Are in boundary families leaving Hardy because if MacArthur?

[Anonymous]

I have a 7th at Hardy. I am cautiously optimistic about Mac HS because the new Principal seems great thus far and because the parents who are heavily involved in the school planning are beyond fantastic. I am glad I am not a parent of an 8th grader as I would be very reluctant to send my kid there for the first year.

Hardy has regressed badly this year to the point that I have a lot of reservations about sending our ES age kid there. The confluence of the budget cuts, new Principal, teachers leaving, and behavioral fallout from COVID have made for a rough year.

I hope that Mendolsohn’s new law on the budget will help restore some of what was lost for next year, but it’s going to take more than a year to restore the damage. It’s almost like someone at DCPS Central has it in for Hardy. What did they think was going to happen to the school by cutting the budget and installing a new and inexperienced principal the same year?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is there a mass exodus from DCPS of in boundary upper elem and MS kids bc of MacArthur? Are most parents that can affording going to private schools or is it less dire than I’ve heard?

haahhahaa; many families are pretty happy. new HS in walking distance from georgetown? I would have preferred a normal HS at Ellington, but this isn't a bad choice if the kid doesn't get into walls/Ellington (no clue what they'll be interested in by HS).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a 7th at Hardy. I am cautiously optimistic about Mac HS because the new Principal seems great thus far and because the parents who are heavily involved in the school planning are beyond fantastic. I am glad I am not a parent of an 8th grader as I would be very reluctant to send my kid there for the first year.

Hardy has regressed badly this year to the point that I have a lot of reservations about sending our ES age kid there. The confluence of the budget cuts, new Principal, teachers leaving, and behavioral fallout from COVID have made for a rough year.

I hope that Mendolsohn’s new law on the budget will help restore some of what was lost for next year, but it’s going to take more than a year to restore the damage. It’s almost like someone at DCPS Central has it in for Hardy. What did they think was going to happen to the school by cutting the budget and installing a new and inexperienced principal the same year?

Our oldest graduated from Hardy last year, and the school seemed like it was in a downward spiral. When he entered in 6th grade, he had a great year. But, the pandemic really messed with a lot of the kids there. Our youngest was due to start Hardy this year, but we sold our house and moved to Arlington (and had our oldest re-do 8th grade, because the education he got at Hardy last year was so poor). From what I've heard, things haven't gotten better at Hardy this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a terrible idea to feed a whole swath of kids into a niche high school with limited offerings, Yes, a small school with few sports could be good for some kids, but it's not the equivalent of JR, which btw, has lots of challenges right now with teachers not showing up for months at a time, etc. They should let people apply to the new high school but not force people to enroll in a school with limited offerings.

An 800-person high school is not "niche." Education experts actually recommend that size as better for students than the 2000-student behemoths. The issue is providing adequate budget, not that the size is inadequate.

It may not be niche in size but it certainly will be in its offerings. It was inadequate for sports when it was an elementary/middle school for GDS. Read the fact sheet -- basketbal and track/cross country are the only sports. There will be a green club, a chess club, and one or two more, but hardly what JR offers. There's no good transportation to the site -- even in bounds students will be challenged to get there without driving. A terrible site.

These are falsehoods. Further evidence that readers should identify trusted and informed community members and rely solely upon them for information. Too many anonymous actors fueled either by ignorance of mal-intent.

Soccer will also be a varsity sport. The school’s field is loathe enough for practices but it doesn’t meet DCIAA regulations for games, so games will be elsewhere. Those involved are pushing for games across the street at GW Mt Vernon.

There are probably/possibly other sports too, but I don’t know the list off-hand. But I do recognize lies without resort to my records.

Could you please check your records and let us know :
- What improvements to transportation from the rest of the city are being implemented to get high schoolers to this far far west isolated spot within a humane commuting time? "Buses fares will no longer exist city-wide and that'll save 4 minutes on the bus's entire route" doesn't count. It's cute that the only concession to ward 3 families that the city seems to be making is to announce zero improvements to transportation to the school, with the unspoken promise that it'll limit OOB riffraff.
- What clubs, sports, electives, languages will it be offering?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a terrible idea to feed a whole swath of kids into a niche high school with limited offerings, Yes, a small school with few sports could be good for some kids, but it's not the equivalent of JR, which btw, has lots of challenges right now with teachers not showing up for months at a time, etc. They should let people apply to the new high school but not force people to enroll in a school with limited offerings.

