Feedback on Hearst for 2nd and K

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, did you end up accepting the spot? We are an OOB family that accepted a spot this year and hope the dynamics at the school are not as bad as they seem based on these posts!

This is OP - we did and we're looking forward to starting. A lot of the negative comments on this thread sounded like the same poster, so I'm hoping it's a small contingent and will be an overall welcoming environment. We called in for the info session last night and really liked the principal. After reading this thread, I was pleasantly surprised that everyone seemed pretty respectful. We plan to make it the best experience we can for our kids and to contribute to a positive school culture. I guess we'll keep our eyes out for rude people to avoid and nice people to gravitate toward. Were you able to make the new family orientation earlier this week?

You sound smart and motivated. The kind of family that will make a positive impact on any school community. Honest question: With the kind of energy and resources you have, why not bring that to bear to improve your neighborhood school? Why squander your resources on an already high performing school?

A couple of reasons, although I take issue with your framing that I'm "squandering" my resources. A primary reason is the feeder pattern. Our neighborhood high school has 0% of students meeting or exceeding expectations in math, and 42% did not yet meet expectations (that's not even counting students partially meeting or approached meeting expectations). Only 10% met expectations in ELA. Compare that to Wilson, which has 32% meeting or exceeding and only 10% not meeting expectations in math, and 58% meeting or exceeding expectations in ELA.

Another reason is that Hearst seems more stable and established and has significantly better test scores - 2/3 meeting or exceeding expectations at Hearst vs. 1/3 meeting or exceeding at our prior school. One of my children has difficulty in one subject and really needs high quality instruction to get back on track (especially after more than a year completely at home doing virtual school). My kids' 1-2 best friends have left their current school after every school year for 4 years running and there is so much churn. Going to an elementary school with a solid middle and high school trajectory would give them the chance for more stability in their friendships and peer group for 11 to 13 years. I am burned out of being on the PTA board while working full-time plus overtime at my job, and never having new parents step up to lighten the load. I have been devoting my time, energy and resources year after year after year.

My kids were offered slots fair and square through a random lottery, and we didn't feel like we could turn down what appears to be a clearly better educational path through high school.

Hearst was not always this way. Ten year ago the test scores were underwater. Then the IB families who used to flee to private schools began to attend and invest in the school. Now it’s among the best in the city. It’s past time that our neighbors EOTP began to do the same.

I’m fascinated that someone would say this. Hearst’s test scores rose because of an influx of OOB middle-class families during the Obama administration. Now that a cohort of in-bounds parents have partially succeeded in keeping that demographic out and making sure only inbound families attend, test scores in recent years have gone down considerably. Look it up on DCPS’ s website. It’s striking.

How exactly did a cohort of in-bound parents keep out OOB families? By choosing to go to their local school? I moved to a house and enrolled my kids in the IB school. I wasn't trying to keep anyone "out." I understand that more IB students means fewer OOB students, but it's not there was some kind of evil plan. More young families have moved into the neighborhood and they want to send their kids to Hearst, simple as that. Do you expect local families to send their kids to private school just so that people in Petworth can go to Hearst?

Read this thread.

I have read the thread. I still don't understand your accusation. More local families chose to send their kids to the local school. There was not some nefarious plot, it was just the result of the neighborhood changing, older people moving out, and younger people with families moving in.

Nonsense. The people on this thread are obsessed, however irrationally, with keeping OOB families out. They talk about it with other parents all the time, put intense pressure on the principal to close the school to anyone who isn’t inbounds, and actively ostracize anyone perceived as OOB (or “other”) in some way, and their children. It has made for a tense environment IRL, and it’s not fun for anyone encountering it for the first time, until they learn to ignore it (word to the wise, OP). I think it’s mostly a few parents in the later grades, so hopefully it will run it’s course when their kids leave for middle school in a year or two.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, did you end up accepting the spot? We are an OOB family that accepted a spot this year and hope the dynamics at the school are not as bad as they seem based on these posts!

