How are the academics at Duke Ellington?

[Anonymous]

Attended the open house/tour yesterday and was impressed with their arts programs. They have a lot of AP classes available but at the same time they do not require academic rigor to be accepted. You have to maintain a B average in your art classes and a C average in your academic classes.

My 8th grader has very strong academics, about as strong as you can have in DCPS middle. My child has been disappointed in the ELA instruction in middle school as lacking inspiration and I perceive that the Literary Media and Communication program would be very strong on that front.

Can anyone tell me about the academics available for strong students and what the academic culture is like there?

[Anonymous]

You go to Ellington for the arts first and foremost. Does your child think he/she wants to write creatively for a career?

There are strong students there but some students have not had the benefit of going to strong elementary and middle schools (check the PARCC scores, AP pass rates and SAT scores released by DCPS) and many put their effort into their art first and foremost. Your child would have to take Honors ELA in 9th and 10th, and could take AP Language and LIt (or honors English) in 11th and 12th in addtion to the LMC courses.

There are APs available, but not in everything (e.g. for foreign language only AP French is offered now).

[Anonymous]

Not strong at all

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Attended the open house/tour yesterday and was impressed with their arts programs. They have a lot of AP classes available but at the same time they do not require academic rigor to be accepted. You have to maintain a B average in your art classes and a C average in your academic classes.

My 8th grader has very strong academics, about as strong as you can have in DCPS middle. My child has been disappointed in the ELA instruction in middle school as lacking inspiration and I perceive that the Literary Media and Communication program would be very strong on that front.

Can anyone tell me about the academics available for strong students and what the academic culture is like there?

Ellington does not have an arts program, it is an arts school. There's a huge difference. So that means yes, you can get in if you have serious talent but are lacking academically because that type of student can also get in to the best conservatory colleges in the country. But it also means you have "A" students from public and private schools coming for pre-pro arts training sharing class with kids who are well behind. That brings down the PARCC and SAT numbers overall, but should be construed with something lacking in the teaching. So if you go in wanting to be challenged and ready to do the work you can have a good academic experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not strong at all

Sadly this is true. But most of the students and their families aren’t troubled by this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Attended the open house/tour yesterday and was impressed with their arts programs. They have a lot of AP classes available but at the same time they do not require academic rigor to be accepted. You have to maintain a B average in your art classes and a C average in your academic classes.

My 8th grader has very strong academics, about as strong as you can have in DCPS middle. My child has been disappointed in the ELA instruction in middle school as lacking inspiration and I perceive that the Literary Media and Communication program would be very strong on that front.

Can anyone tell me about the academics available for strong students and what the academic culture is like there?

Ellington does not have an arts program, it is an arts school. There's a huge difference. So that means yes, you can get in if you have serious talent but are lacking academically because that type of student can also get in to the best conservatory colleges in the country. But it also means you have "A" students from public and private schools coming for pre-pro arts training sharing class with kids who are well behind. That brings down the PARCC and SAT numbers overall, but should be construed with something lacking in the teaching. So if you go in wanting to be challenged and ready to do the work you can have a good academic experience.

Thank you, this is very helpful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not strong at all

Sadly this is true. But most of the students and their families aren’t troubled by this.

Because their students are going to pursue careers in the arts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not strong at all

Sadly this is true. But most of the students and their families aren’t troubled by this.

Because their students are going to pursue careers in the arts.

That's the hope, not the reality.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not strong at all

Sadly this is true. But most of the students and their families aren’t troubled by this.

Because their students are going to pursue careers in the arts.

Good luck with that. It's like dreams of going pro. For every kid who makes it to the NFL or the NBA, there are 20 sitting on street corners.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not strong at all

Sadly this is true. But most of the students and their families aren’t troubled by this.

Because their students are going to pursue careers in the arts.

Good luck with that. It's like dreams of going pro. For every kid who makes it to the NFL or the NBA, there are 20 sitting on street corners.