An 800-person high school is not "niche." Education experts actually recommend that size as better for students than the 2000-student behemoths. The issue is providing adequate budget, not that the size is inadequate.

It may not be niche in size but it certainly will be in its offerings. It was inadequate for sports when it was an elementary/middle school for GDS. Read the fact sheet -- basketbal and track/cross country are the only sports. There will be a green club, a chess club, and one or two more, but hardly what JR offers. There's no good transportation to the site -- even in bounds students will be challenged to get there without driving. A terrible site.

These are falsehoods. Further evidence that readers should identify trusted and informed community members and rely solely upon them for information. Too many anonymous actors fueled either by ignorance of mal-intent.

Soccer will also be a varsity sport. The school’s field is loathe enough for practices but it doesn’t meet DCIAA regulations for games, so games will be elsewhere. Those involved are pushing for games across the street at GW Mt Vernon.

There are probably/possibly other sports too, but I don’t know the list off-hand. But I do recognize lies without resort to my records.

You're referring to your 'records' and you're not sounding like a ward 3 parent. Are you an official involved in the school? Would you care to identify yourself? Asking this in the context of the deletion of a comment that hinted that your comment could be from the founding principal himself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You all do realize that DCPS primary goal in opening the new high school is not to help the overcrowding in ward 3. It’s really to expand and open more seats so more opportunities for OOB kids to go to both schools with more resources and be among a higher performing peer group.

Decreasing the overcrowding is just a by-product of the above goals. Every single change in ward 3 is because of the primary goal above.

BTW if you think DCPS is going to pour resources and money into the new school, you are mistaken. Just look at what they did to Hardy this year.

Ward 3 kids will be fine because they don’t need in school enrichment, extras, etc…. Families can supplement and kids can do the extra stuff outside of school. The kids will be fine.

Kids are not fine stuck in bad schools, even their parents get tutors after school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hardy has a good music program until this year. Pre-Covid, a jazz orchestra and some other combo would play at the open houses, abd they were excellent.

But Hardy used to have more OOB. It still has OOB, but they all come from the feeder schools. Maybe this is why DCPS decided to screw over the school budget-wise.

Hardy had a good music program because it was an unofficial magnet (and Duke feeder). In boundary families hated it, I can only assume because it attracted Black students. Michelle Rhee shut it down with a lot of support from the neighborhood, probably around 2010 ish when they were moving to a centralized DCPS lottery. Sounds like COVID finished off the last remnants. Kind of ironic that the neighborhood is sad about it now.

In boundary families hated good musicians coming to their school in preparation for going to one of the best arts HS in the country? Sounds like BS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a terrible idea to feed a whole swath of kids into a niche high school with limited offerings, Yes, a small school with few sports could be good for some kids, but it's not the equivalent of JR, which btw, has lots of challenges right now with teachers not showing up for months at a time, etc. They should let people apply to the new high school but not force people to enroll in a school with limited offerings.

An 800-person high school is not "niche." Education experts actually recommend that size as better for students than the 2000-student behemoths. The issue is providing adequate budget, not that the size is inadequate.

It may not be niche in size but it certainly will be in its offerings. It was inadequate for sports when it was an elementary/middle school for GDS. Read the fact sheet -- basketbal and track/cross country are the only sports. There will be a green club, a chess club, and one or two more, but hardly what JR offers. There's no good transportation to the site -- even in bounds students will be challenged to get there without driving. A terrible site.

These are falsehoods. Further evidence that readers should identify trusted and informed community members and rely solely upon them for information. Too many anonymous actors fueled either by ignorance of mal-intent.

Soccer will also be a varsity sport. The school’s field is loathe enough for practices but it doesn’t meet DCIAA regulations for games, so games will be elsewhere. Those involved are pushing for games across the street at GW Mt Vernon.

There are probably/possibly other sports too, but I don’t know the list off-hand. But I do recognize lies without resort to my records.

You're referring to your 'records' and you're not sounding like a ward 3 parent. Are you an official involved in the school? Would you care to identify yourself? Asking this in the context of the deletion of a comment that hinted that your comment could be from the founding principal himself.

I’m a parent who served on the CWG on behalf of a school community. I don’t really have an off-hand reason to not dox myself, but I’ll think it over first before deciding whether to reveal more.

