Murch Boundary Change

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thought it was 18% IB, but that the pk4 incoming class was 50%. And that test scores compared to same SES status were similar to other area elementary schools like Murch.

Yes, all these things are true. And the person who continually posts about all the MD plates is just wrong. There are a few sets of grandparents from MD that regularly drop off kids, that's about it.

I live on Upton St and walk by Heast all the time with the dog. I'm sure there is the occasional grandparent, but the drivers who I see with MD plartes are all in their 30s and appear to be the kids' parents. Residency fraud is widespread in DCPS and Hearst has it's share, maybe more because it's better than most yet with a predominately OOB population.

Well then, if you walk by with your dog surely you know what it is going on at the school!

You may recall that Sidwell is across the street and also has kids being dropped off and picked up. Unless you are sitting there watching their every move, you don't actually know anything about the cars you see driving by. Maybe you should just mind your own business.

I am actually there "all the time" because my kids go to the school. Hearst is a very close-knit community. In all of the classes that my kids have been in, we have known one child that lived part-time in MD due to shared custody.

Sidwell Friends has different drop off and pick up times than Hearst and seems to have staff outside managing the line. The Hearst times are different and the kids are definitely going to/from Hearst. I'm not saying every student from a Maryland car is fraudulent, but the sheer number is significant enough that there is probably something more going on besides the expected number of grannies and caregivers who may live in MD. I don't understand all the defensiveness about this -- residency fraud has been reported as a longstanding problem in DCPS. Washington taxpayers and I expect school parents have an interest in ensuring that scarce spots in a good school and the resources that go with them aren't going to those who don't live in the District of Columbia.

Forgive my ignorance, but why would anyone in Maryland want to sneak their child into Hearst? I have heard talk that a significant number of Duke Ellington Arts HS students come from MD and VA, sometimes paying tuition, sometimes not, but that is a unique school curriculum. What's the gain with getting a seat at Hearst? Can't imagine that it is better than MCPS and it is really far from PG. The only thing I could imagine is that Hearst is more convenient to the parents work location, but that doesn't seem likely. Common sense says that if there really are MD plates it is a case of divorced parents with one in DC and one in MD - so what's the big deal? Or if there is fraud I would think it would make more sense for a legit DC resident to try to get away with paying MD car insurance....

DCPS generally may not as good as MoCo but compares favorably with PG. DC's before and after school care is desirable and a good value and no comparable option is available in PG. Hearst is Deal and Wilson track and with child care may be a good arrangement for a parent who commutes to a job in DC.

[Anonymous]

What is Hearst's enrollment today and what will its capacity be when all the construction is finished?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is Hearst's enrollment today and what will its capacity be when all the construction is finished?

The capacity will be 325, and current enrollment is a little south of 300. But the school will be adding at least one PK3 classroom and is adding another autism classroom. So the school is more or less just getting rid of the trailers and moving students into a permanent structure (though trailers are pretty permanent structures in DC...).