Hill Middle Schools

[Anonymous]

We know a bunch of Hill families of students who went through Stuart Hobson, now in HS (mostly at Walls) or college, who seem to be doing just fine. Some of these SH grads attend elite SLACs, Amherst, Middlebury, Swarthmore. We also know Brent students who went through Jefferson Academy and Maury students who went through Eliot-Hine, now top students at Walls or Banneker. These families coped and supplemented uncomplainingly, living their values by sending their children to neighborhood middle schools to stay in the community they love. More power to them. We've known these sweet kids since they were tiny tots. Come on, middle school is a tough age no matter where kids land. Our family isn't OK with DCPS after ES so we choose a parochial MS, but I'm not going to slam fellow Hill parents for having made a different choice, coming here to accuse them of poor parenting.

[Anonymous]

Parents who slam these schools don’t know the complexities of the situations of the IB families who enroll. Ignore the critics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We know a bunch of Hill families of students who went through Stuart Hobson, now in HS (mostly at Walls) or college, who seem to be doing just fine. Some of these SH grads attend elite SLACs, Amherst, Middlebury, Swarthmore. We also know Brent students who went through Jefferson Academy and Maury students who went through Eliot-Hine, now top students at Walls or Banneker. These families coped and supplemented uncomplainingly, living their values by sending their children to neighborhood middle schools to stay in the community they love. More power to them. We've known these sweet kids since they were tiny tots. Come on, middle school is a tough age no matter where kids land. Our family isn't OK with DCPS after ES so we choose a parochial MS, but I'm not going to slam fellow Hill parents for having made a different choice, coming here to accuse them of poor parenting.

lol. they only “lived their values” because their kids got into Walls …

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We know a bunch of Hill families of students who went through Stuart Hobson, now in HS (mostly at Walls) or college, who seem to be doing just fine. Some of these SH grads attend elite SLACs, Amherst, Middlebury, Swarthmore. We also know Brent students who went through Jefferson Academy and Maury students who went through Eliot-Hine, now top students at Walls or Banneker. These families coped and supplemented uncomplainingly, living their values by sending their children to neighborhood middle schools to stay in the community they love. More power to them. We've known these sweet kids since they were tiny tots. Come on, middle school is a tough age no matter where kids land. Our family isn't OK with DCPS after ES so we choose a parochial MS, but I'm not going to slam fellow Hill parents for having made a different choice, coming here to accuse them of poor parenting.

lol. they only “lived their values” because their kids got into Walls …

Seriously. When someone sends their kid to Dunbar I'll stop laughing at this idea.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Lots of families get to MS and realize, you know what, we just want a decent-to-excellent MS and HS option that is by right with no worries about applications, lotteries, long commutes, etc. And suburban districts with larger schools start to look appealing too because the large school scan offer everything -- honors tracking, AP and/or IB, strong foreign language, strong arts programs, athletics, etc. That's the advantage of having large high schools with big catchment areas -- they have the money and space to be all things to all people, and if you can buy IB for a good one, it solves like 8 problems at once.

Yes, you give up your nice life on the Hill. Not everyone we know who moved bought, or have the intention of staying forever, and many kept their homes on the Hill with the intent to move back. Who knows, maybe they will. But it's easy to say in mid-elementary that you are in it for the long haul -- you're at an ES you like and most people around you are in the same situation. Things change a lot in MS.

Hmm. One of the reasons I stayed on the Hill rather than move to the suburbs is because I wanted to avoid the huge suburban middle schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Lots of families get to MS and realize, you know what, we just want a decent-to-excellent MS and HS option that is by right with no worries about applications, lotteries, long commutes, etc. And suburban districts with larger schools start to look appealing too because the large school scan offer everything -- honors tracking, AP and/or IB, strong foreign language, strong arts programs, athletics, etc. That's the advantage of having large high schools with big catchment areas -- they have the money and space to be all things to all people, and if you can buy IB for a good one, it solves like 8 problems at once.

