DHMS does it get better?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Huh.

My kid is at Swanson and no, not like this. Teachers respond, grades posted regularly, a couple teachers my kid has a great relationship with. Not that much time in iPad. I know this because it’s charged once for week and battery is not drained. They can go outside at lunch. They can’t eat out there but can go outside.

Some of your complaints it’s hard to tell if your kid might have some pretty severe executive functioning issues? I don’t think big public is the place for kids that need next level hand holding. They just aren’t built to operate that way.

OP, does your kid have a 504 plan or an IEP? Maybe you should explore this.

[Anonymous]

" I don’t think big public is the place for kids that need next level hand holding. They just aren’t built to operate that way."

That is an extremely ableist statement. Disabled students are absolutely entitled to "next level hand holding." But this statement doesn't surprise me, because it does seem to be held by many in APS. If only this wasn't an anon forum so I knew who you were and could write you off as a human. As it stands now, you could just be one of my neighbors and I may still take the time to treat you kindly. You are a gross human, to be clear.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:" I don’t think big public is the place for kids that need next level hand holding. They just aren’t built to operate that way."

That is an extremely ableist statement. Disabled students are absolutely entitled to "next level hand holding." But this statement doesn't surprise me, because it does seem to be held by many in APS. If only this wasn't an anon forum so I knew who you were and could write you off as a human. As it stands now, you could just be one of my neighbors and I may still take the time to treat you kindly. You are a gross human, to be clear.

PP is recognizing the situation at APS now, not advocating an ableist stance. You need a chill pill.

[Anonymous]

I have five years experience at DHMS with two children. The administration (Ms E Smith) is the best in Arlington and on par with what we would expect at any excellent school. As a result of this outlier administration in APS, DHMS tends to get a better pool of teachers. They want to work for her. Period. I know there’s always personality conflicts, and some teachers are going to disagree (of course), but you have to take the overall picture and it’s extremely positive.

We have emailed teachers twice that I can think of and they responded. But, perhaps that is tone/demands/frequency of your emails or the particular teacher happens to be a dud?

Unlike some APS schools, DHMS has a no tech policy, meaning phones away in lockers which I love. However, APS totally undercuts this by handing all the children iPads and then expects teachers to police their use for 25 kids all class. From my perspective, that is an APS problem and not a DHMS problem per se. I know some teachers are better than others, etc., but it’s a real distraction and problem across the board in APS that isn’t properly being dealt with.

My children participated in vastly different kinds of activities at DHMS. One was athletic and did all the sports. Another was primarily interested in clubs. We’ve had teachers go the extra mile, showing up out of school hours, hours away, for unpaid extra activities. We’ve also had a few dud coaches, “coaching” sports they know nothing about (seriously)! But, you know the seasons are short, and my kids were generally very happy. I mean, it’s MS so I don’t exactly expect ES reactions of I love my teacher mommy. Perhaps that’s a transition for you?

There is a big movement to self responsibility that’s actually the most important a kid can learn in MS. More important than any of the underlying memorizing topics and the stupid grades. Focus on that transition. Your child absolutely needs to learn to advocate for themselves. Learn this now. Candidly, my reaction to your post was: sounds to me like this is your first or only child and you are too involved.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have five years experience at DHMS with two children. The administration (Ms E Smith) is the best in Arlington and on par with what we would expect at any excellent school. As a result of this outlier administration in APS, DHMS tends to get a better pool of teachers. They want to work for her. Period. I know there’s always personality conflicts, and some teachers are going to disagree (of course), but you have to take the overall picture and it’s extremely positive.

We have emailed teachers twice that I can think of and they responded. But, perhaps that is tone/demands/frequency of your emails or the particular teacher happens to be a dud?

Unlike some APS schools, DHMS has a no tech policy, meaning phones away in lockers which I love. However, APS totally undercuts this by handing all the children iPads and then expects teachers to police their use for 25 kids all class. From my perspective, that is an APS problem and not a DHMS problem per se. I know some teachers are better than others, etc., but it’s a real distraction and problem across the board in APS that isn’t properly being dealt with.

