Best Cap Hill elementary to middle?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Who really cares about the silly PARCC scores? At Brent they're barely discussed. No real test prep is done. The focus for the kids is elsewhere - on the arts program, happy classroom experiences, pullout groups and targeted interventions to help teachers differentiate effectively, field trips, music lessons, chess club, sports teams, scouts etc. etc. The school's at-risk population is in the low single digits these days. PARCC scores are for poor kids. Several other Hill elementary schools will be in the same situation within five years.

The point is and has been said already is that there are many schools that don’t prep for PARCC (Inspired, Mann, Lafayette etc) and rich white kids should still perform well organically, but Brent is amongst the lowest with white student performance. What does pointing out that the at risk population is in single digits? Do you think that is a positive??? PARCC is for poor kids? Really? Well what are you doing to do when your 3 scoring PARCC kid can’t cut it at Basis or can’t get into Walls?

[Anonymous]

Yes, I think it's positive that the at-risk population is in the single digits in view of the chronically weak support for advanced learners in DCPS. If the system offered the type of smart and well-resourced interventions for low-performers that MoCo and Fairfax do, I wouldn't mind having more at risk students in my kids' classes. As things stand, our Hill school's PTA must raise the dough to pay for pullout groups helping academic stragglers. It's a truly crappy system that works because our parents fund raise like mad, have the means to contribute to the PTA budget generously and do it, unfailingly, year in and year out.

When I took a practice 3rd grade PARCC test recently, I was appalled by the poor design of the test, particularly the ELA sections. I could care less how my kids scores on PARCC - I don't even look at their scores. I know exactly where they are with math (well above grade level, qualifying for Johns Hopkins CTY camps).

[Anonymous]

Give us a break. Brent students don't score as high on PARCC as schools in Upper NW mainly because those schools got a 25-year head start in serving UMC communities. Brent does darn well for an EotP school that went from having fewer than 200 students, almost all low SES, to having almost 500 students and being overwhelmingly high SES in a little over a decade. Also, Brent offers 5 specials - most DCPS programs offer 3 or 4. Good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, I think it's positive that the at-risk population is in the single digits in view of the chronically weak support for advanced learners in DCPS. If the system offered the type of smart and well-resourced interventions for low-performers that MoCo and Fairfax do, I wouldn't mind having more at risk students in my kids' classes. As things stand, our Hill school's PTA must raise the dough to pay for pullout groups helping academic stragglers. It's a truly crappy system that works because our parents fund raise like mad, have the means to contribute to the PTA budget generously and do it, unfailingly, year in and year out.

When I took a practice 3rd grade PARCC test recently, I was appalled by the poor design of the test, particularly the ELA sections. I could care less how my kids scores on PARCC - I don't even look at their scores. I know exactly where they are with math (well above grade level, qualifying for Johns Hopkins CTY camps).

What smart and well resources interventions does MoCo and Fairfax do for at-risk students? Links? Specific examples?

[Anonymous]

Please do your own research. I have a sibling with four kids in MoCo elementary programs around Silver Spring (diverse neighborhood). There are more staff in school buildings up there helping kids on a per capital basis, along with state laws requiring both extra help and GT services to kids who need them. My older niece and nephew get bused to a nearby school part of the day for seriously advanced "compacted math." Down here, unless a PTA pays for the extra hands, they aren't as many adults in the building serving kids across the academic spectrum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Give us a break. Brent students don't score as high on PARCC as schools in Upper NW mainly because those schools got a 25-year head start in serving UMC communities. Brent does darn well for an EotP school that went from having fewer than 200 students, almost all low SES, to having almost 500 students and being overwhelmingly high SES in a little over a decade. Also, Brent offers 5 specials - most DCPS programs offer 3 or 4. Good.

Hmmm ok, then why don’t Brent kids score as high as Inspired Teaching kids? Haven’t they only been open for like 6-7 years???? Stop with the excuses, your $400k pta funds haven’t helped enough with pull outs. OP, choose Maury. They are a 5 star school (94% grade). Brent is 4 star (65%). 30 point difference is HUGE! Maury serves a more diverse population as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Give us a break. Brent students don't score as high on PARCC as schools in Upper NW mainly because those schools got a 25-year head start in serving UMC communities. Brent does darn well for an EotP school that went from having fewer than 200 students, almost all low SES, to having almost 500 students and being overwhelmingly high SES in a little over a decade. Also, Brent offers 5 specials - most DCPS programs offer 3 or 4. Good.

I’m too lazy to pull them up, but SWS’ PAARC scores rivaled the best upper NW scores, and that’s a school that’s only had a testing-age population for a few years. So your statement doesn’t really hold.

