Are in boundary families leaving Hardy because if MacArthur?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:I’ll be the lone dissenter and say I have no faith in DCPS creating a high school out of nothing and will not be offering my child at Hardy now as a Guinea pig. We have submitted applications far and wide to get our child in a different place.

Also, Hardy sucks this year. The lack of anything other than academic classes and the daily fights among students plus locked bathrooms and locker rooms, we are done if at all possible.

NP. I was planning on sending my child to Hardy because I figured that I could supplement what the school was lacking in extracurriculars for less than the $50k it would cost for private school. However, what you’ve said is alarming. I refuse to send my child to a school where bathrooms are locked so kids don’t get assaulted (or sexually assaulted!). Is this really happening??? I thought I would have heard about it.

I have a 6th grader and neither she nor any of her friends are worried about any of that bathroom stuff. She hasn't mentioned witnessing fights in a few months, so it might be an older grade phenomenon that will age out if the current enrollment trends continue.

You are delusional. Then your 6th grader aren’t telling you what is really going on. Ignorance is not bliss.

You sound unhinged. It’s middle school. There will be drama. The school and the kids can handle it. You need to cam down. It isn’t elementary anymore. This is how your kids will get some independence and ability to negotiate spaces without you hovering over everything. I am not worried about my child’s safety and they are doing fine at Hardy. Stop with your hysterical nonsense.

DP. I don’t know exactly what is happening at Hardy, but stop pretending that violence is normal, that lack of art and music are normal. DCPS truly sells parents on low expectations, it’s nuts.

There have been cuts, but there is a music program. Also it’s not “violence” it’s kids getting in fights. Happens at most schools. It’s reality not low expectations. Especially after the trauma of the past few years. They are dealing with it. Seriously. This is not elementary school! You need to grow up. I feel bad for your kids.

No, it does not happen at most schools that kids regularly get pummeled. That’s your extremely low expectations talking. I feel bad for your kids (all kids) that you think tolerating violent atmosphere is an appropriate response to “trauma.”

Can you stop hijacking this thread with your hysterics please? It is about MacArthur. Stay on topic.

If you must post about fighting at Hardy, start a new one.

If DCPS cannot manage fighting at Hardy or properly fund it, why would Hardy parents believe MacArthur is going to work?

This. Hardy students = Macarthur students. How is the thinking of current Hardy families not directly relevant to Macarthur?

+1. I can’t believe parents don’t get this. If DCPS can’t manage fighting and behavior issues in the classroom, you think things are going to change at the new high school where kids are older, bigger, and bolder?

Also if families don’t buy into the new high school, the problem is going to get worst with more OOB kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Somebody should get to the bottom of the funding issue for Hardy. Why are non-academic subjects not funded as in other schools? It seems unacceptable and inequitable. Is the leadership and/or parents doing anything to change the situation?

You're right. Three years in MS is just not long enough to see the changes in funding that we're told are happening. So unless you have multiple kids attending, spread across some years, it's not easy to get motivated to look into it or protest.

I do know that a fantastic advanced math self-paced online program, ALEKS, was abruptly (to us) dropped one weekend at the end of September because no longer funded. Classes that used it had to shift that part of the work/homework to a much less sophisticated program that students don't like (euphemism).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ll be the lone dissenter and say I have no faith in DCPS creating a high school out of nothing and will not be offering my child at Hardy now as a Guinea pig. We have submitted applications far and wide to get our child in a different place.

Also, Hardy sucks this year. The lack of anything other than academic classes and the daily fights among students plus locked bathrooms and locker rooms, we are done if at all possible.

NP. I was planning on sending my child to Hardy because I figured that I could supplement what the school was lacking in extracurriculars for less than the $50k it would cost for private school. However, what you’ve said is alarming. I refuse to send my child to a school where bathrooms are locked so kids don’t get assaulted (or sexually assaulted!). Is this really happening??? I thought I would have heard about it.

