Middle Schools for Cap Hill

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reading this is so depressing. The answer is clear and it's right in front of all of us: send all of our kids to the inboundary public middle school and then high school. The end. The quality of the public schools in our neighborhoods depend on the families that attend. You want better ones? Join the PTO and make the school more attractive.

I hear a lot of people on here saying there aren't tracked classes and then that tracked classes are in name only and no one is prepared for the next level. Well, then tracking isn't the solution. Just get a commitment from your other parent friend circles to attend. And do it! The end. That's what happened at Hardy and now all of y'all are salivating over it. Just do it in your own neighborhood.

I know groups of Hill families who have tried to do this, at least for S-H, but it has not worked out. People chicken out and it doesn't take long for everyone else to bail too. No one wants to be the one family that sticks to the plan only to have everyone else flee for charters, privates, and suburbs -- they you'll really feel like you failed your kids because not only has your plan to improve the IB MS fallen apart, now all their friends are elsewhere.

I think one reason it worked at Hardy but you see so people on the Hill struggling is that there are actually a number of viable options for Hill families for MS outside the IB. Two Rivers, ITS, CHML, Basis, Latin. All of these are more viable for Hill families than for Hardy. Plus PPs are right that having the Hill divided among three MS also undercuts the ability to create a cohort. One thing I've seen happen is that people get influenced by what their friends at other schools are doing. So for instance if you have friends at Brent and they aren't even looking at Jefferson as a possibility (common) and eyeing Basis instead, then even if your feeder is S-H, that is going to make you give Basis a harder look than if they were just going to Jefferson. So it's not just that any cohort is split between 3 schools, it's that dissatisfaction with Jeffersion and EH seems to spill over into S-H families because there is a lot of mixing among families on the Hill outside of school boundaries. As another PP pointed out, people tend to put a lot of faith in what their friends with older kids have done, too, because as a parent it's hard to chart a new path.

But anyway, I don't think people on the Hill "salivate" over Hardy that much. I think the main envy is Wilson. And Wilson was already established as a good option before Hardy started retaining more students, because Deal was already established. But Eastern doesn't have a feeder like Deal. Eastern is an incredibly tough sell for any family who is invested in their kid going to college. It's really hard for me to imagine sending my kid there even if we do stick with the plan to go to S-H. Eastern is the problem.

All of this

It's even worse for high school

Anybody still in DCPS who cares about education is going to go Walls or Banneker for HS, the former super woke school board rep eventually broke down and sent his kid to Walls over Eastern, can't blame him

If DCPS was smart they would have 1 hill based honors type public middle school and then funnel that into a high school ala what was done to make Deal/Wilson.

It’ll all be academic soon. Only rich folks will be able to afford the Hill and they’ll easily afford private, if only for middle school onward.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't put jefferson in the top 10.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reading this is so depressing. The answer is clear and it's right in front of all of us: send all of our kids to the inboundary public middle school and then high school. The end. The quality of the public schools in our neighborhoods depend on the families that attend. You want better ones? Join the PTO and make the school more attractive.

I hear a lot of people on here saying there aren't tracked classes and then that tracked classes are in name only and no one is prepared for the next level. Well, then tracking isn't the solution. Just get a commitment from your other parent friend circles to attend. And do it! The end. That's what happened at Hardy and now all of y'all are salivating over it. Just do it in your own neighborhood.

I know groups of Hill families who have tried to do this, at least for S-H, but it has not worked out. People chicken out and it doesn't take long for everyone else to bail too. No one wants to be the one family that sticks to the plan only to have everyone else flee for charters, privates, and suburbs -- they you'll really feel like you failed your kids because not only has your plan to improve the IB MS fallen apart, now all their friends are elsewhere.

I think one reason it worked at Hardy but you see so people on the Hill struggling is that there are actually a number of viable options for Hill families for MS outside the IB. Two Rivers, ITS, CHML, Basis, Latin. All of these are more viable for Hill families than for Hardy. Plus PPs are right that having the Hill divided among three MS also undercuts the ability to create a cohort. One thing I've seen happen is that people get influenced by what their friends at other schools are doing. So for instance if you have friends at Brent and they aren't even looking at Jefferson as a possibility (common) and eyeing Basis instead, then even if your feeder is S-H, that is going to make you give Basis a harder look than if they were just going to Jefferson. So it's not just that any cohort is split between 3 schools, it's that dissatisfaction with Jeffersion and EH seems to spill over into S-H families because there is a lot of mixing among families on the Hill outside of school boundaries. As another PP pointed out, people tend to put a lot of faith in what their friends with older kids have done, too, because as a parent it's hard to chart a new path.

But anyway, I don't think people on the Hill "salivate" over Hardy that much. I think the main envy is Wilson. And Wilson was already established as a good option before Hardy started retaining more students, because Deal was already established. But Eastern doesn't have a feeder like Deal. Eastern is an incredibly tough sell for any family who is invested in their kid going to college. It's really hard for me to imagine sending my kid there even if we do stick with the plan to go to S-H. Eastern is the problem.

I think another issue is that Charter schools to their admissions in 5th grade, which is crazy to me. Essentially folks have to make a decision on Charters a year pre-DCPSes. If they're IB, they can always opt back in to, e.g., SH if the Charter doesn't work out... in fact, they won't even miss the entry year... but the reverse isn't true. Usually the Charter works well enough that there's no point in then disrupting their kid's education again to opt back into DCPS. It's insane that it's set up like that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reading this is so depressing. The answer is clear and it's right in front of all of us: send all of our kids to the inboundary public middle school and then high school. The end. The quality of the public schools in our neighborhoods depend on the families that attend. You want better ones? Join the PTO and make the school more attractive.

I hear a lot of people on here saying there aren't tracked classes and then that tracked classes are in name only and no one is prepared for the next level. Well, then tracking isn't the solution. Just get a commitment from your other parent friend circles to attend. And do it! The end. That's what happened at Hardy and now all of y'all are salivating over it. Just do it in your own neighborhood.

I know groups of Hill families who have tried to do this, at least for S-H, but it has not worked out. People chicken out and it doesn't take long for everyone else to bail too. No one wants to be the one family that sticks to the plan only to have everyone else flee for charters, privates, and suburbs -- they you'll really feel like you failed your kids because not only has your plan to improve the IB MS fallen apart, now all their friends are elsewhere.

I think one reason it worked at Hardy but you see so people on the Hill struggling is that there are actually a number of viable options for Hill families for MS outside the IB. Two Rivers, ITS, CHML, Basis, Latin. All of these are more viable for Hill families than for Hardy. Plus PPs are right that having the Hill divided among three MS also undercuts the ability to create a cohort. One thing I've seen happen is that people get influenced by what their friends at other schools are doing. So for instance if you have friends at Brent and they aren't even looking at Jefferson as a possibility (common) and eyeing Basis instead, then even if your feeder is S-H, that is going to make you give Basis a harder look than if they were just going to Jefferson. So it's not just that any cohort is split between 3 schools, it's that dissatisfaction with Jeffersion and EH seems to spill over into S-H families because there is a lot of mixing among families on the Hill outside of school boundaries. As another PP pointed out, people tend to put a lot of faith in what their friends with older kids have done, too, because as a parent it's hard to chart a new path.

But anyway, I don't think people on the Hill "salivate" over Hardy that much. I think the main envy is Wilson. And Wilson was already established as a good option before Hardy started retaining more students, because Deal was already established. But Eastern doesn't have a feeder like Deal. Eastern is an incredibly tough sell for any family who is invested in their kid going to college. It's really hard for me to imagine sending my kid there even if we do stick with the plan to go to S-H. Eastern is the problem.

