Anonymous
Post 03/30/2019 09:27     Subject: Re:Middle schools and the lottery
It's true. Hobson has become much more attractive under the new head.

Our WL number for Latin is hopeless and BASIS is not a good fit for kid. We're IB for the Cluster and now plan to enroll at SH next year.

Might hire a tutor or two to supplement in 6th grade and will stick with CTY camps in the summers for enrichment but like the 3-minute commute and honors classes.

Ten years ago, when we bought IB, I never dreamed that SH's 6th grade would become 100% IB.
Anonymous
Post 03/30/2019 09:20     Subject: Middle schools and the lottery
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Why does the Basis list move so much? Where do those kids go after declining a Basis spot?

If everyone is telling me that Basis is more math and Latin is more humanities, how do the two schools maintain those specializations if the prospective students don't really get a chance to pick between them?

Why is Hardy nowhere on the thread if up until a year ago it was mostly OOB? I get that this year 6th great was almost all IB, but why doesn't anyone try to get in? With all the fear about McFarland, is noone on this forum trying to get into Hardy?


Hardy - more IB families are attending, especially from Eaton now that the grandfathering at Deal is a thing of the past. Hardy offers fewer seats in the initial lottery than in the past (~20 vs. ~60 just a couple years ago). They will fill from their waitlist. ANd yes the wait list is pretty long.

BASIS - it's an accelerated curriculum. Students start doing high-school level work in 6th grade (5th is a more standard curriculum). The facilities are not great, and extracurriculars have been limited in the past. That said, there are now inter-scholastic soccer, basketball, flag football, baseball teams, strong dance clubs, debate and a really strong Certamen team. The middle school students produce a musical each year. The homework load is pretty high - at least 60-90 minutes a night/weekend and the high stakes end of the year comprehensive exams can be daunting. It is just not what a lot of families are looking for, or at least not their first choice.

MacFarland is growing, but perhaps not as much with the "gentrifier" crowd.

DCI has taken a couple dozen students (from non-feeders) at 6th each year so some go there.

Slowly Stuart Hobson and Jefferson are becoming more popular with families IB for those schools.


Actually Stuart Hobson has taken off in the last two years under a new head who has added honors classes, and established a good system for entry to them. There were no OOB 6th grade spots auctioned off this year. Five years ago, most of the Cluster MS spots were auctioned off. Hobson and Jefferson just aren't in the same category.


What is the "system for entry"?


Family has to prove that kid can work at grade level or above in a certain subject from report cards, PARCC scores, portfolio of school work and/or placement tests. Asking to be put in honors classes without documentation supporting the placement no longer works.
Anonymous
Post 03/30/2019 09:15     Subject: Middle schools and the lottery
Any idea how much Latin’s waitlist moves? Got a waitlist number in the teens which is good but not sure how much it’s worth thinking about so curious on history
Anonymous
Post 03/29/2019 22:47     Subject: Middle schools and the lottery
Anonymous wrote:Anyone know anything about shadow days at Latin? We didn't tour with our child because the odds were so low of getting in, and bam, dear child is in.


Congrats! We were in the same position last year and had no Problem arranging a shadow day with the school post lottery. It was better because we knew we were in and our DC was so excited when he came home we knew it was the right choice for this year — it has been an amazing experience -
Anonymous
Post 03/29/2019 22:37     Subject: Re:Middle schools and the lottery
DCI had something like 10 applicants for every available spot---which will be taken by feeders.
Anonymous
Post 03/29/2019 22:01     Subject: Re:Middle schools and the lottery
How many kids in the Stuart Hobson honors program? Wondering how large the peer group would be. (We struck out in the lottery but are inbound for SH.)
Anonymous
Post 03/29/2019 21:57     Subject: Middle schools and the lottery
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Why does the Basis list move so much? Where do those kids go after declining a Basis spot?

If everyone is telling me that Basis is more math and Latin is more humanities, how do the two schools maintain those specializations if the prospective students don't really get a chance to pick between them?

Why is Hardy nowhere on the thread if up until a year ago it was mostly OOB? I get that this year 6th great was almost all IB, but why doesn't anyone try to get in? With all the fear about McFarland, is noone on this forum trying to get into Hardy?


Hardy - more IB families are attending, especially from Eaton now that the grandfathering at Deal is a thing of the past. Hardy offers fewer seats in the initial lottery than in the past (~20 vs. ~60 just a couple years ago). They will fill from their waitlist. ANd yes the wait list is pretty long.

BASIS - it's an accelerated curriculum. Students start doing high-school level work in 6th grade (5th is a more standard curriculum). The facilities are not great, and extracurriculars have been limited in the past. That said, there are now inter-scholastic soccer, basketball, flag football, baseball teams, strong dance clubs, debate and a really strong Certamen team. The middle school students produce a musical each year. The homework load is pretty high - at least 60-90 minutes a night/weekend and the high stakes end of the year comprehensive exams can be daunting. It is just not what a lot of families are looking for, or at least not their first choice.

MacFarland is growing, but perhaps not as much with the "gentrifier" crowd.

DCI has taken a couple dozen students (from non-feeders) at 6th each year so some go there.

Slowly Stuart Hobson and Jefferson are becoming more popular with families IB for those schools.


Actually Stuart Hobson has taken off in the last two years under a new head who has added honors classes, and established a good system for entry to them. There were no OOB 6th grade spots auctioned off this year. Five years ago, most of the Cluster MS spots were auctioned off. Hobson and Jefferson just aren't in the same category.


What is the "system for entry"?
Anonymous
Post 03/29/2019 21:54     Subject: Middle schools and the lottery
Slowly refers to the fact that people have watched and hoped for that to happen for 10-15 years - at least since my my 17 yo was entering preschool and probably more.

