Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let me add, I write the above sadly. The call this week left me very discouraged.

I want to be excited about the new school. I want it to be a success. I want my now-Hardy DC to attend with enthusiasm.

I want DCPS to tell us all something that will assure us that the school will get off to an smashing start and that will give the first couple of years of students good reasons to choose it.

But that was not what the DCPS liaisons accomplished in the call.


One more detail of the f’ed-up planning: You know why the first two years of students were given the option of choosing JR? For “historical consistency” because that is what happened in the last boundary review. No better reason than that.

So, unless DCPS alters the balance of pros and cons, current Hardy 7th and 8th graders will choose JR, and Macarthur will start filled with all OOB students from far afield. Which will do nothing to ease crowding at JR.

There's nothing they can say to guarantee this! It's going to be full of on-grade-level students and programmed accordingly and will be very good for students who attend. I agree that there should be no choice option though, unless maybe a sibling is a JR.

Yes, there is! They can guarantee that continuity of courses is offered, even if it means unusually small classes! So if a post-Hardy kid wants to take AP Italian or Algebra II or whatever, even if only a few students at the partially-filled school are ready for it, they should commit to making that available.

High school is more complicated than ES or MS. If the kids showing up early on only have a very limited number of course options, virtually no sports, and no clubs, no reputation with colleges, then they are foregoing a lot of a standard high school experience.

They are not going to overstaff the school for 4 years. Sorry, that's not how it's going to work.

I don’t think they will, and that’s the problem.

During the first 1-3 years of ramp-up, the school needs extra budget or it ensures a very limited experience for the early students.

Indeed. There are several (10+) students in Geometry now at Hardy, who will be ready for Alg II, some kids even beyond that who will be ready for pre-Calculus, for instance. There are nearly 30 kids in Italian II. Not having diverse offerings even for math or languages will do them a disservice. If DCPS does not have concrete plans to address this, the kids/parents will vote with their feet. And this is before we get to the clubs/extracurriculars.

what makes you think they won’t offer Algebra II?

Sigh. We’re only talking about the early years. Surely they will offer Algebra II by time the school has 11th Graders. But will they offer it when the school only has 9th graders? That’s the question.

If not, I’m sure they can work something out with Georgetown or the likes.

Yes. Or go to NASA for astrophysics classes.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let me add, I write the above sadly. The call this week left me very discouraged.

I want to be excited about the new school. I want it to be a success. I want my now-Hardy DC to attend with enthusiasm.

I want DCPS to tell us all something that will assure us that the school will get off to an smashing start and that will give the first couple of years of students good reasons to choose it.

But that was not what the DCPS liaisons accomplished in the call.


One more detail of the f’ed-up planning: You know why the first two years of students were given the option of choosing JR? For “historical consistency” because that is what happened in the last boundary review. No better reason than that.

So, unless DCPS alters the balance of pros and cons, current Hardy 7th and 8th graders will choose JR, and Macarthur will start filled with all OOB students from far afield. Which will do nothing to ease crowding at JR.

There's nothing they can say to guarantee this! It's going to be full of on-grade-level students and programmed accordingly and will be very good for students who attend. I agree that there should be no choice option though, unless maybe a sibling is a JR.

Yes, there is! They can guarantee that continuity of courses is offered, even if it means unusually small classes! So if a post-Hardy kid wants to take AP Italian or Algebra II or whatever, even if only a few students at the partially-filled school are ready for it, they should commit to making that available.

High school is more complicated than ES or MS. If the kids showing up early on only have a very limited number of course options, virtually no sports, and no clubs, no reputation with colleges, then they are foregoing a lot of a standard high school experience.

YES YES YES I am only now going to panic because it didn't even occur to me that my kid could show up to their public high school and be held back in their math path because the school is too new to offer the class they need. You can't do that!! Can they really do that?

this PP is rumormongering

I'm the 'yes yes yes' PP. Not sure if you mean I am, or the PP I'm reacting to is rumormongering, but I'll calm down.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let me add, I write the above sadly. The call this week left me very discouraged.

I want to be excited about the new school. I want it to be a success. I want my now-Hardy DC to attend with enthusiasm.

I want DCPS to tell us all something that will assure us that the school will get off to an smashing start and that will give the first couple of years of students good reasons to choose it.

But that was not what the DCPS liaisons accomplished in the call.


One more detail of the f’ed-up planning: You know why the first two years of students were given the option of choosing JR? For “historical consistency” because that is what happened in the last boundary review. No better reason than that.