This is OP - we did and we're looking forward to starting. A lot of the negative comments on this thread sounded like the same poster, so I'm hoping it's a small contingent and will be an overall welcoming environment. We called in for the info session last night and really liked the principal. After reading this thread, I was pleasantly surprised that everyone seemed pretty respectful. We plan to make it the best experience we can for our kids and to contribute to a positive school culture. I guess we'll keep our eyes out for rude people to avoid and nice people to gravitate toward. Were you able to make the new family orientation earlier this week?

You sound smart and motivated. The kind of family that will make a positive impact on any school community. Honest question: With the kind of energy and resources you have, why not bring that to bear to improve your neighborhood school? Why squander your resources on an already high performing school?

A couple of reasons, although I take issue with your framing that I'm "squandering" my resources. A primary reason is the feeder pattern. Our neighborhood high school has 0% of students meeting or exceeding expectations in math, and 42% did not yet meet expectations (that's not even counting students partially meeting or approached meeting expectations). Only 10% met expectations in ELA. Compare that to Wilson, which has 32% meeting or exceeding and only 10% not meeting expectations in math, and 58% meeting or exceeding expectations in ELA.

Another reason is that Hearst seems more stable and established and has significantly better test scores - 2/3 meeting or exceeding expectations at Hearst vs. 1/3 meeting or exceeding at our prior school. One of my children has difficulty in one subject and really needs high quality instruction to get back on track (especially after more than a year completely at home doing virtual school). My kids' 1-2 best friends have left their current school after every school year for 4 years running and there is so much churn. Going to an elementary school with a solid middle and high school trajectory would give them the chance for more stability in their friendships and peer group for 11 to 13 years. I am burned out of being on the PTA board while working full-time plus overtime at my job, and never having new parents step up to lighten the load. I have been devoting my time, energy and resources year after year after year.

My kids were offered slots fair and square through a random lottery, and we didn't feel like we could turn down what appears to be a clearly better educational path through high school.

Hearst was not always this way. Ten year ago the test scores were underwater. Then the IB families who used to flee to private schools began to attend and invest in the school. Now it’s among the best in the city. It’s past time that our neighbors EOTP began to do the same.

NP: and here’s one of many great examples of this disgusting attitude. “Oh I DEFINITELY worked so hard to have my beautiful neighborhood school, by being wealthy and WOTP. But those gross EOTP people need to work harder. Surely, they are wealthy, not like me, who lives in the highest income part of the city. They ought to put in the work I think they should before they deserve the same quality education as my children do.”

[Anonymous]

I love this narrative that it’s the EOTP people who are truly the wealthy and privileged.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, did you end up accepting the spot? We are an OOB family that accepted a spot this year and hope the dynamics at the school are not as bad as they seem based on these posts!

This is OP - we did and we're looking forward to starting. A lot of the negative comments on this thread sounded like the same poster, so I'm hoping it's a small contingent and will be an overall welcoming environment. We called in for the info session last night and really liked the principal. After reading this thread, I was pleasantly surprised that everyone seemed pretty respectful. We plan to make it the best experience we can for our kids and to contribute to a positive school culture. I guess we'll keep our eyes out for rude people to avoid and nice people to gravitate toward. Were you able to make the new family orientation earlier this week?

You sound smart and motivated. The kind of family that will make a positive impact on any school community. Honest question: With the kind of energy and resources you have, why not bring that to bear to improve your neighborhood school? Why squander your resources on an already high performing school?

A couple of reasons, although I take issue with your framing that I'm "squandering" my resources. A primary reason is the feeder pattern. Our neighborhood high school has 0% of students meeting or exceeding expectations in math, and 42% did not yet meet expectations (that's not even counting students partially meeting or approached meeting expectations). Only 10% met expectations in ELA. Compare that to Wilson, which has 32% meeting or exceeding and only 10% not meeting expectations in math, and 58% meeting or exceeding expectations in ELA.

