Feedback on Hearst for 2nd and K

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, did you end up accepting the spot? We are an OOB family that accepted a spot this year and hope the dynamics at the school are not as bad as they seem based on these posts!

This is OP - we did and we're looking forward to starting. A lot of the negative comments on this thread sounded like the same poster, so I'm hoping it's a small contingent and will be an overall welcoming environment. We called in for the info session last night and really liked the principal. After reading this thread, I was pleasantly surprised that everyone seemed pretty respectful. We plan to make it the best experience we can for our kids and to contribute to a positive school culture. I guess we'll keep our eyes out for rude people to avoid and nice people to gravitate toward. Were you able to make the new family orientation earlier this week?

Unfortunately, we weren't able to make the new family orientation. We did call in for the info session and like you were pleasantly surprised I've heard such great things about the school from families that have attended in the past so I'm just trying to be positive and hope for the best. Good luck in the school year!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, did you end up accepting the spot? We are an OOB family that accepted a spot this year and hope the dynamics at the school are not as bad as they seem based on these posts!

This is OP - we did and we're looking forward to starting. A lot of the negative comments on this thread sounded like the same poster, so I'm hoping it's a small contingent and will be an overall welcoming environment. We called in for the info session last night and really liked the principal. After reading this thread, I was pleasantly surprised that everyone seemed pretty respectful. We plan to make it the best experience we can for our kids and to contribute to a positive school culture. I guess we'll keep our eyes out for rude people to avoid and nice people to gravitate toward. Were you able to make the new family orientation earlier this week?

You sound smart and motivated. The kind of family that will make a positive impact on any school community. Honest question: With the kind of energy and resources you have, why not bring that to bear to improve your neighborhood school? Why squander your resources on an already high performing school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our kids were offered spots for K and 2nd at Hearst. Can current/recent Hearst families please share experiences with the school, teachers, and families/community? What's their approach to instruction? Is the community welcoming to OOB families (15 mins away)? Best part/worst part? Thank you for any feedback you can share!

So a 30 minute r/t car ride 180 days/year is going to add 1 ton of CO2 to the atmosphere. Please consider using public transportation or biking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, did you end up accepting the spot? We are an OOB family that accepted a spot this year and hope the dynamics at the school are not as bad as they seem based on these posts!

This is OP - we did and we're looking forward to starting. A lot of the negative comments on this thread sounded like the same poster, so I'm hoping it's a small contingent and will be an overall welcoming environment. We called in for the info session last night and really liked the principal. After reading this thread, I was pleasantly surprised that everyone seemed pretty respectful. We plan to make it the best experience we can for our kids and to contribute to a positive school culture. I guess we'll keep our eyes out for rude people to avoid and nice people to gravitate toward. Were you able to make the new family orientation earlier this week?

You sound smart and motivated. The kind of family that will make a positive impact on any school community. Honest question: With the kind of energy and resources you have, why not bring that to bear to improve your neighborhood school? Why squander your resources on an already high performing school?

A couple of reasons, although I take issue with your framing that I'm "squandering" my resources. A primary reason is the feeder pattern. Our neighborhood high school has 0% of students meeting or exceeding expectations in math, and 42% did not yet meet expectations (that's not even counting students partially meeting or approached meeting expectations). Only 10% met expectations in ELA. Compare that to Wilson, which has 32% meeting or exceeding and only 10% not meeting expectations in math, and 58% meeting or exceeding expectations in ELA.

Another reason is that Hearst seems more stable and established and has significantly better test scores - 2/3 meeting or exceeding expectations at Hearst vs. 1/3 meeting or exceeding at our prior school. One of my children has difficulty in one subject and really needs high quality instruction to get back on track (especially after more than a year completely at home doing virtual school). My kids' 1-2 best friends have left their current school after every school year for 4 years running and there is so much churn. Going to an elementary school with a solid middle and high school trajectory would give them the chance for more stability in their friendships and peer group for 11 to 13 years. I am burned out of being on the PTA board while working full-time plus overtime at my job, and never having new parents step up to lighten the load. I have been devoting my time, energy and resources year after year after year.

My kids were offered slots fair and square through a random lottery, and we didn't feel like we could turn down what appears to be a clearly better educational path through high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, did you end up accepting the spot? We are an OOB family that accepted a spot this year and hope the dynamics at the school are not as bad as they seem based on these posts!

