Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hardy sparks such ire because:
- a lot of the IB families go private but really can't afford to. The rise of Hardy is threatening their stream of logic . . .
- other IB families think that if they diss hardy enough they'll get a new middle school . . . Which is not happening
- some charter school boosters don't want a successful hardy to siphon off a lot of high testing Latin/basis students.

So there you have it. The vast reasonable majority (based on my key playground observations) are relieved Hardy is on the upswing and hope it succeeds.

How about the fact that most parents in the IB community just don't feel that Hardy is up to the standards that they would expect of a middle school? I mean Deal may be the best general middle school in DC but it's not Exeter, so how hard is it to be as good as Deal? But Hardy still lags significantly behind so IB parents consider it to be a "bad deal" (pun intended_.

Yeah, we get it. But it remains a mystery why those parents seem more focused on beating Hardy up and spreading false rumors and misinformation then in investing the time and effort to bring Hardy up to their standards.

Anonymous wrote:Hardy sparks such ire because:
- a lot of the IB families go private but really can't afford to. The rise of Hardy is threatening their stream of logic . . .
- other IB families think that if they diss hardy enough they'll get a new middle school . . . Which is not happening
- some charter school boosters don't want a successful hardy to siphon off a lot of high testing Latin/basis students.

So there you have it. The vast reasonable majority (based on my key playground observations) are relieved Hardy is on the upswing and hope it succeeds.

How about the fact that most parents in the IB community just don't feel that Hardy is up to the standards that they would expect of a middle school? I mean Deal may be the best general middle school in DC but it's not Exeter, so how hard is it to be as good as Deal? But Hardy still lags significantly behind so IB parents consider it to be a "bad deal" (pun intended_.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No one who's in the Hardy club has answered whether someone inside is tasked with enforcing the Uniforms, or if they're just kind of chill with it until someone wears a clown suit or something that's way out of bounds. This is pretty simple stuff that's easily answered by someone who knows; and almost any parent who doesn't know would really like to know.

Maybe someone who's not defensive about it can address simple inquiries like this.

Why don't you go ask the Principal if this is so important to you? It's not the responsibility of the current Hardy families on this thread to ask "how high" each time you command them to jump.

It was answered at 10:29, just a few posts above this.

Drop the mic.

Hardy sparks such ire because:
- a lot of the IB families go private but really can't afford to. The rise of Hardy is threatening their stream of logic . . .
- other IB families think that if they diss hardy enough they'll get a new middle school . . . Which is not happening
- some charter school boosters don't want a successful hardy to siphon off a lot of high testing Latin/basis students.

So there you have it. The vast reasonable majority (based on my key playground observations) are relieved Hardy is on the upswing and hope it succeeds.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No one who's in the Hardy club has answered whether someone inside is tasked with enforcing the Uniforms, or if they're just kind of chill with it until someone wears a clown suit or something that's way out of bounds. This is pretty simple stuff that's easily answered by someone who knows; and almost any parent who doesn't know would really like to know.

Maybe someone who's not defensive about it can address simple inquiries like this.

Why don't you go ask the Principal if this is so important to you? It's not the responsibility of the current Hardy families on this thread to ask "how high" each time you command them to jump.

Looks like this person needs to start a new Hardy thread to accomplish what s/he wants: perhaps a "why Hardy is great" thread or "we love Hardy" thread. In contrast, this particular thread is concerned with IB enrollment at Hardy, and related issues.

Anonymous wrote:No one who's in the Hardy club has answered whether someone inside is tasked with enforcing the Uniforms, or if they're just kind of chill with it until someone wears a clown suit or something that's way out of bounds. This is pretty simple stuff that's easily answered by someone who knows; and almost any parent who doesn't know would really like to know.

Maybe someone who's not defensive about it can address simple inquiries like this.

Why don't you go ask the Principal if this is so important to you? It's not the responsibility of the current Hardy families on this thread to ask "how high" each time you command them to jump.

Anonymous wrote:I've been reading this post since it first started in the summer and I just cannot figure out why so many (?) people seem hell bent on trashing this school.

We're IB for it, though middle school is 7 years away for us. It is highly likely our child will attend, barring any unforeseen circumstances. There seems to be room for improvement, just like in every single public school I attended (system consistently ranked in the top 5 in the state I came from) but that seems universal to all schools, DC included.

Where does all this ire arise from in regards to this particular school? Because of some actions under a different DME? Because of a perception of inferiority (I still don't get the purpose of the continuous bashing in this case.) Something else I'm just missing?

As an IB family with a Hardy student, I think the negatives come from two seemingly contradictory facts: you have a very interested and very involved cohort of parents in the Hardy feeders - but they actually know very little about Hardy. Most decide not to go there with little actual knowledge of the school - they know that there is a low IB %, they decide early that they are going to move, go private, or go charter, and they never seriously consider Hardy or visit the school or even talk to a parent with a student there. All they know is rumors and facts from 5-year old controversies that have nothing to do with Hardy today. So those falsehoods and old bits of news get passed around, exaggerated, and voila - a perfect storm of innacurate yet terrible news about Hardy.

Frankly, I don't really see any "ire" from those who have criticisms of Hardy. If there's ire or ill will on this board, it's almost (to be generous) entirely from those who don't like or understand the criticisms. And there's really not much to criticize: student test scores could be (much) better, the "uniform" doesn't seem to make much sense to outside observers, and there's not a big grass/dirt field on site to play sports. Other than that, there's not much else going on within any of the voluminous Hardy threads, oddly enough.