Another reason is that Hearst seems more stable and established and has significantly better test scores - 2/3 meeting or exceeding expectations at Hearst vs. 1/3 meeting or exceeding at our prior school. One of my children has difficulty in one subject and really needs high quality instruction to get back on track (especially after more than a year completely at home doing virtual school). My kids' 1-2 best friends have left their current school after every school year for 4 years running and there is so much churn. Going to an elementary school with a solid middle and high school trajectory would give them the chance for more stability in their friendships and peer group for 11 to 13 years. I am burned out of being on the PTA board while working full-time plus overtime at my job, and never having new parents step up to lighten the load. I have been devoting my time, energy and resources year after year after year.

My kids were offered slots fair and square through a random lottery, and we didn't feel like we could turn down what appears to be a clearly better educational path through high school.

Hearst was not always this way. Ten year ago the test scores were underwater. Then the IB families who used to flee to private schools began to attend and invest in the school. Now it’s among the best in the city. It’s past time that our neighbors EOTP began to do the same.

NP: and here’s one of many great examples of this disgusting attitude. “Oh I DEFINITELY worked so hard to have my beautiful neighborhood school, by being wealthy and WOTP. But those gross EOTP people need to work harder. Surely, they are wealthy, not like me, who lives in the highest income part of the city. They ought to put in the work I think they should before they deserve the same quality education as my children do.”

Thank you for this.

[Anonymous]

NP: and here’s one of many great examples of this disgusting attitude. “Oh I DEFINITELY worked so hard to have my beautiful neighborhood school, by being wealthy and WOTP. But those gross EOTP people need to work harder. Surely, they are wealthy, not like me, who lives in the highest income part of the city. They ought to put in the work I think they should before they deserve the same quality education as my children do.”

That's ... not at all what PP said. Here, I'll attempt my own phrasing:

I freely chose to live in Ward 3 and freely chose to buy a home for >$800K. I am a college educated professional and I make a very good salary. I want to send my children to my assigned neighborhood schools. The strength of my assigned neighborhood schools was an important factor in making my free choice to buy where I did.

I freely chose to live in Petworth/Columbia Heights/16thSt Hts and freely chose to buy a home for >$800K. I am a college educated professional and I make a very good salary. I want to send my children to schools in a different neighborhood, one where I could have bought a home but freely chose not to do so. The relatively poor performance of my assigned neighborhood schools was not as important as other factors when I made the free choice to buy where I did.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, did you end up accepting the spot? We are an OOB family that accepted a spot this year and hope the dynamics at the school are not as bad as they seem based on these posts!

This is OP - we did and we're looking forward to starting. A lot of the negative comments on this thread sounded like the same poster, so I'm hoping it's a small contingent and will be an overall welcoming environment. We called in for the info session last night and really liked the principal. After reading this thread, I was pleasantly surprised that everyone seemed pretty respectful. We plan to make it the best experience we can for our kids and to contribute to a positive school culture. I guess we'll keep our eyes out for rude people to avoid and nice people to gravitate toward. Were you able to make the new family orientation earlier this week?

You sound smart and motivated. The kind of family that will make a positive impact on any school community. Honest question: With the kind of energy and resources you have, why not bring that to bear to improve your neighborhood school? Why squander your resources on an already high performing school?

A couple of reasons, although I take issue with your framing that I'm "squandering" my resources. A primary reason is the feeder pattern. Our neighborhood high school has 0% of students meeting or exceeding expectations in math, and 42% did not yet meet expectations (that's not even counting students partially meeting or approached meeting expectations). Only 10% met expectations in ELA. Compare that to Wilson, which has 32% meeting or exceeding and only 10% not meeting expectations in math, and 58% meeting or exceeding expectations in ELA.

Another reason is that Hearst seems more stable and established and has significantly better test scores - 2/3 meeting or exceeding expectations at Hearst vs. 1/3 meeting or exceeding at our prior school. One of my children has difficulty in one subject and really needs high quality instruction to get back on track (especially after more than a year completely at home doing virtual school). My kids' 1-2 best friends have left their current school after every school year for 4 years running and there is so much churn. Going to an elementary school with a solid middle and high school trajectory would give them the chance for more stability in their friendships and peer group for 11 to 13 years. I am burned out of being on the PTA board while working full-time plus overtime at my job, and never having new parents step up to lighten the load. I have been devoting my time, energy and resources year after year after year.

