How hard is is in DC if you're not zoned for a good school, really?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First, your crime map link shows crimes committed west of Georgia Ave, in 16th St Heights. You might want to get a clue about geography.

And oops, you're posting data on schools west of Georgia, too.

I'm in Petworth, in bounds for Powell, and I agree that the school's scores are bad. I've also met the campus & cluster principals, both of whom are working like dogs to improve the school. I'm still not sending my kids there, largely because I got lucky in charter lotteries early on, but I would have been ok with it for PS3 & PK.

Participating in public education while living in Petworth requires patience, a lack of prejudice, perseverence or luck, sometimes all four. And yet there are many of us who do it. Please stop telling me that my friends & I don't exist.

The problen is the Indigenous population. Until they move out or kill themselves off the dcps in those poor indigenous areas will never get to a passing level of 60 to 70 percent test scores let alone the fcps or Montgomery averages of 90%+. Dc should be pushing these people out not enabling them.

BTW, no it is not. The "indigenous" population of this region has not resided in the District of Columbia for several hundred years. You need not encourage the Native Americans to kill themselves and/or each other off, that job has been done.

What you meant to say, is that you'd like to encourage the poor, brown people to kill themselves or each other off. You just realized how revolting and offensive that sounds, so you thought you'd use a euphemism, one which you apparently don't understand.

Now, we can have genuine intellectual differences on where the line is, between enabling and abandoning. What almost everyone can come together over, in great harmony, is the idea that education is absolutely a ticket out of poverty. So, you can't be faulted for not wanting to throw your child into a societal welfare project. However, you can be faulted for wanting those children to "kill each other off."

You see the difference?

Come on people, don't you know a troll when you see one?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I totally agree! People are SO judgemental not just in here but even in real life. I come across this NOW when I tell collegues/friends that I am moving from safe and quiet Loudoun County to Petworth and I will put my 2 chilren in public school there. I am happy about my decision.

If you have kids you only live in petworth if you are going to do private. You are saving money on the location so private is the safest bet for your kids education.

I live in Petworth and couldn't possibly afford private school, even with the money saved on the location.

[Anonymous]

I am the above who is STILL happy about my decision to move to Petworth. It's good to hear from all of you who live there, have kids AND send them to public school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I refuse to let me scare. DC is changing, and it's changing FAST. We are moving to Petworth, close to Metro, short commute to work downtown=more time with family. I am counting on lottery will work fine. That said, I probably wont aim for the MOST popular public or charter schools. When time for high school nears, we will asses if a public will do. I am of the opinion that it ALSO takes an active parent for your child to get a good education, and NOT just up to the school.

Parent of an 8th grader here. We were saying this when our kids were babies. Guess what, it didn't happen.

OP, longtime district resident here who loves the city. If I had to do it over, I would have bought in the 'burbs. Education at it's best (eg. Deal, Latin, etc...) is still weak compared to Montgomery and Arlington Counties.

Do yourself a favor, rent 'til you need school, then if you need to move, you're not locked in.

Sorry your kid was born too soon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This. +1.

Anonymous wrote:This is why most families who aren't multimillionaires live in Md and va

Really? Think about this statement. Are you truly this stupid?

Actually the reason that most families who aren't multimillionaires live in MD and VA is because the available housing stock in MD and VA dwarfs that inside the city limits proper.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Got cut off...

DC is not NY, so please dont compare the two.

Could you quote someone please, otherwise we have no f-ing clue to whom you are responding. Thx.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Having lived in the DC area for over 40 years now...you can't bank on DC schools getting better in 5year or even 10.

The schools were ok for a while when people wanted to live in the City, then people moved out the schools sucked and then people moved back in and the schools were ok BUT part of that is now attributed to charter schools.

So in 40 years the City schools never really improved to a point that anyone is going to put them on par with the surrounding suburban area schools.

A more important question might be what is the future of charter schools and will their role stay the same, falter, grow, etc....

In other words: I've been observing DC from the initial cratering of the city in 1968, and the national urban collapse of 1970-1990, but the massive demographic change that's occurred in just the last 10 years is meaningless because nothing ever changes, things will always be the same. Great advice!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We lived in Adams Morgan ithout a car and now live downtown. Bought a car to get our kid to and from his charter, over an hour to get to by metro and bus but 10 minutes by car. The only saving grace is we can walk to work, stores, etc. The urban lifestyle without a car in DC isn't possible with kids.

Statements like this set me off. CLEARLY a carless lifestyle is possible but requires trade offs. I have children at three different schools spread around the city and a typical day does not involve a car to get them there. Our choice of schools heavily weighed this outcome. We passes up a clearly better school option for one that is just ok so no car transport was needed now or in the future. Not judging your choices, just pointing out that your final blanket is not, by any means, true.

Really? You really passed up a better school option because you didn't feel like getting a car? Yes, I'm judging.

Please don't come crying back to this board when your school goes to pieces. We're making choices now for our children's future.

I would never choose a second tier school because I didn't want to get a car in the city.

NP. Why are you judging her choices, have you asked yourself that? Does she need to make the same decisions as you, so that you can feel validated? It takes all kinds in this big old world. Is it really so hard to just agree to disagree? Can you offer your opinion or advice and still keep your claws sheathed?