I have a 6th grader and neither she nor any of her friends are worried about any of that bathroom stuff. She hasn't mentioned witnessing fights in a few months, so it might be an older grade phenomenon that will age out if the current enrollment trends continue.

You are delusional. Then your 6th grader aren’t telling you what is really going on. Ignorance is not bliss.

You sound unhinged. It’s middle school. There will be drama. The school and the kids can handle it. You need to cam down. It isn’t elementary anymore. This is how your kids will get some independence and ability to negotiate spaces without you hovering over everything. I am not worried about my child’s safety and they are doing fine at Hardy. Stop with your hysterical nonsense.

DP. I don’t know exactly what is happening at Hardy, but stop pretending that violence is normal, that lack of art and music are normal. DCPS truly sells parents on low expectations, it’s nuts.

There have been cuts, but there is a music program. Also it’s not “violence” it’s kids getting in fights. Happens at most schools. It’s reality not low expectations. Especially after the trauma of the past few years. They are dealing with it. Seriously. This is not elementary school! You need to grow up. I feel bad for your kids.

No, it does not happen at most schools that kids regularly get pummeled. That’s your extremely low expectations talking. I feel bad for your kids (all kids) that you think tolerating violent atmosphere is an appropriate response to “trauma.”

Can you stop hijacking this thread with your hysterics please? It is about MacArthur. Stay on topic.

If you must post about fighting at Hardy, start a new one.

If DCPS cannot manage fighting at Hardy or properly fund it, why would Hardy parents believe MacArthur is going to work?

This. Hardy students = Macarthur students. How is the thinking of current Hardy families not directly relevant to Macarthur?

+1. I can’t believe parents don’t get this. If DCPS can’t manage fighting and behavior issues in the classroom, you think things are going to change at the new high school where kids are older, bigger, and bolder?

Also if families don’t buy into the new high school, the problem is going to get worst with more OOB kids.

What we're telling you, though, is that the school administration is on top of it and working through it with all students, that many students are unaffected and barely aware it's going on, and that for now the families are on-board with MacArthur. It's like you're trying to manufacture drama.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ll be the lone dissenter and say I have no faith in DCPS creating a high school out of nothing and will not be offering my child at Hardy now as a Guinea pig. We have submitted applications far and wide to get our child in a different place.

Also, Hardy sucks this year. The lack of anything other than academic classes and the daily fights among students plus locked bathrooms and locker rooms, we are done if at all possible.

NP. I was planning on sending my child to Hardy because I figured that I could supplement what the school was lacking in extracurriculars for less than the $50k it would cost for private school. However, what you’ve said is alarming. I refuse to send my child to a school where bathrooms are locked so kids don’t get assaulted (or sexually assaulted!). Is this really happening??? I thought I would have heard about it.

I have a 6th grader and neither she nor any of her friends are worried about any of that bathroom stuff. She hasn't mentioned witnessing fights in a few months, so it might be an older grade phenomenon that will age out if the current enrollment trends continue.

You are delusional. Then your 6th grader aren’t telling you what is really going on. Ignorance is not bliss.

You sound unhinged. It’s middle school. There will be drama. The school and the kids can handle it. You need to cam down. It isn’t elementary anymore. This is how your kids will get some independence and ability to negotiate spaces without you hovering over everything. I am not worried about my child’s safety and they are doing fine at Hardy. Stop with your hysterical nonsense.

DP. I don’t know exactly what is happening at Hardy, but stop pretending that violence is normal, that lack of art and music are normal. DCPS truly sells parents on low expectations, it’s nuts.

There have been cuts, but there is a music program. Also it’s not “violence” it’s kids getting in fights. Happens at most schools. It’s reality not low expectations. Especially after the trauma of the past few years. They are dealing with it. Seriously. This is not elementary school! You need to grow up. I feel bad for your kids.

No, it does not happen at most schools that kids regularly get pummeled. That’s your extremely low expectations talking. I feel bad for your kids (all kids) that you think tolerating violent atmosphere is an appropriate response to “trauma.”

