Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This conversation has been interesting to me because much of it doesn’t really match our experience at our Title I high school. I think part of the difference is that we're in a strong district and have had solid leadership (our current principal is great). Our school has a large ESOL and FARMs population, along with middle- and upper-middle-class families. Students who are motivated tend to do well regardless of background. Most college-bound students go to Virginia schools, but others end up at Ivies and others at community colleges.

Title 1 schools can vary a lot. All is means is >40 of families are designated low income. There are schools were 80% of kids have low income families. What makes your district strong? It’s hard to have a strong district and accelerated academic opportunities when so few kids are capable of or want to utilizing those opportunities

I know. We are in a Title I school. Our school is over 50% FARMS (and was almost 60% last year), and our ESOL population is 40%. What makes our school district strong is that it is ranked among the highest in the nation. Our school system includes some of the best high schools in the country. We just happen to live in a part of the county that has high pockets of immigrant populations, which makes some people nervous for whatever reason.

Student A: Langley HS with 1520 on the SAT, 4.25 GPA, and 8 AP classes. Rejection to UVA

Student B: Annandale HS with 1520 SAT, 4.25 GPA, and 8 AP classes. Admitted to UVA

the top 1% student at Annandale HS is the average student at Langley HS. UVA is not going to admit half of Langley HS graduation class.

Anonymous wrote:This conversation has been interesting to me because much of it doesn’t really match our experience at our Title I high school. I think part of the difference is that we're in a strong district and have had solid leadership (our current principal is great). Our school has a large ESOL and FARMs population, along with middle- and upper-middle-class families. Students who are motivated tend to do well regardless of background. Most college-bound students go to Virginia schools, but others end up at Ivies and others at community colleges.

Title 1 schools can vary a lot. All is means is >40 of families are designated low income. There are schools were 80% of kids have low income families. What makes your district strong? It’s hard to have a strong district and accelerated academic opportunities when so few kids are capable of or want to utilizing those opportunities

This conversation has been interesting to me because much of it doesn’t really match our experience at our Title I high school. I think part of the difference is that we're in a strong district and have had solid leadership (our current principal is great). Our school has a large ESOL and FARMs population, along with middle- and upper-middle-class families. Students who are motivated tend to do well regardless of background. Most college-bound students go to Virginia schools, but others end up at Ivies and others at community colleges.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Totally FWIW: My child attends a no-kidding low-income, small rural high school. Sure, it's a huge advantage to have educated, employed parents (or just two parents at home, full stop). But it's no freebie for college admissions for the small number of better-off kids. The education is, in fact, much worse than what you'd get in a suburban school. Not just far fewer APs, etc, although that's true. But the plain education is worse. Even the honors student don't read many books, don't write many papers, don't learn much math. I'm sure my child will get *some* preference for college admission. But it really is a greater challenge, even with educated parents. Don't do this as a strategic choice is all I can say!

I don’t think anyone would suggest a student go to a small RURAL school.

But urban T1 schools have the same issue. I’m not slamming the school (my DS is in a T1 MS and some aspects have been wonderful). Just that when a school is T1 it is naturally not focused on higher level academics and college admissions and that does have an impact. The MS teacher PP is likely still right that this doesn’t fundamentally change a kid’s trajectory, but honestly a T1 kid is likely to be less academically prepared in college. Especially with respect to the classes/subjects that are not tracked. I think as a parent it all depends on what you value - some do sincerely value integration, some like where they live and don’t want to move for a “better” school, some see the T1 school as providing other benefits. One huge benefit is that our IB T1 HS isn’t the academic pressure cooker and has a much more open and relaxed vibe than I imagine suburban HS would have. On the other hand the absentee rate is sky high and the fights more serious. The bougie and MC black moms in the neighborhood would not send their kids there …

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In my experience as a private middle school teacher, college placements matched most kids middle school academic abilities, despite the high school they attended. Smart kids that went to private or public high school (most went to low-prestige ones, hence going to private k-8), did well on college admissions. Kids that were average, for the most part, in middle school, are at JMU, VCU, Coastal Carolina (all fine schools) despite parents shelling out money and lost time driving kids to and from in order to avoid the “scary” public high schools.

What about the bright kids that underperformed in MS?

To a middle school teacher, they just look to be an average kid.

lol. Nobody would say my kid was average, for better or for worse.

