New to Banneker

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Gosh Banneker seems hard. My DD was planning on applying but now after reading all this, I’d rather she not. Walls has less work and is still number 1. Win-Win and probably way better for the children’s stress level and mental health. We can’t forget that they aren’t adults yet and also need a break from time to time. Overworking them is not the solution.

Right. And this is why there are several selective schools; not every school is the best fit for every kid. My kid goes to Banneker and loves it. Yours might or might not.

Good luck to your kid getting into Walls. That's a tough one! I'd also try McKinley and perhaps others. And there's always the in-bound option.

Yeah my two oldest sons are at walls and they love it.

Of course, lots of kids love it! But, there is no sibling preference and you can't bank on it.

Yeah of course but we are on the right track for sure. She has all A’s, plays 2 sports that’s she’s been playing since she was 5, does model un, debate, banned book club etc.. she has great teachers and now that we’ve already been through this process twice we know how to prepare for th interview and essay

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Gosh Banneker seems hard. My DD was planning on applying but now after reading all this, I’d rather she not. Walls has less work and is still number 1. Win-Win and probably way better for the children’s stress level and mental health. We can’t forget that they aren’t adults yet and also need a break from time to time. Overworking them is not the solution.

Right. And this is why there are several selective schools; not every school is the best fit for every kid. My kid goes to Banneker and loves it. Yours might or might not.

Good luck to your kid getting into Walls. That's a tough one! I'd also try McKinley and perhaps others. And there's always the in-bound option.

Yeah my two oldest sons are at walls and they love it.

Of course, lots of kids love it! But, there is no sibling preference and you can't bank on it.

Yeah of course but we are on the right track for sure. She has all A’s, plays 2 sports that’s she’s been playing since she was 5, does model un, debate, banned book club etc.. she has great teachers and now that we’ve already been through this process twice we know how to prepare for th interview and essay

You just described my kid. Who did not get in. When it works out, great, but pretending that it's something you can plan for isn't a real strategy. Opening your mind up to other schools is important.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Gosh Banneker seems hard. My DD was planning on applying but now after reading all this, I’d rather she not. Walls has less work and is still number 1. Win-Win and probably way better for the children’s stress level and mental health. We can’t forget that they aren’t adults yet and also need a break from time to time. Overworking them is not the solution.

Right. And this is why there are several selective schools; not every school is the best fit for every kid. My kid goes to Banneker and loves it. Yours might or might not.

Good luck to your kid getting into Walls. That's a tough one! I'd also try McKinley and perhaps others. And there's always the in-bound option.

Yeah my two oldest sons are at walls and they love it.

Of course, lots of kids love it! But, there is no sibling preference and you can't bank on it.

Yeah of course but we are on the right track for sure. She has all A’s, plays 2 sports that’s she’s been playing since she was 5, does model un, debate, banned book club etc.. she has great teachers and now that we’ve already been through this process twice we know how to prepare for th interview and essay

You just described my kid. Who did not get in. When it works out, great, but pretending that it's something you can plan for isn't a real strategy. Opening your mind up to other schools is important.

Either your daughters interview didn’t go well or the parent interview didn’t go well or she messed up on the essay but I know multiple kids like my daughter and my sons who most definitely got in. I’m not saying I know that she will get in but she had a very good chance of. She is not shy and has had many practice interviews. My husband and I have experience as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Gosh Banneker seems hard. My DD was planning on applying but now after reading all this, I’d rather she not. Walls has less work and is still number 1. Win-Win and probably way better for the children’s stress level and mental health. We can’t forget that they aren’t adults yet and also need a break from time to time. Overworking them is not the solution.

Right. And this is why there are several selective schools; not every school is the best fit for every kid. My kid goes to Banneker and loves it. Yours might or might not.

Good luck to your kid getting into Walls. That's a tough one! I'd also try McKinley and perhaps others. And there's always the in-bound option.

Yeah my two oldest sons are at walls and they love it.

Of course, lots of kids love it! But, there is no sibling preference and you can't bank on it.

