Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about a "Scared Straight" approach to school management? Pride could put on a Sergeant's outfit and holler orders at the kids up and down the halls to behave and stay away from drugs. The kids at Hardy don't even remotely come close to needing such "tough love," but it would be amusing. They could even make a play out of it and use their "uniforms" as props.

She could hire "Mr. Garvey." This is probably what many IB parents imagine Hardy is like, anyway.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dd7FixvoKBw

+1. Hilarious.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, the only ones who care about the uniforms remaining at Hardy are "concerned onlookers" on this board who for some reason care about preserving the "unique culture" of Hardy. Are they Alums? Why do they care?

IB Hardy family with 4 kids. I have visited Hardy and talked to existing students, administration, teachers, and existing parents (I wonder how many parents commenting on this board have actually taken those steps. Most of what I see on this board is not a reflection of what I have actually seen on my own). I have been very impressed and look forward to sending my children to Hardy. I could care less about uniforms. I care about the quality of education and experience for my children.

Right, and your view is considered and logical. But you already plan to send your kids to Hardy. Hardy's challenge is to address those issues that keep the overwhelming majority of its IB families from considering enrolling their kids there in the first place. Why not easily take one of those issues off the table?

Actually, I believe your point is incorrect. Hardy had about a 50% adoption rate from the feeder schools this year. That adoption rate as well as the size of the feeder school 5th grade is growing at a substantial pace. The statement "keeping the overwhelming majority of IB families from considering enrolling" is absolutely factually untrue. I think the Hardy student and parent population should vote on uniforms, as they have in the past. If they want to keep them then keep them. If they want to get rid of them then get rid of them. That should be an internal decision as it has been in the past. So far the vote has been to keep uniforms.

There has never been a vote - at least in the last five years. I repeat: there has never been a vote. Don't imply or get offended that Hardy parents are leaning one way or the other when they have never been asked this question. So far, this discussion and debate have happened only on this anonymous board. If you want to raise this issue with Principal Pride or the Hardy parents, please join us at a PTO meeting or another Hardy event.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, the only ones who care about the uniforms remaining at Hardy are "concerned onlookers" on this board who for some reason care about preserving the "unique culture" of Hardy. Are they Alums? Why do they care?

IB Hardy family with 4 kids. I have visited Hardy and talked to existing students, administration, teachers, and existing parents (I wonder how many parents commenting on this board have actually taken those steps. Most of what I see on this board is not a reflection of what I have actually seen on my own). I have been very impressed and look forward to sending my children to Hardy. I could care less about uniforms. I care about the quality of education and experience for my children.

Right, and your view is considered and logical. But you already plan to send your kids to Hardy. Hardy's challenge is to address those issues that keep the overwhelming majority of its IB families from considering enrolling their kids there in the first place. Why not easily take one of those issues off the table?

Actually, I believe your point is incorrect. Hardy had about a 50% adoption rate from the feeder schools this year. That adoption rate as well as the size of the feeder school 5th grade is growing at a substantial pace. The statement "keeping the overwhelming majority of IB families from considering enrolling" is absolutely factually untrue. I think the Hardy student and parent population should vote on uniforms, as they have in the past. If they want to keep them then keep them. If they want to get rid of them then get rid of them. That should be an internal decision as it has been in the past. So far the vote has been to keep uniforms.

Anonymous wrote:What about a "Scared Straight" approach to school management? Pride could put on a Sergeant's outfit and holler orders at the kids up and down the halls to behave and stay away from drugs. The kids at Hardy don't even remotely come close to needing such "tough love," but it would be amusing. They could even make a play out of it and use their "uniforms" as props.

She could hire "Mr. Garvey." This is probably what many IB parents imagine Hardy is like, anyway.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dd7FixvoKBw

Anonymous wrote:For what it is worth, the families at Hardy have not been asked about uniforms in years. My guess is that they would not care.

I repeat: they have not been asked. So please stop stating or implying that the current Hardy parents are opposed to getting rid of the uniforms because they want to preserve a culture that excludes you and your family. They really don't care that much about the uniforms. I know because I am a former Hardy parent. Hardy parents want the school to be strong academically and to be a great place for their kids to learn. And they are happy to have you be a part of it.

So if you want to get rid of the uniforms, go talk to Principal Pride. Come to a PTO meeting and raise the issue. Make your concerns public instead of on this anonymous message board. But don't pretend that you are a brave hero fighting against Hardy parents that don't want you.

Well said! Thanks!

What about a "Scared Straight" approach to school management? Pride could put on a Sergeant's outfit and holler orders at the kids up and down the halls to behave and stay away from drugs. The kids at Hardy don't even remotely come close to needing such "tough love," but it would be amusing. They could even make a play out of it and use their "uniforms" as props.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For what it is worth, the families at Hardy have not been asked about uniforms in years. My guess is that they would not care.

