Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are blocks on DCI student's laptops which does not allow for social media, Netflix and the like.

Not true. Netflix is not blocked. Maybe you can ask to have it blocked for your child's specific chromebook, but it is not blocked by default.

Was there a communication on this? First year DCI parent here, was not aware.

Anonymous wrote:Parents do have the option of not having a Netflix accounts, not allowing their child to have a cell phone, and putting a block on the Chrome books and cells.

Parents can discipline their child if they are aware that their child is "playing" on a computer/phones when they are not supposed too?

Parents have to option to not apply to a school in which they are not fond of.

LAMB (feeder) here. I'd say half of my sons class either peeled off at 5th for Latin & Basis, went parochial or Deal. The rest are going DCI but not necessarily because we want to. He's excited and we parents are on the fence. But it was not what we expected when we lobbied city council.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parents do have the option of not having a Netflix accounts, not allowing their child to have a cell phone, and putting a block on the Chrome books and cells.

Parents can discipline their child if they are aware that their child is "playing" on a computer/phones when they are not supposed too?

Parents have to option to not apply to a school in which they are not fond of.

That requires a high level of parental involvement. Unfortunately, not all DCI students enjoy this type of parental involvement and support. I fear that DCI's ill-conceived tech policy is doing its more vulnerable students a disservice. How can these students be expected to be prepared for the rigors of college if they're allowed to spend a large amount of their school day on social media and the like?

What information do you have supports this?

>50% FARMS rate. I don't have to know every single DCI student to know that poverty is strongly correlated with family instability (backed up by decades of research). You and I both know that some/many/most of DCI students living in poverty lack adequate parental support to overcome this educational experiment known as DCI's technology policy.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parents do have the option of not having a Netflix accounts, not allowing their child to have a cell phone, and putting a block on the Chrome books and cells.

Parents can discipline their child if they are aware that their child is "playing" on a computer/phones when they are not supposed too?

Parents have to option to not apply to a school in which they are not fond of.

That requires a high level of parental involvement. Unfortunately, not all DCI students enjoy this type of parental involvement and support. I fear that DCI's ill-conceived tech policy is doing its more vulnerable students a disservice. How can these students be expected to be prepared for the rigors of college if they're allowed to spend a large amount of their school day on social media and the like?

What information do you have supports this?

Anonymous wrote:Parents do have the option of not having a Netflix accounts, not allowing their child to have a cell phone, and putting a block on the Chrome books and cells.

Parents can discipline their child if they are aware that their child is "playing" on a computer/phones when they are not supposed too?

Parents have to option to not apply to a school in which they are not fond of.

That requires a high level of parental involvement. Unfortunately, not all DCI students enjoy this type of parental involvement and support. I fear that DCI's ill-conceived tech policy is doing its more vulnerable students a disservice. How can these students be expected to be prepared for the rigors of college if they're allowed to spend a large amount of their school day on social media and the like?

Re phones - at BASIS middle schoolers can't be seen with a phone during the day (they are confiscated if spotted), even during lunch.

High schoolers can use phones during lunch and certain sites are blocked on the wifi. High school students can have a phone confiscated for the day if spotted during class.

Parents do have the option of not having a Netflix accounts, not allowing their child to have a cell phone, and putting a block on the Chrome books and cells.

Parents can discipline their child if they are aware that their child is "playing" on a computer/phones when they are not supposed too?

Parents have to option to not apply to a school in which they are not fond of.

Anonymous wrote:But cell phones?

Unfortunately many of the kids playing video games or watching netflix etc at recess and lunch and they can use their phones for social media at these times as well.

Anonymous wrote:There are blocks on DCI student's laptops which does not allow for social media, Netflix and the like.

Not true. Netflix is not blocked. Maybe you can ask to have it blocked for your child's specific chromebook, but it is not blocked by default.

But cell phones?

There are blocks on DCI student's laptops which does not allow for social media, Netflix and the like.

Hard to compare. Part of what a couple of DCI parents have lamented here are students off task due to the lure of video games, Netflix and Instagram during class or extracurriculars.

That particular problem doesn't happen at BASIS or Latin bc the kids don't have access to the Internet all day.

I attended an open house for DCI. Many of the negatives are not discussed and some parents are reluctant to be open to discuss their experiences, especially if there negative. I guess the question is whether DCI has more problems with student behavior that BASIS or Latin and how the school addresses these problems.

Anonymous wrote:This whole thread is making me sad. None of these middle schools impress me very much, and we have no chance of getting in any of them it seems. Depressing.

You're looking in the wrong places for input and advice. DCUM is - by and large - bashing schools, fueling drama, reiterating hearsay, and amplifying sentiments. I like my coffee hour here for that very reason but I also appreciate it to help learn about questions I need to ask. To get the true picture, you will not get around having to spend some time speaking to actual parents and school officials. I have multiple friends whose judgments I highly respect at all of these middle and high schools (Hardy, Stuart-Hobson, DCI (middle and incoming high), Latin (middle and high), Deal, Eastern, School Without Walls, Wilson, Basis (middle school only)) and each and every one of them speaks highly of their school. They are really happy there. And these parents aren't dupe; neither are their kids. (I myself have a reputed Ph.D. and earn a good living if that helps you put things in context.)

On an aside, there just isn't such a thing as the "perfect school" (except in glossy brochures maybe). Any school is a 'process' more than it is a 'state'. In different terms, by the very nature of its service, a school is reinventing itself almost every single day. It's that process you have to investigate and judge, plus its fit with your child's temperament and inclinations, which may not be obvious until about 4th or 5th grade, sometimes later.

Learndc.org has suspension and expulsion data for every school. But not current year.

There's plenty of disruptive behavior everywhere that doesn't rise to the level of suspension.