Can you stop hijacking this thread with your hysterics please? It is about MacArthur. Stay on topic.

If you must post about fighting at Hardy, start a new one.

If DCPS cannot manage fighting at Hardy or properly fund it, why would Hardy parents believe MacArthur is going to work?

This. Hardy students = Macarthur students. How is the thinking of current Hardy families not directly relevant to Macarthur?

+1. I can’t believe parents don’t get this. If DCPS can’t manage fighting and behavior issues in the classroom, you think things are going to change at the new high school where kids are older, bigger, and bolder?

Also if families don’t buy into the new high school, the problem is going to get worst with more OOB kids.

What we're telling you, though, is that the school administration is on top of it and working through it with all students, that many students are unaffected and barely aware it's going on, and that for now the families are on-board with MacArthur. It's like you're trying to manufacture drama.

It's like you are a PR firm. You (plural, as you oddly described yourself) have a viewpoint. So do all the rest of us! From my DC's vantage point, the problems have gotten worse over the course of the year, and my DC is affected by it and hates school because if it. It's sweet that you want me to just trust that the administration is on top of it, but I've seen nothing that demonstrates that

Meanwhile, my DC may well end up at Macarthur because we can't afford private. And I wanted to be excited about the new, smaller high school, but DCPS's feeble planning process has not inspired confidence. So sure, if that counts as "on-board with Macarthur," then go ahead and keeping insisting that you speak for everyone.

!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ll be the lone dissenter and say I have no faith in DCPS creating a high school out of nothing and will not be offering my child at Hardy now as a Guinea pig. We have submitted applications far and wide to get our child in a different place.

Also, Hardy sucks this year. The lack of anything other than academic classes and the daily fights among students plus locked bathrooms and locker rooms, we are done if at all possible.

NP. I was planning on sending my child to Hardy because I figured that I could supplement what the school was lacking in extracurriculars for less than the $50k it would cost for private school. However, what you’ve said is alarming. I refuse to send my child to a school where bathrooms are locked so kids don’t get assaulted (or sexually assaulted!). Is this really happening??? I thought I would have heard about it.

I have a 6th grader and neither she nor any of her friends are worried about any of that bathroom stuff. She hasn't mentioned witnessing fights in a few months, so it might be an older grade phenomenon that will age out if the current enrollment trends continue.

You are delusional. Then your 6th grader aren’t telling you what is really going on. Ignorance is not bliss.

You sound unhinged. It’s middle school. There will be drama. The school and the kids can handle it. You need to cam down. It isn’t elementary anymore. This is how your kids will get some independence and ability to negotiate spaces without you hovering over everything. I am not worried about my child’s safety and they are doing fine at Hardy. Stop with your hysterical nonsense.

DP. I don’t know exactly what is happening at Hardy, but stop pretending that violence is normal, that lack of art and music are normal. DCPS truly sells parents on low expectations, it’s nuts.

There have been cuts, but there is a music program. Also it’s not “violence” it’s kids getting in fights. Happens at most schools. It’s reality not low expectations. Especially after the trauma of the past few years. They are dealing with it. Seriously. This is not elementary school! You need to grow up. I feel bad for your kids.

No, it does not happen at most schools that kids regularly get pummeled. That’s your extremely low expectations talking. I feel bad for your kids (all kids) that you think tolerating violent atmosphere is an appropriate response to “trauma.”

Can you stop hijacking this thread with your hysterics please? It is about MacArthur. Stay on topic.

If you must post about fighting at Hardy, start a new one.

If DCPS cannot manage fighting at Hardy or properly fund it, why would Hardy parents believe MacArthur is going to work?

This. Hardy students = Macarthur students. How is the thinking of current Hardy families not directly relevant to Macarthur?

+1. I can’t believe parents don’t get this. If DCPS can’t manage fighting and behavior issues in the classroom, you think things are going to change at the new high school where kids are older, bigger, and bolder?

Also if families don’t buy into the new high school, the problem is going to get worst with more OOB kids.

