Current experience at Stuart Hobson?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Could a kid come of out Stuart prepared to handle private school? Sure, if you ensure that they're well prepared, or you don't mind that they're all that well prepared but can and will pay for, say, the Field School (60K/year), where the academic admissions bar isn't set too high. You say that your kid isn't a self starter. OK, are you prepared to pay for academic break camps and other enrichment, like tutors to bump up challenge? Hint: there aren't "honors" (grade level) science or social studies classes at SH and most students don't work at grade level. As for the utterly SH fantastic arts program, talk to the SH arts-minded parents who raised thousands of dollars to get a bunch of broken auditorium seats fixed, just last year. DCPS hadn't fixed the seats for years (and never did). It's all relative, still DCPS. You sound like a family that might want to look at suburban schools providing a push for your student.

I'm not sure why you say this so derisively. I doubt OP is expecting SH to function like a private school. Parents able to come together to raise thousands of dollars for a nice to have seems like a good thing in my book. And if your kid is into the arts, a parent community that decides the most important nice to have is arts-related sounds, again, like a good thing.

Give us a break. Do parents need to raise money to get basic school infrastructure repaired at good suburban schools? No way.

+1. This. Highly doubtful there is much funding for arts if you don’t even have money to fix/repair basic necessity.

I’m not asking if you think there’s sufficient funding for the arts at SH. The SH arts programs are incredible, funding or not.

I’m asking about the academics. I wish someone who actually had kids there would weigh in. I had always thought BASIS was the obvious answer. Academics are of paramount importance to our family theoretically.

Then why are you even considering SH?? Their few honors offerings are actually just grade level not advance and the overwhelming majority of kids are below grade level.

If your kid really is bright but not independently driven, similar to my DS, then you know that a high performing peer group is the key for these type of kids to reach their full potential.

I’m considering it because my kid really wants to go and her reasons aren’t absurd. She loves and excels in the arts and they have two programs in her specific areas that she’s excited about (and BASIS doesn’t, they have nothing). Her quality of life would also likely be better if she went to school a few blocks from our house in terms of independence, sleep, etc. I want my kid to love school and I do think that also affects eventual academic achievement. The question is whether SH academics are good enough to get by. I am reasonably sure that she’d get into any normal advanced programs they offer, but am concerned that that might only mean math.

You should let her go. My kid is at EH and the benefits of walking to school and continuity with ES friends is enormous. They get to grow in independence and they will not be harmed by being in school with less homogeneity.

oh and yes, rolling out of bed at 8am to get to school on time is a great perk too.

[Anonymous]

I don't get why you're here asking these questions about academics at SH, OP. Because you want your questions answered in the affirmative to reassure you? You want current SH parents to convince that that the school is good enough for you? They have their pride. What else are they going to say unless they're planning to pull their children out? It's a no-brainer that most parents in the SH catchment area avoid the school. No secret that in-bound families who send their children generally do so after they've struck out at one or both of the Latins, and BASIS, too if they can't afford private school and don't want to move. Yet you're here asking if the academics will be adequate, looking for a hidden gem? How realistic is that? You're hoping that SH has a longstanding PR problem in advertising its stellar academic program or what? I'd make SH Plan B or C, not A. Obviously.

[Anonymous]

Logic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't get why you're here asking these questions about academics at SH, OP. Because you want your questions answered in the affirmative to reassure you? You want current SH parents to convince that that the school is good enough for you? They have their pride. What else are they going to say unless they're planning to pull their children out? It's a no-brainer that most parents in the SH catchment area avoid the school. No secret that in-bound families who send their children generally do so after they've struck out at one or both of the Latins, and BASIS, too if they can't afford private school and don't want to move. Yet you're here asking if the academics will be adequate, looking for a hidden gem? How realistic is that? You're hoping that SH has a longstanding PR problem in advertising its stellar academic program or what? I'd make SH Plan B or C, not A. Obviously.

Do you have kids at SH? Otherwise, you are just telling me what you assume is the case about the academics. Yes, I want to hear from people who are there what they actually think from their lived experience other than the received wisdom of people who don’t send their kids to the school.

[Anonymous]

We had a student at SH. We left after 6th grade. School seemed OK for go-getter types who love to read. Our kid needed a push and higher performing peer group overall.

[Anonymous]

OP, you are not getting hardly any responses after a few days of your post. The few responses that you have gotten, none have said it is rigorous. That’s your answer there.

It’s obvious from your post you want to convince yourself that it’s an option for your kid and no matter how you try to convince yourself, the reality is what it is. Nothing is going to change that.

I would plan on moving or going private if you don’t get into charters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Could a kid come of out Stuart prepared to handle private school? Sure, if you ensure that they're well prepared, or you don't mind that they're all that well prepared but can and will pay for, say, the Field School (60K/year), where the academic admissions bar isn't set too high. You say that your kid isn't a self starter. OK, are you prepared to pay for academic break camps and other enrichment, like tutors to bump up challenge? Hint: there aren't "honors" (grade level) science or social studies classes at SH and most students don't work at grade level. As for the utterly SH fantastic arts program, talk to the SH arts-minded parents who raised thousands of dollars to get a bunch of broken auditorium seats fixed, just last year. DCPS hadn't fixed the seats for years (and never did). It's all relative, still DCPS. You sound like a family that might want to look at suburban schools providing a push for your student.

I'm not sure why you say this so derisively. I doubt OP is expecting SH to function like a private school. Parents able to come together to raise thousands of dollars for a nice to have seems like a good thing in my book. And if your kid is into the arts, a parent community that decides the most important nice to have is arts-related sounds, again, like a good thing.

