Watkins vs Ross

[Anonymous]

We are IB for Watkins but daughter is waitlisted #1 at Ross. How do you conpare both schools?

[Anonymous]

Ross is probably better but not so much better that you should drive across town for it... plus Watkins has a better middle school option. Going to your in-boundary school is a big plus for commute and community.

[Anonymous]

What grade?

[Anonymous]

4th

[Anonymous]

Choose based on whichever MS you prefer.

[Anonymous]

Watkins. Why in the world would you schlep from the Hill to Dupont when you can just stroll to school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Watkins. Why in the world would you schlep from the Hill to Dupont when you can just stroll to school?

Because at that grade Ross is a better school perhaps?

[Anonymous]

If your student is white, I'd stay at Watkins - test scores are comparable for white students.

If your student is black, I'd switch to Ross. Ross has one of the lowest (if not lowest) achievement gaps in the city.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Watkins. Why in the world would you schlep from the Hill to Dupont when you can just stroll to school?

Because at that grade Ross is a better school perhaps?

Whatever small difference there is (if any) is completely outweighed by losing all the benefits of a neighborhood school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If your student is white, I'd stay at Watkins - test scores are comparable for white students.

If your student is black, I'd switch to Ross. Ross has one of the lowest (if not lowest) achievement gaps in the city.

But that's almost certainly due to SES - all Ross families are richer.

[Anonymous]

I don't think I'd switch for 4th unless your child is actually unhappy at Watkins. They'll be at the school for tops 2 years (less if you lottery for BASIS/Latin/Wilson feeder) and then the most likely spot they'll land for middle is right back at Stuart-Hobson, since your odds are bad everywhere else.

Also, you may not have the chance to switch. Ross doesn't take a lot of kids in upper grades through the lottery. The school is so small that they may want to leave room for kids who move IB throughout the year (that is the charitable assumption--less kindly, I think they don't want to risk adding kids who might bring down PARCC scores or need additional services).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If your student is white, I'd stay at Watkins - test scores are comparable for white students.

If your student is black, I'd switch to Ross. Ross has one of the lowest (if not lowest) achievement gaps in the city.

But that's almost certainly due to SES - all Ross families are richer.

It still stands out for having almost no achievement gap in light of schools like SWS, Brent, etc. Being high-SES black doesn't mean your child will score well in the same way that it does being high-SES white.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ross is probably better but not so much better that you should drive across town for it... plus Watkins has a better middle school option. Going to your in-boundary school is a big plus for commute and community.

You'd still have IB MS option even if you went to Ross. That just seems like a lot of added aggravation unless you're genuinely unhappy with Watkins. Maybe if you work near Dupont it's more manageable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think I'd switch for 4th unless your child is actually unhappy at Watkins. They'll be at the school for tops 2 years (less if you lottery for BASIS/Latin/Wilson feeder) and then the most likely spot they'll land for middle is right back at Stuart-Hobson, since your odds are bad everywhere else.

Also, you may not have the chance to switch. Ross doesn't take a lot of kids in upper grades through the lottery. The school is so small that they may want to leave room for kids who move IB throughout the year (that is the charitable assumption--less kindly, I think they don't want to risk adding kids who might bring down PARCC scores or need additional services).

I wouldn't be so charitable. When we toured a year ago, they had like 12 kids in 5th grade. They could easily have taken a few OOB lottery students and still had room for kids who move IB during the year. They don't, because it could mess with their test scores.

That said, in 4th grade you're really weighing Stuart-Hobson and Francis Stevens as middle school options. I don't know much about SH, but FS has a very charismatic principal and the MS is definitely on the upswing. Not sure it's worth switching for given the inconvenience of commuting to Dupont Circle, unless you work in the Dupont or West End area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think I'd switch for 4th unless your child is actually unhappy at Watkins. They'll be at the school for tops 2 years (less if you lottery for BASIS/Latin/Wilson feeder) and then the most likely spot they'll land for middle is right back at Stuart-Hobson, since your odds are bad everywhere else.

Also, you may not have the chance to switch. Ross doesn't take a lot of kids in upper grades through the lottery. The school is so small that they may want to leave room for kids who move IB throughout the year (that is the charitable assumption--less kindly, I think they don't want to risk adding kids who might bring down PARCC scores or need additional services).

I wouldn't be so charitable. When we toured a year ago, they had like 12 kids in 5th grade. They could easily have taken a few OOB lottery students and still had room for kids who move IB during the year. They don't, because it could mess with their test scores.

That said, in 4th grade you're really weighing Stuart-Hobson and Francis Stevens as middle school options. I don't know much about SH, but FS has a very charismatic principal and the MS is definitely on the upswing. Not sure it's worth switching for given the inconvenience of commuting to Dupont Circle, unless you work in the Dupont or West End area.

The high test scores may also be because few kids enter at upper grades. Quality instruction for consecutive years is very beneficial. Getting a below level 4th grader wouldn't automatically mean high scores on PARCC.