My kids were offered slots fair and square through a random lottery, and we didn't feel like we could turn down what appears to be a clearly better educational path through high school.

Hearst was not always this way. Ten year ago the test scores were underwater. Then the IB families who used to flee to private schools began to attend and invest in the school. Now it’s among the best in the city. It’s past time that our neighbors EOTP began to do the same.

I’m fascinated that someone would say this. Hearst’s test scores rose because of an influx of OOB middle-class families during the Obama administration. Now that a cohort of in-bounds parents have partially succeeded in keeping that demographic out and making sure only inbound families attend, test scores in recent years have gone down considerably. Look it up on DCPS’ s website. It’s striking.

How exactly did a cohort of in-bound parents keep out OOB families? By choosing to go to their local school? I moved to a house and enrolled my kids in the IB school. I wasn't trying to keep anyone "out." I understand that more IB students means fewer OOB students, but it's not there was some kind of evil plan. More young families have moved into the neighborhood and they want to send their kids to Hearst, simple as that. Do you expect local families to send their kids to private school just so that people in Petworth can go to Hearst?

Read this thread.

I have read the thread. I still don't understand your accusation. More local families chose to send their kids to the local school. There was not some nefarious plot, it was just the result of the neighborhood changing, older people moving out, and younger people with families moving in.

Nonsense. The people on this thread are obsessed, however irrationally, with keeping OOB families out. They talk about it with other parents all the time, put intense pressure on the principal to close the school to anyone who isn’t inbounds, and actively ostracize anyone perceived as OOB (or “other”) in some way, and their children. It has made for a tense environment IRL, and it’s not fun for anyone encountering it for the first time, until they learn to ignore it (word to the wise, OP). I think it’s mostly a few parents in the later grades, so hopefully it will run it’s course when their kids leave for middle school in a year or two.

It is you who is spouting nonsense. There is no pressure that parents can put on the pressure to keep OOB students out. There are a set number of spots in each grade, and if they are filled by IB students, then there is no space for OOB students, simple as that. There is no secret extra classroom that could accommodate other students that the IB parents are trying to shut down. You are being ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, did you end up accepting the spot? We are an OOB family that accepted a spot this year and hope the dynamics at the school are not as bad as they seem based on these posts!

This is OP - we did and we're looking forward to starting. A lot of the negative comments on this thread sounded like the same poster, so I'm hoping it's a small contingent and will be an overall welcoming environment. We called in for the info session last night and really liked the principal. After reading this thread, I was pleasantly surprised that everyone seemed pretty respectful. We plan to make it the best experience we can for our kids and to contribute to a positive school culture. I guess we'll keep our eyes out for rude people to avoid and nice people to gravitate toward. Were you able to make the new family orientation earlier this week?

You sound smart and motivated. The kind of family that will make a positive impact on any school community. Honest question: With the kind of energy and resources you have, why not bring that to bear to improve your neighborhood school? Why squander your resources on an already high performing school?

A couple of reasons, although I take issue with your framing that I'm "squandering" my resources. A primary reason is the feeder pattern. Our neighborhood high school has 0% of students meeting or exceeding expectations in math, and 42% did not yet meet expectations (that's not even counting students partially meeting or approached meeting expectations). Only 10% met expectations in ELA. Compare that to Wilson, which has 32% meeting or exceeding and only 10% not meeting expectations in math, and 58% meeting or exceeding expectations in ELA.

Another reason is that Hearst seems more stable and established and has significantly better test scores - 2/3 meeting or exceeding expectations at Hearst vs. 1/3 meeting or exceeding at our prior school. One of my children has difficulty in one subject and really needs high quality instruction to get back on track (especially after more than a year completely at home doing virtual school). My kids' 1-2 best friends have left their current school after every school year for 4 years running and there is so much churn. Going to an elementary school with a solid middle and high school trajectory would give them the chance for more stability in their friendships and peer group for 11 to 13 years. I am burned out of being on the PTA board while working full-time plus overtime at my job, and never having new parents step up to lighten the load. I have been devoting my time, energy and resources year after year after year.

