"I can't figure out how SWW has just 0.7% special needs enrollment. There are many 2E children who could handle the workload with some minimal IEP supports."

Because the principal has publicly said that special needs kids don't pass their test. If you have a 2E kid and hear that, you go some place else. Our advocate has told us that many kids with sped needs at SWW have problems getting their needs met.

And then the application season is fast approaching..... Same pattern every year..... I can't possibly be the only one who notices it.

Yes, they're high schoolers. Many of them are drinking and smoking pot, but I haven't heard of anyone getting out of control at parties or school events or being asked to leave the school due to academic concerns/substance abuse. It sounds like the scenario PP described--kids engaging in the behavior but still maintaining at school.

And of course it's not all the kids. Don't know about the boys v. girls as ringleader role...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
They do not allow tours of the building or shadowing before admission due to the size of the school and disruption it would create.

I call BS on this. Wilson has tours. Hardy has tours. Deal has tours. Charters have tours. My IB elementary, which is 14 rooms, has tours. If they wanted to have tours, they would figure out a way to have tours. They don't have tours because they don't feel they need to.

+1

+100 and their pool may shrink as less kids peel off from Latin and Basis for high school, more stay at Wilson, and other charters start going all the way through.

Interesting thing I heard from a parent with a kid at Walls and the rest at a charter: they said definitively that there is a real alcohol and drug issue at Walls. Wondering if other current Walls parents agree?

Between me and my sibs and cousins we went to 4 different highly regarded private schools here and I can tell you we had our fair share of alcohol and drugs, and some of the kids experimenting or even regularly smoking or drinking on the weekends got into the Ivy League or top SLACs, and then continued to do it at Harvard etc, they did not let it affect their academic performance at all. But it was mostly the boys leading the charge, and I am not sure most parents had a clue because grades did not slip etc, so just curious.....

Anonymous wrote:One, one-hour open house on the first day of winter break? Ugh.

Your child's middle school ends on Dec. 16? Wow, that's earlier than most DCPS schools.

One, one-hour open house on the first day of winter break? Ugh.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
They do not allow tours of the building or shadowing before admission due to the size of the school and disruption it would create.

I call BS on this. Wilson has tours. Hardy has tours. Deal has tours. Charters have tours. My IB elementary, which is 14 rooms, has tours. If they wanted to have tours, they would figure out a way to have tours. They don't have tours because they don't feel they need to.

I find tours a complete waste of time. Always the same thing, tour provider blowing sunshine up your ass, while extolling the virtues of their perfect institution. Unable or unwilling to to be candid about a schools strengths and weaknesses.

Touring the facilities before committing to four years at the school seems like a fundamental step in the decision making process.

Agree. With the way the lottery works, no tours before acceptance just doesn't make sense anymore. Maybe when you could apply to several schools (charter, application, IB) and decide after you were admitted to several which to attend, it was more logical.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
They do not allow tours of the building or shadowing before admission due to the size of the school and disruption it would create.

I call BS on this. Wilson has tours. Hardy has tours. Deal has tours. Charters have tours. My IB elementary, which is 14 rooms, has tours. If they wanted to have tours, they would figure out a way to have tours. They don't have tours because they don't feel they need to.

I find tours a complete waste of time. Always the same thing, tour provider blowing sunshine up your ass, while extolling the virtues of their perfect institution. Unable or unwilling to to be candid about a schools strengths and weaknesses.

Touring the facilities before committing to four years at the school seems like a fundamental step in the decision making process.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
They do not allow tours of the building or shadowing before admission due to the size of the school and disruption it would create.

I call BS on this. Wilson has tours. Hardy has tours. Deal has tours. Charters have tours. My IB elementary, which is 14 rooms, has tours. If they wanted to have tours, they would figure out a way to have tours. They don't have tours because they don't feel they need to.

I find tours a complete waste of time. Always the same thing, tour provider blowing sunshine up your ass, while extolling the virtues of their perfect institution. Unable or unwilling to to be candid about a schools strengths and weaknesses.

