Anonymous wrote:For us the weaker academics were the main deterrant. Yeah, yeah, I have been hearing that hardy is improving since dd was in kindergarten. It is still much weaker than schools on the list above. We hate paying for private, but the great sports/arts/communication/languages/transportation help. And we would have to drive child to school anyway since the bus from our neighborhood to hardy is notoriously unreliable.

And you know what? I am fine with this. There is no doubt that you are going to get a lot better options at some private schools, and it is perfectly reasonable to choose that for your children.

Anonymous wrote:Oh my God, only on DCUM are we debating the worthiness of kids who attended high performing WOTP schools versus kids who live in the neighborhood. Talk about Ward 3 (2) problems!

Here's the upshot--Hardy is gaining ground quickly with IB parents and will eventually be considered an excellent MS option. As mentioned before, you can be an early adopter or a late adopter, but the momentum is building. Everyone who is talking about counting white faces or demanding percentages looks like a crazy racist nitpicker.

So true.

For us the weaker academics were the main deterrant. Yeah, yeah, I have been hearing that hardy is improving since dd was in kindergarten. It is still much weaker than schools on the list above. We hate paying for private, but the great sports/arts/communication/languages/transportation help. And we would have to drive child to school anyway since the bus from our neighborhood to hardy is notoriously unreliable.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think most are concerned with academic proficiency, but is it so wrong to want your child to go to school with at least some kids -- whatever race -- who live in your neighborhood? For me, part of the reason for opting public school over private is the benefit of going to a neighborhood school. OOB kids can certainly fit into that picture, but if a school is largely OOB, then you completely lose the benefits of a neighborhood school. My DC LOVED walking to Eaton with neighborhood friends and also having playdates with IB and OOB friends, but without an IB cohort, it just would not have been the same. I don't think it makes me a racist to want to send my child to a school with some neighborhood connection.

Then, if you are IB for Hardy, your only option would be a private school "in the neighborhood." One of the benefits of a neighborhood school, which you neglect to mention, is that your kid doesn't have to wake up an hour early and spend 1 1/2 hrs per day in commute time.

That's true, but fortunately there are plenty of private schools close to the Hardy IB neighborhood, and if many IB kids go to them, you can get that feeling of walking and having a neighborhood cohort. That's probably why more have not tried Hardy. I just think it's unfortunate that you have to go to private school to find the environment that should be available in a neighborhood public school. I know that may change in the coming years if more IB kids go to Hardy, but I'm skeptical that enough will take the plunge for the reasons I mention.

Frankly, I don't think you're being honest with yourself about ALL of the "real reasons" for rejecting Hardy. Up to this point, I think the drastic differential in test scores has made it extremely reasonable NOT to choose Hardy if you're a neighborhood resident. But, as the test scores increase (and they are), it will be more difficult to use that as an excuse. Right now, it seems you're saying that one of the several private schools have a "neighborhood feel," while Hardy does not, but I wonder if that is really the case with respect to the student cohort at those privates. You'd have to have dozens of kids enrolled in that particular private school, from your immediate neighborhood, to get the "feel" you are mentioning. I suspect that the kids are more dispersed than that, given the number of private options. I think parents will be able to get away with the reasoning you're expressing here, for at max 2-3 more years. Then come up with a new one, like, "I'm willing to pay $28,000 for a 12-point differential in test scores."

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think most are concerned with academic proficiency, but is it so wrong to want your child to go to school with at least some kids -- whatever race -- who live in your neighborhood? For me, part of the reason for opting public school over private is the benefit of going to a neighborhood school. OOB kids can certainly fit into that picture, but if a school is largely OOB, then you completely lose the benefits of a neighborhood school. My DC LOVED walking to Eaton with neighborhood friends and also having playdates with IB and OOB friends, but without an IB cohort, it just would not have been the same. I don't think it makes me a racist to want to send my child to a school with some neighborhood connection.

