Anonymous wrote:Anybody know what Ward or Wards represent the majority of Hardy's current attendees? Dare we say the school is essentially located in that or those Wards?

I heard from someone in the Hardy PTA that Ward 5 is the most-represented ward at Hardy, but I've been unable to get the numbers from DCPS to confirm. (I asked). Maybe it means nothing, but when Michelle Rhee met with the Hardy PTA, Yvette Alexander (Ward 7) was there, but Jack Evans (Ward 2) and Mary Cheh (Ward 3) were not.

jsteele wrote:
frankly, it is quite clear from that article that the school is aimed at Palisades

Then, frankly, it should be quite easy for you to provide a quote to support your position. I'll wait.

jsteele wrote:

It's all about replacing Hardy.

I can't say I know what you mean by that. It's more about recognizing the facts on the ground. Isn't Cheh giving the Hardy parents exactly what they've been asking for over the past year? If you make Hardy a magnet school, you have to provide somewhere else for the kids who were in-boundary to go. Saying "they all go private anyway" is just wishing the problem away.

Here's what's really happening. Ward 3 draws kids from the whole city. In 2010-11 there were 5,759 kids who attended DCPS schools in ward 3, and 2,675 of them lived in Ward 3. This isn't new, it's been going on for a while. What is new is that suddenly these schools have become real crowded. Total capacity of the Ward 3 schools is 5,340 so overall they're over 400 kids over capacity. In 2008-9 total enrollment in Ward 3 schools was 5,103 -- a 13% increase in two years. People look back on that as the good old days. Almost every school was below capacity, it was pretty easy to get in out-of-boundary. In spring 2009 the Deal principal was visiting OOB elementary schools trying to drum up students to hit her enrollment number. People in Ward 3 weren't happy that Hardy wasn't a real neighborhood school, but it wasn't a big deal because pretty much everyone could go to Deal if they wanted to.

It's looking like 2011-12 is going to be a blockbuster year. Word I've heard is that Deal is admitting absolutely no OOB kids, even siblings. Every school in Ward 3 is projecting big enrollment growth. Hearst has trailers and Key is adding them. According to the census numbers just out, the under-18 population of Ward 3 increased 15% from 2000 to 2010. Crowding in the schools is a real concern for Cheh's constituents and she's trying to address their concerns.

Why is a new middle school even under consideration? Is this an admission that the k-8 education campuses are not working? or they are only to be implemented for 'east of the park'?

Anonymous wrote:

jsteele wrote:
The article in the first post of this thread says that the school would be geared toward serving Palisades.

Nowhere in the article does it say that. The only use of the word "Palisades" in the article is to mention that the school would be named "Palisades Middle School."

The article calls it "The Palisades school" and does not indicate what its name will be. The school is proposed to be at the Palisades Recreation Center. If you are not convinced by the Examiner article -- and, frankly, it is quite clear from that article that the school is aimed at Palisades -- then read DeBonis' article in the Post:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/mike-debonis/post/why-ward-3-might-need-a-new-middle-school/2011/08/10/gIQAdltv6I_blog.html

It's all about replacing Hardy.

Palisades already has a middles school and there is plenty of room.

Anonymous wrote:"wonderful"? Are we teeing off on the green green fields of palisades poison paradise? Ick... there are so many awful uppity posters on this subject who clearly don't give a rats ass about the inequity within dcps it is just depressing. It WOULD NOT be lovely to now turn the formerly fine hardy ms into a shadow of its former self... Ward 2 and 3 suck It up and use the schools you have and improve them from the inside out...via involvement and check your latent racism at the drop off from the hybrid suv..Mary Chen ...u r a huge disappointment all of a sudden

Taxpayers wanting a middle school to educate their children now qualifies as racism? Really?

Anonymous wrote:The people who could afford to live in Palisades did not move because of schools. They sent their children to private for the same reasons many people who live in McLean send their children to private.

I live in Palisades. I moved there because of Key Elementary School. Palisades in going through a mini baby boom of people moving there for the elementary school. These are the people who want better middle school options.

jsteele wrote:
The article in the first post of this thread says that the school would be geared toward serving Palisades.

Nowhere in the article does it say that. The only use of the word "Palisades" in the article is to mention that the school would be named "Palisades Middle School."

"wonderful"? Are we teeing off on the green green fields of palisades poison paradise? Ick... there are so many awful uppity posters on this subject who clearly don't give a rats ass about the inequity within dcps it is just depressing. It WOULD NOT be lovely to now turn the formerly fine hardy ms into a shadow of its former self... Ward 2 and 3 suck It up and use the schools you have and improve them from the inside out...via involvement and check your latent racism at the drop off from the hybrid suv..Mary Chen ...u r a huge disappointment all of a sudden

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The old Hardy on Foxhall is now The Lab School. Palisades has a middle school already. They opt not to use it after having Pope removed and now want their own middle school. Fuck them.

Right. It's fun to look at the people who pay most of the taxes in this city and keep this bloated government running "fuck you". And that's why people pack up and move to the burbs. If you were here in the 1990s you would be begging for people to move into the Palisades, anything to help the tax base.

The people who could afford to live in Palisades did not move because of schools. They sent their children to private for the same reasons many people who live in McLean send their children to private.

You make little sense. Most people in McLean send their kids to public. I'd say less than 1% go private. So, recall Harry Thomas and elect a council member that cares about education and improving the lot of your ward. Take the power.

Anonymous wrote:The new Hardy building is lovely, but IMHO any application-only/magnet/selective type secondary school should be more metro accessible and centrally located to ensure it attracts from all across the city.

(Hardy is a hike from Palisades? Puh-leez. As a former ward 2 resident, I doubt there are many hybrid SUV driving parents who would be seriously traumatized by that commute.)

A magnet middle school would be wonderful. Definitely should be more centrally located though! Georgetown is not central. I think more magnet programs overall would be really good for the District.

The new Hardy building is lovely, but IMHO any application-only/magnet/selective type secondary school should be more metro accessible and centrally located to ensure it attracts from all across the city.

(Hardy is a hike from Palisades? Puh-leez. As a former ward 2 resident, I doubt there are many hybrid SUV driving parents who would be seriously traumatized by that commute.)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The old Hardy on Foxhall is now The Lab School. Palisades has a middle school already. They opt not to use it after having Pope removed and now want their own middle school. Fuck them.

Right. It's fun to look at the people who pay most of the taxes in this city and keep this bloated government running "fuck you". And that's why people pack up and move to the burbs. If you were here in the 1990s you would be begging for people to move into the Palisades, anything to help the tax base.

The people who could afford to live in Palisades did not move because of schools. They sent their children to private for the same reasons many people who live in McLean send their children to private.

Anonymous wrote:I think building quality middle schools in other wards is obivously a lot easier said than done. Our house in Mt Pleasant used to be zoned for Deal, and has since been changed to feed into Lincoln. Lincoln is part of a brand-new beautiful educational campus and is a shorter commute than Deal -- but I don't think any one of my neighbors would seriously consider sending their kids there. If so many OOB parents continue to try to get their kids into Deal and Hardy, why not open another middle school in Ward 3 to help in-bound and OOB families alike?

Nah, I want a middle schooling Ward 5 with all the bells and whistles Deal received. Why should my child have to schlepping all the way across town because one ward has 2 or 3 good middle schools and our ward can't get on. Oh and before the nasty crappy poster on this thread talk about tax paying citizens, I too pay taxes.

Anybody know what Ward or Wards represent the majority of Hardy's current attendees? Dare we say the school is essentially located in that or those Wards?