Anybody Here Ever Have a Kid Above Grade Level Go Through DCPS Middle Schools besides Deal or Hardy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^PP - your DH is looking for a unicorn. What MS, public or private tracks for social studies or science? That usually starts at HS.

Not the poster you’re responding to, but it’s liberal B.S. to believe that the achievement gap isn’t a greater problem in schools that have large at-risk populations and relatively smaller advanced learners. Tracking is more critical when the disparities within the student body are vast.

That is fair. But the point is that S-H DOES NOT have a large at-risk population or a "relatively smaller" group of advanced learners. And the folks continuing to lean on that as their explanation for why the school won't work for their kid are either willfully ignorant or... something else.

Does S-H offer Algebra I and Geometry? Most middle schools offer these courses to their college bound students. You have to have Algebra I and Geometry in middle school at a minimum if you want to apply to competitive colleges because this is the sequence that will let a student take Calculus in high school.

If you don't have a sizable number of students scoring 5 in math in Parcc/advanced learners, the school does not offer these courses which is why most UMC parents will not consider sending their kids there. Same for English.

Nothing racist/something else about it.

This isn't true. You need to have algebra 1 in middle school to be able to take calculus in high school. Not geometry. This sequence leads to Calculus in 12th grade.

[Anonymous]

OK, so SH doesn't have as small a group of advanced learners as the other DCPS MS programs EotP. What concerns me is that my increasingly lazy kid easily earns 4s in academic subjects at her DCPS ES, and 5s on PARCC. She does this without breaking a sweat, although she's bilingual. The thought of her not being pushed in MS in at least half her subjects doesn't inspire us.

I'm not "leaning on an explanation;" I'm wearying of the lack of challenge and the instructional structures in place to push my student, or closely monitor her progress/effort either. There's very little in the way of on-line homework tracking in DCPS - clearly too much daily work for teachers for the teachers unions to back the practice. I understand that on-line HW tracking/grading is standard in the burbs and independent schools in this Metro Area, including parochial schools charge as little as 10K, and even some of the higher-performing DC charters.

We're hardly "willfully ignorant" of the composition of Hobson's student body, we're just not impressed with the challenge we've encountered in DCPS to date. Our experiences leave us much less than optimistic about what would go on in MS science and social studies that aren't tracked, particularly without on-line HW tracking, other than perhaps at BASIS. BASIS alone in this public school system has constructed institutional obstacles to social promotion from 6th-8th grades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^PP - your DH is looking for a unicorn. What MS, public or private tracks for social studies or science? That usually starts at HS.

Not the poster you’re responding to, but it’s liberal B.S. to believe that the achievement gap isn’t a greater problem in schools that have large at-risk populations and relatively smaller advanced learners. Tracking is more critical when the disparities within the student body are vast.

That is fair. But the point is that S-H DOES NOT have a large at-risk population or a "relatively smaller" group of advanced learners. And the folks continuing to lean on that as their explanation for why the school won't work for their kid are either willfully ignorant or... something else.

Does S-H offer Algebra I and Geometry? Most middle schools offer these courses to their college bound students. You have to have Algebra I and Geometry in middle school at a minimum if you want to apply to competitive colleges because this is the sequence that will let a student take Calculus in high school.

If you don't have a sizable number of students scoring 5 in math in Parcc/advanced learners, the school does not offer these courses which is why most UMC parents will not consider sending their kids there. Same for English.

Nothing racist/something else about it.

This isn't true. You need to have algebra 1 in middle school to be able to take calculus in high school. Not geometry. This sequence leads to Calculus in 12th grade.

It's most common to have geometry in middle school but some school systems offer geometry later. But it is good to have geometry in middle school for parents who are interested in having their kids in enrichment classes like Hopkins Center for Talented Youth, etc. which requires the SATs - you need geometry for the SATs.


But schools like S-H are mostly interested in remediation not academic enrichment.