Yes, you give up your nice life on the Hill. Not everyone we know who moved bought, or have the intention of staying forever, and many kept their homes on the Hill with the intent to move back. Who knows, maybe they will. But it's easy to say in mid-elementary that you are in it for the long haul -- you're at an ES you like and most people around you are in the same situation. Things change a lot in MS.

Hmm. One of the reasons I stayed on the Hill rather than move to the suburbs is because I wanted to avoid the huge suburban middle schools.

[Anonymous]

I think you misunderstand the bulk of the “live your values” families. Living your values may just mean rejecting the idea that the whitest, most socioeconomically privileged schools with the highest test scores (and internet ranking) are necessarily the “best” schools. These families tend to during the decision-making process heavily grapple with the concept of what makes a “good” school or a “bad” school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think you misunderstand the bulk of the “live your values” families. Living your values may just mean rejecting the idea that the whitest, most socioeconomically privileged schools with the highest test scores (and internet ranking) are necessarily the “best” schools. These families tend to during the decision-making process heavily grapple with the concept of what makes a “good” school or a “bad” school.

Ah. So you live your values by sitting on the fence for a while, making spreadsheets, publicly fretting, and only *then* do you send your kid to the whiter and higher-income school. Awesome.

It's just a funny coincidence how nobody lives their values by going to Dunbar, I guess...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We know a bunch of Hill families of students who went through Stuart Hobson, now in HS (mostly at Walls) or college, who seem to be doing just fine. Some of these SH grads attend elite SLACs, Amherst, Middlebury, Swarthmore. We also know Brent students who went through Jefferson Academy and Maury students who went through Eliot-Hine, now top students at Walls or Banneker. These families coped and supplemented uncomplainingly, living their values by sending their children to neighborhood middle schools to stay in the community they love. More power to them. We've known these sweet kids since they were tiny tots. Come on, middle school is a tough age no matter where kids land. Our family isn't OK with DCPS after ES so we choose a parochial MS, but I'm not going to slam fellow Hill parents for having made a different choice, coming here to accuse them of poor parenting.

lol. they only “lived their values” because their kids got into Walls …

LOL. Your criticism doesn’t make much sense.

Are you suggesting that these people somehow sent their kids to their neighborhood middle schools only after they were accepted into Without Walls? I suppose it’s theoretically possible for someone to wait until spring of 8th grade (after being accepted into Without Walls) to switch to a neighborhood middle school, but I highly doubt that’s what PP was referring to.

Presumably PP was referring to people who chose their neighborhood middle schools long before knowing their kids would be accepted into a selective high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We know a bunch of Hill families of students who went through Stuart Hobson, now in HS (mostly at Walls) or college, who seem to be doing just fine. Some of these SH grads attend elite SLACs, Amherst, Middlebury, Swarthmore. We also know Brent students who went through Jefferson Academy and Maury students who went through Eliot-Hine, now top students at Walls or Banneker. These families coped and supplemented uncomplainingly, living their values by sending their children to neighborhood middle schools to stay in the community they love. More power to them. We've known these sweet kids since they were tiny tots. Come on, middle school is a tough age no matter where kids land. Our family isn't OK with DCPS after ES so we choose a parochial MS, but I'm not going to slam fellow Hill parents for having made a different choice, coming here to accuse them of poor parenting.

lol. they only “lived their values” because their kids got into Walls …

LOL. Your criticism doesn’t make much sense.

Are you suggesting that these people somehow sent their kids to their neighborhood middle schools only after they were accepted into Without Walls? I suppose it’s theoretically possible for someone to wait until spring of 8th grade (after being accepted into Without Walls) to switch to a neighborhood middle school, but I highly doubt that’s what PP was referring to.

Presumably PP was referring to people who chose their neighborhood middle schools long before knowing their kids would be accepted into a selective high school.