All of this

It's even worse for high school

Anybody still in DCPS who cares about education is going to go Walls or Banneker for HS, the former super woke school board rep eventually broke down and sent his kid to Walls over Eastern, can't blame him

If DCPS was smart they would have 1 hill based honors type public middle school and then funnel that into a high school ala what was done to make Deal/Wilson.

That guy actually sent his younger kid to Eastern. Think he's a freshman there right now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reading this is so depressing. The answer is clear and it's right in front of all of us: send all of our kids to the inboundary public middle school and then high school. The end. The quality of the public schools in our neighborhoods depend on the families that attend. You want better ones? Join the PTO and make the school more attractive.

I hear a lot of people on here saying there aren't tracked classes and then that tracked classes are in name only and no one is prepared for the next level. Well, then tracking isn't the solution. Just get a commitment from your other parent friend circles to attend. And do it! The end. That's what happened at Hardy and now all of y'all are salivating over it. Just do it in your own neighborhood.

I know groups of Hill families who have tried to do this, at least for S-H, but it has not worked out. People chicken out and it doesn't take long for everyone else to bail too. No one wants to be the one family that sticks to the plan only to have everyone else flee for charters, privates, and suburbs -- they you'll really feel like you failed your kids because not only has your plan to improve the IB MS fallen apart, now all their friends are elsewhere.

I think one reason it worked at Hardy but you see so people on the Hill struggling is that there are actually a number of viable options for Hill families for MS outside the IB. Two Rivers, ITS, CHML, Basis, Latin. All of these are more viable for Hill families than for Hardy. Plus PPs are right that having the Hill divided among three MS also undercuts the ability to create a cohort. One thing I've seen happen is that people get influenced by what their friends at other schools are doing. So for instance if you have friends at Brent and they aren't even looking at Jefferson as a possibility (common) and eyeing Basis instead, then even if your feeder is S-H, that is going to make you give Basis a harder look than if they were just going to Jefferson. So it's not just that any cohort is split between 3 schools, it's that dissatisfaction with Jeffersion and EH seems to spill over into S-H families because there is a lot of mixing among families on the Hill outside of school boundaries. As another PP pointed out, people tend to put a lot of faith in what their friends with older kids have done, too, because as a parent it's hard to chart a new path.

But anyway, I don't think people on the Hill "salivate" over Hardy that much. I think the main envy is Wilson. And Wilson was already established as a good option before Hardy started retaining more students, because Deal was already established. But Eastern doesn't have a feeder like Deal. Eastern is an incredibly tough sell for any family who is invested in their kid going to college. It's really hard for me to imagine sending my kid there even if we do stick with the plan to go to S-H. Eastern is the problem.

All of this

It's even worse for high school

Anybody still in DCPS who cares about education is going to go Walls or Banneker for HS, the former super woke school board rep eventually broke down and sent his kid to Walls over Eastern, can't blame him

If DCPS was smart they would have 1 hill based honors type public middle school and then funnel that into a high school ala what was done to make Deal/Wilson.

That guy actually sent his younger kid to Eastern. Think he's a freshman there right now.

Yeah - he did walk the walk when it came to his son.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reading this is so depressing. The answer is clear and it's right in front of all of us: send all of our kids to the inboundary public middle school and then high school. The end. The quality of the public schools in our neighborhoods depend on the families that attend. You want better ones? Join the PTO and make the school more attractive.

I hear a lot of people on here saying there aren't tracked classes and then that tracked classes are in name only and no one is prepared for the next level. Well, then tracking isn't the solution. Just get a commitment from your other parent friend circles to attend. And do it! The end. That's what happened at Hardy and now all of y'all are salivating over it. Just do it in your own neighborhood.

I know groups of Hill families who have tried to do this, at least for S-H, but it has not worked out. People chicken out and it doesn't take long for everyone else to bail too. No one wants to be the one family that sticks to the plan only to have everyone else flee for charters, privates, and suburbs -- they you'll really feel like you failed your kids because not only has your plan to improve the IB MS fallen apart, now all their friends are elsewhere.

I think one reason it worked at Hardy but you see so people on the Hill struggling is that there are actually a number of viable options for Hill families for MS outside the IB. Two Rivers, ITS, CHML, Basis, Latin. All of these are more viable for Hill families than for Hardy. Plus PPs are right that having the Hill divided among three MS also undercuts the ability to create a cohort. One thing I've seen happen is that people get influenced by what their friends at other schools are doing. So for instance if you have friends at Brent and they aren't even looking at Jefferson as a possibility (common) and eyeing Basis instead, then even if your feeder is S-H, that is going to make you give Basis a harder look than if they were just going to Jefferson. So it's not just that any cohort is split between 3 schools, it's that dissatisfaction with Jeffersion and EH seems to spill over into S-H families because there is a lot of mixing among families on the Hill outside of school boundaries. As another PP pointed out, people tend to put a lot of faith in what their friends with older kids have done, too, because as a parent it's hard to chart a new path.

But anyway, I don't think people on the Hill "salivate" over Hardy that much. I think the main envy is Wilson. And Wilson was already established as a good option before Hardy started retaining more students, because Deal was already established. But Eastern doesn't have a feeder like Deal. Eastern is an incredibly tough sell for any family who is invested in their kid going to college. It's really hard for me to imagine sending my kid there even if we do stick with the plan to go to S-H. Eastern is the problem.

I think another issue is that Charter schools to their admissions in 5th grade, which is crazy to me. Essentially folks have to make a decision on Charters a year pre-DCPSes. If they're IB, they can always opt back in to, e.g., SH if the Charter doesn't work out... in fact, they won't even miss the entry year... but the reverse isn't true. Usually the Charter works well enough that there's no point in then disrupting their kid's education again to opt back into DCPS. It's insane that it's set up like that.

Agree. I also think one reason MS is such a cluster in DC in general is that it's so short and they are critical years for kids. With ES, families can and do feel comfortable trying one option knowing there is time to make a different choice. So families can give their IB DCPS a try and they always have the option of moving to a charter in 1st or 2nd if they aren't happy or are worried about the MS feed. I also know people who have gone the other way -- gone to a charter for PK (sometimes because they wanted immersion or Montessori, sometimes because they couldn't get into their IB for PK, sometimes just because they were afraid of the IB) and then decide the commute and charter environment isn't right for their family and decided to give the IB a try. With young kids, you can switch schools without totally disrupting their social lives, and ES is long enough that you can switch in the middle and they can still settle in, make friends, and get comfortable.

MS is so unforgiving by contrast. We are on the Hill and feel so much anxiety about the MS decision. Our feed is S-H and that's been our plan from the start -- we like public schools, we like neighborhood schools, we like our DCPS ES. But MS is 3 years, HS will be here before you know it, we don't want to try and change gears in the middle (we will if we have to, it would just really suck). Getting into a charter MS in 7th or 8th can be a crapshoot. Plus then your kid is entering into a social scene where the kids all know each other and friendships are already established. It's not impossible (lots of people have done it), but of course you worry about your own kid and you don't want to hamstring them just because you couldn't get your sh!t together and figure out how to approach their education. It's your job, and I hate feeling wishy washy on it.

I totally get why people look at the MS situation in DC and just decamp for the burbs. Of, if they can afford, for a private, even a less expensive private like parochial school. It's not even just about the quality of the schools, it's about the absolutely insane process that seems designed to cause anxiety for kids and parents and make the already stressful tween and early teen years even harder. No one wants to be worrying about lottery results or HS feeds (or HS applications for the application schools) at the same time that your kid is dealing with hormonal changes and friendship drama. Whyyyyy? Why do they do this to us?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reading this is so depressing. The answer is clear and it's right in front of all of us: send all of our kids to the inboundary public middle school and then high school. The end. The quality of the public schools in our neighborhoods depend on the families that attend. You want better ones? Join the PTO and make the school more attractive.