This is OP - we did and we're looking forward to starting. A lot of the negative comments on this thread sounded like the same poster, so I'm hoping it's a small contingent and will be an overall welcoming environment. We called in for the info session last night and really liked the principal. After reading this thread, I was pleasantly surprised that everyone seemed pretty respectful. We plan to make it the best experience we can for our kids and to contribute to a positive school culture. I guess we'll keep our eyes out for rude people to avoid and nice people to gravitate toward. Were you able to make the new family orientation earlier this week?

You sound smart and motivated. The kind of family that will make a positive impact on any school community. Honest question: With the kind of energy and resources you have, why not bring that to bear to improve your neighborhood school? Why squander your resources on an already high performing school?

A couple of reasons, although I take issue with your framing that I'm "squandering" my resources. A primary reason is the feeder pattern. Our neighborhood high school has 0% of students meeting or exceeding expectations in math, and 42% did not yet meet expectations (that's not even counting students partially meeting or approached meeting expectations). Only 10% met expectations in ELA. Compare that to Wilson, which has 32% meeting or exceeding and only 10% not meeting expectations in math, and 58% meeting or exceeding expectations in ELA.

Another reason is that Hearst seems more stable and established and has significantly better test scores - 2/3 meeting or exceeding expectations at Hearst vs. 1/3 meeting or exceeding at our prior school. One of my children has difficulty in one subject and really needs high quality instruction to get back on track (especially after more than a year completely at home doing virtual school). My kids' 1-2 best friends have left their current school after every school year for 4 years running and there is so much churn. Going to an elementary school with a solid middle and high school trajectory would give them the chance for more stability in their friendships and peer group for 11 to 13 years. I am burned out of being on the PTA board while working full-time plus overtime at my job, and never having new parents step up to lighten the load. I have been devoting my time, energy and resources year after year after year.

My kids were offered slots fair and square through a random lottery, and we didn't feel like we could turn down what appears to be a clearly better educational path through high school.

Hearst was not always this way. Ten year ago the test scores were underwater. Then the IB families who used to flee to private schools began to attend and invest in the school. Now it’s among the best in the city. It’s past time that our neighbors EOTP began to do the same.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, did you end up accepting the spot? We are an OOB family that accepted a spot this year and hope the dynamics at the school are not as bad as they seem based on these posts!

This is OP - we did and we're looking forward to starting. A lot of the negative comments on this thread sounded like the same poster, so I'm hoping it's a small contingent and will be an overall welcoming environment. We called in for the info session last night and really liked the principal. After reading this thread, I was pleasantly surprised that everyone seemed pretty respectful. We plan to make it the best experience we can for our kids and to contribute to a positive school culture. I guess we'll keep our eyes out for rude people to avoid and nice people to gravitate toward. Were you able to make the new family orientation earlier this week?

You sound smart and motivated. The kind of family that will make a positive impact on any school community. Honest question: With the kind of energy and resources you have, why not bring that to bear to improve your neighborhood school? Why squander your resources on an already high performing school?

A couple of reasons, although I take issue with your framing that I'm "squandering" my resources. A primary reason is the feeder pattern. Our neighborhood high school has 0% of students meeting or exceeding expectations in math, and 42% did not yet meet expectations (that's not even counting students partially meeting or approached meeting expectations). Only 10% met expectations in ELA. Compare that to Wilson, which has 32% meeting or exceeding and only 10% not meeting expectations in math, and 58% meeting or exceeding expectations in ELA.

Another reason is that Hearst seems more stable and established and has significantly better test scores - 2/3 meeting or exceeding expectations at Hearst vs. 1/3 meeting or exceeding at our prior school. One of my children has difficulty in one subject and really needs high quality instruction to get back on track (especially after more than a year completely at home doing virtual school). My kids' 1-2 best friends have left their current school after every school year for 4 years running and there is so much churn. Going to an elementary school with a solid middle and high school trajectory would give them the chance for more stability in their friendships and peer group for 11 to 13 years. I am burned out of being on the PTA board while working full-time plus overtime at my job, and never having new parents step up to lighten the load. I have been devoting my time, energy and resources year after year after year.

My kids were offered slots fair and square through a random lottery, and we didn't feel like we could turn down what appears to be a clearly better educational path through high school.

