Anonymous wrote:Improvement for everyone is great but the principal actually says that the measures that DCPS is taking at Hardy is to attract in-boundary families.

So far, however, nothing seems to be good enough for them. But overall, great news for all the existing Hardy students/families and future students (ib and/or oob).

Why is it a problem to want to attract IB families? It is their neighborhood school after all, and currently it is filled with a disproportionate number of low performing, poorly behaved OOB kids.

I'm not inbound for Hardy, but looking at a feeder school. I see nothing wrong with an attempt to attract IB families, and many of the above posts indicate that yes, the principal and DCPS are "bending over backwards" to do just that.

But the OP seems to believe that the primary issue is getting rid of OOB kids. Talk of what's been added to the program took nearly 100 posts, and the majority of those have been appropriately described as toxic. The charters are attracting high performers from all over the city, (as does Deal) and it would be hard to see Hardy in that echelon if it were only welcoming to IB families. I have a hard time believing that's the message the principal or DCPS wants to send.

But when you're beating a drum about low SES families as undesirables and there's not much else to the tune, that's the only thing that will be heard.

Improvement for everyone is great but the principal actually says that the measures that DCPS is taking at Hardy is to attract in-boundary families.

So far, however, nothing seems to be good enough for them. But overall, great news for all the existing Hardy students/families and future students (ib and/or oob).

Anonymous wrote:OK, I'll start:
* Removal an effective principal. Parents of actual Hardy students were not in agreement with the removal of Patrick Pope and we still have not heard anything else about that performing arts middle school that was the "reason" for his removal.
* The creation of the SEM program. IB families will denigrate the program but they cannot deny the financial out-lay for the personnel.

I heard Principal Pride speak recently and she talked about adding more accelerated classes and listed numerous programs that are in the works (robotics, various music opportunities, increased athletics). All, in her words, to attract in-boundary families. She has also applied for an extended instructional day which would, of course, result in more pay for the entire staff.

So improving the school for all students is bending over backwards for in-boundary parents. Got it.

Anonymous wrote:OK, I'll start:
* Removal an effective principal. Parents of actual Hardy students were not in agreement with the removal of Patrick Pope and we still have not heard anything else about that performing arts middle school that was the "reason" for his removal.
* The creation of the SEM program. IB families will denigrate the program but they cannot deny the financial out-lay for the personnel.

I heard Principal Pride speak recently and she talked about adding more accelerated classes and listed numerous programs that are in the works (robotics, various music opportunities, increased athletics). All, in her words, to attract in-boundary families. She has also applied for an extended instructional day which would, of course, result in more pay for the entire staff.

Wouldn't accelerated classes, expanded music opportunities, increased athletics also be of potential interest to some families outside Hardy's feeder pattern? I am a feeder school parent; at this point, my child would not be a candidate for accelerated academics. But I'll bet there are some children coming from outside Hardy's feeder pattern who could benefit from such courses.

I'm not a fan of an extended instructional day for my child, but I think an extended instructional day would meet the needs of children who require catch-up work, or don't have support at home, as well as those children (or parents) who want more, more, more in terms of academics. Again, I think OOB children could fall into both groups.

Similarly, I think the menu of SEM courses is designed to appeal to students with a range of talents and interests. If implemented well, I think it could do as much to prepare students for "college and career" as accelerated academics,...tho I imagine it depends on the envisioned career.

Seems like we have a determined, experienced educator who is trying to expand educational opportunities to engage and support a broad range of students.

OK, I'll start:
* Removal an effective principal. Parents of actual Hardy students were not in agreement with the removal of Patrick Pope and we still have not heard anything else about that performing arts middle school that was the "reason" for his removal.
* The creation of the SEM program. IB families will denigrate the program but they cannot deny the financial out-lay for the personnel.

I heard Principal Pride speak recently and she talked about adding more accelerated classes and listed numerous programs that are in the works (robotics, various music opportunities, increased athletics). All, in her words, to attract in-boundary families. She has also applied for an extended instructional day which would, of course, result in more pay for the entire staff.

Anonymous wrote:
DCPS has been bending over backwards to placate this vocal in-boundary parent group. Enough already.

Then it should be very easy to create a list of specific things that DCPS has done to "bend over backwards to placate this vocal in-boundary parent group." Let's hear a few.

What's truly absurd is how LITTLE has done for the high SES families near Hardy. A lot of the outrage on this thread regarding OOB/IB is because it IS totally absurd to be paying 15-20k in property taxes, gazillions in income taxes, and then find that your "neighborhood" school is not catering to your neighborhood's needs!!

IB Hardy families have, in the past, had a legitimate bone to pick. They pay a fortune to the city and receive absolutely nothing in return.

I do think Hardy will surpass Deal shortly though. Pride gets it, and Hardy is so much nicer/smaller, great little campus. A matter of a year or two ....

Won't they just graduate?

Kick the thugs out of Hardy (not the nose to the grindstone OOB kids) and we can talk about redrawing feeder patterns!

We are an IB family with kids in private school. I looked at Hardy years ago and was disappointed with the course offerings in world languages and math; thought the library was very poorly stocked; found the books kids were reading in class to be below grade-level; and found the teachers underwhelming. It wasn't terrible AT ALL, but was a couple of steps down from what we were used to, and our oldest happened to be way above grade level, so it didn't seem like a great fit. The students seemed really well-behaved for middle school, but in some classrooms (enough to notice), they were not very engaged by the teachers. You have to be a very engaging teacher to work successfully with 12- and 13-year-olds.

