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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]
We must have attended different open houses because I got clear answers about how placement happens. In addition to the JA teachers speaking to my current 5th grader's teachers and evaluating his classroom work and test scores, there is also a pre-school orientation week where - in addition to social activities so kids get to know each other - there are assessments for math, writing and reading. [b]Both of these are combined to place students on a track that is appropriate for them academically.[/b] There are also points during the school year where students can be placed in more advanced classes based on how they are doing academically in their different classes. This all sounded like a thorough plan that will evaluate each student and meet them where they are. Also the current parents who spoke at the open house agreed that each of their students was placed at an appropriate level, either at the start of the year or later on when they showed they were working at a higher level.[/quote]

Me again (who wrote the above). I wanted to add that this came from the principal, Greg Dohmann.[/quote]

Is this policy on academic tracking/assessments written down somewhere I can find it?  I went to the JA open house where parents were given no such info.  We were told that there are no academic "tracks" in DCPS middle school but that "appropriate differentiation" is offered.  Do I understand that my UMC white kid Brent grad would likely be placed in a range of core classes where UMC white Brent kids amalgamate not just in 6th grade, but in 7th and 8th?

The information you're giving us about academic tracks at JA doesn't jive with what I've heard about the program from Brent parents who tried it and bailed in the last couple of years, at least one in the middle of 6th grade.  I've been told that their white kids were the only one in homerooms where the rest of the students were AA.  Did the policy on placements/tracking change for this school year?

What happens to a kid who works below grade level in math and far above in reading and writing like mine?  Admins wouldn't tell me.

Not trying to give you a hard time, PP.[/quote]

This is getting a little ridiculous now.

You wanted information about how kids are placed in advanced classes at Jefferson. PP provided detailed information on this, the type of information you had requested. But that wasn't good enough. Now you want to see this policy in writing. (Is there any public school in DC that has such a written "policy"? If so, could you please point us to an example?)

Not only that, but, out of the blue, you decided to bring up race. On this topic, I can't speak for how things might have been at Jefferson years ago, but I can tell you that today there are, in fact, [i]several [/i]white kids in my kid's homeroom.

Are the only parents you're discussing the school with those "bailed"? If so, then of course you're going to be receiving mostly negative input. For a more balanced view, you should also talk with current parents, as well as parents of kids who completed all three years there. There are, for example, kids who went from Brent to Jefferson to selective high schools like Walls and Banneker.

I want to give you the benefit of the doubt that you are truly interested in learning about the school and that you're not just here to talk down about it. I'm curious though. If you are truly considering the school, then there must be something you like about it to even have it on your radar. What if any aspects of the school do you find positive?

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