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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Besides the middle school, I would also keep in mind the high school track in making your decision.  There been some major changes at Wilson with their honors for all which many parents are not happy about, and it’s deterring a number of parents from considering Wilson for HS now.[/quote]

True the change but if you looked at the amount of kids from the current Deal 8th grade class going there you know this quote about parents is bullshit.[/quote]
I am not the PP.  We were 100% Wilson for our rising straight A 8th grader at Deal but not any more. By 7th grade the differential between the low and high performing students is already large and increasing. Our child is unchallenged and bored, particularly in classes that have more than a few disruptive, low performing students. The thought of waiting until junior year for classes taught at a higher level for history, English, and science is absurd given that students at Wilson are years apart in grade-level performance. "Honors-for-All" is simply a gimmick but the likely consequences are real and harmful. I also worry about what other unannounced changes Principal Martin will implement to further dumb down and complicate the teaching at Wilson. The latest change going into effect this Fall is "Physics for All"--I am not kidding. At this point, I struggle whether it is ethical to send a high performing student to Wilson.

So in short what the PP said is not bullshit. High performing students will increasingly choose not to attend Wilson - it is easier to quietly not attend Wilson than it is to stand up to a [b]major[/b] curriculum change that has been wrapped up in the "equity" blanket by the Principal despite lots of recent academic research to the contrary.

And "Honors-for-All" sends a terrible message to the parents of high performing students in other parts of the city that are struggling to turnaround low performing high schools. Parents in those neighborhoods are watching what is happening to Wilson. Those schools will never attract high performing students (and their pro-education active parents who have the means to invest in schools) without tracking. So why are we driving the highest performing children out of the system? It's madness.

Just for the record, even though Deal is not perfect, we love it and the principal, and we happily will be sending our second child there.[/quote]

Agree about Wilson.  Good post.  DCPS cares about one thing and one thing only and that is closing the achievement gap.  So driving away the highest performing students will do that if the only ones left are average or below average.  The gap will be smaller.  Just watch the trend as more families choose not to go the Wilson route or jump ship after the first year.  Its inevitable and those that don’t believe it are in denial or just do not want to admit the truth.

But what really makes a good school is being able to meet the needs of ALL its students, not just focusing on the bottom students. DCPS fails miserably in that aspect.  [/quote]

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