I repeat: they have not been asked. So please stop stating or implying that the current Hardy parents are opposed to getting rid of the uniforms because they want to preserve a culture that excludes you and your family. They really don't care that much about the uniforms. I know because I am a former Hardy parent. Hardy parents want the school to be strong academically and to be a great place for their kids to learn. And they are happy to have you be a part of it.

So if you want to get rid of the uniforms, go talk to Principal Pride. Come to a PTO meeting and raise the issue. Make your concerns public instead of on this anonymous message board. But don't pretend that you are a brave hero fighting against Hardy parents that don't want you.




Concluding that Hardy parents are somehow conspiring to keep you

It seems that the time is ripe for Principal Dr. Pride to make the change. The Eighties want their uniforms back.

The Eighties called again. They want their midnight basketball back, too.

Anonymous wrote:3rd grader parents should absolutely be looking into-they have a little over a year before the lottery providing their only chance/year to get into Latin takes place, if they were to sell their house and move now, they would have a 2 year period before they would be able to move again without substantial financial loss into a neighborhood in boundary and establish residency for their MS school of choice, and private school admissions' biggest entry year around here is 4th grade, so they should be tours and applying now if private is even a consideration. Basically, the parent NOT thinking about Middle School in 3rd grade is really making a grave error.

-a parent of one MS at a GRCS since 5th, one MS in private since 6th and one ES kid at our local JKLM

This. Plus, if your plan is to go private if the public MS doesn't meet your expectations fourth grade is the admissions year for many schools. Many of the selective privates don't create new openings for 5th and 6th, the only openings are from kids who leave. If you're in 3rd and looking to go private for 4th you would be starting the admissions process right now.

3rd grader parents should absolutely be looking into-they have a little over a year before the lottery providing their only chance/year to get into Latin takes place, if they were to sell their house and move now, they would have a 2 year period before they would be able to move again without substantial financial loss into a neighborhood in boundary and establish residency for their MS school of choice, and private school admissions' biggest entry year around here is 4th grade, so they should be tours and applying now if private is even a consideration. Basically, the parent NOT thinking about Middle School in 3rd grade is really making a grave error.

-a parent of one MS at a GRCS since 5th, one MS in private since 6th and one ES kid at our local JKLM

Anonymous wrote:
DCPS' long term strategy may be both to increase IB substantially yet maintain Hardy's distinct role as a decent city-wide middle school alternative for underserved parts of DC. How? Hardy is significantly under-enrolled, according to the capacity figures on the DME website. DCPS may be trying to improve Hardy's academics, while keeping the school small size as a selling point, in order to attract more IB students. Once that IB pipeline really starts to flow and more IB families feel comfortable with Hardy, nothing prevents DCPS from quickly ramping up the size of the school to accommodate more OOB students, thus continuing Hardy's traditional mission in DC and preserving much of its culture. There's capacity to do both.

There is zero evidence of any strategy from DCPS, long-term, short-term or medium-term.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, the only ones who care about the uniforms remaining at Hardy are "concerned onlookers" on this board who for some reason care about preserving the "unique culture" of Hardy. Are they Alums? Why do they care?

IB Hardy family with 4 kids. I have visited Hardy and talked to existing students, administration, teachers, and existing parents (I wonder how many parents commenting on this board have actually taken those steps. Most of what I see on this board is not a reflection of what I have actually seen on my own). I have been very impressed and look forward to sending my children to Hardy. I could care less about uniforms. I care about the quality of education and experience for my children.

Right, and your view is considered and logical. But you already plan to send your kids to Hardy. Hardy's challenge is to address those issues that keep the overwhelming majority of its IB families from considering enrolling their kids there in the first place. Why not easily take one of those issues off the table?

Because improving academics attracts IB families, while also benefiting the OOB families, and is impossible to argue against. Dropping uniforms, when most families with kids their like them, would be seen as overly preferring the needs of IB families who do not even attend the school over OOB families who do. With both the "real IB" and feeder numbers creeping upwards (and with an expectation they will converge as feeder schools increase their IB percentage) there is no gain to DCPS in making the change, and there is the cost of pissing some OOB families off. The goal of DCPS is to change Hardy - it is NOT to change Hardy overnight. Some IB families do not like that. But that will not change the incentives DCPS faces.

DCPS' long term strategy may be both to increase IB substantially yet maintain Hardy's distinct role as a decent city-wide middle school alternative for underserved parts of DC. How? Hardy is significantly under-enrolled, according to the capacity figures on the DME website. DCPS may be trying to improve Hardy's academics, while keeping the school small size as a selling point, in order to attract more IB students. Once that IB pipeline really starts to flow and more IB families feel comfortable with Hardy, nothing prevents DCPS from quickly ramping up the size of the school to accommodate more OOB students, thus continuing Hardy's traditional mission in DC and preserving much of its culture. There's capacity to do both.

Aside from any other issues, that would probably make it more difficult to turn other middle schools, so I think they might be reluctant to do that.

