Anonymous
02/27/2026 23:31
Subject: Moving to DC for 4th Grade
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Ah, the tutor who hate SH has made their obligatory appearance!
I’m the PP and am not the tutor.
Do you seriously believe that someone is out to get SH?? Seriously. Sounds like you are in denial. Good luck with that.
DP. Why is a tutor telling a parent negative stuff about other students he/she tutors? Sounds super unprofessional.
Tutors can tell what the school is assigning because they usually help the kids with schoolwork. Let's focus on the deficiencies with the schools, not the students.
I'm skeptical of the story altogether. It doesn't make sense for a tutor to be telling a random parent about other kids. And I would seriously question the professional judgement of any tutor who thought that was appropriate to do.
Happy to discuss actual evidence of S-H's deficiencies. This isn't it.
I’m the PP. I didn’t say the tutor told me anything. I’m posting about generalizations that a tutor posted about his experiences working with kids from many middle schools EOTP and his recommendations. It was objective and helpful.
It's interesting, I read the same posts and I thought they were extremely unprofessional and didn't actually realize the skew in who hires him. The vast majority of normal families are not hiring a tutor for enrichment. BASIS is much more likely to attract the kind of family hiring a tutor for enrichment than basically any other middle school. On top of that, BASIS is harder than most other middle schools workload wise, so the average kid he sees struggling with BASIS is likely to be a better student than the average kid he sees struggling with another middle school. But SH, at least, has pretty good supports for differentiation especially via extracurriculars (seriously, between drama and an instrumental group and debate and History Day, + tracked math, my kid has what is essentially a challenging curriculum that she also loves... and then also the rest of school); but SH parents aren't hiring a tutor to achieve extracurricular excellence. The tutor who posted was completely unable to acknowledge this difference in his populations and essentially said parents are failing their kids if they aren't hiring tutors for enrichment. I frankly think that's insane and very obviously self-promoting, stopped taking him seriously after that and assume that we would probably have different views on what makes a good school. YMMV.
FWIW I have nothing at all against BASIS which seems like a great school for some kids and would probably be even better in a system that permitted some screening. One of my kids has it as a top choice.
Why are you making BS stuff up? The tutor never said anything about enrichment and never said anything about Basis period.
Also we are talking academics and not EC. EC can’t compensate for the lack of academic challenge or rigor.. BTW other schools also have all the EC you listed above. Big deal.
Lastly SH math is just on grade level and nothing special. The other level is remedial. They don’t even have a geometry class.
I bumped the report card thread with the receipts. Just in case you were mistaken instead of lying about what the tutor said.
Anonymous
02/27/2026 23:27
Subject: Moving to DC for 4th Grade
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Ah, the tutor who hate SH has made their obligatory appearance!
I’m the PP and am not the tutor.
Do you seriously believe that someone is out to get SH?? Seriously. Sounds like you are in denial. Good luck with that.
DP. Why is a tutor telling a parent negative stuff about other students he/she tutors? Sounds super unprofessional.
Tutors can tell what the school is assigning because they usually help the kids with schoolwork. Let's focus on the deficiencies with the schools, not the students.
I'm skeptical of the story altogether. It doesn't make sense for a tutor to be telling a random parent about other kids. And I would seriously question the professional judgement of any tutor who thought that was appropriate to do.
Happy to discuss actual evidence of S-H's deficiencies. This isn't it.
I’m the PP. I didn’t say the tutor told me anything. I’m posting about generalizations that a tutor posted about his experiences working with kids from many middle schools EOTP and his recommendations. It was objective and helpful.
It's interesting, I read the same posts and I thought they were extremely unprofessional and didn't actually realize the skew in who hires him. The vast majority of normal families are not hiring a tutor for enrichment. BASIS is much more likely to attract the kind of family hiring a tutor for enrichment than basically any other middle school. On top of that, BASIS is harder than most other middle schools workload wise, so the average kid he sees struggling with BASIS is likely to be a better student than the average kid he sees struggling with another middle school. But SH, at least, has pretty good supports for differentiation especially via extracurriculars (seriously, between drama and an instrumental group and debate and History Day, + tracked math, my kid has what is essentially a challenging curriculum that she also loves... and then also the rest of school); but SH parents aren't hiring a tutor to achieve extracurricular excellence. The tutor who posted was completely unable to acknowledge this difference in his populations and essentially said parents are failing their kids if they aren't hiring tutors for enrichment. I frankly think that's insane and very obviously self-promoting, stopped taking him seriously after that and assume that we would probably have different views on what makes a good school. YMMV.
