Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not buying above. I used to teach BCC International Baccalaureate humanities classes (not technically a magnet program) and have done volunteer work at Walls. From what I've observed, IBD BCC is head and shoulders above Walls academically. For example, Walls doesn't teach languages past the AP level while BCC does in half a dozen languages and BCC's IBD writing classes offer maybe triple the rigor of those at Walls. DMV teens can become independent without DCPS chaos and the obsession with equity vs. achievement.

What volunteer work have you done at walls that gives you such insight into the school? Honest question because I work there and there are very few volunteers.

Anonymous wrote:+100. I'm not sure if standards are falling at JR, but they are at Walls for two key reasons. As we know, students who wouldn't have been admitted pre-Covid are getting in, particularly kids who don't work at grade level for math, and the post pandemic principal is an empty suit. She doesn't hold her teachers accountable like the previous head did.

Walls parents don't move. They hang around supplementing or pretending that the program is on a par with strong suburban programs. With Affirmative Action supposedly gone in college admissions, Walls is coming under new pressure to better prepare low and moderate minority students for college rigor. They're just not up to the challenge.

Anonymous wrote:+100. I'm not sure if standards are falling at JR, but they are at Walls for two key reasons. As we know, students who wouldn't have been admitted pre-Covid are getting in, particularly kids who don't work at grade level for math, and the post pandemic principal is an empty suit. She doesn't hold her teachers accountable like the previous head did.

Walls parents don't move. They hang around supplementing or pretending that the program is on a par with strong suburban programs. With Affirmative Action supposedly gone in college admissions, Walls is coming under new pressure to better prepare low and moderate minority students for college rigor. They're just not up to the challenge.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OK, if but if you don't live in Upper NW and your academically advanced kid doesn't crack Walls, or maybe Banneker, attending DCPS for high school is generally a disaster. I'm not convinced that most of the kids at all the private schools in this area are douchebags. Many kids at private schools in this city would surely attend public if our public schools were on a par with the better programs in neighboring jurisdictions. My nieces and nephews in N VA seem to attend public high schools that are twice as good as J-R and Walls in every respect.

Please explain how you know your nieces high schools are all twice as good as JR and walls in every aspect. Claims like this when you haven’t set foot in all of these schools, had kids attend these schools, observed classes at theses schools is ridiculous. Generally what you are claiming is that your nieces’ schools have more UMC or rich kids at their schools.

I've lived in DC for many years working as an independent high school admissions counselor with clients from a variety of DMV schools, public and private. The kids I counsel from the better Arlington and MoCo high schools clearly have access to much better facilities, programming, ECs and advanced academic offerings than the J-R and Walls kids, other than perhaps those who pursue dual enrollment options at GWU.

From what I can tell, the biggest difference between DCPS and the suburban jurisdictions is that the latter don't tend to offer AP or IB Diploma courses for all. Suburban students must meet prerequisites to enroll in these courses, e.g. earning at least a B+ in an honors or "intensified" Pre-AP subject to qualify to enroll in the AP or IBD subject up the chain. What my DC clients tell me is that this still isn't the system in DCPS or, for the most part, in DC charter either. Almost anybody can waltz into a J-R AP class and admissions standards for Walls are undoubtedly falling.

Ahh, yes. Your experience with a select group of UMC/wealthy families makes you an expert.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OK, if but if you don't live in Upper NW and your academically advanced kid doesn't crack Walls, or maybe Banneker, attending DCPS for high school is generally a disaster. I'm not convinced that most of the kids at all the private schools in this area are douchebags. Many kids at private schools in this city would surely attend public if our public schools were on a par with the better programs in neighboring jurisdictions. My nieces and nephews in N VA seem to attend public high schools that are twice as good as J-R and Walls in every respect.

Please explain how you know your nieces high schools are all twice as good as JR and walls in every aspect. Claims like this when you haven’t set foot in all of these schools, had kids attend these schools, observed classes at theses schools is ridiculous. Generally what you are claiming is that your nieces’ schools have more UMC or rich kids at their schools.

I've lived in DC for many years working as an independent high school admissions counselor with clients from a variety of DMV schools, public and private. The kids I counsel from the better Arlington and MoCo high schools clearly have access to much better facilities, programming, ECs and advanced academic offerings than the J-R and Walls kids, other than perhaps those who pursue dual enrollment options at GWU.

