ballou and so on until you reach the AP classes, when Wilson has more. If you want to attend a comprehensive high school, this is how it works.

If you want more academically look at SWW, Banneker, McKinley, Bard and Coolidge Early College.

I wasn’t aware that Wilson wasn’t considered academically challenging. Everyone speaks so highly of Wilson and much less about McKinkey, Bard and Coolidge (looks like their program is relatively new). PP, are you sure that Wilson shares the same basic curriculum as Coolidge, Roosevelt, Dunbar? I’m assuming that the AP curriculum would be the same as well???

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I totally agree that we’ve all been blinded by Wilson because it’s been dangled as a shiny silver bell. I think SWW is a far superior option based on research. I really do hope that Central Office would coordinate between all the high schools and come up with a comprehensive list for summer reading varied by level within certain parameters. There should be no reason why DCPS cannot do that for all learners. If students are ESOL/SPED then there should be a note on the reading list noting which books might be appropriate for those learners. But alas, DCPS is all politics and very little prose.

There is no reason that Wilson would have the same books as SWW. SWW is a humanities focused application school where students test in.

Wilson shares a basic curriculum with Coolidge, Roosevelt, Dunbar, Ballou and so on until you reach the AP classes, when Wilson has more. If you want to attend a comprehensive high school, this is how it works.

If you want more academically look at SWW, Banneker, McKinley, Bard and Coolidge Early College.

I wasn’t aware that Wilson wasn’t considered academically challenging. Everyone speaks so highly of Wilson and much less about McKinkey, Bard and Coolidge (looks like their program is relatively new). PP, are you sure that Wilson shares the same basic curriculum as Coolidge, Roosevelt, Dunbar? I’m assuming that the AP curriculum would be the same as well???

They are the same in that the 9th grade standards are the 9th grade standards, and algebra 2 (for example) is algebra 2. AP course curriculum is set by the College Board, which also provides a list of textbooks that must be used, and approves all syllabi.

Of course strong and creative teacher can cover the information required by the standards/College Board in a creative and engaging way, and do more than the minimum. But what people experience and expect from Wilson is a higher performing, higher SES cohort because most of the boundary area is upper middle class.

That is why honors for all rankles -- it puts the kids who aren't as well prepared in class with the higher SES kids -- and part of why some families dislike the OOB feeder system.

[Anonymous]

My rising 9th grader is now reading lord of the flies. He hadn't read it in MS. Which MS are we talking about which had it on their reading list?

[Anonymous]

Gotcha, thanks for the thorough explanation PP. I am not necessarily bothered by the OOB students, I am bothered that students who cannot keep up and who are not prepared are sitting in an AP class when they should not be. If an OOB or in-bound student can handle the work load, awesome, then allow them to enroll in the course, but if not, common sense says to put them in the regular class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Gotcha, thanks for the thorough explanation PP. I am not necessarily bothered by the OOB students, I am bothered that students who cannot keep up and who are not prepared are sitting in an AP class when they should not be. If an OOB or in-bound student can handle the work load, awesome, then allow them to enroll in the course, but if not, common sense says to put them in the regular class.

Some APs are far harder than others, and a couple are pretty easy. And some require a pre-requisite (AP Calc).

[Anonymous]

They should be analyzing it and thinking about it differently than they did in MS.

It’s more about the analysis — they go deeper.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Gotcha, thanks for the thorough explanation PP. I am not necessarily bothered by the OOB students, I am bothered that students who cannot keep up and who are not prepared are sitting in an AP class when they should not be. If an OOB or in-bound student can handle the work load, awesome, then allow them to enroll in the course, but if not, common sense says to put them in the regular class.

Some APs are far harder than others, and a couple are pretty easy. And some require a pre-requisite (AP Calc).

Doesn’t matter. There should be academic requirements to be in an AP class with similar performing peer groups. Of course with math you need to do some pre-requisite courses, that’s a given.

Just drop the AP then if it’s open to all. Or make it AP for all, just like honors for all. What a joke.