Stats about white students in DCPS being in top nationwide?

[Anonymous]

You can find schools in Western MD (probably other parts too) that are 90%+ white and half FARM kids. I don't think that exists in DC

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have a friend who bailed on the Hill a couple years ago over schools issues. Her child has moved onto an AAP center in Fairfax, while ours, who is the same age, is at Brent. I'm not convinced that her child learns more than mine a given week. She's far from the Smithsonians now, while we walk down most weekends. Our child takes seriously good music and art classes a 5-minute walk from our house, and visit the the local library across the street almost every day. She has to drive her kid everywhere, or put him on a school bus. My kids' classmates have parents who are World Bank economists, design Mars rovers for NASA, serve as senior diplomats and military officers, and drive legislative battles in the Senate.

I'm not buying that Fairfax offers young families more overall, at least at the elementary school level.

Is the topic the actual stuff that is taught in school, or the opportunities to learn outside of school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have a friend who bailed on the Hill a couple years ago over schools issues. Her child has moved onto an AAP center in Fairfax, while ours, who is the same age, is at Brent. I'm not convinced that her child learns more than mine a given week. She's far from the Smithsonians now, while we walk down most weekends. Our child takes seriously good music and art classes a 5-minute walk from our house, and visit the the local library across the street almost every day. She has to drive her kid everywhere, or put him on a school bus. My kids' classmates have parents who are World Bank economists, design Mars rovers for NASA, serve as senior diplomats and military officers, and drive legislative battles in the Senate.

I'm not buying that Fairfax offers young families more overall, at least at the elementary school level.

Totally agree with this post. We are in the same boat but our children attend a top DCI feeder we love.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a friend who bailed on the Hill a couple years ago over schools issues. Her child has moved onto an AAP center in Fairfax, while ours, who is the same age, is at Brent. I'm not convinced that her child learns more than mine a given week. She's far from the Smithsonians now, while we walk down most weekends. Our child takes seriously good music and art classes a 5-minute walk from our house, and visit the the local library across the street almost every day. She has to drive her kid everywhere, or put him on a school bus. My kids' classmates have parents who are World Bank economists, design Mars rovers for NASA, serve as senior diplomats and military officers, and drive legislative battles in the Senate.

I'm not buying that Fairfax offers young families more overall, at least at the elementary school level.

Is the topic the actual stuff that is taught in school, or the opportunities to learn outside of school?

I'm not the poster you are addressing, but in her case as well as mine it is both. Brent is a fabulous school and the after school and neighborhood opportunities cannot be matched in fairfax.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a friend who bailed on the Hill a couple years ago over schools issues. Her child has moved onto an AAP center in Fairfax, while ours, who is the same age, is at Brent. I'm not convinced that her child learns more than mine a given week. She's far from the Smithsonians now, while we walk down most weekends. Our child takes seriously good music and art classes a 5-minute walk from our house, and visit the the local library across the street almost every day. She has to drive her kid everywhere, or put him on a school bus. My kids' classmates have parents who are World Bank economists, design Mars rovers for NASA, serve as senior diplomats and military officers, and drive legislative battles in the Senate.

I'm not buying that Fairfax offers young families more overall, at least at the elementary school level.

Is the topic the actual stuff that is taught in school, or the opportunities to learn outside of school?

NP here, people with the diverse careers listed in that post live in Fairfax as well, have you even met anyone from there? The schools there are also very likely more diverse in both racial and SES terms than your school.

Please stop making the claim that everyone on the hill is more interesting than everywhere else. It makes you sound like an uninformed snob. The issues or driving vs. walking are valid, but nothing else in your post makes very much sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a friend who bailed on the Hill a couple years ago over schools issues. Her child has moved onto an AAP center in Fairfax, while ours, who is the same age, is at Brent. I'm not convinced that her child learns more than mine a given week. She's far from the Smithsonians now, while we walk down most weekends. Our child takes seriously good music and art classes a 5-minute walk from our house, and visit the the local library across the street almost every day. She has to drive her kid everywhere, or put him on a school bus. My kids' classmates have parents who are World Bank economists, design Mars rovers for NASA, serve as senior diplomats and military officers, and drive legislative battles in the Senate.

I'm not buying that Fairfax offers young families more overall, at least at the elementary school level.

Totally agree with this post. We are in the same boat but our children attend a top DCI feeder we love.

What is a "top" DCI feeder? And what percentage of the graduating kids go on to DCI?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a friend who bailed on the Hill a couple years ago over schools issues. Her child has moved onto an AAP center in Fairfax, while ours, who is the same age, is at Brent. I'm not convinced that her child learns more than mine a given week. She's far from the Smithsonians now, while we walk down most weekends. Our child takes seriously good music and art classes a 5-minute walk from our house, and visit the the local library across the street almost every day. She has to drive her kid everywhere, or put him on a school bus. My kids' classmates have parents who are World Bank economists, design Mars rovers for NASA, serve as senior diplomats and military officers, and drive legislative battles in the Senate.

I'm not buying that Fairfax offers young families more overall, at least at the elementary school level.

Is the topic the actual stuff that is taught in school, or the opportunities to learn outside of school?

I'm not the poster you are addressing, but in her case as well as mine it is both. Brent is a fabulous school and the after school and neighborhood opportunities cannot be matched in fairfax.

