DC High Schools

[Anonymous]

I'm in the Wilson boundary with young kids and I'm planning to move out of the boundary by the time my kids are in HS. Like everyone has said here, high schools won't improve enough in 10 years, and that includes Wilson. I like where I'm at for elementary, but Wilson as a high school is unacceptable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm in the Wilson boundary with young kids and I'm planning to move out of the boundary by the time my kids are in HS. Like everyone has said here, high schools won't improve enough in 10 years, and that includes Wilson. I like where I'm at for elementary, but Wilson as a high school is unacceptable.

Smart move but you may consider moving sooner rather than later. Hard for kids to move the older they get

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The viable non-private high schools in dc:

Washington Latin
SWW
Basis
Wilson

Perhaps:

Banneker
McKinley Tech
DCI

Perhaps Banneker, what are you smoking? Banneker is far superior to Wilson. Look at the graduation rates, test scores, and college placement

First of all, Banneker is an application school so not really fair to compare it directly to Wilson. Second, Wilson college placement for top 15 percent of kids is far superior. Third, Banneker has very few STEM offerings so bad idea to go there if you are interested in STEM or CS.

[Anonymous]

Move where you want now. A lot can change in 10 years and, if it doesn’t, 10 years is a perfectly adequate amount of time to sell a house after from a financial point of view. EOTP you’re likely to make a nice profit. We made more than 300K (more than $100K pure profit) off a house we sold to switch IBs after only 7 years in Hill East.

[Anonymous]

^^ Sorry, more than $200K pure profit. Not that it matters. The point is that buying a house for “only” 10 years isn’t financially unreasonable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^ Sorry, more than $200K pure profit. Not that it matters. The point is that buying a house for “only” 10 years isn’t financially unreasonable.

Except it's not just about HS. OP, what middle school would you be considering?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The viable non-private high schools in dc:

Washington Latin
SWW
Basis
Wilson

Perhaps:

Banneker
McKinley Tech
DCI

Perhaps Banneker, what are you smoking? Banneker is far superior to Wilson. Look at the graduation rates, test scores, and college placement

It’s sat scores suck

There is a point of view that the SAT is a racially biased test.

bahahaa There is a point of view that it isn't.

[Anonymous]

There are no "stellar" high schools in DC if that's what you're looking for. As far as the non-application publics go, Wilson is by far your best bet if you're insistent on staying in DC and going public. That said, I wouldn't send my kids there, for many of the reasons you'll find on this board with a little research. We're saving to shift to private when that time comes.

[Anonymous]

My oldest just finished at Wilson. She did well as she is internally driven and self motivated but she did not like Wilson. There are some good teachers but many sub-par ones. Administration is weak and student behavior is pretty bad. I would not recommend it if you can swing other choices.

[Anonymous]

What about DCI for high school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^ Sorry, more than $200K pure profit. Not that it matters. The point is that buying a house for “only” 10 years isn’t financially unreasonable.

Except it's not just about HS. OP, what middle school would you be considering?

Basis, Latin, Stuart Hobson, pay for CHDS or move for middle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What about DCI for high school?

It’s hard to get into if you’re not already in the MS. The chances of getting in are extremely low via lottery for 9th grade. Aside from that, it’s a pretty mediocre school. The only reason it stands out in the city is because the majority of the other options are worse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I would stay put. Why risk it? There truly is a huge gap between Wilson and the other comprehensives. These high schools average in the 700s composite on the sat-that is terrible.

I dunno, I'm a lot more sanguine about EOTP school improvement over the next decade. For better or worse, Washington DC is currently one of the most rapidly gentrifying cities in the country. If OP chooses a NW EOTP neighborhood that is rapidly turning over to young, educated professionals with kids, but with the space she wants, like say 16th St. Heights--that might be a decent risk to take. You could also look at EOTP neighborhoods that are currently IB for Wilson, Mt. Pleasant and Shepherd Park. All of these neighborhoods will appreciate more than their WOTP counterparts. In 10 years, if things are still uncertain for high school, you could move, try for application schools, or go private, like many have done in these neighborhoods for decades.

I'm one of the people you just described- educated, young and two kids, one about to enter PRE-K3. The issue is, ALL of the parents I know within my sons daycare cohort are all gearing up to leave EOTP. We live in upper CH/lower Petworth, the only people happy with their in bound options are those who are in at Bruce Monroe and are there for the Spanish and not because it's a school they would choose. They all applied to various charters and out of bound schools, didn't get in to any and are planning to leave. I think what people fail to discuss on these threads is that it's way more than just schools and test scores- it's the crime. We witness so much violence, prostitution, drug dealing, gun wars, package and car theft. The area is beautiful, long standing neighbors are wonderful, but the schools are shit and the crime is the tipping point. WOTP is more mellow, feels safer and calmer, in addition to better schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I would stay put. Why risk it? There truly is a huge gap between Wilson and the other comprehensives. These high schools average in the 700s composite on the sat-that is terrible.

I dunno, I'm a lot more sanguine about EOTP school improvement over the next decade. For better or worse, Washington DC is currently one of the most rapidly gentrifying cities in the country. If OP chooses a NW EOTP neighborhood that is rapidly turning over to young, educated professionals with kids, but with the space she wants, like say 16th St. Heights--that might be a decent risk to take. You could also look at EOTP neighborhoods that are currently IB for Wilson, Mt. Pleasant and Shepherd Park. All of these neighborhoods will appreciate more than their WOTP counterparts. In 10 years, if things are still uncertain for high school, you could move, try for application schools, or go private, like many have done in these neighborhoods for decades.

I'm one of the people you just described- educated, young and two kids, one about to enter PRE-K3. The issue is, ALL of the parents I know within my sons daycare cohort are all gearing up to leave EOTP. We live in upper CH/lower Petworth, the only people happy with their in bound options are those who are in at Bruce Monroe and are there for the Spanish and not because it's a school they would choose. They all applied to various charters and out of bound schools, didn't get in to any and are planning to leave. I think what people fail to discuss on these threads is that it's way more than just schools and test scores- it's the crime. We witness so much violence, prostitution, drug dealing, gun wars, package and car theft. The area is beautiful, long standing neighbors are wonderful, but the schools are shit and the crime is the tipping point. WOTP is more mellow, feels safer and calmer, in addition to better schools.

I mean, that Popville dimwit couldn't hack it in Petworth -- and no one was a bigger cheerleader for Petworth than him -- specifically because of the schools, so he moved WOTP. How does DCPS expect non-cheerleader families to stay in such neighborhoods if they have other options? The cycle will never end: higher-income families move in, stay at the local DCPS for ECE, get sick of all the crime and bad schools, cash in their equity and move across the park or to Bethesda. The schools, especially for older kids, will never truly get better.

[Anonymous]

I graduated in 01 from Wilson. The story was the same then as it is now. "Only Wilson, walls, ellington, banneker were acceptable." Eastern, Coolidge etc wont change in 10years because "gentrifiers" in bound go to private or move to the suburbs by middle school at the latest. Your kid will succeed at Wilson IF they are independent and motivated. In my family, only 1 out of 3 could. Many of my friends' siblings were not independently motivated enough to attend. So even with Wilson you know about a 50% shot it will work for your child. McKinley does sound kind of promising now, though. I vote for stick it out and if you're kid(s) cant handle it there are always other (private, moving) options.