Middle Schools for Cap Hill

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, but sensitive topic though it is, my kid doesn't want to be the only white student in her middle school classes. She's made this clear.

We know that she wouldn't be the only white kid in her classes at charters where we may get off WLs. We don't know if this would be the case at JA.

She does well on ELA (easily scores 5s) but is average, or a little below, in math (tries hard but isn't good at math).

Ok - Wow - don't send your kid. Why are you even here engaging? PS: you know that black kids could be in the advanced track classes right?

Spare us your holier than thou shock and bossy comments. I wouldn't want my kid to be the only person of color in a class in a 95% white school, no matter what the story might be academically. If we can't even talk about race without trying shame those being honest about their concerns, we can't move forward as a more open and equitable society.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:hobson and JA are both at this point vast majority students from the designated feeder schools - it does appear that slowly and surely more and more students from those schools are attending each year

Uh … this is because those feeder schools empty out after 4th grade and are back-filled with OOB students. The # of kids from feeder schools is a meaningless number because people leave after 4th for charters. But I’m sure you know that and are just being an intentionally obtuse booster.

We just got an email today from Watkins inviting us to enroll for 5th (apparently they get emails from MySchoolDC and spam parents) because they’re hemorrhaging students from 4th grade.

I have no dog in this race but this is just a lazy take. You assume that that they are trying to fill seats "because they’re hemorrhaging students from 4th grade" but even a cursory look at the WL data tells you that you are jumping to conclusions. They opened up 8 seats in the lottery and as of lottery day they had only one person on the WL for 5th grade. As of June 1 there were zero kids on the WL. If even two of those 8 lottery seats offered was declined then there wouldn't have had to be a single additional unexpected student leaving after 4th for the school to still need to fill open seats.

Serious question for PP: What is it about your makeup that motivates you to post things like this? What urge or need are you satisfying by just imagining negativity?

And as kids are getting spots at BASIS, Latin and Latin II, they are leaving Watkins.

I feel like you think it’s normal to have to fill more than one or two spots in a school. It’s not normal. Northwest schools do not have this problem. Because they’re not hemorrhaging students.

To give you an idea, last year, the five JKLMM schools COMBINED took three children for 5th grade by count day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, but sensitive topic though it is, my kid doesn't want to be the only white student in her middle school classes. She's made this clear.

We know that she wouldn't be the only white kid in her classes at charters where we may get off WLs. We don't know if this would be the case at JA.

She does well on ELA (easily scores 5s) but is average, or a little below, in math (tries hard but isn't good at math).

Ok - Wow - don't send your kid. Why are you even here engaging? PS: you know that black kids could be in the advanced track classes right?

Spare us your holier than thou shock and bossy comments. I wouldn't want my kid to be the only person of color in a class in a 95% white school, no matter what the story might be academically. If we can't even talk about race without trying shame those being honest about their concerns, we can't move forward as a more open and equitable society.

I mean, I have seen shaming here, but it generally is going the other way ("how could you send your kid to THAT school?") I feel like it's kind of a myth that parents who send their UMC (often white) kids to their IB school, or even just consider it, are some kind of moralists out to shame people. Instead, people who have decided NOT to attend the IB schools (likely for their own, valid reasons) take the mere fact that families like theirs chose the IB as some kind of express insult to them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:hobson and JA are both at this point vast majority students from the designated feeder schools - it does appear that slowly and surely more and more students from those schools are attending each year

Uh … this is because those feeder schools empty out after 4th grade and are back-filled with OOB students. The # of kids from feeder schools is a meaningless number because people leave after 4th for charters. But I’m sure you know that and are just being an intentionally obtuse booster.

We just got an email today from Watkins inviting us to enroll for 5th (apparently they get emails from MySchoolDC and spam parents) because they’re hemorrhaging students from 4th grade.

I have no dog in this race but this is just a lazy take. You assume that that they are trying to fill seats "because they’re hemorrhaging students from 4th grade" but even a cursory look at the WL data tells you that you are jumping to conclusions. They opened up 8 seats in the lottery and as of lottery day they had only one person on the WL for 5th grade. As of June 1 there were zero kids on the WL. If even two of those 8 lottery seats offered was declined then there wouldn't have had to be a single additional unexpected student leaving after 4th for the school to still need to fill open seats.

