Anonymous wrote:TJ has a much bigger talent pool to pull from and students who come from all over the world to attend there.

SAT scores are one aspect of a school . I was impressed by how passionate and engaged the students were in the world around them.

Umm, it is still a test in public school. There is no reason the federal city cannot have a test in public school of the same caliber here. As it stands now the DCPS test in schools are not in the same league as TJ by a long stretch.

Kids with real athletic talent and promise are not in high school athletics. Maybe if time allows but for the most part they are doing travel leagues, AAU etc.

Club and activities are dictated by the student population. A soccer team can't be generated if you don't have interested kids in the program.

Why heck, DCYO is located in one high-school and not one actual student from the high-school is enrolled. Yet, the school has a marching band that is renowned. So, the lure is not the activities but the school in general.

It is amazes me when a person comes and says they want to start crochet club and when all the black kids show up, there's all of sudden wonderment about the "reach out" to the white minority.

As for students traveling other schools to participate in clubs in makes them the whole student. Banneker, SWW, Phelps and McKinley students partiicpated at various schools, including Wilson and Eastern.

The thimble worth of black students that attend TJ is a joke.

TJ has a much bigger talent pool to pull from and students who come from all over the world to attend there.

SAT scores are one aspect of a school . I was impressed by how passionate and engaged the students were in the world around them.

Anonymous wrote:
I don't have any high school aged children yet so I don't have to worry about this issue for a while. However I used to volunteer at Banneker and I think it's a fantastic school and I just don't get why many DCUMers think their children would be jumped by gang members if they went there. I was really impressed by the Banneker students they were very ambitious, smart and just seemed to be very wise beyond their years.

Banneker is a decent school, but fantastic? Every Banneker thread here seems to point out that their average SAT scores are BELOW the national average, in the high 400s and low 500s. Thomas Jefferson's average scores are in the low 700s. Hint: AA students attend TJ, too.

OP here. My family and friends are quite diverse actually.

I don't have any high school aged children yet so I don't have to worry about this issue for a while. However I used to volunteer at Banneker and I think it's a fantastic school and I just don't get why many DCUMers think their children would be jumped by gang members if they went there. I was really impressed by the Banneker students they were very ambitious, smart and just seemed to be very wise beyond their years.

I just don't understand the whole argument that there aren't enough good options and then exclude several great schools on the argument that they aren't white enough. I've been the only white person in a room. It was uncomfortable the first time but I got over it. And it occurs to me that for many minorities they don't have the option to always surround themselves with peopel of their own race, they venture out and have to be "the only" in a room far more often.

There are many diverse schools in Montgomery and Fairfax Counties. DCPS seems to have the most problem with integration. The problem with DCPS is not integration the problem is that the majority of them are crappy. Manny AA families wouldn't want their children to attend DCPS either. Those who want true integration will incorporate it in their life through friends, place of worship, social activities, etc. You don't have to wait for the schools if you want your child to have friends of other races and cultures. How about establishing friendships with other moms of different races if you want integration, invite someone of a different race to your home for dinner, attend diversity/multicultural events, etc. Integration starts at home. If you truly want it, then you will adopt a multicultural way of thinking and living.

It's funny because the main folks that talk about school integration are the main ones who self segregate in their personal lives. Gandhi once said, " You be the change that you want to see in the world." So, make the change to integrate others into your personal life and be real about it. Less talk more action. What good is a diverse school going to do when you self-segregate yourself in other areas of your life? It is up to you the parent. Stop waiting on the schools and others. You want change, then make it happen in your life period.

Anonymous wrote:

DC has new whites moving into predominately black neighborhoods now that aren’t zoned for Deal/Wilson. They will have no choice but to send their kids to other middle/high schools. Soon it will be enough of them going to a neighborhood school where they will feel more comfortable. I was surprised by how many whites were at my child’s play date social for Powell.