Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Several of them (the ones offering PK-5 and 7&8) are phasing out middle school and kids will go to MacFarland. New North will also consolidate more middle schools.

I would like to see the following middle schools close as well:
* Adams (send kids to MacFarland, raising the school size and test scores there and allowing more space for bilingual elementary school at Oyster-Adams)
* Francis-Stevens (send kids to Cardozo, raising the school size and test scores there and allowing more space for elementary students)
* CHM@L (just stop at 5th grade so the school can accommodate more little kids....the school doesn't provide middle school the way Maria Montessori envisioned it at all, and since they insist on prior Montessori experience it's doomed to be a tiny middle school going forward).

——-
Brilliant. I second this motion.

Terrible idea - cut viable neighborhood middle school seats from DCPS and watch families with options bleed to upper NW, charters, privates and the burbs.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Several of them (the ones offering PK-5 and 7&8) are phasing out middle school and kids will go to MacFarland. New North will also consolidate more middle schools.

I would like to see the following middle schools close as well:
* Adams (send kids to MacFarland, raising the school size and test scores there and allowing more space for bilingual elementary school at Oyster-Adams)
* Francis-Stevens (send kids to Cardozo, raising the school size and test scores there and allowing more space for elementary students)
* CHM@L (just stop at 5th grade so the school can accommodate more little kids....the school doesn't provide middle school the way Maria Montessori envisioned it at all, and since they insist on prior Montessori experience it's doomed to be a tiny middle school going forward).

——-
Brilliant. I second this motion.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Several of them (the ones offering PK-5 and 7&8) are phasing out middle school and kids will go to MacFarland. New North will also consolidate more middle schools.

I would like to see the following middle schools close as well:
* Adams (send kids to MacFarland, raising the school size and test scores there and allowing more space for bilingual elementary school at Oyster-Adams)
* Francis-Stevens (send kids to Cardozo, raising the school size and test scores there and allowing more space for elementary students)
* CHM@L (just stop at 5th grade so the school can accommodate more little kids....the school doesn't provide middle school the way Maria Montessori envisioned it at all, and since they insist on prior Montessori experience it's doomed to be a tiny middle school going forward).

The idea that you can "send" kids to X or Y middle school is delusional ... families with choices will bleed to upper NW, charters, privates and the burbs unless the destination MS is attractive which Cardozo and MacFarland are not for the moment.

The tipping point for where moderately risk-averse families (mostly white, mostly rich) are willing to try a school comes pretty quickly though. We're seeing it at Stuart-Hobson, Inspired Teaching and Creative Minds Middle Schools. Two Rivers, etc. If there's a year where half a dozen rich white families go to a school, then 10 more show up the next year.

Um, Stuart Hobson has been riding the Cluster hobby-horse for more than 30 years and it still garners no respect. This weakens your argument, doesn't strengthen it.

And 2Rivers weak spot for MS was always that it would take all comers. That is why UMC families leave.

Don't even bother with the others, they were born yesterday.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about DCI?

IB curriculum is strong.

Has three foreign language options.

NP. DCI sounds good, but my take is that there are currently too many discipline problems, not nearly enough high-performing students, and hardly any native speakers off the Spanish track. In short, not worth the long schlep from Capitol Hill for us. Pass, though we got a spot. If the school were 4 or 5 years further along, maybe. Private for us.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about DCI?

IB curriculum is strong.

Has three foreign language options.

NP. DCI sounds good, but my take is that there are currently too many discipline problems, not nearly enough high-performing students, and hardly any native speakers off the Spanish track. In short, not worth the long schlep from Capitol Hill for us. Pass, though we got a spot. If the school were 4 or 5 years further along, maybe. Private for us.

Really? Aren't their scores similar to the "coveted middles" in the city (being a lot newer to boot)?

np -- 2017 parcc

Latin
ELA 65% proficient/advanced
Math 53% proficient/advanced

DCI
ELA 55%
Math 41%

BASIS
ELA 57%
Math 57%

DCI's scores are arguably better since they serve far more economically disadvantaged and at-risk students

Anyone have insight on DC Prep Edgewood Middle? Checking their Parcc scores and they are competitive as well:
Math 57%
ELA 54%

If you google videos of dc prep middle school lessons you'll see some--mostly from 2012 and 2014 but it could give you an idea of the instructional model.

Anonymous wrote:Several of them (the ones offering PK-5 and 7&8) are phasing out middle school and kids will go to MacFarland. New North will also consolidate more middle schools.

I would like to see the following middle schools close as well:
* Adams (send kids to MacFarland, raising the school size and test scores there and allowing more space for bilingual elementary school at Oyster-Adams)
* Francis-Stevens (send kids to Cardozo, raising the school size and test scores there and allowing more space for elementary students)
* CHM@L (just stop at 5th grade so the school can accommodate more little kids....the school doesn't provide middle school the way Maria Montessori envisioned it at all, and since they insist on prior Montessori experience it's doomed to be a tiny middle school going forward).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most of the ECs will be transitioning to ES’s in the next few years (Brightwood, Takoma, Whittier, etc).

The parents must be dreading the MS volcanoes their children are being sacrificed to.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about DCI?

IB curriculum is strong.

Has three foreign language options.

