How does your DCPS help advanced students?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think SWW will go to a more complete, holistic admissions criteria to keep it a diverse (not majority white or asian) school. Today it doesn't involve teacher recommendation, an essay or review of extracurriculars.

You also need to keep your mind open to other high quality options, such as Banneker, or even staying at BASIS.

Don't agree. The national trend is that strong test-in high schools offering "holistic admissions," including an entrance exam like Walls', get sued by whites eventually. This happens because some white kids who are rejected invariably score a good deal higher on the entrance exam than some minorities who are admitted. In this decade, the whites win. Meanwhile, schools offering exam-based admissions that are overwhelmingly white and Asian get sued by civil liberties groups, and the schools win.

Right, high quality options like Banneker, where SAT scores hover around the national average, and BASIS, without a gym, stage, library, high school sports, option to take college classes, or much in the way of an extra curricular program. City parents of strong high school students outside the Wilson District who can't afford privates generally want Walls. They want the school that produced 5 National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists this year (versus none at Banneker or Wilson) AND has decent facilities.

When it becomes clearer that most of the strongest 8th grade public school students in the city are white or Asian, but most of the Walls 9th graders are not, fed up parents won't take no for an answer forever.

#MAGA, right buddy?? (Make America Great Again) Go to Trump Tower and make out with your Orange God.

Come on, PP. NP here- but the PPP made a really good point, citing facts, and not suggesting what is "right", but suggesting what is likely.

I find it interesting. Should DC be able to socially engineer its schools like this? The lottery for charters is race-blind.

Public schools are allowed to have magnets or schools were students apply for admissions (SWW, Banneker, McKinley, Ellington) because they offer everyone a by-right option at their neighborhood school. The only school where people assert that race plays a factor is at SWW -- the rest of DC's application schools are predominantly AA.

That's only because demand for the other schools isn't an issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think SWW will go to a more complete, holistic admissions criteria to keep it a diverse (not majority white or asian) school. Today it doesn't involve teacher recommendation, an essay or review of extracurriculars.

You also need to keep your mind open to other high quality options, such as Banneker, or even staying at BASIS.

Don't agree. The national trend is that strong test-in high schools offering "holistic admissions," including an entrance exam like Walls', get sued by whites eventually. This happens because some white kids who are rejected invariably score a good deal higher on the entrance exam than some minorities who are admitted. In this decade, the whites win. Meanwhile, schools offering exam-based admissions that are overwhelmingly white and Asian get sued by civil liberties groups, and the schools win.

Right, high quality options like Banneker, where SAT scores hover around the national average, and BASIS, without a gym, stage, library, high school sports, option to take college classes, or much in the way of an extra curricular program. City parents of strong high school students outside the Wilson District who can't afford privates generally want Walls. They want the school that produced 5 National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists this year (versus none at Banneker or Wilson) AND has decent facilities.

When it becomes clearer that most of the strongest 8th grade public school students in the city are white or Asian, but most of the Walls 9th graders are not, fed up parents won't take no for an answer forever.

#MAGA, right buddy?? (Make America Great Again) Go to Trump Tower and make out with your Orange God.

Come on, PP. NP here- but the PPP made a really good point, citing facts, and not suggesting what is "right", but suggesting what is likely.

I find it interesting. Should DC be able to socially engineer its schools like this? The lottery for charters is race-blind.

Be careful with "race-blind". Poll taxes were "race-blind".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think SWW will go to a more complete, holistic admissions criteria to keep it a diverse (not majority white or asian) school. Today it doesn't involve teacher recommendation, an essay or review of extracurriculars.

You also need to keep your mind open to other high quality options, such as Banneker, or even staying at BASIS.

Don't agree. The national trend is that strong test-in high schools offering "holistic admissions," including an entrance exam like Walls', get sued by whites eventually. This happens because some white kids who are rejected invariably score a good deal higher on the entrance exam than some minorities who are admitted. In this decade, the whites win. Meanwhile, schools offering exam-based admissions that are overwhelmingly white and Asian get sued by civil liberties groups, and the schools win.

Right, high quality options like Banneker, where SAT scores hover around the national average, and BASIS, without a gym, stage, library, high school sports, option to take college classes, or much in the way of an extra curricular program. City parents of strong high school students outside the Wilson District who can't afford privates generally want Walls. They want the school that produced 5 National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists this year (versus none at Banneker or Wilson) AND has decent facilities.