Yeah of course but we are on the right track for sure. She has all A’s, plays 2 sports that’s she’s been playing since she was 5, does model un, debate, banned book club etc.. she has great teachers and now that we’ve already been through this process twice we know how to prepare for th interview and essay

You just described my kid. Who did not get in. When it works out, great, but pretending that it's something you can plan for isn't a real strategy. Opening your mind up to other schools is important.

Either your daughters interview didn’t go well or the parent interview didn’t go well or she messed up on the essay but I know multiple kids like my daughter and my sons who most definitely got in. I’m not saying I know that she will get in but she had a very good chance of. She is not shy and has had many practice interviews. My husband and I have experience as well.

ohmygoodness. You know there are more smart, hardworking, talented, well-interviewing kids than they have spaces for at Walls, right? I really hope it works out for your kid and others who want to go there. Just noting that there is more demand than they have spots so being open to other options is always a good thing.

[Anonymous]

Banneker is really challenging for some kids. To succeed at Banneker, one needs to be smart, have great time management skills, and be intrinsically motivated. My child hasn’t struggled with workload and is in the IB track. I think it is the best path in DCPS for gifted students. Despite the criticism here, the principal is wonderful. I speak French, German, and Spanish fluently. I’ve been happy with the foreign language options. It’s a small school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Banneker is really challenging for some kids. To succeed at Banneker, one needs to be smart, have great time management skills, and be intrinsically motivated. My child hasn’t struggled with workload and is in the IB track. I think it is the best path in DCPS for gifted students. Despite the criticism here, the principal is wonderful. I speak French, German, and Spanish fluently. I’ve been happy with the foreign language options. It’s a small school.

"I think it is the best path in DCPS for gifted students."
I disagree. I think it's ONE of the best ones but not the best one. I mean it's not ranked first am I right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Gosh Banneker seems hard. My DD was planning on applying but now after reading all this, I’d rather she not. Walls has less work and is still number 1. Win-Win and probably way better for the children’s stress level and mental health. We can’t forget that they aren’t adults yet and also need a break from time to time. Overworking them is not the solution.

Right. And this is why there are several selective schools; not every school is the best fit for every kid. My kid goes to Banneker and loves it. Yours might or might not.

Good luck to your kid getting into Walls. That's a tough one! I'd also try McKinley and perhaps others. And there's always the in-bound option.

Yeah my two oldest sons are at walls and they love it.

Of course, lots of kids love it! But, there is no sibling preference and you can't bank on it.

Yeah of course but we are on the right track for sure. She has all A’s, plays 2 sports that’s she’s been playing since she was 5, does model un, debate, banned book club etc.. she has great teachers and now that we’ve already been through this process twice we know how to prepare for th interview and essay

You just described my kid. Who did not get in. When it works out, great, but pretending that it's something you can plan for isn't a real strategy. Opening your mind up to other schools is important.

Either your daughters interview didn’t go well or the parent interview didn’t go well or she messed up on the essay but I know multiple kids like my daughter and my sons who most definitely got in. I’m not saying I know that she will get in but she had a very good chance of. She is not shy and has had many practice interviews. My husband and I have experience as well.

ohmygoodness. You know there are more smart, hardworking, talented, well-interviewing kids than they have spaces for at Walls, right? I really hope it works out for your kid and others who want to go there. Just noting that there is more demand than they have spots so being open to other options is always a good thing.

Agree. There are always kids who do everything right and then end up on the waitlist at Walls. Some get in and others don't, and the difference is luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On college readiness I think the gap is between what it takes to get in and how to succeed in college. The GPA requirement is achievable without good study habits at several middle schools. Then you’re put in a situation where you have to work a lot on your own and it’s academic culturally in ways many kids are not exposed to. They make the kids work and if they don’t know how to grind every day, there are consequences for only doing half the homework. They don’t solve it for you. A better school would probably hedge the gap. I don’t think that’s SWW, but rather a Banneker with more dedicated after school support eg staffed study hall. And who knows how much that would cost.

