Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's interesting that a few years ago Hardy almost became the Coretta Scott King middle school of the arts.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/20/AR2008082001476.html

Back then Hardy was on a fast-track to becoming a city-wide magnet arts middle school -- an Ellington feeder. Things might have actually worked out better if that effort had been successful and the pretext of a neighborhood school had been dropped. Then DCPS would have had to do something for the in-boundary families, and everyone would have been happy.

That plan for the school and the new name would have been fine with me. It annoys me that a school that is a gift to the families of the District of Columbia is not up to the high and mighty standards of the neighborhood. If you wa to come to Hardy that's ok but we won't miss you if you don't. It's not all about you and your precious dears.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's interesting that a few years ago Hardy almost became the Coretta Scott King middle school of the arts.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/20/AR2008082001476.html

Back then Hardy was on a fast-track to becoming a city-wide magnet arts middle school -- an Ellington feeder. Things might have actually worked out better if that effort had been successful and the pretext of a neighborhood school had been dropped. Then DCPS would have had to do something for the in-boundary families, and everyone would have been happy.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
It seems clear to me that the deal is sealed with 34 IB families already, and given the prisoners dilemma dynamic, that alone will seal the deal for many more next year. That is why this thread was started I believe, because the dynamic is such that that number is crucial now - people ARE willing to send their kids to Hardy but only IF other IB do so as well. So IB percentage is the crux of the issue, NOT the content of education at Hardy, which is already desirable on its own terms. I am trying to understand why so many posters seem stuck in a now obsolete discourse.

If they all have a good experience I would say we've passed a tipping point. If half of them run screaming for the exits it's back to square one.

What's happened in the past? Do in-boundary resident students from Key, Mann, Stoddert usually stay through 8th grade or do they bail out early? It seems that the major challenge is to get IB families to enroll at Hardy, in the expectation that the experience once they are there will be better than the school's (unfair) rep in the community. So then, having made the leap of faith, what issues cause them to withdraw?

I posted about this pages ago, but at this point I can't expect anyone to read the entire thread.

My experience: I had kids at a Hardy feeder for nine years. Every year a few kids would go to Hardy, we would all watch like a hawk for signs of what their experience was. There were a handful of people who would go private no matter what, but most people were really unhappy with our middle school choices and would prefer to send their kids to a neighborhood public school. My observation is that in the past five years there has been exactly one child from my school who started sixth grade and finished eighth grade at Hardy. Half of the kids from the class of 2013 did not enroll in seventh grade in 2014. Other feeders may be different.

As to the issues that cause them to withdraw, you'd have to talk to the individual families, I'm sure every story is different. As someone who wants Hardy to succeed I would hope the school is conducting exit interviews to find out where they need to raise their game.

Similarly, I am a current Hardy IB parent with an intimate knowledge of what is going on at the school. I posted this several pages ago, which contains actual useful information about how current IB students fare at Hardy - and after Hardy.

"I know just about every IB 8th grader that graduated from Hardy last year - probably about 25 (this includes half a dozen or so kids some commenters on this board would not describe as IB families because they live east of the park and lotteried into Hardy feeders).

These kids are doing great. I'd say about ten ended up at School Without Walls. Another couple ended up at Duke Ellington. About half a dozen ended up at prestigious privates like St. Johns and Sidwell. The rest are attending Wilson - and by all accounts are doing quite well - placing into honors classes, geometry in 9th grade, Spanish II or III, and ottherwise on par with their peers from Deal."

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
It seems clear to me that the deal is sealed with 34 IB families already, and given the prisoners dilemma dynamic, that alone will seal the deal for many more next year. That is why this thread was started I believe, because the dynamic is such that that number is crucial now - people ARE willing to send their kids to Hardy but only IF other IB do so as well. So IB percentage is the crux of the issue, NOT the content of education at Hardy, which is already desirable on its own terms. I am trying to understand why so many posters seem stuck in a now obsolete discourse.

If they all have a good experience I would say we've passed a tipping point. If half of them run screaming for the exits it's back to square one.

What's happened in the past? Do in-boundary resident students from Key, Mann, Stoddert usually stay through 8th grade or do they bail out early? It seems that the major challenge is to get IB families to enroll at Hardy, in the expectation that the experience once they are there will be better than the school's (unfair) rep in the community. So then, having made the leap of faith, what issues cause them to withdraw?

I posted about this pages ago, but at this point I can't expect anyone to read the entire thread.

My experience: I had kids at a Hardy feeder for nine years. Every year a few kids would go to Hardy, we would all watch like a hawk for signs of what their experience was. There were a handful of people who would go private no matter what, but most people were really unhappy with our middle school choices and would prefer to send their kids to a neighborhood public school. My observation is that in the past five years there has been exactly one child from my school who started sixth grade and finished eighth grade at Hardy. Half of the kids from the class of 2013 did not enroll in seventh grade in 2014. Other feeders may be different.

As to the issues that cause them to withdraw, you'd have to talk to the individual families, I'm sure every story is different. As someone who wants Hardy to succeed I would hope the school is conducting exit interviews to find out where they need to raise their game.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
It seems clear to me that the deal is sealed with 34 IB families already, and given the prisoners dilemma dynamic, that alone will seal the deal for many more next year. That is why this thread was started I believe, because the dynamic is such that that number is crucial now - people ARE willing to send their kids to Hardy but only IF other IB do so as well. So IB percentage is the crux of the issue, NOT the content of education at Hardy, which is already desirable on its own terms. I am trying to understand why so many posters seem stuck in a now obsolete discourse.