Hearst was not always this way. Ten year ago the test scores were underwater. Then the IB families who used to flee to private schools began to attend and invest in the school. Now it’s among the best in the city. It’s past time that our neighbors EOTP began to do the same.

Many EOTP families are doing this, like at West, Barnard, Bruce-Monroe, and Bancroft. It's also worth noting most EOTP families do not have the same resources (money, time) families WOTP have to invest in a school. For example, many EOTP families could not afford private school if they even wanted their kids to go to private.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, did you end up accepting the spot? We are an OOB family that accepted a spot this year and hope the dynamics at the school are not as bad as they seem based on these posts!

This is OP - we did and we're looking forward to starting. A lot of the negative comments on this thread sounded like the same poster, so I'm hoping it's a small contingent and will be an overall welcoming environment. We called in for the info session last night and really liked the principal. After reading this thread, I was pleasantly surprised that everyone seemed pretty respectful. We plan to make it the best experience we can for our kids and to contribute to a positive school culture. I guess we'll keep our eyes out for rude people to avoid and nice people to gravitate toward. Were you able to make the new family orientation earlier this week?

You sound smart and motivated. The kind of family that will make a positive impact on any school community. Honest question: With the kind of energy and resources you have, why not bring that to bear to improve your neighborhood school? Why squander your resources on an already high performing school?

A couple of reasons, although I take issue with your framing that I'm "squandering" my resources. A primary reason is the feeder pattern. Our neighborhood high school has 0% of students meeting or exceeding expectations in math, and 42% did not yet meet expectations (that's not even counting students partially meeting or approached meeting expectations). Only 10% met expectations in ELA. Compare that to Wilson, which has 32% meeting or exceeding and only 10% not meeting expectations in math, and 58% meeting or exceeding expectations in ELA.

Another reason is that Hearst seems more stable and established and has significantly better test scores - 2/3 meeting or exceeding expectations at Hearst vs. 1/3 meeting or exceeding at our prior school. One of my children has difficulty in one subject and really needs high quality instruction to get back on track (especially after more than a year completely at home doing virtual school). My kids' 1-2 best friends have left their current school after every school year for 4 years running and there is so much churn. Going to an elementary school with a solid middle and high school trajectory would give them the chance for more stability in their friendships and peer group for 11 to 13 years. I am burned out of being on the PTA board while working full-time plus overtime at my job, and never having new parents step up to lighten the load. I have been devoting my time, energy and resources year after year after year.

My kids were offered slots fair and square through a random lottery, and we didn't feel like we could turn down what appears to be a clearly better educational path through high school.

Hearst was not always this way. Ten year ago the test scores were underwater. Then the IB families who used to flee to private schools began to attend and invest in the school. Now it’s among the best in the city. It’s past time that our neighbors EOTP began to do the same.

A school, especially an elementary one, is not good or bad based on its test scores. Thanks for your thoughts great white savior.
Ew

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, did you end up accepting the spot? We are an OOB family that accepted a spot this year and hope the dynamics at the school are not as bad as they seem based on these posts!

This is OP - we did and we're looking forward to starting. A lot of the negative comments on this thread sounded like the same poster, so I'm hoping it's a small contingent and will be an overall welcoming environment. We called in for the info session last night and really liked the principal. After reading this thread, I was pleasantly surprised that everyone seemed pretty respectful. We plan to make it the best experience we can for our kids and to contribute to a positive school culture. I guess we'll keep our eyes out for rude people to avoid and nice people to gravitate toward. Were you able to make the new family orientation earlier this week?

You sound smart and motivated. The kind of family that will make a positive impact on any school community. Honest question: With the kind of energy and resources you have, why not bring that to bear to improve your neighborhood school? Why squander your resources on an already high performing school?

A couple of reasons, although I take issue with your framing that I'm "squandering" my resources. A primary reason is the feeder pattern. Our neighborhood high school has 0% of students meeting or exceeding expectations in math, and 42% did not yet meet expectations (that's not even counting students partially meeting or approached meeting expectations). Only 10% met expectations in ELA. Compare that to Wilson, which has 32% meeting or exceeding and only 10% not meeting expectations in math, and 58% meeting or exceeding expectations in ELA.

