Middle Schools for Cap Hill

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:High achieving boy who went on to doing very well in a test-in high school: We went with Jefferson and never had any regrets. I'm convinced he'd have done well at Elliot-Hine or Stuart-Hobson. He'd have been fine at Basis, too. The reason he excelled at Jefferson and became the academically strong and well-rounded person he now is is because he had committed and caring teachers who "get" middle schoolers and who worked with him to get him where he wanted and let him own the process. And because it's close by, he was able to pursue sports and scouts, which enriched his pandemic experience. And he had a set of genuine and funny and also some academically strong friends. Had he been in a place like Basis, he'd have become a kid worried and "pressed" about academics. As it stands, he became a caring, well-rounded, and academically strong teenager.

Guess we’ve found the one kid at Jefferson who did well on the math PARCC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think many parents bail for Basis or Latin l/ll (if they can) not because SH is that bad but to have a guarantee HS option (and no application headaches) that is better than Eastern.

Some parents, not many. Come on, no secret that SH throws a bunch of kids working at an 7th, 8th, even 9th grade level into the very same social studies and science classes as kids working 2,3 even 4 grade levels behind them.

What middle school tracks for social studies and science?

You have to look at the big picture to answer the question honestly. Deal doesn't have many poor kids, so less differentiation with social studies and sciences needed for effective instruction than EotP. Latin offers unusually small classes. BASIS offers a far more serious middle school science curriculum than DCPS and doesn't sanction social promotion past 6th grade.

Meanwhile, the middle schools for Capitol Hill offer a losing combination of epic learning gaps between high SES and low SES students (many more of the latter than the former in classes) and fairly large class sizes. That's why most in-boundary parents still vote with their feet away from these schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:High achieving boy who went on to doing very well in a test-in high school: We went with Jefferson and never had any regrets. I'm convinced he'd have done well at Elliot-Hine or Stuart-Hobson. He'd have been fine at Basis, too. The reason he excelled at Jefferson and became the academically strong and well-rounded person he now is is because he had committed and caring teachers who "get" middle schoolers and who worked with him to get him where he wanted and let him own the process. And because it's close by, he was able to pursue sports and scouts, which enriched his pandemic experience. And he had a set of genuine and funny and also some academically strong friends. Had he been in a place like Basis, he'd have become a kid worried and "pressed" about academics. As it stands, he became a caring, well-rounded, and academically strong teenager.

Good for your kid. But I am not sure how you "know" how your kid would have done at other schools.

Looking at PARCC, I certainly agree that there is no comparison between Jefferson and Basis:

Jefferson: 36.6% 4+ ELA, 20.9% 4+ math
Basis: 80.2% 4+ ELA, 64.5% 4+ math

[Anonymous]

Come on, those stats are three years old.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Come on, those stats are three years old.

Guarantee that the differential will be even bigger when the new scores come out in 6 months.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think many parents bail for Basis or Latin l/ll (if they can) not because SH is that bad but to have a guarantee HS option (and no application headaches) that is better than Eastern.

Some parents, not many. Come on, no secret that SH throws a bunch of kids working at an 7th, 8th, even 9th grade level into the very same social studies and science classes as kids working 2,3 even 4 grade levels behind them.

What middle school tracks for social studies and science?

You have to look at the big picture to answer the question honestly. Deal doesn't have many poor kids, so less differentiation with social studies and sciences needed for effective instruction than EotP. Latin offers unusually small classes. BASIS offers a far more serious middle school science curriculum than DCPS and doesn't sanction social promotion past 6th grade.

Meanwhile, the middle schools for Capitol Hill offer a losing combination of epic learning gaps between high SES and low SES students (many more of the latter than the former in classes) and fairly large class sizes. That's why most in-boundary parents still vote with their feet away from these schools.