Serious question for PP: What is it about your makeup that motivates you to post things like this? What urge or need are you satisfying by just imagining negativity?

And as kids are getting spots at BASIS, Latin and Latin II, they are leaving Watkins.

I feel like you think it’s normal to have to fill more than one or two spots in a school. It’s not normal. Northwest schools do not have this problem. Because they’re not hemorrhaging students.

To give you an idea, last year, the five JKLMM schools COMBINED took three children for 5th grade by count day.

And your point is ...? I don't believe anyone here said that W6 is the same as NW. Keep your focus - the point is that some familes are trying the W6 MSs and this appears to be increasing in number. And, when I did the math, I was pleasantly surprised that Jefferson in fact WOULD have a strong cohort for my kid (as long as I'm not hung up on him being a different race from them ... )

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If they actually exist?!? I am a parent of a Jefferson kid and can definitively tell you that, yes, the school has advanced math track and an advanced writing class.

If you’re going to question even basic facts that people with actual experience at the school are willing to share, then I don’t see much point in going beyond the basics.

1) It seems like people with actual experience at the school are not willing to share very much. What does that say about the school?

2) How do children get placed in these advanced tracks? Why would an administrator not be willing to explain that?

3) Sorry but some of us have learned the hard way not to believe what DCPS tells us, and to ask questions sooner rather than later. Maybe some day you'll have that kind of experience too.

Why should I even bother to try to answer any of these questions if there is apparently an unwillingness to to believe what I do say?

What is the name of the specific “administrator” with whom you spoke?

None of this matters even in the advanced class if it isn't actually advanced and it really isn't compared to what you get in privates or outside DC. Again anyone with commonsense knows these schools are subpar. Folks are still trying the lottery to get out.

Justs admit it you are sacrificing your personal commute over the quality of the school your children attend.

People on here whine all the time that they are being "judged" for not sending their kid to their in-bound middle school.

But I see far more judging of those who actually choose their in-bound school. This is a prime example.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:hobson and JA are both at this point vast majority students from the designated feeder schools - it does appear that slowly and surely more and more students from those schools are attending each year

Uh … this is because those feeder schools empty out after 4th grade and are back-filled with OOB students. The # of kids from feeder schools is a meaningless number because people leave after 4th for charters. But I’m sure you know that and are just being an intentionally obtuse booster.

We just got an email today from Watkins inviting us to enroll for 5th (apparently they get emails from MySchoolDC and spam parents) because they’re hemorrhaging students from 4th grade.

I have no dog in this race but this is just a lazy take. You assume that that they are trying to fill seats "because they’re hemorrhaging students from 4th grade" but even a cursory look at the WL data tells you that you are jumping to conclusions. They opened up 8 seats in the lottery and as of lottery day they had only one person on the WL for 5th grade. As of June 1 there were zero kids on the WL. If even two of those 8 lottery seats offered was declined then there wouldn't have had to be a single additional unexpected student leaving after 4th for the school to still need to fill open seats.

Serious question for PP: What is it about your makeup that motivates you to post things like this? What urge or need are you satisfying by just imagining negativity?

And as kids are getting spots at BASIS, Latin and Latin II, they are leaving Watkins.

I feel like you think it’s normal to have to fill more than one or two spots in a school. It’s not normal. Northwest schools do not have this problem. Because they’re not hemorrhaging students.

To give you an idea, last year, the five JKLMM schools COMBINED took three children for 5th grade by count day.

Mayor Bowser, tear down this wall!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
We must have attended different open houses because I got clear answers about how placement happens. In addition to the JA teachers speaking to my current 5th grader's teachers and evaluating his classroom work and test scores, there is also a pre-school orientation week where - in addition to social activities so kids get to know each other - there are assessments for math, writing and reading. Both of these are combined to place students on a track that is appropriate for them academically. There are also points during the school year where students can be placed in more advanced classes based on how they are doing academically in their different classes. This all sounded like a thorough plan that will evaluate each student and meet them where they are. Also the current parents who spoke at the open house agreed that each of their students was placed at an appropriate level, either at the start of the year or later on when they showed they were working at a higher level.

Me again (who wrote the above). I wanted to add that this came from the principal, Greg Dohmann.

