Reply to Middle school after Brent?

Forum Index » DC Public and Public Charter Schools

Reply to "Middle school after Brent?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]We are a Brent family with our oldest in 2nd grade. I pay close attention (to the extent that I can) to all things middle school in DC. Here is our current thinking.

We are definitely interested in St Anselm's (and maybe St Peters) for our son (we're Catholic), and we'll certainly apply for some charters (Latin and Two Rivers in particular). But we are also very comfortable with starting out at Jefferson if admissions/finances/desires dictate that it is the best option for us. Then we'd play it by ear to see if Jefferson is working for our child. If it didn't work, we'd explore other options including moving. I have been very impressed by the administration at Jefferson, and the experiences of most of the Brent/Maury families who have/are attending Jefferson (yes, they exist) has been very positive. And if there is a considerable movement of Brent kids to Jefferson by the time our son reaches 6th, we might consider it as our primary option.

If you really don't like any uncertainty with regard to schooling, yes, you might be better off applying to private now. CHDS seems like a lovely school. But it doesn't actually seem better than Brent to me, particularly for $30K a year.[/quote]

We are in the exact same boat. Not counting on Jefferson but know the next 3 years could bring a lot of change. I don't think it will be Deal but could it be closer to Hardy than SH?[/quote]

Not even close. 99% of the kids are low income.  Hardy as a sizable middler and upper class cohort.[/quote]

I don't think that thinking about it as a possible Hardy (or Deal or Stuart Hobson) is necessarily the right way to approach it. Jefferson is its own entity with its own history and culture, although, yes, it is adding history constantly and the culture could change rapidly if demographics change. Some of the questions I would ask when considering it are: 1) Will my child grow academically and socially while there? 2) Will he or she learn the skills they need to succeed at a range of possible high schools? 3) Will they be able to make friends and be reasonably happy (given that they are middle schoolers)? 4) Are there extracurricular activities that they would enjoy/be passionate about? 5) Will they be safe physically and emotionally?

I don't think test scores are going to look great even in 3 or 4 years although they may look better. But I disagree with the common philosophy on this forum that "good" schools are the ones with good test scores and schools with bad test scores are "bad" schools. It's so tied into demographics, and the value add of a particular school isn't always clear.

But, yes, as a prospective Jefferson family, my spouse and I are looking at test scores. But we are paying even more attention to the experiences of families we know/meet with kids there. And that is looking pretty good.[/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