The Middle School Problem

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It would take a lot of coordination but this could work

The waiting list for Deal Hardy and Stuart Hobson is in the hundreds every year

All you need to do is communicate with those folks and select a different middle school in the city to "take over"

I agree, in theory, this would work. In reality, it would never happen.

+ 1 billion

Not only will it happen. It HAS to happen soon. We are only a few years off from a 700 kid 6th grade at Deal. The current situation is not sustainable.

For those who know more about DCPS than me — does DCPS have a plan? Is this on their radar?

Yes they know and it is on their radar. No there isn’t a solid plan beyond the upcoming boundary review in 2022.

Get involved in the Ward 3 / Wilson feeder network org to learn more and advocate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A few approaches:

1 - do not let Deal / Hardy take any kids who do not have current rights to them. Audit HARD enrollment. If policy is if you move OOB during elementary school you no longer have rights to the feeder pattern - enforce it.

You need to get a critical mass of kids at the other middle schools. The only way you do it is cut off path to Deal / Hardy.

2- start building an interest in the other schools - and make everyone aware of successes. Have events in the fall of 4th grade across feeder schools to start building community. it needs to be a community thing - not just the "problem" of the Principal at the Middle School.

Families need to know that their child is going to be safe, learn, have friends, have opportunities to try new things.

If DCPS committed resources to creating a real path - not flavor of the month. You can make traction. But when Principals never know what budget / staff they might or might not have next year. And put on them mandates to react to without - they are left fighting fires all the time.

So you want to cut everyone else out of deal and hardy and advertise other middle schools to the rest of the city (lie to them??) so they stay out of deal/hardy.

Wow. FWIW I think deal/hardy aren’t great either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A few approaches:

1 - do not let Deal / Hardy take any kids who do not have current rights to them. Audit HARD enrollment. If policy is if you move OOB during elementary school you no longer have rights to the feeder pattern - enforce it.

You need to get a critical mass of kids at the other middle schools. The only way you do it is cut off path to Deal / Hardy.

2- start building an interest in the other schools - and make everyone aware of successes. Have events in the fall of 4th grade across feeder schools to start building community. it needs to be a community thing - not just the "problem" of the Principal at the Middle School.

Families need to know that their child is going to be safe, learn, have friends, have opportunities to try new things.

If DCPS committed resources to creating a real path - not flavor of the month. You can make traction. But when Principals never know what budget / staff they might or might not have next year. And put on them mandates to react to without - they are left fighting fires all the time.

So you want to cut everyone else out of deal and hardy and advertise other middle schools to the rest of the city (lie to them??) so they stay out of deal/hardy.

Wow. FWIW I think deal/hardy aren’t great either.

How big can Deal get?

What’s your solution?

[Anonymous]

I'm in Ward 6. Our problem is the high school problem. No family I know wants to send their kid to Eastern High School. So while SH may be fine, there really is no path beyond it and it doesn't help Elliot Hine Middle either. Something needs to be done though, since the Ward 6 elementary schools are now "desirable" and full of IB kids. Where will all these kids go after elementary?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OK so I love this thread but haven’t seen this historical POV represented: Deal was once upon a time and not long ago a POS that no one wanted. And then people seized on it and it became this “thing.” People don’t know it who aren’t from here or didn’t have kids at the right time.

My point is that you and I could be the people that cross the barrier or break some line with our kids. And I think it happens by showing up: at Stuart Hobson, at Hardy, at MacFarland, these places where we know students who live within the boundaries can hack it at Algebra, humanities and the like. If you’re willing to jump, DCPS will jump with you. I firmly believe that and to the extent that (for lack of a better term) motivated educated parents agitate for this - we get the advanced classes, we get the electives for our kids. Shunning these places is a fearful move. Moving in and demanding excellence is a great thing for everyone - us and all our neighbors.

This! Deal started to turn when around 2005-ish. I remember my neighbors all saying they were going to “try” Deal. These were Janney families.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A few approaches:

1 - do not let Deal / Hardy take any kids who do not have current rights to them. Audit HARD enrollment. If policy is if you move OOB during elementary school you no longer have rights to the feeder pattern - enforce it.

You need to get a critical mass of kids at the other middle schools. The only way you do it is cut off path to Deal / Hardy.

2- start building an interest in the other schools - and make everyone aware of successes. Have events in the fall of 4th grade across feeder schools to start building community. it needs to be a community thing - not just the "problem" of the Principal at the Middle School.

Families need to know that their child is going to be safe, learn, have friends, have opportunities to try new things.

If DCPS committed resources to creating a real path - not flavor of the month. You can make traction. But when Principals never know what budget / staff they might or might not have next year. And put on them mandates to react to without - they are left fighting fires all the time.

So you want to cut everyone else out of deal and hardy and advertise other middle schools to the rest of the city (lie to them??) so they stay out of deal/hardy.

Wow. FWIW I think deal/hardy aren’t great either.

How big can Deal get?