Another reason is that Hearst seems more stable and established and has significantly better test scores - 2/3 meeting or exceeding expectations at Hearst vs. 1/3 meeting or exceeding at our prior school. One of my children has difficulty in one subject and really needs high quality instruction to get back on track (especially after more than a year completely at home doing virtual school). My kids' 1-2 best friends have left their current school after every school year for 4 years running and there is so much churn. Going to an elementary school with a solid middle and high school trajectory would give them the chance for more stability in their friendships and peer group for 11 to 13 years. I am burned out of being on the PTA board while working full-time plus overtime at my job, and never having new parents step up to lighten the load. I have been devoting my time, energy and resources year after year after year.

My kids were offered slots fair and square through a random lottery, and we didn't feel like we could turn down what appears to be a clearly better educational path through high school.

Hearst was not always this way. Ten year ago the test scores were underwater. Then the IB families who used to flee to private schools began to attend and invest in the school. Now it’s among the best in the city. It’s past time that our neighbors EOTP began to do the same.

I’m fascinated that someone would say this. Hearst’s test scores rose because of an influx of OOB middle-class families during the Obama administration. Now that a cohort of in-bounds parents have partially succeeded in keeping that demographic out and making sure only inbound families attend, test scores in recent years have gone down considerably. Look it up on DCPS’ s website. It’s striking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, did you end up accepting the spot? We are an OOB family that accepted a spot this year and hope the dynamics at the school are not as bad as they seem based on these posts!

This is OP - we did and we're looking forward to starting. A lot of the negative comments on this thread sounded like the same poster, so I'm hoping it's a small contingent and will be an overall welcoming environment. We called in for the info session last night and really liked the principal. After reading this thread, I was pleasantly surprised that everyone seemed pretty respectful. We plan to make it the best experience we can for our kids and to contribute to a positive school culture. I guess we'll keep our eyes out for rude people to avoid and nice people to gravitate toward. Were you able to make the new family orientation earlier this week?

You sound smart and motivated. The kind of family that will make a positive impact on any school community. Honest question: With the kind of energy and resources you have, why not bring that to bear to improve your neighborhood school? Why squander your resources on an already high performing school?

A couple of reasons, although I take issue with your framing that I'm "squandering" my resources. A primary reason is the feeder pattern. Our neighborhood high school has 0% of students meeting or exceeding expectations in math, and 42% did not yet meet expectations (that's not even counting students partially meeting or approached meeting expectations). Only 10% met expectations in ELA. Compare that to Wilson, which has 32% meeting or exceeding and only 10% not meeting expectations in math, and 58% meeting or exceeding expectations in ELA.

Another reason is that Hearst seems more stable and established and has significantly better test scores - 2/3 meeting or exceeding expectations at Hearst vs. 1/3 meeting or exceeding at our prior school. One of my children has difficulty in one subject and really needs high quality instruction to get back on track (especially after more than a year completely at home doing virtual school). My kids' 1-2 best friends have left their current school after every school year for 4 years running and there is so much churn. Going to an elementary school with a solid middle and high school trajectory would give them the chance for more stability in their friendships and peer group for 11 to 13 years. I am burned out of being on the PTA board while working full-time plus overtime at my job, and never having new parents step up to lighten the load. I have been devoting my time, energy and resources year after year after year.

My kids were offered slots fair and square through a random lottery, and we didn't feel like we could turn down what appears to be a clearly better educational path through high school.

Hearst was not always this way. Ten year ago the test scores were underwater. Then the IB families who used to flee to private schools began to attend and invest in the school. Now it’s among the best in the city. It’s past time that our neighbors EOTP began to do the same.

I’m fascinated that someone would say this. Hearst’s test scores rose because of an influx of OOB middle-class families during the Obama administration. Now that a cohort of in-bounds parents have partially succeeded in keeping that demographic out and making sure only inbound families attend, test scores in recent years have gone down considerably. Look it up on DCPS’ s website. It’s striking.

PP here. The loss of diversity at Hearst has actually made the school’s test scores go down (and I’m an inbound parent).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, did you end up accepting the spot? We are an OOB family that accepted a spot this year and hope the dynamics at the school are not as bad as they seem based on these posts!

This is OP - we did and we're looking forward to starting. A lot of the negative comments on this thread sounded like the same poster, so I'm hoping it's a small contingent and will be an overall welcoming environment. We called in for the info session last night and really liked the principal. After reading this thread, I was pleasantly surprised that everyone seemed pretty respectful. We plan to make it the best experience we can for our kids and to contribute to a positive school culture. I guess we'll keep our eyes out for rude people to avoid and nice people to gravitate toward. Were you able to make the new family orientation earlier this week?

