Experiences with Stevens Early Learning Center

[Anonymous]

Got matched for preK3. I'd love to hear other parents' experiences with the early ed program.

[Anonymous]

The best! Everyone I know there loves everyone they engage with every day.

[Anonymous]

It’s an absolute gem. You won the lottery, literally and figuratively. Stevens’ funding works out at about $40k per student.

[Anonymous]

Current parent of a PK3 at Stevens and we love it. Great teachers and resources. It’s like sending the kids to a private school but still having a diverse student population.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Got matched for preK3. I'd love to hear other parents' experiences with the early ed program.

We just matched at Stevens for PK3 too! Would love to connect.

[Anonymous]

Anyone in a position to compare Stevens ELC with SWW@Francis Stevens? We’re within close striking distance from the WL for both but only toured Stevens ELC so not sure if that’s really the best option for us. SWW@FS’s swing space for one more year which still works for us though the regular location would be better for us. Only looking for PK so feeder/no feeder isn’t an issue. Would love to hear from someone who’s checked out both!

[Anonymous]

Any news if Stevens is getting a feeder pattern?

[Anonymous]

This was floated at the SWW@Francis-Stevens townhall. They would create a feeder to that school, which is PreK-8 and has a good reputation though doesn't get a lot of mentions here. I think it's a positive development if your child is at Stevens.

[Anonymous]

The feeder option sounds like potentially a good idea for retention and community building. We almost went there but got into a closer option closer to home. I think it’s often a backup plan for folks whose IB option doesn’t have pk3 or it is not a sure thing. There seem to be a lot of kids who only stay one year.

[Anonymous]

How would a feeder to F-S work? They would likely need another classroom for each of the K-5 grades, so unless they are going to eliminate middle school (which I actually support--send everyone to the new Shaw/Euclid middle school!--but imagine F-S parents would dislike) there wouldn't be room. Or would they eliminate PK3 and 4 at F-S and have a P-K only campus, kind of like Peabody and Watkins?

If they do this, will Military Road also get a feeder?

[Anonymous]

I don’t understand the purpose of creating a feeder pattern for the ELCs. Weren’t they created to provide more PK capacity for families whose schools didn’t have it? Everyone has a by-right IB kindergarten to go to already.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How would a feeder to F-S work? They would likely need another classroom for each of the K-5 grades, so unless they are going to eliminate middle school (which I actually support--send everyone to the new Shaw/Euclid middle school!--but imagine F-S parents would dislike) there wouldn't be room. Or would they eliminate PK3 and 4 at F-S and have a P-K only campus, kind of like Peabody and Watkins?

If they do this, will Military Road also get a feeder?

PP here. All I know is what's posted on the boundary committee site: https://dme.dc.gov/node/1697576. But maybe the boundary study committee people who read DCUM can weigh in.

I am not in favor of eliminating the middle for F-S or for its feeder elementary schools, Ross and Thomson. That does not appear to be the plan anyway, from this Power Point. The only change in middle would be sending Thomson kids only to F-S, as opposed to giving them a choice of F-S or Jefferson. Most Thomson kids go to F-S anyway, the committee is arguing. I think Ross is already F-S only.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand the purpose of creating a feeder pattern for the ELCs. Weren’t they created to provide more PK capacity for families whose schools didn’t have it? Everyone has a by-right IB kindergarten to go to already.

My sense is that Stevens is under capacity somewhat. I suspect part of this is that with WFH the location is a tougher sell. They’re burning through their WL for pk3 and pk4 is free for the taking. I haven’t been to any of the relevant boundary study discussions so this is definitely pure speculation, but the city sank a lot of resources into the building and I think they’d like to attract more families who stay for both years. It really is a gorgeous little school for pre-Kers. (Now, if only it had a proper playground!)

[Anonymous]

I am a former Stevens ELC parent. We loved the school, but it is under-enrolled and appeals mainly to high SES folk who live in wealthier parts of the city where the in-boundary ESs either don’t offer PK3 or where it is heavily over-subscribed. My sense is that the dedicated at-risk slots were not getting filled. Giving it a feeder would, I think, help make Stevens more attractive to parents seeking a better ES option and nudge it back to its original mission.

[Anonymous]

The location is a tough sell for a lot of families. Unless you work downtown or have flexible work from home driving down there is a pain.