Judge my lottery list for MS

[Anonymous]

We know DCI 9th and 10th graders who work a couple years ahead in math and are in the most advanced language classes for their cohorts who weren't so much as offered interviews to Walls in 8th grade. They've stuck with DCI because their by-right high schools are disastrous, they've failed to lottery into the original Latin multiple times and their parents can't afford privates and don't want to move. As far as I know, they're not still at DCI because they were eager to stay. This is what happens in a city without full-fledged academic HS magnet schools like MoCo, NYC, Boston, San Fran, Chicago etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We know DCI 9th and 10th graders who work a couple years ahead in math and are in the most advanced language classes for their cohorts who weren't so much as offered interviews to Walls in 8th grade. They've stuck with DCI because their by-right high schools are disastrous, they've failed to lottery into the original Latin multiple times and their parents can't afford privates and don't want to move. As far as I know, they're not still at DCI because they were eager to stay. This is what happens in a city without full-fledged academic HS magnet schools like MoCo, NYC, Boston, San Fran, Chicago etc.

We know families who are happy with DCI. We know of a number of families who actually did have options and got into Walls and chose not to go.

If you know families whose kids did not make the cut, that’s too bad for the kids.

But let’s not pretend that these families don’t have options. Yes they do but they prioritize staying in the city more than moving. They think DCI is good enough not to move or else would. They choose not to go to their IB school. They choose not to lottery into any other school in the city.

Everyone has choices. Let’s not pretend otherwise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We know DCI 9th and 10th graders who work a couple years ahead in math and are in the most advanced language classes for their cohorts who weren't so much as offered interviews to Walls in 8th grade. They've stuck with DCI because their by-right high schools are disastrous, they've failed to lottery into the original Latin multiple times and their parents can't afford privates and don't want to move. As far as I know, they're not still at DCI because they were eager to stay. This is what happens in a city without full-fledged academic HS magnet schools like MoCo, NYC, Boston, San Fran, Chicago etc.

Not happy at DCI, play lottery for Banneker, McKinley, Truth, and there are more options.

Let others who are very interested have the spot.

No one is forcing these families to stay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a stretch to say that social studies is tracked by language at DCI. The truth is that few DCI students coming up from the ES feeders have experienced true language immersion. What they got down the chain was one-way immersion, with kids learning the language only from teachers, not from peers (particularly for French and Chinese).

A school system can't do language immersion well without good cohorts of native speakers. Tracked DCI immersion social studies model sounds fantastic, but it's not.

DCI does track for MS English, but only to weed out students who work far behind grade level. English instruction in the DCI MS tends to be weak, and it's not great in the HS either.

Come on, DCI has such a high retention rate because other options are worse. DCI has done well in adding math challenge in the last few years; I'll give you that.

Come on, you know very well that I’m speaking about spanish track where there are tons of native speakers from the feeders and yes, it does immersion well and the track social studies is good.

Nope, know of 5 families whose kids all declined Walls. They had options and are staying. Plus easy enough to move to the burbs or go private.

PP above offers a distorted picture. We know more than 5 DCI families, all from Ward 6, who would have leapt on Walls last year if they'd got a spot. A major reason that these kids would have left DCI is that they commute an hour one-way on public transportation to get to Walter Read. The commute to Walls is half as long and doesn't involve as many steps. The DCI schlep isn't uncommon for Cap Hill families shut out of BASIs and the Latins.

No way is it easy to move to the burbs or go private, far from it. It's not easy to pick up and leave if you've put down roots in DC over man years. We got into privates for HS but didn't get anywhere near the aid we needed, with one of us DOGE'd. Our story isn't uncommon.

Here is my analysis if you actually really know more than 5 families from ward 6 who did not get into Walls.

These kids either did not have a high enough GPA, did not have good teachers recommendations, or bombed the interview.

Or Walls has something against ward 6 families.

Guess which one is more plausible?

