Call to discuss the state of Hardy 05/15/23

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Frustration about Johnson’s dismissal, and previous encounters with the group of parents, has compelled teachers to jump ship, the teacher told the Informer. As recently as last week, a well-regarded teacher left Hardy, which the teacher said has further weakened the sense of community at the school.

“It’s a sustained attack on teachers,” the Hardy instructor said. “Parents have collaborated with the community to get positions [cut out]. I’ve seen it about four or five times. Some teachers are scared or angry. It’s not all parents. It’s a group of extremely powerful parents who are bullies.”

https://www.washingtoninformer.com/leadership-shakeup-at-hardy-ms-raises-questions-about-race-privilege/

When will the parents believe us?

lol looks like the drunk teacher posting here landed an interview with The Informer.

Where was The Informer when the principal of JOW was getting unfairly railroaded? Couldn’t make spurious claims of racism, so not a peep.

Immediately resorting to name calling is a common trait of bullies

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Frustration about Johnson’s dismissal, and previous encounters with the group of parents, has compelled teachers to jump ship, the teacher told the Informer. As recently as last week, a well-regarded teacher left Hardy, which the teacher said has further weakened the sense of community at the school.

“It’s a sustained attack on teachers,” the Hardy instructor said. “Parents have collaborated with the community to get positions [cut out]. I’ve seen it about four or five times. Some teachers are scared or angry. It’s not all parents. It’s a group of extremely powerful parents who are bullies.”

https://www.washingtoninformer.com/leadership-shakeup-at-hardy-ms-raises-questions-about-race-privilege/

When will the parents believe us?

lol looks like the drunk teacher posting here landed an interview with The Informer.

Where was The Informer when the principal of JOW was getting unfairly railroaded? Couldn’t make spurious claims of racism, so not a peep.

Also love how they characterize the almost 500 petition signers as a “small group of parents.” And of course using “they live in Georgetown” as an insult. Yes, they live in the school zone …

Also the whole part about how it’s unfair because DCPS ignores W7 parent complaints about violence makes no sense. So the answer to that is W2 parents must tolerate violence? Hardy has to stay violent to show the yt parents that they have too much privilege? (Nevermind the 60% kids of color?)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Frustration about Johnson’s dismissal, and previous encounters with the group of parents, has compelled teachers to jump ship, the teacher told the Informer. As recently as last week, a well-regarded teacher left Hardy, which the teacher said has further weakened the sense of community at the school.

“It’s a sustained attack on teachers,” the Hardy instructor said. “Parents have collaborated with the community to get positions [cut out]. I’ve seen it about four or five times. Some teachers are scared or angry. It’s not all parents. It’s a group of extremely powerful parents who are bullies.”

https://www.washingtoninformer.com/leadership-shakeup-at-hardy-ms-raises-questions-about-race-privilege/

When will the parents believe us?

lol looks like the drunk teacher posting here landed an interview with The Informer.

Where was The Informer when the principal of JOW was getting unfairly railroaded? Couldn’t make spurious claims of racism, so not a peep.

Also love how they characterize the almost 500 petition signers as a “small group of parents.” And of course using “they live in Georgetown” as an insult. Yes, they live in the school zone …

Also the whole part about how it’s unfair because DCPS ignores W7 parent complaints about violence makes no sense. So the answer to that is W2 parents must tolerate violence? Hardy has to stay violent to show the yt parents that they have too much privilege? (Nevermind the 60% kids of color?)

It's great how defensive you get. First, they referred to a small contingent of parents actions in the past.

Then, the teacher made objective demograpic statements about the group leading the charge. I imagine it was in reference to the fact that the complainants were primarily IB vs. OOB, but you sure went right to the worst.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Frustration about Johnson’s dismissal, and previous encounters with the group of parents, has compelled teachers to jump ship, the teacher told the Informer. As recently as last week, a well-regarded teacher left Hardy, which the teacher said has further weakened the sense of community at the school.

“It’s a sustained attack on teachers,” the Hardy instructor said. “Parents have collaborated with the community to get positions [cut out]. I’ve seen it about four or five times. Some teachers are scared or angry. It’s not all parents. It’s a group of extremely powerful parents who are bullies.”

https://www.washingtoninformer.com/leadership-shakeup-at-hardy-ms-raises-questions-about-race-privilege/

When will the parents believe us?

lol looks like the drunk teacher posting here landed an interview with The Informer.

Where was The Informer when the principal of JOW was getting unfairly railroaded? Couldn’t make spurious claims of racism, so not a peep.

Also love how they characterize the almost 500 petition signers as a “small group of parents.” And of course using “they live in Georgetown” as an insult. Yes, they live in the school zone …

Also the whole part about how it’s unfair because DCPS ignores W7 parent complaints about violence makes no sense. So the answer to that is W2 parents must tolerate violence? Hardy has to stay violent to show the yt parents that they have too much privilege? (Nevermind the 60% kids of color?)

It's great how defensive you get. First, they referred to a small contingent of parents actions in the past.

