High School Guide: Admissions, reviews, and advice

Susan James said:The 9th is over in Brooklyn and the 12th is out in Queens.

That classic school everyone seems to be talking about lately also had a cutoff under 74.
Both the freshman and junior tracks.
Actually, I heard the junior track was accepting students with scores as low as 60, or maybe that’s just a typo in the records? 🤔

I mean, honestly, how many students in all of Chicago actually took Ancient Greek or Latin back in middle school and now have any actual desire to keep up that kind of torture for another four years?
And there you go—that’s your explanation for why the enrollment numbers for the advanced tracks are so low. 😉

Sarah Hall53 said:I mean, honestly, how many students in all of Chicago actually took Ancient Greek or Latin back in middle school and now have any actual desire to keep up that kind of torture for another four years?
And there you go—that’s your explanation for why the enrollment numbers for the advanced tracks are so low. 😉

How many schools in a city like Chicago even offer those programs anyway?
Personally, I wouldn't dream of enrolling my kid in Greek or Latin during middle school unless they were absolutely obsessed with it. But, I suppose for certain parents, it’s clearly a priority.
It’s almost too obvious that once they finish, they can just easily enroll in one of those specialized prep schools.

I’m pretty sure Alice and those guys over at ExxonMobil are offering it—not that I should even know that at 3 p.m., honestly, what am I doing with my life?—and then there’s one more... maybe Ernest Hemingway?

Sarah Hall53 said:I’m pretty sure Alice and those guys over at ExxonMobil are offering it—not that I should even know that at 3 p.m., honestly, what am I doing with my life?—and then there’s one more... maybe Ernest Hemingway?

Maybe she’s just some high-society type over in Washington, D.C. Like George Washington.

There are more than just those.
I think I can name a few public ones off the top of my head—places like Lincoln High, Roosevelt, Washington, Jefferson, Kennedy, Madison, Franklin, and maybe some of the local schools over near the suburbs or out by the outskirts—but there are definitely others, and then you have all the private elementary schools too, I suppose.

Susan James said:The 9th is over in Brooklyn and the 12th is out in Queens.

That classic school everyone seems to be talking about lately also had a cutoff under 74.
Both the freshman and junior tracks.
Actually, I heard the junior track was accepting students with scores as low as 60, or maybe that’s just a typo in the records? 🤔

Is the IX group the one over in Dobbins? As for the one in Dubuque, I don't even know where that is; I don't really venture into that part of town unless I have some business to take care of with my car.😵

But yeah, it’s quite interesting how the classic curriculum (the non-advanced version, since the advanced ones and the German/French bilingual programs are unique cases) has somehow stayed at the bottom of the interest list while remaining one of the easiest paths to get into. It hasn't been "trendy" for quite a while. Still, it's a solid option for anyone who is just a few points short of meeting the requirements for the more "competitive" subjects.🙄

With these general credit updates coming soon, they might push those students into admissions too... assuming the state doesn't implement some sweeping changes before then. You can tell which schools are trending just by looking at the admission scores for different high school types:
STEM / Prep
General
Language
Classic

P.S.—I have a relative in my immediate family who finished the classic track, and surprisingly, Greek and Latin weren't even remotely the hardest subjects for her, nor was studying them a struggle at all. She ended up moving on to study the sciences, though.😁 I bet people give her funny looks when she reads Latin with a proper classical accent!

Sarah Hall53 said:I mean, honestly, how many students in all of Chicago actually took Ancient Greek or Latin back in middle school and now have any actual desire to keep up that kind of torture for another four years?
And there you go—that’s your explanation for why the enrollment numbers for the advanced tracks are so low. 😉

urbantinker8 said:There are more than just those.
I think I can name a few public ones off the top of my head—places like Lincoln High, Roosevelt, Washington, Jefferson, Kennedy, Madison, Franklin, and maybe some of the local schools over near the suburbs or out by the outskirts—but there are definitely others, and then you have all the private elementary schools too, I suppose.

Well,
we actually discussed this topic regarding classical languages in middle school before.