What we're telling you, though, is that the school administration is on top of it and working through it with all students, that many students are unaffected and barely aware it's going on, and that for now the families are on-board with MacArthur. It's like you're trying to manufacture drama.

Are you for real? You think the school is actually on top of it when the problem is escalating, getting worst, and kids are injured??

What planet are you living on?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ll be the lone dissenter and say I have no faith in DCPS creating a high school out of nothing and will not be offering my child at Hardy now as a Guinea pig. We have submitted applications far and wide to get our child in a different place.

Also, Hardy sucks this year. The lack of anything other than academic classes and the daily fights among students plus locked bathrooms and locker rooms, we are done if at all possible.

NP. I was planning on sending my child to Hardy because I figured that I could supplement what the school was lacking in extracurriculars for less than the $50k it would cost for private school. However, what you’ve said is alarming. I refuse to send my child to a school where bathrooms are locked so kids don’t get assaulted (or sexually assaulted!). Is this really happening??? I thought I would have heard about it.

I have a 6th grader and neither she nor any of her friends are worried about any of that bathroom stuff. She hasn't mentioned witnessing fights in a few months, so it might be an older grade phenomenon that will age out if the current enrollment trends continue.

You are delusional. Then your 6th grader aren’t telling you what is really going on. Ignorance is not bliss.

You sound unhinged. It’s middle school. There will be drama. The school and the kids can handle it. You need to cam down. It isn’t elementary anymore. This is how your kids will get some independence and ability to negotiate spaces without you hovering over everything. I am not worried about my child’s safety and they are doing fine at Hardy. Stop with your hysterical nonsense.

DP. I don’t know exactly what is happening at Hardy, but stop pretending that violence is normal, that lack of art and music are normal. DCPS truly sells parents on low expectations, it’s nuts.

There have been cuts, but there is a music program. Also it’s not “violence” it’s kids getting in fights. Happens at most schools. It’s reality not low expectations. Especially after the trauma of the past few years. They are dealing with it. Seriously. This is not elementary school! You need to grow up. I feel bad for your kids.

No, it does not happen at most schools that kids regularly get pummeled. That’s your extremely low expectations talking. I feel bad for your kids (all kids) that you think tolerating violent atmosphere is an appropriate response to “trauma.”

Can you stop hijacking this thread with your hysterics please? It is about MacArthur. Stay on topic.

If you must post about fighting at Hardy, start a new one.

If DCPS cannot manage fighting at Hardy or properly fund it, why would Hardy parents believe MacArthur is going to work?

This. Hardy students = Macarthur students. How is the thinking of current Hardy families not directly relevant to Macarthur?

+1. I can’t believe parents don’t get this. If DCPS can’t manage fighting and behavior issues in the classroom, you think things are going to change at the new high school where kids are older, bigger, and bolder?

Also if families don’t buy into the new high school, the problem is going to get worst with more OOB kids.

What we're telling you, though, is that the school administration is on top of it and working through it with all students, that many students are unaffected and barely aware it's going on, and that for now the families are on-board with MacArthur. It's like you're trying to manufacture drama.

It's like you are a PR firm. You (plural, as you oddly described yourself) have a viewpoint. So do all the rest of us! From my DC's vantage point, the problems have gotten worse over the course of the year, and my DC is affected by it and hates school because if it. It's sweet that you want me to just trust that the administration is on top of it, but I've seen nothing that demonstrates that

Meanwhile, my DC may well end up at Macarthur because we can't afford private. And I wanted to be excited about the new, smaller high school, but DCPS's feeble planning process has not inspired confidence. So sure, if that counts as "on-board with Macarthur," then go ahead and keeping insisting that you speak for everyone.

!

