Hyde-Addison

[Anonymous]

Finding a workable solution shouldn't fall on them, it should fall on DCPS, but they did volunteer, and we are counting on them to be our voice. As a non-SIT parent, I'll do whatever is asked of me, short of sending my kid to Meyer

[Anonymous]

I am a H-A parent and didn't like the idea of H-A swinging to Hardy any more than the Hardy parents do. Middle-schoolers suffer a challenging mix of emotions and behave accordingly. I can't think it would have been at all positive for elementary school students to be observing and then mimicking them on a daily basis - I certainly, for one, don't want a 7 year old trying to act like a 12 year old. From the few parents I spoke with, DESA was heavily favored among the three options. Where Hardy was preferred over Meyer, this is mainly a product of a lack of faith in DCPS to manage the logistics of a cross-town swing.

[Anonymous]

According to DCPS at the SIT meetings - DESA is off the table since it would take away the outdoor space from Ellington students, conflicts with construction that will be going on at the hospital, and disrupts the traffic to the hospital. They said all the space at Ellington school has 'programmatic' use, so no 'extra' viable space.
ie. any options that 'take away' from Ellington and/or Hardy are off the table.
I'm not sure what came out of the attempt to ask about the lower GDS campus space, since it will be relocating (not sure on time frame), if they could reapproach the old AU law school building or GU (with a higher bids for use of space?)
[Some options deemed not enough space: Francis-Stevens, Holy Redeemer, Lab School field, Volta, Rose Park, Guy Mason, Old Jackson School.]

[Anonymous]

Again, I said this down thread. Get over yourselves Hyde parents and do your best to embrace this change. There are schools with worse facilities EOTP who would be happy to take your renovation dollars.

We're sorry your school is going to be disrupted, but it is a public school and part of a system. We're sorry for the PK parents who will miss out on a nice neighborhood experience to launch their snowflakes' school careers.

The system says it's time for your upgrade - and they have a swing space 2.3 miles away that will work.

I repeat - you're not in a private system. Your outrage is unproductive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another Hyde parent here: The above comment is nuts. EVERYTHING changes. I will go from being able to walk my child to school, watch them play, drop them off in the classroom, talk to the teachers, be a part of a COMMUNITY---to putting a 3 and 5 year old on a bus for an additional hour each day--time that could be spent playing, running, participating in afterschool activites or I dont know, LEARNING. Not only is the swing space NOT in our neighborhood, its not in an adjoining 10 neighborhoods, not in the same ward, might as well be on another planet as far as I'm concerned. For my family, its not happening. And for two years. Two years of total upheaval because DCPS cannot remotely get their act together and find a swing space even kinda sorta close to Georgetown. I'm more sad than anything, because it was a really great school with dedicated teachers and a group of inbound parents who actually started to care about building something great. All for a damn gym.

You are being overly dramatic. H-A was a strong school before you were there and will be after you leave. It is still majority OOB even though it is a small school. It clearly has very dedicated teachers and OOB parents who actually care about the school. It may be inconvenient for you but your child will still receive a stellar education in a warm environment. Plus, you can still talk to the teachers and drop off in the classroom. There is nothing stopping you from doing that. Do you think that the OOB parents don't currently do that? Do you think only the parents who walk their kids to school can do that? Come on. Stop being a self absorbed ass.

[Anonymous]

OOB parents choose the extra commute. IB parents should have a reasonable expectation that they can attend a neighborhood school when they purchase or rent a home in that neighborhood.

If you bought a home on Capitol Hill for the school, and then DCPS told you a two year renovation would send your kids to Tenleytown every day (after assuring you for two years that children would remain on campus for the renovation), you would be upset. H-A parents have a right to be upset, and certainly have a right to challenge the decision.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OOB parents choose the extra commute. IB parents should have a reasonable expectation that they can attend a neighborhood school when they purchase or rent a home in that neighborhood.

