Elementary School Recommendations for Family moving to DC from Australia

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also funny: how come nobody is recommending Capitol Hill?

BC there aren't 5 BR houses in Cap Hill for $1.25M.

And because she wants decent schools through high school.

Dumb question but...so does everyone with kids basically leave CH by high school? That seems so dumb. I just mean you'd think with all the money and power centered there they'd have gotten a good HS by now.

There used to be a strip that was zoned for Wilson. I am not kidding.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also funny: how come nobody is recommending Capitol Hill?

BC there aren't 5 BR houses in Cap Hill for $1.25M.

And because she wants decent schools through high school.

Dumb question but...so does everyone with kids basically leave CH by high school? That seems so dumb. I just mean you'd think with all the money and power centered there they'd have gotten a good HS by now.

Because CH is surrounded by much poorer areas and any high school would draw from those to a large extent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also funny: how come nobody is recommending Capitol Hill?

BC there aren't 5 BR houses in Cap Hill for $1.25M.

And because she wants decent schools through high school.

Dumb question but...so does everyone with kids basically leave CH by high school? That seems so dumb. I just mean you'd think with all the money and power centered there they'd have gotten a good HS by now.

Many try to lottery into Washington Latin or maybe BASIS or another middle school option (Hardy). They apply to SWW HS. If those options don't work they move or go to private school.

Some send their kids to SH or EH for middle and then to an application high school.

None of the monied or power-centered, as you put it, go to Eastern. But Eastern's boundary is large and many students there are IB.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also funny: how come nobody is recommending Capitol Hill?

BC there aren't 5 BR houses in Cap Hill for $1.25M.

And because she wants decent schools through high school.

Dumb question but...so does everyone with kids basically leave CH by high school? That seems so dumb. I just mean you'd think with all the money and power centered there they'd have gotten a good HS by now.

There used to be a strip that was zoned for Wilson. I am not kidding.

here is a link to the old boundaries:
http://www.21csf.org/csf-home/DocUploads/DataShop/DS_23.pdf

[Anonymous]

Basically, the Wilson boundaries used to follow where white people lived after white flight from DC, pre-population rebound. No way it could be a coincidence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also funny: how come nobody is recommending Capitol Hill?

BC there aren't 5 BR houses in Cap Hill for $1.25M.

And because she wants decent schools through high school.

Dumb question but...so does everyone with kids basically leave CH by high school? That seems so dumb. I just mean you'd think with all the money and power centered there they'd have gotten a good HS by now.

There used to be a strip that was zoned for Wilson. I am not kidding.

Yep-- when we bought our house it was zoned for Wilson. Totally insane (what an coincidence that it happened to be the whitest, richest, most powerful part of Capitol Hill). Anyway, our high schooler happily attends charter school -- Washington Latin. Lots of his friends that he attended the local elementary school with are also there and also at private schools and BASIS. If I were OP I'd buy in Capitol Hill but definitely go for a house zoned in good elementary school. Charters, privates, and Jefferson and S-H are all likely choices for middle school for OP's family in a few years time. I suppose its a gamble yes, there are only a couple families that have moved out to the suburbs after going through elementary school. But to my eye it's a guarantee that living WOTP while doing much of your work on the east side of the city would be an immediate pain in the rear. Point is, most of my kid's friends that he went through elementary school with have stayed on the Hill and I think the odds of good school options in middle and high school would be even stronger a few years from now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Shepherd Park is a nice neighborhood, but OP should be aware that buying there would mean that her kids have to cross the park (by car or bus) in order to get to middle and high school. Same for her if she works in Georgetown. Commute-wise, it would be better for all of them if they live west of the park.

Also, while Shepherd Elementary is fine, it is not on par with the Deal and Hardy feeders west of the park.

OP Here: Thank you very much for this advice. Which park should we be west of? Thanks!

