Reply to MacArthur feeder panic

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]But suburban high schools tend to have much better facilities than we have in DC.  They also offer test-in school-within-a-school programs in many cases, e.g. well-established International Baccalaureate programs.  They have partnerships with vocational/career high schools for enrichment so students in academic programs can access hands-on classes. The big high schools often teach half a dozen language to AP level and offer a vast array of strong extra-curriculars.'

I'd be OK with a giant HS in the District it offered all that![/quote]

Research says a 800 student school, with a medium array of extracurriculars but with a community feel, results in a better high school experience than huge size and a "vast array" of extracurriculars.

But huge is cheaper, so that's what happens.[/quote]

Whose research?  There are many obvious reasons to go with a large high school. We have suburban friends whose public-school teens study languages not taught at the advanced level in DCPC or DCPS (Russian, Korean, Portuguese, Arabic and more). These kids can take APs not taught in DC public schools because there's a critical mass of schools in these schools to handle the subjects, e.g. all 4 AP Physics exams.  They can also play in fine orchestras and bands or perform in serious productions at school without having to attend a high school for the arts with middling academics like Duke Ellington to do it.  Many of these students are enrolled in school-within-a-school academic magnet programs with a community feel, e.g. the IB Diploma programs at Richard Montgomery, Bethesda Chevy Chase and Washington-Lee, or the stellar Blair Montgomery magnets (one for humanities, the other for STEM).

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Ellington is leagues above any DMV school if you have a kid serious about the Arts and is looking to make a professional career from it.

I don’t hear of anyone much caring about the academics of LaGuardia or other notable performing arts high schools.  Similarly, nobody much cares about the academics of sports academy high schools churning out pro and D1 athletes.

Nobody who plans to make a career of music (outside of popular music) just plays in their public HS orchestra.  They all play for non-HS competitive youth orchestras.

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Come on, there's no shortage of evidence that many if not most Ellington grads struggle as adults.  I'd much rather have my serious-about-the-arts kids playing at Strathmore in MCYO (4th year for the eldest, 1st year for younger sib) while attending a public school with good facilities and serious academics, however large.

We bailed on DCPS after Deal. I'd kill for a high octane IB Diploma program in DC that I had access to, like in MoCo or VA. It wouldn't trouble me in the least that most of the other students in the school wouldn't be taking the full IB. [/quote]

You bailed so your opinion is not welcome here or illustrative of anything other than the constant, wearying insecurity and maximizing of DCUM parents. [/quote]

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