[Anonymous]

Right, bombed the Walls interview. My kid was given no more than 8 or 9 mins to talk. The private school interviews we did were 45 mins minimum. We’re OK with DCI but supplement because the writing instruction isn’t great and the language instruction (not for Spanish) is just OK. Forcing all the IBD students at DCI to take HL English is ridiculous, not normal for IB. We looked at McKinley but it seemed like a step down. You guys can claim that all of us have great options in DC public schools for MS and HS without that being true.

[Anonymous]

Walls does not take huge numbers of students from Basis, Latin, or DCI — really any school other than Deal (and that is probably a function of class size). Not sure that these schools help that much with applying out for high school either. So there are lots of 8th grade charter school families with kids in the top half with good grades who gripe about this every year on dcum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Walls does not take huge numbers of students from Basis, Latin, or DCI — really any school other than Deal (and that is probably a function of class size). Not sure that these schools help that much with applying out for high school either. So there are lots of 8th grade charter school families with kids in the top half with good grades who gripe about this every year on dcum.

There are always a handful of kids from these schools who do choose Walls, but there isn't a huge upside anymore -- the college outcomes at BASIS, Latin and DCI aren't that different than Walls. So people are as desperate to go (we are at one of those charter and my kids already said he wants to stay through 12th). Whereas for kids from DCPS middle schools with terrible high schools, Walls and Banneker are an absolute lifeline.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Walls does not take huge numbers of students from Basis, Latin, or DCI — really any school other than Deal (and that is probably a function of class size). Not sure that these schools help that much with applying out for high school either. So there are lots of 8th grade charter school families with kids in the top half with good grades who gripe about this every year on dcum.

There are always a handful of kids from these schools who do choose Walls, but there isn't a huge upside anymore -- the college outcomes at BASIS, Latin and DCI aren't that different than Walls. So people are as desperate to go (we are at one of those charter and my kids already said he wants to stay through 12th). Whereas for kids from DCPS middle schools with terrible high schools, Walls and Banneker are an absolute lifeline.

THIS. College outcomes, college admissions, SAT averages, etc.. aren’t all that different.

I know 2 families at DCI whose kids got into Walls and declined. Both high performers at the school in highest math and language track. One kid love languages and is now on her 2nd language at the school in addition to being very involved in a power sport at the school. The other kid is into STEM and robotics. Both kids like DCI and have lots of friends and are involved in clubs also. Walls is not strong in math, science, languages, or sports. So what is the draw for these kids to leave the school they like and all their friends to start over in high school?

Families at Walls tells me that they have a good cohort of kids and less behavioral issues but that’s it. Nothing more substantial and dealing with DCPS is a mess. They also say the principal is not good and is just a puppet for central.

DCI has many tracks in high school and the high performers will be in the IB diploma track so the cohort won’t be any different. So why would they choose Walls?

These are the 2 families I know of and these families also tell me they know a few other families whose kid decline.

So it is not that no one gets in from the popular charters. It’s that these kids have choices and you need a very good reason to make a change if you are happy at your current school. Walls doesn’t offer that for these kids.

It’s the families from low performing DCPS middle schools and who have low performing high schools who are the ones who are desperate and the ones that need Walls. Lastly, it’s a good thing for all that these charters are retaining their high performers which leaves spots for the kids who don’t have any good options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Walls does not take huge numbers of students from Basis, Latin, or DCI — really any school other than Deal (and that is probably a function of class size). Not sure that these schools help that much with applying out for high school either. So there are lots of 8th grade charter school families with kids in the top half with good grades who gripe about this every year on dcum.

There are always a handful of kids from these schools who do choose Walls, but there isn't a huge upside anymore -- the college outcomes at BASIS, Latin and DCI aren't that different than Walls. So people are as desperate to go (we are at one of those charter and my kids already said he wants to stay through 12th). Whereas for kids from DCPS middle schools with terrible high schools, Walls and Banneker are an absolute lifeline.

