Anonymous wrote:If your kid would benefit from the highest-level classes, then choose Deal, there will be a cohort of similarly advance students. If your kid would benefit from grade-level classes, choose DCI.

Also, what does your kid want to do? Buy-in could be useful at this age. Realize that by prioritizing Spanish, you lose out on access to certain other things, but also realize that everything is a trade-off, so as long as you don't assume one school is perfect, and that there will be pros/cons, your kid should be OK.

Also consider high schools, if you don't plan on staying at DCI for high school, it makes less sense to bother with middle school.

(My kid is at DCI, but would have preferred Basis.)

If your kid would benefit from the highest-level classes, then choose Deal, there will be a cohort of similarly advance students. If your kid would benefit from grade-level classes, choose DCI.

Also, what does your kid want to do? Buy-in could be useful at this age. Realize that by prioritizing Spanish, you lose out on access to certain other things, but also realize that everything is a trade-off, so as long as you don't assume one school is perfect, and that there will be pros/cons, your kid should be OK.

Also consider high schools, if you don't plan on staying at DCI for high school, it makes less sense to bother with middle school.

We chose DCI in your position. Language was important to us and my kid's friends were going to DCI. Plus DCI is half the size. We don't regret it!

DCI. The overcrowding at Deal impacts everything from academics to behaviors, etc….

Anonymous wrote:Deal 100%
Also for languages: We’ve been very impressed with the Chinese language classes and our child just tested into a level 4 Chinese for next year

Deal 100%. It’s a better, more stable school. DCI always has vacancies and lots of teacher and admin turnover.

Deal.

Same situation. Due to last minute waitlist changes. Any new thoughts? Is Deal education and admin more stable?consistent?

Anonymous wrote:To those who attend DCI, are the discipline issues worse than typical middle schools or is overuse of tech a concern? We’d prefer DCI due to proximity, language, size. But wondering if DCI has and serious flaws or plus factors to be aware of.

I have two kids at DCI and I ask them about these "disipline issues" on a regular basis, and they say they haven't really seen that much. I'm sure things happen, as they do in all middle school environments, but that "displine" phrase is thrown around a lot when talking about DCI and it hasn't been our experience.

Try to find some people from each school to talk to. Both schools have pluses and minues. I hope you find the right fit for your kid.

Anonymous wrote:We’re inbound for Deal but also have option to feed into DCI. Which is the better option?

Easy. Go to DCI and if you don’t like it, you can always leave and enroll in Deal. Can’t do it the other way.

Deal 100%
Also for languages: We’ve been very impressed with the Chinese language classes and our child just tested into a level 4 Chinese for next year

I have a seventh grader at DCI. Some classes have been completely disrupted by kids not interested in learning, others were going well, but now three of the teachers are gone, two permanently and one on some sort of injury-related leave.

I don't know if this is worse or similar to other middle schools. Everything is on the Chromebooks, yes, no textbooks at all. Last year my kid was bored more, so spent lots of time on websites that weren't blocked in class. This year has been better, class time is spent on assignments, as far as I can tell.

I think there can be a clear comparison between access to higher-level math classes in DCI and Deal, as DCI offers seventh grade math to sixth graders, as the only option.

If grades are important to you (if you're looking to Walls or privates for high school), I think it's easier to maintain higher grades at a non-IB-graded school.

To those who attend DCI, are the discipline issues worse than typical middle schools or is overuse of tech a concern? We’d prefer DCI due to proximity, language, size. But wondering if DCI has and serious flaws or plus factors to be aware of.

We love Deal but the Spanish language program is not amazing. Heard better things about French and Mandarin but…meh. We opted for Deal for the ability to walk and supplemented foreign language.

We chose DCI in that same position Our kid was very committed to target language. Deal was also so big and our kid was coming from a tiny feeder and DCI is large. but half the size. We were also closer to DCI too so commute was better. We do not regret it.

We’re inbound for Deal but also have option to feed into DCI. Which is the better option?