Moving to dc....

[Anonymous]

I agree with the Dupont posters - it may not be the Hill but you definitely see rugrats running around at 4pm. Ross is a sure bet and hopefully SWWFS stays on its promising track. Either way - I think its worth checking out the DuPont hood if you are renting/subletting for a year. Its nice to be able to drop kids off at school and its usually easy to walk to work anywhere downtown.

[Anonymous]

Thanks, will focus on it with renewed interest... but it might be out of range.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

m the PP and don't know much about Tubman except that their parent organization was pretty visible on the Petworth Parents email group. The OP said it's not bad if their child is an only (plus, I'm not making any assumptions about the race or background), and the neighborhood is just fantastic for someone coming from Brooklyn.

This is Dupont Circle? Or Petworth?

West says they have a g&T program. I guess now I have to ask, I thought DC schools didn't have any academic tracking--do they? How is this done?

West has Schoolwide Enrichment Model (SEM) which comes out of the University of Connecticut's center for gifted and talented education. It's not tracking though. It's at a half dozen or so other schools in DCPS (mostly middle schools.) It's also supposed to be expanding to Murch and Eaton and some other schools in the coming school year. You can find out more information about SEM on the DCPS webpage.

Ross is starting an enrichment program as well. We actually find Dupont great for families, especially since we are so close to everything.

What kind of enrichment program is Ross starting?

[Anonymous]

Brent -- Cap Hill -- will prob have room I think they're expanding to 3 classes
Maury -- Cap Hill -- great community, cheaper housing than Brent
Janney, Murch, Hearst, Eaton, Stoddert, Hyde-Addison, Shepherd Park, Key (too far out?), Mann (too suburban but then again so is SP), Lafayette (suburban) -- all NW
SW has Amidon-Bowen which is NOT there for 3rd grade
Watkins is really hit or miss for 3rd so I would avoid
Ross
You must rent IB for a good school -- and it's great to say you don't mind minority, of course that's why we live in a city. But there's diversity (SP, Ross, Maury probably have the most from this list but then there's different kinds of diversity at schools such as Eaton and Stoddert) and then there's total lack of diversity. I want my kids in a diverse environment economically, racially, culturally and that's where they are. I turned down "better" schools to get that. However it is diversity, not my White kid and 100% AA or Latino or anything else. Becomes even more important as they get older -- just some smattering of this and that across the spectrum so that all of it equals out and your kid is just one of many types of faces in the classroom. It's a beautiful thing.

[Anonymous]

One thing that sending my kid to a school that's 9% white has taught me is that diversity actually has almost nothing to do with race or skin color--unless you think it does. Our Brooklyn school is really, really diverse--parents from all income levels and all walks of life and pretty much every country there is. Some fall under the category of being brown, and some are whiter. It makes no difference. It's also taught me that people across all socioeconomic levels are invested in their kids and want the best for them. We may not always agree on how to get there--I'm a lot more crunchy than some of the moms I work with who drill their kids on math every night--but within that, we still find common ground and so do our kids. Everyone plays on the playground and goes to the library.

This is what I am looking for in DC.

Now, to grossly oversimplify, I know DC isn't New York. New York is a lot more prosperous across the board, and has a lot less... of that strange southern thing. I'm again oversimplifying, but I'm from Philly and I went to public schools there. I know how things can not be good. I don't want to send my kid to a school where she's teased relentlessly, or not accepted. She's quirky already--no need adding to it. So... there's that. Sorry to ramble.

So Watkins has some teachers that are not good for 3rd grade?

Brent might have OOB spaces for 3rd?

I have this weird fascination with those 60s building in the SW. They are also relatively cheap.

[Anonymous]

To be clear, OOB for Brent is a nonstarter for next year. Brent opened up a couple of OOB seats through the lottery for 3rd Grade and there already a WL beyond that. IB Students, however, can enroll as a matter of right. You might want to sign up for the Moms on the Hill and Brent Neighbots Yahoo Groups if you are serious about the Hill.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She's a minority now. I'm totally okay with it. As long as the programs are good. Shepard really does look like a very solid school--probably a little similar to where she is now.