You sound smart and motivated. The kind of family that will make a positive impact on any school community. Honest question: With the kind of energy and resources you have, why not bring that to bear to improve your neighborhood school? Why squander your resources on an already high performing school?

A couple of reasons, although I take issue with your framing that I'm "squandering" my resources. A primary reason is the feeder pattern. Our neighborhood high school has 0% of students meeting or exceeding expectations in math, and 42% did not yet meet expectations (that's not even counting students partially meeting or approached meeting expectations). Only 10% met expectations in ELA. Compare that to Wilson, which has 32% meeting or exceeding and only 10% not meeting expectations in math, and 58% meeting or exceeding expectations in ELA.

Another reason is that Hearst seems more stable and established and has significantly better test scores - 2/3 meeting or exceeding expectations at Hearst vs. 1/3 meeting or exceeding at our prior school. One of my children has difficulty in one subject and really needs high quality instruction to get back on track (especially after more than a year completely at home doing virtual school). My kids' 1-2 best friends have left their current school after every school year for 4 years running and there is so much churn. Going to an elementary school with a solid middle and high school trajectory would give them the chance for more stability in their friendships and peer group for 11 to 13 years. I am burned out of being on the PTA board while working full-time plus overtime at my job, and never having new parents step up to lighten the load. I have been devoting my time, energy and resources year after year after year.

My kids were offered slots fair and square through a random lottery, and we didn't feel like we could turn down what appears to be a clearly better educational path through high school.

Hearst was not always this way. Ten year ago the test scores were underwater. Then the IB families who used to flee to private schools began to attend and invest in the school. Now it’s among the best in the city. It’s past time that our neighbors EOTP began to do the same.

I’m fascinated that someone would say this. Hearst’s test scores rose because of an influx of OOB middle-class families during the Obama administration. Now that a cohort of in-bounds parents have partially succeeded in keeping that demographic out and making sure only inbound families attend, test scores in recent years have gone down considerably. Look it up on DCPS’ s website. It’s striking.

How exactly did a cohort of in-bound parents keep out OOB families? By choosing to go to their local school? I moved to a house and enrolled my kids in the IB school. I wasn't trying to keep anyone "out." I understand that more IB students means fewer OOB students, but it's not there was some kind of evil plan. More young families have moved into the neighborhood and they want to send their kids to Hearst, simple as that. Do you expect local families to send their kids to private school just so that people in Petworth can go to Hearst?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, did you end up accepting the spot? We are an OOB family that accepted a spot this year and hope the dynamics at the school are not as bad as they seem based on these posts!

This is OP - we did and we're looking forward to starting. A lot of the negative comments on this thread sounded like the same poster, so I'm hoping it's a small contingent and will be an overall welcoming environment. We called in for the info session last night and really liked the principal. After reading this thread, I was pleasantly surprised that everyone seemed pretty respectful. We plan to make it the best experience we can for our kids and to contribute to a positive school culture. I guess we'll keep our eyes out for rude people to avoid and nice people to gravitate toward. Were you able to make the new family orientation earlier this week?

You sound smart and motivated. The kind of family that will make a positive impact on any school community. Honest question: With the kind of energy and resources you have, why not bring that to bear to improve your neighborhood school? Why squander your resources on an already high performing school?

A couple of reasons, although I take issue with your framing that I'm "squandering" my resources. A primary reason is the feeder pattern. Our neighborhood high school has 0% of students meeting or exceeding expectations in math, and 42% did not yet meet expectations (that's not even counting students partially meeting or approached meeting expectations). Only 10% met expectations in ELA. Compare that to Wilson, which has 32% meeting or exceeding and only 10% not meeting expectations in math, and 58% meeting or exceeding expectations in ELA.

Another reason is that Hearst seems more stable and established and has significantly better test scores - 2/3 meeting or exceeding expectations at Hearst vs. 1/3 meeting or exceeding at our prior school. One of my children has difficulty in one subject and really needs high quality instruction to get back on track (especially after more than a year completely at home doing virtual school). My kids' 1-2 best friends have left their current school after every school year for 4 years running and there is so much churn. Going to an elementary school with a solid middle and high school trajectory would give them the chance for more stability in their friendships and peer group for 11 to 13 years. I am burned out of being on the PTA board while working full-time plus overtime at my job, and never having new parents step up to lighten the load. I have been devoting my time, energy and resources year after year after year.