I'm not the PP. but I believe the implication is that the "values" suddenly went poof at the end of 8th grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think you misunderstand the bulk of the “live your values” families. Living your values may just mean rejecting the idea that the whitest, most socioeconomically privileged schools with the highest test scores (and internet ranking) are necessarily the “best” schools. These families tend to during the decision-making process heavily grapple with the concept of what makes a “good” school or a “bad” school.

I mean, good for you? The number of educated Hill families sending their kids to the MS is small, and to HS even smaller (miniscule). Does your child attend Eastern? PS: the black families with resources aren’t going anywhere near Hill MS and HS. They are all going private.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We know a bunch of Hill families of students who went through Stuart Hobson, now in HS (mostly at Walls) or college, who seem to be doing just fine. Some of these SH grads attend elite SLACs, Amherst, Middlebury, Swarthmore. We also know Brent students who went through Jefferson Academy and Maury students who went through Eliot-Hine, now top students at Walls or Banneker. These families coped and supplemented uncomplainingly, living their values by sending their children to neighborhood middle schools to stay in the community they love. More power to them. We've known these sweet kids since they were tiny tots. Come on, middle school is a tough age no matter where kids land. Our family isn't OK with DCPS after ES so we choose a parochial MS, but I'm not going to slam fellow Hill parents for having made a different choice, coming here to accuse them of poor parenting.

lol. they only “lived their values” because their kids got into Walls …

LOL. Your criticism doesn’t make much sense.

Are you suggesting that these people somehow sent their kids to their neighborhood middle schools only after they were accepted into Without Walls? I suppose it’s theoretically possible for someone to wait until spring of 8th grade (after being accepted into Without Walls) to switch to a neighborhood middle school, but I highly doubt that’s what PP was referring to.

Presumably PP was referring to people who chose their neighborhood middle schools long before knowing their kids would be accepted into a selective high school.

No, my point is it’s totally absurd to claim some moral high ground by sending your kid to the Hill MS then to Walls.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We know a bunch of Hill families of students who went through Stuart Hobson, now in HS (mostly at Walls) or college, who seem to be doing just fine. Some of these SH grads attend elite SLACs, Amherst, Middlebury, Swarthmore. We also know Brent students who went through Jefferson Academy and Maury students who went through Eliot-Hine, now top students at Walls or Banneker. These families coped and supplemented uncomplainingly, living their values by sending their children to neighborhood middle schools to stay in the community they love. More power to them. We've known these sweet kids since they were tiny tots. Come on, middle school is a tough age no matter where kids land. Our family isn't OK with DCPS after ES so we choose a parochial MS, but I'm not going to slam fellow Hill parents for having made a different choice, coming here to accuse them of poor parenting.

lol. they only “lived their values” because their kids got into Walls …

LOL. Your criticism doesn’t make much sense.

Are you suggesting that these people somehow sent their kids to their neighborhood middle schools only after they were accepted into Without Walls? I suppose it’s theoretically possible for someone to wait until spring of 8th grade (after being accepted into Without Walls) to switch to a neighborhood middle school, but I highly doubt that’s what PP was referring to.

Presumably PP was referring to people who chose their neighborhood middle schools long before knowing their kids would be accepted into a selective high school.

I'm not the PP. but I believe the implication is that the "values" suddenly went poof at the end of 8th grade.

Oh you misunderstand!! They very much value neighborhood schools and diversity until there is a “better fit.” At that point they still value the “wonderful neighborhood schools” but “we made a different choice for our child’s needs!”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think you misunderstand the bulk of the “live your values” families. Living your values may just mean rejecting the idea that the whitest, most socioeconomically privileged schools with the highest test scores (and internet ranking) are necessarily the “best” schools. These families tend to during the decision-making process heavily grapple with the concept of what makes a “good” school or a “bad” school.

This is the dumbest post yet.

[Anonymous]

Why is this choice being posed as Walls v Dunbar? Why is everyone pretending that Banneker and McKinley don’t exist?