Is this policy on academic tracking/assessments written down somewhere I can find it? I went to the JA open house where parents were given no such info. We were told that there are no academic "tracks" in DCPS middle school but that "appropriate differentiation" is offered. Do I understand that my UMC white kid Brent grad would likely be placed in a range of core classes where UMC white Brent kids amalgamate not just in 6th grade, but in 7th and 8th?

The information you're giving us about academic tracks at JA doesn't jive with what I've heard about the program from Brent parents who tried it and bailed in the last couple of years, at least one in the middle of 6th grade. I've been told that their white kids were the only one in homerooms where the rest of the students were AA. Did the policy on placements/tracking change for this school year?

What happens to a kid who works below grade level in math and far above in reading and writing like mine? Admins wouldn't tell me.

Not trying to give you a hard time, PP.

This is getting a little ridiculous now.

You wanted information about how kids are placed in advanced classes at Jefferson. PP provided detailed information on this, the type of information you had requested. But that wasn't good enough. Now you want to see this policy in writing. (Is there any public school in DC that has such a written "policy"? If so, could you please point us to an example?)

Not only that, but, out of the blue, you decided to bring up race. On this topic, I can't speak for how things might have been at Jefferson years ago, but I can tell you that today there are, in fact, several white kids in my kid's homeroom.

Are the only parents you're discussing the school with those "bailed"? If so, then of course you're going to be receiving mostly negative input. For a more balanced view, you should also talk with current parents, as well as parents of kids who completed all three years there. There are, for example, kids who went from Brent to Jefferson to selective high schools like Walls and Banneker.

I want to give you the benefit of the doubt that you are truly interested in learning about the school and that you're not just here to talk down about it. I'm curious though. If you are truly considering the school, then there must be something you like about it to even have it on your radar. What if any aspects of the school do you find positive?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:hobson and JA are both at this point vast majority students from the designated feeder schools - it does appear that slowly and surely more and more students from those schools are attending each year

Uh … this is because those feeder schools empty out after 4th grade and are back-filled with OOB students. The # of kids from feeder schools is a meaningless number because people leave after 4th for charters. But I’m sure you know that and are just being an intentionally obtuse booster.

We just got an email today from Watkins inviting us to enroll for 5th (apparently they get emails from MySchoolDC and spam parents) because they’re hemorrhaging students from 4th grade.

I have no dog in this race but this is just a lazy take. You assume that that they are trying to fill seats "because they’re hemorrhaging students from 4th grade" but even a cursory look at the WL data tells you that you are jumping to conclusions. They opened up 8 seats in the lottery and as of lottery day they had only one person on the WL for 5th grade. As of June 1 there were zero kids on the WL. If even two of those 8 lottery seats offered was declined then there wouldn't have had to be a single additional unexpected student leaving after 4th for the school to still need to fill open seats.

Serious question for PP: What is it about your makeup that motivates you to post things like this? What urge or need are you satisfying by just imagining negativity?

And as kids are getting spots at BASIS, Latin and Latin II, they are leaving Watkins.

I feel like you think it’s normal to have to fill more than one or two spots in a school. It’s not normal. Northwest schools do not have this problem. Because they’re not hemorrhaging students.

To give you an idea, last year, the five JKLMM schools COMBINED took three children for 5th grade by count day.

And your point is ...? I don't believe anyone here said that W6 is the same as NW. Keep your focus - the point is that some familes are trying the W6 MSs and this appears to be increasing in number. And, when I did the math, I was pleasantly surprised that Jefferson in fact WOULD have a strong cohort for my kid (as long as I'm not hung up on him being a different race from them ... )

No family IB for Watkins, Brent, Maury, etc. is trying their IB middle school voluntarily. They are, to a person, doing it because they struck out in the lottery. My point is, that COULD be fixed, by changing the feeder pattern and creating a Deal-like middle school, where people would actually WANT to send their kids, not just be somewhere people were willing to “try” when the got a crap lottery pull.

[Anonymous]

i think attending a charter school is a perfectly valid choice. but some of the families who choose to attend a charter give off a vibe that this is the only option for families who truly value their child’s education. the number of quiet families who didnt participate in the lottery or ultimately declined their lottery spot because they wanted to stay for 5th and value a shorter commute/neighborhood feel might be somewhat larger than you realize.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:hobson and JA are both at this point vast majority students from the designated feeder schools - it does appear that slowly and surely more and more students from those schools are attending each year

Uh … this is because those feeder schools empty out after 4th grade and are back-filled with OOB students. The # of kids from feeder schools is a meaningless number because people leave after 4th for charters. But I’m sure you know that and are just being an intentionally obtuse booster.

