Anonymous
Post 12/28/2016 12:00     Subject: Hardy - extended day
Anonymous wrote:Thanks to the PPs for first-hand accounts of how things are going at Hardy. Attended an open house recently (we are in-boundary but not at a feeder school) and came away with mixed impressions. They are clearly doing some things right, but I was surprised and unhappy to hear that only 10% of current Hardy students are in "advanced" math. We're not talking prodigy-level math here, but just algebra in 7th and geometry in 8th--appropriate preparation for the advanced track at Wilson, SWW, or private schools. Ten percent seems startlingly low, but the administrators answering questions about it didn't seem concerned or appear to have a plan for raising the numbers.


Hardy does not spoon-feed students and does not spoon feed parents. Either the student is committed and dedicated, and thus admitted to honors classes, or the school won't listen to parental complaints and lobbying for having their own kids admitted to the advanced/accelerated path. Especially for math, the teachers carefully screen for drive, curiosity and engagement. Feeder school students start with an advantage as they have on average a stronger math background. But this might not be enough. The resulting 8th grade geometry class is composed of only those kids who perfectly mastered algebra and are ready to move on. This year, as in the past two years, one cannot but appreciate the diversity of this class, which reflects the math department philosophy to accelerate talented and dedicated students no matter which school they come from. If only 8% of the 8th grade cohort are ready to bear the accelerated program, then let it be.

If you, as a parent, and your student are ready for this hands-off approach, then Hardy is the best option around (and if this is the case, you won't need an after-school program). if you are not, then save yourself three years of anxiety and look elsewhere.
Anonymous
Post 12/28/2016 11:51     Subject: Hardy - extended day
Anonymous wrote:Thanks to the PPs for first-hand accounts of how things are going at Hardy. Attended an open house recently (we are in-boundary but not at a feeder school) and came away with mixed impressions. They are clearly doing some things right, but I was surprised and unhappy to hear that only 10% of current Hardy students are in "advanced" math. We're not talking prodigy-level math here, but just algebra in 7th and geometry in 8th--appropriate preparation for the advanced track at Wilson, SWW, or private schools. Ten percent seems startlingly low, but the administrators answering questions about it didn't seem concerned or appear to have a plan for raising the numbers.


I thought the issue is that there were more than 30 kids in 'advanced' (ie. basic college track level math) now - which meant the classes were to big (ie. the need to add a second section for each) - which is more like 25% of the kids? (not sure if there's some overlap tho of kids in 8th taking alegbra?)

Anyway, seems like as the 6th and coming years have much higher % of kids who are on more 'advanced' class tracks, would assume/hope they would make adding sections & keeping those class sizes manageable a priority. (Just to note, the class sizes at Deal are pretty large too).
Anonymous
Post 12/28/2016 11:45     Subject: Hardy - extended day
Anonymous wrote:Thanks to the PPs for first-hand accounts of how things are going at Hardy. Attended an open house recently (we are in-boundary but not at a feeder school) and came away with mixed impressions. They are clearly doing some things right, but I was surprised and unhappy to hear that only 10% of current Hardy students are in "advanced" math. We're not talking prodigy-level math here, but just algebra in 7th and geometry in 8th--appropriate preparation for the advanced track at Wilson, SWW, or private schools. Ten percent seems startlingly low, but the administrators answering questions about it didn't seem concerned or appear to have a plan for raising the numbers.


Why does the percentage bother you? If your child is in the class that is right for his/her level and has a room full of classmates, why does it bother you that other kids in other classrooms are "on grade level" instead of advanced? As for raising the numbers, that's not up to Hardy, but the elementary schools the kids are coming from. Hardy can't put a kid in advanced math in 6th if they aren't prepared for it.
Anonymous
Post 12/28/2016 11:41     Subject: Hardy - extended day
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Im sorry, but this isnt credible.

If all these Hardy kids went through all rhe hassle of practicing and taking the SSAT and had great scores, they would be attending selective schools rather than Wilson.


