Reply to Walter Reed transfer back on schedule for DCI

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]DCI could greatly simplify what it's doing by electing to become an "IB Diploma-only School." In that case, the curriculum would be streamlined with the goal of enabling all juniors and seniors to earn the full IB Diploma.

To earn the Diploma, students must achieve IB points pass total of at least 24-26 points on a 45-point scale.  To earn enough points, students must do reasonably well in the equivalent of 6 AP courses, a Theory of Knowledge Class (a combination of research methods, logic and philosophy), a Community Action Service (CAS) requirement, and researching and writing an IB Extended Essay (30-page dissertation). Full IB schools prepare most students to pass Higher Level IB (1-2 years beyond AP) IBD language exams.

This is the way the strongest suburban IB programs in this Metro area work. If an upper-class student demonstrates that she or he can't, or won't, do the work to earn the full Diploma over time, they are counseled out. The bar isn't actually set all that high to earn the full Diploma, but a student needs to be an industrious A or B student to pull it off.

No public school can do a good job being everything to every sort of student who might rock in. Give the polyglots, especially hard workers, and high fliers at DCI, and those coming up in the chain in the feeders, the resources, structure and support they need to excel academically and grow personally. Absent the international focus, this is no different from what BASIS and Latin are doing.[/quote]

Well they'd have to amend their charter agreement to 'simplify' as it was granted with the understanding that students could pursue either the IB Diploma or the IB Career-Related Certificate.  [/quote]

http://www.dcpcsb.org/sites/default/files/report/DCI%20Restated%20Agreement%202014.pdf

IMHO, offering the meaningless IB Career-Related Certificate track was a bad, and eminently avoidable, mistake on the part of the founding group.  No surprise - members lacked background in administering high-performing IBD programs. Crafting a pragmatic charter would have been a lot easier than amending an impractical one.

Making DCI an all-IB Diploma school would draw in the families needed to make the school successful on a par with BASIS and Latin within the charter system. If DCI can't build a critical mass of high-performing kids on the three immersion tracks (as I expect, at least for another 10-15 years), the school's college acceptances won't measure up to the best DCPC and DCPS HS options. This will be true no matter how nice the Walter Reed facility is, or how many resources are lavished on the program.

The writing is already on the wall for the two tracks to motivate the strongest students from the feeders to bail for Walls, Wilson (with in-boundary status or spectacular lottery luck) and Banneker.  The scenario could still be avoided if tough decisions are made.  [/quote]

I'm not discounting your view, but where we supposed to glean something in particular from reading the whole charter you posted? Would you like to point it out?[/quote]

I point out that the IB Career-Related Certificate (aka "IBD Consultation Prize") is essentially meaningless as a terminal secondary school examination-based credential, and not just in this country.  I was disappointed to find multiple references to it in the charter. Perhaps you need to know something about the history of the IB Diploma Program in the US, and how the Certificate is reviewed in college admissions, to understand what you're supposed to glean.

If you want a top charter attracting and retaining a large cohort of top students, build a top charter attracting and retaining a large cohort of top students, vs. yet another DC public high school that can't produce a single National Merit Scholarship Semifinalist year after year. Walls has 5 semifinalists this year, up from 2 last year.  With a IBD-only program, DCI could give Walls rising a run for its money.  Would that be bad?   
 [/quote]

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