Help, I just found out that I am moving to DC in August!
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Anonymous
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HI everyone, I was hoping that someone could give me some advice. I just found out that we are going to be moving to DC the middle of the summer for a work transfer. I have a son who will be in the 3rd grade at that time. We own a house in the Brightwood area of DC so that is where we will be living. I of course missed the lottery, and we have some pretty high waitlist numbers. The attendance area school for my house is not very good, I checked the schools with available seats for third grade this next year and none looked very good at all. Any advice? IS there a place where I can see the waitlist for each school and try to sign up for some with a shorter wait list? My lowest number is 20 on the Bridges waitlist. My next lowest is 45 at Inspired Teaching.
I am also considering the private or parochial school route. I couldn't afford astronomical private school tuition but I could probably pay around $1000 a month. Any chance there would be a seat open at any nearby school and that some financial aid would be available? If so, any schools to recommend that I check into? Maybe some of the lesser-known ones? Any and all suggestions appreciated! Thanks |
Anonymous
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Any chance you'd consider continuing to rent your house out (I assume it's been rented while you were gone) and get an apartment IB for a school you'd be happy with instead? The higher rent would likely be less than your old mortgage + private school combined. Then you could play the lottery again next year and move into your house at that point if you were happy with your lottery results.
They haven't released the waitlist lengths the last time I looked. |
Anonymous
| Wait list data for charters available from this page. Hasn't been released for DCPS. http://www.myschooldc.org/resources/data/ |
Anonymous
| Honestly I'd look into catholic or one of the cheaper privates. Or I would try to live somewhere else. |
Anonymous
| Sela, Shining Stars, Bridges |
Anonymous
This. |
Anonymous
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There might be some more movement for nearby neighborhood schools like Powell, West, Barnard, or Truesdell.
I think the lists may move more once the schools get a better idea of reenrollment from current students. |
Anonymous
| All great ideas and very helpful, thanks. Does anyone know any parochial schools that they would recommend? |
Anonymous
| Does Christian Family Montessori take kids in later grades? It is an affordable option close-ish to Brightwood. |
Anonymous
You might have better luck in the Private/Independent Schools forum. |
Anonymous
| Check out St Anthony |
Anonymous
Sacred Heart would be reasonably close. JPDS |
Anonymous
| Rent IB for the school you want and then ask if you could keep your child in school even if you move. We were able to do that in 2nd grade in a school where most kids are IB and some IB kids don't even get a spot for pre-k4. |
Anonymous
I think they tend to open up more in 4th-6th than in 1st - 3rd. They are also pretty committed to Montessori, which is fantastic for the right kid but not right for everyone. |
Anonymous
| Will you be in DC for a while? If so, you probably won't want to switch your child around from year to year. I would probably try to keep renting the Brightwood place out and find an apartment in a better school zone, unless you see lots of movement on the waitlists in the next couple of weeks. If you are staying for a longer time, you will have to start thinking about middle school soon, so that is something to consider when choosing schools. |