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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I don’t have an issue with the whiteness of HB.  I have zero idea how white it is.  This was a huge problem in the past for HB, which is one of the primary reasons for the double blind lottery system.  It used to be very driven by parent/teacher demand—that is, a lot of dyslexia and ADHD kids who “could not handle” a normal school day but were considered “smart” got sent there.  It was very white.  And it served as a great safety valve before all this IEP/504 world, and was discriminatory in the sense that it wasn’t for problem kids in the really bad sense ... just kids who needed a different structure.   Then it was deemed racist and they revised the lottery.

Now, I have a problem with HB because its mission is completely opaque.  It doesn’t mean anything for kids to be “independent” and “self-directed”.   That’s just a load of education jargon; it’s not like Spanish immersion where kids are taught in Spanish.

And it does have a HUGE benefit—or at least what most people in our community consider one—its size.  Most of us want a smaller HS experience for our children.  Given, not every single person, but most of us.  And, you get to send your kid there to learn absolutely the same things as every other general public school.  Nonsense.  [/quote]

I have one kid at HB and another at a regular APS school. Trust me, the independent self directed program is very real, and very different from regular schools. Just because you don't know what it is doesn't mean it's not real.[/quote]

Literally the opposite of what they say at information night.

Can you give a concrete example of what it means, I think you are just defending your turf like all HB “Fight Club” Parents[/quote]

Exactly!  What specific differences can you describe between the educational pedagogy of the two programs?

When I’ve asked this question before, moreover, I get responses that described differences endemic to a smaller HS but that don’t actually evidence a distinct educational program that the public should be funding. [/quote]

That the public should be funding? The public is paying for these kids to go to high school no matter which one they go to or what they study. It pays for IEPs, after school sports, band, counseling, busing...all kinds of things that the comprehensive high schools offer to thousands of kids, some of which are also available at H-B and many of which are not. And if you're talking about the capital costs of the building; again, all three comprehensive high schools were rebuilt since 2000 and we took out enormous bonds to pay for them.[/quote]

The cost per student at HB is higher, and they still participate in school sports and have whole county busing.

Moreover, they don’t allowed overcrowding like at other high schools which places a burden on neighboring schools. [/quote]What are you proposing?  We need the high school seats so we can't just shutter it.  And the campus doesn't have the facilities to be an all purpose high school.  I'm not sure what you think should happen?[/quote]

Make it high school only and allow it be over capacity by as much as the most over capacity neighborhood school. No longer capped as “small” and at capacity [/quote]
I'm the one who posted up thread that it should be HS only and focus on the arts.  I don't like the open schools pedagogy and think it's outdated.

I'd defer to APS to decide capacity.  I don't think overcrowding should be used punitively, but managed across the district to least affect students.  I don't believe in punishing students or teacher for being at an option school.[/quote]

Oh okay. Because you are one person who doesn't like HB's pedagogy, even though you don't really know anything about it, I guess that's decided then. [/quote]
Perhaps you could contribute substance?  You're not creating a good look for HB.

There are lots of people unhappy with the current HB system (see this and other threads) and I think it's time to reevaluate.  Keep the good parts and fix the bits that aren't working.  I've heard complaints about the mixed AP and non-AP classes at HB, as well as fewer options.  It sounds like that would be solved by nixing the middle school and enlarging the HS.  It would also allow for students to choose between HB, ArlTech, IB and their neighborhood HS at the same time.  That timing makes a lot more sense to me than parents making the decision for kids in 5th grade, largely based on fear of big schools and the desire to have access to a scarce resource.[/quote]

A few very bitter people want the school to be something other than it is.  You don't seem to have any idea what you're talking about re the class options.  APS doesn't need high school seats, and the HB middle school seats do serve a needed purpose.  If you don't like APS services that only some students receive and others do not, let's start cutting out school sports and theater and IB and AP programs, as other posters have noted.

My special needs kid lotteried into HB in middle school and it has really helped them.  They had gone through a lot of bullying in elementary.  Now they have found their people.  We don't have any particular connections, just managed to lottery in.  Not sure why some parents who don't have kids at HB are so focused on it, but why not spend that attention making your home middle and/or high schools better instead of weirdly focusing on messing up something you're not familiar with?  HB is great and has lots of involved parents, really doesn't need people who understand nothing about the school, just looking in from the outside, suggesting how to "improve" it.  [/quote]
So your response is that if you're not in the HB club, you wouldn't understand?  Nonsense.  It's not that special that other parents can't understand it.

Nothing I proposed would change it being a smaller HS option and having involved parents and excellent teachers.  Special needs kids could still lotto in.  Keep the good, remember?

You also didn't actually respond to the comment about the mixed AP and non-AP classes.  It's an issue.

I'm absolutely not bitter about anything. Where exactly did you get bitter?  By defending HB and saying capacity shouldn't be used as a weapon against students who attend option school?

Btw, people are focused on HB on this thread because the thread is about HB.   :lol: [/quote]

I can tell from your previous comment that you don't understand HB because you said something totally wrong. And someone maybe you keeps asking what's so special and different about HB. So yes, I can tell that non HB parents do not understand it. [/quote]
I think you're mixing up several posters.  I haven't said anything "wrong" about HB and am not the one who keeps asking why it's special.  Nor am I the one proposing to pack it full of students or move walls.   :roll:

However you are treating it like a special club that no one else could possibly understand.  It's great if it's been good to your kid, but you have to understand that there are many parents who aren't happy that they didn't get in when they think it would have been excellent option for their kid. They have kids who were bullied or not getting teacher attention and they're justifiably pissed.  Hence the suggestion to open up more HS seats and at a time where kids have several options so more kids get to go where they choose.  It's not a good look that HB is a public good that only a few get to experience because of a lottery and that is seemingly is being allocated to the most privileged (look at the super low FARMs percentage and other demographics).  [/quote]
The basic proposal is that more kids would get to benefit from HB by each attending for 4 years (HS), versus fewer kids getting the benefit for 7 years (MS+HS).  It's about expanding the HB option to more kids to make it more fair.[/quote]

DP. Wouldn’t that worsen socio economic segregation? How would APS ensure that a larger, high school-only HB reflect county-wide demographics? [/quote]
Why would it do that? The transportation issues that affect FARMs participation are less likely to be an issue in high school, as kids are more independent.

If allocated by middle school, there would also be a larger cohort of students coming from Gunston, versus the 2-3 that come per elementary school.  Apparently some communities are uncomfortable choosing HB without a larger cohort that they know.  Choice is also more student-driven by 9th grade than 6th grade.  But yes, APS would have to do outreach to ensure broad participation.

APS should also look at hub stops to make sure they're in appropriate locations--some groups in S Arl have complained that they're not located well in the past.

Regardless, almost twice as many kids would have the opportunity to attend HB, which alone is an improvement and makes it less unfair.[/quote]

You have no idea how allocations and admissions work for HB. [/quote]
It's it's not a straight lottery and there are backroom dealings and secret admissions, than that absolutely should the stopped.  Are you suggesting that it's not just a lottery?  If it is just a lottery, then it's not complicated.[/quote]

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