Your reading comprehension is atrocious, and you seem to be looking for a fight for no reason. Nobody said the Wilson kids took the SSAT. The kids who wanted to go to Wilson din't take the SSAT. The kids who wanted to attend selective privates (and yes, there are more than a few of these kids at Hardy) took it.


Which private high schools have recent Hardy grads gone onto?


I know of GDS (with scholarship), Burke, Jewish Day School. That's from two years ago. I now have a 6th grader. I have seen many changes, some I consider improvements (larger feeder population, new and more engaging younger teachers, a new outstanding Assistant-Principal, improved sports program) , some I consider areas where the school has gotten worse, especially in the overcrowded honors classes. Regarding the latter, that would be an easy fix in my view (start two honors classes per grade, instead on just one). I do not get why the Principal is not taking action. I plan to ask for an appointment to meet with her and ask about her plans for next year. The Principal does a big deal of attracting feeder school families. But once you are locked in, the focus seems to be on the lower tail of students, where they keep small class size, at the expense of the honors class size. To be honest, advanced kids had a much more "while glove" treatment at Hardy when there were fewer of them.

Still I do not see any better option around for middle school than Hardy for my 6th grade enthusiast learner.

To go back to title of this thread, I agree with the PP who said that when you first kid reaches 6th grade, it takes a while to realize that they might not need an after school program, as they are perfectly fine, happy and safe by themselves . My DD stays at school until 4:15 for clubs/sports every day except Friday, gets home by 5:00 pm, one of us always arrives at home by 6:30 pm. He happily and safely survives 1 and 1/2 hours home alone when my eldest DD is not in (which happens most of the time).



I think there were also two non-American Hardy students who went to WIS two years ago. I also heard of a bright girl who was a top athlete and member of the DC youth track team and was offered a spot at Sidwell tuition-free, but at the end I am not sure what the parents decided, they had concerns about the girl feeling out of place.
Anonymous
Post 12/28/2016 11:35     Subject: Hardy - extended day
Thanks to the PPs for first-hand accounts of how things are going at Hardy. Attended an open house recently (we are in-boundary but not at a feeder school) and came away with mixed impressions. They are clearly doing some things right, but I was surprised and unhappy to hear that only 10% of current Hardy students are in "advanced" math. We're not talking prodigy-level math here, but just algebra in 7th and geometry in 8th--appropriate preparation for the advanced track at Wilson, SWW, or private schools. Ten percent seems startlingly low, but the administrators answering questions about it didn't seem concerned or appear to have a plan for raising the numbers.
Anonymous
Post 12/28/2016 11:30     Subject: Hardy - extended day
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Im sorry, but this isnt credible.

If all these Hardy kids went through all rhe hassle of practicing and taking the SSAT and had great scores, they would be attending selective schools rather than Wilson.


Your reading comprehension is atrocious, and you seem to be looking for a fight for no reason. Nobody said the Wilson kids took the SSAT. The kids who wanted to go to Wilson din't take the SSAT. The kids who wanted to attend selective privates (and yes, there are more than a few of these kids at Hardy) took it.


Which private high schools have recent Hardy grads gone onto?


I know of GDS (with scholarship), Burke, Jewish Day School. That's from two years ago. I now have a 6th grader. I have seen many changes, some I consider improvements (larger feeder population, new and more engaging younger teachers, a new outstanding Assistant-Principal, improved sports program) , some I consider areas where the school has gotten worse, especially in the overcrowded honors classes. Regarding the latter, that would be an easy fix in my view (start two honors classes per grade, instead on just one). I do not get why the Principal is not taking action. I plan to ask for an appointment to meet with her and ask about her plans for next year. The Principal does a big deal of attracting feeder school families. But once you are locked in, the focus seems to be on the lower tail of students, where they keep small class size, at the expense of the honors class size. To be honest, advanced kids had a much more "while glove" treatment at Hardy when there were fewer of them.
Still I do not see any better option around for middle school than Hardy for my 6th grade enthusiast learner.