My kids were offered slots fair and square through a random lottery, and we didn't feel like we could turn down what appears to be a clearly better educational path through high school.

Hearst was not always this way. Ten year ago the test scores were underwater. Then the IB families who used to flee to private schools began to attend and invest in the school. Now it’s among the best in the city. It’s past time that our neighbors EOTP began to do the same.

I’m fascinated that someone would say this. Hearst’s test scores rose because of an influx of OOB middle-class families during the Obama administration. Now that a cohort of in-bounds parents have partially succeeded in keeping that demographic out and making sure only inbound families attend, test scores in recent years have gone down considerably. Look it up on DCPS’ s website. It’s striking.

How exactly did a cohort of in-bound parents keep out OOB families? By choosing to go to their local school? I moved to a house and enrolled my kids in the IB school. I wasn't trying to keep anyone "out." I understand that more IB students means fewer OOB students, but it's not there was some kind of evil plan. More young families have moved into the neighborhood and they want to send their kids to Hearst, simple as that. Do you expect local families to send their kids to private school just so that people in Petworth can go to Hearst?

Read this thread.

I have read the thread. I still don't understand your accusation. More local families chose to send their kids to the local school. There was not some nefarious plot, it was just the result of the neighborhood changing, older people moving out, and younger people with families moving in.

Nonsense. The people on this thread are obsessed, however irrationally, with keeping OOB families out. They talk about it with other parents all the time, put intense pressure on the principal to close the school to anyone who isn’t inbounds, and actively ostracize anyone perceived as OOB (or “other”) in some way, and their children. It has made for a tense environment IRL, and it’s not fun for anyone encountering it for the first time, until they learn to ignore it (word to the wise, OP). I think it’s mostly a few parents in the later grades, so hopefully it will run it’s course when their kids leave for middle school in a year or two.

It is you who is spouting nonsense. There is no pressure that parents can put on the principal to keep OOB students out. There are a set number of spots in each grade, and if they are filled by IB students, then there is no space for OOB students, simple as that. There is no secret extra classroom that could accommodate other students that the IB parents are trying to shut down. You are being ridiculous.

Typo corrected.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love this narrative that it’s the EOTP people who are truly the wealthy and privileged.

I live IB in a small rental apartment, and in my case, it is definitely the case that most of the OOB families in my kid's class are wealthier and more privileged than me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, did you end up accepting the spot? We are an OOB family that accepted a spot this year and hope the dynamics at the school are not as bad as they seem based on these posts!

This is OP - we did and we're looking forward to starting. A lot of the negative comments on this thread sounded like the same poster, so I'm hoping it's a small contingent and will be an overall welcoming environment. We called in for the info session last night and really liked the principal. After reading this thread, I was pleasantly surprised that everyone seemed pretty respectful. We plan to make it the best experience we can for our kids and to contribute to a positive school culture. I guess we'll keep our eyes out for rude people to avoid and nice people to gravitate toward. Were you able to make the new family orientation earlier this week?

You sound smart and motivated. The kind of family that will make a positive impact on any school community. Honest question: With the kind of energy and resources you have, why not bring that to bear to improve your neighborhood school? Why squander your resources on an already high performing school?

A couple of reasons, although I take issue with your framing that I'm "squandering" my resources. A primary reason is the feeder pattern. Our neighborhood high school has 0% of students meeting or exceeding expectations in math, and 42% did not yet meet expectations (that's not even counting students partially meeting or approached meeting expectations). Only 10% met expectations in ELA. Compare that to Wilson, which has 32% meeting or exceeding and only 10% not meeting expectations in math, and 58% meeting or exceeding expectations in ELA.

Another reason is that Hearst seems more stable and established and has significantly better test scores - 2/3 meeting or exceeding expectations at Hearst vs. 1/3 meeting or exceeding at our prior school. One of my children has difficulty in one subject and really needs high quality instruction to get back on track (especially after more than a year completely at home doing virtual school). My kids' 1-2 best friends have left their current school after every school year for 4 years running and there is so much churn. Going to an elementary school with a solid middle and high school trajectory would give them the chance for more stability in their friendships and peer group for 11 to 13 years. I am burned out of being on the PTA board while working full-time plus overtime at my job, and never having new parents step up to lighten the load. I have been devoting my time, energy and resources year after year after year.