The test scores seem to be the biggest obstacle to increasing IB enrollment %, but no one can deny the reality of the test score statistics, so people tend to get emotional about it, or deflect the conversation to something else.

I've been reading this post since it first started in the summer and I just cannot figure out why so many (?) people seem hell bent on trashing this school.

We're IB for it, though middle school is 7 years away for us. It is highly likely our child will attend, barring any unforeseen circumstances. There seems to be room for improvement, just like in every single public school I attended (system consistently ranked in the top 5 in the state I came from) but that seems universal to all schools, DC included.

Where does all this ire arise from in regards to this particular school? Because of some actions under a different DME? Because of a perception of inferiority (I still don't get the purpose of the continuous bashing in this case.) Something else I'm just missing?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The preoccupation over uniforms at Hardy is the height of silly.

Seriously, people, this is what gets you all worked up and taking your IB selves to privates? If that's it, if that is really it, then I think Hardy must be doing well because that is the most foolish reason ever to turn your nose up at a school.

The reverse is also true: why get so uptight when people question the need for a uniform? Why not loosen up a little, let the kids wear different colored slacks and jeans if they want? If we can all agree it's not a big deal, then why not make it a kinder, gentler attire policy?

I think the view is, "we know it's outdated crap, but it's our crap and we're not gonna' let you take it from us."

No. Our view is "as parents, we are happy that our children can focus on their schoolwork instead of worrying incessantly about what they are going to wear and who is wearing what. And our children are very happy with the uniforms. So if somebody who knows nothinga boutr Hardy and its families wants to change that, we are open to their suggestion - but it needs to be better than stating that the uniforms make our school a ghetto school."

I'm starting to think that those incessant posts are coming from a troll

Ha! These are innocuous questions. Rather, it looks to me that some members of the Hardy Club (TM) are afraid to confront the objective merit of their Club Rules. What kind of club are you if skeptical inquirers are branded as "trolls" or "haters"? Hint: a defensive little club.

Nice try -- using the word "defensive" often gets a rise out of people. But where's the word "bitter"? You're falling down on the job. Keep working on it!

Haters gonna hate.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The preoccupation over uniforms at Hardy is the height of silly.

Seriously, people, this is what gets you all worked up and taking your IB selves to privates? If that's it, if that is really it, then I think Hardy must be doing well because that is the most foolish reason ever to turn your nose up at a school.

The reverse is also true: why get so uptight when people question the need for a uniform? Why not loosen up a little, let the kids wear different colored slacks and jeans if they want? If we can all agree it's not a big deal, then why not make it a kinder, gentler attire policy?

I think the view is, "we know it's outdated crap, but it's our crap and we're not gonna' let you take it from us."

No. Our view is "as parents, we are happy that our children can focus on their schoolwork instead of worrying incessantly about what they are going to wear and who is wearing what. And our children are very happy with the uniforms. So if somebody who knows nothinga boutr Hardy and its families wants to change that, we are open to their suggestion - but it needs to be better than stating that the uniforms make our school a ghetto school."

I'm starting to think that those incessant posts are coming from a troll

Ha! These are innocuous questions. Rather, it looks to me that some members of the Hardy Club (TM) are afraid to confront the objective merit of their Club Rules. What kind of club are you if skeptical inquirers are branded as "trolls" or "haters"? Hint: a defensive little club.

Nice try -- using the word "defensive" often gets a rise out of people. But where's the word "bitter"? You're falling down on the job. Keep working on it!

Anonymous wrote:No one who's in the Hardy club has answered whether someone inside is tasked with enforcing the Uniforms, or if they're just kind of chill with it until someone wears a clown suit or something that's way out of bounds. This is pretty simple stuff that's easily answered by someone who knows; and almost any parent who doesn't know would really like to know.

Maybe someone who's not defensive about it can address simple inquiries like this.

What if someone like this "teacher" is tasked with enforcing the uniforms? No one would want to get on his bad side!

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

Yep! Doesn't sound like much of a Uniform Policy at all -- more like a guideline for attire. It's great that they don't have something like "morality police" roaming the halls to enforce an authoritarian policy -- when anyone reading the website might assume Hardy is really stuck on being a "Uniform School" (as it states on the Hardy website). I think many parents would be cool with a relaxed attire guidelines like this, when I think most are concerned that kids would be forced to wear same-looking stuff every day. A little variety is nice, and it sounds from your comment that Hardy doesn't have a problem with that.

Anonymous wrote:No one who's in the Hardy club has answered whether someone inside is tasked with enforcing the Uniforms, or if they're just kind of chill with it until someone wears a clown suit or something that's way out of bounds. This is pretty simple stuff that's easily answered by someone who knows; and almost any parent who doesn't know would really like to know.

Maybe someone who's not defensive about it can address simple inquiries like this.

Here you go:
I asked my son who is in 8th grade and has been there all 3 years. To his knowledge, no one has shown up wearing something other than the dress code, except on the "dress down" days they have throughout the year. They're "kind of chill" about it all. In all the weekly parent memos, there have never been any announcements about kids wearing inappropriate clothing items or colors. No notices about how kids have been slacking off on the dress codes. Nothing like that. There are notes that kids can wear the Hardy Hawks fleece pullovers, but I see that as an advertisement for school wear.

Satisfied?

No one who's in the Hardy club has answered whether someone inside is tasked with enforcing the Uniforms, or if they're just kind of chill with it until someone wears a clown suit or something that's way out of bounds. This is pretty simple stuff that's easily answered by someone who knows; and almost any parent who doesn't know would really like to know.

Maybe someone who's not defensive about it can address simple inquiries like this.