+1. Not a Hardy parent, but what I’ve learned at our elementary with increasingly bad behavior/violence is that some kids (like my DS) are not impacted and others are, very much so. Since my DS tends to be a trouble maker himself, in some ways the chaos works out for him because his behavior is more normal or even better. But as a parent that doesn’t make me any happier than you. I don’t want his behavior to get worse - he could get really hurt, for one - and I want him to, you know, actually learn a bunch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ll be the lone dissenter and say I have no faith in DCPS creating a high school out of nothing and will not be offering my child at Hardy now as a Guinea pig. We have submitted applications far and wide to get our child in a different place.

Also, Hardy sucks this year. The lack of anything other than academic classes and the daily fights among students plus locked bathrooms and locker rooms, we are done if at all possible.

Sure, but why do you think JR will be any better?

PP said nothing about JR. They said they are “submitting applications far and wide,” which makes clear that that they are considering many options. Can we not make this thread about JR?

PP calls themself a “lone dissenter.” What are they dissenting from? Was there a large group of people saying MacArthur would be competitive with Maret? No. The only consensus from which PP could possibly be dissenting is the consensus that MacArthur will be competitive with JR, for some students currently in 7th and 8th grade at Hardy, Deal, and Adams.

Come on. “Lone dissenter” from the large majority of posters saying they aren’t hearing about people leaving the feeder pattern because of/are excited about MacArthur. This poster is planning to leave and is submitting applications.

People have always gone private (and to Walls) from Hardy. Continuing that pattern isn’t “leaving because of MacArthur.”

I am the lone dissenter OP. I always intended to send my children to public school. We’ve been all in since PK4. But our oldest is in the first grade required to go to the new school and given the “experience” at Hardy this year and the idea of a not at all developed new high school that we’d be committing to with no actual knowledge, we are done. I can’t squander the opportunity to get my child somewhere else and I hope it works for next year. I’ve got 3 years (7th, 8th, and 9th) to secure an option other than the new high school, so we applied out for 7th for next year. Hope that works. If not, we’ll try again for 8th. Not JR, that’s not even a viable option given no spots at Deal or JR for new OOB students.

FWIW, my child again had no PE today because the locker rooms were locked off limits for whatever reason. That’s absurd. Also, I never said anything about sexual assault. But there are routine fights in the halls and lunch room and they are violent and have involved the AP pulling students apart. Not to even mention the unavailable restrooms. We also won’t talk about the lack of any non-academic classes resulting in extremely long academic blocks every day with no art, music, etc. This is not what we were expecting based off the previous few years of our friends and neighbors having children attend Hardy.

Why do they need the lockers to do PE? There’s lots of exercise stuff you can do without needing to change.

Yeah, this is weird. My kids don't change for PE at their middle school.

No idea. Mine doesn’t change either but has had no PE due to locked locker rooms since school started back up.

Also, a block of ~30 minutes once a week for either orchestra or band that meets either during your lunch or during your advisory period does not a music program make, regardless of much I like the band teacher, who is great. That’s basically less than a club level of participation in music of any kind and was solely dependent on the child deciding to take up an instrument or continue one they already play, it’s not a universal across the board program for all students.

Maybe other people’s kids have stopped mentioning the fights because it’s so routine? My child finds it pretty disturbing that fights happen daily or more and I hear about it at least 3 times a week. There are also locked bathrooms and regular pleas to parents to tell our kids to stop defacing the bathrooms.

[Anonymous]

I can speak to several of the points here. Hardy does not equal Macarthur. I have limited confidence in the Hardy administration's ability to get on top of existing issues in the school. I have no hesitancy believing that another administration could suitably handle the situation. Thus, the same kids and the same behaviors could produce two completely different environments depending on the ability of the administration to deal with it. I don't presume the same behaviors will continue at Macarthur simply because they're present currently at Hardy, but even if they did, I see no reason to expect the inadequate and lackluster response.

As to PE, the boys often don't change from their school colors while the girls generally do change out of the school attire. The PE teacher permits the boys to perform PE in their school attire but he does not permit the girls to do so. In general, girls are treated differently than boys in PE and there is absolutely, positively no defensible reason for it.