My kids were offered slots fair and square through a random lottery, and we didn't feel like we could turn down what appears to be a clearly better educational path through high school.

Hearst was not always this way. Ten year ago the test scores were underwater. Then the IB families who used to flee to private schools began to attend and invest in the school. Now it’s among the best in the city. It’s past time that our neighbors EOTP began to do the same.

I’m fascinated that someone would say this. Hearst’s test scores rose because of an influx of OOB middle-class families during the Obama administration. Now that a cohort of in-bounds parents have partially succeeded in keeping that demographic out and making sure only inbound families attend, test scores in recent years have gone down considerably. Look it up on DCPS’ s website. It’s striking.

How exactly did a cohort of in-bound parents keep out OOB families? By choosing to go to their local school? I moved to a house and enrolled my kids in the IB school. I wasn't trying to keep anyone "out." I understand that more IB students means fewer OOB students, but it's not there was some kind of evil plan. More young families have moved into the neighborhood and they want to send their kids to Hearst, simple as that. Do you expect local families to send their kids to private school just so that people in Petworth can go to Hearst?

Read this thread.

I have read the thread. I still don't understand your accusation. More local families chose to send their kids to the local school. There was not some nefarious plot, it was just the result of the neighborhood changing, older people moving out, and younger people with families moving in.

Nonsense. The people on this thread are obsessed, however irrationally, with keeping OOB families out. They talk about it with other parents all the time, put intense pressure on the principal to close the school to anyone who isn’t inbounds, and actively ostracize anyone perceived as OOB (or “other”) in some way, and their children. It has made for a tense environment IRL, and it’s not fun for anyone encountering it for the first time, until they learn to ignore it (word to the wise, OP). I think it’s mostly a few parents in the later grades, so hopefully it will run it’s course when their kids leave for middle school in a year or two.

It is you who is spouting nonsense. There is no pressure that parents can put on the principal to keep OOB students out. There are a set number of spots in each grade, and if they are filled by IB students, then there is no space for OOB students, simple as that. There is no secret extra classroom that could accommodate other students that the IB parents are trying to shut down. You are being ridiculous.

Why, then, are you so worked up about there being OOB families at Hearst?
Typo corrected.

[Anonymous]

What a great school. I can see why people want to attend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

NP: and here’s one of many great examples of this disgusting attitude. “Oh I DEFINITELY worked so hard to have my beautiful neighborhood school, by being wealthy and WOTP. But those gross EOTP people need to work harder. Surely, they are wealthy, not like me, who lives in the highest income part of the city. They ought to put in the work I think they should before they deserve the same quality education as my children do.”

That's ... not at all what PP said. Here, I'll attempt my own phrasing:

I freely chose to live in Ward 3 and freely chose to buy a home for >$800K. I am a college educated professional and I make a very good salary. I want to send my children to my assigned neighborhood schools. The strength of my assigned neighborhood schools was an important factor in making my free choice to buy where I did.

I freely chose to live in Petworth/Columbia Heights/16thSt Hts and freely chose to buy a home for >$800K. I am a college educated professional and I make a very good salary. I want to send my children to schools in a different neighborhood, one where I could have bought a home but freely chose not to do so. The relatively poor performance of my assigned neighborhood schools was not as important as other factors when I made the free choice to buy where I did.

+1,000,000. I’ve lost count of how many white OOB families living in $1M+ houses in Crestwood, 16th streets heights, etc. pull up to that school every morning in their bumper sticker laden cars virtue signaling cars. It’s disgusting and should not be allowed.

[Anonymous]

How is the behavior of students in this school? Is it a little entitled (I could see this based on some IB and OOB parent comments!)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, did you end up accepting the spot? We are an OOB family that accepted a spot this year and hope the dynamics at the school are not as bad as they seem based on these posts!

