Hoffman-Boston Feedback
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Anonymous
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It’s ranked 713 out of 1102 elem schools in Arlington. For reference, vs nottingham elem which is 23rd.
https://www.schooldigger.com/go/VA/district/00270/search.aspx?level=1 That’s largely because they have 50% low income students. If you are upper middle class your kid will be fine. |
Anonymous
OP, Those rankings are based solely on test scores, and this ranking is specifically based on test scores from last year when APS was almost entirely virtual - not the best year to use test scores as an evaluation criteria. Also, test scores over the years is not a good measure due to the changes in pass score requirements. Visit the school and talk to the principal in person. Attend a PTA meeting and talk with parents and neighbors to get a better sense of what the school and community are like. Better yet, just send your kid and be an active member of the community. |
Anonymous
Wow—those rankings are depressing. |
Anonymous
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If your kid is only in kindergarten, they will be just fine! It is a warm and nurturing environment. You have plenty of time to see if you like it before starting to stress about SOLs in 3rd grade.
Another benefit was that we also used the before and after care and it was never full (pre-covid) and that program was also great, with most of the time spent outdoors. |
Anonymous
Sorry, what are SOLs? |
Anonymous
The VA standardized tests that start in 3rd grade. |
Anonymous
Pardon my ignorance, SOLs are stressful for the students, teachers or both? Is it a situation where teachers have to teach to the test? |
Anonymous
They should not be stressful for either students or teachers, but of course teachers do "teach to the test" in terms of having kids do practice sheets and such. Parents can also opt out of the tests. |
Anonymous
This is exactly what it is. I tel my kids they don’t matter. They still stress about them because the teachers take weeks before the tests retracting what will be on the tests. Once they take the SOLs in early June, there is no more teaching. |
Anonymous
They can't opt out of all of them in high school. Passing SOLs is how you earn verified credits which are required for high school graduation. It's more stressful for teachers because the school is evaluated based on the outcomes of the tests. But that means the administration and teachers put pressure on the students and make it stressful for them when it doesn't need to be, especially in elementary and middle school. Parents aren't stressed by SOLs - except when they're judging how good a school is and want those high scores. |
Anonymous
| For the purposes of OP's question about Hoffman Boston, when my kids were there, they made a big deal out of the SOLs - multiple emails to parents with the schedule and reminders about getting good sleep the night before, eating breakfast, etc.. The younger grades made craft projects in art class for older grades for good luck! The teachers sometimes brought in treats like donuts/candy the morning of the test. It was all kind of...sweet, I guess, in a school spirit sort of way? But I also found it disturbing that they placed so much emphasis on these tests. I will say, though, that my kids and their friends never worried too much about it, so I think the teachers were the ones stressing but did not push that pressure down to the kids. |
Anonymous
Hmmm.. I didn't realize there is variation on that. Again, a system of schools instead of a school system. |
Anonymous
Not it your kids are at ATS lol. But seriously OP - it’s one of those schools that are a hidden gem like many said. Before I went to law school I was a teacher and I’m still interested in education. I know some of the parents in Hoffman-Boston and a couple of the teachers. It just seems like such a good school. I’m actually surprised that it wasn’t ranked that highly but the pandemic may have messed things up. I suggest you join the group “Arlington Education Matters” on Facebook. Lots of crazy Arlington in-fighting in it so I’m mostly a lurker. But join the group and ask about Hoffman Boston. That way you can connect to parents who send their kids there. I seriously have never heard anything bad about the school. |
Anonymous
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Hoffman-Boston, demographically, is in the 20's (percentage-wise) for Asian, White, Black, and Hispanic students. It's the only school you'll find in Arlington like that.
https://www.apsva.us/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Civil-Rights-Table-1-2020-12-4.pdf |
Anonymous
oh please, this is so clearly a troll post. You explained the situation exactly but then said "oh I have no idea what an SOL is..." |