Starting Fourth Grade at DCPS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about DCI?

Brent parent here - DCI...

Hardly offers any spots for students who aren't in charter language immersion elementary schools and won't offer any at all within 2 or 3 years.
Is a heck of a commute from the Hill SE (around 45 minutes one way). Walter Reed isn't Metro accessible.
Doesn't offer much rigor - no tracking for ELA, social studies or science in a program with a high low SES population (more than half).
Enrolls no native speakers for Chinese and few for French (not immersion).

Yes it will be very difficult to get into DCI because of preference for immersion school students but not impossible yet. Put it down in your lottery list, you still have a chance but low. In a few years, that will likely approach zero.

It is not that far of a commute. We live just north of Capital Hill in H St NE. Our child is in K at a language immersion so we have a ways to middle school but from the NOMA station to Takoma on the red line is 11 minutes. 5 minute bus ride from Takoma to the school, probably a 15 minute walk from metro to the school. Kids who grow up in the city are very comfortable riding metro with friends in middle school. BTW there is a good cohort of kids from the Capital Hill area at our school.

It has a much, much higher performing peer group than all the other DCPS middle schools in the city except for Deal and is higher (55%/48%) than even at SH (45%/22%). In fact, it has a much lower at risk than SH if you do the comparison.

Spanish is the strongest immersion at all the elementary immersion schools and what our DS is in, for of course that is overwhelmingly by far the largest percentage of native speaking families in the city. Your child doesn’t have to be fluent in the foreign language and can take the language as an elective. For strong students who are fluent, there is the option of taking other core subjects in the language.

Lastly, it’s a continuous IB program from middle to high school. IB programs tend to focus more on writing skills which is a weak point at many schools. There are a few diploma options offered but the IB diploma is the most difficult and rigorous.

If you can get to Union Station from the hill so there is no transfer, it’s a 13 minute metro ride to Takoma p,us 5 min bus ride to school.

Sounds like a breeze but door to door from Eastern Market to DCI used to take my son as long as 50 minutes. Commute wasn't the end of the world but not worth it for current quality of the school. Main issues:

There are too many inexperienced teachers and admins, including the college counselor.
"Advanced" language skills of peers are often too weak for kids understand what teachers were saying/asking in subjects taught in the target languages.
Far too much goofing around on Chromebooks with Youtube access across the program.
Too many high needs/low-performing low SES kids in class with advanced learners.

Don't buy the hype about DCI, though I'm sure the school will improve over the years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So what’s the situation at Van Ness? That are up to 4th grade now. Anyone know what families are thinking about middle schools?

Upper grades Van Ness parents are in the same boat as Brent parents. The choices are lottery into Washington Latin or BASIS, and possibly Two Rivers, try Jefferson Academy (by-right MS), go private or move.

Some of the Van Ness 4th grade cohort has already bailed for the burbs. The housing project kids in the neighborhood can be a discipline problem - they have too many needs for Van Ness teachers and admins to address effectively in the upper grades.

Are you a parent there? Your observations on middle school choices are correct, but question the rest of your comment - retention is fairly high (some have left the area altogether but I don’t know anyone that’s left for the suburbs) Ive been impressed with the approach to positive discipline and the “housing project kids” - most lower income families come from mixed income housing.

[Anonymous]

What a grade is your child/ren in at VN? I'm guessing below 3rd, leaving you predisposed to "question my comment."

Everything's peachy until 3rd grade, at which point the project kids become disruptive in a manner that targeted interventions can't always address. At that point these kids are behind enough academically to start to drag the rest of the class down, and rough/physical in the hallways and on the playground to the point of sucking happiness out of your kid's day, at least if they're on the shy and/or sensitive side.

Bailed for MoCo before 4th, tired of the child coming home upset. We didn't advertise our reasons for leaving, or our destination, in the school community.

Jefferson Academy attracting a large cohort of UMC Brent and Van Ness families? Yea, in 15 or 20 years, after the rest of the SE and SW projects WotR have come down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What a grade is your child/ren in at VN? I'm guessing below 3rd, leaving you predisposed to "question my comment."

