Anonymous wrote:Re kids supposedly flunking out in MS: No, I'm not just talking about my kids; I'm also talking about their peers. And, BTW, I'm not just talking about kids who come into a private school (in our case, Sidwell) at MS or HS-level, but also those who enter in earlier years. I cannot recall anyone flunking out in HS. Most lifers and others who enter in LS and who are not a good match for the school academically are weeded out before HS. The kids who enter at MS and HS are not accepted if they're not well-suited to the school's academic demands. Therefore, kids rarely leave for academic reasons in HS. That doesn't mean, of course, that everyone is getting sailing through, but it's not a revolving door,
either.

I said nothing about there was a revolving door of kids flunking out of 9th/10th grade. I said a few family friends flunked out after entering from public school. These were kids accepted based upon their straight A public schools gpas, I have no idea how they performed on their SSATs. From what I know, they had been either placed on academic probation after their first semester and/or had their class loads reduced. They departed at the end of the year.

Also, at my DC's school at the beginning December or at the end of November (8th grade), students placed on academic probation who haven't made improvement families will receive letters telling them that they will not be invited back the next year.

Re kids supposedly flunking out in MS: No, I'm not just talking about my kids; I'm also talking about their peers. And, BTW, I'm not just talking about kids who come into a private school (in our case, Sidwell) at MS or HS-level, but also those who enter in earlier years. I cannot recall anyone flunking out in HS. Most lifers and others who enter in LS and who are not a good match for the school academically are weeded out before HS. The kids who enter at MS and HS are not accepted if they're not well-suited to the school's academic demands. Therefore, kids rarely leave for academic reasons in HS. That doesn't mean, of course, that everyone is getting sailing through, but it's not a revolving door, either.

OP the reality is MS spaces are sought by families/kids in the K-6 or (more of them) K-8 privates. Add to that the DCPS families trying to get something dialed in before 6th grade arrives. Mann, a strong DCPS ES usually has 1 or zero of its graduating 5th graders go on to the in bounds DCPS MS. Hyde, Key similar dynamic. Are you in a DCPS ES that has a year in year out flow to the privates. If yes, probably better chances. Oh, and folks are busy applying out of DCPS early (3rd, 4th, and finally in 5th) to avoid being frozen out in 5th.

Anonymous wrote:I'm the poster you quoted. Before entering private school our children were never tutored. They participated in the same kinds of activities that their private school classmates participated in -- e.g., music lessons, sports, ballet -- nothing exotic, I can assure you. I've also never seen a kid enter private at 9th and flunk out. Very few kids leave after 9th unless due to a family move or disciplinary reasons.

You're talking about your children, I'm talking about a broader pool of applicants from different school environments. Just because you have never seen a kid flunk out after 9th grade from private doesn't mean that it just doesn't happen. Yes, some families move away, some students are expelled, and some flunk out.

I'm the poster you quoted. Before entering private school our children were never tutored. They participated in the same kinds of activities that their private school classmates participated in -- e.g., music lessons, sports, ballet -- nothing exotic, I can assure you. I've also never seen a kid enter private at 9th and flunk out. Very few kids leave after 9th unless due to a family move or disciplinary reasons.

Anonymous wrote:Our kids went to public ES, then moved to Sidwell for MS and HS. If I had it to do over, I'd wait to move them until HS; middle school isn't really worth it. The advantages to waiting until later to move (aside from saving a boatload of money, of course) are that your kid will have some sense of the real world, rather than just the private school bubble, and that you'll have a better sense of which school would be the right match for him/her. As some PPs have noted, lifers sometimes end up at the wrong school (though I don't buy the line that the lifers are all at the bottom of the class -- some are, but there are always lifers right up at the tippy-top too). Finally, OP, please don't talk yourself into believing that your child must go to private school or she'll never get into a good college or grad school or find the right mate or succeed professionally or . .. yadda, yadda, yadda. Our kids have had good peers and teachers at Sidwell, but honestly, no school is perfect -- or even close.

It all depends on how deficient their academic experience has been up to 8th grade. Not everyone has the advantage of waiting until upper school to apply from public school. It really depends upon the education your DC is receiving at their current public, whether or not they're engaged in supplemental enrichment activities/tutoring, and how well they test if they will be prepared to apply to private schools at the 9th grade entry year. Over the years, family friends who made it into private school after middle school from publics flunked out and had to leave either at the end of 9th or middle of 10th. I totally agree that middle school at a private is a huge waste of money. Some lifers tend to be on autopilot and drift academically to the middle or lower of the class. From PK-8 there was a huge whirlwind of parties. And a attitude that your lower school grades really don't matter. At DS's school, there are usually a few lifers at the top by senior year. You're spot on about the private school bubble. It's crucial that your DC is aware that the attitudes, lifestyles, etc., presented in the land of private school isn't that of the real world.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD came from a DCPS and started NCS in 4th grade. She came in with an iq score in the 99th percentile, excellent grades, and is an urm (under represented minority). The other girls that entered with her were from suburban public schools. The rest from Beauvoir.

Magic words- underrepresented minority
To get in at middle school means you better have something that they're looking for. Sometimes it's athletics sometimes it's minority status sometimes it's just money.