Give us a break. Do parents need to raise money to get basic school infrastructure repaired at good suburban schools? No way.

+1. This. Highly doubtful there is much funding for arts if you don’t even have money to fix/repair basic necessity.

I’m not asking if you think there’s sufficient funding for the arts at SH. The SH arts programs are incredible, funding or not.

I’m asking about the academics. I wish someone who actually had kids there would weigh in. I had always thought BASIS was the obvious answer. Academics are of paramount importance to our family theoretically.

Then why are you even considering SH?? Their few honors offerings are actually just grade level not advance and the overwhelming majority of kids are below grade level.

If your kid really is bright but not independently driven, similar to my DS, then you know that a high performing peer group is the key for these type of kids to reach their full potential.

I’m considering it because my kid really wants to go and her reasons aren’t absurd. She loves and excels in the arts and they have two programs in her specific areas that she’s excited about (and BASIS doesn’t, they have nothing). Her quality of life would also likely be better if she went to school a few blocks from our house in terms of independence, sleep, etc. I want my kid to love school and I do think that also affects eventual academic achievement. The question is whether SH academics are good enough to get by. I am reasonably sure that she’d get into any normal advanced programs they offer, but am concerned that that might only mean math.

You should let her go. My kid is at EH and the benefits of walking to school and continuity with ES friends is enormous. They get to grow in independence and they will not be harmed by being in school with less homogeneity.

oh and yes, rolling out of bed at 8am to get to school on time is a great perk too.

Yes OP, listen to the wisdom of this wise one. Prioritize rolling out of bed at 8am over the poor academics and being wholly unprepared for high school.

[Anonymous]

Hi! Current SHMS parent (8th grade) and former SHMS teacher. My 8th grader loves to read (DC CAPE raw score was 841/850). Honestly, I don't find the ELA program terribly rigorous, but I think that is a DCPS issue and not a SHMS issue. I appreciated the ELA programming at the private schools we visited because the teachers weren't beholden to a standardized test and could actually teach whole novels.
The advanced math track has phenomenal teachers who provide a good amount of rigor and support. Students are currently balancing chemical equations in science. History Day is approaching. SHMS students have traditionally done well and moved on to nationals and in many cases won. Current students are no different. If you child has even a passing interest in the arts, it's a great fit. Many of my former students went on to selective high schools and/or private schools and great colleges. I think kids who are mostly focused do well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, you are not getting hardly any responses after a few days of your post. The few responses that you have gotten, none have said it is rigorous. That’s your answer there.

It’s obvious from your post you want to convince yourself that it’s an option for your kid and no matter how you try to convince yourself, the reality is what it is. Nothing is going to change that.

I would plan on moving or going private if you don’t get into charters.

This is anecdotal, but the parents I have met who are happy at their DCPS middle schools are not the parents who come on here to fret about responding to posts defending their choices. And those that have come on here to explain why they and their families are happy at their DCPS school are often accused of being 'boosters', so I think it deters engagement.
That being said, go to an open house, find folks in the neighborhood that are enrolled in the school, that's a good way to find your answers.

[Anonymous]

Find people who tried SH and left as well. If you want to go in with rose colored glasses, watch out. You might want to ask yourself why Asian students aren't enrolled. That's right, zero.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, you are not getting hardly any responses after a few days of your post. The few responses that you have gotten, none have said it is rigorous. That’s your answer there.

It’s obvious from your post you want to convince yourself that it’s an option for your kid and no matter how you try to convince yourself, the reality is what it is. Nothing is going to change that.

I would plan on moving or going private if you don’t get into charters.

I don't know... I think she is just trying to figure out if it would be a huge mistake to try SH. And I think there's not an obvious answer.

Agree to find IRL families who have sent their kids all the way through.

[Anonymous]

Why don't you post this question on MOTH (neighborhood listserv) and meet up to chat with current/recent families? Plenty of them on there!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would love to get some feedback from parents with kids at Stuart Hobson right now. My kid is at a feeder and totally sold on it. Ambivalent on the Latins and is actively opposed to BASIS. (The only information she has on those schools comes from kid word of mouth - mostly driven by friends' older siblings. She has the same sources of information about Stuart, but also some more direct experience from feeder events, open houses, etc.) The principal sells the school as fun in contrast to some of the charter alternatives and the extracurriculars (especially in the arts, which my kid loves) seem genuinely amazing. I think my kid would have a great time. A much better time than my kid would have at at least one of those charters. But... what are the academics really like? My kid is bright, but not particularly independently driven. The more the school emphasizes how manageable the workload is, the more I worry that's code for it's really easy/not challenging. I think math would be fine with the acceleration path, but what about ELA? What about the other core classes (science, social studies)? Could a kid come out of Stuart and be prepared for a good private school? (Obviously Walls would be great, but can't remotely be counted on.)

Seriously? Just look at the CAPE scores from last year.

More than half of SH students are below grade level in English and almost 80% are below grade level in math.

[Anonymous]

It sounds like OP does know some kids with older siblings at SH. I personally think SH is a solid choice. But you should this year go to open houses, enter the charter school lottery, and expect the 4th grade feeder peer pressure to all go SH together to soften somewhat over the course of this year. Your child could potentially do a complete 180 on you by this time next year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It sounds like OP does know some kids with older siblings at SH. I personally think SH is a solid choice. But you should this year go to open houses, enter the charter school lottery, and expect the 4th grade feeder peer pressure to all go SH together to soften somewhat over the course of this year. Your child could potentially do a complete 180 on you by this time next year.

Solid choice, defined by whom? It’s all relative isn’t it?

No way would I said my kid to any middle school with these abyssal numbers. I would not consider SH a solid choice by a long shot.

But hey people have different standards. You do you