Best high school in D.C.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Banneker has a ton of homework and very few boys. Not right for my family, but ymmv.

This. I love Banneker. I loved the administration and everything about it, but my son left after his freshman year, as did a bunch of his guy friends. The boys generally aren't mature enough their freshman year. The sad part is that all of the boys went on to other schools and did really well.

Where did the boys go and do well? I am glad to hear they were successful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Banneker has a ton of homework and very few boys. Not right for my family, but ymmv.

This is true. My son is an 11th grade Banneker student. Banneker is an amazing school, but it's def not a good fit for everyone.

Agree but with all the super advanced kids in DCUM going to Basis and complaining that there is not tracking, you'd think the parents would be lining up to go to Banneker. But they're not. And the ONLY reason is because it is such a black school. Which is sad to me because these kids are the cream of the crop. Nobody should have any concerns about peers at this school.

That is a load of crap. Go read the other thread on this and read all of the other reasons parent choose other schools. Honest to god I am so tired of this line of attack.

Honest to God I'm so sick of having racist neighbors. Yes there have been many threads and while many people consciously don't realize why the opt out of Banneker, many also say they don't want their kid to be an only. Black kids do it all the time. Your advanced high schooler is resilient and will learn a lot in that scenario but the parents have their own concerns (founded or not).

I'm sorry, but you are truly sick to allege that every white parent who chooses a high school in the District of Columbia other than Banneker is subconsciously racist.

I don't think PP is claiming that. S/he is saying race has *something* to do with the reason that one of the top performing schools in DC statistically (and certainly the top performing public if the comparison takes demographics into account) has almost no white kids. If parents were guaranteed that it would be 20% white next year (but otherwise remain the same sort of school), I bet it could get to 20% no problem. That obviously doesn't mean that every single parent that didn't send there kid there had a race-related reason for doing so. It doesn't even mean every parent who did have a race-related reason was racist (there are plenty of kids who would do terribly as the only anything for social reasons and I think that's a totally valid concern, especially for parents of kids who already have social anxiety issues). It does, however, mean that the lack of whites at Banneker is at least partially self-perpetuating. If you don't think that's true, you really have your head in the sand.

Sure, but what PP actually said was:

"And the ONLY reason is because it is such a black school."

And
Yah but let's not forget that countless people leave for Arlington and Bethesda because Wilson is way too Black as well. If Wilson is too black, bannker is hopeless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Banneker has a ton of homework and very few boys. Not right for my family, but ymmv.

This. I love Banneker. I loved the administration and everything about it, but my son left after his freshman year, as did a bunch of his guy friends. The boys generally aren't mature enough their freshman year. The sad part is that all of the boys went on to other schools and did really well.

Where did the boys go and do well? I am glad to hear they were successful.

I'm not the person you quoted but I'm the poster from earlier who has an 11th grade boy currently attending Banneker. Many of his male classmates left and went to McKinley Tech and I know of a few that went to Phelps.

[Anonymous]

Why has this thread been hijacked by Banneker boosters. Banneker kids should do well. They have to apply to get in and a bunch get kicked out every year. You can't really compare it to Wilson. Why not just start your own thread about how good Banneker is. Some of us would like to hear about other schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lots of DCPS/PCS kids on the Presidential Scholars candidate list for 2017. Kudos!

2017 US Presidential Scholars Candidates, by state of residence:

https://www2.ed.gov/programs/psp/2017/candidates.pdf

Out of 79 Presidential Scholar nominees who live in DC, 34 are from DCPS/PCS. So 43% of the top students who live in DC are in public school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Exeter (my alma mater)
Banneker or Basis
Walls

Basis hasn't even graduated a class yet. No way they can be rated #1.

Their best 12th grader, who left Latin because she found the academics were too easy for her will be going to a school with 85% acceptance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Exeter (my alma mater)
Banneker or Basis
Walls

Basis hasn't even graduated a class yet. No way they can be rated #1.

Their best 12th grader, who left Latin because she found the academics were too easy for her will be going to a school with 85% acceptance.

Because she couldn't get in anywhere better or for financial/personal reasons? Those are very different scenarios.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Exeter (my alma mater)
Banneker or Basis
Walls

Basis hasn't even graduated a class yet. No way they can be rated #1.

Their best 12th grader, who left Latin because she found the academics were too easy for her will be going to a school with 85% acceptance.

Because she couldn't get in anywhere better or for financial/personal reasons? Those are very different scenarios.

When did she leave? We went all the way through Latin and the HS classes were challenging. Our child is at a school now with a much lower rate of acceptance than that (much), but I agree with the PP that students choose colleges as much as colleges choose them. The Basis model is not my cup of tea, but to each their own. Basis should be given time to roll out a few graduating classes. I'm sure they'll do fine. I hope so--DC needs as many good options as possible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Banneker has a ton of homework and very few boys. Not right for my family, but ymmv.

This. I love Banneker. I loved the administration and everything about it, but my son left after his freshman year, as did a bunch of his guy friends. The boys generally aren't mature enough their freshman year. The sad part is that all of the boys went on to other schools and did really well.

Where did the boys go and do well? I am glad to hear they were successful.

My son went to DeMatha. His friends went to Wilson and Walls.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why has this thread been hijacked by Banneker boosters. Banneker kids should do well. They have to apply to get in and a bunch get kicked out every year. You can't really compare it to Wilson. Why not just start your own thread about how good Banneker is. Some of us would like to hear about other schools.

Give me a break. I posted earlier. My first son attended Banneker and left to attend DeMatha. My second son is at Wilson, which I also love. We had great experiences at both. Both are great for different kinds of kids. Wilson is not as rigorous as Banneker, but you can still get a very challenging academically rich education at Wilson. My son had hours and hours of homework at Banneker and they really don't have sports. Wilson is a better overall high school for the experience.

[Anonymous]

Can someone help me break down the kinds of students that tend to thrive most at these schools? For example, I understand that if your child loves the arts, Ellington is a good choice. But how about Banneker, McKinley, Walls and Latin?

(Which is the best choice for a student who's passionate about STEM?)

And can anyone help me understand the gender ratio at Banneker? Why so few boys?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can someone help me break down the kinds of students that tend to thrive most at these schools? For example, I understand that if your child loves the arts, Ellington is a good choice. But how about Banneker, McKinley, Walls and Latin?

(Which is the best choice for a student who's passionate about STEM?)

And can anyone help me understand the gender ratio at Banneker? Why so few boys?

Look at the courses offered. All list them on their websites.

But you need to go to open houses with your kid and see where they are comfortable. It is high school. They should drive the choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can someone help me break down the kinds of students that tend to thrive most at these schools? For example, I understand that if your child loves the arts, Ellington is a good choice. But how about Banneker, McKinley, Walls and Latin?

(Which is the best choice for a student who's passionate about STEM?)

And can anyone help me understand the gender ratio at Banneker? Why so few boys?

Add Washington Leadership Academy to your list. It's new (only has 9th grade so far). But has an impressive STEM focus.