Middle Schools for Cap Hill

[Anonymous]

They're not going to do buses to charter schools when they don't do buses to DCPSes. This thread is fantasy. They could make it easier for charters to provide buses themselves in a number of ways, but actually provide them? Why should a kid get bused from the Hill to Latin but not to Jefferson?

[Anonymous]

yes, while latin offers chartered bus service including from two capital hill locations for a fee, fee publicly provided buses to charter schools seems even less likely than opening a very high quality charter school (e.g., latin 2) in the immediate environment of capital hill

[Anonymous]

Just wondering why posts pointing out that our ward representative Charles Allen has done literally nothing to assist Capitol Hill parents make schools work for them have been deleted? Is he so afraid of being called out for his terrible record that he requested that they be deleted?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They're not going to do buses to charter schools when they don't do buses to DCPSes. This thread is fantasy. They could make it easier for charters to provide buses themselves in a number of ways, but actually provide them? Why should a kid get bused from the Hill to Latin but not to Jefferson?

Because charters offer things that dcps cannot. Because of “vision zero” and getting cars off the road. Because it’s the environmentally friendly approach. Because buses allow poor kids to attend charter schools outside their ward. Because people are fleeing Capitol Hill if they cannot make a long drive work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They're not going to do buses to charter schools when they don't do buses to DCPSes. This thread is fantasy. They could make it easier for charters to provide buses themselves in a number of ways, but actually provide them? Why should a kid get bused from the Hill to Latin but not to Jefferson?

Because charters offer things that dcps cannot. Because of “vision zero” and getting cars off the road. Because it’s the environmentally friendly approach. Because buses allow poor kids to attend charter schools outside their ward. Because people are fleeing Capitol Hill if they cannot make a long drive work.

None of these would actually explain why you would bus kids to charters but not to DCPSes, FWIW.

[Anonymous]

There are public buses and all DC students can ride them free. If you want more than that, arrange it through the school, arrange it privately, or send your kid to the IB school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are public buses and all DC students can ride them free. If you want more than that, arrange it through the school, arrange it privately, or send your kid to the IB school.

Right. And free metro. My middle school Latin kid, along with tons of other kids, takes metro from Capitol Hill to Ft Totten every day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:here is my (lottery aside) problem with the charter school options: washington latin seems truly lovely but its really just too far for my particular capitol hill family's particular willingness to commute. i personally don't really like basis. i think the best solution is not buses to charter schools - its honors classes at the capitol hill middle schools so the high-achieving students that now exist at pretty much all of the capitol hill area elementary schools start to opt in.

Wishful thinking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OK, I'm hoping this thread won't derail into the same Cap Hill middle school drama. Anyone whose kids are at Jefferson right now?

I’m a current parent of a student at Jefferson who came from Brent. My observations so far:

- There is definitely advanced math, with a small set of sixth graders in seventh grade math, and so on.

- For the rest of the core classes (ELA, science, etc.), it appears that higher performing kids are placed in the same cohort together.

Happy to try to answer any specific questions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:here is my (lottery aside) problem with the charter school options: washington latin seems truly lovely but its really just too far for my particular capitol hill family's particular willingness to commute. i personally don't really like basis. i think the best solution is not buses to charter schools - its honors classes at the capitol hill middle schools so the high-achieving students that now exist at pretty much all of the capitol hill area elementary schools start to opt in.

Can gently suggest that your commuting worries might be overblown? We are a Cap Hill family who have commuted
to various Latin campuses for a decade now. The bus from Eastern Market is an expense and kind of crazy at times, but you will only need a year or two before your kid with be delighted to take the metro with all their friends and feel competent and grown up. It is a gift to give your kids the confidence to navigate their own way to school.

It is a 45-minute commute each way on public transit which gets wearying. But after all the years, no one in our family regrets it. The pain is worth the gain.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OK, I'm hoping this thread won't derail into the same Cap Hill middle school drama. Anyone whose kids are at Jefferson right now?

I’m a current parent of a student at Jefferson who came from Brent. My observations so far:

- There is definitely advanced math, with a small set of sixth graders in seventh grade math, and so on.

- For the rest of the core classes (ELA, science, etc.), it appears that higher performing kids are placed in the same cohort together.

Happy to try to answer any specific questions.

Roughly what % of the kids in any given 6th or 7th grade classroom are “higher performing?” How kids identified as higher performing? To your knowledge are there white kids who aren’t considered higher performing, so wind up in classes where they are the only white kids? Not trolling, genuinely want to know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:here is my (lottery aside) problem with the charter school options: washington latin seems truly lovely but its really just too far for my particular capitol hill family's particular willingness to commute. i personally don't really like basis. i think the best solution is not buses to charter schools - its honors classes at the capitol hill middle schools so the high-achieving students that now exist at pretty much all of the capitol hill area elementary schools start to opt in.

