Stuart Hobson vs Hardy

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would go to Key. It's a better school than Watkins at the moment, and the modernization at Watkins isn't scheduled to be finished until after your child leaves (finished in 2017). You can try the lottery again next year; a new middle school, Washington Global, is opening at L'Enfant Plaza this year. I don't know too much about it yet, but from what I heard, It will have a different focus than Basis. Washington Global should be close to you if you are close to Watkins right now, and it will probably have spots open.

I know w at least 6 key 3rd graders not returning, so expect a call.

Why so many leaving?

If you're planning on going private for middle school you need to move at 4th or 5th. It's very difficult to get into a selective school at 6th, there's only a handful of schools that have that as an admissions year. All of the Hardy feeders suffer major attrition at 4th and 5th.

That's it. Its probably a bit less than usual. Next year far more leave to basis or Latin.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hardy because it feeds Wilson. Worse commute from most parts of the city, though.

Don't count on Wilson for the long term. Last year the DME floated a trial balloon to move Hardy out of Wilson. While that was dropped, the pressure to cut overcrowding at Wilson will only increase, especially as the school population continues to rise in Upper NW. Also, it's not like anyone on the DC Council advocates for Hardy. While Hardy is the "home" middle school for parts of Ward 3 (and Ward 2), few IB students choose to go there. The vast majority of its student population comes from other wards but is spread around them, so there is no Council member who "owns" or advocates for Hardy the way Cheh would for Deal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What do parents think about Stuart Hobson vs Hardy? Which is preferred if given a choice. Thanks in advance!!

We were given a choice and picked SH. Part of it was about our commute. The other piece is our liking of SH's honors program. While both SEM schools (Hardy's SEM program is otherwise better developed than SH's), SH has placed a stronger emphasis on offering a range of honor's programs. It's also been at the forefront of extending the school day and letting students design their schedule, which occasionally allows a gifted student to loop into upper level offerings. Hardy has double-periods (A & B days), which I liked to calm things down and ensure focus, SH does not, making for a little more tumultuous classroom transitions. But it's also a little easier to handle for kids - same schedule ever day. Both schools, due to SEM, place an emphasis on project-based learning. I'd say SH has a few more longer-standing partnerships to so so and allows a student to pursue them all starting 6th grade if that's what he/she wants to do. I believe SH has a better track-record of getting kids into application high schools but that may have to do with Hardy feeding into Wilson and therefore fewer pursuing that option.

And, last but not least, I like the SH uniform better

[Anonymous]

What is the SH uniform?

[Anonymous]

FYI, both Stuart-Hobson AND Hardy are the two (only) sites in DCPS for the DCPS/University of Connecticut Summer Enrichment Program which is an off-shoot of SEM.

http://dcps.dc.gov/DCPS/Files/downloads/Beyond-the-Classroom/Summer%20School%20Forms/Summer%20Enrichment%20Program%20Student%20Application%202015.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hardy because it feeds Wilson. Worse commute from most parts of the city, though.

Don't count on Wilson for the long term. Last year the DME floated a trial balloon to move Hardy out of Wilson. While that was dropped, the pressure to cut overcrowding at Wilson will only increase, especially as the school population continues to rise in Upper NW. Also, it's not like anyone on the DC Council advocates for Hardy. While Hardy is the "home" middle school for parts of Ward 3 (and Ward 2), few IB students choose to go there. The vast majority of its student population comes from other wards but is spread around them, so there is no Council member who "owns" or advocates for Hardy the way Cheh would for Deal.

Actually Hardy is very important in Ward 5 and Ward 7 politics. I was at a Hardy PTO meeting and the Ward 7 councilmember, Yvette Alexander, spoke. Typically Hardy has more students from Ward 5 than any other ward. It was located in Ward 5 for several years during renovations. Hardy holds an important symbolic role in DC politics, which is why the turmoil there became a city-wide issue a few years back.

The difference with Hardy is not that there is no one advocating, it's that the advocacy is of a different nature.

[Anonymous]

If they want to improve crowding at Wilson, what other choice would they have then take out Hardy? Seems pretty likely, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FYI, both Stuart-Hobson AND Hardy are the two (only) sites in DCPS for the DCPS/University of Connecticut Summer Enrichment Program which is an off-shoot of SEM.

http://dcps.dc.gov/DCPS/Files/downloads/Beyond-the-Classroom/Summer%20School%20Forms/Summer%20Enrichment%20Program%20Student%20Application%202015.pdf

The program has nothing to do with the students at the school but the location of the school. Program is open to all middle schoolers in DC.

[Anonymous]

Before they remove Hardy, I would think they would send Adams to Roosevelt and remove its feeder right to Wilson.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Before they remove Hardy, I would think they would send Adams to Roosevelt and remove its feeder right to Wilson.

But that would not be very many students. Removing Hardy would make more sense, because it would actually move a higher number of students.

OR maybe they would build a new high school that Hardy and Adams would feed into?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Actually Hardy is very important in Ward 5 and Ward 7 politics.

Yup, Hardy is important in Ward 5. Some of those forces were beating the drum for the ward 5 middle school though (Brookland). We'll see how things shake out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If they want to improve crowding at Wilson, what other choice would they have then take out Hardy? Seems pretty likely, right?

Or they could say that only IB folks have a right to attend Wilson. If you got into Adams, Hardy, or Deal or their feeders through the OOB lottery, or if you moved OOB after starting to attend any of those schools, you'd have to lottery in to any available seats at Wilson.

Or they could cut Bancroft and Shepherd out of Deal (send Bancroft to CHEC or Roosevelt; send Shepherd to Coolidge).

Or send Hyde and some others to Cardozo along with Francis-Stevens and Ross.

Or make Wilson a citywide test-in school.

Or do a citywide lottery for all high schools.

All of these would cause a huge amount of political tumult. But they would certainly right-size Wilson.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Before they remove Hardy, I would think they would send Adams to Roosevelt and remove its feeder right to Wilson.

But that would not be very many students. Removing Hardy would make more sense, because it would actually move a higher number of students.

OR maybe they would build a new high school that Hardy and Adams would feed into?

The logical thing would have been to put this on the Ellington site, and have Ellington at Cardozo or Dunbar. But they've sunk too much into renovation to make that possible. They could send Hardy and Adams to Cardozo, but I think a lot of families would be very unhappy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Before they remove Hardy, I would think they would send Adams to Roosevelt and remove its feeder right to Wilson.

But that would not be very many students. Removing Hardy would make more sense, because it would actually move a higher number of students.

OR maybe they would build a new high school that Hardy and Adams would feed into?

The logical thing would have been to put this on the Ellington site, and have Ellington at Cardozo or Dunbar. But they've sunk too much into renovation to make that possible. They could send Hardy and Adams to Cardozo, but I think a lot of families would be very unhappy.

I don't think those families would even go to Cardozo, so not sounding likely...

[Anonymous]

My 1st child went to SH and now goes to an application only DCPS high school. My other kid is in 4th grade and I plan on sending him to SH also. No complaints, it was great for my older kid. Looking forward to the renovation for my youngest,