My kids were offered slots fair and square through a random lottery, and we didn't feel like we could turn down what appears to be a clearly better educational path through high school.

Hearst was not always this way. Ten year ago the test scores were underwater. Then the IB families who used to flee to private schools began to attend and invest in the school. Now it’s among the best in the city. It’s past time that our neighbors EOTP began to do the same.

I’m fascinated that someone would say this. Hearst’s test scores rose because of an influx of OOB middle-class families during the Obama administration. Now that a cohort of in-bounds parents have partially succeeded in keeping that demographic out and making sure only inbound families attend, test scores in recent years have gone down considerably. Look it up on DCPS’ s website. It’s striking.

How exactly did a cohort of in-bound parents keep out OOB families? By choosing to go to their local school? I moved to a house and enrolled my kids in the IB school. I wasn't trying to keep anyone "out." I understand that more IB students means fewer OOB students, but it's not there was some kind of evil plan. More young families have moved into the neighborhood and they want to send their kids to Hearst, simple as that. Do you expect local families to send their kids to private school just so that people in Petworth can go to Hearst?

Read this thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, did you end up accepting the spot? We are an OOB family that accepted a spot this year and hope the dynamics at the school are not as bad as they seem based on these posts!

This is OP - we did and we're looking forward to starting. A lot of the negative comments on this thread sounded like the same poster, so I'm hoping it's a small contingent and will be an overall welcoming environment. We called in for the info session last night and really liked the principal. After reading this thread, I was pleasantly surprised that everyone seemed pretty respectful. We plan to make it the best experience we can for our kids and to contribute to a positive school culture. I guess we'll keep our eyes out for rude people to avoid and nice people to gravitate toward. Were you able to make the new family orientation earlier this week?

You sound smart and motivated. The kind of family that will make a positive impact on any school community. Honest question: With the kind of energy and resources you have, why not bring that to bear to improve your neighborhood school? Why squander your resources on an already high performing school?

A couple of reasons, although I take issue with your framing that I'm "squandering" my resources. A primary reason is the feeder pattern. Our neighborhood high school has 0% of students meeting or exceeding expectations in math, and 42% did not yet meet expectations (that's not even counting students partially meeting or approached meeting expectations). Only 10% met expectations in ELA. Compare that to Wilson, which has 32% meeting or exceeding and only 10% not meeting expectations in math, and 58% meeting or exceeding expectations in ELA.

Another reason is that Hearst seems more stable and established and has significantly better test scores - 2/3 meeting or exceeding expectations at Hearst vs. 1/3 meeting or exceeding at our prior school. One of my children has difficulty in one subject and really needs high quality instruction to get back on track (especially after more than a year completely at home doing virtual school). My kids' 1-2 best friends have left their current school after every school year for 4 years running and there is so much churn. Going to an elementary school with a solid middle and high school trajectory would give them the chance for more stability in their friendships and peer group for 11 to 13 years. I am burned out of being on the PTA board while working full-time plus overtime at my job, and never having new parents step up to lighten the load. I have been devoting my time, energy and resources year after year after year.

My kids were offered slots fair and square through a random lottery, and we didn't feel like we could turn down what appears to be a clearly better educational path through high school.

Hearst was not always this way. Ten year ago the test scores were underwater. Then the IB families who used to flee to private schools began to attend and invest in the school. Now it’s among the best in the city. It’s past time that our neighbors EOTP began to do the same.

I’m fascinated that someone would say this. Hearst’s test scores rose because of an influx of OOB middle-class families during the Obama administration. Now that a cohort of in-bounds parents have partially succeeded in keeping that demographic out and making sure only inbound families attend, test scores in recent years have gone down considerably. Look it up on DCPS’ s website. It’s striking.

Obama built this! This response belongs in the DCUM Hall of Fame.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, did you end up accepting the spot? We are an OOB family that accepted a spot this year and hope the dynamics at the school are not as bad as they seem based on these posts!

