I have a kid at both Wilson and Walls both college bound (she says hopefully). Walls is great for a kid who does not want the distraction of kids who are not on the same track. The absentee principal does not help, but the cohort of motivated and engaged students makes up for a lot. There is a TON of work compared to Wilson, but if you have a kid who likes school and wants an intellectual challenge Walls is great. The kids also have a lot more freedom.

Wilson and Walls both have some good and not so good teachers. While Wilson has more in the way or sports, Wilson has a soccer team and is competitive with Wilson in many sports. Wilson offers tons of extra-curriculum and Walls has some, but not nearly as many. Still if your child wanted to start something at Walls, she would definitely be able to do so.

Wilson can be good for a motivated student, but I have not seen that the teachers or administration really pushes kids who are not already motivated to do well. It sounds, however, like your kids is one who is so motivated and therefore, I would think either school would be a fine fit.

OP, have you looked at BCC?

Anonymous wrote:We have a rising sophomore at Wilson. Great experience. Strong track for college bound kids, a big peer group of similar kids, and academic and extracurricular opportunities galore.

The drawback is that there are plenty of Wilson kids on a different track - it will be up to you and your kid to make sure they stay on the right track!

Thanks! Do you ever get the feeling that there is pressure to fall off track? Nice community among college-bound kids?

Anonymous wrote:We haven't decided where to move yet but are thinking DC if Wilson is in fact decent.

Just curious to hear from folks with first hand experience there.

Since you have a choice, why settle for "decent?"

We have a rising sophomore at Wilson. Great experience. Strong track for college bound kids, a big peer group of similar kids, and academic and extracurricular opportunities galore.

The drawback is that there are plenty of Wilson kids on a different track - it will be up to you and your kid to make sure they stay on the right track!

We haven't decided where to move yet but are thinking DC if Wilson is in fact decent.

Just curious to hear from folks with first hand experience there.

Anonymous wrote:Missed a couple questions...

Her school now has 400 kids/class and she does great. So something similar to that size would be good.

I think it would be good for her to be around all types of students -- as long as the college-track was high quality.

You've just answered your own questions. Obviously the choice is Wilson, and Wilson alone, if you're moving into DC.

Missed a couple questions...

Her school now has 400 kids/class and she does great. So something similar to that size would be good.

I think it would be good for her to be around all types of students -- as long as the college-track was high quality.

Op here. Regarding PPs questions...

We are Caucasian.
Daughter plays JV soccer. She's good, not great. Likes it but isn't her priority. She also worked for school newspaper. But again, she likes it but wouldn't let that be determining factor.

Thanks for the insights so far. Would love to hear more.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are moving from Oakland to DC and have a 15 year old daughter who does quite well academically. Wilson looks like a bit of a mixed bag. Can anyone share their experiences with the school? Especially interested in the experiences of college-bound students seeking AP and honors course work.

Do/did your kids like Wilson? Good education? Good environment? Good college prep? Drawbacks?

How does it compare to School without Walls?

Appreciate the insights!

Have you been admitted to School without Walls yet? If not, why does it matter. There is no reasonable alternative but Wilson.

You can expect to have poster after poster insist that Wilson is fantastic for college-bound students, but the real truth is that while it's fine it's not nearly as good as many suburban high schools.

This is likely true, in the case of Whitman, Yorktown, Churchill, and Langley and maybe one or two other HSs. Falls Church? But if you went to those high schools, you'd be living in the car-dependent suburbs (yes, they are) and quite possibly, you'd be living in Virginia. So there's that.

We have one starting at Wilson. Top student at a very good middle school. Was admitted to Walls but preferred Wilson. Child's perception (right or wrong) was that Wilson offered better arts, better and definitely more organized sports, and the possibility of academics at a similar level as long as you push yourself and get into the right classes. Since we weren't overly impressed with Walls, we were OK with this decision. We'll see how it goes and will consider other options for 10th grade if necessary.

do you want a big school or a small school?
are school sports important to her?
would she do better in a school where there's a bigger or smaller mix of abilities?

Anonymous wrote:We are moving from Oakland to DC and have a 15 year old daughter who does quite well academically. Wilson looks like a bit of a mixed bag. Can anyone share their experiences with the school? Especially interested in the experiences of college-bound students seeking AP and honors course work.

Do/did your kids like Wilson? Good education? Good environment? Good college prep? Drawbacks?

How does it compare to School without Walls?

Appreciate the insights!

Have you been admitted to School without Walls yet? If not, why does it matter. There is no reasonable alternative but Wilson.

You can expect to have poster after poster insist that Wilson is fantastic for college-bound students, but the real truth is that while it's fine it's not nearly as good as many suburban high schools.

whats your child skin color?

We are moving from Oakland to DC and have a 15 year old daughter who does quite well academically. Wilson looks like a bit of a mixed bag. Can anyone share their experiences with the school? Especially interested in the experiences of college-bound students seeking AP and honors course work.

Do/did your kids like Wilson? Good education? Good environment? Good college prep? Drawbacks?

How does it compare to School without Walls?

Appreciate the insights!