If they all have a good experience I would say we've passed a tipping point. If half of them run screaming for the exits it's back to square one.

What's happened in the past? Do in-boundary resident students from Key, Mann, Stoddert usually stay through 8th grade or do they bail out early? It seems that the major challenge is to get IB families to enroll at Hardy, in the expectation that the experience once they are there will be better than the school's (unfair) rep in the community. So then, having made the leap of faith, what issues cause them to withdraw?

Anonymous wrote:To be fair, Mann is closer to Deal than Eaton is or than it is to Hardy. Eaton, which was until recently IB for Deal, is closer to Hardy than Deal, so while Mann kids never went through a lottery before Deal was overcrowded, it was, in many ways, Mann's "neighborhood middle school" a lot more than Hardy was.

Anonymous wrote:Some one should run against Mary Cheh and fix this mess. I live in a $2m+ IB house and am PISSED my IB school is not truly available to my kids. The idea that all of us in fancy IB houses will just go private is stupid.....we didn't get $$$ by wasting our money on private school. For families with multiple kids, even well heeled families, private school is often a foolish financial decision.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some one should run against Mary Cheh and fix this mess. I live in a $2m+ IB house and am PISSED my IB school is not truly available to my kids. The idea that all of us in fancy IB houses will just go private is stupid.....we didn't get $$$ by wasting our money on private school. For families with multiple kids, even well heeled families, private school is often a foolish financial decision.

Why did you buy a $2M house when it's zoned for an MS that IB families avoid??

Some people bought in neighborhoods zoned for many decades to the city's leading middle school and now find themselves rezoned for an MS that IB families avoid. That sucks.

Since that change has not taken effect yet, your children probably will still be able to go to Deal. So you're good.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
A PP wrote that someone was posting with an agenda of boosting private school admissions, allegedly afraid of competition from Hardy. Never mind that private schools in or near Hardy's IB area are well oversubscribed by applicants chasing relatively few seats, and they all have wait lists. Now someone alleges that questions about Hardy are raised by charter schools afraid of competition from Hardy. Never mind that the better charter schools -- Latin, etc. -- are oversubscribed in the lottery and are much sought after.

Instead of inventing false conspiracy theories that the St. Albans or Sidwells or Latins are afraid of Hardy, why not focus on those issues that IB parents need to seal the deal and send their kids to Hardy. What does Deal offer that Hardy doesn't? Then provide it. Aim to make Hardy the most rigorous public middle school in DC.

I am the PP you quote - I did not post about private schools, and posted about charters only because someone is posting with a very charter focused agenda, including a ppst to the effect that DCPS shouild not open so many middle schools and all will be underenrolled.

It seems clear to me that the deal is sealed with 34 IB families already, and given the prisoners dilemma dynamic, that alone will seal the deal for many more next year. That is why this thread was started I believe, because the dynamic is such that that number is crucial now - people ARE willing to send their kids to Hardy but only IF other IB do so as well. So IB percentage is the crux of the issue, NOT the content of education at Hardy, which is already desirable on its own terms. I am trying to understand why so many posters seem stuck in a now obsolete discourse.

34 students out of how many? What percentage are we talking about after all?

This was calculated and posted about 20 pages up. Maybe you can find it and bump it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
It seems clear to me that the deal is sealed with 34 IB families already, and given the prisoners dilemma dynamic, that alone will seal the deal for many more next year. That is why this thread was started I believe, because the dynamic is such that that number is crucial now - people ARE willing to send their kids to Hardy but only IF other IB do so as well. So IB percentage is the crux of the issue, NOT the content of education at Hardy, which is already desirable on its own terms. I am trying to understand why so many posters seem stuck in a now obsolete discourse.

If they all have a good experience I would say we've passed a tipping point. If half of them run screaming for the exits it's back to square one.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
A PP wrote that someone was posting with an agenda of boosting private school admissions, allegedly afraid of competition from Hardy. Never mind that private schools in or near Hardy's IB area are well oversubscribed by applicants chasing relatively few seats, and they all have wait lists. Now someone alleges that questions about Hardy are raised by charter schools afraid of competition from Hardy. Never mind that the better charter schools -- Latin, etc. -- are oversubscribed in the lottery and are much sought after.

Instead of inventing false conspiracy theories that the St. Albans or Sidwells or Latins are afraid of Hardy, why not focus on those issues that IB parents need to seal the deal and send their kids to Hardy. What does Deal offer that Hardy doesn't? Then provide it. Aim to make Hardy the most rigorous public middle school in DC.

I am the PP you quote - I did not post about private schools, and posted about charters only because someone is posting with a very charter focused agenda, including a ppst to the effect that DCPS shouild not open so many middle schools and all will be underenrolled.

It seems clear to me that the deal is sealed with 34 IB families already, and given the prisoners dilemma dynamic, that alone will seal the deal for many more next year. That is why this thread was started I believe, because the dynamic is such that that number is crucial now - people ARE willing to send their kids to Hardy but only IF other IB do so as well. So IB percentage is the crux of the issue, NOT the content of education at Hardy, which is already desirable on its own terms. I am trying to understand why so many posters seem stuck in a now obsolete discourse.

34 students out of how many? What percentage are we talking about after all?