Considering pulling kid from Wilson

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My point is that loads of high achieving Deal (and Hardy, for that matter) kids are now at Wilson--either because they were so pissed off at the process at Walls (several kids I know) or because they preferred Wilson and the opportunities it offers to begin with (my DS and many of their friends). The PP's hypothesis about the 9th grade class being "rougher" is both full of dog whistles and full of crap.

Agreed on both counts. And for what it is worth, the student body at Wilson has become significantly more wealthier and whiter over each of the last five years. So to the extent there is a growing drug problem at Wilson (and as a parent who has kids there I have no reason to think there is), it's a white upper middle class problem, not a problem from the "rougher" crowd that PP is referring to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My point is that loads of high achieving Deal (and Hardy, for that matter) kids are now at Wilson--either because they were so pissed off at the process at Walls (several kids I know) or because they preferred Wilson and the opportunities it offers to begin with (my DS and many of their friends). The PP's hypothesis about the 9th grade class being "rougher" is both full of dog whistles and full of crap.

DP. I'm happy for you that you missed the pandemic and all of the negative effects on mental health and behavior of Americans, adults and children. And that every potentially negative post is a dog whistle to you instead of a description of reality.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My point is that loads of high achieving Deal (and Hardy, for that matter) kids are now at Wilson--either because they were so pissed off at the process at Walls (several kids I know) or because they preferred Wilson and the opportunities it offers to begin with (my DS and many of their friends). The PP's hypothesis about the 9th grade class being "rougher" is both full of dog whistles and full of crap.

DP. I'm happy for you that you missed the pandemic and all of the negative effects on mental health and behavior of Americans, adults and children. And that every potentially negative post is a dog whistle to you instead of a description of reality.

It’s your typical Wilson parent in denial who don’t have other options. Just because they don’t know anything going on with their kids small group means there is nothing going on with thousands of other kids. Selection bias but yes even worst is discounting other familie’s experiences.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just asked my DD (with whom I have very open conversations about drugs and sex) about how much fighting and drug use she sees. She says there are occasional fights but she hasn’t experienced drug use in bathrooms. She has great, bright, engaged friends. They do their own thing and ignore the rest. She appreciates being able to be herself at Wilson instead of conforming to private school norms and the pressures of wealth and privilege that come with them.

😂

Sure.

You know not of what you speak (mock)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I took a kid from 9th grade at Whitman (MCPS) and sent him to St Andrew's, a coed boarding high school in Delaware. Mine repeated 9th grade, but they also have admissions into the 10th grade and very good financial aid. A world of difference, in all positive ways. Do some research into what else is out there (no, I would not have home-schooled)

We are considering this path - give walls/Wilson a chance but be ready to pull.

How did you navigate the timing? Did you know 9th grade wasn't going to work right away?

Don’t do this to your child. “Ready to pull” from high school is harder than you think.

As a relative with two kids in college advised me: in ninth tenth grade, students need to be focused on extracurricular activities, building relationships with teachers, test prep (if need be), honing academic and organizational skills, developing academic interests, maybe applying to summer programs. Not applying to a new high school.

OP believes Wilson is not a good fit, with potentially disastrous consequences; that’s one thing. But I wouldn’t enroll my child in any high school, planning to maybe bail. It’s tougher than it looks from the perspective of middle school.

[Anonymous]

Students at Wilson have a wide range of experiences. Pretty much all efforts by parents to characterize the student body as a whole fail because they only know about the limited experience of their own students - and only the part of that experience that their student tells their parents about.

My student has had a good experience overall. Had mostly good teachers and some fantastic teachers, has a small group of friends with similar interests, and has been able to deeply explore an extracurricular area interest. They do complain about the drug use, the class disruptions, the overly large classes and the rampant wearing of earbuds by students in class, but the complaints were far greater in the "honors for all" classes than the advanced classes. And, I note, the complaints were far greater at Deal then at Wilson. Deal was so rigid and yet still had its share of behavior problems, fights, and classroom disruptions. The overall environment just felt stifling. At Wilson, they have learned to navigate and steer clear of the more challenging situation, which I consider a useful life skill.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My point is that loads of high achieving Deal (and Hardy, for that matter) kids are now at Wilson--either because they were so pissed off at the process at Walls (several kids I know) or because they preferred Wilson and the opportunities it offers to begin with (my DS and many of their friends). The PP's hypothesis about the 9th grade class being "rougher" is both full of dog whistles and full of crap.