My children participated in vastly different kinds of activities at DHMS. One was athletic and did all the sports. Another was primarily interested in clubs. We’ve had teachers go the extra mile, showing up out of school hours, hours away, for unpaid extra activities. We’ve also had a few dud coaches, “coaching” sports they know nothing about (seriously)! But, you know the seasons are short, and my kids were generally very happy. I mean, it’s MS so I don’t exactly expect ES reactions of I love my teacher mommy. Perhaps that’s a transition for you?

There is a big movement to self responsibility that’s actually the most important a kid can learn in MS. More important than any of the underlying memorizing topics and the stupid grades. Focus on that transition. Your child absolutely needs to learn to advocate for themselves. Learn this now. Candidly, my reaction to your post was: sounds to me like this is your first or only child and you are too involved.

So your whole response to this person is you're wrong that's not how it is and what your child is experiencing is not happening. Super helpful.

Also, what basis could you possibly have for saying it's the best administration in APS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:" I don’t think big public is the place for kids that need next level hand holding. They just aren’t built to operate that way."

That is an extremely ableist statement. Disabled students are absolutely entitled to "next level hand holding." But this statement doesn't surprise me, because it does seem to be held by many in APS. If only this wasn't an anon forum so I knew who you were and could write you off as a human. As it stands now, you could just be one of my neighbors and I may still take the time to treat you kindly. You are a gross human, to be clear.

Public schools aren't resourced to handle high needs kids. What these kids are entitled to is a different issue. You might want to take some of that energy and advocate for more funding and resources for public schools. You should genuinely take it down about 100 notches before engaging with anyone, however.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have five years experience at DHMS with two children. The administration (Ms E Smith) is the best in Arlington and on par with what we would expect at any excellent school. As a result of this outlier administration in APS, DHMS tends to get a better pool of teachers. They want to work for her. Period. I know there’s always personality conflicts, and some teachers are going to disagree (of course), but you have to take the overall picture and it’s extremely positive.

We have emailed teachers twice that I can think of and they responded. But, perhaps that is tone/demands/frequency of your emails or the particular teacher happens to be a dud?

Unlike some APS schools, DHMS has a no tech policy, meaning phones away in lockers which I love. However, APS totally undercuts this by handing all the children iPads and then expects teachers to police their use for 25 kids all class. From my perspective, that is an APS problem and not a DHMS problem per se. I know some teachers are better than others, etc., but it’s a real distraction and problem across the board in APS that isn’t properly being dealt with.

My children participated in vastly different kinds of activities at DHMS. One was athletic and did all the sports. Another was primarily interested in clubs. We’ve had teachers go the extra mile, showing up out of school hours, hours away, for unpaid extra activities. We’ve also had a few dud coaches, “coaching” sports they know nothing about (seriously)! But, you know the seasons are short, and my kids were generally very happy. I mean, it’s MS so I don’t exactly expect ES reactions of I love my teacher mommy. Perhaps that’s a transition for you?

There is a big movement to self responsibility that’s actually the most important a kid can learn in MS. More important than any of the underlying memorizing topics and the stupid grades. Focus on that transition. Your child absolutely needs to learn to advocate for themselves. Learn this now. Candidly, my reaction to your post was: sounds to me like this is your first or only child and you are too involved.

So your whole response to this person is you're wrong that's not how it is and what your child is experiencing is not happening. Super helpful.

Also, what basis could you possibly have for saying it's the best administration in APS?

DP. Which school has a better principal?

[Anonymous]

There is a big movement to self responsibility that’s actually the most important a kid can learn in MS. More important than any of the underlying memorizing topics and the stupid grades. Focus on that transition. Your child absolutely needs to learn to advocate for themselves. Learn this now. Candidly, my reaction to your post was: sounds to me like this is your first or only child and you are too involved.

Sometimes APS can go a bit hardcore on these messages. I have a 5th grader this year and she's been in tears a few times with worry about how hard middle school is going to be based on speeches by her 5th grade teachers. She's a kid who has never needed to be reminded to turn in homework, complete an assignment or even lost a water bottle. She's super organized and consciousness. I keep reminding her that these speeches aren't meant for her, and she understands, but they can be pretty intense. Hopefully middle school won't be 3 years of being beat over the head with the message that high school will be even harder and creating artificial hoops for kids to jump through just to prove they're ready. Life is hard enough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have five years experience at DHMS with two children. The administration (Ms E Smith) is the best in Arlington and on par with what we would expect at any excellent school. As a result of this outlier administration in APS, DHMS tends to get a better pool of teachers. They want to work for her. Period. I know there’s always personality conflicts, and some teachers are going to disagree (of course), but you have to take the overall picture and it’s extremely positive.

