Anonymous wrote:Op. Why don't you reach out to school administration about scheduling an Faq session for parents on the curriculum? That seems like a better and more direct way to get info.

Or DCI should do a better job explaining its curriculum on its website. Every prospective parent should not have to call DCI with a laundry list of questions that could easily be answered on its website. It's a waste of time for both parents and DCI. I already have concerns about the academic rigor at DCI. The lack of information about DCI's curriculum on the website makes me wonder if the school administrators fully understand what they're doing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP. Interesting thread. Our DS was accepted to DCI and at the last minute was offered a spot at Basis. We chose Basis and haven't looked back. OP, you should look at Basis for next year. DCI seems lovely for the kids, but if you are looking for academic rigor, you should probably look elsewhere.

Except she can't - her DC is in 6th and BASIS only accepts 5th and 6th graders.

That is not true Basis Charter has changed.

Op shouldn't have to ask to have the curriculum explained, especially if they follow the IB curriculum which many parents are not familiar with. Pretty basic information. I also think parent should understand how kids are tracked. I don't blame OP for feeling frustrated.

Op. Why don't you reach out to school administration about scheduling an Faq session for parents on the curriculum? That seems like a better and more direct way to get info.

They lost me at brunch, followed by a lunch period later in the day. Long school day with lots of down time. We didn't continue from a feeder to DCI.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At DCI, there are multiple language levels for each language, and students may be in any level in grades 6-8 (for instance, a 6th grader may be in Spanish 3, and an 8th grader may be in Spanish 1). Some students are accelerated a year in math, and there is high-school level Integrated Math I for eighth graders who are accelerated. (DCI follows an integrated math high school pathway, not Algebra/Geometry/Algebra II.) All students in the grade level are in the same English class, and there is differentiation (some different books, etc.) within the class, as well as reading support classes for those who need.

OP here: thank you! This is more info than I've gotten so far.

shouldn't the school give parents this info? It's middle school - parents are still pretty involved in their kid's schooling in middle school. right?

High schools give out much more information and parents are typically very involved there, too.

Anonymous wrote:NP. Interesting thread. Our DS was accepted to DCI and at the last minute was offered a spot at Basis. We chose Basis and haven't looked back. OP, you should look at Basis for next year. DCI seems lovely for the kids, but if you are looking for academic rigor, you should probably look elsewhere.

Except she can't - her DC is in 6th and BASIS only accepts 5th and 6th graders.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At DCI, there are multiple language levels for each language, and students may be in any level in grades 6-8 (for instance, a 6th grader may be in Spanish 3, and an 8th grader may be in Spanish 1). Some students are accelerated a year in math, and there is high-school level Integrated Math I for eighth graders who are accelerated. (DCI follows an integrated math high school pathway, not Algebra/Geometry/Algebra II.) All students in the grade level are in the same English class, and there is differentiation (some different books, etc.) within the class, as well as reading support classes for those who need.

OP here: thank you! This is more info than I've gotten so far.

shouldn't the school give parents this info? It's middle school - parents are still pretty involved in their kid's schooling in middle school. right?

NP. Interesting thread. Our DS was accepted to DCI and at the last minute was offered a spot at Basis. We chose Basis and haven't looked back. OP, you should look at Basis for next year. DCI seems lovely for the kids, but if you are looking for academic rigor, you should probably look elsewhere.

There's a good graphic on p. 4. Detail on the integrated pathway (what it covers and when starts on p 117). The traditional pathway has much of the space before that.

Here's a big of overview:

"Four model course pathways are included:
1. An approach typically seen in the U.S. (Traditional) that consists of two algebra courses and a geometry course, with some data, probability and statistics included in each course;
2. An approach typically seen internationally (Integrated) that consists of a sequence of three courses, each of which includes number, algebra, geometry, probability and statistics;
3. A “compacted” version of the Traditional pathway where no content is omitted, in which students would complete the content of 7th grade, 8th grade, and the High School Algebra I course in grades 7 (Compacted 7th Grade) and 8 (8th Grade Algebra I), which will enable them to reach Calculus or other college level courses by their senior year. While the K-7 CCSS effectively prepare students for algebra in 8th grade, some standards from 8th grade have been placed in the Accelerated 7th Grade course to make the 8th Grade Algebra I course more manageable;
4. A “compacted” version of the Integrated pathway where no content is omitted, in which students would com- plete the content of 7th grade, 8th grade, and the Mathematics I course in grades 7 (Compacted 7th Grade) and 8 (8th Grade Mathematics I), which will enable them to reach Calculus or other college level courses by their senior year. While the K-7 CCSS effectively prepare students for algebra in 8th grade, some standards from 8th grade have been placed in the Accelerated 7th Grade course to make the 8th Grade Mathematics I course more manageable;"

We are at a feeder school so I find this very interesting. It looks like more schools are switching to Integrated Math--which is common in other countries and hence in IB--under Common Core though the traditional sequence is also still an option.

I've just started to skim this, which was linked form the Ed Week article and it's quite helpful.
http://www.corestandards.org/assets/CCSSI_Mathematics_Appendix_A.pdf

DCI does the integrated high school math that is a common thing in IB. It is my understanding that some of the 8th graders are taking it now. I assume that means they got teacher recommendations to take 8th grade math as 7th graders last year and this is the pathway.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The high school math is integrated, but I don't know if it is ability tracked or if you just eventually reach the course and then take it.

Are you referring to Basis or DCI? DCI does not (yet) have HS.

DCI

Anonymous wrote:The high school math is integrated, but I don't know if it is ability tracked or if you just eventually reach the course and then take it.

Are you referring to Basis or DCI? DCI does not (yet) have HS.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The high school math is integrated, but I don't know if it is ability tracked or if you just eventually reach the course and then take it.

Ok, but these courses (math and language) must correlate to traditional courses somehow. So, what does Integrated Math I cover? And what do the subsequent math courses cover? It really shouldn't be this hard to figure out what my child will eventually learn in middle and high school.

This Education Week covers integrated math generally, and how it compares to the traditional sequence. Not sure this is exactly how IB/DCI does it, but it's probably close. [You need to register with EdWeek to view the whole story but it's free.] http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2014/11/12/12cc-integratedmath.h34.html