Everything's peachy until 3rd grade, at which point the project kids become disruptive in a manner that targeted interventions can't always address. At that point these kids are behind enough academically to start to drag the rest of the class down, and rough/physical in the hallways and on the playground to the point of sucking happiness out of your kid's day, at least if they're on the shy and/or sensitive side.

Bailed for MoCo before 4th, tired of the child coming home upset. We didn't advertise our reasons for leaving, or our destination, in the school community.

Jefferson Academy attracting a large cohort of UMC Brent and Van Ness families? Yea, in 15 or 20 years, after the rest of the SE and SW projects WotR have come down.

My child is in 4th and has been there since the school reopened. Our experience has not been as you described, but I hope your child is happy in their new school.

[Anonymous]

Some kids are tougher than others, mentally and physically.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about DCI?

Brent parent here - DCI...

Hardly offers any spots for students who aren't in charter language immersion elementary schools and won't offer any at all within 2 or 3 years.
Is a heck of a commute from the Hill SE (around 45 minutes one way). Walter Reed isn't Metro accessible.
Doesn't offer much rigor - no tracking for ELA, social studies or science in a program with a high low SES population (more than half).
Enrolls no native speakers for Chinese and few for French (not immersion).

Yes it will be very difficult to get into DCI because of preference for immersion school students but not impossible yet. Put it down in your lottery list, you still have a chance but low. In a few years, that will likely approach zero.

It is not that far of a commute. We live just north of Capital Hill in H St NE. Our child is in K at a language immersion so we have a ways to middle school but from the NOMA station to Takoma on the red line is 11 minutes. 5 minute bus ride from Takoma to the school, probably a 15 minute walk from metro to the school. Kids who grow up in the city are very comfortable riding metro with friends in middle school. BTW there is a good cohort of kids from the Capital Hill area at our school.

It has a much, much higher performing peer group than all the other DCPS middle schools in the city except for Deal and is higher (55%/48%) than even at SH (45%/22%). In fact, it has a much lower at risk than SH if you do the comparison.

Spanish is the strongest immersion at all the elementary immersion schools and what our DS is in, for of course that is overwhelmingly by far the largest percentage of native speaking families in the city. Your child doesn’t have to be fluent in the foreign language and can take the language as an elective. For strong students who are fluent, there is the option of taking other core subjects in the language.

Lastly, it’s a continuous IB program from middle to high school. IB programs tend to focus more on writing skills which is a weak point at many schools. There are a few diploma options offered but the IB diploma is the most difficult and rigorous.

If you can get to Union Station from the hill so there is no transfer, it’s a 13 minute metro ride to Takoma p,us 5 min bus ride to school.

Sounds like a breeze but door to door from Eastern Market to DCI used to take my son as long as 50 minutes. Commute wasn't the end of the world but not worth it for current quality of the school. Main issues:

There are too many inexperienced teachers and admins, including the college counselor.
"Advanced" language skills of peers are often too weak for kids understand what teachers were saying/asking in subjects taught in the target languages.
Far too much goofing around on Chromebooks with Youtube access across the program.
Too many high needs/low-performing low SES kids in class with advanced learners.

Don't buy the hype about DCI, though I'm sure the school will improve over the years.

Oh and you think it’s better at the DCPS middle schools such as Eliot Hines?? Give me a break.

[Anonymous]

Give us a break. Eliot-Hine vs. DCI is a false dichotomy.

Get your kid a decent education if you lack lottery luck at Washington Latin, or maybe Basis. You pay, you relocate, you do it. DCI has too many issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Give us a break. Eliot-Hine vs. DCI is a false dichotomy.

Get your kid a decent education if you lack lottery luck at Washington Latin, or maybe Basis. You pay, you relocate, you do it. DCI has too many issues.

Here’s news for you. Basis is not everyone’s cup of tea. Some of us are not interested in moving and can’t afford private. We will take DCI any day. And it will continue to improve as it grows and so will demand. So get off your high horse.

[Anonymous]

If you think DCI middle school is good, talk to SE neighborhood parents like us who tried the program and gave up. If DCI were around the corner, OK, we'd have stuck with it. Unfortunately, if you're in-boundary for Jefferson or Eliot-Hine and it's a long commute to Walter Reed. Your kid spends an hour, even an hour and a half, commuting daily to and from a chaotic program offering little challenge for advanced students in ELA, social studies and science classes. The classes aren't leveled and most students work behind grade level. Many DCI students goof around a lot on the chromebooks during the school day. The arrangement wears on your family, even if your kid's Spanish is prety good. No use pretending otherwise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Give us a break. Eliot-Hine vs. DCI is a false dichotomy.