Two years is a blip. A whole generation essentially.
Anonymous
Post 03/29/2019 21:53     Subject: Middle schools and the lottery
Anyone know anything about shadow days at Latin? We didn't tour with our child because the odds were so low of getting in, and bam, dear child is in.
Anonymous
Post 03/29/2019 21:51     Subject: Middle schools and the lottery
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Why does the Basis list move so much? Where do those kids go after declining a Basis spot?

If everyone is telling me that Basis is more math and Latin is more humanities, how do the two schools maintain those specializations if the prospective students don't really get a chance to pick between them?

Why is Hardy nowhere on the thread if up until a year ago it was mostly OOB? I get that this year 6th great was almost all IB, but why doesn't anyone try to get in? With all the fear about McFarland, is noone on this forum trying to get into Hardy?


Hardy - more IB families are attending, especially from Eaton now that the grandfathering at Deal is a thing of the past. Hardy offers fewer seats in the initial lottery than in the past (~20 vs. ~60 just a couple years ago). They will fill from their waitlist. ANd yes the wait list is pretty long.

BASIS - it's an accelerated curriculum. Students start doing high-school level work in 6th grade (5th is a more standard curriculum). The facilities are not great, and extracurriculars have been limited in the past. That said, there are now inter-scholastic soccer, basketball, flag football, baseball teams, strong dance clubs, debate and a really strong Certamen team. The middle school students produce a musical each year. The homework load is pretty high - at least 60-90 minutes a night/weekend and the high stakes end of the year comprehensive exams can be daunting. It is just not what a lot of families are looking for, or at least not their first choice.

MacFarland is growing, but perhaps not as much with the "gentrifier" crowd.

DCI has taken a couple dozen students (from non-feeders) at 6th each year so some go there.

Slowly Stuart Hobson and Jefferson are becoming more popular with families IB for those schools.


Actually Stuart Hobson has taken off in the last two years under a new head who has added honors classes, and established a good system for entry to them. There were no OOB 6th grade spots auctioned off this year. Five years ago, most of the Cluster MS spots were auctioned off. Hobson and Jefferson just aren't in the same category.
Anonymous
Post 03/29/2019 21:14     Subject: Middle schools and the lottery
Anyone going to DCI and not from feeder schools for sixth?
Anonymous
Post 03/29/2019 19:00     Subject: Middle schools and the lottery
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Tried Hardy this year and of course no luck. So we stay at our private for the remainder of Middle School. We kinda knew it would be this way. Very reluctant to gamble on MS.


I'm very curious what private middle you're at where you consider Hardy an upgrade. We put our kids in private middle a couple of years ago and there were tons of kids who were in-boundary for Hardy. I realize that is changing.

I also realize that the cost of private school -- even with financial aid -- is staggering.


Never said Hardy is an upgrade but it may have been worth investigating. I doubt that any DCPS middle school would be better on the surface. But with supplementing it could work.
Anonymous
Post 03/29/2019 17:27     Subject: Middle schools and the lottery
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Hardy had the fastest growth of IB enrollment in all of DCPS. I can't share the "complete but we don't want to share them yet" numbers yet, but it is true.


That happens when you move feeder school patterns. All of the students who were at Eaton and used to feed Deal now feed Hardy.


So the Eaton rerouting kickstarted the change of heart of the families from all the other feeders? I also heard that parents were very optimistic about the new principal. I saw him speak once and I found his enthusiasm and energy contagious.


Yes. In this case, the DME's decision to force the issue during the boundary review (despite the hue and cry) and shift Eaton to Hardy was positive.

It has helped Hardy's reputation and IB percentages while alleviating a bit of the crowding at Deal (without adding to the number of students headed to Wilson).



That's the third thing this week I've heard about where Jenny Niles is looking good in retrospect, things she did are turning out to be the right call. The other two are the Master Facilities Plan and the school closing/reuse process that tries to take the politics out of it.

So far Paul Kihn hasn't impressed me.


If only they did not bend for the Crestwood / 16th St Heights feeding to Deal until 2023. I now it is a small zone - but Deal is overcrowded. They needed to put their foot down. For some reason the families in Crestwood had a stronger claim than those in Eaton - hmm
Anonymous
Post 03/29/2019 17:24     Subject: Middle schools and the lottery
Eaton's switch but there were also several other things going on like more people hoping to stay in the city for shorter commute, Stoddert getting a renovation and becoming popular, and privates really becoming too expensive for even UMC/MC family in DC.
Most people I know IB to Stoddert cannot easily afford private for several kids.
Anonymous
Post 03/29/2019 17:07     Subject: Middle schools and the lottery
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Hardy had the fastest growth of IB enrollment in all of DCPS. I can't share the "complete but we don't want to share them yet" numbers yet, but it is true.


That happens when you move feeder school patterns. All of the students who were at Eaton and used to feed Deal now feed Hardy.


So the Eaton rerouting kickstarted the change of heart of the families from all the other feeders? I also heard that parents were very optimistic about the new principal. I saw him speak once and I found his enthusiasm and energy contagious.


Yes. In this case, the DME's decision to force the issue during the boundary review (despite the hue and cry) and shift Eaton to Hardy was positive.

It has helped Hardy's reputation and IB percentages while alleviating a bit of the crowding at Deal (without adding to the number of students headed to Wilson).



That's the third thing this week I've heard about where Jenny Niles is looking good in retrospect, things she did are turning out to be the right call. The other two are the Master Facilities Plan and the school closing/reuse process that tries to take the politics out of it.

So far Paul Kihn hasn't impressed me.