This wins the dumb comment of the week. All school have strengths and weaknesses. You should presume there are weaknesses, but to expect any school to go into detail about the school's weaknesses --particularly at a tour --is simply ridiculous.

If you do your research properly, you can determine a school's strengths and weaknesses, weigh them against each other and ultimately determine if the school is a good fit for your child (not to be confused with you).



There's no such thing as a "perfect" school. And even if there was, "perfect" for you, may not be "perfect" for me.

The dumb commentary on DCUM never ceases to amaze me.

And yet you keep reading so that you can insult another person's opinion, how mature of you.
I do not expect the school to highlight their weaknesses but some honesty would help people make informed decisions. Instead, people make decisions based on the marketing and facilities. Hence, the people bashing schools that they have left.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
They do not allow tours of the building or shadowing before admission due to the size of the school and disruption it would create.

I call BS on this. Wilson has tours. Hardy has tours. Deal has tours. Charters have tours. My IB elementary, which is 14 rooms, has tours. If they wanted to have tours, they would figure out a way to have tours. They don't have tours because they don't feel they need to.

I find tours a complete waste of time. Always the same thing, tour provider blowing sunshine up your ass, while extolling the virtues of their perfect institution. Unable or unwilling to to be candid about a schools strengths and weaknesses.

This wins the dumb comment of the week. All school have strengths and weaknesses. You should presume there are weaknesses, but to expect any school to go into detail about the school's weaknesses --particularly at a tour --is simply ridiculous.

If you do your research properly, you can determine a school's strengths and weaknesses, weigh them against each other and ultimately determine if the school is a good fit for your child (not to be confused with you).

There's no such thing as a "perfect" school. And even if there was, "perfect" for you, may not be "perfect" for me.

The dumb commentary on DCUM never ceases to amaze me.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
They do not allow tours of the building or shadowing before admission due to the size of the school and disruption it would create.

I call BS on this. Wilson has tours. Hardy has tours. Deal has tours. Charters have tours. My IB elementary, which is 14 rooms, has tours. If they wanted to have tours, they would figure out a way to have tours. They don't have tours because they don't feel they need to.

I find tours a complete waste of time. Always the same thing, tour provider blowing sunshine up your ass, while extolling the virtues of their perfect institution. Unable or unwilling to to be candid about a schools strengths and weaknesses.

Obviously not everyone agrees with you.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
They do not allow tours of the building or shadowing before admission due to the size of the school and disruption it would create.

I call BS on this. Wilson has tours. Hardy has tours. Deal has tours. Charters have tours. My IB elementary, which is 14 rooms, has tours. If they wanted to have tours, they would figure out a way to have tours. They don't have tours because they don't feel they need to.

I find tours a complete waste of time. Always the same thing, tour provider blowing sunshine up your ass, while extolling the virtues of their perfect institution. Unable or unwilling to to be candid about a schools strengths and weaknesses.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
They do not allow tours of the building or shadowing before admission due to the size of the school and disruption it would create.

I call BS on this. Wilson has tours. Hardy has tours. Deal has tours. Charters have tours. My IB elementary, which is 14 rooms, has tours. If they wanted to have tours, they would figure out a way to have tours. They don't have tours because they don't feel they need to.

+1

Anonymous wrote:
They do not allow tours of the building or shadowing before admission due to the size of the school and disruption it would create.

I call BS on this. Wilson has tours. Hardy has tours. Deal has tours. Charters have tours. My IB elementary, which is 14 rooms, has tours. If they wanted to have tours, they would figure out a way to have tours. They don't have tours because they don't feel they need to.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"4. Students who "pass the test" are asked to interview. . .. In addition, it is important to determine whether the kid really wants to be there or is being forced by a parent. SWW is for kids who want to be there. "

The above is BS. Wouldn't it be amazing if every school was only filled with kids who wanted to be there? The interview process is extremely fishy.

All of the application HS have an interview.

Do any others include students on the interview panel?