I would just be careful that your child is not an "only" whatever unless she is mixed and will be able to get in with one group or another. Parents have posted here about hostility directed toward very young children based on race - refusing to play with the kid, telling her to get her white ass out of there, etc. Most parents seem to agree that being a minority is ok, but being an only can be profoundly unpleasant.

The other thing that is going to be very hard to understand initially (I grew up here, but my husband, who is Latino, grew up in NYC and we lived there for a while) is that even though there is now a fairly large Latino population, the city is racially polarized along black and white lines and the haters do not seem to see that anything else exists. My husband says he has NEVER lived in such a segregated environment, and he grew up partially in the South Bronx and Spanish Harlem. And because the tradition is Black vs White, there is still a lot of hostility there from parents, especially now that the city is no longer majority AA and some feel they are being pushed out of THEIR city by white gentrifiers.

I don't remember the school names, but there is I think one principal who basically has said she does not want more white kids in her ES, and there is one PTA where it was revived by the new white parents on the block and they were all voted out by AA parents the following year and the kids left as well and the attitude of some on this board was better no PTA than a white PTA.

So in schools where the population is shifting radically if your kid is going into third grade and the third grade parents don't like the fact that there are a bunch of white folk in the younger grades, and pass that sentiment along to their kids, you and your kid may get some hostility if you are white (if you are mixed, Latino, or Asian, they might just ignore you, but being an only is dangerous).

Not to be negative, but my husband was shocked and when I came home I immediately noticed the differences on the subways and the buses and the neighborhoods that had been invisible to me before.

Can someone help me out here with the names? Coming from NYC this is a dynamic my husband was completely unfamiliar with............

[Anonymous]

Here's a 2-bedroom rental inbounds for Ross:
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1724-17th-St-NW-APT-51-Washington-DC-20009/400880_zpid/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One thing that sending my kid to a school that's 9% white has taught me is that diversity actually has almost nothing to do with race or skin color--unless you think it does. Our Brooklyn school is really, really diverse--parents from all income levels and all walks of life and pretty much every country there is. Some fall under the category of being brown, and some are whiter. It makes no difference. It's also taught me that people across all socioeconomic levels are invested in their kids and want the best for them. We may not always agree on how to get there--I'm a lot more crunchy than some of the moms I work with who drill their kids on math every night--but within that, we still find common ground and so do our kids. Everyone plays on the playground and goes to the library.

This is what I am looking for in DC.

Now, to grossly oversimplify, I know DC isn't New York. New York is a lot more prosperous across the board, and has a lot less... of that strange southern thing. I'm again oversimplifying, but I'm from Philly and I went to public schools there. I know how things can not be good. I don't want to send my kid to a school where she's teased relentlessly, or not accepted. She's quirky already--no need adding to it. So... there's that. Sorry to ramble.

So Watkins has some teachers that are not good for 3rd grade?

Brent might have OOB spaces for 3rd?

I have this weird fascination with those 60s building in the SW. They are also relatively cheap.

Assuming that "diversity" means the same thing in D.C. that it does in Brooklyn is not wise. D.C. is a much more polarized city, with fewer people who are truly middle class and more clustering at either extreme of the socioeconomic scale. Although it is not universal, race and class track very closely in D.C. You need to look at FARMS percentages in evaluating schools, if you want to have a better understanding of what the class makeup will look like. People are not steering you to particular schools because of race, but because of the preparedness and school-readiness of the student population. And no, poor people aren't incapable of learning, but sending your child to a class made up of children who are years below grade level is a basic reality in many, many DC schools.

Also, it's great that you are so excited about living in SW, but you have no realistic option of getting into a better DCPS OOB or a quality charter. You have missed the lottery, and all of the desirable schools have waiting lists with dozens or hundreds of students for third grade.

[Anonymous]

The other thing that is going to be very hard to understand initially (I grew up here, but my husband, who is Latino, grew up in NYC and we lived there for a while) is that even though there is now a fairly large Latino population, the city is racially polarized along black and white lines and the haters do not seem to see that anything else exists. My husband says he has NEVER lived in such a segregated environment, and he grew up partially in the South Bronx and Spanish Harlem. And because the tradition is Black vs White, there is still a lot of hostility there from parents, especially now that the city is no longer majority AA and some feel they are being pushed out of THEIR city by white gentrifiers.