Can gently suggest that your commuting worries might be overblown? We are a Cap Hill family who have commuted
to various Latin campuses for a decade now. The bus from Eastern Market is an expense and kind of crazy at times, but you will only need a year or two before your kid with be delighted to take the metro with all their friends and feel competent and grown up. It is a gift to give your kids the confidence to navigate their own way to school.

It is a 45-minute commute each way on public transit which gets wearying. But after all the years, no one in our family regrets it. The pain is worth the gain.

An hour and a half round trip commute???

Hard pass.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:here is my (lottery aside) problem with the charter school options: washington latin seems truly lovely but its really just too far for my particular capitol hill family's particular willingness to commute. i personally don't really like basis. i think the best solution is not buses to charter schools - its honors classes at the capitol hill middle schools so the high-achieving students that now exist at pretty much all of the capitol hill area elementary schools start to opt in.

Can gently suggest that your commuting worries might be overblown? We are a Cap Hill family who have commuted
to various Latin campuses for a decade now. The bus from Eastern Market is an expense and kind of crazy at times, but you will only need a year or two before your kid with be delighted to take the metro with all their friends and feel competent and grown up. It is a gift to give your kids the confidence to navigate their own way to school.

It is a 45-minute commute each way on public transit which gets wearying. But after all the years, no one in our family regrets it. The pain is worth the gain.

An hour and a half round trip commute???

Hard pass.

The issue is that people move to the Hill precisely for walkability and the neighborhood feel. Yes there are people who are willing to commute across town for schools, as there always have been. It used to be that the wealthy people on the Hill sent their kids to privates in NW and they'd do that commute starting in elementary. But the cohort of people who have kids starting middle school around now have become used to being able to walk to school, to knowing their classmates families and bumping into them at the farmer's market or soccer practice on the weekend. It's really hard to make that adjustment to committing to a couple years of busing or driving and then having their kid take a long metro commute daily. This is why Basis is somewhat inexplicably popular on the Hill (given that Hill families lean a bit more crunchy and Basis is not at all crunchy) and why a Latin campus closer to the Hill would be an instant draw for Hill families. Like to the point that it will undermine the stated goal of that Latin campus, which is to provide more opportunities to underserved families east of the river and in Ward 5.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OK, I'm hoping this thread won't derail into the same Cap Hill middle school drama. Anyone whose kids are at Jefferson right now?

I’m a current parent of a student at Jefferson who came from Brent. My observations so far:

- There is definitely advanced math, with a small set of sixth graders in seventh grade math, and so on.

- For the rest of the core classes (ELA, science, etc.), it appears that higher performing kids are placed in the same cohort together.

Happy to try to answer any specific questions.

Can anyone say how the advanced Spanish classes are going at Jefferson (geared towards Tyler Spanish immersion students) and what percent of Tyler kids immersion and not immersion went to Jefferson this year?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:here is my (lottery aside) problem with the charter school options: washington latin seems truly lovely but its really just too far for my particular capitol hill family's particular willingness to commute. i personally don't really like basis. i think the best solution is not buses to charter schools - its honors classes at the capitol hill middle schools so the high-achieving students that now exist at pretty much all of the capitol hill area elementary schools start to opt in.

Can gently suggest that your commuting worries might be overblown? We are a Cap Hill family who have commuted
to various Latin campuses for a decade now. The bus from Eastern Market is an expense and kind of crazy at times, but you will only need a year or two before your kid with be delighted to take the metro with all their friends and feel competent and grown up. It is a gift to give your kids the confidence to navigate their own way to school.

It is a 45-minute commute each way on public transit which gets wearying. But after all the years, no one in our family regrets it. The pain is worth the gain.

An hour and a half round trip commute???

Hard pass.

The issue is that people move to the Hill precisely for walkability and the neighborhood feel. Yes there are people who are willing to commute across town for schools, as there always have been. It used to be that the wealthy people on the Hill sent their kids to privates in NW and they'd do that commute starting in elementary. But the cohort of people who have kids starting middle school around now have become used to being able to walk to school, to knowing their classmates families and bumping into them at the farmer's market or soccer practice on the weekend. It's really hard to make that adjustment to committing to a couple years of busing or driving and then having their kid take a long metro commute daily. This is why Basis is somewhat inexplicably popular on the Hill (given that Hill families lean a bit more crunchy and Basis is not at all crunchy) and why a Latin campus closer to the Hill would be an instant draw for Hill families. Like to the point that it will undermine the stated goal of that Latin campus, which is to provide more opportunities to underserved families east of the river and in Ward 5.

Apparently, you think that Hill families are all vegan, Birkenstock-wearing PETA members sitting around the fire pit singing Kumbaya.

Actually, many of us are just normal DC folk who want to send our kids to the best school we can without enduring a horrendous commute, and do the research instead of listening to blowhards on DCUM.

And right now that means Brent/Maury/etc. to Basis DC.

Do you even live in the Hill?