Eaton Thrown Under the Bus

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When Proposal B talks about Hardy switching to a "New" high school, it is not clear whether it is talking about a newly built high school or a different high school, which would be new to Hardy students. It is doubtful that DC would build a new school in Ward 3 given the underutilization of other high schools throughout the city. In that case, Hardy would leap-frog over other neighborhoods that feed into Wilson in order to go to a high school to the East.

And let's be real. The only city-owned site of any size west of Rock Creek is Duke Ellington (which has a building but no campus with fields), And the decision seems to have been made to keep Ellington where it is, despite it's non-central location and the fact that it is no where near the Metro. The Third District police station site on Idaho Ave, would work for an elementary school but not for a HS, and you'd have to evict the cops. The logical conclusion is that the "new" high school to which DCPS vaguely refers is no where near Hardy.

Ellington is actually really accessible from the red line! The D2 at Dupont Circle literally sits at the metro for 10 minutes each morning, so kids just hope off metro, sit on the bus until it's ready to turn around, and get dropped off at Ellington's door. I myself do this multiple x per week.

A dedicated, purpose built performing arts school that is centrally located and more accessible to all by Metro would be superior. particularly if it were located near a performing arts complex like Arena.

No matter how much logic you throw at the situation I don't think you will get Ellington to move. The school community is really attached to being located in Georgetown and I think they feel that it is not fair to take away their space just because the land is very valuable even fi the student body would benefit from a centrally located school with an easier commute . I think that nothing short of throwing them a pristinely renovated building (maybe Roosevelt? is that still a school without a feeder system?) would work but not much else.

[Anonymous]

Graduates of Eaton and every other feeder to Hardy will suffer if Hardy doesn't maintain its feeder rights to Wilson. That means that parents with the means to jump ship will jump.

Even if these proposals go nowhere, DCPS has done lasting harm to its efforts to improve Hardy as a middle school, just by including in option B the possibility that Hardy might lose Wilson. This is a very effective way to break the trust of parents. I wonder if anyone involved in producing these plans will ever admit to what they were thinking when they put that in there. Parents who are choosing Hardy might start jumping ship immediately.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The proposals provide that John Eaton ES will be forced out of Deal, and be assigned to Hardy, What do Eaton parents think of that??

Eaton and Oyster were always the most vulnerable. They're both closer to Hardy than Deal anyway. Even if there weren't a re-alignment of the boundaries in the political works, it always made sense to anyone who can read a map.

\

Can't remember if I posted in this thread or another, but reading a map doesn't mean much unless it had an overlay of bus and metro lines. However close Eaton and Oyster may be to Hardy, the commute will be twice or three times as long than the one the kids would make via the red line.

Have no horse in this race, just know that there is basically no easy east-west bus route (bit better for Eaton, but pretty bad for Oyster) for those two neighborhoods.

[Anonymous]

The redistricting will help the private schools and only the private schools. Eaton parents who can afford to do so will head straight to private because of uncertainty more than anything else. Those who can't afford it will be shipped off to Hardy in small numbers and that will do nothing to help that school grow and thrive. Then, if there is a lottery for high school, virtually everyone in the city will apply to private school out of fear of being assigned to some dreadful high school. The whole thing is a mess. I'm just glad my children are almost out of school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:American University is moving its law school to the Tenley Town campus and that superfresh off 48th an Yuma is closed. That space is about the size of Wilson.

And AU and Superfresh are just going to donate their buildings to the city?

[Anonymous]

Since when is oyster going to Hardy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When Proposal B talks about Hardy switching to a "New" high school, it is not clear whether it is talking about a newly built high school or a different high school, which would be new to Hardy students. It is doubtful that DC would build a new school in Ward 3 given the underutilization of other high schools throughout the city. In that case, Hardy would leap-frog over other neighborhoods that feed into Wilson in order to go to a high school to the East.

And let's be real. The only city-owned site of any size west of Rock Creek is Duke Ellington (which has a building but no campus with fields), And the decision seems to have been made to keep Ellington where it is, despite it's non-central location and the fact that it is no where near the Metro. The Third District police station site on Idaho Ave, would work for an elementary school but not for a HS, and you'd have to evict the cops. The logical conclusion is that the "new" high school to which DCPS vaguely refers is no where near Hardy.

