Every student, the Boys' Latin uniform insists, is held to the same high standard. The school also embodies Hardy's vision of getting more boys, particularly African American boys, into college.
As the school's chief executive officer, Hardy, 59, fights an uphill battle. Whether blocked by listless parents, bare-knuckled poverty, shoddy schools, or all of the above, only about four in 10 African American boys in the city graduate from public high schools, a reflection of a national education crisis.
In June, at Boys' Latin's first graduation, the entire senior class will receive diplomas. More than half of the 82 boys have been accepted to college, winning more than $800,000 in scholarships.
Hardy aims for 100 percent - and to somehow pull up those underclassmen who lag behind, some of whom read at an elementary school level.
But striding down a hallway of beautiful student artwork, moving historical quotes, and colorful college flags, Hardy has immediate business with a sophomore who trails behind him.
The boy has earned one demerit and an hour, starting at 7 a.m., to ponder whether thwarting the dress code a third time was worth it.
Hardy pivots, thinking, "That boy is going to have a hard time here."
Hardy designed the school to be rigorous. Boys study Latin for four years, an analytical language proved to raise SAT scores. There are no girls to show off for, classes end at 5 p.m. three days a week, and Saturday school is offered twice a month.
"It should be a serious academic environment," Hardy says, "because if it's not, it's Animal House."
School must be an active enterprise for boys, Hardy says. They need to build things and take things apart. They need to be academically engaged. When they're not, they compete on everything, such as who can punch the hardest. They need challenges.
