Hardy/Deal vs Arlington middle schools

[Anonymous]

Reviving this thread - how to the curricula compare? People were complaining about amplify and Ed tech on another thread.

[Anonymous]

If you have specific questions about curricula I think you should do some of your own research. My kids are in an APS high school and I do not compare notes on specifics with my friends who stayed in DC. But a few things I would mention:

1) Arlington tech has some really cool STEM classes that are an option even if your kids don't go to Arlington Tech
2) I think it is more common for kids to take algebra in 7th grade in Arlington (I'll let you decide if that is a pro or a con)
3) My kids high school offers an amazing AP World History class for freshman and AP European history for 10th grade - not sure if those are options at Jackson-Reed.
4) Arts curriculum is great - one of my kids is in great pottery class and there is band/orchestra starting in late elementary.

I do wish the kids were on their (AI-enabled) laptops less and read more actual books (so far honors 9th grade english has only read one full book and it was Night, which is very short!). But I think you really have to pay for private to have your kids read a book a month, like I did when I was in high school.

[Anonymous]

Only private schools have kids reading a book a month in HIGH SCHOOL!? Is this for real???

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you have specific questions about curricula I think you should do some of your own research. My kids are in an APS high school and I do not compare notes on specifics with my friends who stayed in DC. But a few things I would mention:

1) Arlington tech has some really cool STEM classes that are an option even if your kids don't go to Arlington Tech
2) I think it is more common for kids to take algebra in 7th grade in Arlington (I'll let you decide if that is a pro or a con)
3) My kids high school offers an amazing AP World History class for freshman and AP European history for 10th grade - not sure if those are options at Jackson-Reed.
4) Arts curriculum is great - one of my kids is in great pottery class and there is band/orchestra starting in late elementary.

I do wish the kids were on their (AI-enabled) laptops less and read more actual books (so far honors 9th grade english has only read one full book and it was Night, which is very short!). But I think you really have to pay for private to have your kids read a book a month, like I did when I was in high school.

We left DCPS for Arlington after 6th grade and I second the motion. Above is a good and accurate post.

In our experience, APS is much more organized than DCPS and teachers are better trained and supported overall. If you need to go up the chain on an issue in APS, no great stress, no big deal; they'll work with you. The capacity in the system is simply much greater, particularly for enrichment as PP mentions. We like how APS doesn't shy away from academic tracking at the MS level, creating big cohorts of students who are well prepared to handle HS challenge.

In Arlington, you get announcements APS almost every day announcing competitions, workshop, cheap or free summer enrichment etc. that your HS kid can take advantage. My kid says he wants to be a vet and he's found vet shadow days and Zoom workshops and volunteer opportunities with animals in the county through the announcements. School facilities are so much better in APS and DCPS that you have to experience it to believe it. Great auditoriums, pools, gyms and playing fields (sometimes run by the county for the public but attached to the school). Arlington Tech/Career center has a snazzy new building, opening this summer, where shop classes, a big animal lab, cooking classes etc. will be housed. The other public high schools in Arlington all run shuttle vans to the tech building for students.

Things haven't been perfect for us in APS: we've had a few bad teachers along with inexperienced school counselors and obnoxious coaches. We could have gone to DCI or Hardy from Ward 6 but didn't want to deal with the commutes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I was worried these would be the answers. We want to stay in DC but I'm not sure we can justify it knowing that for a similar housing price we could get Arlington schools. I'm interested in comparing the regular schools since we know our kids could go there, and may not get into specialty schools.

The better neighborhood schools in Arlington are better than the very best neighborhood schools in DC from top to bottom. High school, middle and elementary. There’s zero question about it. But you don’t need the very best schools for most kids. A good school is good enough. I wouldn’t move to Arlington just for the schools if you’re in a good DC district, your kids are doing well, and everything else about your existence favors DC.

This, buried in the thread, is the right answer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I was worried these would be the answers. We want to stay in DC but I'm not sure we can justify it knowing that for a similar housing price we could get Arlington schools. I'm interested in comparing the regular schools since we know our kids could go there, and may not get into specialty schools.

The better neighborhood schools in Arlington are better than the very best neighborhood schools in DC from top to bottom. High school, middle and elementary. There’s zero question about it. But you don’t need the very best schools for most kids. A good school is good enough. I wouldn’t move to Arlington just for the schools if you’re in a good DC district, your kids are doing well, and everything else about your existence favors DC.

This, buried in the thread, is the right answer.