So, unless DCPS alters the balance of pros and cons, current Hardy 7th and 8th graders will choose JR, and Macarthur will start filled with all OOB students from far afield. Which will do nothing to ease crowding at JR.

There's nothing they can say to guarantee this! It's going to be full of on-grade-level students and programmed accordingly and will be very good for students who attend. I agree that there should be no choice option though, unless maybe a sibling is a JR.

Yes, there is! They can guarantee that continuity of courses is offered, even if it means unusually small classes! So if a post-Hardy kid wants to take AP Italian or Algebra II or whatever, even if only a few students at the partially-filled school are ready for it, they should commit to making that available.

High school is more complicated than ES or MS. If the kids showing up early on only have a very limited number of course options, virtually no sports, and no clubs, no reputation with colleges, then they are foregoing a lot of a standard high school experience.

They are not going to overstaff the school for 4 years. Sorry, that's not how it's going to work.

I don’t think they will, and that’s the problem.

During the first 1-3 years of ramp-up, the school needs extra budget or it ensures a very limited experience for the early students.

Indeed. There are several (10+) students in Geometry now at Hardy, who will be ready for Alg II, some kids even beyond that who will be ready for pre-Calculus, for instance. There are nearly 30 kids in Italian II. Not having diverse offerings even for math or languages will do them a disservice. If DCPS does not have concrete plans to address this, the kids/parents will vote with their feet. And this is before we get to the clubs/extracurriculars.

what makes you think they won’t offer Algebra II?

Sigh. We’re only talking about the early years. Surely they will offer Algebra II by time the school has 11th Graders. But will they offer it when the school only has 9th graders? That’s the question.

If not, I’m sure they can work something out with Georgetown or the likes.

So kids are supposed to go to another school or two for 1 or more courses, and then head to a different school to play on their sports team, before going somewhere else for robotics club? The school can’t leave a whole bunch of holes and say, gee, at least your not at J-R.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let me add, I write the above sadly. The call this week left me very discouraged.

I want to be excited about the new school. I want it to be a success. I want my now-Hardy DC to attend with enthusiasm.

I want DCPS to tell us all something that will assure us that the school will get off to an smashing start and that will give the first couple of years of students good reasons to choose it.

But that was not what the DCPS liaisons accomplished in the call.


One more detail of the f’ed-up planning: You know why the first two years of students were given the option of choosing JR? For “historical consistency” because that is what happened in the last boundary review. No better reason than that.

So, unless DCPS alters the balance of pros and cons, current Hardy 7th and 8th graders will choose JR, and Macarthur will start filled with all OOB students from far afield. Which will do nothing to ease crowding at JR.

There's nothing they can say to guarantee this! It's going to be full of on-grade-level students and programmed accordingly and will be very good for students who attend. I agree that there should be no choice option though, unless maybe a sibling is a JR.

Yes, there is! They can guarantee that continuity of courses is offered, even if it means unusually small classes! So if a post-Hardy kid wants to take AP Italian or Algebra II or whatever, even if only a few students at the partially-filled school are ready for it, they should commit to making that available.

High school is more complicated than ES or MS. If the kids showing up early on only have a very limited number of course options, virtually no sports, and no clubs, no reputation with colleges, then they are foregoing a lot of a standard high school experience.

They are not going to overstaff the school for 4 years. Sorry, that's not how it's going to work.

I don’t think they will, and that’s the problem.

During the first 1-3 years of ramp-up, the school needs extra budget or it ensures a very limited experience for the early students.

Indeed. There are several (10+) students in Geometry now at Hardy, who will be ready for Alg II, some kids even beyond that who will be ready for pre-Calculus, for instance. There are nearly 30 kids in Italian II. Not having diverse offerings even for math or languages will do them a disservice. If DCPS does not have concrete plans to address this, the kids/parents will vote with their feet. And this is before we get to the clubs/extracurriculars.

what makes you think they won’t offer Algebra II?

Sigh. We’re only talking about the early years. Surely they will offer Algebra II by time the school has 11th Graders. But will they offer it when the school only has 9th graders? That’s the question.

If not, I’m sure they can work something out with Georgetown or the likes.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let me add, I write the above sadly. The call this week left me very discouraged.

I want to be excited about the new school. I want it to be a success. I want my now-Hardy DC to attend with enthusiasm.

I want DCPS to tell us all something that will assure us that the school will get off to an smashing start and that will give the first couple of years of students good reasons to choose it.

But that was not what the DCPS liaisons accomplished in the call.


One more detail of the f’ed-up planning: You know why the first two years of students were given the option of choosing JR? For “historical consistency” because that is what happened in the last boundary review. No better reason than that.