When it becomes clearer that most of the strongest 8th grade public school students in the city are white or Asian, but most of the Walls 9th graders are not, fed up parents won't take no for an answer forever.

#MAGA, right buddy?? (Make America Great Again) Go to Trump Tower and make out with your Orange God.

Come on, PP. NP here- but the PPP made a really good point, citing facts, and not suggesting what is "right", but suggesting what is likely.

I find it interesting. Should DC be able to socially engineer its schools like this? The lottery for charters is race-blind.

new info out today on equitable indicators shows that DC has essentially NO poor white people and something like 39% AA living below poverty level. the demographics show DC getting richer with new folks moving, the under 5 age group has an even greater number of kids from high SES families and yes, most of them are white. You don't have to like it or agree with it, but this is what the demographic stats shows and DCPS shouldn't pretend otherwise.

[Anonymous]

link?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think SWW will go to a more complete, holistic admissions criteria to keep it a diverse (not majority white or asian) school. Today it doesn't involve teacher recommendation, an essay or review of extracurriculars.

You also need to keep your mind open to other high quality options, such as Banneker, or even staying at BASIS.

Don't agree. The national trend is that strong test-in high schools offering "holistic admissions," including an entrance exam like Walls', get sued by whites eventually. This happens because some white kids who are rejected invariably score a good deal higher on the entrance exam than some minorities who are admitted. In this decade, the whites win. Meanwhile, schools offering exam-based admissions that are overwhelmingly white and Asian get sued by civil liberties groups, and the schools win.

Right, high quality options like Banneker, where SAT scores hover around the national average, and BASIS, without a gym, stage, library, high school sports, option to take college classes, or much in the way of an extra curricular program. City parents of strong high school students outside the Wilson District who can't afford privates generally want Walls. They want the school that produced 5 National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists this year (versus none at Banneker or Wilson) AND has decent facilities.

When it becomes clearer that most of the strongest 8th grade public school students in the city are white or Asian, but most of the Walls 9th graders are not, fed up parents won't take no for an answer forever.

#MAGA, right buddy?? (Make America Great Again) Go to Trump Tower and make out with your Orange God.

Come on, PP. NP here- but the PPP made a really good point, citing facts, and not suggesting what is "right", but suggesting what is likely.

I find it interesting. Should DC be able to socially engineer its schools like this? The lottery for charters is race-blind.

Be careful with "race-blind". Poll taxes were "race-blind".

Yea, do be careful with race-blind. That's what the AA mom sitting next to me, white lady, said to the BASIS DC head at a parent meeting when the discussion turned to how to help kids who failed comps stay in the program without having to repeat a grade.

She stood up and shouted, second chances to pass yes, lowering the bar on passing, no way. Please don't water down the curriculum for struggling minority kids; don't let them pass a comp without meeting the same standard as everybody else. She said I grew up poor and attended public schools, but went on to an elite liberal arts college on a lot of fi aid, and a top law school. Believe me when I say that I wouldn't have done any of if I'd been given big academic breaks for being AA and poor.

[Anonymous]

What commonly occurs with advanced learners these days takes place in the classroom through differentiation and it is often far more beneficial than a traditional G.T. Program. However, if it is not called "Gifted and Talented" and is not occurring in a separate space with a different instructor, parents assume it is not a legitimate way to accommodate their child's perceived advanced academic abilities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What commonly occurs with advanced learners these days takes place in the classroom through differentiation and it is often far more beneficial than a traditional G.T. Program. However, if it is not called "Gifted and Talented" and is not occurring in a separate space with a different instructor, parents assume it is not a legitimate way to accommodate their child's perceived advanced academic abilities.

Nope. Most classrooms don't actually do differentiation and very few teachers can do differentiated teaching in an effective manner. They claim to be doing differentiation but aren't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What commonly occurs with advanced learners these days takes place in the classroom through differentiation and it is often far more beneficial than a traditional G.T. Program. However, if it is not called "Gifted and Talented" and is not occurring in a separate space with a different instructor, parents assume it is not a legitimate way to accommodate their child's perceived advanced academic abilities.