I hear a lot of people on here saying there aren't tracked classes and then that tracked classes are in name only and no one is prepared for the next level. Well, then tracking isn't the solution. Just get a commitment from your other parent friend circles to attend. And do it! The end. That's what happened at Hardy and now all of y'all are salivating over it. Just do it in your own neighborhood.

I know groups of Hill families who have tried to do this, at least for S-H, but it has not worked out. People chicken out and it doesn't take long for everyone else to bail too. No one wants to be the one family that sticks to the plan only to have everyone else flee for charters, privates, and suburbs -- they you'll really feel like you failed your kids because not only has your plan to improve the IB MS fallen apart, now all their friends are elsewhere.

I think one reason it worked at Hardy but you see so people on the Hill struggling is that there are actually a number of viable options for Hill families for MS outside the IB. Two Rivers, ITS, CHML, Basis, Latin. All of these are more viable for Hill families than for Hardy. Plus PPs are right that having the Hill divided among three MS also undercuts the ability to create a cohort. One thing I've seen happen is that people get influenced by what their friends at other schools are doing. So for instance if you have friends at Brent and they aren't even looking at Jefferson as a possibility (common) and eyeing Basis instead, then even if your feeder is S-H, that is going to make you give Basis a harder look than if they were just going to Jefferson. So it's not just that any cohort is split between 3 schools, it's that dissatisfaction with Jeffersion and EH seems to spill over into S-H families because there is a lot of mixing among families on the Hill outside of school boundaries. As another PP pointed out, people tend to put a lot of faith in what their friends with older kids have done, too, because as a parent it's hard to chart a new path.

But anyway, I don't think people on the Hill "salivate" over Hardy that much. I think the main envy is Wilson. And Wilson was already established as a good option before Hardy started retaining more students, because Deal was already established. But Eastern doesn't have a feeder like Deal. Eastern is an incredibly tough sell for any family who is invested in their kid going to college. It's really hard for me to imagine sending my kid there even if we do stick with the plan to go to S-H. Eastern is the problem.

I think another issue is that Charter schools to their admissions in 5th grade, which is crazy to me. Essentially folks have to make a decision on Charters a year pre-DCPSes. If they're IB, they can always opt back in to, e.g., SH if the Charter doesn't work out... in fact, they won't even miss the entry year... but the reverse isn't true. Usually the Charter works well enough that there's no point in then disrupting their kid's education again to opt back into DCPS. It's insane that it's set up like that.

Agree. I also think one reason MS is such a cluster in DC in general is that it's so short and they are critical years for kids. With ES, families can and do feel comfortable trying one option knowing there is time to make a different choice. So families can give their IB DCPS a try and they always have the option of moving to a charter in 1st or 2nd if they aren't happy or are worried about the MS feed. I also know people who have gone the other way -- gone to a charter for PK (sometimes because they wanted immersion or Montessori, sometimes because they couldn't get into their IB for PK, sometimes just because they were afraid of the IB) and then decide the commute and charter environment isn't right for their family and decided to give the IB a try. With young kids, you can switch schools without totally disrupting their social lives, and ES is long enough that you can switch in the middle and they can still settle in, make friends, and get comfortable.

MS is so unforgiving by contrast. We are on the Hill and feel so much anxiety about the MS decision. Our feed is S-H and that's been our plan from the start -- we like public schools, we like neighborhood schools, we like our DCPS ES. But MS is 3 years, HS will be here before you know it, we don't want to try and change gears in the middle (we will if we have to, it would just really suck). Getting into a charter MS in 7th or 8th can be a crapshoot. Plus then your kid is entering into a social scene where the kids all know each other and friendships are already established. It's not impossible (lots of people have done it), but of course you worry about your own kid and you don't want to hamstring them just because you couldn't get your sh!t together and figure out how to approach their education. It's your job, and I hate feeling wishy washy on it.

I totally get why people look at the MS situation in DC and just decamp for the burbs. Of, if they can afford, for a private, even a less expensive private like parochial school. It's not even just about the quality of the schools, it's about the absolutely insane process that seems designed to cause anxiety for kids and parents and make the already stressful tween and early teen years even harder. No one wants to be worrying about lottery results or HS feeds (or HS applications for the application schools) at the same time that your kid is dealing with hormonal changes and friendship drama. Whyyyyy? Why do they do this to us?

I wrote the PP you're responding to and we are just like you. On the Hill, IB at a school that feeds to SH, and actually really close to SH (closer than we are to our actual school). In the end, my guess is that we'll lottery for charters, tour the one we get into & take it if we're happy with it... even though I think we're overall more inclined towards trying SH than most.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reading this is so depressing. The answer is clear and it's right in front of all of us: send all of our kids to the inboundary public middle school and then high school. The end. The quality of the public schools in our neighborhoods depend on the families that attend. You want better ones? Join the PTO and make the school more attractive.

I hear a lot of people on here saying there aren't tracked classes and then that tracked classes are in name only and no one is prepared for the next level. Well, then tracking isn't the solution. Just get a commitment from your other parent friend circles to attend. And do it! The end. That's what happened at Hardy and now all of y'all are salivating over it. Just do it in your own neighborhood.

I know groups of Hill families who have tried to do this, at least for S-H, but it has not worked out. People chicken out and it doesn't take long for everyone else to bail too. No one wants to be the one family that sticks to the plan only to have everyone else flee for charters, privates, and suburbs -- they you'll really feel like you failed your kids because not only has your plan to improve the IB MS fallen apart, now all their friends are elsewhere.

I think one reason it worked at Hardy but you see so people on the Hill struggling is that there are actually a number of viable options for Hill families for MS outside the IB. Two Rivers, ITS, CHML, Basis, Latin. All of these are more viable for Hill families than for Hardy. Plus PPs are right that having the Hill divided among three MS also undercuts the ability to create a cohort. One thing I've seen happen is that people get influenced by what their friends at other schools are doing. So for instance if you have friends at Brent and they aren't even looking at Jefferson as a possibility (common) and eyeing Basis instead, then even if your feeder is S-H, that is going to make you give Basis a harder look than if they were just going to Jefferson. So it's not just that any cohort is split between 3 schools, it's that dissatisfaction with Jeffersion and EH seems to spill over into S-H families because there is a lot of mixing among families on the Hill outside of school boundaries. As another PP pointed out, people tend to put a lot of faith in what their friends with older kids have done, too, because as a parent it's hard to chart a new path.

But anyway, I don't think people on the Hill "salivate" over Hardy that much. I think the main envy is Wilson. And Wilson was already established as a good option before Hardy started retaining more students, because Deal was already established. But Eastern doesn't have a feeder like Deal. Eastern is an incredibly tough sell for any family who is invested in their kid going to college. It's really hard for me to imagine sending my kid there even if we do stick with the plan to go to S-H. Eastern is the problem.

I think another issue is that Charter schools to their admissions in 5th grade, which is crazy to me. Essentially folks have to make a decision on Charters a year pre-DCPSes. If they're IB, they can always opt back in to, e.g., SH if the Charter doesn't work out... in fact, they won't even miss the entry year... but the reverse isn't true. Usually the Charter works well enough that there's no point in then disrupting their kid's education again to opt back into DCPS. It's insane that it's set up like that.