We have emailed teachers twice that I can think of and they responded. But, perhaps that is tone/demands/frequency of your emails or the particular teacher happens to be a dud?

Unlike some APS schools, DHMS has a no tech policy, meaning phones away in lockers which I love. However, APS totally undercuts this by handing all the children iPads and then expects teachers to police their use for 25 kids all class. From my perspective, that is an APS problem and not a DHMS problem per se. I know some teachers are better than others, etc., but it’s a real distraction and problem across the board in APS that isn’t properly being dealt with.

My children participated in vastly different kinds of activities at DHMS. One was athletic and did all the sports. Another was primarily interested in clubs. We’ve had teachers go the extra mile, showing up out of school hours, hours away, for unpaid extra activities. We’ve also had a few dud coaches, “coaching” sports they know nothing about (seriously)! But, you know the seasons are short, and my kids were generally very happy. I mean, it’s MS so I don’t exactly expect ES reactions of I love my teacher mommy. Perhaps that’s a transition for you?

There is a big movement to self responsibility that’s actually the most important a kid can learn in MS. More important than any of the underlying memorizing topics and the stupid grades. Focus on that transition. Your child absolutely needs to learn to advocate for themselves. Learn this now. Candidly, my reaction to your post was: sounds to me like this is your first or only child and you are too involved.

So your whole response to this person is you're wrong that's not how it is and what your child is experiencing is not happening. Super helpful.

Also, what basis could you possibly have for saying it's the best administration in APS?

DP. Which school has a better principal?

I'm sorry who is in a place to judge this other than possibly someone in school administration who is their collective supervisor and even that person is only seeing their view of things and not experiencing life as a student or teacher.

People here have said nice things about the Swanson principal. But again, not a knowable thing or even something possible to debate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

There is a big movement to self responsibility that’s actually the most important a kid can learn in MS. More important than any of the underlying memorizing topics and the stupid grades. Focus on that transition. Your child absolutely needs to learn to advocate for themselves. Learn this now. Candidly, my reaction to your post was: sounds to me like this is your first or only child and you are too involved.

Sometimes APS can go a bit hardcore on these messages. I have a 5th grader this year and she's been in tears a few times with worry about how hard middle school is going to be based on speeches by her 5th grade teachers. She's a kid who has never needed to be reminded to turn in homework, complete an assignment or even lost a water bottle. She's super organized and consciousness. I keep reminding her that these speeches aren't meant for her, and she understands, but they can be pretty intense. Hopefully middle school won't be 3 years of being beat over the head with the message that high school will be even harder and creating artificial hoops for kids to jump through just to prove they're ready. Life is hard enough.

She sounds very sensitive. If she has her shite together, she'll be so completely fine in middle school. What they ask of kids is not that hard for a motivated and neuro-typical kid. It's just not. A lot of the messaging in middle school is for the parents. Stop doing everything for your kid. Let them fail and make mistakes and sort it out. Some of the parents struggle with this more than anything the kids are asked to do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

There is a big movement to self responsibility that’s actually the most important a kid can learn in MS. More important than any of the underlying memorizing topics and the stupid grades. Focus on that transition. Your child absolutely needs to learn to advocate for themselves. Learn this now. Candidly, my reaction to your post was: sounds to me like this is your first or only child and you are too involved.

Sometimes APS can go a bit hardcore on these messages. I have a 5th grader this year and she's been in tears a few times with worry about how hard middle school is going to be based on speeches by her 5th grade teachers. She's a kid who has never needed to be reminded to turn in homework, complete an assignment or even lost a water bottle. She's super organized and consciousness. I keep reminding her that these speeches aren't meant for her, and she understands, but they can be pretty intense. Hopefully middle school won't be 3 years of being beat over the head with the message that high school will be even harder and creating artificial hoops for kids to jump through just to prove they're ready. Life is hard enough.