Nope. Most classrooms don't actually do differentiation and very few teachers can do differentiated teaching in an effective manner. They claim to be doing differentiation but aren't.

Which DCPS schools do differentiated instruction well? Which give teachers PD on differentiated instruction?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What commonly occurs with advanced learners these days takes place in the classroom through differentiation and it is often far more beneficial than a traditional G.T. Program. However, if it is not called "Gifted and Talented" and is not occurring in a separate space with a different instructor, parents assume it is not a legitimate way to accommodate their child's perceived advanced academic abilities.

Nope. Most classrooms don't actually do differentiation and very few teachers can do differentiated teaching in an effective manner. They claim to be doing differentiation but aren't.

Which DCPS schools do differentiated instruction well? Which give teachers PD on differentiated instruction?

My kids are at an EOTP DCPS and the principal has made it a priority. It's been working out well so far in early elementary.

[Anonymous]

Huge Priority in Cluster IV. Principals do many informal (unannounced) observations and give feedback specifically on differentiation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Huge Priority in Cluster IV. Principals do many informal (unannounced) observations and give feedback specifically on differentiation.

I had to look up what Cluster IV is (who talks like that other than DCPS employees??) and our non-cluster IV school also has a focus on differentiation and small group instruction.

[Anonymous]

"What commonly occurs with advanced learners these days takes place in the classroom through differentiation and it is often far more beneficial than a traditional G.T. Program."

This is 100% false and not supported by any studies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What commonly occurs with advanced learners these days takes place in the classroom through differentiation and it is often far more beneficial than a traditional G.T. Program. However, if it is not called "Gifted and Talented" and is not occurring in a separate space with a different instructor, parents assume it is not a legitimate way to accommodate their child's perceived advanced academic abilities.

Nope. Most classrooms don't actually do differentiation and very few teachers can do differentiated teaching in an effective manner. They claim to be doing differentiation but aren't.

my mother taught for 30 years and she basically gave me a reality check. Best case, a teacher works straight down the middle. However, with high stakes testing, the teacher now must focus almost solely on the slowest kids, you know the ones who will bring down the school rankings. In DC,the divide is huge in many gentrifying areas. In a third grade class where 25% are capable of 5th grade work, 50% re grade and level and 25% are barely at a 1s grade level--how exactly is a teacher going to truly challenge all those kids. they don't. they may get the top students to "mentor" the slow ones But by and large, thats a testing year and they don't need to bother with top kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What commonly occurs with advanced learners these days takes place in the classroom through differentiation and it is often far more beneficial than a traditional G.T. Program. However, if it is not called "Gifted and Talented" and is not occurring in a separate space with a different instructor, parents assume it is not a legitimate way to accommodate their child's perceived advanced academic abilities.

Nope. Most classrooms don't actually do differentiation and very few teachers can do differentiated teaching in an effective manner. They claim to be doing differentiation but aren't.

my mother taught for 30 years and she basically gave me a reality check. Best case, a teacher works straight down the middle. However, with high stakes testing, the teacher now must focus almost solely on the slowest kids, you know the ones who will bring down the school rankings. In DC,the divide is huge in many gentrifying areas. In a third grade class where 25% are capable of 5th grade work, 50% re grade and level and 25% are barely at a 1s grade level--how exactly is a teacher going to truly challenge all those kids. they don't. they may get the top students to "mentor" the slow ones But by and large, thats a testing year and they don't need to bother with top kids.

DD is in a gentrifying EOTP school, and they do pullouts and send her to a class a couple of grades ahead. For subjects where she's more like a grade ahead, they work in small groups on slightly more challenging material. It seems to work really well at the ES level.
No offense to your mother, but I think DCPS (at least some schools within it) is pushing in a different direction. There are a lot more tools available than 30 years ago, or even 10 years ago.

[Anonymous]

In the elementary grades, for example, DCPS provides schools with the resources and training for Junior Great Books for students who need additional academic challenge as well as a math program from the University of Connecticut's gifted center called M-Squared and M-Cubed. There is also an advanced reading program at some DCPS elementary schools called the DCPS Advanced Readers Extensions units. All of these are meant to provide teachers with the resources to make differentiating their instruction for high performing or highly capable students as easy as possible. (Which of course isn't easy....)