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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP, you're going to have a bunch of non-Black people responding to what they think the experiences of Black students are.  [/quote]

This feels potentially true (white Maury parent here).  Hope we are wrong though and you get helpful answers.  In case not and in case helpful, my kid in 5th has a diverse friend group and when I see them interact in their peer group it all seems focused on their common interests, senses of humor, etc.  From what I can see, their experience isn't an outlier.  The teaching staff is also diverse.  And I'm not sure about going on to Eliot Hine MS but almost all the kids in my kid's class are going there.  Hope parents with direct experiences respond and this helps bump up your question![/quote]

Is this really true? My kid is in 5th grade at a very similar school in many respects and I am actually struck by how racially divided friend groups are — AA and white/otherr. There are a few UMC Black kids who straddle both groups and who also have their own little social group, but otherwise it is pretty divided along racial and economic lines. Now it’s a friendly school and all of the kids seem to get along fine. There are plenty of mixed race bigger parties. But smaller parties/sleepovers? Pretty divided.

I find it really noticeable because I went to a diverse school growing up, but where race and economics were not so linked and there was not similar racial separation. Because the UMC Black kids are part of both groups, I think it’s SES/class primarily driving it, but it’s apparent.

Anyway, genuinely curious if this is less true at Maury? [/quote]

PP here - yes, it’s true. I mean, it’s my one kid’s experience and I can’t speak for others. Also saw another PP’s statement that experienced black teachers have all retired - that’s false.

FWIW, I’m white and the [b]Eliot Hine boosterism and guilting[/b] is possibly my least favorite part of Maury too.[/quote]

So what exactly is the impetus there if not to improve school buy-in and keep peer groups together? It reads as if other parents are pushing this option on other parents while keeping their secret great middle school to themselves.. but there is no other decent option other than trying to transfer into SH, or lottery out where everyone has the same possibility more or less.[/quote]

[b]SH is equally as bad.[/b] If you want to improve school buy-in, push to improve the school. Guilting people into making an objectively poor choice for their children doesn’t work.

Also the vast majority are secretly playing the lottery while pretending EH or SH is their first choice. [/quote]

Are you able to share any datapoints on this? I spoke with a large group of current students at JO Wilsons camp fair in mid Feb(they had a table amongst themselves), and they absolutely waxed poetic about the school while being transparent about some of the issues the school deals with. Some of the kids gave mediocre reviews about the elementary schools they came from, but the SH experience they have seemed to adore. The kids appeared to be 7th/8th graders. SH seems like a fairly solid option currently.[/quote]

I know dozens and dozens of families both recently and from years passed who moved to get out of Stuart Hobson and Eliot Hine. It was mostly the weak academics but also the nonexistent clubs and activities offered at other dc schools. Once they moved to the suburbs or charters they found out just how behind they were from other kids.

A few years ago a close friend of mine had a child who was literally failing out of Basis. They withdrew from basis and went to Stuart Hobson where they got excellent grades and ended up at Walls. The kid was on cloud 9 because there was zero homework and zero accountability.

Black and brown kids can’t roll the dice on a bad school and hope for the best down the road. [/quote]

SH and EH are not bad. They are just as good as any other middle school but with cultural differences. I understand the reasons why black UMC parents avoid these schools but I don’t think they are necessarily correct about the quality of school and academics. [/quote]

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