Why isn’t there PK 3 at Ward 3 schools?

[Anonymous]

Might be an obvious question but why don’t most if not all ward 3 schools start at PK 4 and not 3? If it’s an equity issue, it’s a little late for that…

[Anonymous]

This has been asked and answered a million times. It's because those schools are so crowded that they need more classrooms for K-5.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This has been asked and answered a million times. It's because those schools are so crowded that they need more classrooms for K-5.

That makes no sense, other schools are also crowded and yet they have PK3, my school is one of them. I am a teacher but I’m a newer mom. That answer sounds like a DCPS cop-out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This has been asked and answered a million times. It's because those schools are so crowded that they need more classrooms for K-5.

That makes no sense, other schools are also crowded and yet they have PK3, my school is one of them. I am a teacher but I’m a newer mom. That answer sounds like a DCPS cop-out.

And they're likely to lose PK3. For example Ross lost PK3 a year or two ago.

You might as well get used to DCPS cop-outs. Happens all the time.

[Anonymous]

No, other schools are not as crowded as wotp dcps schools, as evidenced by the fact that they fit in pk3 classrooms and still can take all in inbound k-5 kids who want to enroll. Wotp schools could have pk3 if they agreed to shrink their boundaries, but the parents would rather have the current boundaries and feeders and do a cbo or private child care.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This has been asked and answered a million times. It's because those schools are so crowded that they need more classrooms for K-5.

That makes no sense, other schools are also crowded and yet they have PK3, my school is one of them. I am a teacher but I’m a newer mom. That answer sounds like a DCPS cop-out.

And they're likely to lose PK3. For example Ross lost PK3 a year or two ago.

You might as well get used to DCPS cop-outs. Happens all the time.

Thank you for this information, PK is an L2 budget item meaning the principal would have to petition for it to come off. I’m not sure the district steps in, they seem fine with 27 K students in a class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This has been asked and answered a million times. It's because those schools are so crowded that they need more classrooms for K-5.

That makes no sense, other schools are also crowded and yet they have PK3, my school is one of them. I am a teacher but I’m a newer mom. That answer sounds like a DCPS cop-out.

And they're likely to lose PK3. For example Ross lost PK3 a year or two ago.

You might as well get used to DCPS cop-outs. Happens all the time.

Thank you for this information, PK is an L2 budget item meaning the principal would have to petition for it to come off. I’m not sure the district steps in, they seem fine with 27 K students in a class.

Are those kids staying through 5th? Are those classes at capacity as well?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This has been asked and answered a million times. It's because those schools are so crowded that they need more classrooms for K-5.

That makes no sense, other schools are also crowded and yet they have PK3, my school is one of them. I am a teacher but I’m a newer mom. That answer sounds like a DCPS cop-out.

And they're likely to lose PK3. For example Ross lost PK3 a year or two ago.

You might as well get used to DCPS cop-outs. Happens all the time.

Thank you for this information, PK i
https://www.lafayettehsa.org/lafayette-lsat-recommendation-on-the-dcps-plan-to-either-reduce-pre-k-classrooms-or-move-the-pre-k-program-to-the-military-road-school/s an L2 budget item meaning the principal would have to petition for it to come off. I’m not sure the district steps in, they seem fine with 27 K students in a class.

They will step in if it gets higher than that, or if the fire capacity of the building is exceeded by the total enrollment+staff. Yes they're fine with bigger class sizes but not infinity.

You might find it interesting to review the process around Lafayette and the Military Road ECE facility. Here are a few random links to get you started.
https://anc3g.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Ferebee-Lafayette-Letter_Military-Road-_1.27.2021.pdf

https://www.lafayettehsa.org/lafayette-lsat-recommendation-on-the-dcps-plan-to-either-reduce-pre-k-classrooms-or-move-the-pre-k-program-to-the-military-road-school/

[Anonymous]

Initially PK3 was introduced only at T1 schools. As a result, it only exists as schools that were T1 at that point in time. A few of those schools have now transitioned (Brent, Maury, LT, Bancroft, etc) & still have PK3, but no IB schools that weren't T1 at the time have it.

[Anonymous]

☝️ Correct. It began as an outgrowth of Head Start.

[Anonymous]

many of us just use st albans, two birds, communikids, or appletree. all or on CT ave/Wisc Ave/Mass Ave and most are walkable. highly recommend all of them.

the nearest standard ones are st francis, hyde, and military road. but all are kinda a pain to get to unless you are on the very edge of ward 3.

[Anonymous]

They tried to kill PK3 at Hyde-Addison two years (2022) ago and then added it back last minute in the summer of 2022 because they didn't get enough kids to open another class of 5th grade.

That was the year our oldest kid was going into PK3 and we got lucky with a non-sibling inbound spot. The fact that they did a bespoke lottery in July likely allowed my kid to attend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:☝️ Correct. It began as an outgrowth of Head Start.

this is the answer.

[Anonymous]

We are a ward three family and did pk-3 at Stevens ELC the year it was killed at Hyde-Addison. Stevens was an absolute gem and not too hard to get to from where we live.

[Anonymous]

Pk3 and Pk4 are not required, meaning spaces are offered on a limited basis as space allows. Many W3 schools simply have no space.