Agree. I also think one reason MS is such a cluster in DC in general is that it's so short and they are critical years for kids. With ES, families can and do feel comfortable trying one option knowing there is time to make a different choice. So families can give their IB DCPS a try and they always have the option of moving to a charter in 1st or 2nd if they aren't happy or are worried about the MS feed. I also know people who have gone the other way -- gone to a charter for PK (sometimes because they wanted immersion or Montessori, sometimes because they couldn't get into their IB for PK, sometimes just because they were afraid of the IB) and then decide the commute and charter environment isn't right for their family and decided to give the IB a try. With young kids, you can switch schools without totally disrupting their social lives, and ES is long enough that you can switch in the middle and they can still settle in, make friends, and get comfortable.

MS is so unforgiving by contrast. We are on the Hill and feel so much anxiety about the MS decision. Our feed is S-H and that's been our plan from the start -- we like public schools, we like neighborhood schools, we like our DCPS ES. But MS is 3 years, HS will be here before you know it, we don't want to try and change gears in the middle (we will if we have to, it would just really suck). Getting into a charter MS in 7th or 8th can be a crapshoot. Plus then your kid is entering into a social scene where the kids all know each other and friendships are already established. It's not impossible (lots of people have done it), but of course you worry about your own kid and you don't want to hamstring them just because you couldn't get your sh!t together and figure out how to approach their education. It's your job, and I hate feeling wishy washy on it.

I totally get why people look at the MS situation in DC and just decamp for the burbs. Of, if they can afford, for a private, even a less expensive private like parochial school. It's not even just about the quality of the schools, it's about the absolutely insane process that seems designed to cause anxiety for kids and parents and make the already stressful tween and early teen years even harder. No one wants to be worrying about lottery results or HS feeds (or HS applications for the application schools) at the same time that your kid is dealing with hormonal changes and friendship drama. Whyyyyy? Why do they do this to us?

My kid was in a DCPS ES that fed into SH. Nearly everyone played the lottery, and I learned that only 2 of his friends in the entire grade were staying for 5th at the elementary. That's the real rub. Nearly everyone exits after 4th grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reading this is so depressing. The answer is clear and it's right in front of all of us: send all of our kids to the inboundary public middle school and then high school. The end. The quality of the public schools in our neighborhoods depend on the families that attend. You want better ones? Join the PTO and make the school more attractive.

I hear a lot of people on here saying there aren't tracked classes and then that tracked classes are in name only and no one is prepared for the next level. Well, then tracking isn't the solution. Just get a commitment from your other parent friend circles to attend. And do it! The end. That's what happened at Hardy and now all of y'all are salivating over it. Just do it in your own neighborhood.

I know groups of Hill families who have tried to do this, at least for S-H, but it has not worked out. People chicken out and it doesn't take long for everyone else to bail too. No one wants to be the one family that sticks to the plan only to have everyone else flee for charters, privates, and suburbs -- they you'll really feel like you failed your kids because not only has your plan to improve the IB MS fallen apart, now all their friends are elsewhere.

I think one reason it worked at Hardy but you see so people on the Hill struggling is that there are actually a number of viable options for Hill families for MS outside the IB. Two Rivers, ITS, CHML, Basis, Latin. All of these are more viable for Hill families than for Hardy. Plus PPs are right that having the Hill divided among three MS also undercuts the ability to create a cohort. One thing I've seen happen is that people get influenced by what their friends at other schools are doing. So for instance if you have friends at Brent and they aren't even looking at Jefferson as a possibility (common) and eyeing Basis instead, then even if your feeder is S-H, that is going to make you give Basis a harder look than if they were just going to Jefferson. So it's not just that any cohort is split between 3 schools, it's that dissatisfaction with Jeffersion and EH seems to spill over into S-H families because there is a lot of mixing among families on the Hill outside of school boundaries. As another PP pointed out, people tend to put a lot of faith in what their friends with older kids have done, too, because as a parent it's hard to chart a new path.

But anyway, I don't think people on the Hill "salivate" over Hardy that much. I think the main envy is Wilson. And Wilson was already established as a good option before Hardy started retaining more students, because Deal was already established. But Eastern doesn't have a feeder like Deal. Eastern is an incredibly tough sell for any family who is invested in their kid going to college. It's really hard for me to imagine sending my kid there even if we do stick with the plan to go to S-H. Eastern is the problem.

I think another issue is that Charter schools to their admissions in 5th grade, which is crazy to me. Essentially folks have to make a decision on Charters a year pre-DCPSes. If they're IB, they can always opt back in to, e.g., SH if the Charter doesn't work out... in fact, they won't even miss the entry year... but the reverse isn't true. Usually the Charter works well enough that there's no point in then disrupting their kid's education again to opt back into DCPS. It's insane that it's set up like that.

Agree. I also think one reason MS is such a cluster in DC in general is that it's so short and they are critical years for kids. With ES, families can and do feel comfortable trying one option knowing there is time to make a different choice. So families can give their IB DCPS a try and they always have the option of moving to a charter in 1st or 2nd if they aren't happy or are worried about the MS feed. I also know people who have gone the other way -- gone to a charter for PK (sometimes because they wanted immersion or Montessori, sometimes because they couldn't get into their IB for PK, sometimes just because they were afraid of the IB) and then decide the commute and charter environment isn't right for their family and decided to give the IB a try. With young kids, you can switch schools without totally disrupting their social lives, and ES is long enough that you can switch in the middle and they can still settle in, make friends, and get comfortable.

MS is so unforgiving by contrast. We are on the Hill and feel so much anxiety about the MS decision. Our feed is S-H and that's been our plan from the start -- we like public schools, we like neighborhood schools, we like our DCPS ES. But MS is 3 years, HS will be here before you know it, we don't want to try and change gears in the middle (we will if we have to, it would just really suck). Getting into a charter MS in 7th or 8th can be a crapshoot. Plus then your kid is entering into a social scene where the kids all know each other and friendships are already established. It's not impossible (lots of people have done it), but of course you worry about your own kid and you don't want to hamstring them just because you couldn't get your sh!t together and figure out how to approach their education. It's your job, and I hate feeling wishy washy on it.

I totally get why people look at the MS situation in DC and just decamp for the burbs. Of, if they can afford, for a private, even a less expensive private like parochial school. It's not even just about the quality of the schools, it's about the absolutely insane process that seems designed to cause anxiety for kids and parents and make the already stressful tween and early teen years even harder. No one wants to be worrying about lottery results or HS feeds (or HS applications for the application schools) at the same time that your kid is dealing with hormonal changes and friendship drama. Whyyyyy? Why do they do this to us?

My kid was in a DCPS ES that fed into SH. Nearly everyone played the lottery, and I learned that only 2 of his friends in the entire grade were staying for 5th at the elementary. That's the real rub. Nearly everyone exits after 4th grade.

Yup. I think it's sad for the kids. They get dispersed after elementary and many essentially start all over socially in middle. This isn't unique to the Hill or even public school families in DC. We have friends zoned for Brookland Middle who deal with the same issues (though so many people in Brookland have been in charters since early elementary that you hear less talk about it -- they are headed to ITS middle or DCI and know it from early on). Even private school families aren't immune. We know some who did private elementary and then have to regroup for upper school, especially if they have multiple kids and start doing the math on private MS/HS/college.

And that's why people envy the Wilson pyramid. Not because Hardy and Deal are so amazing, but because it's straightforward. Your kid can go straight through with the same cohort, you don't have to re-lottery with each subsequent sibling, you don't have to make decisions in 4th grade to ensure certain opportunities in 9th. To people in other parts of the country, that' just normal. Heck, to people in most to the MD/VA suburbs, that's the assumed path. That's why we're jealous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reading this is so depressing. The answer is clear and it's right in front of all of us: send all of our kids to the inboundary public middle school and then high school. The end. The quality of the public schools in our neighborhoods depend on the families that attend. You want better ones? Join the PTO and make the school more attractive.