They 100% have staffed study hall after school at least twice a week and every one of my childs teachers has offered office hours thus far. The engaged and supportive staff is my favorite thing about the school as a parent (and I am not someone who is glazing. There are also many downsides including a wildly abrupt onboarding/first semester that it very difficult for even the best students to tackle)

The office hours and teacher-staffed study halls have been lifesavers for my kid! It was a rocky start, but they're feeling better as they learn to self advocate, talk to and work with teachers, etc.

Any advice on getting a kid to embrace that they need to take advantage of these resources?

Let them know that you will not tolerate poor grades without evidence that they have taken full advantage of these resources. Make the consequences severe and real. This is the time kids needs to grow up, because life gets real in 4 years.

That is insanely punitive.

I think the best approach would be an older peer who can show them the way and let them know it’s the way to success.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On college readiness I think the gap is between what it takes to get in and how to succeed in college. The GPA requirement is achievable without good study habits at several middle schools. Then you’re put in a situation where you have to work a lot on your own and it’s academic culturally in ways many kids are not exposed to. They make the kids work and if they don’t know how to grind every day, there are consequences for only doing half the homework. They don’t solve it for you. A better school would probably hedge the gap. I don’t think that’s SWW, but rather a Banneker with more dedicated after school support eg staffed study hall. And who knows how much that would cost.

They 100% have staffed study hall after school at least twice a week and every one of my childs teachers has offered office hours thus far. The engaged and supportive staff is my favorite thing about the school as a parent (and I am not someone who is glazing. There are also many downsides including a wildly abrupt onboarding/first semester that it very difficult for even the best students to tackle)

The office hours and teacher-staffed study halls have been lifesavers for my kid! It was a rocky start, but they're feeling better as they learn to self advocate, talk to and work with teachers, etc.

Any advice on getting a kid to embrace that they need to take advantage of these resources?

Let them know that you will not tolerate poor grades without evidence that they have taken full advantage of these resources. Make the consequences severe and real. This is the time kids needs to grow up, because life gets real in 4 years.

That is insanely punitive.

I think the best approach would be an older peer who can show them the way and let them know it’s the way to success.

dp. I know that they have senior mentor groups, but not about how it works. My kid has not said much about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Gosh Banneker seems hard. My DD was planning on applying but now after reading all this, I’d rather she not. Walls has less work and is still number 1. Win-Win and probably way better for the children’s stress level and mental health. We can’t forget that they aren’t adults yet and also need a break from time to time. Overworking them is not the solution.

My kid is at Banneker and has friends (they all graduated last year from the same MS) at Walls and the workload seems similar.

[Anonymous]

For those with questions about BSI...
This year, it ran parallel to the SYEP program and began the last week in June and ended the first week in August. Students participating in SYEP did the first and last week online so they could get paid. Students just attending BSI did the four week in-person program only. This was in July. The application for SYEP opens in January I believe. If your child will be 14 by the summer, do the application. You select the placement later. The school sends out info about BSI toward the end of the school year.

My DD is very introverted, but BSI was a good experience. While their middle school sent a lot of kids to Banneker, they now have a peer group outside of thr kids they went to middle school with.

My DD was a straight A student throughout middle school and scored in the 99th percentile on the DC CAPE ELA test for all of middle school. They are super bright. We applied to Walls but marked Banneker as the #1 choice. I'm fairly secure in that choice so far. I've had students who've attended both schools and done very well. Both sets of students are often over-prepared for the early years of college.

Banneker is a lot of work. I think some of it is busy work, but "it's practice!" (Shout out to Allen Iverson). The best thing we did is that we didn't wait for the school to provide agenda books for the students. We purchased one the first week of classes and check in to make sure it is being used correctly and consistently. That has been helpful in managing the workload. I also memorized the class schedule (extra, I know), and ask about classes, in order, every day. The kid knows these questions are coming and is prepared.

I know this was crazy long, but I hope it is helpful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For those with questions about BSI...
This year, it ran parallel to the SYEP program and began the last week in June and ended the first week in August. Students participating in SYEP did the first and last week online so they could get paid. Students just attending BSI did the four week in-person program only. This was in July. The application for SYEP opens in January I believe. If your child will be 14 by the summer, do the application. You select the placement later. The school sends out info about BSI toward the end of the school year.

