Reply to BASIS DC to open in 2012-2013

Forum Index » DC Public and Public Charter Schools

Reply to "BASIS DC to open in 2012-2013"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Wilson has a math / science academy that just took first in the region in the FIRST robotics competition.  Visit their web page. This is a BIG deal.  Those kids are going straight to MIT or any other school of their choosing. Most schools in the city have chess club.  Latin high school students finished first in many categories of the city INTEL Science Fair (that feeds Siemens).  Walls swept the grand prize there.  All of these schools have honors and AP classes in math/science.  I know children who have left MoCo precisely because the focus was 'acceleration, acceleration', but they kind of felt like their child was a cog.  I think both urban and suburban schools have a lot to offer, but let's not just write off a whole group of schools so quickly.[/quote]

Yes, there are some neo science stars at Wilson, but since almost any kid can wander into said academy, it's hardly about to start feeding a cohort of kids to MIT.  My husband is involved in the Metro area MIT grad community and says that he's concerned that Latin, Deal and Wilson don't exactly knock themselves out to cultivate talent or push top kids (when did a kid last get in?).  And nobody goes straight to the top school of their choosing these days, even if they take 8 or 9 AP tests, half sciences, and get all 5s, not with MIT and Cal Tech admitting less than 10%, all science/math whizzes.  I've seen Blair magnet and TJ kids get into Harvard yet be rejected by a number of other schools (Stanford, Princeton, Yale etc.).  You hear this sort of thing a lot from Wilson parents, but their logic is faulty on several levels.  Parents tend to assume that coming from a DC public school entails getting a break from Ivies, but that's no longer the case, even for low SES minority kids.  Too many kids applying, double the number just a decade ago.  Ivies now reject 3/4 of HS valedictorians.  Acceleration certainly isn't what a lot of kids want or need, but at least in Mo. Co. there's the option and it's serious.

[/quote]
 I am not sure how your friend is basing a claim about Latin on a first graduating class (validity?).  Wilson has great college placement from what I've seen.  I would not consider Walls a math and science school, thought it does not seem like their offerings there are shabby.  Seems more liberal arts to me.  Anyhow, you seem very clear on what you are looking for and seem to have found the right place for your kid based on that.  Does Blair have a straight to MIT track and great yearly placement there? It sounds like that is what you are interested in; good luck![/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