I hear a lot of people on here saying there aren't tracked classes and then that tracked classes are in name only and no one is prepared for the next level. Well, then tracking isn't the solution. Just get a commitment from your other parent friend circles to attend. And do it! The end. That's what happened at Hardy and now all of y'all are salivating over it. Just do it in your own neighborhood.

I know groups of Hill families who have tried to do this, at least for S-H, but it has not worked out. People chicken out and it doesn't take long for everyone else to bail too. No one wants to be the one family that sticks to the plan only to have everyone else flee for charters, privates, and suburbs -- they you'll really feel like you failed your kids because not only has your plan to improve the IB MS fallen apart, now all their friends are elsewhere.

I think one reason it worked at Hardy but you see so people on the Hill struggling is that there are actually a number of viable options for Hill families for MS outside the IB. Two Rivers, ITS, CHML, Basis, Latin. All of these are more viable for Hill families than for Hardy. Plus PPs are right that having the Hill divided among three MS also undercuts the ability to create a cohort. One thing I've seen happen is that people get influenced by what their friends at other schools are doing. So for instance if you have friends at Brent and they aren't even looking at Jefferson as a possibility (common) and eyeing Basis instead, then even if your feeder is S-H, that is going to make you give Basis a harder look than if they were just going to Jefferson. So it's not just that any cohort is split between 3 schools, it's that dissatisfaction with Jeffersion and EH seems to spill over into S-H families because there is a lot of mixing among families on the Hill outside of school boundaries. As another PP pointed out, people tend to put a lot of faith in what their friends with older kids have done, too, because as a parent it's hard to chart a new path.

But anyway, I don't think people on the Hill "salivate" over Hardy that much. I think the main envy is Wilson. And Wilson was already established as a good option before Hardy started retaining more students, because Deal was already established. But Eastern doesn't have a feeder like Deal. Eastern is an incredibly tough sell for any family who is invested in their kid going to college. It's really hard for me to imagine sending my kid there even if we do stick with the plan to go to S-H. Eastern is the problem.

I think another issue is that Charter schools to their admissions in 5th grade, which is crazy to me. Essentially folks have to make a decision on Charters a year pre-DCPSes. If they're IB, they can always opt back in to, e.g., SH if the Charter doesn't work out... in fact, they won't even miss the entry year... but the reverse isn't true. Usually the Charter works well enough that there's no point in then disrupting their kid's education again to opt back into DCPS. It's insane that it's set up like that.

Agree. I also think one reason MS is such a cluster in DC in general is that it's so short and they are critical years for kids. With ES, families can and do feel comfortable trying one option knowing there is time to make a different choice. So families can give their IB DCPS a try and they always have the option of moving to a charter in 1st or 2nd if they aren't happy or are worried about the MS feed. I also know people who have gone the other way -- gone to a charter for PK (sometimes because they wanted immersion or Montessori, sometimes because they couldn't get into their IB for PK, sometimes just because they were afraid of the IB) and then decide the commute and charter environment isn't right for their family and decided to give the IB a try. With young kids, you can switch schools without totally disrupting their social lives, and ES is long enough that you can switch in the middle and they can still settle in, make friends, and get comfortable.

MS is so unforgiving by contrast. We are on the Hill and feel so much anxiety about the MS decision. Our feed is S-H and that's been our plan from the start -- we like public schools, we like neighborhood schools, we like our DCPS ES. But MS is 3 years, HS will be here before you know it, we don't want to try and change gears in the middle (we will if we have to, it would just really suck). Getting into a charter MS in 7th or 8th can be a crapshoot. Plus then your kid is entering into a social scene where the kids all know each other and friendships are already established. It's not impossible (lots of people have done it), but of course you worry about your own kid and you don't want to hamstring them just because you couldn't get your sh!t together and figure out how to approach their education. It's your job, and I hate feeling wishy washy on it.

I totally get why people look at the MS situation in DC and just decamp for the burbs. Of, if they can afford, for a private, even a less expensive private like parochial school. It's not even just about the quality of the schools, it's about the absolutely insane process that seems designed to cause anxiety for kids and parents and make the already stressful tween and early teen years even harder. No one wants to be worrying about lottery results or HS feeds (or HS applications for the application schools) at the same time that your kid is dealing with hormonal changes and friendship drama. Whyyyyy? Why do they do this to us?

I feel you, but just to put a more positive spin on changing schools, there is a big shuffle in the system and plenty of kids leave ITS, Two Rivers, etc. In middle. So there are a bunch of new kids in every grade and nobody's the only one who doesn't know anyone. The kids who stay are so happy to have new friends. As I tell my DCs, make new friends or you'll have very few friends.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reading this is so depressing. The answer is clear and it's right in front of all of us: send all of our kids to the inboundary public middle school and then high school. The end. The quality of the public schools in our neighborhoods depend on the families that attend. You want better ones? Join the PTO and make the school more attractive.

I hear a lot of people on here saying there aren't tracked classes and then that tracked classes are in name only and no one is prepared for the next level. Well, then tracking isn't the solution. Just get a commitment from your other parent friend circles to attend. And do it! The end. That's what happened at Hardy and now all of y'all are salivating over it. Just do it in your own neighborhood.

I know groups of Hill families who have tried to do this, at least for S-H, but it has not worked out. People chicken out and it doesn't take long for everyone else to bail too. No one wants to be the one family that sticks to the plan only to have everyone else flee for charters, privates, and suburbs -- they you'll really feel like you failed your kids because not only has your plan to improve the IB MS fallen apart, now all their friends are elsewhere.

I think one reason it worked at Hardy but you see so people on the Hill struggling is that there are actually a number of viable options for Hill families for MS outside the IB. Two Rivers, ITS, CHML, Basis, Latin. All of these are more viable for Hill families than for Hardy. Plus PPs are right that having the Hill divided among three MS also undercuts the ability to create a cohort. One thing I've seen happen is that people get influenced by what their friends at other schools are doing. So for instance if you have friends at Brent and they aren't even looking at Jefferson as a possibility (common) and eyeing Basis instead, then even if your feeder is S-H, that is going to make you give Basis a harder look than if they were just going to Jefferson. So it's not just that any cohort is split between 3 schools, it's that dissatisfaction with Jeffersion and EH seems to spill over into S-H families because there is a lot of mixing among families on the Hill outside of school boundaries. As another PP pointed out, people tend to put a lot of faith in what their friends with older kids have done, too, because as a parent it's hard to chart a new path.

But anyway, I don't think people on the Hill "salivate" over Hardy that much. I think the main envy is Wilson. And Wilson was already established as a good option before Hardy started retaining more students, because Deal was already established. But Eastern doesn't have a feeder like Deal. Eastern is an incredibly tough sell for any family who is invested in their kid going to college. It's really hard for me to imagine sending my kid there even if we do stick with the plan to go to S-H. Eastern is the problem.

I think another issue is that Charter schools to their admissions in 5th grade, which is crazy to me. Essentially folks have to make a decision on Charters a year pre-DCPSes. If they're IB, they can always opt back in to, e.g., SH if the Charter doesn't work out... in fact, they won't even miss the entry year... but the reverse isn't true. Usually the Charter works well enough that there's no point in then disrupting their kid's education again to opt back into DCPS. It's insane that it's set up like that.