This is OP - we did and we're looking forward to starting. A lot of the negative comments on this thread sounded like the same poster, so I'm hoping it's a small contingent and will be an overall welcoming environment. We called in for the info session last night and really liked the principal. After reading this thread, I was pleasantly surprised that everyone seemed pretty respectful. We plan to make it the best experience we can for our kids and to contribute to a positive school culture. I guess we'll keep our eyes out for rude people to avoid and nice people to gravitate toward. Were you able to make the new family orientation earlier this week?

You sound smart and motivated. The kind of family that will make a positive impact on any school community. Honest question: With the kind of energy and resources you have, why not bring that to bear to improve your neighborhood school? Why squander your resources on an already high performing school?

A couple of reasons, although I take issue with your framing that I'm "squandering" my resources. A primary reason is the feeder pattern. Our neighborhood high school has 0% of students meeting or exceeding expectations in math, and 42% did not yet meet expectations (that's not even counting students partially meeting or approached meeting expectations). Only 10% met expectations in ELA. Compare that to Wilson, which has 32% meeting or exceeding and only 10% not meeting expectations in math, and 58% meeting or exceeding expectations in ELA.

Another reason is that Hearst seems more stable and established and has significantly better test scores - 2/3 meeting or exceeding expectations at Hearst vs. 1/3 meeting or exceeding at our prior school. One of my children has difficulty in one subject and really needs high quality instruction to get back on track (especially after more than a year completely at home doing virtual school). My kids' 1-2 best friends have left their current school after every school year for 4 years running and there is so much churn. Going to an elementary school with a solid middle and high school trajectory would give them the chance for more stability in their friendships and peer group for 11 to 13 years. I am burned out of being on the PTA board while working full-time plus overtime at my job, and never having new parents step up to lighten the load. I have been devoting my time, energy and resources year after year after year.

My kids were offered slots fair and square through a random lottery, and we didn't feel like we could turn down what appears to be a clearly better educational path through high school.

Hearst was not always this way. Ten year ago the test scores were underwater. Then the IB families who used to flee to private schools began to attend and invest in the school. Now it’s among the best in the city. It’s past time that our neighbors EOTP began to do the same.

I’m fascinated that someone would say this. Hearst’s test scores rose because of an influx of OOB middle-class families during the Obama administration. Now that a cohort of in-bounds parents have partially succeeded in keeping that demographic out and making sure only inbound families attend, test scores in recent years have gone down considerably. Look it up on DCPS’ s website. It’s striking.

Obama built this! This response belongs in the DCUM Hall of Fame.

They used the Obama administration to mark time. Good try though to trivialize a response that you didn’t like

The in-flux of OOB middle-class family happened when the No Child Left Behind policies ended and there was no longer bussing offered to kids in disadvantaged communities. We used to get two buses bringing kids from further away wards, but then the federal funding for the busing ended. DCPS continued funding for a while but then stopped. Sadly most of those kids couldn't come to Hearst anymore because their parents had no way to get them there everyday. Once that happened, it opened up OOB slots for more kids from Crestwood, Petworth, Takoma Park, etc., and these were families that had the time and means to get the kids to and from school everyday. The OOB percentage didn't change much during these years, but the racial breakdown did.

I'm not making any judgement about any of this change or the impact it had on the quality of school. Just sharing the real history, which had little to do with the Obama administration (other than the end of NCLB).

[Anonymous]

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NP: and here’s one of many great examples of this disgusting attitude. “Oh I DEFINITELY worked so hard to have my beautiful neighborhood school, by being wealthy and WOTP. But those gross EOTP people need to work harder. Surely, they are wealthy, not like me, who lives in the highest income part of the city. They ought to put in the work I think they should before they deserve the same quality education as my children do.”

That's ... not at all what PP said. Here, I'll attempt my own phrasing:

I freely chose to live in Ward 3 and freely chose to buy a home for >$800K. I am a college educated professional and I make a very good salary. I want to send my children to my assigned neighborhood schools. The strength of my assigned neighborhood schools was an important factor in making my free choice to buy where I did.

