Hardy

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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?

why don't competent administrators have a right to keep on functioning in a post to which they were appointed, and in which they have excelled ?
Does Rhee have private meetings with the parents at Truesdell or Ballou? Where arguably the parents are even more unhappy with their assigned schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

To be fair, the facility itself may be gorgeous, but that was done by DCPS not by Pope.

[Anonymous]

Absolutely Rhee should be meeting with Truesdell and Ballou parents. How's this for an analysis:

The key component to turning around an under-performing school are is an involved and demanding group of parents. What if Rhee is betting that involved and demanding parents east of the park have either (a) been opting for private or (b) sending their kids OOB west of park (e.g., to places like Hardy). By focusing on getting as many in-boundary west of park parents to enroll in DCPS, Rhee is limiting options for east of park parents---who will either have to move to suburbs, go private, or (Rhee hopes) focus their energies on turning around their own in-boundary schools. Of course, the fourth option is that east of park parents continue to opt for charter schools, which is what has been happening with increasing frequency (at least in our east of park neighborhood).


I also think that Rhee's strategy of trying to get as many higher income parents back in DCPS is a bid to shore up support for her union-busting policies, as the wealthier parents---most of whom probably have terminable-at-will employment in their own jobs---are going to have less sympathy for protecting sacred cows like teacher tenure.

just a thought.

[Anonymous]

It would be more proactive for Rhee to focus on these failing schools from the get-go, so that parents who are districted for the failing schools won't feel the need to apply out of bounds, and drive miles across the city to assure an adequate education for their child. While Rhee buffs up Hardy to make it prettier and more appealing, there are high schools in NE and SE with virtually non-existent AP programs....
This argument is disingenuous and disheartening

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It would be more proactive for Rhee to focus on these failing schools from the get-go, so that parents who are districted for the failing schools won't feel the need to apply out of bounds, and drive miles across the city to assure an adequate education for their child. While Rhee buffs up Hardy to make it prettier and more appealing, there are high schools in NE and SE with virtually non-existent AP programs....
This argument is disingenuous and disheartening

It would be more proactive, but it wouldn't create any leverage. If it's just about convincing or even incenting people to want to go to a neighborhood school, they may always find it a 2nd or 3rd best choice. If they have fewer options (because the OOB process is closed to them) then more of them will HAVE to enroll in neighborhood schools - even if they don't like the option. Rhee & Fenty are just trying to create a captive enough audience that they'll be invested enough in the schools to force change. It's the same reason they're trying to kill charter schools: they don't want competition and they think you're too stupid to leave the city for the suburbs.

[Anonymous]

20:26 To be fair, Pope deserves some credit for his efforts on the renovation, which involved running the school offsite in a not great location (we visited) and dealing with delays.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:20:26 To be fair, Pope deserves some credit for his efforts on the renovation, which involved running the school offsite in a not great location (we visited) and dealing with delays.

Don't misunderstand me. I don't think it was an easy job running off-site and I commend the organizational effort it took to hold the community together for the benefit of the students. My point is merely that the physical, architectural appeals of the new facility is attributable to tax-payer spending being funneled through DCPS.

[Anonymous]

Former Hardy parent here again -- One major concern is that Pope leaving the school will leave Hardy in a worse position. Sarah Bax who is an award-winning algebra teacher said in the Post today that the staff will leave and follow Pope. Of course people say that in the heat of the moment and then may change their mind but it doesn't bode well. If I were an incoming family, I would be concerned that the good teachers who are loyal to Pope might not stick around.

BTW, I've said it before on DCUM and I'll say it again. Bax's algebra course was *hard*. When my daughter took Algebra II later in private school, she found that she had already covered some of the material in Bax's course in 8th grade.

[Anonymous]

7:51 Yes I should have written Pope initiated and oversaw the renovation which I believe took five years.

I posted this in a separate thread but wanted to put it here, too. It's a link to a recording of the meeting with Rhee that was made by a reporter from Georgetown Metropolitan. It ends at 60 minutes. If more of these get circulated, it would be great because it really shows another side of Rhee. She is not a great communicator and I have to question her intellectual honesty when she keeps answering the question about where Pope was given a choice to stay on as principal of Hardy with the line, "I made Mr. Pope an offer and he accepted the job." It's a yes-no question, Chancellor Rhee!

http://georgetownmetropolitan.com/2009/12/04/break...hyde-principal-to-replace-him/

[Anonymous]

Teachers at Hardy will not leave and follow Pope because Pope will not have another school to run. There will be no new arts middle school. It was a smokescreen to get Pope to step aside. There is NO WAY an elementary school principal with 4 years experience will be able to run both programs, let alone build another middle school from scratch. Hardy's academic and arts program took years to build and now it's gone.

[Anonymous]

this is a ridiculous move by rhee...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Former Hardy parent here again -- One major concern is that Pope leaving the school will leave Hardy in a worse position. Sarah Bax who is an award-winning algebra teacher said in the Post today that the staff will leave and follow Pope. Of course people say that in the heat of the moment and then may change their mind but it doesn't bode well. If I were an incoming family, I would be concerned that the good teachers who are loyal to Pope might not stick around.

BTW, I've said it before on DCUM and I'll say it again. Bax's algebra course was *hard*. When my daughter took Algebra II later in private school, she found that she had already covered some of the material in Bax's course in 8th grade.

Okay, this is probably a stupid question, but do their contracts allow them to just leave one school and move right on in to another? Regardless of who is already there?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Former Hardy parent here again -- One major concern is that Pope leaving the school will leave Hardy in a worse position. Sarah Bax who is an award-winning algebra teacher said in the Post today that the staff will leave and follow Pope. Of course people say that in the heat of the moment and then may change their mind but it doesn't bode well. If I were an incoming family, I would be concerned that the good teachers who are loyal to Pope might not stick around.

BTW, I've said it before on DCUM and I'll say it again. Bax's algebra course was *hard*. When my daughter took Algebra II later in private school, she found that she had already covered some of the material in Bax's course in 8th grade.

Okay, this is probably a stupid question, but do their contracts allow them to just leave one school and move right on in to another? Regardless of who is already there?

There's a transfer policy. Teachers are entitled to one voluntary transfer per three-year-period. That means we can look for openings at other schools. If the principal want us, we get to transfer. Presumably, a principal would not hire staff if there wasn't an opening. However, under Michelle Rhee, anything seems possible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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?

A "planning year" in DCPS means a school year. At earliest new school would be 2011-12.

[Anonymous]

More on the conflict over removing Principal Pope from Hardy. The kids themselves wrote Fenty saying they wanted Pope to stay but never heard back. So they went down to the John Wilson building and demanded to see him. Wow! Read about it here:

http://www.washingtoninformer.com/wi-web/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3116:hardy-students-demand-principals-return-&catid=70:education&Itemid=158