[Anonymous]

To the point above, my daughter says the gym teacher is a misogynist and treats the girls like crap. What is that about?!?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ll be the lone dissenter and say I have no faith in DCPS creating a high school out of nothing and will not be offering my child at Hardy now as a Guinea pig. We have submitted applications far and wide to get our child in a different place.

Also, Hardy sucks this year. The lack of anything other than academic classes and the daily fights among students plus locked bathrooms and locker rooms, we are done if at all possible.

Sure, but why do you think JR will be any better?

PP said nothing about JR. They said they are “submitting applications far and wide,” which makes clear that that they are considering many options. Can we not make this thread about JR?

PP calls themself a “lone dissenter.” What are they dissenting from? Was there a large group of people saying MacArthur would be competitive with Maret? No. The only consensus from which PP could possibly be dissenting is the consensus that MacArthur will be competitive with JR, for some students currently in 7th and 8th grade at Hardy, Deal, and Adams.

Come on. “Lone dissenter” from the large majority of posters saying they aren’t hearing about people leaving the feeder pattern because of/are excited about MacArthur. This poster is planning to leave and is submitting applications.

People have always gone private (and to Walls) from Hardy. Continuing that pattern isn’t “leaving because of MacArthur.”

I am the lone dissenter OP. I always intended to send my children to public school. We’ve been all in since PK4. But our oldest is in the first grade required to go to the new school and given the “experience” at Hardy this year and the idea of a not at all developed new high school that we’d be committing to with no actual knowledge, we are done. I can’t squander the opportunity to get my child somewhere else and I hope it works for next year. I’ve got 3 years (7th, 8th, and 9th) to secure an option other than the new high school, so we applied out for 7th for next year. Hope that works. If not, we’ll try again for 8th. Not JR, that’s not even a viable option given no spots at Deal or JR for new OOB students.

FWIW, my child again had no PE today because the locker rooms were locked off limits for whatever reason. That’s absurd. Also, I never said anything about sexual assault. But there are routine fights in the halls and lunch room and they are violent and have involved the AP pulling students apart. Not to even mention the unavailable restrooms. We also won’t talk about the lack of any non-academic classes resulting in extremely long academic blocks every day with no art, music, etc. This is not what we were expecting based off the previous few years of our friends and neighbors having children attend Hardy.

Why do they need the lockers to do PE? There’s lots of exercise stuff you can do without needing to change.

Yeah, this is weird. My kids don't change for PE at their middle school.

No idea. Mine doesn’t change either but has had no PE due to locked locker rooms since school started back up.

Also, a block of ~30 minutes once a week for either orchestra or band that meets either during your lunch or during your advisory period does not a music program make, regardless of much I like the band teacher, who is great. That’s basically less than a club level of participation in music of any kind and was solely dependent on the child deciding to take up an instrument or continue one they already play, it’s not a universal across the board program for all students.

Maybe other people’s kids have stopped mentioning the fights because it’s so routine? My child finds it pretty disturbing that fights happen daily or more and I hear about it at least 3 times a week. There are also locked bathrooms and regular pleas to parents to tell our kids to stop defacing the bathrooms.

There's no actual band or orchestra class? What? Why not? I visited an MCPS MS and heard the advanced orchestra - they sounded amazing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can speak to several of the points here. Hardy does not equal Macarthur. I have limited confidence in the Hardy administration's ability to get on top of existing issues in the school. I have no hesitancy believing that another administration could suitably handle the situation. Thus, the same kids and the same behaviors could produce two completely different environments depending on the ability of the administration to deal with it. I don't presume the same behaviors will continue at Macarthur simply because they're present currently at Hardy, but even if they did, I see no reason to expect the inadequate and lackluster response.

As to PE, the boys often don't change from their school colors while the girls generally do change out of the school attire. The PE teacher permits the boys to perform PE in their school attire but he does not permit the girls to do so. In general, girls are treated differently than boys in PE and there is absolutely, positively no defensible reason for it.

