Hi, happy WL parent here. I don't think it is helpful to divide schools into STEM o anti-STEM school. Kids need strong exposure to both kinds of classes. Most HS don't know what they want to do before college.

Latin seems to offer most of the AP science and math classes kids would need to pursue a STEM career. I hope 18:38 is wrong in describing WL as a school which doesn't feel the need to support kids who are interested in science. The classics and science can be taught together.

I think what people are missing is that WL is the anti-STEM school, by which i mean that it is focused on providing humanities classes instead of being STEM focused. Its not supposed to be serving a math/science driven population but the minority of kids who are invested in the classics, history etc. . So as someone who actually likes that aspect of the curriculum, if thats not what you want there are plenty of stem focused schools out there, please apply there instead of hijacking this very singular, public non-religious humanities based school by changing the student base and forcing admin to provide sports/stem b/c some kids really don't want it and this is the place for them!

^^^ how would you like to measure that rigor that isn't AP?

Anonymous wrote:NP hard-agree with PP that APs aren't necessarily the best proxy for whether one is receiving a rigorous education. Case in point: the Blair STEM magnet program in MCPS, where my nephew goes, doesn't offer AP physics or AP BC calculus or several other STEM APs, but obviously the classes are college level, and kids take the AP exams and do well on them. They choose not to do AP because they want to be able to teach their own curriculum.

Yes, but that isn't what is happening at Latin. Correct me if I'm wrong, but unlike Blair magnet, their most rigorous offering is AP, but not the hardest APs.

NP hard-agree with PP that APs aren't necessarily the best proxy for whether one is receiving a rigorous education. Case in point: the Blair STEM magnet program in MCPS, where my nephew goes, doesn't offer AP physics or AP BC calculus or several other STEM APs, but obviously the classes are college level, and kids take the AP exams and do well on them. They choose not to do AP because they want to be able to teach their own curriculum.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The adjustment should be fine. It's a warm happy place and the academics are not terribly advanced.

Last year they offered 10 new slots at 9th. So it doesn't expand by much.

3-4 years ago it was a given that as many as 1/3 of the students left after 8th to attend private or SWW. More seem to be staying for HS now that they are in their permanent space and have placed a couple graduating classes in college.

Tried for 9th grade 3 years ago, and were # 25 on waiting list. Only 5 were admitted.

Where did your child end up going for HS? Thanks

Anonymous wrote:The adjustment should be fine. It's a warm happy place and the academics are not terribly advanced.

Last year they offered 10 new slots at 9th. So it doesn't expand by much.

3-4 years ago it was a given that as many as 1/3 of the students left after 8th to attend private or SWW. More seem to be staying for HS now that they are in their permanent space and have placed a couple graduating classes in college.

Tried for 9th grade 3 years ago, and were # 25 on waiting list. Only 5 were admitted.

Also, Latin doesn't teach Spanish or Economics so wouldn't have AP in those classes.