Then, the teacher made objective demograpic statements about the group leading the charge. I imagine it was in reference to the fact that the complainants were primarily IB vs. OOB, but you sure went right to the worst.

That teacher made all of the same self-serving, hostile and deluded arguments that they did here on DCUM. I don’t love the Informer article for platforming one unhinged teacher spreading rumors and sowing racial animus, but at least it did have additional sources substantiating the concerns.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Frustration about Johnson’s dismissal, and previous encounters with the group of parents, has compelled teachers to jump ship, the teacher told the Informer. As recently as last week, a well-regarded teacher left Hardy, which the teacher said has further weakened the sense of community at the school.

“It’s a sustained attack on teachers,” the Hardy instructor said. “Parents have collaborated with the community to get positions [cut out]. I’ve seen it about four or five times. Some teachers are scared or angry. It’s not all parents. It’s a group of extremely powerful parents who are bullies.”

https://www.washingtoninformer.com/leadership-shakeup-at-hardy-ms-raises-questions-about-race-privilege/

When will the parents believe us?

The article is pretty lame (eg, "one of *several* parents who signed the letter." Since when is several = hundreds?) And I'm still unclear how patents having serious concerns about the principal is an "attack on teachers."

But let's look at one quote:
"The letter also raised concerns about...other incidents that hadn’t been reported to parents or DCPS central office, even with the involvement of D.C. police and medical emergency personnel."

Do you, PP, expect parents to just sit back passively when serious safety incidents are covered up? You think we'll ignore student safety for fear that teachers will leave? What about the teachers that leave *because of* security lapses?

You continued campaign to put teacher commitment and student safety at odds is not persuasive. If the school can't manage to provide a safe environment, it's doomed. Perhaps it's doomed, too, if teachers (bizarrely) refuse to work in a safe environment. But the former is a certainty, the latter is a maybe.

[Anonymous]

The article is all over the place. There are some interesting quotes, though:

"The administrator, who spoke highly about Johnson, expressed doubt that DCPS leadership would’ve moved quickly against Johnson had he been overseeing a public school located east of the Anacostia River. They questioned whether DCPS’ central office could have provided more support for the first-year principal who had been thrown into a majority-white space."

He - and Hardy particularly - no doubt could have been better supported. The budget cuts this year were very unfortunate. But unless the administrator can cite another case of a similar uproar among an EOTR school community that didn't merit action by DCPS, her/his baseless speculation shouldn't merit publication.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Frustration about Johnson’s dismissal, and previous encounters with the group of parents, has compelled teachers to jump ship, the teacher told the Informer. As recently as last week, a well-regarded teacher left Hardy, which the teacher said has further weakened the sense of community at the school.

“It’s a sustained attack on teachers,” the Hardy instructor said. “Parents have collaborated with the community to get positions [cut out]. I’ve seen it about four or five times. Some teachers are scared or angry. It’s not all parents. It’s a group of extremely powerful parents who are bullies.”

https://www.washingtoninformer.com/leadership-shakeup-at-hardy-ms-raises-questions-about-race-privilege/

When will the parents believe us?

At least 10 teachers had "jumped ship" this year BEFORE the action was taken to remove Johnson. When he left there were at least 10 teacher vacancies, as I understand it. Seems more plausible to me that the decision to leave was more likely linked to the chaotic, inadequate leadership that they had to work under than its removal. In fact, timing would not allow that teachers' decisions to leave Hardy to be linked to Johnson's removal. As I'm sure you know, some of your colleagues are leaving for MacArthur. I realize that trying to claim that those vacancies were IN RESPONSE to Johnson's removal is convenient for your narrative.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wake up call to all of you Hardy parents.

You will be satisfied with absolutely no one who walks in Hardy's doors for the next three years.

Pin this comment. Patrick Pope was one of THE BEST principals DCPS has ever had and you all ran him out.

Attention seeking adults. Kids with no boundaries or consequences.

Nothing will work for any of you whiners.

No single person can fix the issues at Hardy and keep all the Karens and Kens happy.

Shoot. You found us out. We were all so mad at Pope that we decided to make new babies so we could reconvene this year and continue our complaining.

Attention-seeking and blessed with remarkable fertility, we decided to get working on a new crop of baby Hawks. Anyone who dares be principal of Hardy in 2036 better watch out.

Hands down, the best thing I've read on DCUM this year.

[Anonymous]

DCPS needs MacArthur HS to succeed. Since Hardy is the only feeder school, there is no way Central was going to continue to allow Hardy to derail.

