Brent vs. Maury vs. Ludlow-Taylor

[Anonymous]

We're moving to DC for work and looking at renting on Capitol Hill. I have a grade school aged child and was told these are three great schools to look at. I've looked at their websites but if you have children at these schools can you tell me about your experience, what the atmosphere is like, if parents are generally happy with the leadership and what class sizes are like. Thank you in advance!

[Anonymous]

They're all good. Are you staying long enough that your child will enter 6th grade?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They're all good. Are you staying long enough that your child will enter 6th grade?

No, we're not. I understand the middles schools these elementary schools feed into aren't as highly regarded.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They're all good. Are you staying long enough that your child will enter 6th grade?

No, we're not. I understand the middles schools these elementary schools feed into aren't as highly regarded.

That's correct. So you may see some attrition in 5th grade as people can get into good charter middles starting in 5th. It's kind of a bummer when friends leave, but still, it'll be fine as a school.

Personally, I'd probably go with Maury as Brent is such a small school and Ludlow-Taylor has had some turnover in its leadership recently. Any of those schools is fine so I'd pick based on real estate and commute. Living on the Hill is lovely, I'm sure you'll enjoy it!

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the feedback. Can you elaborate a bit on why you see Brent being small aa a negative.

[Anonymous]

I'd go with Maury because I think they are all good schools but I think that part of the Hill is so great for families and just a wonderful place to have elementary age kids. Brent and L-T are both closer in, and get more traffic, and are just less family focused. Brent's boundaries straddle Penn Ave SE and so its just a more disjointed boundary. And L-T's proximity to H Street and Union Station is convenient, but means more noise, more people coming into the neighborhood from other parts of the city, etc.

We are not at Maury but walk through there all the time on our way to Eastern Market and I just love that neighborhood. Plus that school is brand new and just gorgeous. If you aren't thinking about MS and just want a good school community and a great neighborhood, you can't go wrong with Maury.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for the feedback. Can you elaborate a bit on why you see Brent being small aa a negative.

Well, some people like a small school, so if that's what you prefer for your child then totally go for it. It's a very good school, no doubt about that. But a bigger school has more kids, more potential friends for a new kid, and can support more activities. So it's just a question of what you prefer. You might like to look over each school's website for the various in-school and after-school activities. Also, do consider before and after-school care and how much it costs. That varies at each school.

[Anonymous]

If you can afford Brent real estate, I'd go with Brent. Principal is strong, teaching staff is stable and high performing, enrichment is ahead of the curve. Maury principal of 2 years isn't too hot compared to her kick-ass predecessor of a decade. Most Brent kids walk or bike to school. In-boundary percentage is the highest of the Hill schools (more than 80%, K classes more than 90%). Campus is small, but not a big deal.

[Anonymous]

We love Ludlow-Taylor. The community is great and quite diverse across pretty much every dimension. It's really easy to meet people as the IB is so small that most kids live within a few blocks of the school and the playground is full of families on the evenings/weekends. The teachers are by and large really excellent and quite experienced.

We have friends that are super happy at Brent & Maury, but one plus to L-T from discussions is class size. Most cap out at 20/21. I think only one K class in the whole school is above that (23) and K classes all have full-time aides.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We love Ludlow-Taylor. The community is great and quite diverse across pretty much every dimension. It's really easy to meet people as the IB is so small that most kids live within a few blocks of the school and the playground is full of families on the evenings/weekends. The teachers are by and large really excellent and quite experienced.

We have friends that are super happy at Brent & Maury, but one plus to L-T from discussions is class size. Most cap out at 20/21. I think only one K class in the whole school is above that (23) and K classes all have full-time aides.

Thank you, I really appreciate your feedback. That's great to hear about class size at L-T. Can you tell me what IB is (sorry, my kid is in kindergarten, I don't know all the school lingo yet).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They're all good. Are you staying long enough that your child will enter 6th grade?

No, we're not. I understand the middles schools these elementary schools feed into aren't as highly regarded.

The middle school that L-T feeds into is probably the 3rd best DCPS middle school in the city and there are a number of IB families quite happy there. The other two, not so much. I agree, though, that I would factor that into your decision if you aren't staying anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We love Ludlow-Taylor. The community is great and quite diverse across pretty much every dimension. It's really easy to meet people as the IB is so small that most kids live within a few blocks of the school and the playground is full of families on the evenings/weekends. The teachers are by and large really excellent and quite experienced.