Then, if you are IB for Hardy, your only option would be a private school "in the neighborhood." One of the benefits of a neighborhood school, which you neglect to mention, is that your kid doesn't have to wake up an hour early and spend 1 1/2 hrs per day in commute time.

That's true, but fortunately there are plenty of private schools close to the Hardy IB neighborhood, and if many IB kids go to them, you can get that feeling of walking and having a neighborhood cohort. That's probably why more have not tried Hardy. I just think it's unfortunate that you have to go to private school to find the environment that should be available in a neighborhood public school. I know that may change in the coming years if more IB kids go to Hardy, but I'm skeptical that enough will take the plunge for the reasons I mention.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think most are concerned with academic proficiency, but is it so wrong to want your child to go to school with at least some kids -- whatever race -- who live in your neighborhood? For me, part of the reason for opting public school over private is the benefit of going to a neighborhood school. OOB kids can certainly fit into that picture, but if a school is largely OOB, then you completely lose the benefits of a neighborhood school. My DC LOVED walking to Eaton with neighborhood friends and also having playdates with IB and OOB friends, but without an IB cohort, it just would not have been the same. I don't think it makes me a racist to want to send my child to a school with some neighborhood connection.

Most of the city agrees, looking at the reaction to the DME proposal.

I completely agree. I am not denying that racism exists in this city/country. But it is ridiculous to suggest that people are racist because they want to see more truly IB kids in the school. People who want a neighborhood school, want a school where their neighbors' kids go. They don't want to attend a school that happens to be in their neighborhood but whose student body comes from all 8 wards. If they wanted that, then they would attend charters. I have nothing against charters - glad they are there as options. But for those of us who want neighborhood schools, this means not only that the school is in the neighborhood, but also that most of the neighborhood kids go there.

I don't know why this is so hard for some people to understand, or why some people impute the worst motives for this. It's almost as if the charter movement has made people forget the neighbrohood schools of our childhoods or something, I don't know. Again, nothing against charters, but I am a big believer in neighborhood schools.

Where do Stoddert kids go?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think most are concerned with academic proficiency, but is it so wrong to want your child to go to school with at least some kids -- whatever race -- who live in your neighborhood? For me, part of the reason for opting public school over private is the benefit of going to a neighborhood school. OOB kids can certainly fit into that picture, but if a school is largely OOB, then you completely lose the benefits of a neighborhood school. My DC LOVED walking to Eaton with neighborhood friends and also having playdates with IB and OOB friends, but without an IB cohort, it just would not have been the same. I don't think it makes me a racist to want to send my child to a school with some neighborhood connection.

Then, if you are IB for Hardy, your only option would be a private school "in the neighborhood." One of the benefits of a neighborhood school, which you neglect to mention, is that your kid doesn't have to wake up an hour early and spend 1 1/2 hrs per day in commute time.

Look at the list of schools in the previous post. Every single one is stronger academically than Hardy. That is the main reason IB parents choose them over Hardy. Its not complicated.

Key kids went where most of the Mann kids went.
A few to deal through siblings etc, a few to charters, a few moved, a few to parochial (trinity and olv), many to Potomac because their buses make it very convenient from the palisades, the rest to other pvt -GDS, sbidwell, ncs, etc.

Anonymous wrote:I think most are concerned with academic proficiency, but is it so wrong to want your child to go to school with at least some kids -- whatever race -- who live in your neighborhood? For me, part of the reason for opting public school over private is the benefit of going to a neighborhood school. OOB kids can certainly fit into that picture, but if a school is largely OOB, then you completely lose the benefits of a neighborhood school. My DC LOVED walking to Eaton with neighborhood friends and also having playdates with IB and OOB friends, but without an IB cohort, it just would not have been the same. I don't think it makes me a racist to want to send my child to a school with some neighborhood connection.

Then, if you are IB for Hardy, your only option would be a private school "in the neighborhood." One of the benefits of a neighborhood school, which you neglect to mention, is that your kid doesn't have to wake up an hour early and spend 1 1/2 hrs per day in commute time.