DP. I'm happy for you that you missed the pandemic and all of the negative effects on mental health and behavior of Americans, adults and children. And that every potentially negative post is a dog whistle to you instead of a description of reality.

Nope...my kids were both in DCPS during the pandemic and suffered plenty of negative effects from it. As did my friends with kids at top private schools in the areas. BTW, plenty of sex and drugs at those schools too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My point is that loads of high achieving Deal (and Hardy, for that matter) kids are now at Wilson--either because they were so pissed off at the process at Walls (several kids I know) or because they preferred Wilson and the opportunities it offers to begin with (my DS and many of their friends). The PP's hypothesis about the 9th grade class being "rougher" is both full of dog whistles and full of crap.

Agreed on both counts. And for what it is worth, the student body at Wilson has become significantly more wealthier and whiter over each of the last five years. So to the extent there is a growing drug problem at Wilson (and as a parent who has kids there I have no reason to think there is), it's a white upper middle class problem, not a problem from the "rougher" crowd that PP is referring to.

You are missing the point. "White and wealthy" does not mean more studious or high achieving. I'm from a JKLM feeder and there are a lot of white and wealthy kids were complete slacker kids at Deal and now at Wilson. There parents are successful but the kids are running wild.

It's the academically strong kids that I know who by-in-large chose not to attend Wilson this year. Most are white but some are not. In *my* kid's circle of friends at Deal--the academically inclined kids went elsewhere (15 or so--to Walls, private, Catholic).
Now this is just one small cohort but in my world it is pretty striking. My kid doesn't have a single friend who went to Wilson and all these kids' older siblings did.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There seems to be a lot of crazy behavior by my 9th grader's friends from an upper NW DC elementary school.
My kid is on the periphery of this friend group and also sees it all play out on social media.
Tons of drugs (pot, acid) and alcohol and also a lot of sexual behavior, especially from girls to both 9th grade boys and older boys. Most disturbingly, an alleged rape.
I don't know if this is just normal for early high school (I'm sure much of it is) or is more pronounced this year because the kids are coming of 18 months of home school.

Regardless, I think it 's really sobering. These kids are mostly 14. 14 is really, really young for sex with multiple partners (which is happening) and/or drugs.

This is in plain sight on Facebook for parents too

[Anonymous]

My DD is a junior at Wilson. She hardly ever mentions drugs, sex, or fights. I don't hear her friends ever talking about these either.

Yes, for sure, the school is too big and too chaotic. And the academics suffer for it. What we have experienced is hit or miss. What helps a lot is that she has always had one or two classes per year/semester, that are really excellent. And so that tends to smooth out the rougher edges for her in terms of the other classes or the meh advising.

I wonder if the Wilson environment is harder on boys and that might be why some posters don't see what OP is saying?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder if the student body at Wilson (esp. 9th) is rougher than normal. None of my kid's friend group of 15+ kids at Deal went on the Wilson. They're at Walls, Duke Ellington, Banneker, about 5 different privates and 4 Catholics. They were all quiet, studious kids at Deal.
Almost all had older siblings who attended Wilson. The parents got scared off by Covid and many are scraping their dimes together to afford private or Catholic tuition.

Whew, I’m impressed that you were able to fit so many dog whistles into one post.

I like you, PP. 👏👏👏👏
-signed an actual Wilson parent whose sophomore is doing fine

+1000
-signed an actual Wilson parent with two kids at the school, one of whom is a freshman and is there with many, many of her studious friends from Deal

I don't know many. Most of the studious kids went to Walls this year.

Tons of sweet studious kids at Wilson. Many are able to tune out the other stuff but sure all kids are susceptible to bad influences. Some kids will find it whether at Wilson or homeschool . And some will avoid it in any environment . Not sure what life lesson you teach my removing them

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There seems to be a lot of crazy behavior by my 9th grader's friends from an upper NW DC elementary school.
My kid is on the periphery of this friend group and also sees it all play out on social media.
Tons of drugs (pot, acid) and alcohol and also a lot of sexual behavior, especially from girls to both 9th grade boys and older boys. Most disturbingly, an alleged rape.
I don't know if this is just normal for early high school (I'm sure much of it is) or is more pronounced this year because the kids are coming of 18 months of home school.

