Reply to Please explain relevance of "OOB crowding" to the DCPS boundary review process

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Reply to "Please explain relevance of "OOB crowding" to the DCPS boundary review process"

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[quote=Anonymous]
  
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I would characterize your understanding of MS and HS in DC as limited and/or dated. Deal is no longer considered borderline by most WOTP parents. Hence the overcrowding. More and more WOTP families are choosing Wilson (again causing the crowding issue) and interest in School Without Walls continues to be high. Banneker has great scores but has not yet received a vote of confidence from WOTP families. Many chalk this up to racism but others point to low SAT scores. Finally, things are looking up for Hardy which, according to a recent post, is expecting an influx of in-boundary students. Personally, I'm really rooting for that school to succeed.
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OP here - on reflection I have heard good things about School Without Walls - fair point. Banneker I am unfamiliar. I just looked it up and it's 60% free lunch, yet 99% graduation and college attendance. That's some impressive value-added. I don't know enough to express any solid opinion on it. I'll just say that the free lunch number worries me and a school that gives "N/A" as the white percentage (presumably 99% black/hispanic?) does not meet my standards for diversity. Nor does a school that is 99% white non-hispanic, for the record.

When I say Deal and Wilson are "borderline yes", I know people IB for these schools who are considering moving to MoCo, Arlington, Fairfax (or paying private if that's an option for them). The public opinion ranking seems to be: Deal first, then Wilson, then Hardy. But no-one raves about any of them. It is more of a careful calculus that weighs school quality against commute time and urban amenities vs. suburban life, etc. Most people I know would prefer to live in DC, other things held equal, and they may be willing to compromise on schools in order to "stay urban".

But other things are not equal. I have never heard a single negative thing about the best MD and VA schools except "they're too rich/white", and people put up with crappy commutes and pay for expensive houses for the privilege of sending their kids there.

This is what I mean by borderline. Maybe it's not the best word choice as it suggests a more negative view than what I intend.  
  
I agree that I am outdated/uninformed about east-of-park schools, but I think this is a pretty fair assessment of where Hardy/Deal/Wilson stand in the eyes of most parents I talk to on this stuff.

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