ugly, racist questions about Hearst

[Anonymous]

Hearst is now a pre-K through 5th grade school.

[Anonymous]

The first open house for Hearst will be November 18. More information will be on the school's website soon.
www.hearstes.org

[Anonymous]

Hearst's open house schedule:
November 18, 2010 9:30 AM - 11 AM
January 20, 2011 9:30 AM - 11 AM
March 30, 2011 9:30 AM - 11 AM

This link has all the schedules: http://www.dc.gov/DCPS/Learn+About+Schools/Open+Houses/Open+Houses

[Anonymous]

Hearts is PreK through 5th now. That said, when most of the inbounds parents for children who would have been in 4th and 5th grade this year started at Hearst, it was not so it may just be that they had planned on sending their children elsewhere at the 4th grade mark and rather than change their plans when the school expanded they opted not to. That would have left an enrollment hole, and i think probably a few smart parents who had children at less than optimal schools probably got in OOB for 4th & 5th grade, and as a result, the population of the 4th & 5th grade may be skewed OOB. I know several inbounds families with children in the early grades who I think will stay through 5th. When I looked at the school years ago, the lack of a home school after 3rd grade was a big concern for me (Deal was always the middle school assigned to my address -- it was that 2 year gap that disturbed me), and I am glad that it has been remedied. It is my understanding that the school is slated for renovation soon, which will be great -- the playground renovation has been terrrific. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

We are an OBB family and we love Hearst. The diversity among the students and teachers was a huge draw for us.

I went to the big name schools west of the park and was disappointed in the diversity in the classrooms. Plus being snubbed for being OBB and not living in the neighborhood wasn't a great selling point for some of these big named schools. I certainly didn't feel welcomed like I did and continue to be at Hearst.

We are staying through 5th grade...can't afford private but also can't imagine a better place for our child.

[Anonymous]

OP, I'm a former Hyde parent which seems now like it was an eon ago so I am sure things have changed in the wonderful world of DCPS and my advice may not be relevant anymore. But FWIW, it sounds like there may be a similarity in makeup to Hearst.

When dd was at Hyde, it is true that the student directory showed very few families living in the Georgetown zipcode by the time students reached 5th grade. There was something of a big exodus to private school after 2nd grade. That was a bit distressing because families we thought would be around longer were suddenly gone. (BTW we started out inboundary and then moved OOB)

But the families who remained were solid families. There were lots of functional families from all economic levels and all races attending the school from OOB. OOB doesn't automatically mean that the student is struggling and doesn't have family support. Hyde was a great place for my kid and she thrived there. And btw her 5th grade teacher had to be one of the best in DCPS and I'm so glad she stayed at Hyde to be in Ms. Kimmel's (later Zucker) class.

Don't panic because there are a lot of OOB kids in the upper grades. It's great that you're trying to get more information. Go do your research at the school. See what the kids themselves are like. Don't try to make a decision based on guessing.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

I'll chime in from the perspective of a parent of an out-of-boundary 4th grader who has been thriving at Hearst since pre-K. For what it's worth, we are white, middle-income, college-educated (we parents, and we hope our kid will be too) professionals.

Our son has been fortunate enough to go to school these last six years with a stunningly diverse group of kids from across the city -- Asian, black, Latino and white. In years past, his class has included children of diplomats from Eastern Europe and the Middle East. This demographic variety has been an absolute positive in every respect. In a class of 20 or so, about half the kids have been classmates for the whole six years. Another quarter were, in various grades, in the class across the hall. The result has been an extremely well-rounded, stable elementary experience, and the opportunity to be part of a real community. They're smart children, well taught by an energetic, committed faculty. Our son blows us away every day with how much he is learning and the quality of that learning.

That big wind up is for a simple pitch: Hearst is a successful school community because of its diversity -- geographic, economic and racial -- not despite it.

To the original poster: Thank you, sincerely, for titling this thread the way you did. When you hear those polite, disapproving murmurings from the noblesse-oblige class of Northwest, you're right to wonder if bigotry is the basis of at least some of it. I believe it is.

I'll gladly invite comparisons between Hearst and any of the so-called elite NW schools, which don't have the particular advantages Hearst offers. You should check it out for yourself by attending the open house on Nov. 18. Call the school for info: 202-282-0106.

[Anonymous]

Dear Parents,

Please come to Hearst Elementary's first open house, scheduled for Thursday, November 18, 9:30-11 am.

We welcome you to see the school in person, meet our principal, our parents, our students and our wonderful, award-winning and nationally recognized teachers and staff. Please be clear on this point: Hearst is now pre-K through 5th grade and in the next few years is scheduled for a major renovation and a beautiful new addition to accommodate our growing numbers. We are no longer bailing out or wandering in the wilderness, looking at where our children should go after 3rd grade... We're in boundary and out of boundary, loving Hearst with its diverse population from all around the city and the world, with parents of all races, religions, and socioeconomic backgrounds, working together for the benefit of our children. We are totally dedicated to our children's education. Come inside the school and we will gladly answer any questions you may have!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That would have left an enrollment hole, and i think probably a few smart parents who had children at less than optimal schools probably got in OOB for 4th & 5th grade

Actually, you can count on one hand the number of new out-of-boundary 4th and 5th graders who have enrolled since last year. The group of parents whose children make up those grades now played an integral role in securing Hearst's expansion from Pre-K through 3rd to Pre-K through 5th.

