Reply to SWW Principal Removed

Forum Index » DC Public and Public Charter Schools

Reply to "SWW Principal Removed - Reason Unknown"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I was interested in the Banneker question but crickets. No one on DCUM is willing to send their kid to Banneker I guess. [/quote]

I guess you missed what I posted.  Banneker's 0% IEP rate is equally concerning. [/quote]

+1. Banneker has a lot of issues but somehow the focus is always on Walls. Not really sure why. Bannecker expels kids for the smallest thing. No extra support provided[/quote] That is how Banneker is designed. It is specifically meant to be a hard, incredibly rigorous school that promotes academic success but doesn’t accept excuses. Those who send their kids there know that up front and sign up for it - in fact those I know personally who sent their kids there see it as a benefit to the school, not a negative aspect. Not saying that is something I value (part of the reason none of my kids went to Banneker despite the fact two out of three of them likely would have gotten in), but that is why it doesn’t get the same critique.

As a parent of a Walls graduate, I also think part of it is the difference in the quality of education between Banneker and Walls. By any metric, and from those I know who graduated, Banneker is an excellent, academically challenging school that really showcases some of the best outcomes for students. Walls on the other hand is on the level of a higher end DCPS neighborhood school (I will use Wilson as my example as my younger two went/goes to Wilson) that has the ability to only admit students who already were succeeding and given other academic support, which makes the school look better then it really is.

While, in my experience, Walls’ English and history departments were consistently pretty solid (I would argue Wilson’s were also good, but more of a mixed bag in that while most teachers were reasonably good, there were some that were very poor which is why I’ll give this to Walls), the math, science, and foreign language departments were absolutely awful. I mean, I don’t think I’ve seen a school whose STEM or foreign language departments were as weak as Walls’ were (at the time). It felt like they solely brought in teachers who were near retirement and struggling to even teach any more. Wilson offered a far better math/science/foreign language education, and had far more options and opportunities for students.

Honestly, I think Walls should be disbanded. There might have been a time when it served a purpose, but right now what I took from my son’s time there was that we were sold on a scam idea that this was an academically acclaimed school that offered a level of education above that offered in neighborhood schools when, in reality, it felt like it only gained its accolades and success through being hyper-selective and targeting students who would have succeeded anywhere. And this is not just how I feel, I’ve had conversations with other ex-Walls parents that have similar beliefs. In fact, I think that it is telling that I know very few people who sent a second child to walls, most families I know sent their oldest to Walls but younger siblings went elsewhere.[/quote]

From what other parents are saying, the fact that it is designed to be “no excuses” does not speak to its unwillingness to provide legally mandated support for smart kids with IEPs.  Walls could say the exact same thing, it is an academically challenging school and kids that next extra just cannot cut it.  It does not sound persuasive to me under the law.

[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics