Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am not a parent and either of these schools but:

YAY for Ross, that is AMAZING!
Yay for Eaton!
Impressed with Basis and think it has a direct relation of th Latin's significant drop in scores
Stoddert is earning the S in the now ERJKLMMS!! Very impressed with Stoddert, larger OOB, minority and FARM than many schools WOTP and still scores keep rising.
Keep it up YY (shake the haters off)!
Why don't Shepherd, Mckinley High, and Banneker get love on DCUM? Can't help to think it's a race thing. Especially since Shepherd is only 33% FARM (79% black), aren't those the "safe" ones you want your kid to go to school with?

FWIW, Shepherd's demographics are changing rapidly. Upper grades are almost completely black, but the new PS3 class (at least what I could tell from school tours and PS3 Pop in and Preview day) will be less so.

In addition, upper grades are mostly OOB and have a higher FARMS percentage, but the PS3 class looks like it will be all IB this year. I expect test scores will continue to improve, since most Shepherd IB families are relatively high SES. Who knows, maybe the relatively new International Bacc. curriculum will also help in this regard.

That being said, I have to agree w/a PP--Shepherd is still too far out of the way for most to consider--at least for now, until the school's popularity catches up w/its test scores and potential.

-Parent of a rising Shepherd PS3er

Eeew! I don't like you and I am IB. Is this the type of white IB resident we are attracting these days. Shepherd does not need changing demographics, aka white students to achieve. Scores have always been decent in spite of the iffy administrations it has had.

I remember when white people wanting to send their kids to SEGREGATED schools made them racist (which I think was a fair charecterization - and is still the case in much of America) DC is so odd in that white people wanting to send their kids to an integrated school makes them racist.

Ah, well, so much for a productive thread. Next.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am not a parent and either of these schools but:

YAY for Ross, that is AMAZING!
Yay for Eaton!
Impressed with Basis and think it has a direct relation of th Latin's significant drop in scores
Stoddert is earning the S in the now ERJKLMMS!! Very impressed with Stoddert, larger OOB, minority and FARM than many schools WOTP and still scores keep rising.
Keep it up YY (shake the haters off)!
Why don't Shepherd, Mckinley High, and Banneker get love on DCUM? Can't help to think it's a race thing. Especially since Shepherd is only 33% FARM (79% black), aren't those the "safe" ones you want your kid to go to school with?

FWIW, Shepherd's demographics are changing rapidly. Upper grades are almost completely black, but the new PS3 class (at least what I could tell from school tours and PS3 Pop in and Preview day) will be less so.

In addition, upper grades are mostly OOB and have a higher FARMS percentage, but the PS3 class looks like it will be all IB this year. I expect test scores will continue to improve, since most Shepherd IB families are relatively high SES. Who knows, maybe the relatively new International Bacc. curriculum will also help in this regard.

That being said, I have to agree w/a PP--Shepherd is still too far out of the way for most to consider--at least for now, until the school's popularity catches up w/its test scores and potential.

-Parent of a rising Shepherd PS3er

Eeew! I don't like you and I am IB. Is this the type of white IB resident we are attracting these days. Shepherd does not need changing demographics, aka white students to achieve. Scores have always been decent in spite of the iffy administrations it has had.

Totally agree. I am an IB parent of an AA boy that is advanced. Posts like these make me nervous to think who my neighbors are.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But where are you seeing the results at the school level? I checked on DCPS website and what they say is that single school results will be published at the end of August.

Thanks for letting me know.

School by School
http://osse.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/osse/publication/attachments/2014%20DC%20CAS%20Classification%20Results%20by%20Sector%20by%20School.pdf

How has ballou not been shut down. Less than 20% proficient. No one should be allowed to graduate unless they are proficient. this is what happens when DCPS keeps passing kids through year after year.

You obviously have not ever driven by Ballou and are spouting off. If you saw it and went inside the building, you would commend these students for achieving this proficiency rate. Going inside just once made me sick and want to leave immediately; it is 3rd world and I commend the students for attending. In addition, the students are highly discouraged from wearing coats to school and having a backpack. So much walking to school in the cold, and the impact on homework or supplies. It slows up the metal detector and they have too many students. Never crossed your mind that maybe there was a reason that Ward 8 felt neglected with all the school renovation happening in the more affluent Wards under Fenty and Rhee. Thank God, Gray made renovating Ballou a priority.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am not a parent and either of these schools but:

YAY for Ross, that is AMAZING!
Yay for Eaton!
Impressed with Basis and think it has a direct relation of th Latin's significant drop in scores
Stoddert is earning the S in the now ERJKLMMS!! Very impressed with Stoddert, larger OOB, minority and FARM than many schools WOTP and still scores keep rising.
Keep it up YY (shake the haters off)!
Why don't Shepherd, Mckinley High, and Banneker get love on DCUM? Can't help to think it's a race thing. Especially since Shepherd is only 33% FARM (79% black), aren't those the "safe" ones you want your kid to go to school with?

Totally agree. I hate to see Latin scores drop because I believe it is a good school overall, but BASIS took the top students (and potential tops) from Latins' pool. BASIS will be the top MS/HS in the area in about 2 years.

Don't think it is a foregone conclusion that BASIS students had a direct relation to Latin's scores. My AA DC was high-performing going into BASIS. We would never have gone to Latin; would have tried for Eaton; IB for Deal. Second it is a lottery. Just because you apply doesn't mean you get in.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am not a parent and either of these schools but:

YAY for Ross, that is AMAZING!
Yay for Eaton!
Impressed with Basis and think it has a direct relation of th Latin's significant drop in scores
Stoddert is earning the S in the now ERJKLMMS!! Very impressed with Stoddert, larger OOB, minority and FARM than many schools WOTP and still scores keep rising.
Keep it up YY (shake the haters off)!
Why don't Shepherd, Mckinley High, and Banneker get love on DCUM? Can't help to think it's a race thing. Especially since Shepherd is only 33% FARM (79% black), aren't those the "safe" ones you want your kid to go to school with?

FWIW, Shepherd's demographics are changing rapidly. Upper grades are almost completely black, but the new PS3 class (at least what I could tell from school tours and PS3 Pop in and Preview day) will be less so.

In addition, upper grades are mostly OOB and have a higher FARMS percentage, but the PS3 class looks like it will be all IB this year. I expect test scores will continue to improve, since most Shepherd IB families are relatively high SES. Who knows, maybe the relatively new International Bacc. curriculum will also help in this regard.

That being said, I have to agree w/a PP--Shepherd is still too far out of the way for most to consider--at least for now, until the school's popularity catches up w/its test scores and potential.

-Parent of a rising Shepherd PS3er

Eeew! I don't like you and I am IB. Is this the type of white IB resident we are attracting these days. Shepherd does not need changing demographics, aka white students to achieve. Scores have always been decent in spite of the iffy administrations it has had.

wrong thread. sorry.

Lets bring some data to the discussion, yes? I'll present the schools as if they follow a feeder pattern. This is for two reasons: it is a much simpler way to present what is at present a very complicated process; it is in line with the recent boundary proposal. While the presentation below is not exact, you cannot go wrong if you follow it as if it were exact. That is, nothing below is misrepresented. Rather, some additional paths are left out.

NW Elementary Schools
School -- Internal DC Rating (higher is better) -- Neighborhood

Mann -- 94.75 -- Spring Valley, Wesley Heights
Janney -- 94.55 -- Tenleytown, AU Park
Ross -- 93 -- Dupont Circle
Lafayette -- 92.92 -- Chevy Chase, Barnaby Woods
Key -- 92.05 -- Palisades, Berkley
Stoddert -- 91.94 -- Glover Park
Eaton -- 90.23 -- Cleveland Park
Murch -- 89.24 -- Friendship Heights, Van Ness
Hyde -- 79.18 -- Georgetown, Burleith
Hearst -- 77.1 -- Forest Hills, N. Clevelend Park

(Capitol Hill folks will object that I've left them out. It's true. There are a couple of elementary schools in Capitol Hill with scores in the low-80s / high-70s.)

Middle School
School -- Rating -- Feeder Elementary Schools (get neighborhoods from above)

Deal -- 91.89 -- Janney, Lafayette, Murch, Hearst, Eaton (maybe)
Hardy -- 71.13 -- Mann, Key, Stoddert, Hyde, Eaton (maybe)

High School
School -- Rating -- Feeder Middle Schools

Wilson -- 72.75 -- Deal, Hardy


-----
Generally, the above sets are the schools among which you should feel comfortable choosing. I would have no hesitation sending my children to any of the schools listed above.

As for the poster mentioning the DC school system is the worst in the country. They're probably right. That being said, if your child comes from an educated, motivated household that cares about learning, your child should thrive in DCPS. How do we know this? Well, white test scores (which, in DC, is a proxy for high-income and all of its correlates) are the highest in the country. I repeat, in the country.

Anonymous wrote:

No need to brag. Obvi the PP was referring to other immersion charters. No matter how you slice it, YY scores are very impressive. Why do so many wish failure for this school?

-Non immersion parent

I am a new poster and I too wish for YY (and dozens of other charter schools) to thrive.

This said ..... I believe I speak for a lot of people IRL and on DCUM when I say that I am sick of repeatedly hearing from -some- (not all) YY parents that YY is

- the very best public school in the entire city.

