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Anonymous wrote:Quick glance as a ward 4 parent; Takoma and Whittier not offering one spot so far for PK3 is remarkable.

Shepherd hasn't offered one waitlist spot in any grade.

Shepherd feeds to Deal and JR. Not the same as Whittier and Takoma. It is pretty remarkable those two schools didn’t offer a waitlist spot to any PK3 yet.

Not really. Lots of families these days use ECE spots at their IB or any other schools. The real differentiator is upper elementary and percentages of IB families that stay thru upper elementary thru 4th.

Ward 3 families need to stop saying this. We're an upper elementary family leaving our EOTP IB this year ONLY because of the middle school feed. I would LOVE if DCs could stay through fifth at our elementary, but when lottery gold strikes, you have to take it. I'm really sad to leave our school and DCs will be devastated when they find out, but the reality is that there are many nice elementary schools in this city that feed into very less nice middle and high schools, and middle class families that can't afford private have to play the lottery and take the opportunity when it comes.

Thank you, yes, this x10000. We will probably lottery out in 4th grade (if we're lucky) and it has absolutely NOTHING to do with our elementary school. We'd love to never leave. The MS situation in this city is atrocious.

On the flip side … our “really good” DCPS elementary was a disaster in 4th and 5th; while the “bad” IB MS was actually great. Parents of younger kids don’t totally get how needs change as kids get older.

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Quick glance as a ward 4 parent; Takoma and Whittier not offering one spot so far for PK3 is remarkable.

Shepherd hasn't offered one waitlist spot in any grade.

Shepherd feeds to Deal and JR. Not the same as Whittier and Takoma. It is pretty remarkable those two schools didn’t offer a waitlist spot to any PK3 yet.

Not really. Lots of families these days use ECE spots at their IB or any other schools. The real differentiator is upper elementary and percentages of IB families that stay thru upper elementary thru 4th.

Ward 3 families need to stop saying this. We're an upper elementary family leaving our EOTP IB this year ONLY because of the middle school feed. I would LOVE if DCs could stay through fifth at our elementary, but when lottery gold strikes, you have to take it. I'm really sad to leave our school and DCs will be devastated when they find out, but the reality is that there are many nice elementary schools in this city that feed into very less nice middle and high schools, and middle class families that can't afford private have to play the lottery and take the opportunity when it comes.

Thank you, yes, this x10000. We will probably lottery out in 4th grade (if we're lucky) and it has absolutely NOTHING to do with our elementary school. We'd love to never leave. The MS situation in this city is atrocious.

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Anonymous wrote:Quick glance as a ward 4 parent; Takoma and Whittier not offering one spot so far for PK3 is remarkable.

Shepherd hasn't offered one waitlist spot in any grade.

Shepherd feeds to Deal and JR. Not the same as Whittier and Takoma. It is pretty remarkable those two schools didn’t offer a waitlist spot to any PK3 yet.

Not really. Lots of families these days use ECE spots at their IB or any other schools. The real differentiator is upper elementary and percentages of IB families that stay thru upper elementary thru 4th.

Ward 3 families need to stop saying this. We're an upper elementary family leaving our EOTP IB this year ONLY because of the middle school feed. I would LOVE if DCs could stay through fifth at our elementary, but when lottery gold strikes, you have to take it. I'm really sad to leave our school and DCs will be devastated when they find out, but the reality is that there are many nice elementary schools in this city that feed into very less nice middle and high schools, and middle class families that can't afford private have to play the lottery and take the opportunity when it comes.

You are leaving just as Pp said.

Don't be dense. There's a big difference between using your IB pre-K as free daycare and deciding to stay for first, second, third grade. The ONLY "real differentiator" at many EOTP schools is the middle school feeder pattern. There are plenty of schools in DC, if you're there in second and leaving in fourth, it's because you feel like you HAVE to, not because you want to.

Sure but you are not the majority. The data says it all and the overwhelming majority of higher SES IB families at these poorly performing EOTP schools are not staying at their IB schools past K/1st. There is a big exodus and by 2nd, it’s a few families. Just look at the makeup of your 2nd, 3rd grade classes compared to ECE.

