Key vs. Hearst?

[Anonymous]

Agreed, pp, both seem competent. I would have been fine with them returning next year, but news that they are leaving doesn't concern me. I think this a great opportunity for the school to maybe live up to its potential. The high turnover of staff each year is a red flag and makes one wonder what was going on behind closed doors with the admin team.

[Anonymous]

Is the Key principal leaving too ?

[Anonymous]

Transplant_1 wrote:Hearst is a small, neighborhood school, if that's what you're looking for. 2 classes per grade. Many inzone. Some out of zone that seem to get off lottery, or, it seems there is some sort of DCPS program to place students at Hearst for diversity. We walk to and from school, along the way parents run into each other, get to know each other, build community, hang out after drop off and pick up to chat. It's very parent heavy (not nanny heavy, which I hear is the case with some of the other local elementary school.)

Now older, my kids walk to and from school on their own. After school they self release, play in the playground, then walk home. I don't need to continually set up playdates and drive them. They go on weekends to Hearst field and playground to play pickup soccer, basketball, playground, with high chance of running into others. it has become their "center" -- a place of safety, fun, belonging, being known and knowing others. One child is now in 7th at local middle school, the other in 4th. Middle school may not be working out for us, so we may move. But our lives have been super enrichened -- friends, memories, community, independence - for the years we were at Hearst. If I had to re-do, I would definitely do our "lives at Hearst". I'm now onto figuring out lives for middle and high school

The only students at Hearst (and any other school) who are not either IB or through the lottery are placed by IEP team. Hearst has an autism program; I don't know if Key has a specialized program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agreed, pp, both seem competent. I would have been fine with them returning next year, but news that they are leaving doesn't concern me. I think this a great opportunity for the school to maybe live up to its potential. The high turnover of staff each year is a red flag and makes one wonder what was going on behind closed doors with the admin team.

Hearst definitely has higher turnover than the other ward 3 elementary schools. We’re a long term family and teachers seem to be progressively unhappier as the years go by. A lot of really good teachers left to continue teaching, just at other schools. I think that’s a red flag. Ones who are left seem beaten down. Less and less fun things happening at the school for the kids, used to have assemblies and fall festivals and they’re all gone, things that brought parents in during the day all cancelled. Personally I’m happy to see admin turnover.

[Anonymous]

Agree change is needed at Hearst. She was a great principal when my now-middle schooler started. Full of energy and ideas. But then sucked into the DCPS nonsense, poor (so poor) at communications with parents, and a lot of teacher turnover. Hearst also took an overall turn during Covid that we as a family never felt it recovered from. New life will be great for the community.

[Anonymous]

Key is super clique-y parents, full of super preppy Palisades-ers who are all about $ and status, the school has its charms as a neighborhood school, but if you're not in the neighborhood you loose that aspect by a lot (including how you're treated). the principal is a do-nothing bafoon. The super over the top PTA parents rule the school. Many of the teachers are great, but hit or miss. Also do consider you'd be in the Hardy-MacArthur vs. Deal-JR track. Key only has about 10-15 kids in the current classes at Hardy.

[Anonymous]

What is your first choice for middle school?

[Transplant_1]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agreed, pp, both seem competent. I would have been fine with them returning next year, but news that they are leaving doesn't concern me. I think this a great opportunity for the school to maybe live up to its potential. The high turnover of staff each year is a red flag and makes one wonder what was going on behind closed doors with the admin team.

Hearst definitely has higher turnover than the other ward 3 elementary schools. We’re a long term family and teachers seem to be progressively unhappier as the years go by. A lot of really good teachers left to continue teaching, just at other schools. I think that’s a red flag. Ones who are left seem beaten down. Less and less fun things happening at the school for the kids, used to have assemblies and fall festivals and they’re all gone, things that brought parents in during the day all cancelled. Personally I’m happy to see admin turnover.

