Reply to Capitol Hill Middle School and High School situation

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[quote=Anonymous]Ok, I might regret this, but I can't figure out the answer to my question by searching old threads, and what I need is sort of the "inside scoop" that I can't get from official resources, and parents I talk to seem cagey about it. So I'm posting here, but I know this is a contentious issue and I'm just making a plea here for people to be civil.

Can someone, or a few someones, give me a rundown on what the deal is with middle schools on the Hill and adjacent areas? From what I've read on DCUM and heard in the neighborhood, there seem to be a variety of schools of thought, but all of them seem to have some underlying biases, and I'm just trying to get a more unfiltered viewpoint.

I have encountered people who think all middle school/high school options on the Hill are unacceptable, that "everyone" will wind up either moving, lotterying out, or sending their kids to private because these options are no good.

There also seems to be a school of thought that Stuart Hobson is becoming a "good" MS and that more people will send their kids there than in the past. But implicit in this is the idea that Eliot Hine and Jefferson are inferior options. Why is that? I am not trying to race bait, I honestly don't understand the preference some people seem to have for SH, especially because there are such great elementaries that feed into EH and Jefferson (Maury, Brent).

Everyone universally seems to think Eastern is not a great HS. But if people like LT, Maury, Brent, etc., why is the assumption that the MS and HS options they feed into will automatically be not good. Again, this seems so counterintuitive to me as a new parent with a young kid in the neighborhood. Do people who dislike Eastern consider Dunbar a better alternative? Or are these folks who are only willing to accept Wilson or a private school or a "better" high school outside DC?

So basically I'm asking for someone to give a somewhat unvarnished but preferably not angry, sarcastic, or bitter explanation. I know this issue has been discussed a lot on these boards, but looking back through threads, it feels like everyone is referencing what they believe to be conventional wisdom on these issues, but they aren't in agreement. It also seems like attitudes around SH especially have changed a lot in the last couple years.

Fingers crossed this doesn't go off the rails and this can be an actually useful thread for new parents in Ward 6 because at the moment I'm pretty confused about the DCPS landscape in the area (I'm a little clearer on the charter situation, though also interested in how people feel charters play into all of this). I'll try to be vigilant about reporting posts that pull us off topic or are unnecessarily rude or inflammatory.[/quote]

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