I will look into the other questions. And, yes, I am well aware of the transportation issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a terrible idea to feed a whole swath of kids into a niche high school with limited offerings, Yes, a small school with few sports could be good for some kids, but it's not the equivalent of JR, which btw, has lots of challenges right now with teachers not showing up for months at a time, etc. They should let people apply to the new high school but not force people to enroll in a school with limited offerings.

An 800-person high school is not "niche." Education experts actually recommend that size as better for students than the 2000-student behemoths. The issue is providing adequate budget, not that the size is inadequate.

It may not be niche in size but it certainly will be in its offerings. It was inadequate for sports when it was an elementary/middle school for GDS. Read the fact sheet -- basketbal and track/cross country are the only sports. There will be a green club, a chess club, and one or two more, but hardly what JR offers. There's no good transportation to the site -- even in bounds students will be challenged to get there without driving. A terrible site.

These are falsehoods. Further evidence that readers should identify trusted and informed community members and rely solely upon them for information. Too many anonymous actors fueled either by ignorance of mal-intent.

Soccer will also be a varsity sport. The school’s field is loathe enough for practices but it doesn’t meet DCIAA regulations for games, so games will be elsewhere. Those involved are pushing for games across the street at GW Mt Vernon.

There are probably/possibly other sports too, but I don’t know the list off-hand. But I do recognize lies without resort to my records.

You're referring to your 'records' and you're not sounding like a ward 3 parent. Are you an official involved in the school? Would you care to identify yourself? Asking this in the context of the deletion of a comment that hinted that your comment could be from the founding principal himself.

I’m a parent who served on the CWG on behalf of a school community. I don’t really have an off-hand reason to not dox myself, but I’ll think it over first before deciding whether to reveal more.

I will look into the other questions. And, yes, I am well aware of the transportation issue.

If you are a parent on the CWG, then (1) one would think you would less hostile to the reasonable concerns and doubts of many parents and (2) it seems that if your insider knowledge is so different than what everyone else knows, then there is a communication problem. Perhaps you should aim your energies towards correcting that rather than yelling, "lies! lies!" Saying "You're clueless, trust me." is persuasive to no one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hardy has a good music program until this year. Pre-Covid, a jazz orchestra and some other combo would play at the open houses, abd they were excellent.

But Hardy used to have more OOB. It still has OOB, but they all come from the feeder schools. Maybe this is why DCPS decided to screw over the school budget-wise.

Hardy had a good music program because it was an unofficial magnet (and Duke feeder). In boundary families hated it, I can only assume because it attracted Black students. Michelle Rhee shut it down with a lot of support from the neighborhood, probably around 2010 ish when they were moving to a centralized DCPS lottery. Sounds like COVID finished off the last remnants. Kind of ironic that the neighborhood is sad about it now.

In boundary families hated good musicians coming to their school in preparation for going to one of the best arts HS in the country? Sounds like BS

Nobody can possibly be this naive. You see, the in boundary families were white. The musicians were Black. Or as the classic DCUM comment put it,

“it was unfair to IB families that Pope transformed their neighborhood school into what was essentially an arts magnet school.”

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/120/363908.page#4758087

Pope was the old principal. There’s a lot of archives on this site, you could try reading some of them before you decide what’s plausible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a terrible idea to feed a whole swath of kids into a niche high school with limited offerings, Yes, a small school with few sports could be good for some kids, but it's not the equivalent of JR, which btw, has lots of challenges right now with teachers not showing up for months at a time, etc. They should let people apply to the new high school but not force people to enroll in a school with limited offerings.

An 800-person high school is not "niche." Education experts actually recommend that size as better for students than the 2000-student behemoths. The issue is providing adequate budget, not that the size is inadequate.

It may not be niche in size but it certainly will be in its offerings. It was inadequate for sports when it was an elementary/middle school for GDS. Read the fact sheet -- basketbal and track/cross country are the only sports. There will be a green club, a chess club, and one or two more, but hardly what JR offers. There's no good transportation to the site -- even in bounds students will be challenged to get there without driving. A terrible site.

These are falsehoods. Further evidence that readers should identify trusted and informed community members and rely solely upon them for information. Too many anonymous actors fueled either by ignorance of mal-intent.

Soccer will also be a varsity sport. The school’s field is loathe enough for practices but it doesn’t meet DCIAA regulations for games, so games will be elsewhere. Those involved are pushing for games across the street at GW Mt Vernon.

There are probably/possibly other sports too, but I don’t know the list off-hand. But I do recognize lies without resort to my records.