We just got an email today from Watkins inviting us to enroll for 5th (apparently they get emails from MySchoolDC and spam parents) because they’re hemorrhaging students from 4th grade.

I have no dog in this race but this is just a lazy take. You assume that that they are trying to fill seats "because they’re hemorrhaging students from 4th grade" but even a cursory look at the WL data tells you that you are jumping to conclusions. They opened up 8 seats in the lottery and as of lottery day they had only one person on the WL for 5th grade. As of June 1 there were zero kids on the WL. If even two of those 8 lottery seats offered was declined then there wouldn't have had to be a single additional unexpected student leaving after 4th for the school to still need to fill open seats.

Serious question for PP: What is it about your makeup that motivates you to post things like this? What urge or need are you satisfying by just imagining negativity?

And as kids are getting spots at BASIS, Latin and Latin II, they are leaving Watkins.

I feel like you think it’s normal to have to fill more than one or two spots in a school. It’s not normal. Northwest schools do not have this problem. Because they’re not hemorrhaging students.

To give you an idea, last year, the five JKLMM schools COMBINED took three children for 5th grade by count day.

And your point is ...? I don't believe anyone here said that W6 is the same as NW. Keep your focus - the point is that some familes are trying the W6 MSs and this appears to be increasing in number. And, when I did the math, I was pleasantly surprised that Jefferson in fact WOULD have a strong cohort for my kid (as long as I'm not hung up on him being a different race from them ... )

No family IB for Watkins, Brent, Maury, etc. is trying their IB middle school voluntarily. They are, to a person, doing it because they struck out in the lottery. My point is, that COULD be fixed, by changing the feeder pattern and creating a Deal-like middle school, where people would actually WANT to send their kids, not just be somewhere people were willing to “try” when the got a crap lottery pull.

Oh please. The families enrolling have better options. I myself just turned down TR and ITS spots because I’d rather give Eliot-Hine a spot. Maybe they’d like to send their kid to Latin, or Sidwell, or the moon … but that doesn’t really say anything about the quality of IB schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:hobson and JA are both at this point vast majority students from the designated feeder schools - it does appear that slowly and surely more and more students from those schools are attending each year

Uh … this is because those feeder schools empty out after 4th grade and are back-filled with OOB students. The # of kids from feeder schools is a meaningless number because people leave after 4th for charters. But I’m sure you know that and are just being an intentionally obtuse booster.

We just got an email today from Watkins inviting us to enroll for 5th (apparently they get emails from MySchoolDC and spam parents) because they’re hemorrhaging students from 4th grade.

I have no dog in this race but this is just a lazy take. You assume that that they are trying to fill seats "because they’re hemorrhaging students from 4th grade" but even a cursory look at the WL data tells you that you are jumping to conclusions. They opened up 8 seats in the lottery and as of lottery day they had only one person on the WL for 5th grade. As of June 1 there were zero kids on the WL. If even two of those 8 lottery seats offered was declined then there wouldn't have had to be a single additional unexpected student leaving after 4th for the school to still need to fill open seats.

Serious question for PP: What is it about your makeup that motivates you to post things like this? What urge or need are you satisfying by just imagining negativity?

And as kids are getting spots at BASIS, Latin and Latin II, they are leaving Watkins.

I feel like you think it’s normal to have to fill more than one or two spots in a school. It’s not normal. Northwest schools do not have this problem. Because they’re not hemorrhaging students.

To give you an idea, last year, the five JKLMM schools COMBINED took three children for 5th grade by count day.

And your point is ...? I don't believe anyone here said that W6 is the same as NW. Keep your focus - the point is that some familes are trying the W6 MSs and this appears to be increasing in number. And, when I did the math, I was pleasantly surprised that Jefferson in fact WOULD have a strong cohort for my kid (as long as I'm not hung up on him being a different race from them ... )

No family IB for Watkins, Brent, Maury, etc. is trying their IB middle school voluntarily. They are, to a person, doing it because they struck out in the lottery. My point is, that COULD be fixed, by changing the feeder pattern and creating a Deal-like middle school, where people would actually WANT to send their kids, not just be somewhere people were willing to “try” when the got a crap lottery pull.