So does S-H offer Algebra I for middle school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OK, so SH doesn't have as small a group of advanced learners as the other DCPS MS programs EotP. What concerns me is that my increasingly lazy kid easily earns 4s in academic subjects at her DCPS ES, and 5s on PARCC. She does this without breaking a sweat, although she's bilingual. The thought of her not being pushed in MS in at least half her subjects doesn't inspire us.

I'm not "leaning on an explanation;" I'm wearying of the lack of challenge and the instructional structures in place to push my student, or closely monitor her progress/effort either. There's very little in the way of on-line homework tracking in DCPS - clearly too much daily work for teachers for the teachers unions to back the practice. I understand that on-line HW tracking/grading is standard in the burbs and independent schools in this Metro Area, including parochial schools charge as little as 10K, and even some of the higher-performing DC charters.

We're hardly "willfully ignorant" of the composition of Hobson's student body, we're just not impressed with the challenge we've encountered in DCPS to date. Our experiences leave us much less than optimistic about what would go on in MS science and social studies that aren't tracked, particularly without on-line HW tracking, other than perhaps at BASIS. BASIS alone in this public school system has constructed institutional obstacles to social promotion from 6th-8th grades.

If your kid is bilingual in Spanish, check out Adams. Lots of above grade level kids in my DC’s class. Unfortunately no tracking, but DC is getting a decent education, as far as I can tell.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^PP - your DH is looking for a unicorn. What MS, public or private tracks for social studies or science? That usually starts at HS.

Not the poster you’re responding to, but it’s liberal B.S. to believe that the achievement gap isn’t a greater problem in schools that have large at-risk populations and relatively smaller advanced learners. Tracking is more critical when the disparities within the student body are vast.

That is fair. But the point is that S-H DOES NOT have a large at-risk population or a "relatively smaller" group of advanced learners. And the folks continuing to lean on that as their explanation for why the school won't work for their kid are either willfully ignorant or... something else.

Does S-H offer Algebra I and Geometry? Most middle schools offer these courses to their college bound students. You have to have Algebra I and Geometry in middle school at a minimum if you want to apply to competitive colleges because this is the sequence that will let a student take Calculus in high school.

If you don't have a sizable number of students scoring 5 in math in Parcc/advanced learners, the school does not offer these courses which is why most UMC parents will not consider sending their kids there. Same for English.

Nothing racist/something else about it.

This isn't true. You need to have algebra 1 in middle school to be able to take calculus in high school. Not geometry. This sequence leads to Calculus in 12th grade.

It's most common to have geometry in middle school but some school systems offer geometry later. But it is good to have geometry in middle school for parents who are interested in having their kids in enrichment classes like Hopkins Center for Talented Youth, etc. which requires the SATs - you need geometry for the SATs.


But schools like S-H are mostly interested in remediation not academic enrichment.

So does S-H offer Algebra I for middle school?

Are you posting from China? This simply isn't true. It isn't "most common" for kids to take geometry in middle school (and subsequently math above Calculus in high school). I have a kid at Deal. Only 10% of the current 7th grade is on this trajectory. I have another kid at a Big3. The entire 7th grade is taking pre-algebra. In 8th grade kids will either take Algebra 1 or honors Algebra. At some point kids who really love math will double up classes and push ahead a year. But again, only 10% of the kids will go beyond Calculus in high school. This is a top DC private.

I inquired about the math sequence at Thomas Jefferson and a full 20% of incoming freshman typically haven't had geometry in middle school. And this is arguably a cohort of the strongest math kids in northern VA.
You have some weird and warped view of what is typical sequencing of math. Even engineering universities (and even in this day and age of hyper competitive admissions) don't require math above calculus in high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^PP - your DH is looking for a unicorn. What MS, public or private tracks for social studies or science? That usually starts at HS.