Why not state this instead of pretending SH has some abnormal policies in place? My kid is in 8th and I’ve been most impressed with the quality of instruction and assignments in social studies during his time there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:High achieving boy who went on to doing very well in a test-in high school: We went with Jefferson and never had any regrets. I'm convinced he'd have done well at Elliot-Hine or Stuart-Hobson. He'd have been fine at Basis, too. The reason he excelled at Jefferson and became the academically strong and well-rounded person he now is is because he had committed and caring teachers who "get" middle schoolers and who worked with him to get him where he wanted and let him own the process. And because it's close by, he was able to pursue sports and scouts, which enriched his pandemic experience. And he had a set of genuine and funny and also some academically strong friends. Had he been in a place like Basis, he'd have become a kid worried and "pressed" about academics. As it stands, he became a caring, well-rounded, and academically strong teenager.

Good for your kid. But I am not sure how you "know" how your kid would have done at other schools.

Looking at PARCC, I certainly agree that there is no comparison between Jefferson and Basis:

Jefferson: 36.6% 4+ ELA, 20.9% 4+ math
Basis: 80.2% 4+ ELA, 64.5% 4+ math

The BASIS score is actually much lower than I had expected.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think many parents bail for Basis or Latin l/ll (if they can) not because SH is that bad but to have a guarantee HS option (and no application headaches) that is better than Eastern.

In my experience this is true. The flip side of this is that some parents have been planning for private/catholic HS all along, so will go to SH or even EH/Jefferson because it is more convenient than the charters. But they keep this part quiet and then it is a real disappointment to the parents who take a chance on the DCPS schools figuring that the cohort will stick together for HS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think many parents bail for Basis or Latin l/ll (if they can) not because SH is that bad but to have a guarantee HS option (and no application headaches) that is better than Eastern.

In my experience this is true. The flip side of this is that some parents have been planning for private/catholic HS all along, so will go to SH or even EH/Jefferson because it is more convenient than the charters. But they keep this part quiet and then it is a real disappointment to the parents who take a chance on the DCPS schools figuring that the cohort will stick together for HS.

Who are the folks who are delusional enough to think that even a small number of parents are going to choose Eastern?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:High achieving boy who went on to doing very well in a test-in high school: We went with Jefferson and never had any regrets. I'm convinced he'd have done well at Elliot-Hine or Stuart-Hobson. He'd have been fine at Basis, too. The reason he excelled at Jefferson and became the academically strong and well-rounded person he now is is because he had committed and caring teachers who "get" middle schoolers and who worked with him to get him where he wanted and let him own the process. And because it's close by, he was able to pursue sports and scouts, which enriched his pandemic experience. And he had a set of genuine and funny and also some academically strong friends. Had he been in a place like Basis, he'd have become a kid worried and "pressed" about academics. As it stands, he became a caring, well-rounded, and academically strong teenager.

Good for your kid. But I am not sure how you "know" how your kid would have done at other schools.

Looking at PARCC, I certainly agree that there is no comparison between Jefferson and Basis:

Jefferson: 36.6% 4+ ELA, 20.9% 4+ math
Basis: 80.2% 4+ ELA, 64.5% 4+ math

What if any school has better scores?
The BASIS score is actually much lower than I had expected.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:High achieving boy who went on to doing very well in a test-in high school: We went with Jefferson and never had any regrets. I'm convinced he'd have done well at Elliot-Hine or Stuart-Hobson. He'd have been fine at Basis, too. The reason he excelled at Jefferson and became the academically strong and well-rounded person he now is is because he had committed and caring teachers who "get" middle schoolers and who worked with him to get him where he wanted and let him own the process. And because it's close by, he was able to pursue sports and scouts, which enriched his pandemic experience. And he had a set of genuine and funny and also some academically strong friends. Had he been in a place like Basis, he'd have become a kid worried and "pressed" about academics. As it stands, he became a caring, well-rounded, and academically strong teenager.

Good for your kid. But I am not sure how you "know" how your kid would have done at other schools.

Looking at PARCC, I certainly agree that there is no comparison between Jefferson and Basis:

Jefferson: 36.6% 4+ ELA, 20.9% 4+ math
Basis: 80.2% 4+ ELA, 64.5% 4+ math

The BASIS score is actually much lower than I had expected.