Agree. I also think one reason MS is such a cluster in DC in general is that it's so short and they are critical years for kids. With ES, families can and do feel comfortable trying one option knowing there is time to make a different choice. So families can give their IB DCPS a try and they always have the option of moving to a charter in 1st or 2nd if they aren't happy or are worried about the MS feed. I also know people who have gone the other way -- gone to a charter for PK (sometimes because they wanted immersion or Montessori, sometimes because they couldn't get into their IB for PK, sometimes just because they were afraid of the IB) and then decide the commute and charter environment isn't right for their family and decided to give the IB a try. With young kids, you can switch schools without totally disrupting their social lives, and ES is long enough that you can switch in the middle and they can still settle in, make friends, and get comfortable.

MS is so unforgiving by contrast. We are on the Hill and feel so much anxiety about the MS decision. Our feed is S-H and that's been our plan from the start -- we like public schools, we like neighborhood schools, we like our DCPS ES. But MS is 3 years, HS will be here before you know it, we don't want to try and change gears in the middle (we will if we have to, it would just really suck). Getting into a charter MS in 7th or 8th can be a crapshoot. Plus then your kid is entering into a social scene where the kids all know each other and friendships are already established. It's not impossible (lots of people have done it), but of course you worry about your own kid and you don't want to hamstring them just because you couldn't get your sh!t together and figure out how to approach their education. It's your job, and I hate feeling wishy washy on it.

I totally get why people look at the MS situation in DC and just decamp for the burbs. Of, if they can afford, for a private, even a less expensive private like parochial school. It's not even just about the quality of the schools, it's about the absolutely insane process that seems designed to cause anxiety for kids and parents and make the already stressful tween and early teen years even harder. No one wants to be worrying about lottery results or HS feeds (or HS applications for the application schools) at the same time that your kid is dealing with hormonal changes and friendship drama. Whyyyyy? Why do they do this to us?

My kid was in a DCPS ES that fed into SH. Nearly everyone played the lottery, and I learned that only 2 of his friends in the entire grade were staying for 5th at the elementary. That's the real rub. Nearly everyone exits after 4th grade.

Yup. I think it's sad for the kids. They get dispersed after elementary and many essentially start all over socially in middle. This isn't unique to the Hill or even public school families in DC. We have friends zoned for Brookland Middle who deal with the same issues (though so many people in Brookland have been in charters since early elementary that you hear less talk about it -- they are headed to ITS middle or DCI and know it from early on). Even private school families aren't immune. We know some who did private elementary and then have to regroup for upper school, especially if they have multiple kids and start doing the math on private MS/HS/college.

And that's why people envy the Wilson pyramid. Not because Hardy and Deal are so amazing, but because it's straightforward. Your kid can go straight through with the same cohort, you don't have to re-lottery with each subsequent sibling, you don't have to make decisions in 4th grade to ensure certain opportunities in 9th. To people in other parts of the country, that' just normal. Heck, to people in most to the MD/VA suburbs, that's the assumed path. That's why we're jealous.

They didn't do that math beforehand?[b]

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reading this is so depressing. The answer is clear and it's right in front of all of us: send all of our kids to the inboundary public middle school and then high school. The end. The quality of the public schools in our neighborhoods depend on the families that attend. You want better ones? Join the PTO and make the school more attractive.

I hear a lot of people on here saying there aren't tracked classes and then that tracked classes are in name only and no one is prepared for the next level. Well, then tracking isn't the solution. Just get a commitment from your other parent friend circles to attend. And do it! The end. That's what happened at Hardy and now all of y'all are salivating over it. Just do it in your own neighborhood.

I know groups of Hill families who have tried to do this, at least for S-H, but it has not worked out. People chicken out and it doesn't take long for everyone else to bail too. No one wants to be the one family that sticks to the plan only to have everyone else flee for charters, privates, and suburbs -- they you'll really feel like you failed your kids because not only has your plan to improve the IB MS fallen apart, now all their friends are elsewhere.

I think one reason it worked at Hardy but you see so people on the Hill struggling is that there are actually a number of viable options for Hill families for MS outside the IB. Two Rivers, ITS, CHML, Basis, Latin. All of these are more viable for Hill families than for Hardy. Plus PPs are right that having the Hill divided among three MS also undercuts the ability to create a cohort. One thing I've seen happen is that people get influenced by what their friends at other schools are doing. So for instance if you have friends at Brent and they aren't even looking at Jefferson as a possibility (common) and eyeing Basis instead, then even if your feeder is S-H, that is going to make you give Basis a harder look than if they were just going to Jefferson. So it's not just that any cohort is split between 3 schools, it's that dissatisfaction with Jeffersion and EH seems to spill over into S-H families because there is a lot of mixing among families on the Hill outside of school boundaries. As another PP pointed out, people tend to put a lot of faith in what their friends with older kids have done, too, because as a parent it's hard to chart a new path.

But anyway, I don't think people on the Hill "salivate" over Hardy that much. I think the main envy is Wilson. And Wilson was already established as a good option before Hardy started retaining more students, because Deal was already established. But Eastern doesn't have a feeder like Deal. Eastern is an incredibly tough sell for any family who is invested in their kid going to college. It's really hard for me to imagine sending my kid there even if we do stick with the plan to go to S-H. Eastern is the problem.

I think another issue is that Charter schools to their admissions in 5th grade, which is crazy to me. Essentially folks have to make a decision on Charters a year pre-DCPSes. If they're IB, they can always opt back in to, e.g., SH if the Charter doesn't work out... in fact, they won't even miss the entry year... but the reverse isn't true. Usually the Charter works well enough that there's no point in then disrupting their kid's education again to opt back into DCPS. It's insane that it's set up like that.

Agree. I also think one reason MS is such a cluster in DC in general is that it's so short and they are critical years for kids. With ES, families can and do feel comfortable trying one option knowing there is time to make a different choice. So families can give their IB DCPS a try and they always have the option of moving to a charter in 1st or 2nd if they aren't happy or are worried about the MS feed. I also know people who have gone the other way -- gone to a charter for PK (sometimes because they wanted immersion or Montessori, sometimes because they couldn't get into their IB for PK, sometimes just because they were afraid of the IB) and then decide the commute and charter environment isn't right for their family and decided to give the IB a try. With young kids, you can switch schools without totally disrupting their social lives, and ES is long enough that you can switch in the middle and they can still settle in, make friends, and get comfortable.

MS is so unforgiving by contrast. We are on the Hill and feel so much anxiety about the MS decision. Our feed is S-H and that's been our plan from the start -- we like public schools, we like neighborhood schools, we like our DCPS ES. But MS is 3 years, HS will be here before you know it, we don't want to try and change gears in the middle (we will if we have to, it would just really suck). Getting into a charter MS in 7th or 8th can be a crapshoot. Plus then your kid is entering into a social scene where the kids all know each other and friendships are already established. It's not impossible (lots of people have done it), but of course you worry about your own kid and you don't want to hamstring them just because you couldn't get your sh!t together and figure out how to approach their education. It's your job, and I hate feeling wishy washy on it.

I totally get why people look at the MS situation in DC and just decamp for the burbs. Of, if they can afford, for a private, even a less expensive private like parochial school. It's not even just about the quality of the schools, it's about the absolutely insane process that seems designed to cause anxiety for kids and parents and make the already stressful tween and early teen years even harder. No one wants to be worrying about lottery results or HS feeds (or HS applications for the application schools) at the same time that your kid is dealing with hormonal changes and friendship drama. Whyyyyy? Why do they do this to us?

I feel you, but just to put a more positive spin on changing schools, there is a big shuffle in the system and plenty of kids leave ITS, Two Rivers, etc. In middle. So there are a bunch of new kids in every grade and nobody's the only one who doesn't know anyone. The kids who stay are so happy to have new friends. As I tell my DCs, make new friends or you'll have very few friends.