This thread makes me grateful for Washington Latin and DCI.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My only concern about Hardy is that it won't be the same - in term of diversity - for my second kid (now in 2nd grade).
The school has irreversibly flipped. Each of next 2 years will see twice the IB enrollment compared to the previous year (just like we've had in the past two years).

IB Mom with a middle schooler at Hardy (and a second grader at Stoddert).

To be perfectly honest, I value diversity but if higher quality comes at the expense of a little diversity, the.n so be it. For us, diversity is the icing on the cake. But it's not the cake. Sometimes I think there are those in DCPS who view that backwards.

This.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are at Mann (more than one year to go before MS). Leaning towards Hardy, hoping it continues to improve. Uniforms will have no impact on our decision.

We are IB for Deal. Hoping to have an opportunity to attend Hardy OOB. Uniforms have no impact on our decision either.

You should put something on Craig's list. I'm sure that there's a Hardy IB family that would willingly switch with you.

I'm sure this was sarcastic but this is not possible unless they trade residences.

The hard reality is that for every family that wanted to switch from Deal to Hardy, there are about 50 families who would readily trade Hardy IB rights for Deal. John Eaton kids for several year were offered the choice of Deal and Hardy for middle school and during that period reportedly only one student chose the latter. So this year, DCPS decided to take the choice away.

PP being quoted (IB for Deal). I agree and I know we're an anomaly. However, I see the stats now (white performance comparisons at both schools etc) and I also see the trend at Hardy. My DC is 3 years away from middle and I can imagine the growth that Hardy is going to experience, especially under new leadership. I think my kid (AA fwiw) will thrive in a smaller environment like Hardy. Who knows maybe he'll change and do just fine at Deal. Maybe we'll decide Deal will be better to equip him for the larger environment at Wilson.

I love 3rd grade parents talking about middle school. Almost as fun as the prek3 parents talking about 3rd grade.

Actually, it's more like a 6th grade parent thinking about what high school their kid will be going to. So you've never considered high school for your 6th grader? Poor kid. You are an ass.

So you think the middle school is like high school? I just want to make sure you realize what you are saying.

Third grade leads to middle school-- no permanent record
Middle school leads to high school -- still no permanent record
High school dictates where you go to college -- permanent record

Get it?

I stand by my statement. A 3rd grade parent saying they will trade their track for middle school is hilarious at a minimum and a touch psycho if serious.

I would hope any 3rd grade parent is at least thinking about middle school (3 years). As PP indicated, it is a thought and they like the way Hardy is trending and dislike that Deal is so large. You likening it to a PK3 parent thinking about 3rd grade (5 year gap) is laughable. Any parent I know in DC is thinking at least 3 years in advance. Not putting down payments on privates, but at least giving it thought, surveying parents, keeping informed on trends, testing, hires, fires of their next school. Heck I was volunteering at my IB elementary 3 years before my kid started. You are making a cruel and unreasonable response to a parent rightfully thinking a mere 3 years in advance. You dear, are the exact reason so many people resent WOTPers and have such bad impressions of the Janney/Deal types. If people aren't clamoring to get into Janney/Deal something is wrong with them or you liken them to a 3 year old's parent (doesn't make ANY sense). Do you not have college savings? Did you not buy into your neighborhood 5-10 years ago with a school in mind? Really, you need to take your Xanax.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are at Mann (more than one year to go before MS). Leaning towards Hardy, hoping it continues to improve. Uniforms will have no impact on our decision.

We are IB for Deal. Hoping to have an opportunity to attend Hardy OOB. Uniforms have no impact on our decision either.

You should put something on Craig's list. I'm sure that there's a Hardy IB family that would willingly switch with you.

I'm sure this was sarcastic but this is not possible unless they trade residences.

The hard reality is that for every family that wanted to switch from Deal to Hardy, there are about 50 families who would readily trade Hardy IB rights for Deal. John Eaton kids for several year were offered the choice of Deal and Hardy for middle school and during that period reportedly only one student chose the latter. So this year, DCPS decided to take the choice away.

PP being quoted (IB for Deal). I agree and I know we're an anomaly. However, I see the stats now (white performance comparisons at both schools etc) and I also see the trend at Hardy. My DC is 3 years away from middle and I can imagine the growth that Hardy is going to experience, especially under new leadership. I think my kid (AA fwiw) will thrive in a smaller environment like Hardy. Who knows maybe he'll change and do just fine at Deal. Maybe we'll decide Deal will be better to equip him for the larger environment at Wilson.

I love 3rd grade parents talking about middle school. Almost as fun as the prek3 parents talking about 3rd grade.

Actually, it's more like a 6th grade parent thinking about what high school their kid will be going to. So you've never considered high school for your 6th grader? Poor kid. You are an ass.

So you think the middle school is like high school? I just want to make sure you realize what you are saying.

Third grade leads to middle school-- no permanent record
Middle school leads to high school -- still no permanent record
High school dictates where you go to college -- permanent record

Get it?

I stand by my statement. A 3rd grade parent saying they will trade their track for middle school is hilarious at a minimum and a touch psycho if serious.