This is OP - we did and we're looking forward to starting. A lot of the negative comments on this thread sounded like the same poster, so I'm hoping it's a small contingent and will be an overall welcoming environment. We called in for the info session last night and really liked the principal. After reading this thread, I was pleasantly surprised that everyone seemed pretty respectful. We plan to make it the best experience we can for our kids and to contribute to a positive school culture. I guess we'll keep our eyes out for rude people to avoid and nice people to gravitate toward. Were you able to make the new family orientation earlier this week?

You sound smart and motivated. The kind of family that will make a positive impact on any school community. Honest question: With the kind of energy and resources you have, why not bring that to bear to improve your neighborhood school? Why squander your resources on an already high performing school?

A couple of reasons, although I take issue with your framing that I'm "squandering" my resources. A primary reason is the feeder pattern. Our neighborhood high school has 0% of students meeting or exceeding expectations in math, and 42% did not yet meet expectations (that's not even counting students partially meeting or approached meeting expectations). Only 10% met expectations in ELA. Compare that to Wilson, which has 32% meeting or exceeding and only 10% not meeting expectations in math, and 58% meeting or exceeding expectations in ELA.

Another reason is that Hearst seems more stable and established and has significantly better test scores - 2/3 meeting or exceeding expectations at Hearst vs. 1/3 meeting or exceeding at our prior school. One of my children has difficulty in one subject and really needs high quality instruction to get back on track (especially after more than a year completely at home doing virtual school). My kids' 1-2 best friends have left their current school after every school year for 4 years running and there is so much churn. Going to an elementary school with a solid middle and high school trajectory would give them the chance for more stability in their friendships and peer group for 11 to 13 years. I am burned out of being on the PTA board while working full-time plus overtime at my job, and never having new parents step up to lighten the load. I have been devoting my time, energy and resources year after year after year.

My kids were offered slots fair and square through a random lottery, and we didn't feel like we could turn down what appears to be a clearly better educational path through high school.

Hearst was not always this way. Ten year ago the test scores were underwater. Then the IB families who used to flee to private schools began to attend and invest in the school. Now it’s among the best in the city. It’s past time that our neighbors EOTP began to do the same.

I’m fascinated that someone would say this. Hearst’s test scores rose because of an influx of OOB middle-class families during the Obama administration. Now that a cohort of in-bounds parents have partially succeeded in keeping that demographic out and making sure only inbound families attend, test scores in recent years have gone down considerably. Look it up on DCPS’ s website. It’s striking.

Obama built this! This response belongs in the DCUM Hall of Fame.

They used the Obama administration to mark time. Good try though to trivialize a response that you didn’t like

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, did you end up accepting the spot? We are an OOB family that accepted a spot this year and hope the dynamics at the school are not as bad as they seem based on these posts!

This is OP - we did and we're looking forward to starting. A lot of the negative comments on this thread sounded like the same poster, so I'm hoping it's a small contingent and will be an overall welcoming environment. We called in for the info session last night and really liked the principal. After reading this thread, I was pleasantly surprised that everyone seemed pretty respectful. We plan to make it the best experience we can for our kids and to contribute to a positive school culture. I guess we'll keep our eyes out for rude people to avoid and nice people to gravitate toward. Were you able to make the new family orientation earlier this week?

You sound smart and motivated. The kind of family that will make a positive impact on any school community. Honest question: With the kind of energy and resources you have, why not bring that to bear to improve your neighborhood school? Why squander your resources on an already high performing school?

A couple of reasons, although I take issue with your framing that I'm "squandering" my resources. A primary reason is the feeder pattern. Our neighborhood high school has 0% of students meeting or exceeding expectations in math, and 42% did not yet meet expectations (that's not even counting students partially meeting or approached meeting expectations). Only 10% met expectations in ELA. Compare that to Wilson, which has 32% meeting or exceeding and only 10% not meeting expectations in math, and 58% meeting or exceeding expectations in ELA.

Another reason is that Hearst seems more stable and established and has significantly better test scores - 2/3 meeting or exceeding expectations at Hearst vs. 1/3 meeting or exceeding at our prior school. One of my children has difficulty in one subject and really needs high quality instruction to get back on track (especially after more than a year completely at home doing virtual school). My kids' 1-2 best friends have left their current school after every school year for 4 years running and there is so much churn. Going to an elementary school with a solid middle and high school trajectory would give them the chance for more stability in their friendships and peer group for 11 to 13 years. I am burned out of being on the PTA board while working full-time plus overtime at my job, and never having new parents step up to lighten the load. I have been devoting my time, energy and resources year after year after year.

