Student Stratification at Selective High Schools

[Anonymous]

Then why are college designations for Arlington public schools so mediocre?

[Anonymous]

Proof?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OK, if but if you don't live in Upper NW and your academically advanced kid doesn't crack Walls, or maybe Banneker, attending DCPS for high school is generally a disaster. I'm not convinced that most of the kids at all the private schools in this area are douchebags. Many kids at private schools in this city would surely attend public if our public schools were on a par with the better programs in neighboring jurisdictions. My nieces and nephews in N VA seem to attend public high schools that are twice as good as J-R and Walls in every respect.

Please explain how you know your nieces high schools are all twice as good as JR and walls in every aspect. Claims like this when you haven’t set foot in all of these schools, had kids attend these schools, observed classes at theses schools is ridiculous. Generally what you are claiming is that your nieces’ schools have more UMC or rich kids at their schools.

I've lived in DC for many years working as an independent high school admissions counselor with clients from a variety of DMV schools, public and private. The kids I counsel from the better Arlington and MoCo high schools clearly have access to much better facilities, programming, ECs and advanced academic offerings than the J-R and Walls kids, other than perhaps those who pursue dual enrollment options at GWU.

From what I can tell, the biggest difference between DCPS and the suburban jurisdictions is that the latter don't tend to offer AP or IB Diploma courses for all. Suburban students must meet prerequisites to enroll in these courses, e.g. earning at least a B+ in an honors or "intensified" Pre-AP subject to qualify to enroll in the AP or IBD subject up the chain. What my DC clients tell me is that this still isn't the system in DCPS or, for the most part, in DC charter either. Almost anybody can waltz into a J-R AP class and admissions standards for Walls are undoubtedly falling.

This is not completely accurate. MCPS does not gate keep their honors and AP classes. Anyone can enroll. Yes, some of the facilities are better for sports partly because there is more land available for sports fields

[Anonymous]

I have a kid at Walls and am fine with the offering there. They have a fun urban lifestyle, a wonderful peer group, exposure to GW --and the track record of college acceptances is great. Super-intense schools might be good for some, but I like that my kid gets to be a kid, and also gets a good shot at future opportunities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a kid at Walls and am fine with the offering there. They have a fun urban lifestyle, a wonderful peer group, exposure to GW --and the track record of college acceptances is great. Super-intense schools might be good for some, but I like that my kid gets to be a kid, and also gets a good shot at future opportunities.

Sounds fabulous but hasn't been for us, not remotely. We've found Walls to be a very mixed bag for our strong humanities student. My kid's Walls English classes were chaotic and inadequate in 9th and 10th grade. The students read no classic lit whatsoever, there was no set curriculum, and they did little writing. The French teacher quit mid-year and wasn't replaced. The kids weren't even supervised in French for most of the spring or assigned any work. The facility just isn't too hot. The school orchestra is weak on a good day. We have up after the first year and headed to Strathmore/MCYO for a serious string ensemble. The track record of college acceptances doesn't seem half as good as it could be, given the talent pool in DC. Guidance counselors are overwhelmed and much less than helpful so we've hired our own (cha-ching, ouch). Walls doesn't teach AP Bio or Chem every year, so we've paid for AP STEM summer courses. The principal isn't too bright, dynamic or effective and the kids know it. I could go on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a kid at Walls and am fine with the offering there. They have a fun urban lifestyle, a wonderful peer group, exposure to GW --and the track record of college acceptances is great. Super-intense schools might be good for some, but I like that my kid gets to be a kid, and also gets a good shot at future opportunities.

Sounds fabulous but hasn't been for us, not remotely. We've found Walls to be a very mixed bag for our strong humanities student. My kid's Walls English classes were chaotic and inadequate in 9th and 10th grade. The students read no classic lit whatsoever, there was no set curriculum, and they did little writing. The French teacher quit mid-year and wasn't replaced. The kids weren't even supervised in French for most of the spring or assigned any work. The facility just isn't too hot. The school orchestra is weak on a good day. We have up after the first year and headed to Strathmore/MCYO for a serious string ensemble. The track record of college acceptances doesn't seem half as good as it could be, given the talent pool in DC. Guidance counselors are overwhelmed and much less than helpful so we've hired our own (cha-ching, ouch). Walls doesn't teach AP Bio or Chem every year, so we've paid for AP STEM summer courses. The principal isn't too bright, dynamic or effective and the kids know it. I could go on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a kid at Walls and am fine with the offering there. They have a fun urban lifestyle, a wonderful peer group, exposure to GW --and the track record of college acceptances is great. Super-intense schools might be good for some, but I like that my kid gets to be a kid, and also gets a good shot at future opportunities.

