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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]My daughter just got into H-B Woodlawn 8th grade so this thread has been useful as we are relatively new to the area. She's been attending Dorothy Hamm for a year which I can't say enough good things a about.

She tested as gifted but has problems with her grades and some minor discipline issues around her commitment to achieve. I won't turn down the opportunity and how lucky we are but I wonder how well this school can handle her lack of discipline. Fortunately we are literally next door and I can stay involved.

Are the teachers and staff responsive to parent involvement? Dorothy Hamm has been phenomenal in that regard.[/quote]

[b]HB works best for students who are self-motivated since there is a lot of freedom.[/b] It makes sense to try it out for a year or so, and if it’s not the best environment, transferring back to the home high school is no problem. In fact, transferring back to the home school is not uncommon. The HB philosophy is not ideal for all students. [/quote]

This is not always true for high performing students who have free academic time because they finished all the work quickly. HB lacks the tools for kids to learn on their own unless they have access to facilities/resources/teachers elsewhere. Their science labs are a joke using half baked equipment, some purchased from Amazon. Many classes are blended so they can't possibly teach to everyone. Based upon experience, many teachers have no time (or motivation) to discuss topics with kids who want to learn more and are often turned away. Recently, I think there has even been discussion in Town Meeting to do away with the AP program, thus completing the loop of some people trying to make HB a special needs school in all but name.[/quote]

This is incoherent, ill-informed, and teacher bashing. Teachers vary in every school, but neither of my kids have ever been turned away by a HB teacher when they wanted to go deeper into a niche interest. They were supported in crafting independent studies, proposing new classes, or less formal projects. HB, much like any university experience, is going to be what a student makes of it. Lots of kids aren’t ready for taking full advantage.

Suggesting blended classes make it impossible to meet all students’ needs is counter to plenty of research.

I heard the discussions about getting rid of AP was brought up by high school students and probably not going to happen. But even if it did, AP is not the most academically challenging possibility. I trust there would be an alternative of some kind. All the top local private schools have gotten rid of AP classes in recent years and it wasn’t to make Sidwell “a special needs school.”

Again, HB is serious about empowering students, for better and for worse. It seems for your kid(s) it was for worse, but there’s no need to universalize.[/quote]

yeah, this is the craziest take on HB I have ever seen

[b]HB teachers are super devoted to teaching, they teach more periods than other APS high school teachers, serve as advisors, often do one-off classes on things kids are interested in[/b]...[/quote]

Parents really need to know what's being taught, and whether the material is at grade or above grade level, before saying how great any school is. Hard working does not necessarily correlate with good teaching. Nor does being nice or teaching more periods than other APS hs teachers. A few (non-exhaustive) examples from a few students: Written assignments are not graded based upon the actual writing and very little to no feedback is ever given (multiple English and history classes). Some English and history classes seem to have too many coloring and art projects as an option, and writing assignments are in the form of short answers and not fully developed essays, again with no feedback on structure, grammar, style, or coherence. One high school English class spent more than a month on a book with a Lexile score in the 700s when books should be in the 1000/1100s minimally and arguably should be above that since it's an English class. Science fair projects are extremely limited unless you have access to a lab/advisor elsewhere, and some science class lessons seem to be at a level (drawings included) that an elementary school class would be taught at. Math lessons are rushed because there are multiple kids that need in-class remediation and subsequent tests are not graded for weeks. Plus they're talking of getting rid of AP classes with no comparable substitution being suggested.

Anyone who is arguing otherwise probably doesn't have a kid who constantly faces these issues. At some point, taglines such as self-motivation, independence, and self-directed learning becomes demotivating and demeaning if you have to constantly ask teachers for what feels like a favor each time for more stimulating and rigorous assignments, also knowing that you'll be turned away more often than not. HB has its merits as an inviting place with no real bullying and mostly nice teachers; however, coupled with examples such as above and with its lax policy on cellphones, attendance, open campus, etc., it doesn't fit the bill of being an academically focused school.[/quote]

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