My kids were offered slots fair and square through a random lottery, and we didn't feel like we could turn down what appears to be a clearly better educational path through high school.

Hearst was not always this way. Ten year ago the test scores were underwater. Then the IB families who used to flee to private schools began to attend and invest in the school. Now it’s among the best in the city. It’s past time that our neighbors EOTP began to do the same.

I’m fascinated that someone would say this. Hearst’s test scores rose because of an influx of OOB middle-class families during the Obama administration. Now that a cohort of in-bounds parents have partially succeeded in keeping that demographic out and making sure only inbound families attend, test scores in recent years have gone down considerably. Look it up on DCPS’ s website. It’s striking.

Obama built this! This response belongs in the DCUM Hall of Fame.

They used the Obama administration to mark time. Good try though to trivialize a response that you didn’t like

The Obama years are relevant, but not in the way PP thinks. That’s the time period when the school became over crowded, which is likely the primary reason test scores may have dropped. The diversity straw man argument does not hold water because as anyone actually affiliated with the school knows that the majority of OOB kids today are actually white and from HHI households.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, did you end up accepting the spot? We are an OOB family that accepted a spot this year and hope the dynamics at the school are not as bad as they seem based on these posts!

This is OP - we did and we're looking forward to starting. A lot of the negative comments on this thread sounded like the same poster, so I'm hoping it's a small contingent and will be an overall welcoming environment. We called in for the info session last night and really liked the principal. After reading this thread, I was pleasantly surprised that everyone seemed pretty respectful. We plan to make it the best experience we can for our kids and to contribute to a positive school culture. I guess we'll keep our eyes out for rude people to avoid and nice people to gravitate toward. Were you able to make the new family orientation earlier this week?

You sound smart and motivated. The kind of family that will make a positive impact on any school community. Honest question: With the kind of energy and resources you have, why not bring that to bear to improve your neighborhood school? Why squander your resources on an already high performing school?

A couple of reasons, although I take issue with your framing that I'm "squandering" my resources. A primary reason is the feeder pattern. Our neighborhood high school has 0% of students meeting or exceeding expectations in math, and 42% did not yet meet expectations (that's not even counting students partially meeting or approached meeting expectations). Only 10% met expectations in ELA. Compare that to Wilson, which has 32% meeting or exceeding and only 10% not meeting expectations in math, and 58% meeting or exceeding expectations in ELA.

Another reason is that Hearst seems more stable and established and has significantly better test scores - 2/3 meeting or exceeding expectations at Hearst vs. 1/3 meeting or exceeding at our prior school. One of my children has difficulty in one subject and really needs high quality instruction to get back on track (especially after more than a year completely at home doing virtual school). My kids' 1-2 best friends have left their current school after every school year for 4 years running and there is so much churn. Going to an elementary school with a solid middle and high school trajectory would give them the chance for more stability in their friendships and peer group for 11 to 13 years. I am burned out of being on the PTA board while working full-time plus overtime at my job, and never having new parents step up to lighten the load. I have been devoting my time, energy and resources year after year after year.

My kids were offered slots fair and square through a random lottery, and we didn't feel like we could turn down what appears to be a clearly better educational path through high school.

Hearst was not always this way. Ten year ago the test scores were underwater. Then the IB families who used to flee to private schools began to attend and invest in the school. Now it’s among the best in the city. It’s past time that our neighbors EOTP began to do the same.

I’m fascinated that someone would say this. Hearst’s test scores rose because of an influx of OOB middle-class families during the Obama administration. Now that a cohort of in-bounds parents have partially succeeded in keeping that demographic out and making sure only inbound families attend, test scores in recent years have gone down considerably. Look it up on DCPS’ s website. It’s striking.

How exactly did a cohort of in-bound parents keep out OOB families? By choosing to go to their local school? I moved to a house and enrolled my kids in the IB school. I wasn't trying to keep anyone "out." I understand that more IB students means fewer OOB students, but it's not there was some kind of evil plan. More young families have moved into the neighborhood and they want to send their kids to Hearst, simple as that. Do you expect local families to send their kids to private school just so that people in Petworth can go to Hearst?

Read this thread.

I have read the thread. I still don't understand your accusation. More local families chose to send their kids to the local school. There was not some nefarious plot, it was just the result of the neighborhood changing, older people moving out, and younger people with families moving in.