We've been very happy there, and there's a good core of committed parents who have made it to K and are sticking it out. I am very impressed with the commitment of the upper grade teachers, and the IB curriculum is really doing wonders with the upper grade kids' confidence and self-control, at least based on my observation of the upper grades three years at the school.

Cooke is NOT easy to get into anymore. My PS daughter had to go elsewhere for awhile because she couldn't get in off the wait list. BTW, Tubman is very nice and I think highly of it based on her experience there. We would have stayed had the double dropoff not been so problematic (and she missed her brothers) --Libbie "twin mom at Cooke"

Exactly. The BULK of middle class parents start in the K and younger grades. There are middle class parents (mostly not white) in upper grades, but not as many. K and lower have more of a concentration.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:International Baccalaureate primary years (there's some acronym - pyp? primary years program? something like that) strikes me as very similar to expeditionary learning. Very similar. There are themes/units/expeditions - in the early years 2-4, depending on the school. And then the kids get immersed in that theme/expedition. It's an interesting approach, but not for everyone, I would guess.

And, at Cooke, the bulk of the middle class families have students currently in K. It'll be the next few years that are telling.

Again, not accurate. Do not let race be your only indicator of socio-economic status. There are indeed a few middle class families in grades beyond K. Even families of color can be middle class. Fathom that!

According to the most recent FFC school guide, Cooke is 88% FARMS. Granted, that's last year's data and maybe this year's incoming pre-school class radically shifted the demographics, but as long as you're talking about K, that class should be reflected in the previous year's PS-5 data.

That point aside, you are absolutely correct. 94% of the students are of color, and 88% are FARMS, so there is definitely a middle-class presence that is non-white, and it is probably highest in the youngest classes.

http://www.fightforchildren.org/pdf/GreatSchools_DCChooser-2011-2012-EngBook.pdf

Anonymous wrote:International Baccalaureate primary years (there's some acronym - pyp? primary years program? something like that) strikes me as very similar to expeditionary learning. Very similar. There are themes/units/expeditions - in the early years 2-4, depending on the school. And then the kids get immersed in that theme/expedition. It's an interesting approach, but not for everyone, I would guess.

And, at Cooke, the bulk of the middle class families have students currently in K. It'll be the next few years that are telling.

Again, not accurate. Do not let race be your only indicator of socio-economic status. There are indeed a few middle class families in grades beyond K. Even families of color can be middle class. Fathom that!