We have friends that are super happy at Brent & Maury, but one plus to L-T from discussions is class size. Most cap out at 20/21. I think only one K class in the whole school is above that (23) and K classes all have full-time aides.

Thank you, I really appreciate your feedback. That's great to hear about class size at L-T. Can you tell me what IB is (sorry, my kid is in kindergarten, I don't know all the school lingo yet).

Sorry, the in bound area! It's relatively compressed in both directions (2nd to 12th streets and D to H streets NE) and the school itself is reasonably central to the zone. Maury is only a bit more stretched out horizontally, but the school is pretty far to the west side of the zone, so there are way more kids living more than ~4 blocks away. Brent's zone is pretty compact as well, but maybe because it's playground isn't as nice/there's no grass (and Garfield Park is right there), I don't get the sense of the playground as a hang out spot for the community the same way it is at L-T. Happy to be corrected on that though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd go with Maury because I think they are all good schools but I think that part of the Hill is so great for families and just a wonderful place to have elementary age kids. Brent and L-T are both closer in, and get more traffic, and are just less family focused. Brent's boundaries straddle Penn Ave SE and so its just a more disjointed boundary. And L-T's proximity to H Street and Union Station is convenient, but means more noise, more people coming into the neighborhood from other parts of the city, etc.

We are not at Maury but walk through there all the time on our way to Eastern Market and I just love that neighborhood. Plus that school is brand new and just gorgeous. If you aren't thinking about MS and just want a good school community and a great neighborhood, you can't go wrong with Maury.

Interesting, I think if you're looking for the benefits of urban living, then L-T is the way to go. Way more convenient public transport and way more convenient restaurants, coffee shops, etc than most of the Maury zone has, but still with a quiet feel. If I could live anywhere, I'd live on one of those one way streets just north of Stanton Park. Lots of the Maury zone is really a bit of a hike from anything. That said, the Maury zone right around the northeast side of Lincoln Park would be fabulous to live in, so I agree for that part of the Maury zone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We love Ludlow-Taylor. The community is great and quite diverse across pretty much every dimension. It's really easy to meet people as the IB is so small that most kids live within a few blocks of the school and the playground is full of families on the evenings/weekends. The teachers are by and large really excellent and quite experienced.

We have friends that are super happy at Brent & Maury, but one plus to L-T from discussions is class size. Most cap out at 20/21. I think only one K class in the whole school is above that (23) and K classes all have full-time aides.

Thank you, I really appreciate your feedback. That's great to hear about class size at L-T. Can you tell me what IB is (sorry, my kid is in kindergarten, I don't know all the school lingo yet).

Sorry, the in bound area! It's relatively compressed in both directions (2nd to 12th streets and D to H streets NE) and the school itself is reasonably central to the zone. Maury is only a bit more stretched out horizontally, but the school is pretty far to the west side of the zone, so there are way more kids living more than ~4 blocks away. Brent's zone is pretty compact as well, but maybe because it's playground isn't as nice/there's no grass (and Garfield Park is right there), I don't get the sense of the playground as a hang out spot for the community the same way it is at L-T. Happy to be corrected on that though.

Ah, thank you! All I could think of was international baccalaureate which didn't make sense in this context.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd go with Maury because I think they are all good schools but I think that part of the Hill is so great for families and just a wonderful place to have elementary age kids. Brent and L-T are both closer in, and get more traffic, and are just less family focused. Brent's boundaries straddle Penn Ave SE and so its just a more disjointed boundary. And L-T's proximity to H Street and Union Station is convenient, but means more noise, more people coming into the neighborhood from other parts of the city, etc.

We are not at Maury but walk through there all the time on our way to Eastern Market and I just love that neighborhood. Plus that school is brand new and just gorgeous. If you aren't thinking about MS and just want a good school community and a great neighborhood, you can't go wrong with Maury.

Interesting, I think if you're looking for the benefits of urban living, then L-T is the way to go. Way more convenient public transport and way more convenient restaurants, coffee shops, etc than most of the Maury zone has, but still with a quiet feel. If I could live anywhere, I'd live on one of those one way streets just north of Stanton Park. Lots of the Maury zone is really a bit of a hike from anything. That said, the Maury zone right around the northeast side of Lincoln Park would be fabulous to live in, so I agree for that part of the Maury zone.

Sorry, I meant the northWEST side of the Maury zone! The part just north of Eastern Market/still within proximity to H.