Home buying based on schools?

[Anonymous]

Hi - first, I apologize if (as I suspect) this question has been asked many times before - I tried searching but the system is not the most user friendly. We're a newly married couple looking to buy a house and have kids in the next 1-2 years, but we don't know the first thing about choosing a home location for access to good schools. I would very much appreciate any advice, links, previous posts, etc. with anything helpful. Thank you!

[Anonymous]

I question the old go-to “great schools.”

Be careful with that one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I question the old go-to “great schools.”

Be careful with that one.

People hate the scores because of the underlying truth. When we bought our first home years ago, we sought out an affordable enclave in a very highly rated elementary school district and it worked well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I question the old go-to “great schools.”

Be careful with that one.

One of the problems is they’ve jumped on the bandwagon of rating schools on their own “diversity score” , or “equity” which feels good but has zero to do with academics or chances of getting into college.

[Anonymous]

It's a catch 22.

If you pick a neighborhood where the schools are mostly UMC, your kid will be competing with those kids for colleges, but they will more than likely have a higher achieving peer group with less (not zero) behavioral issues. However, your kid will always be comparing themselves to the Joneses, as it were.

Whereas a school with a mix of SES may have more issues, but there still may be a significant group of higher achieving kids but still tough for college admissions.

If your kid goes to a lower SES school but is high achieving, they will have a better shot at elite universities, however, there will likely be more behavioral issue and less higher achieving students (hence a higher chance of elite college admissions from that school).

YMMV of course, but I would pick #2. That's what we did.

[Anonymous]

No president since Carter has sent their kids to any DC public school (and Mayor Fenty begged Obama).

Cross DCPS off your list.

That leaves MoCo schools (but they just defunded their School Resource Officers / kicked police out). Just insane.

Alexandria did the same, and has had major violence problems this year.

I would not consider the PG public schools.

That leaves NOVA schools. Their school boards are packed with LWNJs (seriously - these people are crazy) but that may soon change.

[Anonymous]

It all starts with budget.

[Anonymous]

OP pick a neighborhood you like with an easy commute. Quality time with your kids and being around for them is more important than the “ good school” rating. I live in a neighborhood I love but the elem school is a 5 on great schools and is a focus school so medium/high farms. We’ve had amazing teachers and a super supportive PTA. Another elem school about 15 mins away has a GT Magnet program so ranks an 8 because the test scores are obviously higher. The PTA is non existent and there is no sense of community at the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No president since Carter has sent their kids to any DC public school (and Mayor Fenty begged Obama).

Cross DCPS off your list.

That leaves MoCo schools (but they just defunded their School Resource Officers / kicked police out). Just insane.

Alexandria did the same, and has had major violence problems this year.

I would not consider the PG public schools.

That leaves NOVA schools. Their school boards are packed with LWNJs (seriously - these people are crazy) but that may soon change.

Not all PG county schools are bad. Some are rated way higher than NoVA schools. At the end of the day, the only thing that changes from one public school to the next is the racial and economic makeup of the student body. The curriculum is virtually the same.

[Anonymous]

These are all really great responses - thanks. What ratings do you even look at? The top google searches are: https://www.publicschoolreview.com/district-of-columbia/washington/elementary

https://www.usnews.com/education/k12/elementary-schools/district-of-columbia

and https://www.niche.com/k12/search/best-public-elementary-schools/s/district-of-columbia/

but is that what you look at? Are there neighborhoods you've really liked in terms of school (by whatever metric you choose)?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP pick a neighborhood you like with an easy commute. Quality time with your kids and being around for them is more important than the “ good school” rating. I live in a neighborhood I love but the elem school is a 5 on great schools and is a focus school so medium/high farms. We’ve had amazing teachers and a super supportive PTA. Another elem school about 15 mins away has a GT Magnet program so ranks an 8 because the test scores are obviously higher. The PTA is non existent and there is no sense of community at the school.

Hi OP.

Just fyi

“FARMS” = free and reduced cost meals, and only parents below a certain income threshold qualify. Decide for yourself what this means for you.

[Anonymous]

Also, OP - what county are you looking in? Budget? Schools matter, but so does community, resources nearby, etc. Those things matter a lot when you have kids.

[Anonymous]

Just look for schools with the highest percentage of white kids. No need for all this coded talk. We know what you are looking for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just look for schools with the highest percentage of white kids. No need for all this coded talk. We know what you are looking for.

Lol was wondering when the racism would come in. We're looking in DC, our preferred areas now are Petworth, around H street, and Hill East. We're both gov't employees so can't really afford private schools unless they're religiously affiliated. House max is about 1.2 million so at least that helps. And great point about the community/other resources, I hadn't really thought about that but it's a great point. What kinds of resources has it helped to have around with little kids?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just look for schools with the highest percentage of white kids. No need for all this coded talk. We know what you are looking for.

Lol was wondering when the racism would come in. We're looking in DC, our preferred areas now are Petworth, around H street, and Hill East. We're both gov't employees so can't really afford private schools unless they're religiously affiliated. House max is about 1.2 million so at least that helps. And great point about the community/other resources, I hadn't really thought about that but it's a great point. What kinds of resources has it helped to have around with little kids?

Ignore the race-baiting squad here on DCUMAD. They are insufferable.

Anyway, if your target is DCPS, please research the specific forum for that system. I believe they still use a lottery system to determine where your child goes.