THIS. College outcomes, college admissions, SAT averages, etc.. aren’t all that different.

I know 2 families at DCI whose kids got into Walls and declined. Both high performers at the school in highest math and language track. One kid love languages and is now on her 2nd language at the school in addition to being very involved in a power sport at the school. The other kid is into STEM and robotics. Both kids like DCI and have lots of friends and are involved in clubs also. Walls is not strong in math, science, languages, or sports. So what is the draw for these kids to leave the school they like and all their friends to start over in high school?

Families at Walls tells me that they have a good cohort of kids and less behavioral issues but that’s it. Nothing more substantial and dealing with DCPS is a mess. They also say the principal is not good and is just a puppet for central.

DCI has many tracks in high school and the high performers will be in the IB diploma track so the cohort won’t be any different. So why would they choose Walls?

These are the 2 families I know of and these families also tell me they know a few other families whose kid decline.

So it is not that no one gets in from the popular charters. It’s that these kids have choices and you need a very good reason to make a change if you are happy at your current school. Walls doesn’t offer that for these kids.

It’s the families from low performing DCPS middle schools and who have low performing high schools who are the ones who are desperate and the ones that need Walls. Lastly, it’s a good thing for all that these charters are retaining their high performers which leaves spots for the kids who don’t have any good options.

Ok. But there are lots that didn’t get in that are bummed about it.

[Anonymous]

IMHO, no DC charter MS parent, or student, need think in terms of it being "a good thing for all that these charters are retaining their high performers" because the process leaves spots for peers who don’t have a good public HS alternative. Political pressure to create more good options will only build if DC voters don't have them. If you want to be civic-minded in this game, you don't need to stay at Latin or DCI if your student would prefer Walls and got a spot there. You can organize to vote in DC pols who are serious about creating better options. We could really use more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:IMHO, no DC charter MS parent, or student, need think in terms of it being "a good thing for all that these charters are retaining their high performers" because the process leaves spots for peers who don’t have a good public HS alternative. Political pressure to create more good options will only build if DC voters don't have them. If you want to be civic-minded in this game, you don't need to stay at Latin or DCI if your student would prefer Walls and got a spot there. You can organize to vote in DC pols who are serious about creating better options. We could really use more.

But these families, the kids don’t prefer Walls and they don’t care about being political because they don’t need to. High school is a short time and they are not going to offer their time and energy for this when their kid is fine.

You need to get the families that are actually in DCPS to be political and vote for change. They are the ones affected not families above.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FWIW Latin’s accelerated math track is the same as St Anselm’s accelerated math track. Now if you had your kid do an algebra or geometry over the summer to accelerate further, they might handle it differently, but both would be very unhappy with you for doing it. And as far as I can tell, “only” doing geometry in 8th grade isn’t going to mean your kid can’t do STEM in college or for a career.

We looked at St. Anselms and passed, did not apply. We were not impressed and did not think it was worth the 40k plus for 7 years when that money could go towards college.

Our kid is at DCI and so far it’s been a good experience. We did get into a well known private talked more about on this board that we liked and applied to but no financial aid so passed.

We will see how middle school goes to assess staying for high school at DCI. Private for high school is on the table if needed.

No interest in Hardy, Deal, or high schools WOTP.

At DCI, you actually need to take the language of the language track you lottery in for. Spanish track has close to zero spots available for lottery kids at this point. Chinese has some. French is the best bet in terms of open lottery spots.

OK? It seems like this path isn't attractive or available to OP (she doesn't want Spanish). not seeing how this is at all helpful to the OP. Plently of people do like St. Anselms, Hardy, Deal and application high schools.

You don’t need to want spanish to go to DCI. Kids come in with no language background and you just take language 101 of whatever language you want.

Also helpful to hear about St Anselms. Privates are an available option to OP as in her post and she should know there are other better options with private.