Sheesh. That's the thing about this board that drives me nuts.

Yeah, I don't think I can imagine a greater expression of sanctimonious douchebaggery than "Please don't come crying back to this board when your school goes to pieces." Just imagine what an odious little toad of a human being one would have to be to write something like that without irony.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First, your crime map link shows crimes committed west of Georgia Ave, in 16th St Heights. You might want to get a clue about geography.

And oops, you're posting data on schools west of Georgia, too.

I'm in Petworth, in bounds for Powell, and I agree that the school's scores are bad. I've also met the campus & cluster principals, both of whom are working like dogs to improve the school. I'm still not sending my kids there, largely because I got lucky in charter lotteries early on, but I would have been ok with it for PS3 & PK.

Participating in public education while living in Petworth requires patience, a lack of prejudice, perseverence or luck, sometimes all four. And yet there are many of us who do it. Please stop telling me that my friends & I don't exist.

The problen is the Indigenous population. Until they move out or kill themselves off the dcps in those poor indigenous areas will never get to a passing level of 60 to 70 percent test scores let alone the fcps or Montgomery averages of 90%+. Dc should be pushing these people out not enabling them.

Not sure why I need 90%+. I'd actually prefer 60-70%. My kid will still do great, and they'll get preferential admission to an Ivy League school over your kid because they come from DCPS! Win-win!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/crime-scene/post/three-hurt-in-morning-shootings-in-dc/2012/01/12/gIQAN2jStP_blog.html

Three hurt in morning shootings in D.C.

By Maggie Fazeli Fard and Paul Duggan


Three people were injured in Thursday morning shootings in Southeast D.C., police said.

Police believe there was an exchange of gunfire in the area of 6th St. and Alabama Avenue about 9:30 a.m. The victims scattered and were found at several nearby locations

Just want to throw this out there: a shooting east of the river has as little to do with me and my everyday life as it does the average resident of Northern Virginia.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC has tried to keep them in with programs like this, more subsidised housing than montgomery county, fairfax couny and arlington , yet they are all defaulting.

"The average home price for a subsidized buyer in the District as of late 2009 was about $230,000, but the program is far bigger than those in neighboring jurisdictions. Alexandria assisted 37 buyers and Montgomery 148 in 2010. Arlington has assisted 22 buyers since 2009.

The District in 2010 provided loans to 362 buyers. Records show the city ramped up its push to put low-income families into homes around 2006, as housing prices increased.
"

http://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/in-dc-loan-program-mortgage-defaults-abound/2011/11/29/gIQAPt4Z1P_story_2.html

Um. Not sure what your point is. If you're cheering for gentrification, wouldn't a bunch of poor people getting foreclosed on and having to move out to the suburbs be a *good* thing for the city?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC has tried to keep them in with programs like this, more subsidised housing than montgomery county, fairfax couny and arlington , yet they are all defaulting.

"The average home price for a subsidized buyer in the District as of late 2009 was about $230,000, but the program is far bigger than those in neighboring jurisdictions. Alexandria assisted 37 buyers and Montgomery 148 in 2010. Arlington has assisted 22 buyers since 2009.

The District in 2010 provided loans to 362 buyers. Records show the city ramped up its push to put low-income families into homes around 2006, as housing prices increased.
"

http://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/in-dc-loan-program-mortgage-defaults-abound/2011/11/29/gIQAPt4Z1P_story_2.html

What is wrong with helping low income people buy homes? Poor does not equal criminal.

On the face of it, nothing. However, when you "help" people acquire mortgages that they're unprepared to handle, you crash housing sector of the U.S. market. There's a good reason that banks have traditionally required 20% down and a documented salary which covers the mortgage.

Yes, but such public assistance programs have nothing to do with the housing bubble or subsequent crash. I thought only clueless idiots bought that bill of goods.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've heard good things about Powell too!!

http://www.greatschools.org/modperl/achievement/dc/99

I guess you only judge a school by its test scores? Also, those scores are from 2010.

Bingo! Also, I'd point out that the number one indicator of educational success is the level of educational attainment of the mother. Which means that my kid's going to do well wherever he goes. If he goes to a school with 90% advanced, chances are he'll be in the 90%. If he goes to a school with 60% advanced, chances are he'll be in the 60%.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're "indigenous" to DC and our current income would not qualify us for a $250k mortgage. DH bought our house many years ago using a DC program that helped people buy with no money down.

I guess we should just shoot ourselves or move away....

no one has a right to live anywhere, if this was the case everyone would demand subsidies to live in beverly hills. income ratio to subsides and a high average incomes is an indicator of the quality of the public education, quality and education of the residents and safety of the neighborhood

& yet our gentrified neighborhood has high average incomes and a high # of people with masters degrees, yet our local school is still pretty crappy...

East of the river? Or Brookland?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why not try renting a nice apartment on Conn. Ave. in upper NW? You would be in district for a good school, have easy access to metro, restaurants, shops, etc. Schools like Eaton and Murch have quite international student bodies, especially Murch, which is in bounds for the embassies in that complex near Van Ness. If you are not thrilled with the situation, you can always move or buy elsewhere.

This is our bail-out plan for middle-school: rent apartment, and rent out the house for a few years.