I don't k now of a lot of teachers leaving to teach at other schools. Over my 6 years, teachers I know of who left (and it's easy to remember, because it's a small school), most left for personal reasons, usually tied to spouse/parnter having a new job in a different location, or moved to a new city altogether, or decided to not come back after maternity leave, or decided on a career change, or retired, etc. I do know one teacher who left to teach at a different school altogether, staying in the area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Key is super clique-y parents, full of super preppy Palisades-ers who are all about $ and status, the school has its charms as a neighborhood school, but if you're not in the neighborhood you loose that aspect by a lot (including how you're treated). the principal is a do-nothing bafoon. The super over the top PTA parents rule the school. Many of the teachers are great, but hit or miss. Also do consider you'd be in the Hardy-MacArthur vs. Deal-JR track. Key only has about 10-15 kids in the current classes at Hardy.

This is not unique to Key. All upper NW schools are this way. Families stretch their budgets to buy tiny crappy houses in these parts of town because they prioritize education above all else. So they are not super thrilled when OOB kids show up and crowd classrooms.

[Transplant_1]

Disagree. I have not found Hearst to be like this at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Key is super clique-y parents, full of super preppy Palisades-ers who are all about $ and status, the school has its charms as a neighborhood school, but if you're not in the neighborhood you loose that aspect by a lot (including how you're treated). the principal is a do-nothing bafoon. The super over the top PTA parents rule the school. Many of the teachers are great, but hit or miss. Also do consider you'd be in the Hardy-MacArthur vs. Deal-JR track. Key only has about 10-15 kids in the current classes at Hardy.

This is not unique to Key. All upper NW schools are this way. Families stretch their budgets to buy tiny crappy houses in these parts of town because they prioritize education above all else. So they are not super thrilled when OOB kids show up and crowd classrooms.

This is hilariously untrue.

[Anonymous]

Transplant_1 wrote:Disagree. I have not found Hearst to be like this at all.

I think Hearst is a bit of an anomaly since many families live in apartments and McLean Gardens. The other NW schools are culturally very different from Hearst.

[Anonymous]

Regarding the principal at Hearst, part of the issue is that Hearst remained closed long after most DC schools managed to reopen during Covid. In correspondence she seemed to blame this on DCPS policies but other school managed to reopen in the Spring of 2021, whereas hearst only offered a few in person classes to a select group. Since then, it seems others schools have fully reopened and engaged parents inside the building whereas Hearst continues to have strange policies in place. Hearst families who were around before covid seem to have warmer feelings toward the school, but for those of us who joined in covid years have a hard time understanding this small school culture everyone talks about. I think the teachers are mostly great and we have been generally happy but I am eager for new leadership, better communication and more consistent policies.

[Transplant_1]

Anonymous wrote:Regarding the principal at Hearst, part of the issue is that Hearst remained closed long after most DC schools managed to reopen during Covid. In correspondence she seemed to blame this on DCPS policies but other school managed to reopen in the Spring of 2021, whereas hearst only offered a few in person classes to a select group. Since then, it seems others schools have fully reopened and engaged parents inside the building whereas Hearst continues to have strange policies in place. Hearst families who were around before covid seem to have warmer feelings toward the school, but for those of us who joined in covid years have a hard time understanding this small school culture everyone talks about. I think the teachers are mostly great and we have been generally happy but I am eager for new leadership, better communication and more consistent policies.

I don't find the characterizations of what happened in COVID to be true. I found Hearst to do as good of a job than other area schools. Each seemed to do slightly differently. Rather I appreciated how thoughtfully it was done.

As for the current school policies that you find don't allow for parent engagement inside the building, what are they?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Transplant_1 wrote:Disagree. I have not found Hearst to be like this at all.

I think Hearst is a bit of an anomaly since many families live in apartments and McLean Gardens. The other NW schools are culturally very different from Hearst.

Isn't nearly all of McLean Gardens zoned for Eaton? The boundary map suggests that only like three fairly short blocks at the very north of the complex are zoned for Hearst.