WTF is happening at HARDY??????????

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not a Hardy parent here, but a long time DCPS parent. You Hardy/Georgetown boundary people who deny your role in trying to white-wash this school are just full of it. I read through this entire thread, and the "in-boundary" folk refer to some mysterious reasons why Pope was removed, the people who actually sent children to Hardy refer to why he was effective, and they are able to list the reasons. So what's the big conspiracy/mystery between the "NEIGHBORHOOD" families and the secret handshake with Rhee/Henderson about Pope??? And why the F isn't V. Gray hands ON now that he's got the Pow-A.

My guess would be that, because he's a technocrat in the Williams mold, and interested in doing what's best for DCPS and the city in general, his policies are effectively the exact same as Fenty's. Of course, he needed to capture the votes of the chronically peeved in order to win the mayor's office, but that's politics, right?

Anyway, meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not a Hardy parent here, but a long time DCPS parent. You Hardy/Georgetown boundary people who deny your role in trying to white-wash this school are just full of it. I read through this entire thread, and the "in-boundary" folk refer to some mysterious reasons why Pope was removed, the people who actually sent children to Hardy refer to why he was effective, and they are able to list the reasons. So what's the big conspiracy/mystery between the "NEIGHBORHOOD" families and the secret handshake with Rhee/Henderson about Pope??? And why the F isn't V. Gray hands ON now that he's got the Pow-A.

My guess would be that, because he's a technocrat in the Williams mold, and interested in doing what's best for DCPS and the city in general, his policies are effectively the exact same as Fenty's. Of course, he needed to capture the votes of the chronically peeved in order to win the mayor's office, but that's politics, right?

Anyway, meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

Hey Rhee is gone and that was my main reason for voting for Gray. Jury is still out as to whether his new Chancellor will make the same bone-headed mistakes out of inexperience the way Rhee did -- because we still don't know who the new Chancellor is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are a VERY small handful of Hyde parents who are unhappy - and it seems like, just like those unhappy parents at Hardy, those few parents are yelling their message all over the blogs and message boards. The rest of us know exactly who those few are and when we see them coming on the playground, we go in the opposite direction. Things are the same as last year at Hyde.

It is willful ignorance to suggest that only a few parents at Hardy are unhappy. It is correct to state that only a few parents, if any at all, are happy at Hardy.

Did you go to the PTA meeting last week? Did you know that only 40 families attended, and of that number, 1/3 were there to state that they were happy? 400-something students go to Hardy, so no, I don't think that the majority of parents at Hardy are unhappy. I do think that the unhappy parents are very, very loud.

[Anonymous]

I would send my kids to Hardy if they got in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not a Hardy parent here, but a long time DCPS parent. You Hardy/Georgetown boundary people who deny your role in trying to white-wash this school are just full of it. I read through this entire thread, and the "in-boundary" folk refer to some mysterious reasons why Pope was removed, the people who actually sent children to Hardy refer to why he was effective, and they are able to list the reasons. So what's the big conspiracy/mystery between the "NEIGHBORHOOD" families and the secret handshake with Rhee/Henderson about Pope??? And why the F isn't V. Gray hands ON now that he's got the Pow-A.

My guess would be that, because he's a technocrat in the Williams mold, and interested in doing what's best for DCPS and the city in general, his policies are effectively the exact same as Fenty's. Of course, he needed to capture the votes of the chronically peeved in order to win the mayor's office, but that's politics, right?

Anyway, meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

Hey Rhee is gone and that was my main reason for voting for Gray. Jury is still out as to whether his new Chancellor will make the same bone-headed mistakes out of inexperience the way Rhee did -- because we still don't know who the new Chancellor is.

Exactly. Lot's of folks demonized Rhee; Gray took advantage of their credulousness to win the mayor's office. And now that's he's in, you get Kaya Henderson--who was essentially Rhee's more militant lieutenant.

Oops.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not a Hardy parent here, but a long time DCPS parent. You Hardy/Georgetown boundary people who deny your role in trying to white-wash this school are just full of it. I read through this entire thread, and the "in-boundary" folk refer to some mysterious reasons why Pope was removed, the people who actually sent children to Hardy refer to why he was effective, and they are able to list the reasons. So what's the big conspiracy/mystery between the "NEIGHBORHOOD" families and the secret handshake with Rhee/Henderson about Pope??? And why the F isn't V. Gray hands ON now that he's got the Pow-A.

My guess would be that, because he's a technocrat in the Williams mold, and interested in doing what's best for DCPS and the city in general, his policies are effectively the exact same as Fenty's. Of course, he needed to capture the votes of the chronically peeved in order to win the mayor's office, but that's politics, right?

Anyway, meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

Hey Rhee is gone and that was my main reason for voting for Gray. Jury is still out as to whether his new Chancellor will make the same bone-headed mistakes out of inexperience the way Rhee did -- because we still don't know who the new Chancellor is.

Exactly. Lot's of folks demonized Rhee; Gray took advantage of their credulousness to win the mayor's office. And now that's he's in, you get Kaya Henderson--who was essentially Rhee's more militant lieutenant.

Oops.

Charter parent here. I don't particularly care about Rhee or Henderson, but I didn't like Fenty. And Gray will be much better for all the schools.