NP. DCI sounds good, but my take is that there are currently too many discipline problems, not nearly enough high-performing students, and hardly any native speakers off the Spanish track. In short, not worth the long schlep from Capitol Hill for us. Pass, though we got a spot. If the school were 4 or 5 years further along, maybe. Private for us.

Really? Aren't their scores similar to the "coveted middles" in the city (being a lot newer to boot)?

np -- 2017 parcc

Latin
ELA 65% proficient/advanced
Math 53% proficient/advanced

DCI
ELA 55%
Math 41%

BASIS
ELA 57%
Math 57%

DCI's scores are arguably better since they serve far more economically disadvantaged and at-risk students

Anyone have insight on DC Prep Edgewood Middle? Checking their Parcc scores and they are competitive as well:
Math 57%
ELA 54%

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Several of them (the ones offering PK-5 and 7&8) are phasing out middle school and kids will go to MacFarland. New North will also consolidate more middle schools.

I would like to see the following middle schools close as well:
* Adams (send kids to MacFarland, raising the school size and test scores there and allowing more space for bilingual elementary school at Oyster-Adams)
* Francis-Stevens (send kids to Cardozo, raising the school size and test scores there and allowing more space for elementary students)
* CHM@L (just stop at 5th grade so the school can accommodate more little kids....the school doesn't provide middle school the way Maria Montessori envisioned it at all, and since they insist on prior Montessori experience it's doomed to be a tiny middle school going forward).

The idea that you can "send" kids to X or Y middle school is delusional ... families with choices will bleed to upper NW, charters, privates and the burbs unless the destination MS is attractive which Cardozo and MacFarland are not for the moment.

The tipping point for where moderately risk-averse families (mostly white, mostly rich) are willing to try a school comes pretty quickly though. We're seeing it at Stuart-Hobson, Inspired Teaching and Creative Minds Middle Schools. Two Rivers, etc. If there's a year where half a dozen rich white families go to a school, then 10 more show up the next year.

Um, Stuart Hobson has been riding the Cluster hobby-horse for more than 30 years and it still garners no respect. This weakens your argument, doesn't strengthen it.

And 2Rivers weak spot for MS was always that it would take all comers. That is why UMC families leave.

Don't even bother with the others, they were born yesterday.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hello Everyone,

Just joining this thread as we have rising 3rd and 4th graders and should start considering middle school plans. Our current school does not have a feeder middle school in place so seems like my option is to bank on the lottery and go private if things don't pan out. While I'm not comfortable with the "one shot" opportunity as we approach 5th grade, I'd like to know what other parents here are doing as it relates to selecting middle school options? I've heard over and over that Deal and Hardy are the "best" schools but surely those can't be the only options. Any other schools that you guys can direct us to research a bit more? I'm not sure where to start with a list of 72 schools!

DC International uses the IB curriculum.

Google the website yourself, apparently the WL is already longer than Basis and arguably tied with Latin for most coveted.

What do you care about? A path to high school? Commute? Test scores? Facilities? Extracurriculars? Length of school day?

Definitely path to high school and current test scores of course. Commute isn't a big deal (thankfully). The others aren't necessarily a priority for us since our girls are heavily involved in activities outside of school. I saw other comments about Ed Fest and we've attended previously. Definitely interested in the lottery results for a few school we've considered to see if it's even possible to gain admission.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Several of them (the ones offering PK-5 and 7&8) are phasing out middle school and kids will go to MacFarland. New North will also consolidate more middle schools.

I would like to see the following middle schools close as well:
* Adams (send kids to MacFarland, raising the school size and test scores there and allowing more space for bilingual elementary school at Oyster-Adams)
* Francis-Stevens (send kids to Cardozo, raising the school size and test scores there and allowing more space for elementary students)
* CHM@L (just stop at 5th grade so the school can accommodate more little kids....the school doesn't provide middle school the way Maria Montessori envisioned it at all, and since they insist on prior Montessori experience it's doomed to be a tiny middle school going forward).

The idea that you can "send" kids to X or Y middle school is delusional ... families with choices will bleed to upper NW, charters, privates and the burbs unless the destination MS is attractive which Cardozo and MacFarland are not for the moment.

The tipping point for where moderately risk-averse families (mostly white, mostly rich) are willing to try a school comes pretty quickly though. We're seeing it at Stuart-Hobson, Inspired Teaching and Creative Minds Middle Schools. Two Rivers, etc. If there's a year where half a dozen rich white families go to a school, then 10 more show up the next year.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about DCI?

IB curriculum is strong.

Has three foreign language options.

NP. DCI sounds good, but my take is that there are currently too many discipline problems, not nearly enough high-performing students, and hardly any native speakers off the Spanish track. In short, not worth the long schlep from Capitol Hill for us. Pass, though we got a spot. If the school were 4 or 5 years further along, maybe. Private for us.

Really? Aren't their scores similar to the "coveted middles" in the city (being a lot newer to boot)?

np -- 2017 parcc

Latin
ELA 65% proficient/advanced
Math 53% proficient/advanced

DCI
ELA 55%
Math 41%

BASIS
ELA 57%
Math 57%

DCI's scores are arguably better since they serve far more economically disadvantaged and at-risk students

Anonymous wrote:Most of the ECs will be transitioning to ES’s in the next few years (Brightwood, Takoma, Whittier, etc).