FWIW I have nothing at all against BASIS which seems like a great school for some kids and would probably be even better in a system that permitted some screening. One of my kids has it as a top choice.
Why are you making BS stuff up? The tutor never said anything about enrichment and never said anything about Basis period.
Also we are talking academics and not EC. EC can’t compensate for the lack of academic challenge or rigor.. BTW other schools also have all the EC you listed above. Big deal.
Lastly SH math is just on grade level and nothing special. The other level is remedial. They don’t even have a geometry class.
You apparently haven’t read all of the tutors threads, because he absolutely did respond to the criticism that he only seems struggling students by saying good parents hire tutors for enrichment. Which is BS, but whatever. He also talked about Basis at length.
Also, it is now apparently you allegedly dispassionate observer merely quoting a different person have an axe to grind with SH. Let me guess, you’re the earlier Basis parent.
Anonymous
02/27/2026 21:44
Subject: Moving to DC for 4th Grade
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Ah, the tutor who hate SH has made their obligatory appearance!
I’m the PP and am not the tutor.
Do you seriously believe that someone is out to get SH?? Seriously. Sounds like you are in denial. Good luck with that.
DP. Why is a tutor telling a parent negative stuff about other students he/she tutors? Sounds super unprofessional.
Tutors can tell what the school is assigning because they usually help the kids with schoolwork. Let's focus on the deficiencies with the schools, not the students.
I'm skeptical of the story altogether. It doesn't make sense for a tutor to be telling a random parent about other kids. And I would seriously question the professional judgement of any tutor who thought that was appropriate to do.
Happy to discuss actual evidence of S-H's deficiencies. This isn't it.
I’m the PP. I didn’t say the tutor told me anything. I’m posting about generalizations that a tutor posted about his experiences working with kids from many middle schools EOTP and his recommendations. It was objective and helpful.
It's interesting, I read the same posts and I thought they were extremely unprofessional and didn't actually realize the skew in who hires him. The vast majority of normal families are not hiring a tutor for enrichment. BASIS is much more likely to attract the kind of family hiring a tutor for enrichment than basically any other middle school. On top of that, BASIS is harder than most other middle schools workload wise, so the average kid he sees struggling with BASIS is likely to be a better student than the average kid he sees struggling with another middle school. But SH, at least, has pretty good supports for differentiation especially via extracurriculars (seriously, between drama and an instrumental group and debate and History Day, + tracked math, my kid has what is essentially a challenging curriculum that she also loves... and then also the rest of school); but SH parents aren't hiring a tutor to achieve extracurricular excellence. The tutor who posted was completely unable to acknowledge this difference in his populations and essentially said parents are failing their kids if they aren't hiring tutors for enrichment. I frankly think that's insane and very obviously self-promoting, stopped taking him seriously after that and assume that we would probably have different views on what makes a good school. YMMV.
FWIW I have nothing at all against BASIS which seems like a great school for some kids and would probably be even better in a system that permitted some screening. One of my kids has it as a top choice.
Why are you making BS stuff up? The tutor never said anything about enrichment and never said anything about Basis period.
Also we are talking academics and not EC. EC can’t compensate for the lack of academic challenge or rigor.. BTW other schools also have all the EC you listed above. Big deal.
Lastly SH math is just on grade level and nothing special. The other level is remedial. They don’t even have a geometry class.
Anonymous
02/27/2026 19:28
Subject: Moving to DC for 4th Grade
Anonymous wrote:It is fine OP. People do not read the part where you say you already own a home. Rank the Hill area elementary schools with some attention to proximity to your house and save most of the middle (or high) school research for off this board in real life next year.