Sounds fabulous but hasn't been for us, not remotely. We've found Walls to be a very mixed bag for our strong humanities student. My kid's Walls English classes were chaotic and inadequate in 9th and 10th grade. The students read no classic lit whatsoever, there was no set curriculum, and they did little writing. The French teacher quit mid-year and wasn't replaced. The kids weren't even supervised in French for most of the spring or assigned any work. The facility just isn't too hot. The school orchestra is weak on a good day. We have up after the first year and headed to Strathmore/MCYO for a serious string ensemble. The track record of college acceptances doesn't seem half as good as it could be, given the talent pool in DC. Guidance counselors are overwhelmed and much less than helpful so we've hired our own (cha-ching, ouch). Walls doesn't teach AP Bio or Chem every year, so we've paid for AP STEM summer courses. The principal isn't too bright, dynamic or effective and the kids know it. I could go on.

AP Bio is offered every year now. What year did you kid graduate because no French teacher has quit mid year in the past ten years. Two French teachers left the summer of the pandemic. They had French teachers for the spring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a kid at Walls and am fine with the offering there. They have a fun urban lifestyle, a wonderful peer group, exposure to GW --and the track record of college acceptances is great. Super-intense schools might be good for some, but I like that my kid gets to be a kid, and also gets a good shot at future opportunities.

Sounds fabulous but hasn't been for us, not remotely. We've found Walls to be a very mixed bag for our strong humanities student. My kid's Walls English classes were chaotic and inadequate in 9th and 10th grade. The students read no classic lit whatsoever, there was no set curriculum, and they did little writing. The French teacher quit mid-year and wasn't replaced. The kids weren't even supervised in French for most of the spring or assigned any work. The facility just isn't too hot. The school orchestra is weak on a good day. We have up after the first year and headed to Strathmore/MCYO for a serious string ensemble. The track record of college acceptances doesn't seem half as good as it could be, given the talent pool in DC. Guidance counselors are overwhelmed and much less than helpful so we've hired our own (cha-ching, ouch). Walls doesn't teach AP Bio or Chem every year, so we've paid for AP STEM summer courses. The principal isn't too bright, dynamic or effective and the kids know it. I could go on.

Please do.

[Anonymous]

I’m not convinced that Bio is going to be at taught at Walls every year going forward. Maybe. Admins promise this and that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OK, if but if you don't live in Upper NW and your academically advanced kid doesn't crack Walls, or maybe Banneker, attending DCPS for high school is generally a disaster. I'm not convinced that most of the kids at all the private schools in this area are douchebags. Many kids at private schools in this city would surely attend public if our public schools were on a par with the better programs in neighboring jurisdictions. My nieces and nephews in N VA seem to attend public high schools that are twice as good as J-R and Walls in every respect.

Please explain how you know your nieces high schools are all twice as good as JR and walls in every aspect. Claims like this when you haven’t set foot in all of these schools, had kids attend these schools, observed classes at theses schools is ridiculous. Generally what you are claiming is that your nieces’ schools have more UMC or rich kids at their schools.

I've lived in DC for many years working as an independent high school admissions counselor with clients from a variety of DMV schools, public and private. The kids I counsel from the better Arlington and MoCo high schools clearly have access to much better facilities, programming, ECs and advanced academic offerings than the J-R and Walls kids, other than perhaps those who pursue dual enrollment options at GWU.

From what I can tell, the biggest difference between DCPS and the suburban jurisdictions is that the latter don't tend to offer AP or IB Diploma courses for all. Suburban students must meet prerequisites to enroll in these courses, e.g. earning at least a B+ in an honors or "intensified" Pre-AP subject to qualify to enroll in the AP or IBD subject up the chain. What my DC clients tell me is that this still isn't the system in DCPS or, for the most part, in DC charter either. Almost anybody can waltz into a J-R AP class and admissions standards for Walls are undoubtedly falling.

This is not completely accurate. MCPS does not gate keep their honors and AP classes. Anyone can enroll. Yes, some of the facilities are better for sports partly because there is more land available for sports fields

Oh right, MoCo doesn't have AP classes where anybody has to clear prerequisite bars to handle the work. Let's also pretend that MD doesn't have a law on GT ed, or that the county doesn't run test-in elementary school GT programs, or middle school compacted math, or free daily instrumental music lessons in public schools from 4th grade to supply Strathmore youth ensembles with top talent. We could also try to wish away MoCo's high-octane test-in high school programs for International Baccalaureate (BCC and Richard Montgomery) and math and communication arts (Montgomery Blair). But, hey, Walls is just as good, all that student stratification.