All of these things are changing for the better, according to reports from current parents. I am eager to visit again and hope to consider Hardy seriously for our younger kids. I'm not at all concerned about what neighborhoods are represented at the school. I care about the academics, the administration and teachers, and the students' seriousness--or at least the middle school version of this.

BTW, some of these posts are pretty toxic and remind me of the bad ol' days when Hardy parents were viciously pitted against one another re IB and OOB, pro-Pope and anti-Pope. Thankfully, few posting here have actually been Hardy parents. I hope that those with the most poisonous attitudes will choose other schools and let Hardy succeed.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here we go again, in-boundary parents trying to rationalize their irrational fear of OOB kids.

If you want your kids to go to their neighborhood school, just send them and get involved with the school. Your kid's test scores will be just fine. They will learn a lot in class and also benefit from being friends with kids from other parts of the city. Really.

If not, don't send them but please stop making up all kinds of ridiculous reasons. Just admit that you want your kids to go to a school with kids who look like them. Plenty of options around the city for you.

OOB kids are just that, kids. Their families obviously care about their education.They are goofy middle school aged children. If you go to an open house or go to an event and actually talk to the kids and their families, you will see that there is nothing to fear, but lots to gain.

DCPS has been bending over backwards to placate this vocal in-boundary parent group. Enough already.

Wow- do you ever have a chip on your shoulder. Why are you so angry?

How do you figure? I'm not IB for Hardy so this doesn't affect me either way. I'm baffled by your assertion, though. If DCPS had bent over backwards to please the higher-SES but still public school crowd, there would have been test-in/magnet type middle schools in Wards 2 & 6 years ago. Instead, DCPS has ceded that competitive-at-the-high-end ground to charters: first Latin, then Basis, next DCI. All of those schools are willing to offer at-and-above grade level instruction as a baseline, in addition to other educational options. In light of that, you really need to clarify your claim that DCPS has somehow courted this particular in-boundary group (or any other IB group with high standards).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Current Hardy Parent here, posting one more time to bring it all back home.

The facts - not speculation - from an actual Hardy parent's perspective.

1. Some of the best students at Hardy are OOB students. They come from wonderful homes; they care about learning, they care about their friends, and they are all-around great kids.

2. There are some not so great OOB kids. There are also some not-so-great IB kids. Believe me, there is not a good kid/bad kid boundary that exists at the IB boundary.

3. There is nothing - nothing - preventing good, smart kids with caring and involved parents from learning at Hardy today. Those kids do great, and compete with their peers from Deal and other middle schools when they move on to Wilson, Walls, Banneker, and competitive privates.

4. Hardy is getting even better, with strong leadership from Principal Pride and even more course offering and differentiation coming up next year.

You can believe all the unfounded speculation, you can get sidetracked in accusations of rascism and arguments over Hyde vs. Eaton as a Hardy feeder, but I implore you all to please keep those facts in mind as you consider Hardy for your IB or OOB student.

Great post.

Yes, thanks, pp!

Anonymous wrote:Here we go again, in-boundary parents trying to rationalize their irrational fear of OOB kids.

If you want your kids to go to their neighborhood school, just send them and get involved with the school. Your kid's test scores will be just fine. They will learn a lot in class and also benefit from being friends with kids from other parts of the city. Really.

If not, don't send them but please stop making up all kinds of ridiculous reasons. Just admit that you want your kids to go to a school with kids who look like them. Plenty of options around the city for you.

OOB kids are just that, kids. Their families obviously care about their education.They are goofy middle school aged children. If you go to an open house or go to an event and actually talk to the kids and their families, you will see that there is nothing to fear, but lots to gain.

DCPS has been bending over backwards to placate this vocal in-boundary parent group. Enough already.

Wow- do you ever have a chip on your shoulder. Why are you so angry?

Anonymous wrote:I just want to clarify something: according to Pride, IF YOU ARE AT A FEEDER SCHOOL YOU ARE IB FOR HARDY. Somehow this whole IB OOB discussion has run off the rails. The parents who physically live (IB) near Hardy are dying to have Stoddert/Hyde kids attend regardless of where they live!!

If you re-read the early posts, PP, you'll see that the discussion was never framed as IB v. OOB, but rather feeder v. OOB. We are well aware that many of the kids coming from feeders are not IB for those feeders nor for Hardy, but are nonetheless considered IB for enrollment purposes at Hardy. However, we also recognize that, by virtue of coming from a feeder, those kids are more likely to be motivated and prepared and less likely to be disruptive. The debate here has been more nuanced than you realize or care to admit.

The early feeder v. OOB posts on this thread stem from an information session at a Hardy feeder, where Pride made it clear that her plan for turning Hardy back into a neighborhood school is to minimize (non-feeder) OOB enrollment in the 6th grade. I think she said that she made only 10 OOB spots available in the upcoming lottery -- which will probably all go to OOB siblings -- to buy more time to recruit families from the feeders.

The plan for turning Hardy around, as explained by Pride herself, is to lure feeder families back by clamping down on (non-feeder) OOB enrollment. Don't shoot the messenger.