These numbers don't exist in a vacuum. It is not an application school so they take all comers. I don't look at a school's PARCC scores to predict whether my kid will get a 4 or 5. I am certain my UMC kid with parents who make them do homework and review tests and quizzes with them is going to score well. What I want to know is what level kids are going to be in class with my kid - are they at grade level? Ahead? Close to grade level? Years behind? How might that inform the academic culture?

My view has always been that if I want to understand how likely my high performing kid is to be in classes with kids years behind on material I need to look at 3+. I'm including Deal for comparison's sake as the universally accepted "best" MS in DCPS system.

96.6% of Basis 8th graders are 3+ for ELA.
91% of Deal 8th graders for ELA are 3+.
57.6% of Jefferson 8th graders are 3+.

That means that 4 out of 10 students in 8th at Jefferson "require significant intervention". For math PARCC those scores get worse.

94.4% of Basis are 3+
41.3% of Jefferson are 3+
79.6% of Deal are 3+.

So 6 out of 10 students at Jefferson require significant intervention in 8th grade math. Those numbers are slightly better for 6th and 7th at Jefferson.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think many parents bail for Basis or Latin l/ll (if they can) not because SH is that bad but to have a guarantee HS option (and no application headaches) that is better than Eastern.

In my experience this is true. The flip side of this is that some parents have been planning for private/catholic HS all along, so will go to SH or even EH/Jefferson because it is more convenient than the charters. But they keep this part quiet and then it is a real disappointment to the parents who take a chance on the DCPS schools figuring that the cohort will stick together for HS.

Who are the folks who are delusional enough to think that even a small number of parents are going to choose Eastern?

Right. Even the most gung-ho boosters on Ward 6 elementary/middle schools never speak of Eastern.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think many parents bail for Basis or Latin l/ll (if they can) not because SH is that bad but to have a guarantee HS option (and no application headaches) that is better than Eastern.

In my experience this is true. The flip side of this is that some parents have been planning for private/catholic HS all along, so will go to SH or even EH/Jefferson because it is more convenient than the charters. But they keep this part quiet and then it is a real disappointment to the parents who take a chance on the DCPS schools figuring that the cohort will stick together for HS.

Who are the folks who are delusional enough to think that even a small number of parents are going to choose Eastern?

Right. Even the most gung-ho boosters on Ward 6 elementary/middle schools never speak of Eastern.

We started at a HRCS but are IB for SH. We are moved to another charter for 5th. SH is something we had considered and is still an option for us through 8th. There is zero chance, I mean not a snowball's chance in hell, that my kid would ever go to Eastern. Not even a consideration. Not for a moment. And I don't know any other parents in our area who would ever send their kids there.

[Anonymous]

https://twitter.com/WeedonAmy/status/1523766022020698113

https://twitter.com/christineclapp/status/1510316803423096834

https://twitter.com/HeatherSchoell

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think many parents bail for Basis or Latin l/ll (if they can) not because SH is that bad but to have a guarantee HS option (and no application headaches) that is better than Eastern.

In my experience this is true. The flip side of this is that some parents have been planning for private/catholic HS all along, so will go to SH or even EH/Jefferson because it is more convenient than the charters. But they keep this part quiet and then it is a real disappointment to the parents who take a chance on the DCPS schools figuring that the cohort will stick together for HS.

Who are the folks who are delusional enough to think that even a small number of parents are going to choose Eastern?

Right. Even the most gung-ho boosters on Ward 6 elementary/middle schools never speak of Eastern.

We started at a HRCS but are IB for SH. We are moved to another charter for 5th. SH is something we had considered and is still an option for us through 8th. There is zero chance, I mean not a snowball's chance in hell, that my kid would ever go to Eastern. Not even a consideration. Not for a moment. And I don't know any other parents in our area who would ever send their kids there.

We are IB for SH. We go to our IB ES. We will lottery for Basis and Latin and go if we get in; Latin II still a question mark. If we don't get in, we will go SH with little hesitation. For HS, we would move/mortgage our house to pay for private/any option before we'd consider Eastern. I don't know anyone personally who would consider it.