[Anonymous]

Open house is the same day and time as Stoddert's. And so it goes.

I'm impressed (and grateful) that the school has grown to expand to fifth grade, probably as a result of parental pressure, according to a prior poster. That speaks well of parents (and school staff) who seem to be behind so many wonderful improvements in this school.

I'll be the first to admit/acknowledge that much of the skepticism around Hearst is racially based, as are many of the attitudes towards DCPS in general. Still, the test scores are surprisingly low, given the affluence of the neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The test scores are not great, though they are an average and so can mask a lot.

A quick note on standardized testing in small schools like Hearst: One or two kids having a bad day during DC-CAS testing can dramatically skew testing averages. For example, in leat year's 3rd-grade cohort (this year's 4th graders), each student represented 4.17% of the test pool. If two of those kids answered two more questions correctly -- yes, two -- Hearst would have made AYP.

Yet another reason why tests scores aren't the apples-to-apples comparisons idealists would make them out to be.

[Anonymous]

OP, I just re-read your posts. If your hand is being forced to move in pursuit of a school (I "have" to move), and there are apartments available for rent in-boundary for every DCPS, then I wouldn't uproot my family for a move to Hearst. For the upheaval, I personally would go ahead and shoot for the best, not up-and-coming.

If memory serves, Hearst neighborhood isn't even served by Metro. The part of CP walkable to Metro is Eaton, I think.

[Anonymous]

Hello OP,
I am also an In-boundary parent and would like to invite you to the upcoming open house on November 19, 2010. Please feel free to contact Principal Kerlina for a tour if you can not make that open house. Please find contact information at www.hearstes.org. Hopefully more information will be available on the website about the open house. I know we have several parents who have volunteered to update and upgrade our website but I know contact information for the main office is on the site.

Of course, the fabulous new playground is a great place to stop by and engage the parents hanging out while their children play together on the new playground. We don't bite and are usually pretty friendly, keep trying if you don't get a warm reception from the first parent but you most likely will. So long as it is nice weather, you will find a good mix of ib and oob parents and cultural diversity too.

Stop by the open house, the school and the playground. website info and stats can't tell you that Hearst is the right fit for your child

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hearts is PreK through 5th now. That said, when most of the inbounds parents for children who would have been in 4th and 5th grade this year started at Hearst, it was not so it may just be that they had planned on sending their children elsewhere at the 4th grade mark and rather than change their plans when the school expanded they opted not to. That would have left an enrollment hole, and i think probably a few smart parents who had children at less than optimal schools probably got in OOB for 4th & 5th grade, and as a result, the population of the 4th & 5th grade may be skewed OOB. I know several inbounds families with children in the early grades who I think will stay through 5th. When I looked at the school years ago, the lack of a home school after 3rd grade was a big concern for me (Deal was always the middle school assigned to my address -- it was that 2 year gap that disturbed me), and I am glad that it has been remedied. It is my understanding that the school is slated for renovation soon, which will be great -- the playground renovation has been terrrific. Good luck.

That is indeed sad. How unfortunate that a toehold into DEAL (ugh!) would encourage a family to embrace DCPS at the idealistic elementary level.

There is a constellation of options that doesn't involve DCPS; you can expand your child's horizons...

[Anonymous]

We are an in-boundary family at Hearst and it is the best thing that ever happened to our child. It is such a small, caring community, with a lot of parental involvement, and a push for academic success. In addition to his teachers, these are the people who knew my child's name by the second day of school: the principal, the administrative assistant, the security guard, and the lady who serves lunch. When we moved into the neighborhood, whenever we asked folks on our block about the school, we were told that we should send our kids to private or try for a spot at Janney/Lafayette/etc. When asked why, it seemed I could never get an answer, and it occurred to me that people said that because they had been told that themselves, and never really investigated the school.

So . . . I went to an open house, and I liked what I saw. Now we are so happy there.

I suspect that some of the trepidation of the neighbors is based on the racial makeup of the school, and I think this is a shame. I know that I myself have hang-ups that I fight against that stem from my upbringing in a diverse DC suburb that was just not diverse enough to include a lot of AA people. I hope that my child will not have the same hang-ups, and I hope that the positive AA role models (teachers, parents, and students alike) at Hearst will help.

There are more and more in-boundary families at the school, and we see our neighbors every day on the morning walk.

Call the school and ask to be put in touch with PTA families, who will gladly tell you about their experience - I'm sure you could ask to contact some in-boundary families to see what the experience is like.

Good luck! Maybe we'll see you next year!