It cuts both ways, that kind of thing, and yes, that's what I want to avoid. Philly is very like that too. I grew up with it--and I get it. I don't like it, but I get it. New York is really not like that--even in areas where people are getting pushed out, which is most of Brooklyn at this point. I think in New York, different cultures may dislike one another, but they tend to be polite about it because they all work and live on top of each other. So yeah, to add to my wish list, I also want a neighborhood where everyone gets along and lives in harmony. A backyard with stables for our unicorns would also be nice.

Ross OOB also impossible? That neighborhood is expensive and no pets-filled.

[Anonymous]

There were 39 applicants for Ross's 3rd grade class in the OOB lottery. You would be behind all those people:
http://dcps.dc.gov/DCPS/Learn+About+Schools/Lottery+and+Admissions:+Apply+to+Our+Schools/DCPS+Round+One+My+School+DC+Results

You need to start looking at the lottery results. This is all just a lot of idle and meaningless speculation otherwise. OOB spots are very limited and hard to get at any desirable school, and you have already missed your chance for the upcoming school year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One thing that sending my kid to a school that's 9% white has taught me is that diversity actually has almost nothing to do with race or skin color--unless you think it does. Our Brooklyn school is really, really diverse--parents from all income levels and all walks of life and pretty much every country there is. Some fall under the category of being brown, and some are whiter. It makes no difference. It's also taught me that people across all socioeconomic levels are invested in their kids and want the best for them. We may not always agree on how to get there--I'm a lot more crunchy than some of the moms I work with who drill their kids on math every night--but within that, we still find common ground and so do our kids. Everyone plays on the playground and goes to the library.

This is what I am looking for in DC. .

I still think you should come check out Hearst! the dynamic you say you are looking for is in full force on the playground there every day . The area around Hearst is very walkable with metro access either at Van Ness or Tenleytown. I live 2 blocks from teh TEnleytown metro. We walk to school every day as do many of our neighbors. The school has a great mix of IB and OOB kids of all SES levels and lots of different colors of skin . We have a nice range of enrichment program offerings, will have FT spanish teacher on staff in the fall

If you have a hankering for the more Brooklyn - like density of quirky shops, cafes, etc. you can get to Georgetown on the Wisconsin Avenue bus lines. Dupont and Penn Quarter are easily accessible on the red line metro. For your budget you can look in apartment buildings on Wisconsin Avenue, maybe McLean Gardens, some on Connecticut Avenue too. Union Station is also on the red line so you can easily get on Amtrack to visit NY too - I do it all the time.

if you want to see us in action come to the Open House Friday April 25th. If that is not the week/day you're in town email the principal and ask for a tour.

good luck!

[Anonymous]

Re socioeconomic diversity. I don't know what Brooklyn is like, but there are basically next to no poor or lower middle class whites in dc. There is a significant middle and upper middle class af am population, as well as many poor African Americans. But the vast majority of the white people are wealthy or comfortably middle class.

[Anonymous]

It kind of surprises me that you are moving from nyc but expect to pay three thousand for an actual house that allows three pets in dc in an area with good to decent schools. Are those what prices are like in Brooklyn? There are houses for 3000, but most are more like 3200 to 4000. And many don't allow pets.

I don't understand the pp who suggested a family with kids and pets would cause less damage than a childless couple. That makes NO sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would agree with one of the previous posters and check out ross and/or swwfs. the program at ross is strong and swwfs is an up-and-coming school. A few parents from ross have switched their kids there and are happy with the direction to program is heading in. either way - they're both nice neighborhoods to be in terms of being able to walk your kids to school and then likely be able to walk to work. they don't see like kid neighborhoods compared to the hill, but you would be surprised by how many little rugrats are running around at 4pm each day.

swwfs is up and coming, but idk if you want to send your kid to such a controversial school.

It should have been closed a few years ago, but the parents whined and got it combined with one of the best high schools in the city.