Not the poster you’re responding to, but it’s liberal B.S. to believe that the achievement gap isn’t a greater problem in schools that have large at-risk populations and relatively smaller advanced learners. Tracking is more critical when the disparities within the student body are vast.

That is fair. But the point is that S-H DOES NOT have a large at-risk population or a "relatively smaller" group of advanced learners. And the folks continuing to lean on that as their explanation for why the school won't work for their kid are either willfully ignorant or... something else.

Does S-H offer Algebra I and Geometry? Most middle schools offer these courses to their college bound students. You have to have Algebra I and Geometry in middle school at a minimum if you want to apply to competitive colleges because this is the sequence that will let a student take Calculus in high school.

If you don't have a sizable number of students scoring 5 in math in Parcc/advanced learners, the school does not offer these courses which is why most UMC parents will not consider sending their kids there. Same for English.

Nothing racist/something else about it.

This isn't true. You need to have algebra 1 in middle school to be able to take calculus in high school. Not geometry. This sequence leads to Calculus in 12th grade.

It's most common to have geometry in middle school but some school systems offer geometry later. But it is good to have geometry in middle school for parents who are interested in having their kids in enrichment classes like Hopkins Center for Talented Youth, etc. which requires the SATs - you need geometry for the SATs.


But schools like S-H are mostly interested in remediation not academic enrichment.

So does S-H offer Algebra I for middle school?

Are you posting from China? This simply isn't true. It isn't "most common" for kids to take geometry in middle school (and subsequently math above Calculus in high school). I have a kid at Deal. Only 10% of the current 7th grade is on this trajectory. I have another kid at a Big3. The entire 7th grade is taking pre-algebra. In 8th grade kids will either take Algebra 1 or honors Algebra. At some point kids who really love math will double up classes and push ahead a year. But again, only 10% of the kids will go beyond Calculus in high school. This is a top DC private.

I inquired about the math sequence at Thomas Jefferson and a full 20% of incoming freshman typically haven't had geometry in middle school. And this is arguably a cohort of the strongest math kids in northern VA.
You have some weird and warped view of what is typical sequencing of math. Even engineering universities (and even in this day and age of hyper competitive admissions) don't require math above calculus in high school.

Where did I say math above Calculus in high school?!? So only 10% at Deal? That sounds about right. Only the top math students do this but the school needs to offer the course.

So does S-H offer Algebra I for their top 10%?

[Anonymous]

^The 20% of freshman at TJ who haven't had geometry are probably not Asian... and get put into the slowest Math track.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^PP - your DH is looking for a unicorn. What MS, public or private tracks for social studies or science? That usually starts at HS.

Not the poster you’re responding to, but it’s liberal B.S. to believe that the achievement gap isn’t a greater problem in schools that have large at-risk populations and relatively smaller advanced learners. Tracking is more critical when the disparities within the student body are vast.

That is fair. But the point is that S-H DOES NOT have a large at-risk population or a "relatively smaller" group of advanced learners. And the folks continuing to lean on that as their explanation for why the school won't work for their kid are either willfully ignorant or... something else.

I hate this sort of post, judgmental to the core and nasty and self-righteous as hell, but delicately phrased using the right gentle ed reform lingo. Vast disparities are in the eye of the beholder of course.

What you're saying is that parents who reject a DCPS' deeply flawed instructional model for advanced middle school learners are either willfully ignorant of facts on the ground, or very racist, or some combination.

Nyet. More often than not, parents who reject the model---tracking only for English and math but not other subjects for no earthy reason beyond political concerns--are behaving logically. As such, they deserve the benefit of the doubt, not your holier-than-though ire, PP.

[Anonymous]

NP. But then you should just opt out fo all of them. Because no DCPS MS are doing what you wish. Maybe someday but if your horizon is the next 3 years, plan accordingly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^PP - your DH is looking for a unicorn. What MS, public or private tracks for social studies or science? That usually starts at HS.