Another data point. Spent PS3-4 at a HRCS and then took a spot in 5th at the usual suspects. SH is absolutely an option so we jumped at the option in 5th knowing we had a soft landing. Can't say for sure what we would have done without SH as an IB option.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reading this is so depressing. The answer is clear and it's right in front of all of us: send all of our kids to the inboundary public middle school and then high school. The end. The quality of the public schools in our neighborhoods depend on the families that attend. You want better ones? Join the PTO and make the school more attractive.

I hear a lot of people on here saying there aren't tracked classes and then that tracked classes are in name only and no one is prepared for the next level. Well, then tracking isn't the solution. Just get a commitment from your other parent friend circles to attend. And do it! The end. That's what happened at Hardy and now all of y'all are salivating over it. Just do it in your own neighborhood.

I know groups of Hill families who have tried to do this, at least for S-H, but it has not worked out. People chicken out and it doesn't take long for everyone else to bail too. No one wants to be the one family that sticks to the plan only to have everyone else flee for charters, privates, and suburbs -- they you'll really feel like you failed your kids because not only has your plan to improve the IB MS fallen apart, now all their friends are elsewhere.

I think one reason it worked at Hardy but you see so people on the Hill struggling is that there are actually a number of viable options for Hill families for MS outside the IB. Two Rivers, ITS, CHML, Basis, Latin. All of these are more viable for Hill families than for Hardy. Plus PPs are right that having the Hill divided among three MS also undercuts the ability to create a cohort. One thing I've seen happen is that people get influenced by what their friends at other schools are doing. So for instance if you have friends at Brent and they aren't even looking at Jefferson as a possibility (common) and eyeing Basis instead, then even if your feeder is S-H, that is going to make you give Basis a harder look than if they were just going to Jefferson. So it's not just that any cohort is split between 3 schools, it's that dissatisfaction with Jeffersion and EH seems to spill over into S-H families because there is a lot of mixing among families on the Hill outside of school boundaries. As another PP pointed out, people tend to put a lot of faith in what their friends with older kids have done, too, because as a parent it's hard to chart a new path.

But anyway, I don't think people on the Hill "salivate" over Hardy that much. I think the main envy is Wilson. And Wilson was already established as a good option before Hardy started retaining more students, because Deal was already established. But Eastern doesn't have a feeder like Deal. Eastern is an incredibly tough sell for any family who is invested in their kid going to college. It's really hard for me to imagine sending my kid there even if we do stick with the plan to go to S-H. Eastern is the problem.

I think another issue is that Charter schools to their admissions in 5th grade, which is crazy to me. Essentially folks have to make a decision on Charters a year pre-DCPSes. If they're IB, they can always opt back in to, e.g., SH if the Charter doesn't work out... in fact, they won't even miss the entry year... but the reverse isn't true. Usually the Charter works well enough that there's no point in then disrupting their kid's education again to opt back into DCPS. It's insane that it's set up like that.

Agree. I also think one reason MS is such a cluster in DC in general is that it's so short and they are critical years for kids. With ES, families can and do feel comfortable trying one option knowing there is time to make a different choice. So families can give their IB DCPS a try and they always have the option of moving to a charter in 1st or 2nd if they aren't happy or are worried about the MS feed. I also know people who have gone the other way -- gone to a charter for PK (sometimes because they wanted immersion or Montessori, sometimes because they couldn't get into their IB for PK, sometimes just because they were afraid of the IB) and then decide the commute and charter environment isn't right for their family and decided to give the IB a try. With young kids, you can switch schools without totally disrupting their social lives, and ES is long enough that you can switch in the middle and they can still settle in, make friends, and get comfortable.

MS is so unforgiving by contrast. We are on the Hill and feel so much anxiety about the MS decision. Our feed is S-H and that's been our plan from the start -- we like public schools, we like neighborhood schools, we like our DCPS ES. But MS is 3 years, HS will be here before you know it, we don't want to try and change gears in the middle (we will if we have to, it would just really suck). Getting into a charter MS in 7th or 8th can be a crapshoot. Plus then your kid is entering into a social scene where the kids all know each other and friendships are already established. It's not impossible (lots of people have done it), but of course you worry about your own kid and you don't want to hamstring them just because you couldn't get your sh!t together and figure out how to approach their education. It's your job, and I hate feeling wishy washy on it.

I totally get why people look at the MS situation in DC and just decamp for the burbs. Of, if they can afford, for a private, even a less expensive private like parochial school. It's not even just about the quality of the schools, it's about the absolutely insane process that seems designed to cause anxiety for kids and parents and make the already stressful tween and early teen years even harder. No one wants to be worrying about lottery results or HS feeds (or HS applications for the application schools) at the same time that your kid is dealing with hormonal changes and friendship drama. Whyyyyy? Why do they do this to us?

My kid was in a DCPS ES that fed into SH. Nearly everyone played the lottery, and I learned that only 2 of his friends in the entire grade were staying for 5th at the elementary. That's the real rub. Nearly everyone exits after 4th grade.

. Just not true that almost everybody exits Hill elementary schools after 4th, particularly with wait lists for Latin and Basis getting longer year on year, and Latin 2 only taking 40 5th graders this fall. Half the Brent 4th graders returned for 5th last year, the biggest group in years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reading this is so depressing. The answer is clear and it's right in front of all of us: send all of our kids to the inboundary public middle school and then high school. The end. The quality of the public schools in our neighborhoods depend on the families that attend. You want better ones? Join the PTO and make the school more attractive.

I hear a lot of people on here saying there aren't tracked classes and then that tracked classes are in name only and no one is prepared for the next level. Well, then tracking isn't the solution. Just get a commitment from your other parent friend circles to attend. And do it! The end. That's what happened at Hardy and now all of y'all are salivating over it. Just do it in your own neighborhood.

I know groups of Hill families who have tried to do this, at least for S-H, but it has not worked out. People chicken out and it doesn't take long for everyone else to bail too. No one wants to be the one family that sticks to the plan only to have everyone else flee for charters, privates, and suburbs -- they you'll really feel like you failed your kids because not only has your plan to improve the IB MS fallen apart, now all their friends are elsewhere.

I think one reason it worked at Hardy but you see so people on the Hill struggling is that there are actually a number of viable options for Hill families for MS outside the IB. Two Rivers, ITS, CHML, Basis, Latin. All of these are more viable for Hill families than for Hardy. Plus PPs are right that having the Hill divided among three MS also undercuts the ability to create a cohort. One thing I've seen happen is that people get influenced by what their friends at other schools are doing. So for instance if you have friends at Brent and they aren't even looking at Jefferson as a possibility (common) and eyeing Basis instead, then even if your feeder is S-H, that is going to make you give Basis a harder look than if they were just going to Jefferson. So it's not just that any cohort is split between 3 schools, it's that dissatisfaction with Jeffersion and EH seems to spill over into S-H families because there is a lot of mixing among families on the Hill outside of school boundaries. As another PP pointed out, people tend to put a lot of faith in what their friends with older kids have done, too, because as a parent it's hard to chart a new path.

But anyway, I don't think people on the Hill "salivate" over Hardy that much. I think the main envy is Wilson. And Wilson was already established as a good option before Hardy started retaining more students, because Deal was already established. But Eastern doesn't have a feeder like Deal. Eastern is an incredibly tough sell for any family who is invested in their kid going to college. It's really hard for me to imagine sending my kid there even if we do stick with the plan to go to S-H. Eastern is the problem.

I think another issue is that Charter schools to their admissions in 5th grade, which is crazy to me. Essentially folks have to make a decision on Charters a year pre-DCPSes. If they're IB, they can always opt back in to, e.g., SH if the Charter doesn't work out... in fact, they won't even miss the entry year... but the reverse isn't true. Usually the Charter works well enough that there's no point in then disrupting their kid's education again to opt back into DCPS. It's insane that it's set up like that.