A career in the arts does not mean superstardom on the big screen or a major recording contract. Museum curators, arts administrators graphic artists, photographers, writers, journalists, costumers, makeup artists, stage managers, producers, directors, digital executives, editors, music teachers, composers, engineers-- all careers in the arts. Fame is hardly a requirement for success.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not strong at all

Sadly this is true. But most of the students and their families aren’t troubled by this.

Because their students are going to pursue careers in the arts.

Good luck with that. It's like dreams of going pro. For every kid who makes it to the NFL or the NBA, there are 20 sitting on street corners.

A career in the arts does not mean superstardom on the big screen or a major recording contract. Museum curators, arts administrators graphic artists, photographers, writers, journalists, costumers, makeup artists, stage managers, producers, directors, digital executives, editors, music teachers, composers, engineers-- all careers in the arts. Fame is hardly a requirement for success.

All of the careers you just listed require strong language and math skills.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not strong at all

Sadly this is true. But most of the students and their families aren’t troubled by this.

Because their students are going to pursue careers in the arts.

Good luck with that. It's like dreams of going pro. For every kid who makes it to the NFL or the NBA, there are 20 sitting on street corners.

A career in the arts does not mean superstardom on the big screen or a major recording contract. Museum curators, arts administrators graphic artists, photographers, writers, journalists, costumers, makeup artists, stage managers, producers, directors, digital executives, editors, music teachers, composers, engineers-- all careers in the arts. Fame is hardly a requirement for success.

All of the careers you just listed require strong language and math skills.

Not a single one of them requires strong math skills. Costumers? Makeup? Producer? Recording engineer? Composing - it helps you with math but ,math it is not. It's all content creation. Stage manager? Gimme a break. Imagination. Discipline. Dedication. Not calculus.

[Anonymous]

I'm always curious about this "good academics" question in regard to DCPS. The curriculum is standard across the board and across schools. Some schools may offer slight more or fewer resources, but what's being taught is the same. So "good academics" appears to be a measure of students, not the school itself. There are students who get it and those who don't at every school in America. If you have a kid who wants to learn and be the best they can be, they will, and there will be ample support for that to happen. If your kid will benefit from a pre-professional, rigorous arts education. a 9-hour school day with many evenings of work,10 classes, plus homework on top, and a culture that supports the decision to choose the arts --then apply. If your kid just "likes the arts" please do not.

[Anonymous]

Agree 100% with PP. Just understand why your kid may want to go to a serious arts school and make your decision based on that answer. And seriously people don't seem to really understand how and why colleges pick students these days. Everybody who can afford tutors can come up with good grades and high SAT scores. So with thousands of applicants being equal what gets you over the line? Generally that is a specialization or skill that distances you from the next person. And frankly a kid with a B in English and Math but who can play the hell out Monk, Miles, Chopin or Bach is way more attractive than just another A student who just checks off all the standard summer camp/volunteer/test score boxes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm always curious about this "good academics" question in regard to DCPS. The curriculum is standard across the board and across schools. Some schools may offer slight more or fewer resources, but what's being taught is the same. So "good academics" appears to be a measure of students, not the school itself. There are students who get it and those who don't at every school in America. If you have a kid who wants to learn and be the best they can be, they will, and there will be ample support for that to happen. If your kid will benefit from a pre-professional, rigorous arts education. a 9-hour school day with many evenings of work,10 classes, plus homework on top, and a culture that supports the decision to choose the arts --then apply. If your kid just "likes the arts" please do not.

OP here, I asked about academics and academic culture and those do vary by school, even those with the same curriculum. The quality of teaching and how content is taught can and does vary a lot. Is the teacher reading powerpoint slides to the class or is there an engaging discussion about the topic. How good are the math teachers, do they spend their time doing worksheets in class, my child has experienced a wide variety of skill on that front in middle school.

I find your post pretty condescending really, about as condescending as the posts stating that it is an academic wasteland based on bias and test scores written by people that clearly would never send their children so have no real experience with the school.