Looking at the elective enrollment trends and the themes we've been hitting in this thread, I’d say parents are looking for something a bit more practical than signing their kids up for four years of linguistic torture.
Unless, of course, you have a kid who's a total linguistics nerd 🤔
—but that's rare. It's just a different world compared to what it was 30 years ago...

Michelle Nelson4 said:Is the IX group the one over in Dobbins? As for the one in Dubuque, I don't even know where that is; I don't really venture into that part of town unless I have some business to take care of with my car.😵

But yeah, it’s quite interesting how the classic curriculum (the non-advanced version, since the advanced ones and the German/French bilingual programs are unique cases) has somehow stayed at the bottom of the interest list while remaining one of the easiest paths to get into. It hasn't been "trendy" for quite a while. Still, it's a solid option for anyone who is just a few points short of meeting the requirements for the more "competitive" subjects.🙄

With these general credit updates coming soon, they might push those students into admissions too... assuming the state doesn't implement some sweeping changes before then. You can tell which schools are trending just by looking at the admission scores for different high school types:
STEM / Prep
General
Language
Classic

P.S.—I have a relative in my immediate family who finished the classic track, and surprisingly, Greek and Latin weren't even remotely the hardest subjects for her, nor was studying them a struggle at all. She ended up moving on to study the sciences, though.😁 I bet people give her funny looks when she reads Latin with a proper classical accent!

That school in Oakland actually shares a building with the agricultural and veterinary schools.
To be honest, the high school itself isn't bad, but if you don't live in that neighborhood, it's not exactly convenient.
And I think because of the area, it starts off with a bit of a negative reputation...

Back in my day, a huge crowd from the classical track went into medical school.

Personally, I don't think Latin and Greek are hard languages, they just feel pointless.
Especially for kids in middle school.

As for those bilingual programs, I think the concept is great, but I doubt the actual execution works (aside from English). How many teachers do you actually have who can teach math in French or chemistry in German?
In the end, it usually boils down to history or art, since those were the subjects offered in the bilingual tracks at the local university.
But as an idea for language learning and practical application, it's wonderful.🙏

Man, I remember subbing for a high school class once, and these seniors were basically counting down the seconds until they could ditch Greek forever. They didn't mind Latin much, but Greek? Total nightmare for them.

Susan James said:The 9th is over in Brooklyn and the 12th is out in Queens.

That classic school everyone seems to be talking about lately also had a cutoff under 74.
Both the freshman and junior tracks.
Actually, I heard the junior track was accepting students with scores as low as 60, or maybe that’s just a typo in the records? 🤔

In the past, continuing students could pretty much get into the classic track regardless of their grades.
There isn't a massive rush for it, especially since they took the language electives in middle school and went the STEM route in high school.😂

rowdypanther12 said:In the past, continuing students could pretty much get into the classic track regardless of their grades.
There isn't a massive rush for it, especially since they took the language electives in middle school and went the STEM route in high school.😂

I wouldn't say that's entirely true...
My impression is that there isn't a huge surge for the classical tracks in elementary school (I actually just looked up class sizes online, and honestly, it's questionable if they even staff enough teachers for those hours), whereas the STEM tracks are absolutely packed... which explains why their admissions are so competitive.

By the way, I used to live in the neighborhood where that high school is located and I still have plenty of friends from the area. A lot of people enroll there simply because of the location. It’s their first choice just to avoid a long commute.🤷
When it first opened, my family actually tried to avoid it because we wanted to go to a school downtown, even though it was brand new and modern, featuring lockers that looked like something straight out of Beverly Hills.😂

A few years back, they expanded their math program and cut the language track. It's a shame.
In my opinion, they should have just converted one of the elective tracks into a STEM focus.
But honestly, if they opened five more classrooms, they would have a massive waiting list given how much this neighborhood and the surrounding suburbs have grown over the last 30 years.

I honestly thought it was more about status; older folks tend to get hung up on that kind of nonsense

rowdypanther12 said:I honestly thought it was more about status; older folks tend to get hung up on that kind of nonsense

Honestly, quite a few parents fall for that exact same nonsense.