Oh please. The families enrolling have better options. I myself just turned down TR and ITS spots because I’d rather give Eliot-Hine a spot. Maybe they’d like to send their kid to Latin, or Sidwell, or the moon … but that doesn’t really say anything about the quality of IB schools.

that should be “better” in quotation marks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:hobson and JA are both at this point vast majority students from the designated feeder schools - it does appear that slowly and surely more and more students from those schools are attending each year

Uh … this is because those feeder schools empty out after 4th grade and are back-filled with OOB students. The # of kids from feeder schools is a meaningless number because people leave after 4th for charters. But I’m sure you know that and are just being an intentionally obtuse booster.

We just got an email today from Watkins inviting us to enroll for 5th (apparently they get emails from MySchoolDC and spam parents) because they’re hemorrhaging students from 4th grade.

I have no dog in this race but this is just a lazy take. You assume that that they are trying to fill seats "because they’re hemorrhaging students from 4th grade" but even a cursory look at the WL data tells you that you are jumping to conclusions. They opened up 8 seats in the lottery and as of lottery day they had only one person on the WL for 5th grade. As of June 1 there were zero kids on the WL. If even two of those 8 lottery seats offered was declined then there wouldn't have had to be a single additional unexpected student leaving after 4th for the school to still need to fill open seats.

Serious question for PP: What is it about your makeup that motivates you to post things like this? What urge or need are you satisfying by just imagining negativity?

And as kids are getting spots at BASIS, Latin and Latin II, they are leaving Watkins.

I feel like you think it’s normal to have to fill more than one or two spots in a school. It’s not normal. Northwest schools do not have this problem. Because they’re not hemorrhaging students.

To give you an idea, last year, the five JKLMM schools COMBINED took three children for 5th grade by count day.

And your point is ...? I don't believe anyone here said that W6 is the same as NW. Keep your focus - the point is that some familes are trying the W6 MSs and this appears to be increasing in number. And, when I did the math, I was pleasantly surprised that Jefferson in fact WOULD have a strong cohort for my kid (as long as I'm not hung up on him being a different race from them ... )

No family IB for Watkins, Brent, Maury, etc. is trying their IB middle school voluntarily. They are, to a person, doing it because they struck out in the lottery. My point is, that COULD be fixed, by changing the feeder pattern and creating a Deal-like middle school, where people would actually WANT to send their kids, not just be somewhere people were willing to “try” when the got a crap lottery pull.

Oh please. The families enrolling have better options. I myself just turned down TR and ITS spots because I’d rather give Eliot-Hine a spot. Maybe they’d like to send their kid to Latin, or Sidwell, or the moon … but that doesn’t really say anything about the quality of IB schools.

We all know that ITS and TR are just as shitty as EH. If you lotteried into Latin or BASIS, you would be headed there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:i think attending a charter school is a perfectly valid choice. but some of the families who choose to attend a charter give off a vibe that this is the only option for families who truly value their child’s education. the number of quiet families who didnt participate in the lottery or ultimately declined their lottery spot because they wanted to stay for 5th and value a shorter commute/neighborhood feel might be somewhat larger than you realize.

Not on the Hill they aren’t. Unless they plan to move for high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:hobson and JA are both at this point vast majority students from the designated feeder schools - it does appear that slowly and surely more and more students from those schools are attending each year

Uh … this is because those feeder schools empty out after 4th grade and are back-filled with OOB students. The # of kids from feeder schools is a meaningless number because people leave after 4th for charters. But I’m sure you know that and are just being an intentionally obtuse booster.

We just got an email today from Watkins inviting us to enroll for 5th (apparently they get emails from MySchoolDC and spam parents) because they’re hemorrhaging students from 4th grade.

I have no dog in this race but this is just a lazy take. You assume that that they are trying to fill seats "because they’re hemorrhaging students from 4th grade" but even a cursory look at the WL data tells you that you are jumping to conclusions. They opened up 8 seats in the lottery and as of lottery day they had only one person on the WL for 5th grade. As of June 1 there were zero kids on the WL. If even two of those 8 lottery seats offered was declined then there wouldn't have had to be a single additional unexpected student leaving after 4th for the school to still need to fill open seats.

