PK3, kinder, 1st grade kids - active duty military

[Anonymous]

Hello, my husband will be in McNair next year and my kids are entering the US school system for the first time. I have a 1st grader, kinder, and pre-K3 kid. I’m looking at the lottery and I’m overwhelmed.

Husband is active duty military and we don’t live there yet. From what I’ve read, we can still apply for the lottery but we are fortunate since we can move to the area around the school if we get accepted.

Is there a good list for how I should order schools? We’d only move to DC if we got accepted to a good school for all 3 kids. Otherwise we’ll go to NOVA. Is there a good chance they’ll all get into the same school?

We’ve never done city living with kids. Pros cons to living in DC with kids? I’m really excited about the idea of it. We’re in a place we have to drive a lot now so having things walkable for us is really appealing.

[Anonymous]

Welcome! We can certainly help you out. Is this for a long stay, or just a year or two?

Some schools are by specific address and if you live within the boundary you have the right to attend for K and up at all times, but there's no guarantee of preschool. Others are citywide and require that you live in DC by the time you register (which would be the first week of May). How does that fit with your timeline?

Since it's McNair, I would start by checking out Amidon-Bowen and Van Ness since those are nearby. You might really enjoy a row house neighborhood with other kids around, and the wharf is fun. I love walking places, having little friends nearby, the library and playground and pool, etc. Kids don't need a yard when they have so many nice parks! Tyler (if you want Spanish instruction) and Watkins may also appeal to you. I can't recommend Brent because they are having a renovation and will be in an offsite location, aside from that it's good. If your husband doesn't mind a longer commute or to Metro and walk, there are tons of schools to consider. What style of school do you like-- more traditional, language immersion, Montessori, etc? That will help narrow it down.

The key with the lottery is to stick to schools that work for you logistically.

[Anonymous]

Are you living on base? If yes, there are special rights for getting into DCPS (not charters)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Welcome! We can certainly help you out. Is this for a long stay, or just a year or two?

Some schools are by specific address and if you live within the boundary you have the right to attend for K and up at all times, but there's no guarantee of preschool. Others are citywide and require that you live in DC by the time you register (which would be the first week of May). How does that fit with your timeline?

Since it's McNair, I would start by checking out Amidon-Bowen and Van Ness since those are nearby. You might really enjoy a row house neighborhood with other kids around, and the wharf is fun. I love walking places, having little friends nearby, the library and playground and pool, etc. Kids don't need a yard when they have so many nice parks! Tyler (if you want Spanish instruction) and Watkins may also appeal to you. I can't recommend Brent because they are having a renovation and will be in an offsite location, aside from that it's good. If your husband doesn't mind a longer commute or to Metro and walk, there are tons of schools to consider. What style of school do you like-- more traditional, language immersion, Montessori, etc? That will help narrow it down.

The key with the lottery is to stick to schools that work for you logistically.

Amidon-Bowen parent here. It’s a good school and the neighborhood is very friendly and welcoming and social. The feeder pattern isn’t great so most kids in the elementary are neighborhood kids and there’s not a lot of lottery competition even for preK.

[Anonymous]

Do you plan to be in the area long term?

[Anonymous]

you can enter the lottery but to enroll you'll need to prove residency. Will you have a lease by May 1? That's the enrollment deadline for spots given in the initial drawing of the lottery.

The schools nearest McNair are Amidon-Bowen and Van Ness (DC public schools, which give priority for PreK to kids living in-boundary) and Eagle Academy (which is a charter and doesn't have a boundary). No matter when you arrive, you'll have rights to your in-bound school for K and 1, and your PK3 kid will have a priority compared to kids without enrolled siblings. That doesn't guarantee they'll get off the waitlist but your chances are pretty good for that at Amidon. If not, there are several private day cares that could work: HUD, Smithsonian, FAA, HHS, Goddard School, Britleys, and more. There's also Appletree, a charter that only serves PK3 and 4 and which is opening a new location in SW that is literally in between Amidon and McNair.

Another option is a charter on JBAB with a mission of serving military families: https://www.learncharter.org/schools/learndc/ you'd have to enter the lottery for it as well, and it would require a drive.

The DCPS elementary schools with the highest test scores either don't offer PK3 (the schools in upper NW) or have no spots for out of bounds students. The exception is probably School Within School, which doesn't have a boundary so your kid has as good a chance as any (better, actually, with two siblings to give preference). But the odds that all 3 kids get in are not great.

Definitely the easiest thing to do is go to Amidon and in the unlikely situation that your littlest doesn't get in, they will probably get in to Appletree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Welcome! We can certainly help you out. Is this for a long stay, or just a year or two?

Some schools are by specific address and if you live within the boundary you have the right to attend for K and up at all times, but there's no guarantee of preschool. Others are citywide and require that you live in DC by the time you register (which would be the first week of May). How does that fit with your timeline?

Since it's McNair, I would start by checking out Amidon-Bowen and Van Ness since those are nearby. You might really enjoy a row house neighborhood with other kids around, and the wharf is fun. I love walking places, having little friends nearby, the library and playground and pool, etc. Kids don't need a yard when they have so many nice parks! Tyler (if you want Spanish instruction) and Watkins may also appeal to you. I can't recommend Brent because they are having a renovation and will be in an offsite location, aside from that it's good. If your husband doesn't mind a longer commute or to Metro and walk, there are tons of schools to consider. What style of school do you like-- more traditional, language immersion, Montessori, etc? That will help narrow it down.

The key with the lottery is to stick to schools that work for you logistically.

3-4 years planned in the area, and we’ll arrive around end of June

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you plan to be in the area long term?

