Yea, this has been discussed a lot on here. PARCC scores can only tell you so much about a school, especially when you view a school overall when there are such extreme disparities between subgroups. That problem is not unique to any one school in DC or our city in general, but it does give that data another wrinkle https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/90/1151471.page#25628298 |
A disaster! In a class of 20, maybe 3 are on grade level while 17 are not. |
Saying it’s not “terrible” is being a booster? Ok. |
EH actually has the highest test scores for some demographics in the entire city. |
Ok have fun in your small world. |
lol. Oh really? And exactly what demographic is that? |
The test scores at EH are high for white students who aren't ell and don't have disabilities. But they are high for that population at any dcps that has enough of such kids to report. But getting a 4 or 5 on parcc isn't the same as having good language and arts classes, sports and other extracurriculars, and a group of classmates from stable and highly educated families. Some people are happy or ok without those things. Some see the economic diversity at a school like EH as a positive that outweighs any negatives, or at least something tolerable because it allows them to stay in their home on the Hill. Some kids will thrive and others will wish their parents moved to MoCo. There isn't one right answer. |
To come full circle to a comment posted earlier, this is an example of why before you pre-emptively decide 'I cannot go to 'x' school' you should ask parents that are there. There may be some schools in the city who are as dire and bleak as you assume, but there are other schools that may have more than people sharing negative opinions may provide. As somebody who is familiar with EH, I can say it has soccer, basketball, baseball, track, swimming, bowling, cross country, drama, debate, choir, band, Eliot Hine Network, and a wide range of other clubs I am not as familiar with because my kid is busy with the other activities listed above. The kids take spanish or french (one semester of each in 6th grade before deciding which to focus on), a track in math that can take you to algebra or geometry in 8th, and are reading novels in ELA (not just reading excerpts as some people speak of happening in some DCPS middle schools). I know parents at Stuart Hobson who speak highly of all of the options and programs there, and same with Jefferson. Same with other schools in other wards in the city. Point being, just ask, go to an open house, and learn that way instead of solely on here. I realize this post will come across as an 'EH booster' - but really it is a 'go visit a school and learn about it before deciding' booster. |
I’m an EH parent and I can tell you my kid is having a great time, teachers have been very responsive, and some of the admins are flat-out wonderful. It’s not a fancy private school where you can pay to filter out real life. Given the US will be majority-minority for our kids I actually think this is crucial for white boys. It is FAR from perfect but calling it “terrible” is ridiculous. PS the kids love the extra curriculars. |
(also LOL at the idea that the school has no “stable and highly educated families.” I’d list the credentials we all have but that would be obnoxious. It’s just not dominated by “us” which makes people uncomfortable in theory I get it. But in practice it’s absolutely the least of my concerns.) |
We got into BASIS. Our back up plan was to stay for 5th and try again. We would have moved for 6th. Our IB is Cardozo MS. I think statistically it s the worst performing MS with the lowest IB population. I'll be honest, i thought I would've been sued for educational neglect sending my child there. We probably would have rented to be IB and then returned once gaining feeder rights. You all gotta do what you gotta do. No judgement. |
If you are implying that people are uncomfortable with diversity and that’s why they’re not choosing EH, then you’re exactly the kind of virtue signaling clueless jerk referenced in the OP. There are plenty of diverse schools that don’t have test scores in the toilet. A lot of these parents are choosing their Hill lifestyle over their kids academic future, and banking on Walls. It will be interesting to see what happens if their kid doesn’t get in. My guess is Eastern will be too much “real life.” ![]() |
No one said the school was completely lacking in stable and highly educated families. But if you compare it to some suburban school districts, including ones that have a lot of diversity and transit and cheaper housing, the difference is marked. Same with the arts instruction. What a school can do with a bunch of kids who started lessons in early elementary (and often private lessons before that) is different than what can be done at EH. |
That’s exactly what PP suggested - “lack of stable and highly educated families” as a reason not to attend. It’s not virtue signaling for me to a) correct the misperception and b) tell you that it is the least of my concerns. And it’s neither here nor there, but FYI, there are many solid black middle-class families at EH. I don’t gaf about your “virtue singnaling” accusations because I am actually sending my kid to the school and have no need to signal anything. But yes, I am going to correct ridiculous public statements that the school is “terrible.” You can send your kid wherever you want but you can’t say sh*t like that and not expect to be corrected. |
If you’re in that rat race you should just be all-in and go move to Potomac or whatever. Not sure why you are here. |