Anonymous wrote:Yes, the academies are essentially a joke. They seem to exist to give false hope of academic excellence to middle school families considering leaving DCPS for good. But higher level AP math and science offer real rigor at J-R.

Transplant_1 wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, the academies are essentially a joke. They seem to exist to give false hope of academic excellence to middle school families considering leaving DCPS for good. But higher level AP math and science offer real rigor at J-R.

From the one tour I took, it seemed like the academies is a way to keep hope / on-track kids that may not do well in school - to create a community of like-minded kids to support each other. Most of the tour guides were from the hospitatlity track, and that is what I picked up. And I'm glad that is there, and seems like a good thing. But, what about for preparing for highly selective colleges - esp. the writing skills needed.

Anonymous wrote:

Transplant_1 wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, the academies are essentially a joke. They seem to exist to give false hope of academic excellence to middle school families considering leaving DCPS for good. But higher level AP math and science offer real rigor at J-R.

From the one tour I took, it seemed like the academies is a way to keep hope / on-track kids that may not do well in school - to create a community of like-minded kids to support each other. Most of the tour guides were from the hospitatlity track, and that is what I picked up. And I'm glad that is there, and seems like a good thing. But, what about for preparing for highly selective colleges - esp. the writing skills needed.

There are some fine writing teachers at J-R, and a minority that hardly gives a darn. Writing instruction is hit and miss in DCPS high schools, including at the AP level. The J-R academies are neither here nor there where writing instruction goes. It's not unusual for parents shooting for highly selective colleges to pay for weekly writing tutors and/or to enroll kids in summer writing camps etc. If you want serious writing you pay the tutors, move to the burbs, or pay for a private/parochial. Best to face reality early and get on with it.

Anonymous wrote:I would've been OK with Walls pre Covid, under the sharp, dynamic previous head, when an entrance exam was used to screen students and applicants had to submit a standardized test score (PARCC, PSAT, SAT). Post Covid, Walls obviously isn't the school it used to be. Neighbors and friends with sophomore, juniors and seniors describe serious problems like no subs, weak ad hoc humanities instruction (whatever individual teachers want it to be) and teachers quitting mid-year and not being replaced until the fall. We rejected our Walls offer for a private this spring.

Anonymous wrote:Academies have become popular as a way to create smaller learning communities within a larger school. They also are supposed to help kids connect the dots between school and actual careers. They have had mixed success in DCPS.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Academies have become popular as a way to create smaller learning communities within a larger school. They also are supposed to help kids connect the dots between school and actual careers. They have had mixed success in DCPS.

Academies are pseudo vocational tracks. That is why they are rigid and there are no AP courses in many.

The focus at JR is shifting from a school to prepare kids for college to a school to help lower achieving kids to find careers, many of which do not need college.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Transplant_1 wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, the academies are essentially a joke. They seem to exist to give false hope of academic excellence to middle school families considering leaving DCPS for good. But higher level AP math and science offer real rigor at J-R.

From the one tour I took, it seemed like the academies is a way to keep hope / on-track kids that may not do well in school - to create a community of like-minded kids to support each other. Most of the tour guides were from the hospitatlity track, and that is what I picked up. And I'm glad that is there, and seems like a good thing. But, what about for preparing for highly selective colleges - esp. the writing skills needed.

There are some fine writing teachers at J-R, and a minority that hardly gives a darn. Writing instruction is hit and miss in DCPS high schools, including at the AP level. The J-R academies are neither here nor there where writing instruction goes. It's not unusual for parents shooting for highly selective colleges to pay for weekly writing tutors and/or to enroll kids in summer writing camps etc. If you want serious writing you pay the tutors, move to the burbs, or pay for a private/parochial. Best to face reality early and get on with it.

Honestly, the JR kids that are going to the top schools are the least likely to need writing tutors or attend writing summer camps. These kids are debate champs, editors of The Beacon student newspaper, etc where they are writing all the time. They also come from well educated households.

Anonymous wrote:OK, but would DCPS furnished writing instruction get an above average high school senior who isn't particularly a self-starter academically but might have a "hook" at elite colleges (sport, legacy, music)? The terrain doesn't sound all that promising unless the family pays for the writing support.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Academies have become popular as a way to create smaller learning communities within a larger school. They also are supposed to help kids connect the dots between school and actual careers. They have had mixed success in DCPS.

Academies are pseudo vocational tracks. That is why they are rigid and there are no AP courses in many.

The focus at JR is shifting from a school to prepare kids for college to a school to help lower achieving kids to find careers, many of which do not need college.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Academies have become popular as a way to create smaller learning communities within a larger school. They also are supposed to help kids connect the dots between school and actual careers. They have had mixed success in DCPS.

Academies are pseudo vocational tracks. That is why they are rigid and there are no AP courses in many.

The focus at JR is shifting from a school to prepare kids for college to a school to help lower achieving kids to find careers, many of which do not need college.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Six, eight, ten years ago, Walls routinely produced 4, 5 even half a dozen National Merit Scholarship semifinalists annually. Here in the 2020s, there are zero some years.

So, here is the list of schools in DC and number of 2023 NMSFs:

Maret - 1
JR - 1
NCS - 2
STA - 3
GDS - 4
Sidwell -5
Walls - 6 (I am not NMSF...but I think that is 1/2 a dozen)

Look at the Presidential Scholars as well which is based primarily on SAT Scores and Walls has the most in DC.



Why do people post demonstrably false information?

This is a terrible look for JR! That school has nearly 5 times the number of students as Walls and it only produced ONE (1) NMSF?!?

Sad.

How is it a terrible look for JR but not Maret or NCS? Number of kids that attend is irrelevant when you have schools with cultivated student bodies. I am not saying it couldn’t be better…but terrible? Also, JR is about 3.3x larger.