Reply to Capitol Hill Middle School and High School situation

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]CH schools have been remarkably successful in getting UMC families to lower their academic standards.  While in a CH ES I felt almost ashamed to be asking about whether my kids could receive above grade-level work.  Those sorts of questions made me feel like some sort of a racist tiger parent who didn't care about diversity, the struggling kids, or the achievement gap. [b] In the NW schools the idea that you would accept "grade level" work for your child is embarrassing, because good parents don't accept that if their child is capable of more. [/b] CH schools tend to offer more diversity and less academic rigor.  The NW schools tend to offer less diversity and more opportunities for academic advancement.  It might not NEED to be a trade-off, but our reality in DC is that it is, and it is no surprise that CH families peel off as they get into later elementary, and definitely for MS if they don't get into the charters, as priorities shift.  If families are honest with themselves that they value diversity over rigor, then that is a perfectly respectable choice to make. But they shouldn't fool themselves into thinking they are getting the same academic experience that they would get elsewhere, and they shouldn't shame the families that don't have the same priorities.  I think that the PP who said that the families who accept the CH MS situation provide DCPS the cover that they need not to do anything is spot-on.   [/quote]

I see what you're getting at but think you're making something of a sweeping statement. The frustrating reality is that the academic challenge situation varies widely from DCPS school to school in a city without a law on Gifted and Talented education. MD and VA have mandated GT education since the 80s while DC still doesn't.

Pre-Covid, our CH ES was prepared to teach math 1-2 years ahead of grade level to upper grades students, and not just on a computer program. A few 5th graders were being pulled out every year to learn 7th grade math. That certainly wasn't the story at the JKLM school our oldest attended briefly several years ago.

Agree about DCPS getting the cover they need not to provide appropriate middle school challenge from the small number of CH parents who enroll at JA, EH or SH.[/quote]

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