Anonymous
Post 01/24/2012 17:48     Subject: Maury?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I am the pp. In never said "middle school stinks and will never get better". I said that the Ward 6 middle school plan stinks and isn't really an effective vehicle to better middle schools. Totally different.


Sorry, I assumed you were also "What age? We got out (gladly) becaues it leads to no where. Most parents with kids in older classes do the lottery each year in the hopes of making the jump out -- though they won't tell you that at a Maury event."

If you're jumping ship from an elementary school you like at kindergarten simply because middle-school may not be ready, I think that's irrational. Not that you disagree with the plan, etc...


Nope, I was the one you quoted there. I had one jump out this year, 4th grade, after school began and hope to have another one out next year via lottery again. I think Maury is fine for the younger ages. We are 1.5 years away from middle school. I don't think either SH or EH will be acceptable to us by that time. Right now we are in a Hardy feeder. Hedging our bets there. It actually may be an option for us where as SH and EH just aren't.

I never said that children shouldn't enroll but that you should go in with your eyes wide open. If you want to stick with Maury (and we did) then just realize that you may want to play the lottery also to see what happens. There are definitely options out there so keep them open.
Anonymous
Post 01/24/2012 17:26     Subject: Maury?
This is my first reply on this thread but I think it is totally rational for parents to jump ship on a school if they think the middle school
Prospects are no good and not likely to get better. Pp mentions private school as an option. It is not an option for us with our nonprofit salaries (and skillsets).
Anonymous
Post 01/24/2012 16:08     Subject: Maury?
Anonymous wrote:I am the pp. In never said "middle school stinks and will never get better". I said that the Ward 6 middle school plan stinks and isn't really an effective vehicle to better middle schools. Totally different.


Sorry, I assumed you were also "What age? We got out (gladly) becaues it leads to no where. Most parents with kids in older classes do the lottery each year in the hopes of making the jump out -- though they won't tell you that at a Maury event."

If you're jumping ship from an elementary school you like at kindergarten simply because middle-school may not be ready, I think that's irrational. Not that you disagree with the plan, etc...
Anonymous
Post 01/24/2012 16:04     Subject: Maury?
I am the pp. In never said "middle school stinks and will never get better". I said that the Ward 6 middle school plan stinks and isn't really an effective vehicle to better middle schools. Totally different.
Anonymous
Post 01/24/2012 15:16     Subject: Re:Maury?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:i guess i'm not the type of parent who frets about "middle school options" while my kid is 4 years old. either things will have changed for the better on the hill, or we'll move. what's the difference between moving now or in 6 years? i'll just play the hand i have for now and feel very, very fortunate.

my girl goes to maury. she told me last night that "since i like art, maury is the school for me." that blew me away. maury's specials (PE, art, music, thinktank) are amazing!


Look, there is a difference between fretting and planning/taking action. You can sit back passively and hope things get better on the Hill or you can get involved and make them better. If you look at what has happened with schools like Brent, Maury and Tyler you will notice that happened when people stopped "hoping" and did something. Tyler requested a specialized program to attract parents, for example. Parents got involved at Brent years before their kid was old enough to enroll.

Stop calling your neighbors with little ones who are actively working for better public middle schools "irrational" and portraying us as hyper anxious and get involved.


Umm. First, it's pretty presumptuous of you to conclude that PP isn't involved. Second, there wasn't a single comment that called "neighbors with little ones who are actively working for better public middle schools 'irrational'". There was one comment that called a parent irrational because their child is in kindergarten, and who decided she was going to throw in the towel because "middle-school stinks and will never get better." Sorry, that's completely irrational, and that's the kind of irrational defeatism that has contributed to the problem for many, many years.
Anonymous
Post 01/24/2012 15:06     Subject: Re:Maury?
I heard that Maury has an open house 2/7/12 from 9:00am-10:30am for parents interested in learning more about their program options - early childhood and elementary.
Anonymous
Post 01/24/2012 14:03     Subject: Re:Maury?
Anonymous wrote:
Er, if there are "a lot of great middle school possibilities in DC" then why aren't you planning to use any of them? Can you even name them? Right now, there are two: Latin (requires getting lucky in the lottery) and Deal (which is bigger than a small town and packed to the gills). That doesn't fit my definition of "a lot."


We are planning to do boarding school because that is a family tradition. Plus, that is many years away so I can't use any middle schools right now! in addition to the two you mention there are many excellent private schools. I just don't see why people have to assume that you can't use DC elementary schools just because you fear that the middle school may not be a good fit. you seem to think the two schools you mentions are the only ones that can possibly be any good. It's your opinion and you are entitled to it, but I think Hardy and Stuart Hobkins are also good schools choices and there may be others too that I don't know about.

Plus, Inspired Learning could possibly be a good middle school in a few years and so could BASIS. Plus there are many private schools that are currently good middle schools such as St. Anselm's Abbey, St. Alban's, etc.

in sum, dissuading someone from enrolling their 3 or 4 year old at Maury because of the middle school situation seems short sighted. so much can happen in those years!


