Don't think many middle class families are interested in having their kids get KIPPsterized or turned into little Stepford Students

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In the law firm I work in one of the secretaries in our office switched her kids in 3rd and 4th grade. She lives off Benning road. At that point her kids were quite behind. One has graduated from Banneker and the other is a junior. Her oldest daughter is off to college doing a pre-med program and on the honor role. I would consider her moving between working to middle class. If we had not lucked out in our OOB application, I was going to meet with Kipp to see if I could get into the one on Rhode Island. I could see some issues, but the school we were in was becoming a disaster for my kids.

Sorry, but secretary at law firm not the middle class the OP was talking about. The answer is a resounding HELL NO!

Actually a secretary is the middle class, you just don't have a real sense of the majority of people out there because rich people in DC live in such a crazy bubble.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think they focus on critical thinking skills at these schools. That's something that middle class parents value. So, you may not be happy there. Just be sure to ask lots of questions.

OP here. DC Prep's qualitative eval based on classroom observations included that teachers were asking good questions to promote critical thinking--not just teaching what the right answer is.

+1 don't listen to what some random DCUM who knows nothing about the school has to say, this is exactly why the DCPCSB does the qualitative reviews of the schools, so you can get a feel for them.

Anonymous wrote:I don't think they focus on critical thinking skills at these schools. That's something that middle class parents value. So, you may not be happy there. Just be sure to ask lots of questions.

OP here. DC Prep's qualitative eval based on classroom observations included that teachers were asking good questions to promote critical thinking--not just teaching what the right answer is.

I don't think they focus on critical thinking skills at these schools. That's something that middle class parents value. So, you may not be happy there. Just be sure to ask lots of questions.

I think it depends on the kid and the school. My sister worked for KIPP in another city and had some significant qualms about it. One school I'm really interested in is Excel Academy, the all-girls one in Anacostia.

Anonymous wrote:In the law firm I work in one of the secretaries in our office switched her kids in 3rd and 4th grade. She lives off Benning road. At that point her kids were quite behind. One has graduated from Banneker and the other is a junior. Her oldest daughter is off to college doing a pre-med program and on the honor role. I would consider her moving between working to middle class. If we had not lucked out in our OOB application, I was going to meet with Kipp to see if I could get into the one on Rhode Island. I could see some issues, but the school we were in was becoming a disaster for my kids.

Sorry, but secretary at law firm not the middle class the OP was talking about. The answer is a resounding HELL NO!

I can't speak for DC Prep, but once upon a time, I sent my child to KIPP at Benning Road for 2 years. We had a great experience in the early education school, but things turned sour once we reached first grade and it was completely the fault of the administration. In short, middle class families are not welcomed there. Your voice, opinion, suggestion, assistance or whatever is not wanted. KIPP is there to help the poor and downtrodden who would simply become a statistic if not for them. Your above average child will not be challenged, and if you voice concerns, "You can leave because there are plenty of people who want your slot." The end.

An inhouse atty I work with sends his sons to a KIPP - can't recall which. He and his highly upper/middle income family are very happy there.

No KIPP on Rhode Island Ave.

Anonymous wrote:In the law firm I work in one of the secretaries in our office switched her kids in 3rd and 4th grade. She lives off Benning road. At that point her kids were quite behind. One has graduated from Banneker and the other is a junior. Her oldest daughter is off to college doing a pre-med program and on the honor role. I would consider her moving between working to middle class. If we had not lucked out in our OOB application, I was going to meet with Kipp to see if I could get into the one on Rhode Island. I could see some issues, but the school we were in was becoming a disaster for my kids.

KIPP Promise hasn't be around long enough to have alumni who are high school graduates. Their first class started in in 2009 with just first graders, and those kids would now be sixth graders, presumably at Will.

The other KIPP elementary schools are younger than Promise.

In the law firm I work in one of the secretaries in our office switched her kids in 3rd and 4th grade. She lives off Benning road. At that point her kids were quite behind. One has graduated from Banneker and the other is a junior. Her oldest daughter is off to college doing a pre-med program and on the honor role. I would consider her moving between working to middle class. If we had not lucked out in our OOB application, I was going to meet with Kipp to see if I could get into the one on Rhode Island. I could see some issues, but the school we were in was becoming a disaster for my kids.

Great question. My sense is you're not going to get many responses.

HOnestly OP, I think it depends on how you define "middle class" when compared to a lot of kids at KIPP (not all but a lot are truly low income. As another family in a EoTP area, middle class is closer to 6 figures). And what is your race. that will be a lot more obvious at a school like KIPP etc if your kid is the only non AA student.

If so, what was your experience? DC Prep's qualitative review from the Public Charter School Board was really great and they have good test scores, so we're thinking about it. However, I'm a little concerned about DS going to a school where we're not the target audience--will the school feel DS is taking a seat away from someone who needs it more? Will our on-track child be overlooked to focus more attention on the kids who are behind? Our EOTP in-boundary school is pretty bad, and the charters popular with the DCUM crowd have pretty slim odds. I think KIPP schools had 6,000 applications for 1,000 seats, though. Not sure how many applications DC Prep got per slot.