[Anonymous]

It's true that DCPS doesn't have the capacity of MoCo to nurture talent. Not even close. But there are still many top students in DC public schools, the type who would have been on the GT track at MoCo from a young age, who eventually make their way to Walls each year. These students are better than the program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's true that DCPS doesn't have the capacity of MoCo to nurture talent. Not even close. But there are still many top students in DC public schools, the type who would have been on the GT track at MoCo from a young age, who eventually make their way to Walls each year. These students are better than the program.

I’m a university professor in the region, and the Walls students I’ve had- here, at my previous job, and in grad school when I was teaching- were indistinguishable from other prep school products in a good way. One of my stops was an application only program- we only got juniors who maintained a certain GPA and had the prerequisites- so I think generally speaking if your kids are at Walls they’ll be fine.

Other schools never rose to my attention and haven’t yet, except one Dunbar student who was so bad it has become a thing of legend in the department.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's true that DCPS doesn't have the capacity of MoCo to nurture talent. Not even close. But there are still many top students in DC public schools, the type who would have been on the GT track at MoCo from a young age, who eventually make their way to Walls each year. These students are better than the program.

Maybe in the past but not now without test in and the opaque admission process.

It’s no longer about merit

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OK, if but if you don't live in Upper NW and your academically advanced kid doesn't crack Walls, or maybe Banneker, attending DCPS for high school is generally a disaster. I'm not convinced that most of the kids at all the private schools in this area are douchebags. Many kids at private schools in this city would surely attend public if our public schools were on a par with the better programs in neighboring jurisdictions. My nieces and nephews in N VA seem to attend public high schools that are twice as good as J-R and Walls in every respect.

Please explain how you know your nieces high schools are all twice as good as JR and walls in every aspect. Claims like this when you haven’t set foot in all of these schools, had kids attend these schools, observed classes at theses schools is ridiculous. Generally what you are claiming is that your nieces’ schools have more UMC or rich kids at their schools.

I've lived in DC for many years working as an independent high school admissions counselor with clients from a variety of DMV schools, public and private. The kids I counsel from the better Arlington and MoCo high schools clearly have access to much better facilities, programming, ECs and advanced academic offerings than the J-R and Walls kids, other than perhaps those who pursue dual enrollment options at GWU.

From what I can tell, the biggest difference between DCPS and the suburban jurisdictions is that the latter don't tend to offer AP or IB Diploma courses for all. Suburban students must meet prerequisites to enroll in these courses, e.g. earning at least a B+ in an honors or "intensified" Pre-AP subject to qualify to enroll in the AP or IBD subject up the chain. What my DC clients tell me is that this still isn't the system in DCPS or, for the most part, in DC charter either. Almost anybody can waltz into a J-R AP class and admissions standards for Walls are undoubtedly falling.

This is not completely accurate. MCPS does not gate keep their honors and AP classes. Anyone can enroll. Yes, some of the facilities are better for sports partly because there is more land available for sports fields

Oh right, MoCo doesn't have AP classes where anybody has to clear prerequisite bars to handle the work. Let's also pretend that MD doesn't have a law on GT ed, or that the county doesn't run test-in elementary school GT programs, or middle school compacted math, or free daily instrumental music lessons in public schools from 4th grade to supply Strathmore youth ensembles with top talent. We could also try to wish away MoCo's high-octane test-in high school programs for International Baccalaureate (BCC and Richard Montgomery) and math and communication arts (Montgomery Blair). But, hey, Walls is just as good, all that student stratification.

What is your problem? I teach in MCPS and was trying to correct some misinformation. Obviously Walls is not as strong as MCPS magnets but it is a good alternative to MCPS comprehensive high schools. And I’m impressed how Walls students are so comfortable navigating the city. Their independence is off the charts and has to count for something

[Anonymous]

Not buying above. I used to teach BCC International Baccalaureate humanities classes (not technically a magnet program) and have done volunteer work at Walls. From what I've observed, IBD BCC is head and shoulders above Walls academically. For example, Walls doesn't teach languages past the AP level while BCC does in half a dozen languages and BCC's IBD writing classes offer maybe triple the rigor of those at Walls. DMV teens can become independent without DCPS chaos and the obsession with equity vs. achievement.