Deal and Hardy turnaround

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Principal bashing that's the ticket. Next go after the Chancellor. Then when that doesn't work. I guess you move to the suburbs. Sell your gouse and the cycle starts all over again. Guess who aint worried?

And you do not think it is important to share information with potential families? Why is that?

[Anonymous]

IB family here, with a student at Hardy. Yes, we felt welcome this year, and our child had a fine year - found a good peer group had good experiences with teachers, and was very happy. Teachers were not uniformly perfect, but there were some real standouts and no complete disasters. There were none of the mythical discipline problems that people seem to fear about Hardy. Come check out the school if you are an IB family - you'll be happy with it.

Our child had experience with the gifted and talented program. Yes, it is difficult to explain. Participation is high, but there are different levels of participation - the Type III groups are the most exclusive, with only 5% of students participating. Our child enjoyed it, and got a lot out of it.

This story in Slate describes the kind of program set up at Hardy: http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2013/03/gifted_and_talented_education_cities_try_to_make_programs_more_inclusive.html

This presentation is on the Hardy website:
http://www.hardyms.org/wp-content/uploads/BTSN-SEM.pdf

I agree that Dr. Stefanus is not great at describing the program - like a lot of Principals she has a tendency to fall into education jargon - but there is more info on the Hardy website and if you come in to talk to the teacher who runs the program she is very good at describing it and how it works.

[Anonymous]

I read the two piece the PP posted and I still am not clear about how the program happens in practice. Sounds like Level is an across the board training all teacher get to encourage them to teach problem solving, etc.

Are Level II and Level III classes separate classes? Do kids get grouped within a classroom to do special projects. Is it a curriculum that operates alongside the school curriculum or is it a set of enrichment activities that are totally separate? How do the 5% of kids in Level III classes get into those classes? Opt in, test in, selected by teachers. Are the Level III classes classes or enrichment activities?

[Anonymous]

Dr. Stefanus retired, right? Who is the new Hardy principal? Hardy families, how do you feel about the school this year?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I asked the principal about the G&T program and she seemed irritated about my line of questioning. I realize that I have a 3rd grader, but I think I should be able to ask questions without the attitude.

Considering most of us on this board consider our children so special they should have a special advanced track, it can get tiring. Most of us have kids that have benefitted from our ability to provide extras, many other kids have not in this city. I would not doubt it gets tiring.

Sure. But education itself is a tiring and repetitive process, so at least here she wasn't up to the standards for a good principal.

[Anonymous]

I am only 4 pages into this thread, but wanted to correct some misinformation:
I am in-boundary Mann and Hardy, my kids went to Mann and now go to a middle charter school NOT a private school like 22:37 wrote.
Many Mann kids' parents end up moving to Md or VA to attend their public schools, as do a LOT of people in NW DC, less than half of Mann go private after 5th grade.
Mann feeds into Hardy OR Deal, depending on where you are located, at least it did 3 years ago.

Finally, how is their gifted and talented program at Hardy doing? it seemed like it may be good for kids who are self-starting/monitoring, which may be hard for even the smartest middle schooler, but I am hoping it will succeed, especially since my DC still at Mann would be happier at a neighborhood school with a decent arts program like Hardy than the charter we are also attending now.

[Anonymous]

The new principal at Hardy is Patricia Pride, who came from within DCPS, unlike Dr. Mary. On a single meeting, she appears engaged, dedicated, and has plans for the future. If she stays, it will be a good thing.

We are in boundary for Hardy and are seriously considering it. In many ways, parents who want their children to only experience a Perfect Environment do them a disservice (though well intentioned). Success in life requires the ability to navigate challenges and develop some independence; the "problems" at public schools may make your child stronger. If more people were willing to take a small risk (after all, Hardy is not a bad school, it is just not one that you can control completely), Hardy could offer a great opportunity of a small, diverse, and challenging middle school on the way to Wilson.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The new principal at Hardy is Patricia Pride, who came from within DCPS, unlike Dr. Mary. On a single meeting, she appears engaged, dedicated, and has plans for the future. If she stays, it will be a good thing.

We are in boundary for Hardy and are seriously considering it. In many ways, parents who want their children to only experience a Perfect Environment do them a disservice (though well intentioned). Success in life requires the ability to navigate challenges and develop some independence; the "problems" at public schools may make your child stronger. If more people were willing to take a small risk (after all, Hardy is not a bad school, it is just not one that you can control completely), Hardy could offer a great opportunity of a small, diverse, and challenging middle school on the way to Wilson.

Nailed it, pp! Astute comment.

[Anonymous]

Pride was a disaster in several settings in DC. She will be a disaster at Hardy. Just give her some time.

[Anonymous]

Previous disaster stories please.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Previous disaster stories please.

I have a feeling the previous poster above you is a disgruntled teacher from Stoddert.

[Anonymous]

Stoddert is a highly sought after school which has attracted almost exclusively IB students over recent years. Not exactly a disaster story.

[Anonymous]

How to people think feeder patterns will change going into Deal and Hardy from NW elementaries, supposing they don't make Deal open to the whole city since that just seems unlikely? I am really looking more for someone who might know something about actual numbers of feeder students, than just hunches, but hunches also welcome! (I guess this is a crystal ball question...)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It would jump start the process to make Eaton and Oyster into Hardy feeders, since they're closer to Hardy than Deal anyway.

Mann is closer to Deal than it is to Hardy, yet it feeds Hardy. Eaton and Oyster should too.

Again, it is actually much harder for students living near the Woodley Park or Cleveland Park stations to get to Hardy than it is for them to simply jump on a train and hop out a couple of minutes later at Tenleytown. Please keep in mind that middle school kids will not be delivered by minivan!!

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pride was a disaster in several settings in DC. She will be a disaster at Hardy. Just give her some time.

LOl, you have said that before in another thread.