Thanks. I feel pretty good about most Hill elementary schools and even Thomson. Middle school less so, but is what it is. We'll make it work.
Anonymous
02/27/2026 18:47
Subject: Moving to DC for 4th Grade
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Ah, the tutor who hate SH has made their obligatory appearance!
I’m the PP and am not the tutor.
Do you seriously believe that someone is out to get SH?? Seriously. Sounds like you are in denial. Good luck with that.
DP. Why is a tutor telling a parent negative stuff about other students he/she tutors? Sounds super unprofessional.
Tutors can tell what the school is assigning because they usually help the kids with schoolwork. Let's focus on the deficiencies with the schools, not the students.
I'm skeptical of the story altogether. It doesn't make sense for a tutor to be telling a random parent about other kids. And I would seriously question the professional judgement of any tutor who thought that was appropriate to do.
Happy to discuss actual evidence of S-H's deficiencies. This isn't it.
I’m the PP. I didn’t say the tutor told me anything. I’m posting about generalizations that a tutor posted about his experiences working with kids from many middle schools EOTP and his recommendations. It was objective and helpful.
It's interesting, I read the same posts and I thought they were extremely unprofessional and didn't actually realize the skew in who hires him. The vast majority of normal families are not hiring a tutor for enrichment. BASIS is much more likely to attract the kind of family hiring a tutor for enrichment than basically any other middle school. On top of that, BASIS is harder than most other middle schools workload wise, so the average kid he sees struggling with BASIS is likely to be a better student than the average kid he sees struggling with another middle school. But SH, at least, has pretty good supports for differentiation especially via extracurriculars (seriously, between drama and an instrumental group and debate and History Day, + tracked math, my kid has what is essentially a challenging curriculum that she also loves... and then also the rest of school); but SH parents aren't hiring a tutor to achieve extracurricular excellence. The tutor who posted was completely unable to acknowledge this difference in his populations and essentially said parents are failing their kids if they aren't hiring tutors for enrichment. I frankly think that's insane and very obviously self-promoting, stopped taking him seriously after that and assume that we would probably have different views on what makes a good school. YMMV.
FWIW I have nothing at all against BASIS which seems like a great school for some kids and would probably be even better in a system that permitted some screening. One of my kids has it as a top choice.
Anonymous
02/27/2026 15:32
Subject: Moving to DC for 4th Grade
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Ah, the tutor who hate SH has made their obligatory appearance!
I’m the PP and am not the tutor.
Do you seriously believe that someone is out to get SH?? Seriously. Sounds like you are in denial. Good luck with that.
DP. Why is a tutor telling a parent negative stuff about other students he/she tutors? Sounds super unprofessional.
Tutors can tell what the school is assigning because they usually help the kids with schoolwork. Let's focus on the deficiencies with the schools, not the students.
I'm skeptical of the story altogether. It doesn't make sense for a tutor to be telling a random parent about other kids. And I would seriously question the professional judgement of any tutor who thought that was appropriate to do.
Happy to discuss actual evidence of S-H's deficiencies. This isn't it.
I’m the PP. I didn’t say the tutor told me anything. I’m posting about generalizations that a tutor posted about his experiences working with kids from many middle schools EOTP and his recommendations. It was objective and helpful.
Anonymous
02/27/2026 14:21
Subject: Moving to DC for 4th Grade
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Ah, the tutor who hate SH has made their obligatory appearance!
I’m the PP and am not the tutor.
Do you seriously believe that someone is out to get SH?? Seriously. Sounds like you are in denial. Good luck with that.
DP. Why is a tutor telling a parent negative stuff about other students he/she tutors? Sounds super unprofessional.
Tutors can tell what the school is assigning because they usually help the kids with schoolwork. Let's focus on the deficiencies with the schools, not the students.
I'm skeptical of the story altogether. It doesn't make sense for a tutor to be telling a random parent about other kids. And I would seriously question the professional judgement of any tutor who thought that was appropriate to do.
Happy to discuss actual evidence of S-H's deficiencies. This isn't it.
