of the dozen(?) top charters, which did you NOT apply to, and why?

[Anonymous]

Everybody's mostly got the same charter application list, since there's no limit on applications and they are (mostly) reasonably easy to submit.

Mundo Verde
Two Rivers
LAMB
Capital City PCS
EL Haynes
Appletree
Stokes
Bridges
Yu Ying
Creative Minds
Inspired Teaching
Creative Minds

But there are some variances. Which did you skip? (Which did you add, too?) Sela? Meridian? Shining Stars? DC Prep or KIPP?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Everybody's mostly got the same charter application list, since there's no limit on applications and they are (mostly) reasonably easy to submit.

Mundo Verde
Two Rivers
LAMB
Capital City PCS
EL Haynes
Appletree
Stokes
Bridges
Yu Ying
Creative Minds
Inspired Teaching
Creative Minds

But there are some variances. Which did you skip? (Which did you add, too?) Sela? Meridian? Shining Stars? DC Prep or KIPP?

We skipped Two Rivers, Stokes, EL Haynes, Appletree, and Creative Minds. We added Sela.

[Anonymous]

YY - the chatter on DCUM reinforced things I felt but could not put my finger on during Open House.

[Anonymous]

We only applied to Yu Ying b/c we REALLY wanted Mandarin. For English only schools, we only considered private. Got lucky and got in through the wait list. This is our second yr and very happy with the school.

[Anonymous]

Skipped YY, cultural inputs seemed fake and forced and admins can't speak Mandarin (we asked questions in Mandarin, our native tongue, endearing us to no-one). Chinese teachers on short US work visas not at open house for, um, political reasons?

[Anonymous]

Skipped Yu Ying. No interest in Chinese.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Skipped YY, cultural inputs seemed fake and forced and admins can't speak Mandarin (we asked questions in Mandarin, our native tongue, endearing us to no-one). Chinese teachers on short US work visas not at open house for, um, political reasons?

We have been at Yu Ying for 5 years. Chinese teachers are not on short work visas. Many of them have been at the school for several years.

[Anonymous]

I added Meridian. It's not a first choice, but I think it's a good pick for a safety school. I like the facility, location & the metro convenience, and I have a feeling it will become a little more popular with middle class families as a result of those things.

Plus, it's only PS3. We may not be comfortable with it down the line, but at least for PS/PK I can imagine it working out.

[Anonymous]

Wow, not helpful to OP's original question but reading that list helped remind me just how many apps we've put in this year. We applied to every single school on that list, except Appletree only because our kid is already at Appletree.

I definitely have strong feelings about adoring some of those schools madly (based on my open house experiences and correspondence/communications with those schools) and being underwhelmed/turned off by others, but if I only got into one/some in the latter category, I'm certainly not turning them down if nothing better magically appears.

Anyone else who navigated them by themselves kind of astounded in retrospect just how much time/energy this journey takes each year until you're where you want your kids to be? I know this is stating the obvious, but it's still kind of crazy indeed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Anyone else who navigated them by themselves kind of astounded in retrospect just how much time/energy this journey takes each year until you're where you want your kids to be? I know this is stating the obvious, but it's still kind of crazy indeed.

Yes, absolutely. I've been dishing out info right and left to all my friends with younger kids who are just now getting into it, and remembering how baffled and overwhelmed I was in their shoes, happy to do it.

OP, we only applied to about three charters (this was last year), because we wanted to be realistic about what we would take if it was offered. Our kid was in a nearby DCPS for PS3 and, if the option was between that and some school that was highly inconvenient (two rivers) or not at all interesting (YY), he would have stayed put. So we made our choices based on curriculum/ philosophy and on location. And we lucked out. Whew!

[Anonymous]

We skipped YY (location, facilities and general hype made it tempting but a little soul searching told me that we just don't care about Chinese) and Two Rivers (older child started there but left when our #1 choice called; 2R is a great school, but logistically it was a nightmare for us coming from Petworth). Sela wasn't an option because no PS3, but we likely would have skipped based on the same sort of reasoning why we held back from YY.

[Anonymous]

We only did MV, Cap City, and Creative Minds. I'm not willing to commute for the others. Interested in Inspired Teachings, but the parents I know hat go there certainly don't appear over-the-moon like the Creative Minds/MV parents.

[Anonymous]

We only did MV, LAMB, Cap City and EL Haynes this time. Last year we did 12+ applications. My kids are in a local nearby school that is okay for now. If the OOB and/or charter doesn't work, we're okay for the next 2-3 years.

[Anonymous]

Skipped 2R because of the hellish commute it would entail- Pk3 so YY and Sela not an option but would not really be interested in either language. Prefer French or Spanish for family reasons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Skipped 2R because of the hellish commute it would entail- Pk3 so YY and Sela not an option but would not really be interested in either language. Prefer French or Spanish for family reasons.

But you did MV? Are you going to do language immersion for just one year if you get in? That would be a waste for your family and for others that might want the spot long term.