You're referring to your 'records' and you're not sounding like a ward 3 parent. Are you an official involved in the school? Would you care to identify yourself? Asking this in the context of the deletion of a comment that hinted that your comment could be from the founding principal himself.

I’m a parent who served on the CWG on behalf of a school community. I don’t really have an off-hand reason to not dox myself, but I’ll think it over first before deciding whether to reveal more.

I will look into the other questions. And, yes, I am well aware of the transportation issue.

If you are a parent on the CWG, then (1) one would think you would less hostile to the reasonable concerns and doubts of many parents and (2) it seems that if your insider knowledge is so different than what everyone else knows, then there is a communication problem. Perhaps you should aim your energies towards correcting that rather than yelling, "lies! lies!" Saying "You're clueless, trust me." is persuasive to no one.

I won't bite my tongue. Your smugness shows through. To me, it looks like you think you're better than others, smarter than others. Maybe you've been able to bully others with forceful words in the past. I'm guessing you read what you write over and over again after hitting submit, patting yourself on the back.

Here's some advice. You may be smart, but you're not unique. Practically everyone in Ward 3 is a lawyer or has a PhD. You're not special. But, then again, you're not as smart as you think. You don't know to whom you're replying. You don't know which posts I've authored, yet you seem to attribute them to me anyway. You try to use quotations to give the appearance of thoroughness and diligence, like you're citing a primary source. But the quotes are yours. I never said those words in the quotes. I don't know if anyone did.

If you want to try again, I'm here. I am just as content being nice and cooperative as I am being nasty and patronizing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a terrible idea to feed a whole swath of kids into a niche high school with limited offerings, Yes, a small school with few sports could be good for some kids, but it's not the equivalent of JR, which btw, has lots of challenges right now with teachers not showing up for months at a time, etc. They should let people apply to the new high school but not force people to enroll in a school with limited offerings.

An 800-person high school is not "niche." Education experts actually recommend that size as better for students than the 2000-student behemoths. The issue is providing adequate budget, not that the size is inadequate.

It may not be niche in size but it certainly will be in its offerings. It was inadequate for sports when it was an elementary/middle school for GDS. Read the fact sheet -- basketbal and track/cross country are the only sports. There will be a green club, a chess club, and one or two more, but hardly what JR offers. There's no good transportation to the site -- even in bounds students will be challenged to get there without driving. A terrible site.

These are falsehoods. Further evidence that readers should identify trusted and informed community members and rely solely upon them for information. Too many anonymous actors fueled either by ignorance of mal-intent.

Soccer will also be a varsity sport. The school’s field is loathe enough for practices but it doesn’t meet DCIAA regulations for games, so games will be elsewhere. Those involved are pushing for games across the street at GW Mt Vernon.

There are probably/possibly other sports too, but I don’t know the list off-hand. But I do recognize lies without resort to my records.

You're referring to your 'records' and you're not sounding like a ward 3 parent. Are you an official involved in the school? Would you care to identify yourself? Asking this in the context of the deletion of a comment that hinted that your comment could be from the founding principal himself.

I’m a parent who served on the CWG on behalf of a school community. I don’t really have an off-hand reason to not dox myself, but I’ll think it over first before deciding whether to reveal more.

I will look into the other questions. And, yes, I am well aware of the transportation issue.

If you are a parent on the CWG, then (1) one would think you would less hostile to the reasonable concerns and doubts of many parents and (2) it seems that if your insider knowledge is so different than what everyone else knows, then there is a communication problem. Perhaps you should aim your energies towards correcting that rather than yelling, "lies! lies!" Saying "You're clueless, trust me." is persuasive to no one.

I won't bite my tongue. Your smugness shows through. To me, it looks like you think you're better than others, smarter than others. Maybe you've been able to bully others with forceful words in the past. I'm guessing you read what you write over and over again after hitting submit, patting yourself on the back.

Here's some advice. You may be smart, but you're not unique. Practically everyone in Ward 3 is a lawyer or has a PhD. You're not special. But, then again, you're not as smart as you think. You don't know to whom you're replying. You don't know which posts I've authored, yet you seem to attribute them to me anyway. You try to use quotations to give the appearance of thoroughness and diligence, like you're citing a primary source. But the quotes are yours. I never said those words in the quotes. I don't know if anyone did.

If you want to try again, I'm here. I am just as content being nice and cooperative as I am being nasty and patronizing.