Yes, so why both separating what a kid learns outside school for what they learn inside school when considering the kind of education they're getting? You can't argue that Brent is better academically than a Fairfax GT program; it isn't. But there's still a strong case to be made for our urban environment being far richer intellectually, and, in many ways, healthier, than the car-bound Fairfax scene. Our friends who've bailed for schools hardly seem to know their neighbors, even after living in the burbs for years, leaving them nostalgic for the Hill community. We know that the burbs aren't short of highly educated parents, but I'm still willing to hitch my start to the urban pioneering spirit, which confers its own benefits. These include my kids watching 4th of July fireworks from our roof, chatting with lawmakers in local restaurants, taking the Metro for free with their new passes, walking to CHAW lessons on their own (at age 7 or 8), getting to outdoor movies and Folger on bikes in the summer, and running into the same interesting families all over the Hill.

[Anonymous]

from what they learn

[Anonymous]

I have had Shakespeare theater tickets and been a contributing member of the Folger for almost 30 years. I don't think I can ever remember someone let alone a family rolling up on bikes. Maybe a few of those ubiquitous red bikes that are so common now but those are all tourist. As for the military concerts and Smithsonian, I would wager that 100% of the time there are more people from the suburbs there then people from the corresponding neighborhoods. That is not to say they don't partake as well but they certainly don't have a monopoly as the Capitol Hill poster alluded to. Get off your high horse and enjoy what you have and don't puff it up to be more than it is, you come off as insecure.

Signed a DC resident for 50 years

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have had Shakespeare theater tickets and been a contributing member of the Folger for almost 30 years. I don't think I can ever remember someone let alone a family rolling up on bikes. Maybe a few of those ubiquitous red bikes that are so common now but those are all tourist. As for the military concerts and Smithsonian, I would wager that 100% of the time there are more people from the suburbs there then people from the corresponding neighborhoods. That is not to say they don't partake as well but they certainly don't have a monopoly as the Capitol Hill poster alluded to. Get off your high horse and enjoy what you have and don't puff it up to be more than it is, you come off as insecure.

Signed a DC resident for 50 years

Plus one

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have had Shakespeare theater tickets and been a contributing member of the Folger for almost 30 years. I don't think I can ever remember someone let alone a family rolling up on bikes. Maybe a few of those ubiquitous red bikes that are so common now but those are all tourist. As for the military concerts and Smithsonian, I would wager that 100% of the time there are more people from the suburbs there then people from the corresponding neighborhoods. That is not to say they don't partake as well but they certainly don't have a monopoly as the Capitol Hill poster alluded to. Get off your high horse and enjoy what you have and don't puff it up to be more than it is, you come off as insecure.

Signed a DC resident for 50 years

Plus one

Maybe you just don't know your neighbors.

Furthermore we would not be going to a play as our youngest would not be able to handle it. I think only high school kids are capable of enjoying Shakespeare.

Get off your high horse,

A very proud gentrifier.

[Anonymous]

Meh, I like the Hill because there are a ton of kids and it is very close to my job, not much more than that. The cultural opportunities are very exaggerated. Kids would benefit just as much from big yards and the ability to run around freely as they would from a trip to the Smithsonian museums once a week. (And what kid wants to go to a museum that often anyway?)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a friend who bailed on the Hill a couple years ago over schools issues. Her child has moved onto an AAP center in Fairfax, while ours, who is the same age, is at Brent. I'm not convinced that her child learns more than mine a given week. She's far from the Smithsonians now, while we walk down most weekends. Our child takes seriously good music and art classes a 5-minute walk from our house, and visit the the local library across the street almost every day. She has to drive her kid everywhere, or put him on a school bus. My kids' classmates have parents who are World Bank economists, design Mars rovers for NASA, serve as senior diplomats and military officers, and drive legislative battles in the Senate.

I'm not buying that Fairfax offers young families more overall, at least at the elementary school level.

Is the topic the actual stuff that is taught in school, or the opportunities to learn outside of school?

I'm not the poster you are addressing, but in her case as well as mine it is both. Brent is a fabulous school and the after school and neighborhood opportunities cannot be matched in fairfax.

Yes, so why both separating what a kid learns outside school for what they learn inside school when considering the kind of education they're getting? You can't argue that Brent is better academically than a Fairfax GT program; it isn't. But there's still a strong case to be made for our urban environment being far richer intellectually, and, in many ways, healthier, than the car-bound Fairfax scene. Our friends who've bailed for schools hardly seem to know their neighbors, even after living in the burbs for years, leaving them nostalgic for the Hill community. We know that the burbs aren't short of highly educated parents, but I'm still willing to hitch my start to the urban pioneering spirit, which confers its own benefits. These include my kids watching 4th of July fireworks from our roof, chatting with lawmakers in local restaurants, taking the Metro for free with their new passes, walking to CHAW lessons on their own (at age 7 or 8), getting to outdoor movies and Folger on bikes in the summer, and running into the same interesting families all over the Hill.

You lost me at "urban pioneering experience." just icky.

[Anonymous]

So move to the burbs and enjoy blahsville with the great schools.

[Anonymous]

Why do you say the burbs are blah? Ones around here I've been in are pretty interesting. Great ethnic food, educated, interesting people. Parks to run around. I used to live in downtown DC withy family, noe I like e in the burbs. I also work downtown. Both are I interesting in their own way.