Serious question for PP: What is it about your makeup that motivates you to post things like this? What urge or need are you satisfying by just imagining negativity?

And as kids are getting spots at BASIS, Latin and Latin II, they are leaving Watkins.

I feel like you think it’s normal to have to fill more than one or two spots in a school. It’s not normal. Northwest schools do not have this problem. Because they’re not hemorrhaging students.

To give you an idea, last year, the five JKLMM schools COMBINED took three children for 5th grade by count day.

And your point is ...? I don't believe anyone here said that W6 is the same as NW. Keep your focus - the point is that some familes are trying the W6 MSs and this appears to be increasing in number. And, when I did the math, I was pleasantly surprised that Jefferson in fact WOULD have a strong cohort for my kid (as long as I'm not hung up on him being a different race from them ... )

No family IB for Watkins, Brent, Maury, etc. is trying their IB middle school voluntarily. They are, to a person, doing it because they struck out in the lottery. My point is, that COULD be fixed, by changing the feeder pattern and creating a Deal-like middle school, where people would actually WANT to send their kids, not just be somewhere people were willing to “try” when the got a crap lottery pull.

Oh please. The families enrolling have better options. I myself just turned down TR and ITS spots because I’d rather give Eliot-Hine a spot. Maybe they’d like to send their kid to Latin, or Sidwell, or the moon … but that doesn’t really say anything about the quality of IB schools.

We all know that ITS and TR are just as shitty as EH. If you lotteried into Latin or BASIS, you would be headed there.

And I’m sure if you could get your kid into TJ or Sidwell and pay for it, you’d go there. That’s a totally meaningless statement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:hobson and JA are both at this point vast majority students from the designated feeder schools - it does appear that slowly and surely more and more students from those schools are attending each year

Uh … this is because those feeder schools empty out after 4th grade and are back-filled with OOB students. The # of kids from feeder schools is a meaningless number because people leave after 4th for charters. But I’m sure you know that and are just being an intentionally obtuse booster.

We just got an email today from Watkins inviting us to enroll for 5th (apparently they get emails from MySchoolDC and spam parents) because they’re hemorrhaging students from 4th grade.

I have no dog in this race but this is just a lazy take. You assume that that they are trying to fill seats "because they’re hemorrhaging students from 4th grade" but even a cursory look at the WL data tells you that you are jumping to conclusions. They opened up 8 seats in the lottery and as of lottery day they had only one person on the WL for 5th grade. As of June 1 there were zero kids on the WL. If even two of those 8 lottery seats offered was declined then there wouldn't have had to be a single additional unexpected student leaving after 4th for the school to still need to fill open seats.

Serious question for PP: What is it about your makeup that motivates you to post things like this? What urge or need are you satisfying by just imagining negativity?

And as kids are getting spots at BASIS, Latin and Latin II, they are leaving Watkins.

I feel like you think it’s normal to have to fill more than one or two spots in a school. It’s not normal. Northwest schools do not have this problem. Because they’re not hemorrhaging students.

To give you an idea, last year, the five JKLMM schools COMBINED took three children for 5th grade by count day.

And your point is ...? I don't believe anyone here said that W6 is the same as NW. Keep your focus - the point is that some familes are trying the W6 MSs and this appears to be increasing in number. And, when I did the math, I was pleasantly surprised that Jefferson in fact WOULD have a strong cohort for my kid (as long as I'm not hung up on him being a different race from them ... )

No family IB for Watkins, Brent, Maury, etc. is trying their IB middle school voluntarily. They are, to a person, doing it because they struck out in the lottery. My point is, that COULD be fixed, by changing the feeder pattern and creating a Deal-like middle school, where people would actually WANT to send their kids, not just be somewhere people were willing to “try” when the got a crap lottery pull.

Oh please. The families enrolling have better options. I myself just turned down TR and ITS spots because I’d rather give Eliot-Hine a spot. Maybe they’d like to send their kid to Latin, or Sidwell, or the moon … but that doesn’t really say anything about the quality of IB schools.

We all know that ITS and TR are just as shitty as EH. If you lotteried into Latin or BASIS, you would be headed there.

True of Latin but really not true of BASIS.