So, unless DCPS alters the balance of pros and cons, current Hardy 7th and 8th graders will choose JR, and Macarthur will start filled with all OOB students from far afield. Which will do nothing to ease crowding at JR.

There's nothing they can say to guarantee this! It's going to be full of on-grade-level students and programmed accordingly and will be very good for students who attend. I agree that there should be no choice option though, unless maybe a sibling is a JR.

Yes, there is! They can guarantee that continuity of courses is offered, even if it means unusually small classes! So if a post-Hardy kid wants to take AP Italian or Algebra II or whatever, even if only a few students at the partially-filled school are ready for it, they should commit to making that available.

High school is more complicated than ES or MS. If the kids showing up early on only have a very limited number of course options, virtually no sports, and no clubs, no reputation with colleges, then they are foregoing a lot of a standard high school experience.

YES YES YES I am only now going to panic because it didn't even occur to me that my kid could show up to their public high school and be held back in their math path because the school is too new to offer the class they need. You can't do that!! Can they really do that?

this PP is rumormongering

dp: Huh? It’s not at all clear that they will provide the full range of classes that current Hardy students will need in the first couple of years of the school. How is that rumormongering?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let me add, I write the above sadly. The call this week left me very discouraged.

I want to be excited about the new school. I want it to be a success. I want my now-Hardy DC to attend with enthusiasm.

I want DCPS to tell us all something that will assure us that the school will get off to an smashing start and that will give the first couple of years of students good reasons to choose it.

But that was not what the DCPS liaisons accomplished in the call.


One more detail of the f’ed-up planning: You know why the first two years of students were given the option of choosing JR? For “historical consistency” because that is what happened in the last boundary review. No better reason than that.

So, unless DCPS alters the balance of pros and cons, current Hardy 7th and 8th graders will choose JR, and Macarthur will start filled with all OOB students from far afield. Which will do nothing to ease crowding at JR.

There's nothing they can say to guarantee this! It's going to be full of on-grade-level students and programmed accordingly and will be very good for students who attend. I agree that there should be no choice option though, unless maybe a sibling is a JR.

Yes, there is! They can guarantee that continuity of courses is offered, even if it means unusually small classes! So if a post-Hardy kid wants to take AP Italian or Algebra II or whatever, even if only a few students at the partially-filled school are ready for it, they should commit to making that available.

High school is more complicated than ES or MS. If the kids showing up early on only have a very limited number of course options, virtually no sports, and no clubs, no reputation with colleges, then they are foregoing a lot of a standard high school experience.

They are not going to overstaff the school for 4 years. Sorry, that's not how it's going to work.

I don’t think they will, and that’s the problem.

During the first 1-3 years of ramp-up, the school needs extra budget or it ensures a very limited experience for the early students.

Indeed. There are several (10+) students in Geometry now at Hardy, who will be ready for Alg II, some kids even beyond that who will be ready for pre-Calculus, for instance. There are nearly 30 kids in Italian II. Not having diverse offerings even for math or languages will do them a disservice. If DCPS does not have concrete plans to address this, the kids/parents will vote with their feet. And this is before we get to the clubs/extracurriculars.

what makes you think they won’t offer Algebra II?

Sigh. We’re only talking about the early years. Surely they will offer Algebra II by time the school has 11th Graders. But will they offer it when the school only has 9th graders? That’s the question.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let me add, I write the above sadly. The call this week left me very discouraged.

I want to be excited about the new school. I want it to be a success. I want my now-Hardy DC to attend with enthusiasm.

I want DCPS to tell us all something that will assure us that the school will get off to an smashing start and that will give the first couple of years of students good reasons to choose it.

But that was not what the DCPS liaisons accomplished in the call.


One more detail of the f’ed-up planning: You know why the first two years of students were given the option of choosing JR? For “historical consistency” because that is what happened in the last boundary review. No better reason than that.

So, unless DCPS alters the balance of pros and cons, current Hardy 7th and 8th graders will choose JR, and Macarthur will start filled with all OOB students from far afield. Which will do nothing to ease crowding at JR.

There's nothing they can say to guarantee this! It's going to be full of on-grade-level students and programmed accordingly and will be very good for students who attend. I agree that there should be no choice option though, unless maybe a sibling is a JR.

Yes, there is! They can guarantee that continuity of courses is offered, even if it means unusually small classes! So if a post-Hardy kid wants to take AP Italian or Algebra II or whatever, even if only a few students at the partially-filled school are ready for it, they should commit to making that available.