Anonymous
Post 01/24/2012 14:02     Subject: Maury?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:WARD SIX MS ENROLLMENT/CAPACITY - (Pre-Shaw in Ward 6)
SH – 428 / 460


Also not accurate. Old numbers maybe? With the new 6-8 grade configuration, SH is OVER enrolled at 430.

I only know what DCPS puts on its web site.

See this link for the SH Master Facilities Plan which describes it as having a capacity of 460.

http://www.21csf.org/csf-home/DocUploads/DataShop/DS_242.pdf

See this link for the SH enrollment in 2010-2011 described as 428:

http://profiles.dcps.dc.gov/Stuart-Hobson+Middle+School

If one has different and better data it would be great to provide sources.
Anonymous
Post 01/24/2012 13:55     Subject: Maury?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:And also should be said that only a small percentage of students at SH are from Ward 6.


Not true. 55% of the 430 enrolled this year at SH are Ward 6 kids.

For 2010-2011 Stuart Hobson had 22% in bounds (determined by where they live). See this link on the lower right hand side:

http://profiles.dcps.dc.gov/Stuart-Hobson+Middle+School

SH may have a lot of kids that attend via Watkins, but most of them are not from Ward Six. The sheer size of the Cluster gives it political weight in Ward Six, but make no mistake, the Cluster and SH, at least of 2010-2011, are out of bounds schools by large margins.
Anonymous
Post 01/24/2012 13:45     Subject: Maury?
Anonymous wrote:WARD SIX MS ENROLLMENT/CAPACITY - (Pre-Shaw in Ward 6)
SH – 428 / 460


Also not accurate. Old numbers maybe? With the new 6-8 grade configuration, SH is OVER enrolled at 430.
Anonymous
Post 01/24/2012 13:44     Subject: Maury?
Anonymous wrote:And also should be said that only a small percentage of students at SH are from Ward 6.


Not true. 55% of the 430 enrolled this year at SH are Ward 6 kids.
Anonymous
Post 01/24/2012 13:30     Subject: Maury?
WARD SIX MS ENROLLMENT/CAPACITY - (Pre-Shaw in Ward 6)
SH – 428 / 460
EH - 284 / 850
Jeff – 279 / 900

IN-BOUNDS STUDENTS
SH - 90
EH – 94
Jeff – 151

* Ward Six has capacity for 2,210 students in three middle schools.
* Ward Six middle schools use 45% of their capacity.
* Ward Six has 991 total students enrolled.
* Ward Six has 335 in-bounds students.
* Ward Six students fill 15% of the Ward Six middle school capacity.
Anonymous
Post 01/24/2012 12:38     Subject: Maury?
And also should be said that only a small percentage of students at SH are from Ward 6.
Anonymous
Post 01/24/2012 12:23     Subject: Re:Maury?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Plus E-H is really competing with S-H for modernization/revamp. Those Cluster parents are way ahead in their demands so if anything gets more investment it will be S-H first.


Actually, Eliot-Hine is revamped/modernized already, a beautiful space all around. Hopefully. Stuart-Hobson will be next.

I don't believe this is the case. EH is slated for a modernization in 2014 (Jefferson in 2013). EH got a buff and scrub in 2009 as part of receiving Hine MS, but the building is still dated and lacking in significant ways. See link:

http://www.21csf.org/csf-home/DocUploads/DataShop/DS_280.pdf

At the Stuart Hobson modernization event last week we heard a call to action for the SH community to advocate for significant increases in their modernization funding. Tommy Wells said, although it shouldn't be this way, modernization funds are a zero-sum game amongst the four middle schools in Ward Six (SH, EH, Jefferson and now Shaw). If SH wants a parking structure or an addition, then it comes out of funding for another Ward Six school. Mr. Wells even got heckled by a future SH parent for saying this. SH parent leaders made the case that funding levels are unfair (compared to other wards), but that seems like wishful thinking more then realpolitik.

Not that I fault the SH for doing everything in their power to get funds and make SH a better school, but let's not ignore the fact that whether or not funding SH is a good thing all depends on where you sit.

It should also be said that advocating for modernization funding is also made difficult when Ward Six middle schools are severely under enrolled.
Anonymous
Post 01/24/2012 12:20     Subject: Re:Maury?
Anonymous wrote:i guess i'm not the type of parent who frets about "middle school options" while my kid is 4 years old. either things will have changed for the better on the hill, or we'll move. what's the difference between moving now or in 6 years? i'll just play the hand i have for now and feel very, very fortunate.

my girl goes to maury. she told me last night that "since i like art, maury is the school for me." that blew me away. maury's specials (PE, art, music, thinktank) are amazing!


Look, there is a difference between fretting and planning/taking action. You can sit back passively and hope things get better on the Hill or you can get involved and make them better. If you look at what has happened with schools like Brent, Maury and Tyler you will notice that happened when people stopped "hoping" and did something. Tyler requested a specialized program to attract parents, for example. Parents got involved at Brent years before their kid was old enough to enroll.

Stop calling your neighbors with little ones who are actively working for better public middle schools "irrational" and portraying us as hyper anxious and get involved.