Good rule of thumb in today's DCPS: overcrowding is the one problem you want your school to have.

Anonymous wrote:My neighbor who has two children there in-bounds says the teachers are wonderful. I'm guessing that with new modern facilities and PS3 that the DCUM board will have a new abbreviation: JKLMH

There is really a lot to like right now-- small class size, engaged teachers, awesome principal, and the new facilities. When we moved in-bounds a lot of people questioned our decision, but I could not be happier, especially when I hear about the over-crowding at the other area schools.

My neighbor who has two children there in-bounds says the teachers are wonderful. I'm guessing that with new modern facilities and PS3 that the DCUM board will have a new abbreviation: JKLMH

Anonymous wrote:From their website:

http://www.anc3f.us/assets/files/Hearst/Hearst-ES-Presentation-SIT-Meeting.pdf

OP is right, this does look pretty awesome.

From their website:

http://www.anc3f.us/assets/files/Hearst/Hearst-ES-Presentation-SIT-Meeting.pdf

Does anyone have a link showing the plans for the renovation? Facilities on par with JKLM could be a game-changer for this school.

Anonymous wrote:having a PS3 class would tend to push out OOB/east of Park entering in the next year's class, right?

So after a few years this creates another "west of the park only" elementary school, where Hearst has certainly been majority "east of the park" for a while now, right?

Am I missing something?

Not sure what there is to miss. They decided to add a PS3. It will only take 15 kids, so for PK there will still be plenty of spots for other kids. And so what if it becomes more of a community school? What is the point of having a school west of the park that intentionally serves mostly east of the park kids?

having a PS3 class would tend to push out OOB/east of Park entering in the next year's class, right?

So after a few years this creates another "west of the park only" elementary school, where Hearst has certainly been majority "east of the park" for a while now, right?

Am I missing something?

With only 15 spots they will surely all be taken by IB and siblings of current students (IB and OOB) - likely not much hope for OOB.

So psyched about PS3! Although at only 15 kids, that will be tough for OOB.

The PS-3 class will only hold 15 students, so I suspect it will be mostly in-bound families and OOB with sibling. With the preschool and the new facility, hopefully Hearst will become more popular with local families. (Nothing against OOB families, I'd just love for my kid to have more local classmates to play with!)

NICE! That's our in-bounds and we are planning to attend in a few.

In-boundary with sibling will definitely get preference, followed by in-boundary, OOB with sibling, proximity, then regular old OOB. People attending the school now might have a good handle on how many spots that first category will take up.

A PS-3? Really? West of the park? Did they happen to mention if in-boundary kids would get a priority in the lottery?

We live in boundary and have a kid who would fit the bill next year. We already were excited about Hearst but this makes us even more excited. Thanks.

We had the Hearst back to school night last night and got to see the plans for the school renovation. Holy cow does it look cool! And it confirms that there will be a 3-year old preschool class starting next year.

As everyone starts considering options for 2013, give Hearst a shot. The facility is going to be state-of-the-art, and the principal is really committed to improving the school (and getting the test scores up).