[Anonymous]

Hardy remains a top DCPS middle school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Exactly. Lot's of folks demonized Rhee; Gray took advantage of their credulousness to win the mayor's office. And now that's he's in, you get Kaya Henderson--who was essentially Rhee's more militant lieutenant.

Oops.

I didn't necessarily have problems with Rhee's philosophy. I was annoyed that she did stupid things out of inexperience, like removing competent principals from schools that are working or being woefully unprepared for budget hearings because she hired people who told her what she wanted to hear. Are you saying that Henderson is as bad a manager as Rhee and that she also lacks experience running large municipal institutions? Well, then that will be a problem. But I haven't seen enough evidence one way or another to be the judge of that just yet.

But you do seem to be telling me that Gray is some kind of evil manipulator who fooled people into thinking he would do things differently from Fenty. Uh, I don't expect Gray to be perfect or to satisfy me all the time but I do expect he will do things differently from Fenty. Speaking of demonization, some Fenty supporters spent the whole election cycle telling us that Gray was really Barry in disguise and couldn't be more different from Fenty. Now are Fenty supporters telling us he's really just the same as Fenty?

Ha ha, make up your minds, guyz!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hardy remains a top DCPS middle school.

This isn't saying much. The DC school system still ranks near the bottom of school systems across the USA. Way to celebrate the mediocre.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Exactly. Lot's of folks demonized Rhee; Gray took advantage of their credulousness to win the mayor's office. And now that's he's in, you get Kaya Henderson--who was essentially Rhee's more militant lieutenant.

Oops.

I didn't necessarily have problems with Rhee's philosophy. I was annoyed that she did stupid things out of inexperience, like removing competent principals from schools that are working or being woefully unprepared for budget hearings because she hired people who told her what she wanted to hear. Are you saying that Henderson is as bad a manager as Rhee and that she also lacks experience running large municipal institutions? Well, then that will be a problem. But I haven't seen enough evidence one way or another to be the judge of that just yet.

But you do seem to be telling me that Gray is some kind of evil manipulator who fooled people into thinking he would do things differently from Fenty.

You could have shortened this bit by just writing "You seem to be telling me Gray is a politician".

[Anonymous]

The good thing about Gray is that he isn't locked into one system the way Fenty was. He has the luxury of being able to examine what works and what doesn't and direct accordingly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The good thing about Gray is that he isn't locked into one system the way Fenty was. He has the luxury of being able to examine what works and what doesn't and direct accordingly.

Could you elaborate on this? What "system" are you talking about. My guess is that the second Gray (through his deputies) is forced to actually make a decision, the Defenders of the Status Quo that rose up and torpedoed Fenty will turn on Gray too. Which is why Gray makes such a huge show of blue-ribbon commissions, study groups, and other types of formal thumb-twiddling and bureaucratic throat-clearing. The longer he stays his hand, the longer the entrenched interests can convince themselves that he won't rock the boat. Perhaps he'll be able to pass the entire four years without actually doing a single proactive thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The good thing about Gray is that he isn't locked into one system the way Fenty was. He has the luxury of being able to examine what works and what doesn't and direct accordingly.

Could you elaborate on this? What "system" are you talking about. My guess is that the second Gray (through his deputies) is forced to actually make a decision, the Defenders of the Status Quo that rose up and torpedoed Fenty will turn on Gray too. Which is why Gray makes such a huge show of blue-ribbon commissions, study groups, and other types of formal thumb-twiddling and bureaucratic throat-clearing. The longer he stays his hand, the longer the entrenched interests can convince themselves that he won't rock the boat. Perhaps he'll be able to pass the entire four years without actually doing a single proactive thing.

Fenty was only interested in DCPS despite the fact that over 1/3 of the city's public school students are in charters. Gray is interested in educating all of them.

[Anonymous]

More from WaPo School Insider

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dcschools/2011/01/another_take_from_hardy_middle.html

Another take from Hardy Middle School parents
By Bill Turque
Sometimes it's easy to assume that the loudest voices are the most important. For months now, a group of parents at Hardy Middle School, unhappy about then-Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee's reassignment of Principal Patrick Pope, have expressed deep concern about what they describe as deteriorating conditions at the Georgetown school. They say scheduling, discipline and the quality of the school's signature music and art programs have suffered in the transition to new Principal Dana Nerenberg.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The good thing about Gray is that he isn't locked into one system the way Fenty was. He has the luxury of being able to examine what works and what doesn't and direct accordingly.

Could you elaborate on this? What "system" are you talking about. My guess is that the second Gray (through his deputies) is forced to actually make a decision, the Defenders of the Status Quo that rose up and torpedoed Fenty will turn on Gray too. Which is why Gray makes such a huge show of blue-ribbon commissions, study groups, and other types of formal thumb-twiddling and bureaucratic throat-clearing. The longer he stays his hand, the longer the entrenched interests can convince themselves that he won't rock the boat. Perhaps he'll be able to pass the entire four years without actually doing a single proactive thing.

Fenty was only interested in DCPS despite the fact that over 1/3 of the city's public school students are in charters. Gray is interested in educating all of them.

Ah, okay I understand now: you're a disgruntled charter school parent. That makes sense. As I said before, let's see if Gray can satisfy the insatiable maw that is the DC charter community.

Seems unlikely.