Anonymous wrote:Totally FWIW: My child attends a no-kidding low-income, small rural high school. Sure, it's a huge advantage to have educated, employed parents (or just two parents at home, full stop). But it's no freebie for college admissions for the small number of better-off kids. The education is, in fact, much worse than what you'd get in a suburban school. Not just far fewer APs, etc, although that's true. But the plain education is worse. Even the honors student don't read many books, don't write many papers, don't learn much math. I'm sure my child will get *some* preference for college admission. But it really is a greater challenge, even with educated parents. Don't do this as a strategic choice is all I can say!

Yep. My friend who grew up in the rural Midwest says the same thing. A tiny k-12 school that just did not support any sort of higher level academics. She ended up going to boarding school.

A really bright kid arguably could end up in the same place with college admissions, but would enter college much less prepared.

Anonymous wrote:Totally FWIW: My child attends a no-kidding low-income, small rural high school. Sure, it's a huge advantage to have educated, employed parents (or just two parents at home, full stop). But it's no freebie for college admissions for the small number of better-off kids. The education is, in fact, much worse than what you'd get in a suburban school. Not just far fewer APs, etc, although that's true. But the plain education is worse. Even the honors student don't read many books, don't write many papers, don't learn much math. I'm sure my child will get *some* preference for college admission. But it really is a greater challenge, even with educated parents. Don't do this as a strategic choice is all I can say!

I don’t think anyone would suggest a student go to a small RURAL school.

Anonymous wrote:Totally FWIW: My child attends a no-kidding low-income, small rural high school. Sure, it's a huge advantage to have educated, employed parents (or just two parents at home, full stop). But it's no freebie for college admissions for the small number of better-off kids. The education is, in fact, much worse than what you'd get in a suburban school. Not just far fewer APs, etc, although that's true. But the plain education is worse. Even the honors student don't read many books, don't write many papers, don't learn much math. I'm sure my child will get *some* preference for college admission. But it really is a greater challenge, even with educated parents. Don't do this as a strategic choice is all I can say!

Even is much better schools, many kids self study after school. Your kids should do the same.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In my experience as a private middle school teacher, college placements matched most kids middle school academic abilities, despite the high school they attended. Smart kids that went to private or public high school (most went to low-prestige ones, hence going to private k-8), did well on college admissions. Kids that were average, for the most part, in middle school, are at JMU, VCU, Coastal Carolina (all fine schools) despite parents shelling out money and lost time driving kids to and from in order to avoid the “scary” public high schools.

What about the bright kids that underperformed in MS?

To a middle school teacher, they just look to be an average kid.

Totally FWIW: My child attends a no-kidding low-income, small rural high school. Sure, it's a huge advantage to have educated, employed parents (or just two parents at home, full stop). But it's no freebie for college admissions for the small number of better-off kids. The education is, in fact, much worse than what you'd get in a suburban school. Not just far fewer APs, etc, although that's true. But the plain education is worse. Even the honors student don't read many books, don't write many papers, don't learn much math. I'm sure my child will get *some* preference for college admission. But it really is a greater challenge, even with educated parents. Don't do this as a strategic choice is all I can say!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In my experience as a private middle school teacher, college placements matched most kids middle school academic abilities, despite the high school they attended. Smart kids that went to private or public high school (most went to low-prestige ones, hence going to private k-8), did well on college admissions. Kids that were average, for the most part, in middle school, are at JMU, VCU, Coastal Carolina (all fine schools) despite parents shelling out money and lost time driving kids to and from in order to avoid the “scary” public high schools.

What about the bright kids that underperformed in MS?

Outliers.

Anonymous wrote:In my experience as a private middle school teacher, college placements matched most kids middle school academic abilities, despite the high school they attended. Smart kids that went to private or public high school (most went to low-prestige ones, hence going to private k-8), did well on college admissions. Kids that were average, for the most part, in middle school, are at JMU, VCU, Coastal Carolina (all fine schools) despite parents shelling out money and lost time driving kids to and from in order to avoid the “scary” public high schools.

What about the bright kids that underperformed in MS?

I think Alex City is a more apt example. Class of 1000, about 100 per go to top 50-ish schools. It’s a big enough cohort.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How exactly are you getting screwed. You decided to move away from Cardozo HS where your kids could have been top of theclass, to an area where they could have friends "with a similar ses".

Come on, drop the BS. Cardozo wasn't a safe option for a white kid and you know it.

Why are you assuming they were a white family?