Anonymous wrote:You don’t know that kid got into all four schools. That’s highly unlikely. So your claim is that in the past 24 days this kid got off three waitlists? That did not happen. People on here do not understand the Dc application process.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone’s kid is in Ida Wells middle school? Any info about this school?

Yes. One graduated, applied to one school, Duke Ellington, was accepted and is thriving. Several other Wolves are there as well.

One currently at Wells, was accepted to SWW, Banneker, Duke and Coolidge Pre-College. We know she was accepted to each. She will be going to SWW. Several other Wolves are also attending each these institutions from this year graduating class as well as McKinley Tech.

My current 8th grader has been supplementing math at the Russian School of Mathematics because I did not trust DCPS. However, she is studying the same topics in school that she is covering at RSM so it was overkill and not needed so I have to give DCPS it's flowers for doing the job. She is taking Algebra. There are 1-2 students taking Geometry at Coolidge from Wells. Until you have visited the Coolidge Pre-College program (the scholars and the teachers), everybody should reserve your judgment.

Brightwood was once a thriving middle class neighborhood that began aging about 10-15 years ago. We were one of the first families with young kids to move in more than a decade ago. Most of the home's for sale are vacant or have aging seniors and young families are flooding the area with very proactive and educated families at the feeder elementary schools which are feeding into Ida B. Wells. With the orange man in office drumming up anxiety and cutting jobs and the lottery being the lottery, folks who used to go private have now begun investing in the local schools. The Wells PTA grew tremendously this year and it is only going to get stronger with the parents from the feeder programs. When my oldest kids were in elementary school, all of the kids we separated into charters and privates and there was no unity. That is going away. The feeder schools are going to get stronger and now that people know that you can get to any school in the city from Wells, more feeder families are going to stay.

The major difference between a neighborhood like Shepherd Park and Brightwood is Brightwood has a much higher concentration of apartment buildings which brings in economic diversity into the school and gives it Title I status. I see this as a benefit. Many people want flawless lives and see this as an issue. It really depends on how prepared you want your child for real life. It does not come without challenges that are appropriately addressed by staff and administration.

Although I know there are issues with a certain principal at Takoma, Principal Lyles is highly motivated and responsive to the needs of the families and making Wells one of the best environments in DC. He has close connections with both principals at Banneker and Deal and has implemented many ideas from those institutions.

That's the good and the bad. How else can I help you? Any specific questions?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone’s kid is in Ida Wells middle school? Any info about this school?

Yes. One graduated, applied to one school, Duke Ellington, was accepted and is thriving. Several other Wolves are there as well.

One currently at Wells, was accepted to SWW, Banneker, Duke and Coolidge Pre-College. We know she was accepted to each. She will be going to SWW. Several other Wolves are also attending each these institutions from this year graduating class as well as McKinley Tech.

My current 8th grader has been supplementing math at the Russian School of Mathematics because I did not trust DCPS. However, she is studying the same topics in school that she is covering at RSM so it was overkill and not needed so I have to give DCPS it's flowers for doing the job. She is taking Algebra. There are 1-2 students taking Geometry at Coolidge from Wells. Until you have visited the Coolidge Pre-College program (the scholars and the teachers), everybody should reserve your judgment.

Brightwood was once a thriving middle class neighborhood that began aging about 10-15 years ago. We were one of the first families with young kids to move in more than a decade ago. Most of the home's for sale are vacant or have aging seniors and young families are flooding the area with very proactive and educated families at the feeder elementary schools which are feeding into Ida B. Wells. With the orange man in office drumming up anxiety and cutting jobs and the lottery being the lottery, folks who used to go private have now begun investing in the local schools. The Wells PTA grew tremendously this year and it is only going to get stronger with the parents from the feeder programs. When my oldest kids were in elementary school, all of the kids we separated into charters and privates and there was no unity. That is going away. The feeder schools are going to get stronger and now that people know that you can get to any school in the city from Wells, more feeder families are going to stay.

The major difference between a neighborhood like Shepherd Park and Brightwood is Brightwood has a much higher concentration of apartment buildings which brings in economic diversity into the school and gives it Title I status. I see this as a benefit. Many people want flawless lives and see this as an issue. It really depends on how prepared you want your child for real life. It does not come without challenges that are appropriately addressed by staff and administration.

Although I know there are issues with a certain principal at Takoma, Principal Lyles is highly motivated and responsive to the needs of the families and making Wells one of the best environments in DC. He has close connections with both principals at Banneker and Deal and has implemented many ideas from those institutions.

That's the good and the bad. How else can I help you? Any specific questions?

Anonymous wrote:Anyone’s kid is in Ida Wells middle school? Any info about this school?

Anonymous wrote:DS went there (in a selective HS now) and we loved it. He still volunteers there with some of the sports. Offerings, particularly afterschool and sports, are growing thanks in large part to an active cohort of parents and strong communication with school leadership. The staff are generally great, very supportive of the kids in academics and social-emotional.

DS enjoyed the schoolwide enrichment model (allowing for "clubs" baked into the school day), college tours, extensive HS application prep support, taking Algebra 1 in 8th grade. (Some kids take Geometry at Coolidge.) They also have the only middle school CTE program for cosmetology in DCPS, with a complete beauty salon/barber space.

Full transparency, this year has been tougher than in the past with some behavior and other growing pains since they're no longer "new." The majority of the admin team has been there since the opening in 2019 and will still be there next year, with a focus on resolving those issues and getting back to the joyful community I experienced.

The principal is very accessible and happy to talk to prospective parents.