Dear DSCPS, That's it I'm cheating!!!

[Anonymous]

I'm over it. I'm letting you know now that I'm cheating. With all the deceptive practices going on (OOB w/sibling, living w/grandma, moving OOB after getting IB lottery), I am committed to succeed in this dog-eat-dog lottery/game to get my DC in the best school possible. I am thinking when DC is in K next year, I will find a short term rental apartment in XXXX school district, pay $1500 for a studio apartment, do to the DMV and change my address, registration and insurance, then "move" back to my house east of the park after I have enrolled. Even if I have to pay a month or 2 of rent for an empty apartment....

[Anonymous]

**DCPS

[Anonymous]

That'll work for one year; you'll need to prove again that you're in-bounds before your child can enroll next year.

[Anonymous]

My DC license will be good for X amount of years as will my DC registration that I will keep using same address as I pay online to DMV to renew, they don't ask for address validation.

[Anonymous]

Your license is irrelevant; it's your car registration more than anything. Just pray you don't get caught by a red light or speeding camera, since those bills will be sent to the address on record at DMV, and the fines for non-payment really stack up.

[Anonymous]

Well, she can just routinely check online if she got a ticket or not since that would be tied to her license plate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, she can just routinely check online if she got a ticket or not since that would be tied to her license plate.

I tend to do that any way with DC with both my plates and my DH's.

[Anonymous]

You will have to prove your address (a license isn't enough, you will need a utility bill). Also, another family will turn you in, for sure.

[Anonymous]

OP, I completely understand your sense of frustration and desperation. I was there at this time last year when we didn't get in anywhere. It can make you insane and then you imagine all the people who are gaming the system and it makes you feel like you must be the only sucker who follows the rules. I get it. My husband and I discussed doing the very same thing you suggest...we were committed to the idea of renting a small apartment in-boundary while still maintaining our home in another neighborhood. We figured it still beat tuition at many privates. Luckily we were never forced to actually to decide if we had the balls to do that. We ended up getting a spot in September. But I know the feeling of which you speak. You're angry at everyone, feeling the pressure that your child's education experience rests on you and not wanting to fail him/her.

Here's the problem about the plan you describe, and it's not all the DMV, records stuff...when you join a school you become part of that community. Your child makes friends. You get to know the parents. There are birthday parties and play dates. Sooner or later that "apartment ruse" becomes an issue. Innocent questions from parents like, "Where do you live?" are fraught with anxiety. You become evasive and weird. People pick up on it and suspect something is not quite right. You become one of those people that are talked about on this Board ("I think one of our son's friends is OOB but claiming IB status...what should I do?). And God forbid you ever put your angel in a position where he/she is told not to talk about where they live. It's like one of those bed of lies things. So, I get why you're tempted, but don't do it. Try to tap into the good karma, be patient (and persistent) and hope that you get a legit OOB spot. Then you can OWN your OOB status.

[Anonymous]

If you and our husband "separated" and he moved to a basement efficiency in Woodley Park (and switched his paycheck, drivers license etc) to that address, you could legally enroll your kid in Oyster whatever the IB school was. That would not even be cheating (except for the lying about being separated, but you could be working on your relationship and that is why he keep sleeping over at your house, who knows). Heck, there are people who maintain two residences and have a perfectly happy marriage, who's to say you are not one of those couples.

The truth is, a lot of the MD kids you see at DCPS schools (mostly east of the park, not in the JKLMs) have moms who live in MD and dads who live in DC (quite possibly still with their mom's, which is why grandma's address gets used). And, that is perfectly legal, the kids do not need to live in the Apartment only one of the parents.

And, as long as your rent the apartment for the entire school year, its not cheating.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you and our husband "separated" and he moved to a basement efficiency in Woodley Park (and switched his paycheck, drivers license etc) to that address, you could legally enroll your kid in Oyster whatever the IB school was. That would not even be cheating (except for the lying about being separated, but you could be working on your relationship and that is why he keep sleeping over at your house, who knows). Heck, there are people who maintain two residences and have a perfectly happy marriage, who's to say you are not one of those couples.

The truth is, a lot of the MD kids you see at DCPS schools (mostly east of the park, not in the JKLMs) have moms who live in MD and dads who live in DC (quite possibly still with their mom's, which is why grandma's address gets used). And, that is perfectly legal, the kids do not need to live in the Apartment only one of the parents.

And, as long as your rent the apartment for the entire school year, its not cheating.

This advice, while creative, makes me sick to my stomach. So many, many bad issues and messages here.

[Anonymous]

What a great example you are for your kids. Make sure to tell your kid to lie about where (s)he resides otherwise the lie won't hold up.

[Anonymous]

All you have to do is sit outside a DCPS or Charter during drop off and see all the MD plates. There have been complaints about that for years. The thing is that the schools don't really care if the child is gaming the system. They get paid per head count so the follow up by the "authorities" (use that term very loosely) just isn't done.

Oh right, I know all those MD kids are just being dropped off by Grandma......

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All you have to do is sit outside a DCPS or Charter during drop off and see all the MD plates. There have been complaints about that for years. The thing is that the schools don't really care if the child is gaming the system. They get paid per head count so the follow up by the "authorities" (use that term very loosely) just isn't done.

Oh right, I know all those MD kids are just being dropped off by Grandma......

A lot of those MD kids have fathers who live in DC. Parents are not married (probably never were). Mom is working as a secretary, daycare teacher, nurse, etc. in the city and DCPS and Charters are better than PG county schools. The father of her kid (who she is wisely not married to) is still living in the city. Those kids have a parent who lives in the city thus they are entitled to DC schools even if they live in MD with their mother.

And, as for the above "legal" way to get into a JKLM, what is the problem, as long as the parent actually rents the place in the JKLM district, who cares? The rule is that parents have to have a permanent residence in the boundary. If the parent rents a place in district, what is the problem. I'm not suggesting asking the kids to lie about where they live. (in effect, this is what Michele Rhee did to get her kids into Oyster -- her ex-husband lived there, not her)

[Anonymous]

You wouldn't have to worry about lying to other parents, you just say you moved oob which is what many responses were about another post moving oob after getting in ib preference.