What does rigor look like at JR for non stem kids? From my 10th grader, I just see a lot of rote memorization (1 Ap class so far). She will take 4 next year, but won’t go up to calc BC. I notice writing skills are weak. I think that’s one area where Banneker kids might excel with the IB track.

Anonymous wrote:Banneker is a lot of homework. The team sports at Jackson Reed are a big deal. I might consider whether the kid's sports are something he's likely to be able to make the team on at JR. If not, Banneker's more likely. But it is a grind.

Banneker has an hour or two of homework a night. It isn’t more than I had in high school.

JR’s culture of high achievement beats Banneker’s hands down, particularly for STEM. But if your kid isn’t a self starter, Banneker.

Anonymous wrote:If you do Banneker now and live IB for JR, you can always switch back. But it doesn't work in reverse. So if he's truly undecided, Banneker is probably the better option. If you live OOB for JR and would be going in through a feeder, that's a tougher choice.

Was going to comment and say exactly this. If you get in to Banneker give it a try. Can always switch back to JR.

Anonymous wrote:If you do Banneker now and live IB for JR, you can always switch back. But it doesn't work in reverse. So if he's truly undecided, Banneker is probably the better option. If you live OOB for JR and would be going in through a feeder, that's a tougher choice.

Great point. I bet Banneker 9th is preferable to JR 9th, too (more rigor at that point).

If you do Banneker now and live IB for JR, you can always switch back. But it doesn't work in reverse. So if he's truly undecided, Banneker is probably the better option. If you live OOB for JR and would be going in through a feeder, that's a tougher choice.

Anonymous wrote:Don't confuse the number of hours of homework your kid does every night with rigor. JR offers many more AP courses than Banneker - including AP Calc BC and many more AP Science courses. I think the difference may be that every student at Banneker is motivated to be there and is a hard worker, but only a subset of JR students are motivated and work hard. If you have a motivated kid, the ceiling is higher at JR for rigorous coursework.

This. Seems to me that JR has a higher ceiling (harder classes) if you can make it, whereas Banneker has more structure and gets all the students up to a certain level, but the best students would not reach the same height as those at JR.

Anonymous wrote:Just make a decision. Most people aren’t going to have experience with both. Though, easier to fall back on JR.

This.

If accepted, I'd go with Banneker. Go through their summer institute, start in the Fall w/all the other 9th graders, and see how it feels.

We're not going with JR simply because my kid can absolutely not focus in that environment.

Don't confuse the number of hours of homework your kid does every night with rigor. JR offers many more AP courses than Banneker - including AP Calc BC and many more AP Science courses. I think the difference may be that every student at Banneker is motivated to be there and is a hard worker, but only a subset of JR students are motivated and work hard. If you have a motivated kid, the ceiling is higher at JR for rigorous coursework.

Just make a decision. Most people aren’t going to have experience with both. Though, easier to fall back on JR.

Anonymous wrote:I would lean toward what my kid wanted to do because I’d be afraid of not having buy-in at that age. You’re making it sound like you’re sending a toddler to a school, though I know a lot of people have an authoritarian style of parenting.

OP here…fair point, but far from the truth. He has been fully engaged in the entire process and actually whittled the list down himself based on open houses and his own research. I gave him full autonomy to make the final decision but he too has conflicting feelings, which is why I came here for advice.

Banneker is a lot of homework. The team sports at Jackson Reed are a big deal. I might consider whether the kid's sports are something he's likely to be able to make the team on at JR. If not, Banneker's more likely. But it is a grind.

Banneker, from what I understand, is more structured and strict, and you’re getting a selected peer group of motivated students who are presumably held to a uniformly high standard.

But I don’t know that it’s more rigorous, in terms of course offerings. And in terms of JR peer group, the most challenging AP courses (e.g. Calc BC) have multiple sections each year, so there are a lot of kids working at a high academic level.

I agree with PP—follow your kid’s lead. If he’s self-motivated, he’ll be fine either place, so it really comes down to his preferences in terms of size, activities, etc.

I would lean toward what my kid wanted to do because I’d be afraid of not having buy-in at that age. You’re making it sound like you’re sending a toddler to a school, though I know a lot of people have an authoritarian style of parenting.

I debate between academic rigor and school/life balance. Kid is super smart and self-motivated, so I think he would do well at Banneker and able to keep up with the extensive coursework/homework. But I worry about life outside of school. He does club sports (which he's been a member of for some time) and likes to spend time with his friends. J-R (in bound) is a good school, but in my view is more of a "traditional" high school and not as challenging as Banneker. Would you opt to send your child to Banneker knowing they would get a great education and equipped for college, or go with J-R which is good but not as rigorous, but gives him more time to do things he enjoys outside of school. I've been going in circles so looking for outside opinions.