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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Being that cap hill has no middle school option, I find that quite troubling.[/quote]

Capitol Hill has two middle schools: Eliot-Hine and Stuart-Hobson. You may choose not to send your children there, but that doesn't mean they are not options. We know numerous parents whose children are happy there, and my child is at Watkins and we plan to send him to Stuart-Hobson, as do many of his classmates' families.

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Stuart Hobson 15% IB rate is not numerous. Let me correct it (I thought it was implied, didn't literally mean there are no middle schools on the hill): [i]cap hill has no middle school option that Cap Hill residents are using [/i][/quote]

PP here: You're welcome to criticize the school. Yes, it's certainly not where I'd like it to be; yes, the bulk of Cap Hill kids go elsewhere; yes, if my kids go there, I expect that we will have to supplement academically at home.

But there were about 65 inbounds kids there last year; I expect that number is higher this year and is likely to continue to grow. I went to see the last few musicals (Annie, The Wiz) and was hugely impressed. Completely dismissing it as not an option is just inaccurate.[/quote]

It is not an option for those of us with standards. I suspect most of the parents of those 65 kids are primarily concerned about walkability of commute and supporting neighborhood schools.  Looking at the catchment area for SH-gentrified Capitol Hill-and the student demographics (from the 2015 Equity Report)

Enrollment 423 students

87% African American=368 students
9% White approximately=38 students
____________
Percentage of inbound was not listed on report... DCPS profile lists 20% inbound which would equal 84 students.
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Posting this may be a losing proposition, but I'll give it a shot:

Next time you post, could you consider whether you could make the same substantive point in a more polite manner? For example, rather than "It is not an option for those of us with standards," you could have said, "The academics aren't up to my standards." or even "I think the academic standards are far below what I want for my child."

On the statement "I suspect most of the parents of those 65 kids are primarily concerned about walkability of commute and supporting neighborhood schools."  Yes, those are important to us.  But the way you phrase it, it sounds like you think we are going to sacrifice our children's academic futures to make a political point. We wouldn't consider sending them to a school where we thought that was a possibility, and I don't know any parents - including parents who currently send their kids to SH - who would.  We, like many other parents, check all the "academic success" boxes: Ivy-league graduate degrees, prestigious and relatively lucrative jobs, houses full of books, etc.   And that gives us confidence that we can make up for any academic shortcomings at school. But based on what we know at this point, we think the academics will be good, if not great. We also think that the benefits - not having to make a long trip, having classmates who are also neighbors, [b]learning to interact with a racially and economically diverse group of kids [/b]- outweigh the minuses. I'll also freely admit that we may change our minds as we learn more about our children and about the schools, including how many of our children's classmates will be attending.

I trust and expect that when you are making similar decisions, you are also considering what would be best for your children and family. You are welcome to share those thoughts, and to extent that you can share specific information that informed your decision, those comments are truly appreciated.

I don't think people who make different decisions than I do are bad people or bad parents. I hope you share that opinion and will write in that spirit.
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Please, there isn't a racially and economically diverse group of kids at SH.  There are a small number of SES white and AA kids, and a great many low SES AA kids.  We're Asian, and at a recent open house were told that there are 2 or 3 kids of Asian descent in the school but "lots more expected in the fall."  Sure, sure.

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