Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How is SH absorbing its budget cuts?

Good question. I am on the school LSAT so we have been working on this all week. It is still being negotiated but the only way SH can absorb the budget cuts is by juggling the schedule and having the extended day program. That way the kids can still get the support programs like Read 180 AND the enrichment programs like the honors classes. Being part of the Cluster means that the school does have an advantage over some schools in that they can spread some of the work over the three campuses. So for example they have just one attendance councilor for all the schools. Next year we will have to share some other non teaching positions as well. That helps a bit. We may also only be able to offer Spanish to some kids rather than all but that is still being worked out. Right now it looks as though the proposed honors program will be protected but all of this depends on how the budget gets petitioned out this week. For what it is worth the LSAT did not sign off on the budget as a protest against the allocated budget from DCPS. But we did discuss it at great length and I think the admin have made the best with what they were given.

"Having and "councilor," yikes.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So is the math sequence at SH more advanced and differentiated that at Latin? They are our two top choice schools for our now third grader. He's not a super strong student, but he tests very well in math and reading. He needs a ton of movement and loves sports, so we are not strongly considering Basis.

These two are not in the same league. Not really even playing the same game.

They are not the same that is true but we picked SH over Latin (we had a place at both) because the math at SH is more rigorous (I spend a lot of time comparing the two) and because the teaching staff at SH is more experienced. These are things that are important to me. Just felt like a better environment for my DD. Each school has its own appeal and thank goodness we do not all make the same choices! Parents have to make choices that for their own children.

I just read a fascinating article in yesterday's Washington Post that speaks to SEM and IB etc. indirectly: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/once-criticized-as-racist-student-grouping-sees-spike-in-schools/2013/03/18/f71ffb76-8fee-11e2-9173-7f87cda73b49_story.html
It discusses the difference between "tracking" and "ability-grouping", which both have seen something of a comeback, it seems. From what I've seen at Hardy, SEM (school-wide enrichment model) is more about "tracking" and from what I've seen in IB presentations and school visits, IB (International Baccalaureate) is more about "ability-grouping". These emphases aren't mutually exclusive.
Both these models, as far as I understand, are student-centered, meaning student engagement and discovery is high up on the agenda, and so I'd imagine is participation. The same goes for expeditionary learning practiced at Two Rivers (and Cap City I believe). (I don't know enough about Latin to put it on the map here.) That would probably set all of them apart from Basis' approach, which places a stronger emphasis on moving through material, with a lesser emphasis on participation, engagement, and guided discovery (necessarily so and by design).

Being in the midst of reading up on all of this because we're looking for the right fit for our emerging middleschooler makes me realize how much one should know about all of this as well as about what one's own child is good at and thrives with. I therefore can't take comments like the one about Hardy (fights and all) very seriously. That misses the point. Of course, a school has to be safe and well organized or else this is all meaningless. But I'm thoroughly convinced that the pursuit of a consistent learning model that engages kids wherever they are and that meshes with how they learn is the best grantor for focus, commitment, and discipline. Middle school is all about learning to cope with that.

Anonymous wrote:How is SH absorbing its budget cuts?

Good question. I am on the school LSAT so we have been working on this all week. It is still being negotiated but the only way SH can absorb the budget cuts is by juggling the schedule and having the extended day program. That way the kids can still get the support programs like Read 180 AND the enrichment programs like the honors classes. Being part of the Cluster means that the school does have an advantage over some schools in that they can spread some of the work over the three campuses. So for example they have just one attendance councilor for all the schools. Next year we will have to share some other non teaching positions as well. That helps a bit. We may also only be able to offer Spanish to some kids rather than all but that is still being worked out. Right now it looks as though the proposed honors program will be protected but all of this depends on how the budget gets petitioned out this week. For what it is worth the LSAT did not sign off on the budget as a protest against the allocated budget from DCPS. But we did discuss it at great length and I think the admin have made the best with what they were given.

If your kid is average or above average, Latin or BASIS; brilliant and creative, MoCo or Fairfax. Avoid SH. A full menu of honors classes there? I'll believe it when I see it, and have met the teachers involved.

Anonymous wrote:So is the math sequence at SH more advanced and differentiated that at Latin? They are our two top choice schools for our now third grader. He's not a super strong student, but he tests very well in math and reading. He needs a ton of movement and loves sports, so we are not strongly considering Basis.

These two are not in the same league. Not really even playing the same game.

So is the math sequence at SH more advanced and differentiated that at Latin? They are our two top choice schools for our now third grader. He's not a super strong student, but he tests very well in math and reading. He needs a ton of movement and loves sports, so we are not strongly considering Basis.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hardy parent. What a joke. There is no GT program at Hardy. What these DCPS middle schools need are honors classes across the board, not a touch of extra enrichment for anybody who turns up, which is what we have now.

Interesting, a Hardy parent that I know pesonally described the STEM program to me and it sounded great!

Try it yourself, and see if you will be impressed with the SEM program at Hardy. Teachers nominate students to get into some of the SEM programs, but when "C" average students get nominated to them, I wonder if it is really based on the students' gifts ans talent. I don't think so. There is a chance that these students could be gifted and talented, and they don't reflect well on their grades, but I still doubt that they are gifted and talented. The truth is, anyone can get nominated. When there is an empty seat, it will be filled by someone else. Just because one student gets nominated to SEM does not certify that s/he is gifted and talented.

We have been with Hardy for several years, and we really consider leaving it last year but we decided to give it another year and to try SEM. We remain unimpressed with their SEM program. I don't express my feelings for Hardy to anyone or on DCUM because I don't want to be hammered by their boosters, which is always the case. So I say find out for yourself. Everyone is different and one may like it better than the others. The Hardy boosters are more outspoken and have expressed that there is no fights at Hardy, and so forth, but I know the truth for myself. So I encourage you to find out yourself. You don't need to listen to other parents - just enroll your child and see what happens. See if there is really no fights at all at Hardy. See if you will be impressed with their SEM program. See if there are many hard working teachers. I have never said a negative thing about Hardy to anyone, because someone will just call me a sour grape anyways. But I know the truth myself and that's good enough.