[Anonymous]

Pope was in fact run out of Hardy by parents and Michelle Rhee. Long story but I was at the very crazy meeting at Hardy when Rhee announced that Pope lwas eaving to oversee the creation of a new DCPS middle school for the performing arts but everyone knew that was bs, and of course there is still no such middle school. It seemd that Pope ran Hardy outside of the typical DCPS parameters (it was really the wild west when it came to running schools in those days). He had an application (for a neighborhood school), intensive music instruction, single sex lunch periods, the uniforms, all kinds of policies that he felt were right for the school. Rhee didn't like that he just did what he wanted and had for years and years. It was mostly out of boundary kids in those days and the neighborhood people said they felt unwelcomed by Pope and wanted "their school back". I heard all of these comments and details with my own ears. Rhee seemed to agree with the neighborhood families and the shit really hit the fan when she tried to control him.
I had a rising 6th grader at the time (she is now a 23 years old). I chose not to send her to Hardy because it was all way too chaotic. Anyway, there was so much chaos, animosity, mis-information, name calling, etc. all very much orchestrated by Michelle Rhee who was in conversation with the neighborhood families-she met with them in their homes-she reported that at the meeting, she was proud of meeting people in small groups in their houses but of course, out of boundary families were not invited to those intimate meetings. It was a mess and the negativity seems to have lingered over al these years. So yes, lots of history that should have nothing to do with today, but this dark cloud just will not blow over.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pope was in fact run out of Hardy by parents and Michelle Rhee. Long story but I was at the very crazy meeting at Hardy when Rhee announced that Pope lwas eaving to oversee the creation of a new DCPS middle school for the performing arts but everyone knew that was bs, and of course there is still no such middle school. It seemd that Pope ran Hardy outside of the typical DCPS parameters (it was really the wild west when it came to running schools in those days). He had an application (for a neighborhood school), intensive music instruction, single sex lunch periods, the uniforms, all kinds of policies that he felt were right for the school. Rhee didn't like that he just did what he wanted and had for years and years. It was mostly out of boundary kids in those days and the neighborhood people said they felt unwelcomed by Pope and wanted "their school back". I heard all of these comments and details with my own ears. Rhee seemed to agree with the neighborhood families and the shit really hit the fan when she tried to control him.
I had a rising 6th grader at the time (she is now a 23 years old). I chose not to send her to Hardy because it was all way too chaotic. Anyway, there was so much chaos, animosity, mis-information, name calling, etc. all very much orchestrated by Michelle Rhee who was in conversation with the neighborhood families-she met with them in their homes-she reported that at the meeting, she was proud of meeting people in small groups in their houses but of course, out of boundary families were not invited to those intimate meetings. It was a mess and the negativity seems to have lingered over al these years. So yes, lots of history that should have nothing to do with today, but this dark cloud just will not blow over.

I think the dark cloud is only still hanging over a tiny group.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pope was in fact run out of Hardy by parents and Michelle Rhee. Long story but I was at the very crazy meeting at Hardy when Rhee announced that Pope lwas eaving to oversee the creation of a new DCPS middle school for the performing arts but everyone knew that was bs, and of course there is still no such middle school. It seemd that Pope ran Hardy outside of the typical DCPS parameters (it was really the wild west when it came to running schools in those days). He had an application (for a neighborhood school), intensive music instruction, single sex lunch periods, the uniforms, all kinds of policies that he felt were right for the school. Rhee didn't like that he just did what he wanted and had for years and years. It was mostly out of boundary kids in those days and the neighborhood people said they felt unwelcomed by Pope and wanted "their school back". I heard all of these comments and details with my own ears. Rhee seemed to agree with the neighborhood families and the shit really hit the fan when she tried to control him.
I had a rising 6th grader at the time (she is now a 23 years old). I chose not to send her to Hardy because it was all way too chaotic. Anyway, there was so much chaos, animosity, mis-information, name calling, etc. all very much orchestrated by Michelle Rhee who was in conversation with the neighborhood families-she met with them in their homes-she reported that at the meeting, she was proud of meeting people in small groups in their houses but of course, out of boundary families were not invited to those intimate meetings. It was a mess and the negativity seems to have lingered over al these years. So yes, lots of history that should have nothing to do with today, but this dark cloud just will not blow over.

I think the dark cloud is only still hanging over a tiny group.

Yeah. And it’s weird to try to make it something sinister that Rhee expected the principal of the IB middle school to actually keep the doors open for the IB residents? An application MS is a good idea though.

[Anonymous]

I clearly remember having a kid in 4th grade at the time Pope left, at a feeder elementary. At the time many IB families sent kids to Deal or Latin, but both had just become too crowded to have enough seats for that (and it was Latin’s first year of closing out many lottery applicants). Families needed a regular IB middle school, not an application only school for the arts. There was literally no regular public middle school path for IB families. Many that year sent kids to the newly opened Basis instead for 5th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I clearly remember having a kid in 4th grade at the time Pope left, at a feeder elementary. At the time many IB families sent kids to Deal or Latin, but both had just become too crowded to have enough seats for that (and it was Latin’s first year of closing out many lottery applicants). Families needed a regular IB middle school, not an application only school for the arts. There was literally no regular public middle school path for IB families. Many that year sent kids to the newly opened Basis instead for 5th.

The application thing is just so wild to me. So it was your IB school but you had to fill out an application that Pope approved or denied? Did you have a right to any open-entry MS?

I’m sympathetic to Pope because he created what I think DCPS needs more of, but it’s obviously untenable to just hijack the IB MS to do it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DCPS needs MacArthur HS to succeed. Since Hardy is the only feeder school, there is no way Central was going to continue to allow Hardy to derail.

This is the answer, right here.