High school is more complicated than ES or MS. If the kids showing up early on only have a very limited number of course options, virtually no sports, and no clubs, no reputation with colleges, then they are foregoing a lot of a standard high school experience.

YES YES YES I am only now going to panic because it didn't even occur to me that my kid could show up to their public high school and be held back in their math path because the school is too new to offer the class they need. You can't do that!! Can they really do that?

this PP is rumormongering

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let me add, I write the above sadly. The call this week left me very discouraged.

I want to be excited about the new school. I want it to be a success. I want my now-Hardy DC to attend with enthusiasm.

I want DCPS to tell us all something that will assure us that the school will get off to an smashing start and that will give the first couple of years of students good reasons to choose it.

But that was not what the DCPS liaisons accomplished in the call.


One more detail of the f’ed-up planning: You know why the first two years of students were given the option of choosing JR? For “historical consistency” because that is what happened in the last boundary review. No better reason than that.

So, unless DCPS alters the balance of pros and cons, current Hardy 7th and 8th graders will choose JR, and Macarthur will start filled with all OOB students from far afield. Which will do nothing to ease crowding at JR.

There's nothing they can say to guarantee this! It's going to be full of on-grade-level students and programmed accordingly and will be very good for students who attend. I agree that there should be no choice option though, unless maybe a sibling is a JR.

Yes, there is! They can guarantee that continuity of courses is offered, even if it means unusually small classes! So if a post-Hardy kid wants to take AP Italian or Algebra II or whatever, even if only a few students at the partially-filled school are ready for it, they should commit to making that available.

High school is more complicated than ES or MS. If the kids showing up early on only have a very limited number of course options, virtually no sports, and no clubs, no reputation with colleges, then they are foregoing a lot of a standard high school experience.

They are not going to overstaff the school for 4 years. Sorry, that's not how it's going to work.

I don’t think they will, and that’s the problem.

During the first 1-3 years of ramp-up, the school needs extra budget or it ensures a very limited experience for the early students.

Indeed. There are several (10+) students in Geometry now at Hardy, who will be ready for Alg II, some kids even beyond that who will be ready for pre-Calculus, for instance. There are nearly 30 kids in Italian II. Not having diverse offerings even for math or languages will do them a disservice. If DCPS does not have concrete plans to address this, the kids/parents will vote with their feet. And this is before we get to the clubs/extracurriculars.

what makes you think they won’t offer Algebra II?

Anonymous wrote:
I worry that DC government really has no idea how to open a truly by-right school for an on-grade level cohort. They are are accustomed to the hands-off charter school approach - i.e., here's some money and you're responsible to figure it out. Or they are focused on creating schools for at-risk populations.

In 1968, DCPS hit its all-time high enrollment, just shy of 150,000 students. It then proceeded to lose students every year for 40 straight years, hitting a post-WWII low in 2009 of just under 45,000. Since 2009 DCPS has gained over 6,000 students and closed 24 schools, and still has about 25% more seats than students system-wide.

DCPS has spent most of the past 55 years shrinking and closing schools. There's no institutional knowledge of how to expand or open new schools.

Hardy the recent in boundary explosion used to have the more advanced math and English classes with just handfuls of students in them.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let me add, I write the above sadly. The call this week left me very discouraged.

I want to be excited about the new school. I want it to be a success. I want my now-Hardy DC to attend with enthusiasm.

I want DCPS to tell us all something that will assure us that the school will get off to an smashing start and that will give the first couple of years of students good reasons to choose it.

But that was not what the DCPS liaisons accomplished in the call.


One more detail of the f’ed-up planning: You know why the first two years of students were given the option of choosing JR? For “historical consistency” because that is what happened in the last boundary review. No better reason than that.

So, unless DCPS alters the balance of pros and cons, current Hardy 7th and 8th graders will choose JR, and Macarthur will start filled with all OOB students from far afield. Which will do nothing to ease crowding at JR.

There's nothing they can say to guarantee this! It's going to be full of on-grade-level students and programmed accordingly and will be very good for students who attend. I agree that there should be no choice option though, unless maybe a sibling is a JR.

Yes, there is! They can guarantee that continuity of courses is offered, even if it means unusually small classes! So if a post-Hardy kid wants to take AP Italian or Algebra II or whatever, even if only a few students at the partially-filled school are ready for it, they should commit to making that available.

High school is more complicated than ES or MS. If the kids showing up early on only have a very limited number of course options, virtually no sports, and no clubs, no reputation with colleges, then they are foregoing a lot of a standard high school experience.