Ack, *conscientious

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have five years experience at DHMS with two children. The administration (Ms E Smith) is the best in Arlington and on par with what we would expect at any excellent school. As a result of this outlier administration in APS, DHMS tends to get a better pool of teachers. They want to work for her. Period. I know there’s always personality conflicts, and some teachers are going to disagree (of course), but you have to take the overall picture and it’s extremely positive.

We have emailed teachers twice that I can think of and they responded. But, perhaps that is tone/demands/frequency of your emails or the particular teacher happens to be a dud?

Unlike some APS schools, DHMS has a no tech policy, meaning phones away in lockers which I love. However, APS totally undercuts this by handing all the children iPads and then expects teachers to police their use for 25 kids all class. From my perspective, that is an APS problem and not a DHMS problem per se. I know some teachers are better than others, etc., but it’s a real distraction and problem across the board in APS that isn’t properly being dealt with.

My children participated in vastly different kinds of activities at DHMS. One was athletic and did all the sports. Another was primarily interested in clubs. We’ve had teachers go the extra mile, showing up out of school hours, hours away, for unpaid extra activities. We’ve also had a few dud coaches, “coaching” sports they know nothing about (seriously)! But, you know the seasons are short, and my kids were generally very happy. I mean, it’s MS so I don’t exactly expect ES reactions of I love my teacher mommy. Perhaps that’s a transition for you?

There is a big movement to self responsibility that’s actually the most important a kid can learn in MS. More important than any of the underlying memorizing topics and the stupid grades. Focus on that transition. Your child absolutely needs to learn to advocate for themselves. Learn this now. Candidly, my reaction to your post was: sounds to me like this is your first or only child and you are too involved.

So your whole response to this person is you're wrong that's not how it is and what your child is experiencing is not happening. Super helpful.

Also, what basis could you possibly have for saying it's the best administration in APS?

DP. Which school has a better principal?

I'm sorry who is in a place to judge this other than possibly someone in school administration who is their collective supervisor and even that person is only seeing their view of things and not experiencing life as a student or teacher.

People here have said nice things about the Swanson principal. But again, not a knowable thing or even something possible to debate.

Disagree. Parents can judge principals based on their family’s experiences. We’ve had a few and E.S. is lightyears ahead. My kids all liked and respected her. She has fostered a great environment for them to grow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

There is a big movement to self responsibility that’s actually the most important a kid can learn in MS. More important than any of the underlying memorizing topics and the stupid grades. Focus on that transition. Your child absolutely needs to learn to advocate for themselves. Learn this now. Candidly, my reaction to your post was: sounds to me like this is your first or only child and you are too involved.

Sometimes APS can go a bit hardcore on these messages. I have a 5th grader this year and she's been in tears a few times with worry about how hard middle school is going to be based on speeches by her 5th grade teachers. She's a kid who has never needed to be reminded to turn in homework, complete an assignment or even lost a water bottle. She's super organized and consciousness. I keep reminding her that these speeches aren't meant for her, and she understands, but they can be pretty intense. Hopefully middle school won't be 3 years of being beat over the head with the message that high school will be even harder and creating artificial hoops for kids to jump through just to prove they're ready. Life is hard enough.

She sounds very sensitive. If she has her shite together, she'll be so completely fine in middle school. What they ask of kids is not that hard for a motivated and neuro-typical kid. It's just not. A lot of the messaging in middle school is for the parents. Stop doing everything for your kid. Let them fail and make mistakes and sort it out. Some of the parents struggle with this more than anything the kids are asked to do.

x1 million

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

There is a big movement to self responsibility that’s actually the most important a kid can learn in MS. More important than any of the underlying memorizing topics and the stupid grades. Focus on that transition. Your child absolutely needs to learn to advocate for themselves. Learn this now. Candidly, my reaction to your post was: sounds to me like this is your first or only child and you are too involved.

Sometimes APS can go a bit hardcore on these messages. I have a 5th grader this year and she's been in tears a few times with worry about how hard middle school is going to be based on speeches by her 5th grade teachers. She's a kid who has never needed to be reminded to turn in homework, complete an assignment or even lost a water bottle. She's super organized and consciousness. I keep reminding her that these speeches aren't meant for her, and she understands, but they can be pretty intense. Hopefully middle school won't be 3 years of being beat over the head with the message that high school will be even harder and creating artificial hoops for kids to jump through just to prove they're ready. Life is hard enough.

