Re: high school redistricting
Posted by:
rumor
()
Date: June 29, 2008 02:10PM
Not So Obvious Wrote:
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> rumor Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> >
> > If the fear of "white flight" was the impetus
> why
> > was it placed at Woodson for even a short bit,
> and
> > why at Robinson? I actually think you are
> right,
> > that white flight is probably the main reason,
> but
> > why those 2 additional schools?
>
> Rumor - Do you think the IB program is a draw for
> middle and upper middle-class students and parents
> at a school like Stuart? The enrollment at Stuart
> is up over 10-12% over the past decade, and the
> number of white students is up slightly. In
> comparison, Falls Church (a neighboring AP school)
> has flat enrollment and the number of white
> students has declined almost 30%. The situation
> at Marshall is different still - both the
> enrollment and the number of white students have
> increased 10-12% over the past decade.
>
> Personally, I think these demographic trends have
> a lot more to do with the quality of the housing
> stock in these neighborhoods than the introduction
> of an IB program. Culmore can be a pretty tough
> area, but the Sleepy Hollow/Lake Barcroft areas
> that also feed into Stuart are really nice. If
> you accept that premise, would you have been
> equally happy or happier if Stuart went back to
> AP?
Interesting stats, thanks for sharing. I think perhaps they brought the program in to deal with white flight..perhaps. It came in in what the mid-90's and at that point there was some gang issues, apparently. I don't know if IB is a draw or not, and I am not in the SleepyHollow/Lake Barcroft neighborhood..nor am I in Culmore. My neighborhood is Parklawn, and there are houses for sale, but I am noticing more rentals taking place (though that recently may be turning around into sales). I am wondering if the number of kids in the rental properties are responsible for the increasing enrollment. When Glasgow was being rebuilt, the stats they used to at one point decrease capacity were faulty, in my opinion, just based on watching the huge increase in the number of kids walking to Parklawn..it was clear that they were using something other than the "real" numbers when they thought there would be a decrease in enrollment at Glasgow and then Stuart.
I really have mixed feelings about the two programs, IB and AP. I do think the diploma program is a good one, but can understand folks who say it is too much money when compared to AP. AP does grant more college credit, but the IB diploma earns admission to some schools, that without it would be harder to get in (there is a spreadsheet somewhere that shows percentage of admissions along those lines, and it includes students who have taken just some IB classes who are also favored, over none...similar to taking AP in an AP school versus not taking any AP). I did discuss with my kids whether or not they would want to be pupil placed into an AP school, prior to them starting high school and both were adament that they not do that. They had friends whose siblings were doing well at Stuart..these siblings were diploma candidates, students just taking a few IB, and some not taking any IB.
I think fear of how intense college admissions has become has led to fear about how kids will fair if they are in IB schools, and thus parents end up not wanting it, in some cases. From my observations, kids are doing pretty well at Stuart in terms of getting into college. Friends of mine have children that got into their first choice schools (UVA, Tech etc.), while I can see the names of colleges other students got into, and I have no way of knowing if they were their first choice schools, the schools are good ones. We also have a number of kids, whose parents didn't attend college (and some who did) who are heading to NOVA as part of the Pathways to Bacculaureate program..where after two years they head to GMU.
Would I be happier if Stuart were AP, no way of knowing. I guess I would feel less defensive perhaps?? The only true benefit of being AP, in my experience, would be I would understand the titles of the math courses in an AP program:-) While college credit might end up being helpful financially, and that might be more easily obtained in an AP school, I have no regrets concerning Stuart. Kids can take placement tests afterall, to avoid any 100 level course they feel they covered in IB (or AP) and I have discussed with my kids the need to focus on scholarships etc. Is there more pressure on a kid to earn 4's and 5's on AP exams, and hope the college they accept the offer from does indeed offer the credit their website says, or to earn a scholarship or decent financial aid package?? Kids are under pressure regardless, it seems.