Um sorry. This doesn't answer the question about lack of music and art, and it also inspires zero confidence in DCPS overall.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ll be the lone dissenter and say I have no faith in DCPS creating a high school out of nothing and will not be offering my child at Hardy now as a Guinea pig. We have submitted applications far and wide to get our child in a different place.

Also, Hardy sucks this year. The lack of anything other than academic classes and the daily fights among students plus locked bathrooms and locker rooms, we are done if at all possible.

Sure, but why do you think JR will be any better?

PP said nothing about JR. They said they are “submitting applications far and wide,” which makes clear that that they are considering many options. Can we not make this thread about JR?

PP calls themself a “lone dissenter.” What are they dissenting from? Was there a large group of people saying MacArthur would be competitive with Maret? No. The only consensus from which PP could possibly be dissenting is the consensus that MacArthur will be competitive with JR, for some students currently in 7th and 8th grade at Hardy, Deal, and Adams.

Come on. “Lone dissenter” from the large majority of posters saying they aren’t hearing about people leaving the feeder pattern because of/are excited about MacArthur. This poster is planning to leave and is submitting applications.

People have always gone private (and to Walls) from Hardy. Continuing that pattern isn’t “leaving because of MacArthur.”

I am the lone dissenter OP. I always intended to send my children to public school. We’ve been all in since PK4. But our oldest is in the first grade required to go to the new school and given the “experience” at Hardy this year and the idea of a not at all developed new high school that we’d be committing to with no actual knowledge, we are done. I can’t squander the opportunity to get my child somewhere else and I hope it works for next year. I’ve got 3 years (7th, 8th, and 9th) to secure an option other than the new high school, so we applied out for 7th for next year. Hope that works. If not, we’ll try again for 8th. Not JR, that’s not even a viable option given no spots at Deal or JR for new OOB students.

FWIW, my child again had no PE today because the locker rooms were locked off limits for whatever reason. That’s absurd. Also, I never said anything about sexual assault. But there are routine fights in the halls and lunch room and they are violent and have involved the AP pulling students apart. Not to even mention the unavailable restrooms. We also won’t talk about the lack of any non-academic classes resulting in extremely long academic blocks every day with no art, music, etc. This is not what we were expecting based off the previous few years of our friends and neighbors having children attend Hardy.

Why do they need the lockers to do PE? There’s lots of exercise stuff you can do without needing to change.

Yeah, this is weird. My kids don't change for PE at their middle school.

No idea. Mine doesn’t change either but has had no PE due to locked locker rooms since school started back up.

Also, a block of ~30 minutes once a week for either orchestra or band that meets either during your lunch or during your advisory period does not a music program make, regardless of much I like the band teacher, who is great. That’s basically less than a club level of participation in music of any kind and was solely dependent on the child deciding to take up an instrument or continue one they already play, it’s not a universal across the board program for all students.

Maybe other people’s kids have stopped mentioning the fights because it’s so routine? My child finds it pretty disturbing that fights happen daily or more and I hear about it at least 3 times a week. There are also locked bathrooms and regular pleas to parents to tell our kids to stop defacing the bathrooms.

There's no actual band or orchestra class? What? Why not? I visited an MCPS MS and heard the advanced orchestra - they sounded amazing.

No. They meet either as beginners, intermediate, or advanced depending on how long the child has played an instrument and it is one day a week either during the advisory or lunch period. Those are 30 minute blocks. I played in orchestra starting in elementary school, and by middle school it was a regular daily class. Once a week would amount to nothing by the time the kids arrive and get their instruments ready to play. The band teacher is really awesome, I wish my child could be in a normal length class with him daily to improve instrument skills further. We pay for private lessons too, but can only swing the cost/time once a week.

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Anonymous wrote:I’ll be the lone dissenter and say I have no faith in DCPS creating a high school out of nothing and will not be offering my child at Hardy now as a Guinea pig. We have submitted applications far and wide to get our child in a different place.

Also, Hardy sucks this year. The lack of anything other than academic classes and the daily fights among students plus locked bathrooms and locker rooms, we are done if at all possible.