Regardless, I think it 's really sobering. These kids are mostly 14. 14 is really, really young for sex with multiple partners (which is happening) and/or drugs.

This is in plain sight on Facebook for parents too

Please parents, stop wringing your hands on an anonymous forum - step up and report this. This is a crime. This kids are running amok because they are not being parented. Stop blaming the school for after hours behavior.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There seems to be a lot of crazy behavior by my 9th grader's friends from an upper NW DC elementary school.
My kid is on the periphery of this friend group and also sees it all play out on social media.
Tons of drugs (pot, acid) and alcohol and also a lot of sexual behavior, especially from girls to both 9th grade boys and older boys. Most disturbingly, an alleged rape.
I don't know if this is just normal for early high school (I'm sure much of it is) or is more pronounced this year because the kids are coming of 18 months of home school.

Regardless, I think it 's really sobering. These kids are mostly 14. 14 is really, really young for sex with multiple partners (which is happening) and/or drugs.

This is in plain sight on Facebook for parents too

Please parents, stop wringing your hands on an anonymous forum - step up and report this. This is a crime. This kids are running amok because they are not being parented. Stop blaming the school for after hours behavior.

I have heard about this from several sources but it is not my kid(s) involved so I can't report it. If anyone's kid is involved, please report.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There seems to be a lot of crazy behavior by my 9th grader's friends from an upper NW DC elementary school.
My kid is on the periphery of this friend group and also sees it all play out on social media.
Tons of drugs (pot, acid) and alcohol and also a lot of sexual behavior, especially from girls to both 9th grade boys and older boys. Most disturbingly, an alleged rape.
I don't know if this is just normal for early high school (I'm sure much of it is) or is more pronounced this year because the kids are coming of 18 months of home school.

Regardless, I think it 's really sobering. These kids are mostly 14. 14 is really, really young for sex with multiple partners (which is happening) and/or drugs.

This is in plain sight on Facebook for parents too

Please parents, stop wringing your hands on an anonymous forum - step up and report this. This is a crime. This kids are running amok because they are not being parented. Stop blaming the school for after hours behavior.

For me, the fights I’ve seen on social media are in class or hallways and have been broken up by faculty. No need to report. Yes, there appears to be some crime going on. In one case, there was a boy physical punching a girl in her face in a classroom. There are multiple pages dedicated to kids sharing fights at Wilson. Just search Wilson Fights or Wilson Leaks in IG and you’ll see a few pages.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Students at Wilson have a wide range of experiences. Pretty much all efforts by parents to characterize the student body as a whole fail because they only know about the limited experience of their own students - and only the part of that experience that their student tells their parents about.

My student has had a good experience overall. Had mostly good teachers and some fantastic teachers, has a small group of friends with similar interests, and has been able to deeply explore an extracurricular area interest. They do complain about the drug use, the class disruptions, the overly large classes and the rampant wearing of earbuds by students in class, but the complaints were far greater in the "honors for all" classes than the advanced classes. And, I note, the complaints were far greater at Deal then at Wilson. Deal was so rigid and yet still had its share of behavior problems, fights, and classroom disruptions. The overall environment just felt stifling. At Wilson, they have learned to navigate and steer clear of the more challenging situation, which I consider a useful life skill.

This has been our experience too, with two at Wilson. Overall, have been impressed by the teachers, especially in the advanced classes. The behavior issues are there but were actually more disruptive at Deal because, at Wilson, kids either are on their phones or don't show up if they don't want to be there. Both kids have a large cohort of smart, diverse friends and lots of interesting opportunities--sports, newspaper, robotics, debate, theater are all very good. They have to advocate for themselves because it is a chaotic place and it is overcrowded. DCPS needs to do something about the overcrowding and I can understand how some kids would feel overwhelmed by it but I'd take it over Walls (I know several families there now who are really unhappy by the poor quality of the teachers and unresponsiveness of the administration to any concerns).