To go back to title of this thread, I agree with the PP who said that when you first kid reaches 6th grade, it takes a while to realize that they might not need an after school program, as they are perfectly fine, happy and safe by themselves . My DD stays at school until 4:15 for clubs/sports every day except Friday, gets home by 5:00 pm, one of us always arrives at home by 6:30 pm. He happily and safely survives 1 and 1/2 hours home alone when my eldest DD is not in (which happens most of the time).

Anonymous
Post 12/28/2016 11:29     Subject: Hardy - extended day
Anonymous wrote:Im sorry, but this isnt credible.

If all these Hardy kids went through all rhe hassle of practicing and taking the SSAT and had great scores, they would be attending selective schools rather than Wilson.


What? My kids will take the SSAT even though they want to go to Wilson. We want them to have choices and are prepared for them to choose Wilson even if they get into a private school. Why is that hard to believe?
Anonymous
Post 12/28/2016 10:40     Subject: Hardy - extended day
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Im sorry, but this isnt credible.

If all these Hardy kids went through all rhe hassle of practicing and taking the SSAT and had great scores, they would be attending selective schools rather than Wilson.


Your reading comprehension is atrocious, and you seem to be looking for a fight for no reason. Nobody said the Wilson kids took the SSAT. The kids who wanted to go to Wilson din't take the SSAT. The kids who wanted to attend selective privates (and yes, there are more than a few of these kids at Hardy) took it.


Which private high schools have recent Hardy grads gone onto?
Anonymous
Post 12/28/2016 07:04     Subject: Hardy - extended day
Anonymous wrote:Im sorry, but this isnt credible.

If all these Hardy kids went through all rhe hassle of practicing and taking the SSAT and had great scores, they would be attending selective schools rather than Wilson.


Your reading comprehension is atrocious, and you seem to be looking for a fight for no reason. Nobody said the Wilson kids took the SSAT. The kids who wanted to go to Wilson din't take the SSAT. The kids who wanted to attend selective privates (and yes, there are more than a few of these kids at Hardy) took it.
Anonymous
Post 12/28/2016 06:33     Subject: Hardy - extended day
Im sorry, but this isnt credible.

If all these Hardy kids went through all rhe hassle of practicing and taking the SSAT and had great scores, they would be attending selective schools rather than Wilson.
Anonymous
Post 12/28/2016 00:15     Subject: Hardy - extended day
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Hardy seems to be doing a poor job at preparing kids for 9th at Wilson, private or anywhere.


Not really. 9th graders who applied to private schools last year (or to financial support in independent schools) scored high/very high (80 and above) at SSAT, most of them without any tutoring/parental support (except for the math test preparation after school class offered by the Chair of the Hardy Math Dept.).

If SSAT is a good indicator of academic performance (which I think it is), I can say that my DC and his friends were more prepared than his ES friends who were at Holy Trinity ad British School for middle school (I only have first-hand information on friends'scores in these two schools). DC was accepted to 3/3 independent schools we applied to, and was offered partial tuition support to one of them.

Of course we are talking about good/very good students. I really cannot talk about average students.


I can confirm very high math SSAT scores for Hardy students who made it to Geometry in 8th grade.


Why do kids take the ssat to go to Wilson? And how do you know their scores?


SSAT was needed for independent schools and as practice for SWW tests. I know of test scores from my DD and from parents.
Anonymous
Post 12/27/2016 19:36     Subject: Hardy - extended day
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Hardy seems to be doing a poor job at preparing kids for 9th at Wilson, private or anywhere.


Not really. 9th graders who applied to private schools last year (or to financial support in independent schools) scored high/very high (80 and above) at SSAT, most of them without any tutoring/parental support (except for the math test preparation after school class offered by the Chair of the Hardy Math Dept.).

If SSAT is a good indicator of academic performance (which I think it is), I can say that my DC and his friends were more prepared than his ES friends who were at Holy Trinity ad British School for middle school (I only have first-hand information on friends'scores in these two schools). DC was accepted to 3/3 independent schools we applied to, and was offered partial tuition support to one of them.

Of course we are talking about good/very good students. I really cannot talk about average students.


I can confirm very high math SSAT scores for Hardy students who made it to Geometry in 8th grade.