Sure, but why do you think JR will be any better?

PP said nothing about JR. They said they are “submitting applications far and wide,” which makes clear that that they are considering many options. Can we not make this thread about JR?

PP calls themself a “lone dissenter.” What are they dissenting from? Was there a large group of people saying MacArthur would be competitive with Maret? No. The only consensus from which PP could possibly be dissenting is the consensus that MacArthur will be competitive with JR, for some students currently in 7th and 8th grade at Hardy, Deal, and Adams.

Come on. “Lone dissenter” from the large majority of posters saying they aren’t hearing about people leaving the feeder pattern because of/are excited about MacArthur. This poster is planning to leave and is submitting applications.

People have always gone private (and to Walls) from Hardy. Continuing that pattern isn’t “leaving because of MacArthur.”

I am the lone dissenter OP. I always intended to send my children to public school. We’ve been all in since PK4. But our oldest is in the first grade required to go to the new school and given the “experience” at Hardy this year and the idea of a not at all developed new high school that we’d be committing to with no actual knowledge, we are done. I can’t squander the opportunity to get my child somewhere else and I hope it works for next year. I’ve got 3 years (7th, 8th, and 9th) to secure an option other than the new high school, so we applied out for 7th for next year. Hope that works. If not, we’ll try again for 8th. Not JR, that’s not even a viable option given no spots at Deal or JR for new OOB students.

FWIW, my child again had no PE today because the locker rooms were locked off limits for whatever reason. That’s absurd. Also, I never said anything about sexual assault. But there are routine fights in the halls and lunch room and they are violent and have involved the AP pulling students apart. Not to even mention the unavailable restrooms. We also won’t talk about the lack of any non-academic classes resulting in extremely long academic blocks every day with no art, music, etc. This is not what we were expecting based off the previous few years of our friends and neighbors having children attend Hardy.

Why do they need the lockers to do PE? There’s lots of exercise stuff you can do without needing to change.

Yeah, this is weird. My kids don't change for PE at their middle school.

No idea. Mine doesn’t change either but has had no PE due to locked locker rooms since school started back up.

Also, a block of ~30 minutes once a week for either orchestra or band that meets either during your lunch or during your advisory period does not a music program make, regardless of much I like the band teacher, who is great. That’s basically less than a club level of participation in music of any kind and was solely dependent on the child deciding to take up an instrument or continue one they already play, it’s not a universal across the board program for all students.

Maybe other people’s kids have stopped mentioning the fights because it’s so routine? My child finds it pretty disturbing that fights happen daily or more and I hear about it at least 3 times a week. There are also locked bathrooms and regular pleas to parents to tell our kids to stop defacing the bathrooms.

There's no actual band or orchestra class? What? Why not? I visited an MCPS MS and heard the advanced orchestra - they sounded amazing.

No. They meet either as beginners, intermediate, or advanced depending on how long the child has played an instrument and it is one day a week either during the advisory or lunch period. Those are 30 minute blocks. I played in orchestra starting in elementary school, and by middle school it was a regular daily class. Once a week would amount to nothing by the time the kids arrive and get their instruments ready to play. The band teacher is really awesome, I wish my child could be in a normal length class with him daily to improve instrument skills further. We pay for private lessons too, but can only swing the cost/time once a week.

This is really sad. Is it just Hardy or all MS?

[Anonymous]

Hardy has a good music program until this year. Pre-Covid, a jazz orchestra and some other combo would play at the open houses, abd they were excellent.

But Hardy used to have more OOB. It still has OOB, but they all come from the feeder schools. Maybe this is why DCPS decided to screw over the school budget-wise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hardy has a good music program until this year. Pre-Covid, a jazz orchestra and some other combo would play at the open houses, abd they were excellent.

But Hardy used to have more OOB. It still has OOB, but they all come from the feeder schools. Maybe this is why DCPS decided to screw over the school budget-wise.

* had, not has