If you bought a home on Capitol Hill for the school, and then DCPS told you a two year renovation would send your kids to Tenleytown every day (after assuring you for two years that children would remain on campus for the renovation), you would be upset. H-A parents have a right to be upset, and certainly have a right to challenge the decision.

Your property and income tax dollars go to DCPS, not your local IB school. And while you are guaranteed a IB slot -- which already gives you a lot of privilege, since your IB school is so highly sought after --you are not guaranteed special privileges in the overall system based on your address. Inconveniences happen in DCPS and not just to you. Not a catastrophe unless you turn it into one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OOB parents choose the extra commute. IB parents should have a reasonable expectation that they can attend a neighborhood school when they purchase or rent a home in that neighborhood.

If you bought a home on Capitol Hill for the school, and then DCPS told you a two year renovation would send your kids to Tenleytown every day (after assuring you for two years that children would remain on campus for the renovation), you would be upset. H-A parents have a right to be upset, and certainly have a right to challenge the decision.

Your property and income tax dollars go to DCPS, not your local IB school. And while you are guaranteed a IB slot -- which already gives you a lot of privilege, since your IB school is so highly sought after --you are not guaranteed special privileges in the overall system based on your address. Inconveniences happen in DCPS and not just to you. Not a catastrophe unless you turn it into one.

This. It is a temporary situation. Everyone will be ok.

[Anonymous]

Parental support for the renovation was predicated on the children being able to stay at Hyde during the work or at the very least, a local swing site. Neither of those happened, and I feel no obligation to suck it up and accept an unacceptable alternative.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Except that H-A - thanks to two years of being off-site, massive churning in enrolment, and little parental engagement - won't be half the "stellar" school it was before. New OOB families are welcome to pick things up in '19, but building a good school ain't easy; DCPS can tell you that! But even this sort of misses the bigger point, which is that what DCPS is doing here and now - that is, pitting three communities (H-A, Hardy and Burleith) against one another to push through a quick fix that will destroy one of the best school communities in the city by virtue of their total failure to put a credible plan together - should raise serious concerns for anyone who cares about the city's public school system.

It was pretty darned stellar back in the day when my kid went there OOB and lots of educated families from Capitol Hill and SW sent their kids there. We were also very engaged and were centrally involved in the PTA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another Hyde parent here: The above comment is nuts. EVERYTHING changes. I will go from being able to walk my child to school, watch them play, drop them off in the classroom, talk to the teachers, be a part of a COMMUNITY---to putting a 3 and 5 year old on a bus for an additional hour each day--time that could be spent playing, running, participating in afterschool activites or I dont know, LEARNING. Not only is the swing space NOT in our neighborhood, its not in an adjoining 10 neighborhoods, not in the same ward, might as well be on another planet as far as I'm concerned. For my family, its not happening. And for two years. Two years of total upheaval because DCPS cannot remotely get their act together and find a swing space even kinda sorta close to Georgetown. I'm more sad than anything, because it was a really great school with dedicated teachers and a group of inbound parents who actually started to care about building something great. All for a damn gym.

You are being overly dramatic. H-A was a strong school before you were there and will be after you leave. It is still majority OOB even though it is a small school. It clearly has very dedicated teachers and OOB parents who actually care about the school. It may be inconvenient for you but your child will still receive a stellar education in a warm environment. Plus, you can still talk to the teachers and drop off in the classroom. There is nothing stopping you from doing that. Do you think that the OOB parents don't currently do that? Do you think only the parents who walk their kids to school can do that? Come on. Stop being a self absorbed ass.

Okay the last sentence is over the line but other than that I "plus 1" everything else in pp's comment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Parental support for the renovation was predicated on the children being able to stay at Hyde during the work or at the very least, a local swing site. Neither of those happened, and I feel no obligation to suck it up and accept an unacceptable alternative.