- a better education than is offered in any private school in all of Washington DC, and

- the obvious 1st choice for any educated professional parent who reads the NYT daily, because don't you know? Learning Mandarin means you'll do better in life than if you don't, given that (blah blah blah blah China blah blah)


I hear variations on this in DCUM all the time. And I absolutely get this line from an real-life acquaintance of mine whose child has been attending YY for a few years (who, I think it's relevant, lives IB for a top DCPS and could swing private). No, hon, we all just have different priorities.

+100. YY boosters, please shut up already. You bore us all to death.

Anonymous wrote:Nah, you can't be sure how good his tones are unless you speak at least one Chinese dialect, and speak to him in it. Everybody DC parent I know who does this (two dozen) avoids YY. I'm a bit impressed with YY's English scores though despite the dip. They're better than the other immersion schools.

All of my friends with kids at Yu Ying speak Mandarin at home.

Anonymous wrote:

No need to brag. Obvi the PP was referring to other immersion charters. No matter how you slice it, YY scores are very impressive. Why do so many wish failure for this school?

-Non immersion parent

I am a new poster and I too wish for YY (and dozens of other charter schools) to thrive.

This said ..... I believe I speak for a lot of people IRL and on DCUM when I say that I am sick of repeatedly hearing from -some- (not all) YY parents that YY is

- the very best public school in the entire city.

- a better education than is offered in any private school in all of Washington DC, and

- the obvious 1st choice for any educated professional parent who reads the NYT daily, because don't you know? Learning Mandarin means you'll do better in life than if you don't, given that (blah blah blah blah China blah blah)


I hear variations on this in DCUM all the time. And I absolutely get this line from an real-life acquaintance of mine whose child has been attending YY for a few years (who, I think it's relevant, lives IB for a top DCPS and could swing private). No, hon, we all just have different priorities.

DP, everyone has their own experiences, but after 4 yrs on DCUM and 4 years reading about YY and knowing famines who attend there, I can say I have literally NEVER heard a YY family say *any* of those statements.

What I do hear is that they think it's best for them, that they can't believe it exists, and several stories of families who would have otherwise left DC but don't feel like they will find anywhere else like it. (Not that there aren't other bilingual Mandarin schools, they just like a combo of factors YY has that they say seems rare.

They also never say it's perfect, and everyone I know there has things they would change about it. But most of them have other choices and none of them are going anywhere. I'd say the fairly low attrition speaks for itself.

No need to brag. Obvi the PP was referring to other immersion charters. No matter how you slice it, YY scores are very impressive. Why do so many wish failure for this school?

-Non immersion parent

I am a new poster and I too wish for YY (and dozens of other charter schools) to thrive.

This said ..... I believe I speak for a lot of people IRL and on DCUM when I say that I am sick of repeatedly hearing from -some- (not all) YY parents that YY is

- the very best public school in the entire city.

- a better education than is offered in any private school in all of Washington DC, and

- the obvious 1st choice for any educated professional parent who reads the NYT daily, because don't you know? Learning Mandarin means you'll do better in life than if you don't, given that (blah blah blah blah China blah blah)


I hear variations on this in DCUM all the time. And I absolutely get this line from an real-life acquaintance of mine whose child has been attending YY for a few years (who, I think it's relevant, lives IB for a top DCPS and could swing private). No, hon, we all just have different priorities.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nah, you can't be sure how good his tones are unless you speak at least one Chinese dialect, and speak to him in it. Everybody DC parent I know who does this (two dozen) avoids YY. I'm a bit impressed with YY's English scores though despite the dip. They're better than the other immersion schools.

Actually, Oyster has the best scores among dual immersion schools.

No need to brag. Obvi the PP was referring to other immersion charters. No matter how you slice it, YY scores are very impressive. Why do so many wish failure for this school?

-Non immersion parent

Goodness we sure have low standards around here

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nah, you can't be sure how good his tones are unless you speak at least one Chinese dialect, and speak to him in it. Everybody DC parent I know who does this (two dozen) avoids YY. I'm a bit impressed with YY's English scores though despite the dip. They're better than the other immersion schools.

Actually, Oyster has the best scores among dual immersion schools.

No need to brag. Obvi the PP was referring to other immersion charters. No matter how you slice it, YY scores are very impressive. Why do so many wish failure for this school?

-Non immersion parent

Anonymous wrote:Nah, you can't be sure how good his tones are unless you speak at least one Chinese dialect, and speak to him in it. Everybody DC parent I know who does this (two dozen) avoids YY. I'm a bit impressed with YY's English scores though despite the dip. They're better than the other immersion schools.

My parents are native speakers and my kid's tones are "perfect". "Avoids YY"?!? Well, good for them that they got their kids in in the first place so they can turn it down