I freely chose to live in Petworth/Columbia Heights/16thSt Hts and freely chose to buy a home for >$800K. I am a college educated professional and I make a very good salary. I want to send my children to schools in a different neighborhood, one where I could have bought a home but freely chose not to do so. The relatively poor performance of my assigned neighborhood schools was not as important as other factors when I made the free choice to buy where I did.

+1,000,000. I’ve lost count of how many white OOB families living in $1M+ houses in Crestwood, 16th streets heights, etc. pull up to that school every morning in their bumper sticker laden cars virtue signaling cars. It’s disgusting and should not be allowed.

Hahahaha i am sorry. WHAT shouldn't be allowed?

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Anonymous wrote:OP, did you end up accepting the spot? We are an OOB family that accepted a spot this year and hope the dynamics at the school are not as bad as they seem based on these posts!

This is OP - we did and we're looking forward to starting. A lot of the negative comments on this thread sounded like the same poster, so I'm hoping it's a small contingent and will be an overall welcoming environment. We called in for the info session last night and really liked the principal. After reading this thread, I was pleasantly surprised that everyone seemed pretty respectful. We plan to make it the best experience we can for our kids and to contribute to a positive school culture. I guess we'll keep our eyes out for rude people to avoid and nice people to gravitate toward. Were you able to make the new family orientation earlier this week?

You sound smart and motivated. The kind of family that will make a positive impact on any school community. Honest question: With the kind of energy and resources you have, why not bring that to bear to improve your neighborhood school? Why squander your resources on an already high performing school?

A couple of reasons, although I take issue with your framing that I'm "squandering" my resources. A primary reason is the feeder pattern. Our neighborhood high school has 0% of students meeting or exceeding expectations in math, and 42% did not yet meet expectations (that's not even counting students partially meeting or approached meeting expectations). Only 10% met expectations in ELA. Compare that to Wilson, which has 32% meeting or exceeding and only 10% not meeting expectations in math, and 58% meeting or exceeding expectations in ELA.

Another reason is that Hearst seems more stable and established and has significantly better test scores - 2/3 meeting or exceeding expectations at Hearst vs. 1/3 meeting or exceeding at our prior school. One of my children has difficulty in one subject and really needs high quality instruction to get back on track (especially after more than a year completely at home doing virtual school). My kids' 1-2 best friends have left their current school after every school year for 4 years running and there is so much churn. Going to an elementary school with a solid middle and high school trajectory would give them the chance for more stability in their friendships and peer group for 11 to 13 years. I am burned out of being on the PTA board while working full-time plus overtime at my job, and never having new parents step up to lighten the load. I have been devoting my time, energy and resources year after year after year.

My kids were offered slots fair and square through a random lottery, and we didn't feel like we could turn down what appears to be a clearly better educational path through high school.

Hearst was not always this way. Ten year ago the test scores were underwater. Then the IB families who used to flee to private schools began to attend and invest in the school. Now it’s among the best in the city. It’s past time that our neighbors EOTP began to do the same.

I’m fascinated that someone would say this. Hearst’s test scores rose because of an influx of OOB middle-class families during the Obama administration. Now that a cohort of in-bounds parents have partially succeeded in keeping that demographic out and making sure only inbound families attend, test scores in recent years have gone down considerably. Look it up on DCPS’ s website. It’s striking.

Obama built this! This response belongs in the DCUM Hall of Fame.

They used the Obama administration to mark time. Good try though to trivialize a response that you didn’t like

The in-flux of OOB middle-class family happened when the No Child Left Behind policies ended and there was no longer bussing offered to kids in disadvantaged communities. We used to get two buses bringing kids from further away wards, but then the federal funding for the busing ended. DCPS continued funding for a while but then stopped. Sadly most of those kids couldn't come to Hearst anymore because their parents had no way to get them there everyday. Once that happened, it opened up OOB slots for more kids from Crestwood, Petworth, Takoma Park, etc., and these were families that had the time and means to get the kids to and from school everyday. The OOB percentage didn't change much during these years, but the racial breakdown did.

I'm not making any judgement about any of this change or the impact it had on the quality of school. Just sharing the real history, which had little to do with the Obama administration (other than the end of NCLB).

Wait so are the OOB families middle class or wealthy?