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:To answer the actual question, Hardy met its goal of at least 50 IB kids this year in 6th and are at 100% capacity for 6th. Everyone I know who is there and IB has not looked back, even for a second.

I am trying to calculate as a percentage using the DCPS school profile.

Does this mean 50 students in a class of 125, which is 40% IB for grade 6? If so, this is a great achievement.

Did they finally break through at Mann and Key this year?

None from key this year. Two went last year and one left.

If that's the case, how is the supposed 50 IB students figure in grade 6 for real? If it is real, are the students all coming from Hyde-Addison? (Question: Is an OOB student at a feeder school still considered OOB at middle school, or does the feeding from the IB feeder change the student's classification?)

Pretty sure they're still considered OOB, based on home address relative to the current school boundary, rather than prior school attended.

Really zero from Key? Did they all go to Basis and Latin (and private)? What about Mann?

FYI, some parents from these schools find ways to go to Deal. Most would prefer Deal to Basis or Latin, and they find a way.

Part of the Mann boundary is in-boundary for Deal.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To answer the actual question, Hardy met its goal of at least 50 IB kids this year in 6th and are at 100% capacity for 6th. Everyone I know who is there and IB has not looked back, even for a second.

I am trying to calculate as a percentage using the DCPS school profile.

Does this mean 50 students in a class of 125, which is 40% IB for grade 6? If so, this is a great achievement.

Did they finally break through at Mann and Key this year?

None from key this year. Two went last year and one left.

If that's the case, how is the supposed 50 IB students figure in grade 6 for real? If it is real, are the students all coming from Hyde-Addison? (Question: Is an OOB student at a feeder school still considered OOB at middle school, or does the feeding from the IB feeder change the student's classification?)

Pretty sure they're still considered OOB, based on home address relative to the current school boundary, rather than prior school attended.

Really zero from Key? Did they all go to Basis and Latin (and private)? What about Mann?

FYI, some parents from these schools find ways to go to Deal. Most would prefer Deal to Basis or Latin, and they find a way.

Anonymous wrote:I think most are concerned with academic proficiency, but is it so wrong to want your child to go to school with at least some kids -- whatever race -- who live in your neighborhood? For me, part of the reason for opting public school over private is the benefit of going to a neighborhood school. OOB kids can certainly fit into that picture, but if a school is largely OOB, then you completely lose the benefits of a neighborhood school. My DC LOVED walking to Eaton with neighborhood friends and also having playdates with IB and OOB friends, but without an IB cohort, it just would not have been the same. I don't think it makes me a racist to want to send my child to a school with some neighborhood connection.

Most of the city agrees, looking at the reaction to the DME proposal.

I think most are concerned with academic proficiency, but is it so wrong to want your child to go to school with at least some kids -- whatever race -- who live in your neighborhood? For me, part of the reason for opting public school over private is the benefit of going to a neighborhood school. OOB kids can certainly fit into that picture, but if a school is largely OOB, then you completely lose the benefits of a neighborhood school. My DC LOVED walking to Eaton with neighborhood friends and also having playdates with IB and OOB friends, but without an IB cohort, it just would not have been the same. I don't think it makes me a racist to want to send my child to a school with some neighborhood connection.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fine. You didn't seem to acknowledge that kids prepared through feeder schools are academically solid students. Now you do acknowledge that fact; which also means that you would probably acknowledge that proficient peers are probably the best way to attract kids living in Hardy's neighborhood to attend that school. But as for your unrelated point (but relevant to the thread) -- how many neighborhood kids living in the neighborhood attend Hardy -- I don't think we've seen that data.

From what I've seen (in conversations not just about Hardy but also about a number of other DCPS schools) proficiency is a less compelling factor than address/SES/race.

Which is why you don't see white kids at Banneker. It's easy to say you don't care about race, but actions speak louder than words.