From what I can tell, the biggest difference between DCPS and the suburban jurisdictions is that the latter don't tend to offer AP or IB Diploma courses for all. Suburban students must meet prerequisites to enroll in these courses, e.g. earning at least a B+ in an honors or "intensified" Pre-AP subject to qualify to enroll in the AP or IBD subject up the chain. What my DC clients tell me is that this still isn't the system in DCPS or, for the most part, in DC charter either. Almost anybody can waltz into a J-R AP class and admissions standards for Walls are undoubtedly falling.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not buying above. I used to teach BCC International Baccalaureate humanities classes (not technically a magnet program) and have done volunteer work at Walls. From what I've observed, IBD BCC is head and shoulders above Walls academically. For example, Walls doesn't teach languages past the AP level while BCC does in half a dozen languages and BCC's IBD writing classes offer maybe triple the rigor of those at Walls. DMV teens can become independent without DCPS chaos and the obsession with equity vs. achievement.

This makes no sense to me. I believe you are wrong. I teach at a different MCPS HS and we don’t have any language classes above AP Spanish Lit and AP French. And Walls offers AP English Language and AP English Lit. No way are the IB English classes 3x more advanced. I’m sorry but BCC ain’t Sidwell. And Walls does not have the hallway fights and gang issues that create some chaos at BCC and some other MCPS high schools. How about that infamous BCC vs. WJ football game last year?

Not the person you're responding to but I have nephews taking higher level IB Diploma language classes at BCC in Chinese and Spanish. I'm told that these classes are pitched one or two years past AP. The guys took AP language exams after 10th grade and scored 5s.

For the e-record Walls pre-AP English classes have been a mess in the last two years. They ditched a good curriculum for a "better one" that hasn't materialized. PP isn't wrong. Ask around.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not buying above. I used to teach BCC International Baccalaureate humanities classes (not technically a magnet program) and have done volunteer work at Walls. From what I've observed, IBD BCC is head and shoulders above Walls academically. For example, Walls doesn't teach languages past the AP level while BCC does in half a dozen languages and BCC's IBD writing classes offer maybe triple the rigor of those at Walls. DMV teens can become independent without DCPS chaos and the obsession with equity vs. achievement.

This makes no sense to me. I believe you are wrong. I teach at a different MCPS HS and we don’t have any language classes above AP Spanish Lit and AP French. And Walls offers AP English Language and AP English Lit. No way are the IB English classes 3x more advanced. I’m sorry but BCC ain’t Sidwell. And Walls does not have the hallway fights and gang issues that create some chaos at BCC and some other MCPS high schools. How about that infamous BCC vs. WJ football game last year?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not buying above. I used to teach BCC International Baccalaureate humanities classes (not technically a magnet program) and have done volunteer work at Walls. From what I've observed, IBD BCC is head and shoulders above Walls academically. For example, Walls doesn't teach languages past the AP level while BCC does in half a dozen languages and BCC's IBD writing classes offer maybe triple the rigor of those at Walls. DMV teens can become independent without DCPS chaos and the obsession with equity vs. achievement.

This makes no sense to me. I believe you are wrong. I teach at a different MCPS HS and we don’t have any language classes above AP Spanish Lit and AP French. And Walls offers AP English Language and AP English Lit. No way are the IB English classes 3x more advanced. I’m sorry but BCC ain’t Sidwell. And Walls does not have the hallway fights and gang issues that create some chaos at BCC and some other MCPS high schools. How about that infamous BCC vs. WJ football game last year?

Anonymous wrote:Not buying above. I used to teach BCC International Baccalaureate humanities classes (not technically a magnet program) and have done volunteer work at Walls. From what I've observed, IBD BCC is head and shoulders above Walls academically. For example, Walls doesn't teach languages past the AP level while BCC does in half a dozen languages and BCC's IBD writing classes offer maybe triple the rigor of those at Walls. DMV teens can become independent without DCPS chaos and the obsession with equity vs. achievement.

Anonymous wrote:Not buying above. I used to teach BCC International Baccalaureate humanities classes (not technically a magnet program) and have done volunteer work at Walls. From what I've observed, IBD BCC is head and shoulders above Walls academically. For example, Walls doesn't teach languages past the AP level while BCC does in half a dozen languages and BCC's IBD writing classes offer maybe triple the rigor of those at Walls. DMV teens can become independent without DCPS chaos and the obsession with equity vs. achievement.