Not the poster you’re responding to, but it’s liberal B.S. to believe that the achievement gap isn’t a greater problem in schools that have large at-risk populations and relatively smaller advanced learners. Tracking is more critical when the disparities within the student body are vast.

That is fair. But the point is that S-H DOES NOT have a large at-risk population or a "relatively smaller" group of advanced learners. And the folks continuing to lean on that as their explanation for why the school won't work for their kid are either willfully ignorant or... something else.

Does S-H offer Algebra I and Geometry? Most middle schools offer these courses to their college bound students. You have to have Algebra I and Geometry in middle school at a minimum if you want to apply to competitive colleges because this is the sequence that will let a student take Calculus in high school.

If you don't have a sizable number of students scoring 5 in math in Parcc/advanced learners, the school does not offer these courses which is why most UMC parents will not consider sending their kids there. Same for English.

Nothing racist/something else about it.

This isn't true. You need to have algebra 1 in middle school to be able to take calculus in high school. Not geometry. This sequence leads to Calculus in 12th grade.

It's most common to have geometry in middle school but some school systems offer geometry later. But it is good to have geometry in middle school for parents who are interested in having their kids in enrichment classes like Hopkins Center for Talented Youth, etc. which requires the SATs - you need geometry for the SATs.


But schools like S-H are mostly interested in remediation not academic enrichment.

So does S-H offer Algebra I for middle school?

Are you posting from China? This simply isn't true. It isn't "most common" for kids to take geometry in middle school (and subsequently math above Calculus in high school). I have a kid at Deal. Only 10% of the current 7th grade is on this trajectory. I have another kid at a Big3. The entire 7th grade is taking pre-algebra. In 8th grade kids will either take Algebra 1 or honors Algebra. At some point kids who really love math will double up classes and push ahead a year. But again, only 10% of the kids will go beyond Calculus in high school. This is a top DC private.

I inquired about the math sequence at Thomas Jefferson and a full 20% of incoming freshman typically haven't had geometry in middle school. And this is arguably a cohort of the strongest math kids in northern VA.
You have some weird and warped view of what is typical sequencing of math. Even engineering universities (and even in this day and age of hyper competitive admissions) don't require math above calculus in high school.

Where did I say math above Calculus in high school?!? So only 10% at Deal? That sounds about right. Only the top math students do this but the school needs to offer the course.

So does S-H offer Algebra I for their top 10%?

If you take geometry in middle school (8th grade) you will progress to Calculus by 11th grade.

[Anonymous]

S-H had almost 30 kids get 4 or 5 on PARCC Algebra I last year. They also offered Geometry, but fewer than 10 kids took the test.

So yeah, it seems like the school offers both courses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:S-H had almost 30 kids get 4 or 5 on PARCC Algebra I last year. They also offered Geometry, but fewer than 10 kids took the test.

So yeah, it seems like the school offers both courses.

Thank you! Good to know.

[Anonymous]

Deal has about 550 7th graders.
Roughly 45 (10%) are in Algebra in 7th (will take geometry in 8th)
Roughly 5 are in Algebra and geometry in 7th (1%) (will take algebra 2 in 8th).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Deal has about 550 7th graders.
Roughly 45 (10%) are in Algebra in 7th (will take geometry in 8th)
Roughly 5 are in Algebra and geometry in 7th (1%) (will take algebra 2 in 8th).

I should add, the remaining 500 kids are in math 7 or math 8 (both pre algebra classes).

[Anonymous]

We chose Basis over S-H for our kid. Basis only tracks for math, but the cohort as a whole has more high achievers than S-H. Plus under-performers at Basis will eventually be pushed out.

We’re just in 5th grade, but so far my child is on distinguished honor roll (top 5% of class) with virtually no effort.

No regrets about our decision, though I certainly hope S-H attracts more top performers. But I put my kid over ideology (or the future of my property value).

If S-H tracked across subjects I might have made a different decision.