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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Everyone's experience is personal and anecdotal.  So take theirs (and mine) with a grain of salt.

I have a 9th grader at JRHS.  This year has been fine.  Not great.  Not horrible.  Fine.  Classes are not really challenging and lots of kids with a wide range of abilities (some super smart, some couldn't care less, some really behind).  But lots of people saying that will change once they can take APs (plan is to take 3-4 next year), and have been some definite bright spots, including the academies (child only in one, of course, but several of the academies seems really good).  Went without a teacher in one class for several months, but that has been fixed.  Has been loving the huge range of activities and has been trying lots of them.  A real year of exploring interests and learning about themselves.

I have to believe that with the pandemic lots of schools are struggling to catch kids up and if your kid is stronger academically, they will feel like their needs are not being met.  I don't think JRHS is unique in that regard (and again all anecdotal, but friends with other 9th graders in public and private in DC area seem to confirm some of that).  And I do appreciate that my child is really learning to advocate for themselves and see where gaps are in their learning and fill them.  If your child is prone to get lost among the masses or need a lot of guidance, I could see how you might be hesitant to send your child to JRHS (or any large HS).  But if they take advantage of what is offered and are or can learn to be a self-starter, then the school could, in principle, be a great place, especially given that life is not going to hand you things on a spoon.[/quote]

This a great, balanced post, fair and thoughtful assessment, thanks, PP.
[/quote]

I agree this is a fair and balanced post (I had one graduate from J-R when it was Wilson and I have one there now).  I would note that it is unlikely that your child can take 3-4 AP classes as a sophomore (1-2 is much more likely...maybe 3 but that's pretty rare).  Even so, the rigor increases a lot between 9th and 10th.  A lot.  Plus, there are some very good academic clubs if your child is so inclined (mock trial, the Beacon, debate, robotics)....these clubs are really, really excellent and are also a lot of work.  The point being that a high-achieving student can get a lot out of J-R if they want to (and can completely avoid trouble).  The overcrowding is the one thing that is unavoidable and the teacher vacancies are problematic too...but the new high school should hopefully help a bit with the overcrowding.[/quote]

I would nuance this a little with respect to APs...you can take that many as a Sophomore if you are at AP Calc in Math, and at AP level in a foreign language and then you take 2 elective APs.  However, I would not recommend taking elective APs just for the heck of it.  Colleges don't care that you took AP Psych (unless you plan to major in Psych) or AP Human Geography or any of the random elective APs if you did it simply for the GPA / class rank bump.  If your student is really interested in them and/or plans to possibly major in them at college...go for it.[/quote]

I might disagree with this. Since JR still ranks students, the grade bump alone is important.[/quote]

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