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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]My DC was just offered a spot at HB Woodlawn for 9th. I know very little about the school and would love some info bc there is not much online. DC is very young for his grade (September day and will start HS at 13). We have discussed having him repeat 8th bc he isn’t ready for HS. He does have some executive function and attention issues but is bright and very bored in middle school. Our home school Yorktown HS is so big we are afraid he will get eaten alive or lost in the shuffle bc he’s young, immature and small too.

Can anyone explain what exactly HB is, whether it’s a good alternative school option for a kid with DC’s profile? [/quote]

Genuine question: Why on EARTH would you enter the lottery if you didn't know anything about the school? [/quote]
We entered because we've heard good things, but didn't spend much time investigating the school given our 3% chance of getting a spot.  We figured we could do our research and make a choice if it becomes a real option for us.  No need to become attached or waste time doing research given the miniscule chances that it's even an option for us.  Totally rational.[/quote]

This mentality right here is what's wrong with the program and the lottery system. It's driven by scarcity and FOMO and "winning" a spot. Not by people who are genuinely interested in the philosophy behind the program.

Honestly, we should have most of our schools run this way -- if you take the radical idea of treating young adults like young adults they'll behave accordingly and apply it to our education system writ large, a lot of problems would be solved. [b]Our current model where we basically warehouse teens is horrible. [/b]
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Public schools have always been “containers” for large groups of kids in this country, since at least the late 1800s. (Research by leading academics actually support individual schools no larger than 100 students for optimal learning; but that does not factor in sports, electives, cost, etc. It’s more of a European model.) I give APS credit for designing inspiring places for learning in the new and renovated buildings, for creating unique smaller programs open to all like the Career Center, and small option programs like Arlington Tech and HB. And the large high schools have a plethora of extra curriculars, sports, and electives for students with diverse interests.

The U.S. education current model is not perfect, but Arlington’s approach is not bad. [/quote]

And if threads like this show us anything, it's that APS needs more of these option programs. The demand is definitely there. [/quote]

Seriously?  This is the problem.  EVERYONE WANTS TO BE 1 out of 100 KIDS IN A CLASS.   I’m paying through the nose for it in private (among other benefits).  But the idea that we should provide more options—rather than reducing the gigantic high schools—is the hubris of the whole HB model.   Options for everyone who wants it—totally unrealistic—as opposed to a better situation for everyone—actually realistic.   That building for that tiny number of students is the definition of APS’ problems.  [/quote]

Have you ever been in “that building?”  I had kids at both HB and YHS, and have been in W-L and Wakefield plenty of times. Other than the kind of funky exterior, “that building” is just a bunch of classrooms, a tiny gym, a tiny cafeteria area that’s not even a separate space, a decent size auditorium and a basement black box. Unfinished concrete floors. There is no space that fits the entire high school at once. No fields, no parking, no pool, no stands in the gym. It’s nothing luxurious or fancy.  The balcony areas are so hot and loud from the urban noise they hardly get used  It’s got big windows to be eco. They the kids paint on the walls so I guess that’s different.  Complaints about class size I get, but the building is really just a basic school, with a fan shape. [/quote]

I think folks annoyed at “that building” are annoyed — rightfully — that our school system SPENT $100 MILLION on it.  That is One Hundred Million Dollars.  That is insane. [/quote]

And some people loudly complained when APS spent 100 million on a 400,000 square foot W-L HS almost 25 years ago, then the most expensive high school in Virginia history. APS doesn’t build boring boxes with small windows. They tend to invest more, build swimming pools, common areas, green roofs, large windows, etc. [/quote]

W&L has 2,700 kids or 675/grade 
HB has 700 kids or 100/grade

It was the fact that they decided to make the massive investment for the few at the expense of the many.  Squeaky wheel.

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Good grief. Learn some history. They pleaded to keep their grotty old building.[/quote]

Right. HB will never do anything right as far as the haters are concerned. They were not allowed to stay in their dingy old building but then it's also a problem that they got a new building across town. [/quote]

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