Get your kid a decent education if you lack lottery luck at Washington Latin, or maybe Basis. You pay, you relocate, you do it. DCI has too many issues.

Here’s news for you. Basis is not everyone’s cup of tea. Some of us are not interested in moving and can’t afford private. We will take DCI any day. And it will continue to improve as it grows and so will demand. So get off your high horse.

Here's news for you. You may not have a good DC public middle school option, like droves of Capitol Hill parents before you since Home Rule began in the District.

You may need to bite the bullet by tolerating your IB school, homeschooling, or going with BASIS.

Alternatively, you may need to move or get a better paying job to pay for a private school ensure that your children get a good education in middle school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you've got the basics. Tour at Latin and Basis, with the understanding that Latin is truly a lottery (about 1 in 10 chance of getting in) and there are also kids who did not get in to Basis last year (I think 70-80 still on the waitlist). I don't think Stuart Hobson let in any out of bounds kids this year (and that would include proximity preference). You might want to also take a look at Two Rivers for 5th grade/middle school. And, there are a (very) few Brent kids who have gone on to Jefferson and seem to be happy/doing well there. My kid is at Basis now and enjoying it, for the most part.

Thanks so much for your response! Do people have better luck with Two Rivers in fifth versus sixth grade?

I am actually wondering if it would make sense for my kid to go to Basis for 5th and then Jefferson for 6th, if she decides Basis isn't for her. I feel like it would give her a better transition year. Or maybe she'll prefer to stay. In general, how much of the decision was yours versus your child's?

OP, whatever you decide regarding how much weight to give to your child's opinion, please don't factor in whether or not her friends are going to a particular school. I've seen so many parents talk up our charter feeder MS/HS then play the lottery every year in hopes of going somewhere else. Just be prepared for kids not showing up there even if they talk a good game about wanting to go there. Then suddenly we heard oh, we're going to Latin/Basis/Private/Moving.

Also, friends generally change in middle school. Just pick the school that seems best for your kid. Everyone else will be doing the same.

Yeah, I realize we can't know where my child's friends will end up, but I'm just wondering how much weight to give to general opinions about the schools. I mean, on one hand it would help to have buy-in, right? On the other hand, a fourth grader may not be best as making this decision. So I'm just wondering what the balance is and how much to override a kid's opinion...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are more Brent 4th graders from last year at BASIS this year than at Brent. This has been the case for 5 or 6 years. BASIS has basically become Brent's 5th grade.

How pervasive is this across the city for "good" elementary schools that don't have "good" middle school feeders? We're only in K, but plan to stay in DCPS through elementary, then move for middle if we don't win the lottery. (Want to move regardless, so wouldn't be a scramble.) Do all non-Wilson feeder DCPS clear out in 4th and 5th?

I know that Maury lost half its students in 5th, and Tyler lost students both in 4th and 5th grades.

[Anonymous]

This is OP, thanks to everyone for weighing in. I'm surprised that Inspired Teaching PCS wasn't at all on my radar. I'm familiar with Two Rivers, though.

Anyone knows how many Jefferson 6th graders from Brent returned for 7th grade? Just curious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is OP, thanks to everyone for weighing in. I'm surprised that Inspired Teaching PCS wasn't at all on my radar. I'm familiar with Two Rivers, though.

Anyone knows how many Jefferson 6th graders from Brent returned for 7th grade? Just curious.

ITS has only recently become acceptable for middle school IMO. That's probably why. And for obvious reasons it's more popular with Senate side folks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is OP, thanks to everyone for weighing in. I'm surprised that Inspired Teaching PCS wasn't at all on my radar. I'm familiar with Two Rivers, though.

Anyone knows how many Jefferson 6th graders from Brent returned for 7th grade? Just curious.

ITS has only recently become acceptable for middle school IMO. That's probably why. And for obvious reasons it's more popular with Senate side folks.

Sorry, what are Senate side folks and why is it popular with them?