I'm the PP who asked whether you were a school official. I'm not the PP who called you out for yelling "lies!" and being hostile to concerned parents, but I agree with them. You're exhausting and not helpful.

[Anonymous]

Counterponit. PP wrote " Read the fact sheet -- basketbal and track/cross country are the only sports."

The Fact Sheet in reference, https://dcps.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dcps/page_content/attachments/MacArthur%20HS%20Informational%20Brochure.pdf, says "including basketball, volleyball, track and field, cross country."

PP's very sentence was not even internally accurate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a terrible idea to feed a whole swath of kids into a niche high school with limited offerings, Yes, a small school with few sports could be good for some kids, but it's not the equivalent of JR, which btw, has lots of challenges right now with teachers not showing up for months at a time, etc. They should let people apply to the new high school but not force people to enroll in a school with limited offerings.

An 800-person high school is not "niche." Education experts actually recommend that size as better for students than the 2000-student behemoths. The issue is providing adequate budget, not that the size is inadequate.

It may not be niche in size but it certainly will be in its offerings. It was inadequate for sports when it was an elementary/middle school for GDS. Read the fact sheet -- basketbal and track/cross country are the only sports. There will be a green club, a chess club, and one or two more, but hardly what JR offers. There's no good transportation to the site -- even in bounds students will be challenged to get there without driving. A terrible site.

These are falsehoods. Further evidence that readers should identify trusted and informed community members and rely solely upon them for information. Too many anonymous actors fueled either by ignorance of mal-intent.

Soccer will also be a varsity sport. The school’s field is loathe enough for practices but it doesn’t meet DCIAA regulations for games, so games will be elsewhere. Those involved are pushing for games across the street at GW Mt Vernon.

There are probably/possibly other sports too, but I don’t know the list off-hand. But I do recognize lies without resort to my records.

You're referring to your 'records' and you're not sounding like a ward 3 parent. Are you an official involved in the school? Would you care to identify yourself? Asking this in the context of the deletion of a comment that hinted that your comment could be from the founding principal himself.

I’m a parent who served on the CWG on behalf of a school community. I don’t really have an off-hand reason to not dox myself, but I’ll think it over first before deciding whether to reveal more.

I will look into the other questions. And, yes, I am well aware of the transportation issue.

If you are a parent on the CWG, then (1) one would think you would less hostile to the reasonable concerns and doubts of many parents and (2) it seems that if your insider knowledge is so different than what everyone else knows, then there is a communication problem. Perhaps you should aim your energies towards correcting that rather than yelling, "lies! lies!" Saying "You're clueless, trust me." is persuasive to no one.

I won't bite my tongue. Your smugness shows through. To me, it looks like you think you're better than others, smarter than others. Maybe you've been able to bully others with forceful words in the past. I'm guessing you read what you write over and over again after hitting submit, patting yourself on the back.

Here's some advice. You may be smart, but you're not unique. Practically everyone in Ward 3 is a lawyer or has a PhD. You're not special. But, then again, you're not as smart as you think. You don't know to whom you're replying. You don't know which posts I've authored, yet you seem to attribute them to me anyway. You try to use quotations to give the appearance of thoroughness and diligence, like you're citing a primary source. But the quotes are yours. I never said those words in the quotes. I don't know if anyone did.

If you want to try again, I'm here. I am just as content being nice and cooperative as I am being nasty and patronizing.

Will someone tell this pompous idiot poster that sometimes on internet forums people use quotations marks without even going for "thoroughness and diligence" but to illustrate or paraphrase "omg I said falsehoods not lies!"

[Anonymous]

You can also see minutes 37:00-38:30 of the video recording for more on athletic recommendations.

Basketball
Cheer
Flag Football
Golf
Soccer
Tennis
Track and Cross Country
Volleyball

Are being recommended for year 1 options.

https://dck12-my.sharepoint.com/personal/dcps_planning_k12_dc_gov/_layouts/15/stream.aspx?id=%2Fpersonal%2Fdcps%5Fplanning%5Fk12%5Fdc%5Fgov%2FDocuments%2FSchool%20Planning%20Blog%20%2D%20MacArthur%20%28Public%29%2F2022%2D11%2D15%20CWG%20%236%2FMacArthur%20CWG%20meeting%20%5F6%2D20221115%5F180315%2DMeeting%20Recording%2Emp4&ga=1