The one exception is Capitol Hill schools where majority do stay thru 4th at least.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It seems like the trouble with Two Rivers middle school attrition and low enrollment is continuing. And for lower grades, the number of applicants is many times the number of matches and waitlisters, indicating bottom-of-the-list ranking by applicants.

4th St 5th grade: 16 seats offered, 8 matches (no EA seats or matches).

Young 5th grade: 11 seats offered, 11 matches, 3 WL, 1 offer. No EA offers or matches.

Middle school 6th: 60 seats offered (!), 37 matches, WL of 3, 3 offers.
Middle school 7th: 30 seats offered, 30 matches-- that's a lot of new kids in a non typical entry year! 1 WL, 1 offer.
Middle school 8th: 5 seats offered, 5 matches, 19 WL, 5 offers.

So for 6th and 7th grade at TR, nearly half the current students are not returning?
Was TR MS and ES even fully enrolled this past year?!

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Anonymous wrote:I'm stunned that Cooper is moving so little, less than 2nd St!

Everyone I know who got a Cooper seat took it, so I'm not surprised. I also know many people who ranked it over 2nd street because they thought they had no shot at 2nd.

It makes no sense to rank Cooper over 2nd if you prefer 2nd.

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Anonymous wrote:Quick glance as a ward 4 parent; Takoma and Whittier not offering one spot so far for PK3 is remarkable.

Shepherd hasn't offered one waitlist spot in any grade.

Shepherd feeds to Deal and JR. Not the same as Whittier and Takoma. It is pretty remarkable those two schools didn’t offer a waitlist spot to any PK3 yet.

Not really. Lots of families these days use ECE spots at their IB or any other schools. The real differentiator is upper elementary and percentages of IB families that stay thru upper elementary thru 4th.

Ward 3 families need to stop saying this. We're an upper elementary family leaving our EOTP IB this year ONLY because of the middle school feed. I would LOVE if DCs could stay through fifth at our elementary, but when lottery gold strikes, you have to take it. I'm really sad to leave our school and DCs will be devastated when they find out, but the reality is that there are many nice elementary schools in this city that feed into very less nice middle and high schools, and middle class families that can't afford private have to play the lottery and take the opportunity when it comes.

You are leaving just as Pp said.

Don't be dense. There's a big difference between using your IB pre-K as free daycare and deciding to stay for first, second, third grade. The ONLY "real differentiator" at many EOTP schools is the middle school feeder pattern. There are plenty of schools in DC, if you're there in second and leaving in fourth, it's because you feel like you HAVE to, not because you want to.

Anonymous wrote:It seems like the trouble with Two Rivers middle school attrition and low enrollment is continuing. And for lower grades, the number of applicants is many times the number of matches and waitlisters, indicating bottom-of-the-list ranking by applicants.

4th St 5th grade: 16 seats offered, 8 matches (no EA seats or matches).

Young 5th grade: 11 seats offered, 11 matches, 3 WL, 1 offer. No EA offers or matches.

Middle school 6th: 60 seats offered (!), 37 matches, WL of 3, 3 offers.
Middle school 7th: 30 seats offered, 30 matches-- that's a lot of new kids in a non typical entry year! 1 WL, 1 offer.
Middle school 8th: 5 seats offered, 5 matches, 19 WL, 5 offers.

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Anonymous wrote:Wow Seaton has a waitlist for the upper grades. World is changing.

Maybe. The 4th graders did win "battle of the books" this year, beating out all the participating schools in the city, including many WOTP schools. The schools in the top 4 were Ross and Stoddert (who had two teams). The 4th grade ELA teacher is very good.

And, every single kid from that team (and many others) are enrolling elsewhere for 5th.

Aren't they going into the new middle school though?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm stunned that Cooper is moving so little, less than 2nd St!

Everyone I know who got a Cooper seat took it, so I'm not surprised. I also know many people who ranked it over 2nd street because they thought they had no shot at 2nd.

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Anonymous wrote:EA at BASIS is going to be a disaster.