Anonymous
02/27/2026 14:08
Subject: Moving to DC for 4th Grade
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Ah, the tutor who hate SH has made their obligatory appearance!
I’m the PP and am not the tutor.
Do you seriously believe that someone is out to get SH?? Seriously. Sounds like you are in denial. Good luck with that.
DP. Why is a tutor telling a parent negative stuff about other students he/she tutors? Sounds super unprofessional.
Tutors can tell what the school is assigning because they usually help the kids with schoolwork. Let's focus on the deficiencies with the schools, not the students.
Anonymous
02/27/2026 13:46
Subject: Moving to DC for 4th Grade
Also think about researching neighborhood activities depending on your 4th graders interests. Good way to meet people outside of a single elementary school bubble.
Anonymous
02/27/2026 13:44
Subject: Moving to DC for 4th Grade
It is fine OP. People do not read the part where you say you already own a home. Rank the Hill area elementary schools with some attention to proximity to your house and save most of the middle (or high) school research for off this board in real life next year.
Anonymous
02/27/2026 12:18
Subject: Re:Moving to DC for 4th Grade
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I would consider Arlington and solid elementary/middle/ and high school path. It is easy commute to where you will be.
You have to think about middle school and chances are slim to none for the charters.
I'm not moving to Arlington, full stop. We're returning to DC if either of these jobs come through and sticking with the Kingman Park house. I'm aware of the challenges with many DC middle and high schools.
Wow. I’m a Hill mom, in bounds for Stuart Hobson and my kid goes to Basis and I would suggest that you move to the burbs. Which is what you don’t want to do so I got nothing else for you. I walk past Stuart Hobson all the time walking my dog and I’m glad my kids don’t go there, though there are some great kids there and the principal seems really really engaged and hardworking.
Your reaction to someone saying moving isn’t feasible for the family financially is “wow,” because you view the outside of a school their kids might possibly attend and are glad yours doesn’t go there? You sound like real gem.
Why do these posters always have kids at BASIS?
I’m the PP who said that - I didn’t clarify - not based on the building facility at all (obviously a much better physical facility than Basis, ye old office building with one narrow staircase and no outdoor space)- based on the behavior of a lot of the students that I see daily before school and during recess/lunch. Some of them are great, but a lot of not great behavior . Can be a great fit for some kids! Not great for some. I’m just saying if I were answering OP’s original post my initial reaction is burbs.
Move to the suburbs, where middle schoolers don't act like middle schoolers.
Anonymous
02/27/2026 12:18
Subject: Re:Moving to DC for 4th Grade
Anonymous wrote:Read the first page - not sure if this has been mentioned. I realize you said you would not consider Ward 3 but...good elementary schools, solid middle and high school. Your kid can walk to all three if you live in Murch or Janney district which lightens the single parent load. Mine were allowed to walk on their own starting in 4th and definitely in 5th. And either one has access to Red Line so you can Metro to work. Realize cost would mean smaller space but more green space up here. The school playgrounds are all full of kids after school. I didn't realize once we moved how nice it was to have the easy walk for us.
I have a sub-3% interest rate on a 3 bedroom rowhouse (that I rent out to cover the mortgage and a little extra). I've done the math 20 different times, and I can't afford to buy in Ward 3, even a small 2 bedroom condo. Rents on apartments up there are also high. The math just doesn't math. Believe me, I'd love to live in a neighborhood with a great elementary school where my kid can walk and there are tons of kids. So would a lot of other people, which is in part why prices are so high. Instead, I'm hoping to get one of these jobs back in DC so I can stop being a landlord and be only 3 hours from my parents instead of 9. I know schools are a thorny, complex problem in DC and I'm trying to make a best of the cards I've been dealt.
Anonymous
02/27/2026 12:15
Subject: Moving to DC for 4th Grade
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Ah, the tutor who hate SH has made their obligatory appearance!
I’m the PP and am not the tutor.
Do you seriously believe that someone is out to get SH?? Seriously. Sounds like you are in denial. Good luck with that.
DP. Why is a tutor telling a parent negative stuff about other students he/she tutors? Sounds super unprofessional.