[Anonymous]

Ha Brent is an EOTP school. Anybody here think of a white school surrounded by million dollar houses as having the qualities you mean by EOTP?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Give us a break. Brent students don't score as high on PARCC as schools in Upper NW mainly because those schools got a 25-year head start in serving UMC communities. Brent does darn well for an EotP school that went from having fewer than 200 students, almost all low SES, to having almost 500 students and being overwhelmingly high SES in a little over a decade. Also, Brent offers 5 specials - most DCPS programs offer 3 or 4. Good.

Hmmm ok, then why don’t Brent kids score as high as Inspired Teaching kids? Haven’t they only been open for like 6-7 years???? Stop with the excuses, your $400k pta funds haven’t helped enough with pull outs. OP, choose Maury. They are a 5 star school (94% grade). Brent is 4 star (65%). 30 point difference is HUGE! Maury serves a more diverse population as well.

Maury and Brent are both fine. School choice is hardly the only choice parents face on Cap Hill. If the Maury catchment area works better than Brent for your housing situation or commute or whatever, better choice. If you're not thrilled with the academics at your EotP DCPS and see gaps, you can fill them without too much trouble via trips to the NE or SE libraries, Smithsonian museums (just walk down), Kumon math etc. Schlepping to a distant charter isn't the better option, unless you can't live without language immersion.

Depends what you mean by "diverse population." Brent's seeing more ethnic and international diversity all the time. When we started, the school was 0% Asian and 1% ELL. Now it's around 4% for both, because more immigrant and foreign parents enrolling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Give us a break. Brent students don't score as high on PARCC as schools in Upper NW mainly because those schools got a 25-year head start in serving UMC communities. Brent does darn well for an EotP school that went from having fewer than 200 students, almost all low SES, to having almost 500 students and being overwhelmingly high SES in a little over a decade. Also, Brent offers 5 specials - most DCPS programs offer 3 or 4. Good.

The other DCPS elem on the Hill offer 5 specials - does Brent trick you into believing otherwise.?

[Anonymous]

Untrue, every DCPS elementary doesn't offer 5 specials. Our former DCPS offered 3, and one more theoretically.

Brent is the only ES EotP with a designated science instructor. SWS has the best art offerings by a long shot, great if you can crack their lottery. Ludlow has the best playground, and good playground management. Maury seems to do a far better job teaching spelling, grammar and punctuation than other programs. Tyler offers the only in-boundary immersion program. There are a number of good by-right choices for elementary on the Hill these days.

[Anonymous]

These 'best Hill school' pissing contests just tired threads that bubble up constantly on DCUM.

to the OP -- you're right to consider longer range planning if you'd like to settle into a neighborhood and not be bothered with planning your next move. The Hill is a great community for families and there are good school options (even if some DCUM trolls will be quick to jump in and s@%& on them). Not all perfect and it gets harder beyond elementary, but things are changing on this front. It's hard to project that far but just know one thing -- most families will act entirely out of self interest and not out of some broader concern for community good. If that means pulling up stakes for private, charters, or the burbs then so be it. My experience is that few families will be committed to a broader goal of enhancing neighborhood schools if they thinks there's a better option available (unless they are deeply committed to neighborhood schools). You need to be comfortable with your own decisions and not count on others to fall in line with your expectations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Untrue, every DCPS elementary doesn't offer 5 specials. Our former DCPS offered 3, and one more theoretically.

Brent is the only ES EotP with a designated science instructor. SWS has the best art offerings by a long shot, great if you can crack their lottery. Ludlow has the best playground, and good playground management. Maury seems to do a far better job teaching spelling, grammar and punctuation than other programs. Tyler offers the only in-boundary immersion program. There are a number of good by-right choices for elementary on the Hill these days.

JOW offered PE (2x/wk), art. library, music, and foreign language when I was there...that's 5 specials. So at least some schools seem to match Brent on this.

[Anonymous]

SWS has weekly art, PE, French, music and library. It also has an amazing Foodprints program.

OP, there are a number of great schools. Personally, while I think the middle school feed matters, it’s really hard to know what your needs will be for middle school, or what options will exist down the line.

We are inbound for S-H, but have enrolled our child in a Charter for middle school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Give us a break. Brent students don't score as high on PARCC as schools in Upper NW mainly because those schools got a 25-year head start in serving UMC communities. Brent does darn well for an EotP school that went from having fewer than 200 students, almost all low SES, to having almost 500 students and being overwhelmingly high SES in a little over a decade. Also, Brent offers 5 specials - most DCPS programs offer 3 or 4. Good.

Hmmm ok, then why don’t Brent kids score as high as Inspired Teaching kids? Haven’t they only been open for like 6-7 years???? Stop with the excuses, your $400k pta funds haven’t helped enough with pull outs. OP, choose Maury. They are a 5 star school (94% grade). Brent is 4 star (65%). 30 point difference is HUGE! Maury serves a more diverse population as well.

People, stop with the drama and pettiness. IST scores well because most the kids are from UMC families just like Brent. But ITS does not do any tracking while at Brent I know they do with math.