Why do kids take the ssat to go to Wilson? And how do you know their scores?
Anonymous
Post 12/27/2016 18:46     Subject: Hardy - extended day
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Hardy seems to be doing a poor job at preparing kids for 9th at Wilson, private or anywhere.


Not really. 9th graders who applied to private schools last year (or to financial support in independent schools) scored high/very high (80 and above) at SSAT, most of them without any tutoring/parental support (except for the math test preparation after school class offered by the Chair of the Hardy Math Dept.).

If SSAT is a good indicator of academic performance (which I think it is), I can say that my DC and his friends were more prepared than his ES friends who were at Holy Trinity ad British School for middle school (I only have first-hand information on friends'scores in these two schools). DC was accepted to 3/3 independent schools we applied to, and was offered partial tuition support to one of them.

Of course we are talking about good/very good students. I really cannot talk about average students.


I can confirm very high math SSAT scores for Hardy students who made it to Geometry in 8th grade.


Our experience is the opposite. DS is now a junior at a DC private. His cohort of kids who went to upper NW elementary schools, and kids with parents who were very involved in their education at Hardy (which at the time was a smaller % at Hardy than, at say, Deal), ended up split three ways - Wilson, Walls, and privates. I'm not in touch with every single kid, but as a group they are all doing very well. I know Hardy did a great job preparing my DS for high school, and when I talk to others they feel the same way. Hardy does not spoon feed kids - and that means they learn to be their own advocates for their education. That puts them in good standing in high school.


Sorry about the confusion. Meant to say that our experience was the opposite of the PP who said Hardy kids were unprepared for high school, and the same as PP who said Hardy prepared them well. To summarize: Hardy prepared my child and his peers extremely well for middle school.
Anonymous
Post 12/27/2016 18:44     Subject: Hardy - extended day
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Hardy seems to be doing a poor job at preparing kids for 9th at Wilson, private or anywhere.


Not really. 9th graders who applied to private schools last year (or to financial support in independent schools) scored high/very high (80 and above) at SSAT, most of them without any tutoring/parental support (except for the math test preparation after school class offered by the Chair of the Hardy Math Dept.).

If SSAT is a good indicator of academic performance (which I think it is), I can say that my DC and his friends were more prepared than his ES friends who were at Holy Trinity ad British School for middle school (I only have first-hand information on friends'scores in these two schools). DC was accepted to 3/3 independent schools we applied to, and was offered partial tuition support to one of them.

Of course we are talking about good/very good students. I really cannot talk about average students.


I can confirm very high math SSAT scores for Hardy students who made it to Geometry in 8th grade.


Our experience is the opposite. DS is now a junior at a DC private. His cohort of kids who went to upper NW elementary schools, and kids with parents who were very involved in their education at Hardy (which at the time was a smaller % at Hardy than, at say, Deal), ended up split three ways - Wilson, Walls, and privates. I'm not in touch with every single kid, but as a group they are all doing very well. I know Hardy did a great job preparing my DS for high school, and when I talk to others they feel the same way. Hardy does not spoon feed kids - and that means they learn to be their own advocates for their education. That puts them in good standing in high school.
Anonymous
Post 12/27/2016 17:56     Subject: Hardy - extended day
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Hardy seems to be doing a poor job at preparing kids for 9th at Wilson, private or anywhere.


Not really. 9th graders who applied to private schools last year (or to financial support in independent schools) scored high/very high (80 and above) at SSAT, most of them without any tutoring/parental support (except for the math test preparation after school class offered by the Chair of the Hardy Math Dept.).

If SSAT is a good indicator of academic performance (which I think it is), I can say that my DC and his friends were more prepared than his ES friends who were at Holy Trinity ad British School for middle school (I only have first-hand information on friends'scores in these two schools). DC was accepted to 3/3 independent schools we applied to, and was offered partial tuition support to one of them.

Of course we are talking about good/very good students. I really cannot talk about average students.


I can confirm very high math SSAT scores for Hardy students who made it to Geometry in 8th grade.