We follow this advice. But we are moving and trying to decide between NW and Arlington. We like NW more and feel like it is a better for for our family of 5. But Arlington schools seem so much better. We are looking at modest homes in both places.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I was worried these would be the answers. We want to stay in DC but I'm not sure we can justify it knowing that for a similar housing price we could get Arlington schools. I'm interested in comparing the regular schools since we know our kids could go there, and may not get into specialty schools.

The better neighborhood schools in Arlington are better than the very best neighborhood schools in DC from top to bottom. High school, middle and elementary. There’s zero question about it. But you don’t need the very best schools for most kids. A good school is good enough. I wouldn’t move to Arlington just for the schools if you’re in a good DC district, your kids are doing well, and everything else about your existence favors DC.

This, buried in the thread, is the right answer.

We follow this advice. But we are moving and trying to decide between NW and Arlington. We like NW more and feel like it is a better for for our family of 5. But Arlington schools seem so much better. We are looking at modest homes in both places.

where would you live and where would your kids go to school in DC? one thing we really like about Arlington are the school buses (and late buses). It has been a game changer for the entire family. If you are moving anyway, I would not discount value of not having to be your own school bus. And we have not sacrificed overall walkability since we live between Clarendon and Ballston and our kids walk to both. Being walkable to Ballston is great because it is a great meeting place for teens.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I was worried these would be the answers. We want to stay in DC but I'm not sure we can justify it knowing that for a similar housing price we could get Arlington schools. I'm interested in comparing the regular schools since we know our kids could go there, and may not get into specialty schools.

The better neighborhood schools in Arlington are better than the very best neighborhood schools in DC from top to bottom. High school, middle and elementary. There’s zero question about it. But you don’t need the very best schools for most kids. A good school is good enough. I wouldn’t move to Arlington just for the schools if you’re in a good DC district, your kids are doing well, and everything else about your existence favors DC.

This, buried in the thread, is the right answer.

We follow this advice. But we are moving and trying to decide between NW and Arlington. We like NW more and feel like it is a better for for our family of 5. But Arlington schools seem so much better. We are looking at modest homes in both places.

In the long run if you feel like NW DC is a better fit for your family, don’t leave. The decision in the long term makes no difference in life outcomes or is super insignificant. I grew up in NW dc and so did many of my friends - we are all raising our kids here and sending our kids to DCPS. Everyone is successful.

[Anonymous]

Do Arlington middle schools have school sports?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do Arlington middle schools have school sports?

Yes
https://catalog.apsva.us/extracurricular-athletic-program

and here is the info on academics

https://catalog.apsva.us/sequence_of_study

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My spouse, who has taught in both APS and DCPS, could not get novels delivered from the DCPS warehouse for an AP Lit class. Put the order in at the beginning of the school year, still hadn't received the books at Thanksgiving. We ended up buying 20 paperbacks ourselves and spouse gave them to the kids. Standard operating procedure in DCPS.

Overall did the quality of teaching differ between the schools? And the expectations? DCPS isn't well run but we know good teachers exist. Are Arlington schools better because the teachers are better, they have higher expectations, or they have more resources (which improves their teaching)? Or is it simply demographics? If the focus is on having your child learn, how different are JR and MacArthur feeders compares to Arlington? So far this thread indicates that intensifies classes in middle push students to learn more.

All of the above, OP. We were in DCPS for 10 years for 2 kids. What we've found in Arlington is a system that's higher capacity than DCPS across the board. If you need to go up the chain for help in APS, the process is smoother, clear and more helpful than in DCPS. You aren't treated like a pesky UMC helicopter parents in APS as you sometimes are in DCPS. Management systems in APS are better established, meaning that school principals don't exercise outsized power and make a lot of discretionary decisions as in DCPS. In our experience, overall, the teaching has been better in APS with more rigor on offer. APS school demographics are v. different than DCPS demographics overall. Because the schools in APS are all OK or good, and charters barely exist, UMC parents don't mob certain schools the same way they do in DCPS. APS as a whole is far more Latino and far less AA than DCPS, with a good mix of immigrants in the mix. The N Arlington MS scene is comparable to the Upper NW DCPS scene. Kenmore and Gunston middle schools in APS probably aren't any better than Hardy or Deal, but Williamsburg, Thomas Jefferson, Dorothy Hamm and HB Woodlawn (lottery admissions, can't apply from DC) pretty clearly are. From what we've observed, parents don't move around within Arlington to access better schools much at all. The practice is more common in DCPS. Hope this info helps.