What’s your solution?

Seriously, it is way, way, way too big already. They cannot send every middle school kid in the city to one school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm in Ward 6. Our problem is the high school problem. No family I know wants to send their kid to Eastern High School. So while SH may be fine, there really is no path beyond it and it doesn't help Elliot Hine Middle either. Something needs to be done though, since the Ward 6 elementary schools are now "desirable" and full of IB kids. Where will all these kids go after elementary?

How did those ESs become desirable?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm in Ward 6. Our problem is the high school problem. No family I know wants to send their kid to Eastern High School. So while SH may be fine, there really is no path beyond it and it doesn't help Elliot Hine Middle either. Something needs to be done though, since the Ward 6 elementary schools are now "desirable" and full of IB kids. Where will all these kids go after elementary?

Is all of Capitol Hill zoned for Eastern now? A lot of it used to feed Dunbar.

[Anonymous]

If Ward 6 could figure out the MS issue, there would not be a HS issue. If everyone would just stay with their feeders, you would have a HS that would rival Wilson.

That being said, most of the families I know feel good about their HS choices. The challenge are the years in between elementary and high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:iMHO, the problem is an unwillingness to aggregate the cohorts from successful elementary schools into middle schools. The reason Deal is good is because all the feeders are strong and the majority of the kids in those schools go to the middle school. Hardy also is fed by strong elementary schools, there have been issues with the families at the feeders trusting the middle but that is starting to change, in addition the kids that have entered it through the lottery are also kids of parents that are making efforts to get their children into a strong middle and so you have a great cohort.

Elsewhere in the city (for DCPS- leaving charters out) the middle schools re fed by a mix of elementary schools, you have SH with enough strong kids to support real honors classes and I hear great things but that is the exception.

There is an unwillingness to say “elementaries a, b and c are doing great, let’s put them on the path to the same middle school so they can form the basis of a strong cohort”. One strong elementary school cannot flip a middle school. And it is about having kids arrive at middle school prepared.

That is a really dumb idea.

Why and what is your proposal that would work better?

[Anonymous]

I have kid in HS.

I've become convinced that if they learn how to organize themselves, keep reading, make progress in math, don't abuse substances and emerge with some level of self-esteem it is all going to be fine.

Challenge? Rigor? Leave it to high school for the most part. It will be ok.

-Not rich, EOTP parent

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have kid in HS.

I've become convinced that if they learn how to organize themselves, keep reading, make progress in math, don't abuse substances and emerge with some level of self-esteem it is all going to be fine.

Challenge? Rigor? Leave it to high school for the most part. It will be ok.

-Not rich, EOTP parent

I concur. There is a reason that suicide has reached an all time high in middle school*. It's parents thinking that's when life makes crucial decisions about success and failure. Fretting over middle school like that is not helpful, nor healthy. Let them mess up and fail, come back, turn around, and try again. Rough and tumble. Homework and book bags are a mess, mostly. And so is social media. Fists occasionally fly and hair gets pulled (and I pull mine LOL). DC doesn't have a unique middle years problem. Society does.

*https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/11/04/500659746/middle-school-suicides-reach-an-all-time-high

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCPS Middle Schools don't have honors classes and regular classes?

no. They have different levels of math and language and the rest of the classes are all one level.

No longer true. Stuart Hobson now has two or three levels for science, ELA and social studies, along with ELA, math and Spanish (which they've had for a decade).

Interesting! Deal does not and I don't think hardy does either.

Because they don’t need to. Most students are on grade level coming into Deal.

They need honors classes. Not all of the students are “on grade level;” some are beyond it.

I
PP, you are myopic. Yes there are above average students at Deal and Hardy, and also at many other schools in DC EVEN eotp. My point is that SH has to have 3 levels in order to hide the fact that there are many students below grade level as well as ones who are where they supposed to be. The fact that one is called Honors is not the relevant part.

If there were Honors classes at Deal and Hardy, would there then need to be “honors for all”?

[Anonymous]

There ARE honors classes at Hardy.

Deal has advanced math and language classes for those who need them.

If you want honors classes and you are IB for Deal, lottery for Hardy, Stuart Hobson and probably Jefferson next year, where they already exist. New North is will offer honors next year as well.

Deal is beyond full without them. Obviously, something is going well there or parents would leave. I wouldn't expect it to change in the next 2-3 years at least.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm in Ward 6. Our problem is the high school problem. No family I know wants to send their kid to Eastern High School. So while SH may be fine, there really is no path beyond it and it doesn't help Elliot Hine Middle either. Something needs to be done though, since the Ward 6 elementary schools are now "desirable" and full of IB kids. Where will all these kids go after elementary?

How did those ESs become desirable?

Gentrification and because there aren't many charter ES options

How did you think Wilson pyramid happened

First the elementary schools got better than the middle school and finally the high school

Stuart Hobson is a viable option and Jefferson gets better every year for middle school

Within 5-10 years Eastern will start turning around these things take time