At my kid's school it's brains. The kids admitted at PK/K have a much greater spectrum of academic ability. The kids admitted for MS or US are almost all clustered at the top end.

Yep. And while we all like to think that our kids are geniuses, if your child starts out at DCPS and ends up being only smart, as opposed 95+% brilliant (not to mention, well-rounded), or perhaps brilliant but doesn't do well on standardized tests, then your chances of admission to private middle school aren't so great. It's definitely safer to start them off in private school.

My DD just finished 5th at a WOP DCPS and multiple kids are off to top privates.

Of course, because the desired quality is academic achievement/brains, not a private school stamp on the application.

Our kids went to public ES, then moved to Sidwell for MS and HS. If I had it to do over, I'd wait to move them until HS; middle school isn't really worth it. The advantages to waiting until later to move (aside from saving a boatload of money, of course) are that your kid will have some sense of the real world, rather than just the private school bubble, and that you'll have a better sense of which school would be the right match for him/her. As some PPs have noted, lifers sometimes end up at the wrong school (though I don't buy the line that the lifers are all at the bottom of the class -- some are, but there are always lifers right up at the tippy-top too). Finally, OP, please don't talk yourself into believing that your child must go to private school or she'll never get into a good college or grad school or find the right mate or succeed professionally or . .. yadda, yadda, yadda. Our kids have had good peers and teachers at Sidwell, but honestly, no school is perfect -- or even close.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD came from a DCPS and started NCS in 4th grade. She came in with an iq score in the 99th percentile, excellent grades, and is an urm (under represented minority). The other girls that entered with her were from suburban public schools. The rest from Beauvoir.

Magic words- underrepresented minority
To get in at middle school means you better have something that they're looking for. Sometimes it's athletics sometimes it's minority status sometimes it's just money.

I think the "magic word" poster is oversimplifying to the point of getting near offensiveness -- the previous poster also said the daughter had high test scores and high IQ.

9:58 PP here. Yes, the crack is borderline offensive. Actually, to get in to the middle school these days it's more about proven intelligence, some sort of artistic ability, uniqueness, and being a full pay applicant. Athletic talent and diversity aren't priorities really, girls with these attributes are in the minority.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD came from a DCPS and started NCS in 4th grade. She came in with an iq score in the 99th percentile, excellent grades, and is an urm (under represented minority). The other girls that entered with her were from suburban public schools. The rest from Beauvoir.

Magic words- underrepresented minority
To get in at middle school means you better have something that they're looking for. Sometimes it's athletics sometimes it's minority status sometimes it's just money.

I think the "magic word" poster is oversimplifying to the point of getting near offensiveness -- the previous poster also said the daughter had high test scores and high IQ.

What's a WOP DCPS?

OP, it's not a given. Applicants to the top DC privates come from privates and publics in DC, VA and MD.

Really? Which school?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD came from a DCPS and started NCS in 4th grade. She came in with an iq score in the 99th percentile, excellent grades, and is an urm (under represented minority). The other girls that entered with her were from suburban public schools. The rest from Beauvoir.

Magic words- underrepresented minority
To get in at middle school means you better have something that they're looking for. Sometimes it's athletics sometimes it's minority status sometimes it's just money.

At my kid's school it's brains. The kids admitted at PK/K have a much greater spectrum of academic ability. The kids admitted for MS or US are almost all clustered at the top end.

Yep. And while we all like to think that our kids are geniuses, if your child starts out at DCPS and ends up being only smart, as opposed 95+% brilliant (not to mention, well-rounded), or perhaps brilliant but doesn't do well on standardized tests, then your chances of admission to private middle school aren't so great. It's definitely safer to start them off in private school.

My DD just finished 5th at a WOP DCPS and multiple kids are off to top privates.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD came from a DCPS and started NCS in 4th grade. She came in with an iq score in the 99th percentile, excellent grades, and is an urm (under represented minority). The other girls that entered with her were from suburban public schools. The rest from Beauvoir.

Magic words- underrepresented minority
To get in at middle school means you better have something that they're looking for. Sometimes it's athletics sometimes it's minority status sometimes it's just money.

At my kid's school it's brains. The kids admitted at PK/K have a much greater spectrum of academic ability. The kids admitted for MS or US are almost all clustered at the top end.

Yep. And while we all like to think that our kids are geniuses, if your child starts out at DCPS and ends up being only smart, as opposed 95+% brilliant (not to mention, well-rounded), or perhaps brilliant but doesn't do well on standardized tests, then your chances of admission to private middle school aren't so great. It's definitely safer to start them off in private school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD came from a DCPS and started NCS in 4th grade. She came in with an iq score in the 99th percentile, excellent grades, and is an urm (under represented minority). The other girls that entered with her were from suburban public schools. The rest from Beauvoir.

Magic words- underrepresented minority
To get in at middle school means you better have something that they're looking for. Sometimes it's athletics sometimes it's minority status sometimes it's just money.

At my kid's school it's brains. The kids admitted at PK/K have a much greater spectrum of academic ability. The kids admitted for MS or US are almost all clustered at the top end.