Does anyone on Capitol Hill send their kid to an elementary in upper NW?

[Anonymous]

Is anyone making this commute? We are IB for a not-great DCPS on the Hill and have struck out getting into either a better DCPS or a charter in the lottery. It hasn't been totally critical yet because the ECE program at our school is perfectly good, even great, but we are now in 1st and I think this is the last year we can reasonably attend this school as it is simply not meeting our child's needs and I can see it's only going to get worse as we go up in grades.

We're hopeful that this year we will finally get into a better situation, but we're already looking at some of the other DCPS and charters nearby and feeling like it's not a good longterm solution. I mean, yes, if we got into Brent/L-T/Maury, we'd be thrilled, but obviously those middle school feeds aren't great. And we're now just a few years from middle school, so it's not as theoretical as it was when we were a PK3 family. Maybe we get lucky with the lottery for MS, maybe not.

I'm wondering if we should consider adding some elementaries in NW to our lottery (I realize I'm very late to the game on this and have to decide fast). Just wondering if people do this and if so, what schools they go to. Are there any on the red line that aren't a crazy commute? Are people commuting to Deal or Hardy from the Hill? Would we just be super outsiders and making our kid's social life impossible? Or does this seem like a forward thinking plan that might resolve some of our short-term angst about upper-elementary and middle school? We've never done a long school commute. We would consider moving to NW to be near a school we loved, but would not be able to do so for at least 3 more years due to a constraint outside our control.

[Anonymous]

I think just stick with your IB and move in 3 years for MS. The IB doesn't sound ideal, but it will be ok through 5th. Or if it is really unbearable (like unsafe/very disruptive) then you can probably get a spot at TR or ITS. A commute across town would just really suck.

[Anonymous]

That commute sounds miserable. If it were me, I'd stick with our IB or a nearby school until it doesn't work, and then move, even if to the 'burbs.

[Anonymous]

Yes. We commute. As a result my kid is in before care, and wouldn’t have to be if we were in a local school. The commute isn’t amazing, but I’m from NYC and my commute involved a ferry, so to me it’s not awful.

[Anonymous]

We live near Eastern Market and find out on Friday if we are going to do the commute to an upper NW private. Can’t move for 3 years either but aren’t willing to do our Hill inbound. All our friends think we are crazy but I think it’ll be worth it.

[Anonymous]

Have you considered Ludlow-Taylor? Very good chance of getting in 2nd & up, but it has a solid cohort of high performing kids, a nice & involved parent community and the other bells & whistles that having an UMC community brings. Actually, their afterschool & club program is much better than any of the other Hill options in my opinion.

[Anonymous]

Oops, I now see you listed L-T in your original post. By 2nd, you have a very good chance of getting in and by 3rd it’s almost guaranteed. I would 100% hold out for that over commuting to NW, which you couldn’t pay me to do 2x/day from the Hill for elementary school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oops, I now see you listed L-T in your original post. By 2nd, you have a very good chance of getting in and by 3rd it’s almost guaranteed. I would 100% hold out for that over commuting to NW, which you couldn’t pay me to do 2x/day from the Hill for elementary school.

+1. If you can’t move now, then is what I would do. L-T, then move for middle school.

[Anonymous]

i say lottery for any other hill area schools that you might like more than your inbound in order of preference. also seriously consider whether this year was maybe just you drew a not so great classroom teacher or something etc. figure middle school out later. i wouldnt myself do a very long commute to nw unless or until you have to.

[Anonymous]

OP here and thanks all. You make a good point about moving for MS. I think I’m just feeling unsure about the lottery since we’ve been unlucky in the past, and grasping for additional options. Also heard very mixed things about schools like TR and CHMS, and had been looking at both Lee campuses but reading about their teacher walkout on here today stressed me out.

But yes, hopefully we get in at L-T or similar and can just relax for a few years. We should have a lot more options in terms of where we live by 5th.

[Anonymous]

Lots at Hyde Addison

[Anonymous]

I agree with not doing the commute, unless one parent doesn’t work. Find an ES on the hill where they are safe and happy, supplement heavily, and move for MS. For the amount of time you spend commuting for ES you might as well be supplementing.

[Anonymous]

Can someone explain to me the issues the schools have that make a school untenable by 2nd grade when it was great in ECE? Is it simply that the UMC kids leave by then or is there something else going on?

[Anonymous]

I know at least one family that went to Janney from Capitol Hill. The kids played together at recess but didn’t really do play dates from school.

Hyde- Addison is the easiest to get into from what I hear. We lotteried into Shepherd for a higher grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can someone explain to me the issues the schools have that make a school untenable by 2nd grade when it was great in ECE? Is it simply that the UMC kids leave by then or is there something else going on?

yes i'd love to know too...