My DD is very introverted, but BSI was a good experience. While their middle school sent a lot of kids to Banneker, they now have a peer group outside of thr kids they went to middle school with.

My DD was a straight A student throughout middle school and scored in the 99th percentile on the DC CAPE ELA test for all of middle school. They are super bright. We applied to Walls but marked Banneker as the #1 choice. I'm fairly secure in that choice so far. I've had students who've attended both schools and done very well. Both sets of students are often over-prepared for the early years of college.

Banneker is a lot of work. I think some of it is busy work, but "it's practice!" (Shout out to Allen Iverson). The best thing we did is that we didn't wait for the school to provide agenda books for the students. We purchased one the first week of classes and check in to make sure it is being used correctly and consistently. That has been helpful in managing the workload. I also memorized the class schedule (extra, I know), and ask about classes, in order, every day. The kid knows these questions are coming and is prepared.

I know this was crazy long, but I hope it is helpful.

Thank you for that information. My child is very keen on being able to get away for the summer from DC and we have been able to do that. Having to be in class for four weeks would be a major point of contention. If your DD had not done that, do you believe she would have not been able to follow in class as easily? I guess it would be interesting to know what you mean by "good experience" and how relevant that was for later work.

[Anonymous]

Interesting information. There is a decent chance that DD gets invited to an interview given GPA and what teachers said about their recommendations. Do you have any insight into recent interview questions for kids and/or the parents? Are they the same or how do they differ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those with questions about BSI...
This year, it ran parallel to the SYEP program and began the last week in June and ended the first week in August. Students participating in SYEP did the first and last week online so they could get paid. Students just attending BSI did the four week in-person program only. This was in July. The application for SYEP opens in January I believe. If your child will be 14 by the summer, do the application. You select the placement later. The school sends out info about BSI toward the end of the school year.

My DD is very introverted, but BSI was a good experience. While their middle school sent a lot of kids to Banneker, they now have a peer group outside of thr kids they went to middle school with.

My DD was a straight A student throughout middle school and scored in the 99th percentile on the DC CAPE ELA test for all of middle school. They are super bright. We applied to Walls but marked Banneker as the #1 choice. I'm fairly secure in that choice so far. I've had students who've attended both schools and done very well. Both sets of students are often over-prepared for the early years of college.

Banneker is a lot of work. I think some of it is busy work, but "it's practice!" (Shout out to Allen Iverson). The best thing we did is that we didn't wait for the school to provide agenda books for the students. We purchased one the first week of classes and check in to make sure it is being used correctly and consistently. That has been helpful in managing the workload. I also memorized the class schedule (extra, I know), and ask about classes, in order, every day. The kid knows these questions are coming and is prepared.

I know this was crazy long, but I hope it is helpful.

Thank you for that information. My child is very keen on being able to get away for the summer from DC and we have been able to do that. Having to be in class for four weeks would be a major point of contention. If your DD had not done that, do you believe she would have not been able to follow in class as easily? I guess it would be interesting to know what you mean by "good experience" and how relevant that was for later work.

My kid did not go to BSI as we send him to relatives for the summer to get out of DC. The first couple weeks were socially rough but he caught up. Be prepared that there is summer work for each class, and for some (Geometry), it is a LOT

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Gosh Banneker seems hard. My DD was planning on applying but now after reading all this, I’d rather she not. Walls has less work and is still number 1. Win-Win and probably way better for the children’s stress level and mental health. We can’t forget that they aren’t adults yet and also need a break from time to time. Overworking them is not the solution.

My kid is at Banneker and has friends (they all graduated last year from the same MS) at Walls and the workload seems similar.

Yes. My family has direct experience at both and people on this thread are deluding themselves. The truth is that it's much easier to get into Banneker than Walls and the majority of students rank Walls ahead. As a result, the average student at Walls is much better prepared than the average student at Banneker. That means that Banneker seems harder, because it's harder for its average student, but it's not actually harder.