I understand that and would likely feel the same, but what does what you're saying mean? You're leaving Hyde? Davis's letter seems to say that the decision is final. So I guess HA parents like yourself will be applying to private and OOB and charter?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Again, I said this down thread. Get over yourselves Hyde parents and do your best to embrace this change. There are schools with worse facilities EOTP who would be happy to take your renovation dollars.

As a H-A parent, I'd be perfectly happy letting them have it. The school gains a gym and loses a community. For many of us, that counts as a net loss. If the money could be spent actually enhancing the quality of a more needy school EotP, then let them have it.

Anonymous wrote:We're sorry your school is going to be disrupted, but it is a public school and part of a system. We're sorry for the PK parents who will miss out on a nice neighborhood experience to launch their snowflakes' school careers. The system says it's time for your upgrade - and they have a swing space 2.3 miles away that will work. I repeat - you're not in a private system. Your outrage is unproductive.

Maybe you should re-sit grade school civics. Attempting to hold elected officials (and their appointees) to account for illogical, non-transparent decision-making that will potentially damage good schools is unproductive? For who exactly? The contractors?

Good luck next time in the not-too-distant future when you are on the receiving end of appalling and capricious DCPS decision-making . . . I'm sure we'll have your back just as you've had ours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OOB parents choose the extra commute. IB parents should have a reasonable expectation that they can attend a neighborhood school when they purchase or rent a home in that neighborhood.

If you bought a home on Capitol Hill for the school, and then DCPS told you a two year renovation would send your kids to Tenleytown every day (after assuring you for two years that children would remain on campus for the renovation), you would be upset. H-A parents have a right to be upset, and certainly have a right to challenge the decision.

Your property and income tax dollars go to DCPS, not your local IB school. And while you are guaranteed a IB slot -- which already gives you a lot of privilege, since your IB school is so highly sought after --you are not guaranteed special privileges in the overall system based on your address. Inconveniences happen in DCPS and not just to you. Not a catastrophe unless you turn it into one.

NP here: It became "highly sought after" because of where it is.

No doubt you are an OOB parent who was lucky enough to get the truly "special privilege" of attending out of bounds. Now you want the school to come closer to you without paying up for it. You, too, would be irked if you liked your IB school and it moved a 20 minutes (30 min at rush hour) away from you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Again, I said this down thread. Get over yourselves Hyde parents and do your best to embrace this change. There are schools with worse facilities EOTP who would be happy to take your renovation dollars.

As a H-A parent, I'd be perfectly happy letting them have it. The school gains a gym and loses a community. For many of us, that counts as a net loss. If the money could be spent actually enhancing the quality of a more needy school EotP, then let them have it.

Anonymous wrote:We're sorry your school is going to be disrupted, but it is a public school and part of a system. We're sorry for the PK parents who will miss out on a nice neighborhood experience to launch their snowflakes' school careers. The system says it's time for your upgrade - and they have a swing space 2.3 miles away that will work. I repeat - you're not in a private system. Your outrage is unproductive.

Maybe you should re-sit grade school civics. Attempting to hold elected officials (and their appointees) to account for illogical, non-transparent decision-making that will potentially damage good schools is unproductive? For who exactly? The contractors?

Good luck next time in the not-too-distant future when you are on the receiving end of appalling and capricious DCPS decision-making . . . I'm sure we'll have your back just as you've had ours.

Different poster here. I understand you're upset and in your situation I might feel some of that myself. But this is how DCPS has been handling renovations. There's nothing capricious about it. It's not like they're subjecting H-A to something that other school populations haven't endured. My kid was at Hardy when it was renovated. Some families chose to send their kids elsewhere because they didn't want to travel to the swingspace (Hamilton). Other families chose to suck it up and go there. It was certainly less convenient for us because even though we were OOB it was not near my husband's office and there wasn't a bus that went directly by the school that my kid could take.

I get that it bothers you and it sucks. But you're acting a bit too victimized as if DCPS were meting out a punishment to the H-A families that they didn't give to families at other schools.