She sounds very sensitive. If she has her shite together, she'll be so completely fine in middle school. What they ask of kids is not that hard for a motivated and neuro-typical kid. It's just not. A lot of the messaging in middle school is for the parents. Stop doing everything for your kid. Let them fail and make mistakes and sort it out. Some of the parents struggle with this more than anything the kids are asked to do.

Then say it to the Parents and not the kids. the kids who can handle it and will be fine are also the ones most likely hearing the message and worrying that some how or another they are going to be the ones who fall short. The kids who are struggling and identified as having learning issues or ADHD or some other issue that impacts executive functioning are going to worry that things are going to be even more of a struggle.

The kids who need to hear it are not paying attention, if they were paying attention then they wouldn't need to hear it. Those are the NT kids who could be doing better but who are not interested in school or would rather be doing other things. They have the ability to keep up but don't care enough too keep up. They are not listening to any of the warnings.

The parents of the kids who are on top of things are taking the messages that their kids hear and are worrying about what is to come because they know that their kid is on top of things, probably with a certain amount of parental support. The parents of the kids with IEPs and 504s hear the message and groan because things are going to be even harder for their kids and most schools use the change in levels as an additional excuse to not listen to a parent, which makes it harder to help their kids. And the NT kids who could be doing better but don't care will struggle a bit more but figure out how to get their and continue to not care. Until something in them triggers and they decide to care and then they will get their act together and do far better in school. Or they will float on by with their C.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have five years experience at DHMS with two children. The administration (Ms E Smith) is the best in Arlington and on par with what we would expect at any excellent school. As a result of this outlier administration in APS, DHMS tends to get a better pool of teachers. They want to work for her. Period. I know there’s always personality conflicts, and some teachers are going to disagree (of course), but you have to take the overall picture and it’s extremely positive.

We have emailed teachers twice that I can think of and they responded. But, perhaps that is tone/demands/frequency of your emails or the particular teacher happens to be a dud?

Unlike some APS schools, DHMS has a no tech policy, meaning phones away in lockers which I love. However, APS totally undercuts this by handing all the children iPads and then expects teachers to police their use for 25 kids all class. From my perspective, that is an APS problem and not a DHMS problem per se. I know some teachers are better than others, etc., but it’s a real distraction and problem across the board in APS that isn’t properly being dealt with.

My children participated in vastly different kinds of activities at DHMS. One was athletic and did all the sports. Another was primarily interested in clubs. We’ve had teachers go the extra mile, showing up out of school hours, hours away, for unpaid extra activities. We’ve also had a few dud coaches, “coaching” sports they know nothing about (seriously)! But, you know the seasons are short, and my kids were generally very happy. I mean, it’s MS so I don’t exactly expect ES reactions of I love my teacher mommy. Perhaps that’s a transition for you?

There is a big movement to self responsibility that’s actually the most important a kid can learn in MS. More important than any of the underlying memorizing topics and the stupid grades. Focus on that transition. Your child absolutely needs to learn to advocate for themselves. Learn this now. Candidly, my reaction to your post was: sounds to me like this is your first or only child and you are too involved.

So your whole response to this person is you're wrong that's not how it is and what your child is experiencing is not happening. Super helpful.

Also, what basis could you possibly have for saying it's the best administration in APS?

DP. Which school has a better principal?

I'm sorry who is in a place to judge this other than possibly someone in school administration who is their collective supervisor and even that person is only seeing their view of things and not experiencing life as a student or teacher.

People here have said nice things about the Swanson principal. But again, not a knowable thing or even something possible to debate.

Disagree. Parents can judge principals based on their family’s experiences. We’ve had a few and E.S. is lightyears ahead. My kids all liked and respected her. She has fostered a great environment for them to grow.

You (or someone else) is asserting that Hamm has the best principal and when asked how they would know this, someone else asked who is a better principal.

Unless you've had kids in all these schools at the same time, your family's experience tells you about exactly one principal at one point in time.