Reply to So, what is wrong with Hardy?

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Reply to "So, what is wrong with Hardy?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]For those who think that the IB parent population shuns Hardy because there are too many OOB (code for AA) kids---I think the reality is more complicated.  Hardy appears to me--a high SES EOTP parent with kids at a charter---to have an OOB population of AA kids from middle class homes who clearly cared enough about their children's education to seek out the next best middle school in DC.  It has also been my observation that the largest demographic group at the highly regarded charters such as Latin and Basis are also middle class AA kids.  Yet white IB families who shun Hardy will happily send their kids to Basis or Latin-------so it would seem that IB families are not shunning Hardy solely because of racial discomfort.  My guess is that those parents believe that the administration and faculty culture at Basis and Latin are more receptive to parental input and less DCPS bureaucratic than Hardy, which is a regular DCPS school.

But that is just my guess. [/quote]

My experience with Ward 3 parents is that they don't "happily" send their kids to Basis, Latin, or even Hardy -- kids go to those schools because it's the best their parents can do, considering the options.  With respect to Latin, and even moreso Basis, the most common complaint is that those schools have too much homework, but the kids can't get in anywhere else with a kinder curriculum.  These are parents that compare their options with the 'burbs and they take what they can get -- Basis, Latin, or even (ugh!) Hardy - because for one reason or another they are invested in D.C.

What every Ward 3 parent wants, who can't get into Deal, is Deal.  Deal for All is what they want -- surprised?  And, those who are in Deal, want better than Deal, too, but they mortgages don't let them pay for private.  You shouldn't be surprised that Deal parents want better than Deal, either.  These are the most self-impressed parents in the United States.  At some point, we all gotta settle for what we can get.  "What?  Toby only went to Duke and not Williams?!  He better be happy you settled for HIM!"

I think what is so intriguing about Hardy is that many IB parents see Hardy as potentially being so much better than it currently is.  So they gripe.  Back to the Hardy thread![/quote]

Beg to disagree re Basis.  We have happily sent two STEM kids who are academically advanced and love math and science (our 5th grader is taking and loving Algebra I, meaning AP Calculus BC in 9th grade, our 8th grader is in the LEAP Chemistry class, meaning AP Chemistry in 9th grade.)  We could not imagine a better environment for kids like ours in terms of their peers - yes a computer lab, wonderful site, etc, would be great, but what our kids are getting is being around kids with the same STEM orientation that they have, who are just as smart as they are, and these are kids who honestly come from such a diverse population it blows my mind.  Some have been in foster care, some have been homeless, most are not white, and my kids are learning the lesson of an intellectual meritocracy the way MLK envisioned it in a way that they never really will once they get into one of the top colleges or universities, which, from Basis, they will.  No worries, never considered Deal or Latin or Md or VA.[/quote]

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