Hardy

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes exactly 9:58 public schools are required to track all data related to violent incidents, fighting and disciplinary action at school. You won't necessarily have access to that information at a private school. Then when you add things like bullying, cyber-bullying, drug and alcohol use to the mix, I really don't believe there is any way to keep a child sheltered from it, especially in middle and high school.

It's fine to want your kids to be kids, but to think that you aren't going to have to deal with any of these kinds of unsafe behaviors in private school is naive.

My son got a hell of a shiner his first year at private school as a freshman. The headmaster called me to tell me that it looked worse than it was. The bully was not expelled that year, but did not return the next year. We stuck with the school and are happy that we did because it was a good fit.

Agreed. I know I posted earlier but I'll say it again: my dd did just fine at Hardy but was later sexually assaulted at a private school by a kid from a well-to-do family. I think she was safer at Hardy. Because girls of that age really have more to fear from people they know and identify with (especially the manipulaters and users) than some kids from a completely different background who swear on the bus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes exactly 9:58 public schools are required to track all data related to violent incidents, fighting and disciplinary action at school. You won't necessarily have access to that information at a private school. Then when you add things like bullying, cyber-bullying, drug and alcohol use to the mix, I really don't believe there is any way to keep a child sheltered from it, especially in middle and high school.

It's fine to want your kids to be kids, but to think that you aren't going to have to deal with any of these kinds of unsafe behaviors in private school is naive.

My son got a hell of a shiner his first year at private school as a freshman. The headmaster called me to tell me that it looked worse than it was. The bully was not expelled that year, but did not return the next year. We stuck with the school and are happy that we did because it was a good fit.

Agreed. I know I posted earlier but I'll say it again: my dd did just fine at Hardy but was later sexually assaulted at a private school by a kid from a well-to-do family. I think she was safer at Hardy. Because girls of that age really have more to fear from people they know and identify with (especially the manipulaters and users) than some kids from a completely different background who swear on the bus.

This is such a great point. The "rowdy" kids that you see on the bus/metro/standing around on corners are likely all talk and will most likely pick on each other. I have a 4 yo and I am less worried about the kid who is going to call her a "motherfucker" (that I can teach her how to handle) than the one who is going to invite her to some party where she will get drug and assaulted or who will spread nasty rumor about her.

Most kids will be mean at some point, it just a question of whether you get the "gossip girl" variety or the yelling obsenities/threatening language variety.

[Anonymous]

As parents we need to broaden our definition of what makes our kids feel safe in school.

It's not just about weapons, fighting and rowdy behavior.

[Anonymous]

Last night Michelle Rhee spoke at a meeting with the Hardy community where she announced that the principal, Patrick Pope, would leave Hardy to start a new arts magnet middle school. The community was outraged. While she denied that Pope was being forced out of the school, there were enough indicators to suggest otherwise. (Such as the fact that PTA and LSRT leaders were clearly upset and quite vocal about it. If Pope were happy about the move, I'm sure he would have been able to assuage their fears.)

I attended the meeting and came away with a strong impression of Michelle Rhee as someone who doesn't know how to manage adequately. She said that she had a high regard for Pope and that's why she wanted him to start a new middle school. She wanted us to believe that she was not replacing him because of complaints from in-boundary families. But her actions suggested otherwise.

For example, she admitted that her deputy lied recently when she said there would be no staff changes at Hardy because she thought it would be better to announce it all at one time at this meeting. Given that Rhee had earlier met privately with Key Elementary parents about Hardy but had canceled a meeting with Hardy parents, it appeared as if she cared more about Key parents than Hardy parents.

A good manager would recognize that her actions have been misinterpreted and would work proactively to address that problem. But she expected the audience to accept that she really really didn't mean it that way and she spent a fair bit of the evening smiling and even laughing which infuriated the audience. A good manager recognizes that treating people this way destroys her credibility.

Rhee could have handled this transition entirely differently. Instead she has thrown a school which was working well into upheaval and she has poisoned the well for the new principal. And now she will go to the national audience and talk about how she really really cares about students when the reality is that she is a bad manager and a poor leader.

[Anonymous]

Rhee has basically dismantled Hardy. She successfully removed the principal under the guise of sending him off to start a new arts middle school, which will never happen because there is no money. All of the Hardy teachers will leave, which they indicated they will do if Pope leaves. The OOB process will be a lottery, not application. Goodbye arts program. Now Hardy will be an empty "neighborhood" school.

[Anonymous]

Rhee seems to have broken something that didn't need to fixed.

[Anonymous]

Wow. And where's this new arts magnet middle school going to be? How large? Is it supposed to be up and running next fall? What happens to the existing arts program? Will the music classes just not be available at Hardy any more? If they aren't, will they be available at "Pope's new arts magnet"? And what will fill that hole in the curriculum? Foreign language? Science? What?

[Anonymous]

Now Hardy will be an empty "neighborhood" school.

Well, maybe like Eaton, which is smack in the middle of Cleveland Park. It's not empty, but on the other hand, it's not packed to the rafters with in-boundary students (like a Janney is.)


I have no pony in this race, we are in the Deal zone, but I just wanted to say that I now officially detest Rhee.

[Anonymous]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/05/AR2009120501580.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Rhee seems to have broken something that didn't need to fixed.

yes!

[Anonymous]

why doesn't Rhee go focus on some failing schools?
sigh
Maybe Eliot hine could use a music program...
Is she readying Hardy for the Mayor's kids in a year and a half?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:why doesn't Rhee go focus on some failing schools?
sigh
Maybe Eliot hine could use a music program...
Is she readying Hardy for the Mayor's kids in a year and a half?

They're inbounds for Deal.

[Anonymous]

To play devil's advocate---and I'm a Rhee agnostic---but why don't in-boundary parents have a right to demand a school they want to send their kids to and and a principal that they feel comfortable working with? How many of the outraged Hardy parents actually live in-boundary for Hardy?

[Anonymous]

17:10 I appreciate the sentiment but that's simplifying matters given the context. I doubt Rhee polled the entire in-boundary community. And even if she did, how could these prospective families make a truly informed decision about Hardy without knowing lots and lots about it? I do not think we would have this heightened interest in Hardy if Pope hadn't renovated the school. It's gorgeous, and suddenly very attractive to in-boundary families. And given that the school is predominantly African-American, Rhee's insensitivity to the racial component is striking. My heart breaks for Pope. This is no way to reward someone for a job well done.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:why doesn't Rhee go focus on some failing schools?
sigh
Maybe Eliot hine could use a music program...
Is she readying Hardy for the Mayor's kids in a year and a half?

They're inbounds for Deal.

they are inbounds for west education campus too, but that's not where they enrolled....