Agree. I also think one reason MS is such a cluster in DC in general is that it's so short and they are critical years for kids. With ES, families can and do feel comfortable trying one option knowing there is time to make a different choice. So families can give their IB DCPS a try and they always have the option of moving to a charter in 1st or 2nd if they aren't happy or are worried about the MS feed. I also know people who have gone the other way -- gone to a charter for PK (sometimes because they wanted immersion or Montessori, sometimes because they couldn't get into their IB for PK, sometimes just because they were afraid of the IB) and then decide the commute and charter environment isn't right for their family and decided to give the IB a try. With young kids, you can switch schools without totally disrupting their social lives, and ES is long enough that you can switch in the middle and they can still settle in, make friends, and get comfortable.

MS is so unforgiving by contrast. We are on the Hill and feel so much anxiety about the MS decision. Our feed is S-H and that's been our plan from the start -- we like public schools, we like neighborhood schools, we like our DCPS ES. But MS is 3 years, HS will be here before you know it, we don't want to try and change gears in the middle (we will if we have to, it would just really suck). Getting into a charter MS in 7th or 8th can be a crapshoot. Plus then your kid is entering into a social scene where the kids all know each other and friendships are already established. It's not impossible (lots of people have done it), but of course you worry about your own kid and you don't want to hamstring them just because you couldn't get your sh!t together and figure out how to approach their education. It's your job, and I hate feeling wishy washy on it.

I totally get why people look at the MS situation in DC and just decamp for the burbs. Of, if they can afford, for a private, even a less expensive private like parochial school. It's not even just about the quality of the schools, it's about the absolutely insane process that seems designed to cause anxiety for kids and parents and make the already stressful tween and early teen years even harder. No one wants to be worrying about lottery results or HS feeds (or HS applications for the application schools) at the same time that your kid is dealing with hormonal changes and friendship drama. Whyyyyy? Why do they do this to us?

My kid was in a DCPS ES that fed into SH. Nearly everyone played the lottery, and I learned that only 2 of his friends in the entire grade were staying for 5th at the elementary. That's the real rub. Nearly everyone exits after 4th grade.

. Just not true that almost everybody exits Hill elementary schools after 4th, particularly with wait lists for Latin and Basis getting longer year on year, and Latin 2 only taking 40 5th graders this fall. Half the Brent 4th graders returned for 5th last year, the biggest group in years.

Stop spreading "facts"! When you interject actual data into the discussion it hurts the narrative people are trying to drive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reading this is so depressing. The answer is clear and it's right in front of all of us: send all of our kids to the inboundary public middle school and then high school. The end. The quality of the public schools in our neighborhoods depend on the families that attend. You want better ones? Join the PTO and make the school more attractive.

I hear a lot of people on here saying there aren't tracked classes and then that tracked classes are in name only and no one is prepared for the next level. Well, then tracking isn't the solution. Just get a commitment from your other parent friend circles to attend. And do it! The end. That's what happened at Hardy and now all of y'all are salivating over it. Just do it in your own neighborhood.

I know groups of Hill families who have tried to do this, at least for S-H, but it has not worked out. People chicken out and it doesn't take long for everyone else to bail too. No one wants to be the one family that sticks to the plan only to have everyone else flee for charters, privates, and suburbs -- they you'll really feel like you failed your kids because not only has your plan to improve the IB MS fallen apart, now all their friends are elsewhere.

I think one reason it worked at Hardy but you see so people on the Hill struggling is that there are actually a number of viable options for Hill families for MS outside the IB. Two Rivers, ITS, CHML, Basis, Latin. All of these are more viable for Hill families than for Hardy. Plus PPs are right that having the Hill divided among three MS also undercuts the ability to create a cohort. One thing I've seen happen is that people get influenced by what their friends at other schools are doing. So for instance if you have friends at Brent and they aren't even looking at Jefferson as a possibility (common) and eyeing Basis instead, then even if your feeder is S-H, that is going to make you give Basis a harder look than if they were just going to Jefferson. So it's not just that any cohort is split between 3 schools, it's that dissatisfaction with Jeffersion and EH seems to spill over into S-H families because there is a lot of mixing among families on the Hill outside of school boundaries. As another PP pointed out, people tend to put a lot of faith in what their friends with older kids have done, too, because as a parent it's hard to chart a new path.

But anyway, I don't think people on the Hill "salivate" over Hardy that much. I think the main envy is Wilson. And Wilson was already established as a good option before Hardy started retaining more students, because Deal was already established. But Eastern doesn't have a feeder like Deal. Eastern is an incredibly tough sell for any family who is invested in their kid going to college. It's really hard for me to imagine sending my kid there even if we do stick with the plan to go to S-H. Eastern is the problem.

I think another issue is that Charter schools to their admissions in 5th grade, which is crazy to me. Essentially folks have to make a decision on Charters a year pre-DCPSes. If they're IB, they can always opt back in to, e.g., SH if the Charter doesn't work out... in fact, they won't even miss the entry year... but the reverse isn't true. Usually the Charter works well enough that there's no point in then disrupting their kid's education again to opt back into DCPS. It's insane that it's set up like that.

Agree. I also think one reason MS is such a cluster in DC in general is that it's so short and they are critical years for kids. With ES, families can and do feel comfortable trying one option knowing there is time to make a different choice. So families can give their IB DCPS a try and they always have the option of moving to a charter in 1st or 2nd if they aren't happy or are worried about the MS feed. I also know people who have gone the other way -- gone to a charter for PK (sometimes because they wanted immersion or Montessori, sometimes because they couldn't get into their IB for PK, sometimes just because they were afraid of the IB) and then decide the commute and charter environment isn't right for their family and decided to give the IB a try. With young kids, you can switch schools without totally disrupting their social lives, and ES is long enough that you can switch in the middle and they can still settle in, make friends, and get comfortable.

MS is so unforgiving by contrast. We are on the Hill and feel so much anxiety about the MS decision. Our feed is S-H and that's been our plan from the start -- we like public schools, we like neighborhood schools, we like our DCPS ES. But MS is 3 years, HS will be here before you know it, we don't want to try and change gears in the middle (we will if we have to, it would just really suck). Getting into a charter MS in 7th or 8th can be a crapshoot. Plus then your kid is entering into a social scene where the kids all know each other and friendships are already established. It's not impossible (lots of people have done it), but of course you worry about your own kid and you don't want to hamstring them just because you couldn't get your sh!t together and figure out how to approach their education. It's your job, and I hate feeling wishy washy on it.

I totally get why people look at the MS situation in DC and just decamp for the burbs. Of, if they can afford, for a private, even a less expensive private like parochial school. It's not even just about the quality of the schools, it's about the absolutely insane process that seems designed to cause anxiety for kids and parents and make the already stressful tween and early teen years even harder. No one wants to be worrying about lottery results or HS feeds (or HS applications for the application schools) at the same time that your kid is dealing with hormonal changes and friendship drama. Whyyyyy? Why do they do this to us?

My kid was in a DCPS ES that fed into SH. Nearly everyone played the lottery, and I learned that only 2 of his friends in the entire grade were staying for 5th at the elementary. That's the real rub. Nearly everyone exits after 4th grade.

. Just not true that almost everybody exits Hill elementary schools after 4th, particularly with wait lists for Latin and Basis getting longer year on year, and Latin 2 only taking 40 5th graders this fall. Half the Brent 4th graders returned for 5th last year, the biggest group in years.

Progress, good, I'd be curious to see where they all go for middle school and I an almost guarantee 0 out of 50 will eventually go to Eastern.... that's the real issue