Depends what you consider a "great education." What I've heard about Banneker is high volume of work, but not particularly challenging/interesting.

OP you seem to believe that you need to choose between an academically rigorous school that prepare your smart kid for college (Banneker) or an ok school where your kid can have fun but may have not as prepared for college. if your kid is really smart and hardworking, it will find plenty of challenges at JR (except for the first year, which I admit is weak but you still can select more challenging classes and take time to explore clubs, some of which are also challenging). I had a kid who graduated from JR in 2023 (so went through the Covid mess during HS, 9th grade cut short, 10th at home, semesters instead of year long classes and so on) and is now studying in Europe and doing really well. second kid is a top student, doing AP calculus BC in 10th grade and other classes in the engineering academy, robotics club and so on. JR is a large school so is not for everybody and some kids may thrive in a smaller and more controlled environment. but dont think that a smart and academically inclined kid cannot find challenges at JR because is it incorrect.

Agree with PP.

Anonymous wrote:Question for those w/kids at Banneker:

During my kid's interview, the interviewers mentioned "competition" many times over. And asked my kid if he was competitive enough to meet the school's expectations and to compete w/classmates.

No idea if that was a scare tactic or not, but it was very odd at the time and feels even stranger now.

Would love to hear current parent takes on this!

I’m a current parent. Here’s my take:

Banneker likes to highlight the kids who do well. They rank. Teachers let the class know who had the top score on a test. They highlight great passages from student essays, and identify the authors. There are classroom assignments that feed into broader competitions, like Project Soapbox and Poetry Out Loud. All the freshmen (except pre-IB students) take the national Latin exam, all the sophomores take the AP World exam, all the juniors (except IB students) take the AP Lang exam, and there’s an assembly in the fall where all the names of students who passed those exams are announced. They make a big deal out of kids who qualify for the NHS, kids who qualify for AP scholar awards, etc.

This is all very different from what we might call DCUM culture where it’s considered gauche to mention your grades or scores or rank or other academic achievements. Most private schools don’t rank. Many suburban schools don’t rank. Walls doesn’t rank.

I agree with the other parent that student culture at Banneker is supportive. But because the school itself highlights the best students, even if the other kids are kind and supportive, your kid will learn where they stand. The school is not going to put someone else’s light under a bushel to spare your child’s feelings. I would assume they talk about it in interviews because they want to be sure the kids they enroll will be ok with that.

Anonymous wrote:From what i've heard from parents and kids at Banneker, the homework load is intense--and soul crushing for kids. The students even said this at the open house. My DC didn't want to apply to Banneker because DC didn't want to work that hard and be intense and wanted a more well rounded environment. JR seems to offer challenging courses in a more well rounded environment. At the end of the day we ended up having to go private because JR is just too big for DC and I'm not convinced DC wouldn't be distracted.

I wouldn't be surprised if those are IB students at the open house. The IB track probably is overwhelming. My 10th grader with 2 APs has about 2 hours of HW per night and gets a head start during advisory.

Anonymous wrote:Question for those w/kids at Banneker:

During my kid's interview, the interviewers mentioned "competition" many times over. And asked my kid if he was competitive enough to meet the school's expectations and to compete w/classmates.

No idea if that was a scare tactic or not, but it was very odd at the time and feels even stranger now.

Would love to hear current parent takes on this!

Current Banneker parent, and I've gotten no impression of competition among students. It's interesting because that was a comment emphasized to me in the interview at Walls last year -- that the students are super competitive with each other, and put more pressure on each other than the school does. My Banneker student is another who wouldn't say the homework is unbearable, is not struggling at all, etc. I would guess the school wants to see that students want to put in effort; if they seem detached or uninterested in the process, that might not be "meeting expectations" of the school.

I have two boys, one that went to Banneker and one to JR. My kid who went to Banneker played travel soccer. He was able to make it work, but he hated it. If anyone asks him now, he would tell them not to send their kid to Banneker. I will say this, he was very well prepared academically for college. His first year was a breeze, with no academic shock or struggle with the transition. He graduated college last year. My JR kid graduated two years ago and did not go to college (nothing to do with his education, he chose a different path). I actually really like the school spirit, the tons of course offerings, and all the clubs at JR.

I think you should have your kid visit both schools. Make a pros-and-cons list for each school and decide with your kid. Keep in mind that if you can't keep up academically, Banneker will put you out. The freshman class is bigger than the graduating class will be four years later, especially for boys who struggle more than girls.

Question for those w/kids at Banneker:

During my kid's interview, the interviewers mentioned "competition" many times over. And asked my kid if he was competitive enough to meet the school's expectations and to compete w/classmates.

No idea if that was a scare tactic or not, but it was very odd at the time and feels even stranger now.

Would love to hear current parent takes on this!

my kid aced middle school (not deal or hardy) and it was a huge homework load change. But I'm not 110 percent sure that's better anywhere else.

If your child goes/went to Banneker, where did they go to middle school and were they adequately prepared for high school? If in college, how was that adjustment from Banneker?

My kid is a slow homework doer, though a great student, though they have gotten faster over time. At Banneker they started out doing homework like 3 hours a night. Now it's like 1-2, and some days none. They also do a little work ahead when possible in order to even out the workload. They have been able to do a sport too.

Anonymous wrote:From what i've heard from parents and kids at Banneker, the homework load is intense--and soul crushing for kids. The students even said this at the open house. My DC didn't want to apply to Banneker because DC didn't want to work that hard and be intense and wanted a more well rounded environment. JR seems to offer challenging courses in a more well rounded environment. At the end of the day we ended up having to go private because JR is just too big for DC and I'm not convinced DC wouldn't be distracted.

My kid at Banneker would not call the homework load soul crushing. When we were applying they also applied to and were accepted at some top privates and the homework load there sounded a heck of a lot worse. It was definitely an adjustment because they attended a MS that did little/no homework but it's manageable.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Banneker is a lot of homework. The team sports at Jackson Reed are a big deal. I might consider whether the kid's sports are something he's likely to be able to make the team on at JR. If not, Banneker's more likely. But it is a grind.

Banneker has an hour or two of homework a night. It isn’t more than I had in high school.

This is correct. Banneker’s homework load is only dramatic if you’re grading on a curve of DCPS. It’s not more than at private schools or the honors track in suburban publics. And of course they use it to scare kids off, because they don’t want students who are scared of hard work.

From what i've heard from parents and kids at Banneker, the homework load is intense--and soul crushing for kids. The students even said this at the open house. My DC didn't want to apply to Banneker because DC didn't want to work that hard and be intense and wanted a more well rounded environment. JR seems to offer challenging courses in a more well rounded environment. At the end of the day we ended up having to go private because JR is just too big for DC and I'm not convinced DC wouldn't be distracted.