You really see two extremes here: you’ve got the parents who push the whole "learn Greek, Latin, Mandarin, join robotics club, AND master the violin" lifestyle, and then there are the ones where by fifth grade, the kids are already dropping their second language classes and religious studies—and then by seventh, they're ditching computer science too. It's just a constant cycle of sitting down with the kid for two or three hours every single night to grind through homework, all because the goal is to pump up that GPA just enough to squeeze into that elite prep school Mom and Dad have their hearts set on.

rowdypanther12 said:I honestly thought it was more about status; older folks tend to get hung up on that kind of nonsense

The only real advantage you get is maybe easier admission to a college prep track or getting points from rare language competitions to boost your application scores.🤷

That whole "prestige" angle was a big deal for parents (mostly teachers) back in the 1900s.
Nowadays, people are much more focused on robotics, computer science, or sports where you might actually get picked by your coach for a varsity competition.😬

(Take a look at the Gipov schools; in most of them, there are fewer than ten students per entire grade level by the time they hit 8th grade. I don't mean per class, but the whole group. Granted, that basically turns into one-on-one instruction, which feels a bit elitist, but still. It feels like throwing money down the drain. Especially when I hear that some schools won't even offer a second foreign language if there aren't at least ten kids interested, which is ridiculous because you're stuck depending entirely on whoever happens to be in your year.)😬

Basically, we start by forming a core group, but then we’ll merge in any parallel tracks if they're available—or just run them as a combined unit (kind of like how we might bundle 5th and 6th grade together, or 7th and 8th). At least we managed to fight for that much.

It’s funny—it only really hit me this year—but apparently, since elementary school, students have always been pushed toward competitions in just about every subject. There are heaps of kids involved. It’s basically a race for extra credit points.
The PE teacher, for instance, is obsessed with two specific sports and drags kids off to various school athletic meets, but beyond that, there's zero effort.
I guess you have to wonder if those teachers running the prep and the actual competitions get some kind of stipend or extra pay—I assume they do, though—since it's technically extra work that isn't strictly required by their contract.

Sarah Hall53 said:Basically, we start by forming a core group, but then we’ll merge in any parallel tracks if they're available—or just run them as a combined unit (kind of like how we might bundle 5th and 6th grade together, or 7th and 8th). At least we managed to fight for that much.

Around here, about 50% of students in grades 5 through 8 end up taking German. I suppose I’m a bit unsure about the D-track classes, though—they never participate in after-school programs and always seem to have fewer than 20 kids from the jump.
The biggest hurdle, I guess, is that the schedule puts them in the afternoon shift, which tends to turn a lot of people off.

Computer science and German classes in most middle schools are honestly pretty pathetic when it comes to actual learning.

They basically just throw whoever is available at the computer lab because they can't find anyone qualified—I mean, a real tech pro wouldn't even look at a teaching job if they could make double the salary working in Silicon Valley instead.
Usually, it’s just some shop teacher who gets stuck teaching IT, or—get this—it’s like seeing a music teacher covering computer classes because they aren't making enough from their gigs and figured they might as well grab a steady paycheck at the school...

As for German, it’s an elective, so the teachers struggle to get enough hours to make it worth their while. Consequently, everyone taking it just gets handed an easy A without actually knowing a single word, just so they can coast through to the next grade. 😬

As for German, I can’t really speak for my kid since she isn't taking it—though I suspect most students are pulling a 5. I wonder if that's because they're actually passionate about linguistics, or if there's some other factor at play here...Anyway, a friend’s daughter just started high school; she studied German back in Elementary School, but decided to opt for a beginner course rather than continuing with the advanced track in high school. I suppose that says a little something about the actual proficiency level being reached...
Computer Science, on the other hand, is top-tier. Their teacher is fantastic—really hands-on, keeps them busy, and even coaches them for competitions. It's offered during the afternoon shift, and surprisingly, nobody dropped out. The whole class is sticking with it.