HB -- what is it?
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Anonymous
| Just read 10 pages on the last thread about the school but it devolved into whether the school should actually exist. Can someone with a kid recently in 6th grade there explain it to me? Do the kids have blocks of classes, but some blocks are "free time"? Do they take the same math/ELS classes like at other schools? I can find little to no info on what it actually means on a daily basis to go there. Thanks! |
Anonymous
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A few times a week they get an "I" block, which doesn't last that long. They don't sacrifice one of their classes for it. This year the classes are pretty short, maybe 45 minutes because that's what the students voted on.
It seems like a pretty normal school day all in all. |
Anonymous
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Your questions sound better answered by calling the front office.
https://hbwoodlawn.apsva.us/all-about-h-b-woodlawn/ |
Anonymous
Oh, and they do have the same math and English language classes during middle school; which is to say there are two advanced math pathways and no advanced English option. I think there are more options for different courses in high school at the regular neighborhood schools, but of course there are still the basics like AP English and Calculus. |
Anonymous
| Private school paid by a public school system. |
Anonymous
| Oh Lord, this is going to be fun... |
Anonymous
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Students at HB take the same standard courses as students at the neighborhood middle schools although there are fewer options for electives. Students at HB have greater independence than their counterparts at neighborhood middle schools and operate in a generally less formal environment - students call teachers and principals by their first names at HB. In general, maybe due at least in part to the small size and also in part to the culture of the school, HB seems to be a very kind community where kids feel free to simply be whoever they want to be. Bear in mind, middle school students cannot participate in school sports because of the different schedule at HB (9:24-4:06), although they can play ultimate frisbee at HB. In high school (and 8th grade for sports not offered at the high school level), students can structure their schedules to have a free block at the end of the day and they can play on sports team for their home high schools. |
Anonymous
OP here: not interested in any controversy of whether the school should exist/be bigger/be in Rosslyn/etc. Just looking for how it's structured so I know whether it would be a good fit for my kid. (Also not looking for discussion about whether my kid would get in/etc). |
Anonymous
As if most middle schoolers can play in any of the school sports; if you aren't already an accomplished travel player you won't make the cut. |
Anonymous
Does your kid thrive in close interaction with teachers, smaller classes, and a world class building? |
Anonymous
Yeah, see if you can tour the school. OP - you don't sound like you are looking to stir up drama but you really are better off calling the school rather than this board. You'll have to weed out the helpful comments from the begrudged. |
Anonymous
| They do the schedule differently—instead of having 8 blocks, they have 9, but only 8 meet any given day so each class meets 4x a week. That’s 9x4 or 32 of the 45 blocks. The other three are Town Hall and two of TA, which is where the small group of kids assigned to a teacher (instead of a guidance counselor) meet in that classroom and sometimes do stuff and sometimes just hang out. |
Anonymous
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HB has eliminated nearly all the administrative positions at the school that other kids have -- no guidance counselors, no college guidance counselors, etc. Administrators like principals and vice principals at HB also teach classes. In this way they can cut class sizes down 1 or 2 kids compared to other schools. Instead of counselors, kids at HB meet with their "TA class" once or twice a week for 20 to 40 minutes, it's sort of like homeroom if that makes sense. In middle school, anyway. It seems to work afaik.
I have a kid with an IEP and in my view, the school is more accepting of learning disabilities and differences than our elementary was, possibly in part because of its connection to the Shriver program which serves kids with more severe kinds of autism etc. To be honest, I also think that HB is where APS kids with severe difficulties get placed when they apply from other APS schools, which could make the occurrence of kids with IEPs at HB more prevalent there than at other schools. I did think that HB used to have a problem fitting special ed kids into its mission -- kids with IEPs are likely to have a problem with self-regulation but self-regulation and independence are a big part of HB's special mission. (The school's motto is "a word to the wise is sufficient" which, ha ha, my kid needs a lot of words repeated over and over at various times throughout the day.) Regardless of whether this used to be true, my IEP child is getting a LOT more support at HB than they received in elementary school and we are very grateful. |
Anonymous
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It should be noted that there was previously a secondary high functioning autism support program at HB so that is why there might have seemed to be more students with IEPs there. However that program has been moved to Hamm so no longer exists at HB.
Differences: #1 is the smaller size. Each class from 6-8 has 80 students and 9-12 has about 120 students. There is a more inependent philosophy where students make their own schedules each year, call teachers by their first name, high schoolers have a free period each day, middle schoolers take 8 classes instead of 7 so have an opportunity for an extra elective, kids can leave campus starting in 7th or 8th (can't remember). You do a lot of community building activities as a class each year, and you are in the same school from 6-12 for most of the kids. Lots of theater opportunities and since there are fewer students, there isn't as much competition to be in the plays for example. No sports, except for ultimate. High schoolers can do sports at the home school but it's not the easiest thing to do. Your TA teacher in high school can be the same all 4 years, so when it's time for college applications they write your recommendation as your guidance counselor and they do really know you well. There is less variety of classes because the student population is so small, so some classes are combined AP and non AP like English 11/AP Literature, for example. The AP students do more work. |
Anonymous
| I'd love to know how OP is just now making a HB decision when the lottery concluded (and decisions were due) many weeks ago... |