You said the quiet part out loud. Why do you assume that kids who are economically disadvantaged are dumb and/or can't apply themselves? Why do you assume they don't have or can't develop executive functioning? Some of these 10 and 11 year old kids have already dealt with more sh*t in their lives than you will ever know and they are still in the game fighting to succeed. EA preferences are designed precisely for this reason; to ensure kids who more than many others need a solid educational footing have access.

You are living in a fantasy world. I have kids at the school and know how much parent involvement is necessary. Come back to me in 2 years and let’s see how many EA kids have made it through 6th grade comps.

DP. I have kids at the school as well and disagree with you. Maybe it’s just your kids who need tons of parental involvement.

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Anonymous wrote:EA at BASIS is going to be a disaster.

You said the quiet part out loud. Why do you assume that kids who are economically disadvantaged are dumb and/or can't apply themselves? Why do you assume they don't have or can't develop executive functioning? Some of these 10 and 11 year old kids have already dealt with more sh*t in their lives than you will ever know and they are still in the game fighting to succeed. EA preferences are designed precisely for this reason; to ensure kids who more than many others need a solid educational footing have access.

DP. My understanding of the Basis model is that it would take a lot of support at home to catch up academically and pass the tests. If the kids are coming in behind and Basis keeps its “up or out” approach, we’re gonna see a disproportionate number of EA kids dropping out.

Your understanding is wrong. The kids at the top of the class don't have parents all up in their stuff. They tend to be independent, self-starting learners. Kids who grow up in unstable environments and grow up quickly might tend to exhibit high level executive functioning beyond coddled peers whose parents sit next to them and do the work with them.

BASIS is a lottery school. A kid coming in through EA is not going to magically be at the top of the class. The myth of the miraculously prepared tough-luck kid is a myth.

But someone went through the lottery process. That absolutely takes parental or family involvement. As a teacher I’ve taught many bright kids who excelled and would be EA. This idea that parents aren’t involved or care about their kids education if they are eligible for EA is gross.

You clearly have no idea the sheer number of hours it takes to help a kid be successful at BASIS in the first couple years. I’m sure you saw kids be “successful” at their garbage DCPS. That’s absolutely not the same as BASIS.

Anonymous wrote:Takoma also didn’t make any offers for 1st, 2nd or 5th grade and only opened 4-7 lottery seats for each of those grades so it isn’t just prek.

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Anonymous wrote:EA at BASIS is going to be a disaster.

You said the quiet part out loud. Why do you assume that kids who are economically disadvantaged are dumb and/or can't apply themselves? Why do you assume they don't have or can't develop executive functioning? Some of these 10 and 11 year old kids have already dealt with more sh*t in their lives than you will ever know and they are still in the game fighting to succeed. EA preferences are designed precisely for this reason; to ensure kids who more than many others need a solid educational footing have access.

DP. My understanding of the Basis model is that it would take a lot of support at home to catch up academically and pass the tests. If the kids are coming in behind and Basis keeps its “up or out” approach, we’re gonna see a disproportionate number of EA kids dropping out.

Your understanding is wrong. The kids at the top of the class don't have parents all up in their stuff. They tend to be independent, self-starting learners. Kids who grow up in unstable environments and grow up quickly might tend to exhibit high level executive functioning beyond coddled peers whose parents sit next to them and do the work with them.

BASIS is a lottery school. A kid coming in through EA is not going to magically be at the top of the class. The myth of the miraculously prepared tough-luck kid is a myth.

But someone went through the lottery process. That absolutely takes parental or family involvement. As a teacher I’ve taught many bright kids who excelled and would be EA. This idea that parents aren’t involved or care about their kids education if they are eligible for EA is gross.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow Seaton has a waitlist for the upper grades. World is changing.

Maybe. The 4th graders did win "battle of the books" this year, beating out all the participating schools in the city, including many WOTP schools. The schools in the top 4 were Ross and Stoddert (who had two teams). The 4th grade ELA teacher is very good.

And, every single kid from that team (and many others) are enrolling elsewhere for 5th.

Anonymous wrote:Wow Seaton has a waitlist for the upper grades. World is changing.