Actually the OLD Hardy building, also formerly occupied by the Lab school, sits on an enormous Lot on Foxhall Road. There would need to be a huge addition, but the space for that and playing fields exists! It would be a great location for kids in Palisades, Georgetown, Glover Park, Burleith, Foggy Bottom, Even Dupont. But no metro nearby though an easy bus ride from Foggy Bottom.

+1. The old Hardy site is over twice the size of the current Ellington site, 5+ acres vs. 2+ acres.

The plain truth is, folks, that there is nothing budgeted this year for a study of a new high school or even indicated in some long term capital plan. So "new" high school likely means "new" for Hardy, Oyster and Eaton, in the sense that Wilson is "not new" for them.

To the barricades!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The proposals provide that John Eaton ES will be forced out of Deal, and be assigned to Hardy, What do Eaton parents think of that??

Eaton and Oyster were always the most vulnerable. They're both closer to Hardy than Deal anyway. Even if there weren't a re-alignment of the boundaries in the political works, it always made sense to anyone who can read a map.

+1

Given that Hardy, which looks to be turning into a fine option, is already a designated option for Eaton, and that one of the stated objectives for the boundary rewrite was to reduce overcrowding at Deal, I would like to cordially invite any Eaton parent who did not see this coming to our weekly poker game.

It's true. Eaton has no ability to challenge stuff like this because its population is split between in bounds families who want the school to compete with the likes of Janney and out of bounds families who are just thrilled to be out of their neighborhood schools and don't want to rock the boat. It's a gem of a school with a warm community, but there is no unified political will there. And now Eaton will suffer the consequences and once again become a 95% out of bounds school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:American University is moving its law school to the Tenley Town campus and that superfresh off 48th an Yuma is closed. That space is about the size of Wilson.

And AU and Superfresh are just going to donate their buildings to the city?

Ha! AU is either going to use the building for administrative functions or flip it to a developer to be retrofitted into condos.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The redistricting will help the private schools and only the private schools. Eaton parents who can afford to do so will head straight to private because of uncertainty more than anything else. Those who can't afford it will be shipped off to Hardy in small numbers and that will do nothing to help that school grow and thrive. Then, if there is a lottery for high school, virtually everyone in the city will apply to private school out of fear of being assigned to some dreadful high school. The whole thing is a mess. I'm just glad my children are almost out of school.

Unless this scheme is deep-sixed, it is going to be a hellish next year in applying out to private school because so many parents will be worried about uncertainly and risk in DCPS secondary schools, and it likely will get even worse in future years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:American University is moving its law school to the Tenley Town campus and that superfresh off 48th an Yuma is closed. That space is about the size of Wilson.

And AU and Superfresh are just going to donate their buildings to the city?

Ha! AU is either going to use the building for administrative functions or flip it to a developer to be retrofitted into condos.

DC has a surplus, it can buy things.

[Anonymous]

Question: If both Deal and Hardy fed into Wilson, would that exceed Wilson's capacity?

[Anonymous]

Not if they cut out Shepherd. Muriel?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The proposals provide that John Eaton ES will be forced out of Deal, and be assigned to Hardy, What do Eaton parents think of that??

Eaton and Oyster were always the most vulnerable. They're both closer to Hardy than Deal anyway. Even if there weren't a re-alignment of the boundaries in the political works, it always made sense to anyone who can read a map.

+1

Given that Hardy, which looks to be turning into a fine option, is already a designated option for Eaton, and that one of the stated objectives for the boundary rewrite was to reduce overcrowding at Deal, I would like to cordially invite any Eaton parent who did not see this coming to our weekly poker game.

It's true. Eaton has no ability to challenge stuff like this because its population is split between in bounds families who want the school to compete with the likes of Janney and out of bounds families who are just thrilled to be out of their neighborhood schools and don't want to rock the boat. It's a gem of a school with a warm community, but there is no unified political will there. And now Eaton will suffer the consequences and once again become a 95% out of bounds school.

The ones who traditionally never wanted to rock the boat often were DCPS employees themselves. (A couple even were parent members of the LSRT, so they were pretty invested in the status quo.) That was more in the past. Others, while thrilled to be at Eaton rather than their neighborhood school, fretted that if Eaton became too much like Mann or Janney, IB enrollment would eventually squeeze the OOB enrollment.

However, many parents are likely over this to be vigorous boat rockers. Some may be readying the torpedoes.

[Anonymous]

There will be plenty of room at Wilson because this plan will inspire most people to consider private. Why on earth would a family who could afford private take the chance of sending a kid to Hardy? Eaton kids have had the Hardy option for years, but I've never seen a single kid take that option.