3-4 years but likely will return to the area and probably settle down there.

[Anonymous]

If you don't have proof of residency until June, you are not going to be able to enroll in anything you'd get through the lottery. You can do a post-lottery application for PK and any schools other than in-bounds for your older kids. This makes where you live important, because your odds of getting 3 kids into a good charter or out of bounds school after the lottery is low. If you live in-bounds for the best DCPS schools, you are unlikely to get your PK3 student in (either they don't have PK3 or the waitlist will be too long after the lottery). Your chances of having all 3 kids at the same school is better at Amidon and somewhat worse at Van Ness. The commutes from those schools to McNair are good and they would be fine for 3-4 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you don't have proof of residency until June, you are not going to be able to enroll in anything you'd get through the lottery. You can do a post-lottery application for PK and any schools other than in-bounds for your older kids. This makes where you live important, because your odds of getting 3 kids into a good charter or out of bounds school after the lottery is low. If you live in-bounds for the best DCPS schools, you are unlikely to get your PK3 student in (either they don't have PK3 or the waitlist will be too long after the lottery). Your chances of having all 3 kids at the same school is better at Amidon and somewhat worse at Van Ness. The commutes from those schools to McNair are good and they would be fine for 3-4 years.

Thank you for taking the time for this! I read somewhere on the website that we can apply for the lottery and if we don't have residency yet, that we can contact the school and it's handled on a case by case basis. Has anyone heard of PCSing military families in this situation?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you don't have proof of residency until June, you are not going to be able to enroll in anything you'd get through the lottery. You can do a post-lottery application for PK and any schools other than in-bounds for your older kids. This makes where you live important, because your odds of getting 3 kids into a good charter or out of bounds school after the lottery is low. If you live in-bounds for the best DCPS schools, you are unlikely to get your PK3 student in (either they don't have PK3 or the waitlist will be too long after the lottery). Your chances of having all 3 kids at the same school is better at Amidon and somewhat worse at Van Ness. The commutes from those schools to McNair are good and they would be fine for 3-4 years.

Thank you for taking the time for this! I read somewhere on the website that we can apply for the lottery and if we don't have residency yet, that we can contact the school and it's handled on a case by case basis. Has anyone heard of PCSing military families in this situation?

You are correct. I think if you have the paperwork saying you will live here, that is sufficient, but somebody on base can confirm the exact process. Military families move during the summer and enroll in schools ahead of time all the time, so there definitely is a way to prove residency.

[Anonymous]

I work at Fort McNair (civilian). Almost no one lives on post, other than a few flag officers and a handful of senior NCOs. So I'm going to assume you won't live on the base.

I dont know much about the schools around there, but plenty of families live in the neighborhood. That being said, especially if you're coming from abroad, I'd do some research on the neighborhood (and safety) around McNair, the SW waterfront and Navy Yard. Safety around many parts of the city has declined significantly in the last few years.

Finally, if you do choose NoVa (which is often a pretty convenient commute to McNair), keep in mind you'll be paying for preschool for your youngest, since only DCPS has free prek.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I work at Fort McNair (civilian). Almost no one lives on post, other than a few flag officers and a handful of senior NCOs. So I'm going to assume you won't live on the base.

I dont know much about the schools around there, but plenty of families live in the neighborhood. That being said, especially if you're coming from abroad, I'd do some research on the neighborhood (and safety) around McNair, the SW waterfront and Navy Yard. Safety around many parts of the city has declined significantly in the last few years.

Finally, if you do choose NoVa (which is often a pretty convenient commute to McNair), keep in mind you'll be paying for preschool for your youngest, since only DCPS has free prek.

We’re not on base. I’m glad you brought up safety, we’re coming from an extremely safe place so it’ll be an adjustment. Are there safer parts of DC/still commutable to McNair that you would recommend?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I work at Fort McNair (civilian). Almost no one lives on post, other than a few flag officers and a handful of senior NCOs. So I'm going to assume you won't live on the base.

I dont know much about the schools around there, but plenty of families live in the neighborhood. That being said, especially if you're coming from abroad, I'd do some research on the neighborhood (and safety) around McNair, the SW waterfront and Navy Yard. Safety around many parts of the city has declined significantly in the last few years.

Finally, if you do choose NoVa (which is often a pretty convenient commute to McNair), keep in mind you'll be paying for preschool for your youngest, since only DCPS has free prek.

We’re not on base. I’m glad you brought up safety, we’re coming from an extremely safe place so it’ll be an adjustment. Are there safer parts of DC/still commutable to McNair that you would recommend?

That's a difficult question. McNair is an easy walk (about 15 minutes, maybe more like 25 if your DH is walking all the way to the War College) from the Waterfront metro station. So if he's commuting by metro, there are lots of options. Parking is available on post, so if he drives it's a non issue on that front though even from somewhere like upper NW it can easily take 45 min...Colleagues with families in the city live in Eastern Market and Tenleytown. But many others (like us) live in Silver Spring, Bethesda, Arlington, Vienna...it really varies. It's hard to know what you'd be confortable coming from a super safe place.

[Anonymous]

It just depends on your own tolerance for things like homeless encampments.

I might suggest Seaton and Garrison if you want something sort of close to McNair and both are good schools where you could keep your oldest through 5th. Very nice neighborhoods with lots of kids. You couldn't be 100% sure of a PK3 seat, but if you enrolled your older children immediately on having an address, your PK3 would be bumped to the top of the waitlist and likely get in.

A lot of this depends on your housing budget. If you're into the idea of a small row house, kids sharing rooms, no yard, etc., then you can find something. You might love the convenience of condo living with kids. But your budget will stretch a lot farther in Virginia.