YES YES YES I am only now going to panic because it didn't even occur to me that my kid could show up to their public high school and be held back in their math path because the school is too new to offer the class they need. You can't do that!! Can they really do that?

I guess they can? The DCPS liaisons on Monday night seemed not at all concerned with this. They said there are no guarantees for specific courses and that the (unknown) principal — presumably constrained by the standard per-pupil budget model — will figure out what teachers/capabilities to hire and what courses to offer.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let me add, I write the above sadly. The call this week left me very discouraged.

I want to be excited about the new school. I want it to be a success. I want my now-Hardy DC to attend with enthusiasm.

I want DCPS to tell us all something that will assure us that the school will get off to an smashing start and that will give the first couple of years of students good reasons to choose it.

But that was not what the DCPS liaisons accomplished in the call.


One more detail of the f’ed-up planning: You know why the first two years of students were given the option of choosing JR? For “historical consistency” because that is what happened in the last boundary review. No better reason than that.

So, unless DCPS alters the balance of pros and cons, current Hardy 7th and 8th graders will choose JR, and Macarthur will start filled with all OOB students from far afield. Which will do nothing to ease crowding at JR.

There's nothing they can say to guarantee this! It's going to be full of on-grade-level students and programmed accordingly and will be very good for students who attend. I agree that there should be no choice option though, unless maybe a sibling is a JR.

Yes, there is! They can guarantee that continuity of courses is offered, even if it means unusually small classes! So if a post-Hardy kid wants to take AP Italian or Algebra II or whatever, even if only a few students at the partially-filled school are ready for it, they should commit to making that available.

High school is more complicated than ES or MS. If the kids showing up early on only have a very limited number of course options, virtually no sports, and no clubs, no reputation with colleges, then they are foregoing a lot of a standard high school experience.

YES YES YES I am only now going to panic because it didn't even occur to me that my kid could show up to their public high school and be held back in their math path because the school is too new to offer the class they need. You can't do that!! Can they really do that?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish they would also give non-Hardy kids with rights to J-R priority for MacArthur. The PP is obviously upset and disappointed, but from her report it sounds like MacArthur will offer everything my current middle school student wants or needs. And when it opens, MacArthur will be an order of magnitude smaller than J-R. You want a “good reason to choose” MacArthur? That’s my reason.

+1 I would love to have the option of a new, non-crowded version of JR

That's basically what it's going to be. You just have to send your kids there. Get together with other parents and make a pact. Will be fine! If a core of highly educated parents can agree to send their kids to our (truly struggling) IB MS, you can do the same for a beautiful, new HS zoned for all on-grade-level/advanced kids. Just send your kids.

Not a “beautiful, new HS”. An older, dark elementary school with new paint.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish they would also give non-Hardy kids with rights to J-R priority for MacArthur. The PP is obviously upset and disappointed, but from her report it sounds like MacArthur will offer everything my current middle school student wants or needs. And when it opens, MacArthur will be an order of magnitude smaller than J-R. You want a “good reason to choose” MacArthur? That’s my reason.

+1 I would love to have the option of a new, non-crowded version of JR

That's basically what it's going to be. You just have to send your kids there. Get together with other parents and make a pact. Will be fine! If a core of highly educated parents can agree to send their kids to our (truly struggling) IB MS, you can do the same for a beautiful, new HS zoned for all on-grade-level/advanced kids. Just send your kids.

Based on Deal, Hardy, and JR PARCC scores not ALL kids are at or above grade level.

Anonymous wrote:Unless their collective bargaining agreement forbids it, the Algebra 2 teacher will also have sections of Algebra 1. And maybe even a section of Geometry or Trig. Teachers are usually certified to teach more than just one course, especially in high school math, English, languages, and history. It happens all the time in other public and private schools. Ideally, the teacher gets an extra stipend for the additional teacher preps needed to teach multiple courses.

Teaching multiple courses is not the issue. The issue is teaching a course although only 5, maybe 10, students need it, especially since DCPS seems to expect (ridiculously!) every class to have 30+ students.

If you have a full high school, a full range of courses would be available.

At a typical high school, some math, language, science, or other elective classes would include students from multiple grade levels.

If you only have 9th graders — as Macarthur will at the start — then classes that would normally include a few 9th graders but mostly older students, would be very small. Will DCPS provide the class, or tell 9th graders they are screwed?

What about when the school is only 9th and 10th graders?

What about when the school is only 9th, 10th, and 11th graders? Note that, at this point, the 9th graders won’t have any option about what school to attend, but will still potentially face a smaller set of course offerings than the school will have just a year or two later. Same with sports, clubs, counselors, whatever.