Just curious- how is it possible to be such a strong school when the grade sizes are 300+ students on average. I’m not 100% certain but I believe on average DCPS grade sized are more like 100 students. These APS class sizes seem massive. Would that not pose a challenge for educators/administrators? How do kids not get lost in the shuffle, particularly those who need additional support?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My spouse, who has taught in both APS and DCPS, could not get novels delivered from the DCPS warehouse for an AP Lit class. Put the order in at the beginning of the school year, still hadn't received the books at Thanksgiving. We ended up buying 20 paperbacks ourselves and spouse gave them to the kids. Standard operating procedure in DCPS.

Overall did the quality of teaching differ between the schools? And the expectations? DCPS isn't well run but we know good teachers exist. Are Arlington schools better because the teachers are better, they have higher expectations, or they have more resources (which improves their teaching)? Or is it simply demographics? If the focus is on having your child learn, how different are JR and MacArthur feeders compares to Arlington? So far this thread indicates that intensifies classes in middle push students to learn more.

All of the above, OP. We were in DCPS for 10 years for 2 kids. What we've found in Arlington is a system that's higher capacity than DCPS across the board. If you need to go up the chain for help in APS, the process is smoother, clear and more helpful than in DCPS. You aren't treated like a pesky UMC helicopter parents in APS as you sometimes are in DCPS. Management systems in APS are better established, meaning that school principals don't exercise outsized power and make a lot of discretionary decisions as in DCPS. In our experience, overall, the teaching has been better in APS with more rigor on offer. APS school demographics are v. different than DCPS demographics overall. Because the schools in APS are all OK or good, and charters barely exist, UMC parents don't mob certain schools the same way they do in DCPS. APS as a whole is far more Latino and far less AA than DCPS, with a good mix of immigrants in the mix. The N Arlington MS scene is comparable to the Upper NW DCPS scene. Kenmore and Gunston middle schools in APS probably aren't any better than Hardy or Deal, but Williamsburg, Thomas Jefferson, Dorothy Hamm and HB Woodlawn (lottery admissions, can't apply from DC) pretty clearly are. From what we've observed, parents don't move around within Arlington to access better schools much at all. The practice is more common in DCPS. Hope this info helps.

Just curious- how is it possible to be such a strong school when the grade sizes are 300+ students on average. I’m not 100% certain but I believe on average DCPS grade sized are more like 100 students. These APS class sizes seem massive. Would that not pose a challenge for educators/administrators? How do kids not get lost in the shuffle, particularly those who need additional support?

I think Deal actually has 500 students per grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My spouse, who has taught in both APS and DCPS, could not get novels delivered from the DCPS warehouse for an AP Lit class. Put the order in at the beginning of the school year, still hadn't received the books at Thanksgiving. We ended up buying 20 paperbacks ourselves and spouse gave them to the kids. Standard operating procedure in DCPS.

Overall did the quality of teaching differ between the schools? And the expectations? DCPS isn't well run but we know good teachers exist. Are Arlington schools better because the teachers are better, they have higher expectations, or they have more resources (which improves their teaching)? Or is it simply demographics? If the focus is on having your child learn, how different are JR and MacArthur feeders compares to Arlington? So far this thread indicates that intensifies classes in middle push students to learn more.

All of the above, OP. We were in DCPS for 10 years for 2 kids. What we've found in Arlington is a system that's higher capacity than DCPS across the board. If you need to go up the chain for help in APS, the process is smoother, clear and more helpful than in DCPS. You aren't treated like a pesky UMC helicopter parents in APS as you sometimes are in DCPS. Management systems in APS are better established, meaning that school principals don't exercise outsized power and make a lot of discretionary decisions as in DCPS. In our experience, overall, the teaching has been better in APS with more rigor on offer. APS school demographics are v. different than DCPS demographics overall. Because the schools in APS are all OK or good, and charters barely exist, UMC parents don't mob certain schools the same way they do in DCPS. APS as a whole is far more Latino and far less AA than DCPS, with a good mix of immigrants in the mix. The N Arlington MS scene is comparable to the Upper NW DCPS scene. Kenmore and Gunston middle schools in APS probably aren't any better than Hardy or Deal, but Williamsburg, Thomas Jefferson, Dorothy Hamm and HB Woodlawn (lottery admissions, can't apply from DC) pretty clearly are. From what we've observed, parents don't move around within Arlington to access better schools much at all. The practice is more common in DCPS. Hope this info helps.

Just curious- how is it possible to be such a strong school when the grade sizes are 300+ students on average. I’m not 100% certain but I believe on average DCPS grade sized are more like 100 students. These APS class sizes seem massive. Would that not pose a challenge for educators/administrators? How do kids not get lost in the shuffle, particularly those who need additional support?

Just curriculum alone is reason to move. If you are in a good charter maybe it makes sense to stay. But dcps is embarrassingly bad. And the application schools are a joke.