As the other PP said, it's Rock Creek Park that runs north-south through the city. Due to Washington's history of segregation, the areas west of RCP (WOTP) are the historically whiter, wealthier ones, where the public schools have a longer history of upper middle class attendance and are therefore generally high performing. They are more suburban in character and have lower levels of violent crime. They are also the areas where upper middle class international families tend to gravitate, partly due to the fact that most embassies are west of the park, but there are also many international transplants in those neighborhoods who have no connections to the embassies.

Neighborhoods east of RCP (EOTP) will be more urban, more racially diverse, have more crime, and generally lower performing schools (although there are some high performing schools EOTP as well). This is not to say that they are unsafe (most are not), but there is definitely more violent crime than WOTP if you look at the statistics (google DC crime map if this is of concern to you). Some neighborhoods EOTP are also rather suburban, but many will be more interesting in terms of restaurants and bars and have more of a feel of being in the city.

Since the best public middle schools and the only good public high school in DC are WOTP, I would recommend settling there. Yes, it is true that there is a dedicated bus that takes kids to Deal/Wilson from feeder neighborhoods EOTP, but if you live in AU Park/Tenleytown, or in the eastern parts of Chevy Chase DC, your kids will be able to walk or bike to school, which in my opinion is invaluable.

I live EOTP and generally agree with this summary of things. However, I would say that there is a fair amount of international diversity in some EOTP neighborhoods too--perhaps more so now than in years past. For example, I can think of neighbors who speak French, Spanish, German, Italian, Swahili, Amharic, Finnish, etc. in ours. Also have neighbors from anglophone countries (UK, Caribbean, etc.).

I realized I can't think of anyone from Australia or New Zealand, though--but lots of other parts of the world represented.

PP again. One other minor sticking point--not all EOTP neighborhoods have higher crime rates than WOTP. On the crime "heat" maps, our neighborhood is the same color (green) as WOTP. However, it is true that we are closer to higher crime areas than WOTP, so if that's a significant concern, then WOTP is definitely a better bet.

The crime "heat" maps can be misleading because they don't distinguish between violent crime and property crime. Violent crime is what really matters to me, so I prefer to look at the MPD map that gives detailed data.

PP here. Violent crime is extremely rare in my EOTP neighborhood. We get some /property and nuisance crime (e.g., cars occasionally getting rifled through if mistakenly left unlocked), but I'm not sure that differs substantially from WOTP, especially denser areas close to Wisconsin, Conn. Ave., etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also funny: how come nobody is recommending Capitol Hill?

BC there aren't 5 BR houses in Cap Hill for $1.25M.

And because she wants decent schools through high school.

Dumb question but...so does everyone with kids basically leave CH by high school? That seems so dumb. I just mean you'd think with all the money and power centered there they'd have gotten a good HS by now.

There used to be a strip that was zoned for Wilson. I am not kidding.

Yep-- when we bought our house it was zoned for Wilson. Totally insane (what an coincidence that it happened to be the whitest, richest, most powerful part of Capitol Hill). Anyway, our high schooler happily attends charter school -- Washington Latin. Lots of his friends that he attended the local elementary school with are also there and also at private schools and BASIS. If I were OP I'd buy in Capitol Hill but definitely go for a house zoned in good elementary school. Charters, privates, and Jefferson and S-H are all likely choices for middle school for OP's family in a few years time. I suppose its a gamble yes, there are only a couple families that have moved out to the suburbs after going through elementary school. But to my eye it's a guarantee that living WOTP while doing much of your work on the east side of the city would be an immediate pain in the rear. Point is, most of my kid's friends that he went through elementary school with have stayed on the Hill and I think the odds of good school options in middle and high school would be even stronger a few years from now.

The commute question really hinges on when she has to be at her main office near Georgetown. Driving there from Capitol Hill during rush hour would be a huge pain. Driving around the city for her work outside of rush hour is doable. If she works in wards 4 (part of which is WOTP), and wards 5-8, it sounds like she is going to do a lot of driving no matter where she lives, so I wouldn't pick Capitol Hill for commute reasons. There are other big draws to Capitol Hill, but it also has some serious downsides, such as crime and schools. While the public middle schools are likely to improve, high schools probably won't anytime soon. And lotterying into acceptable charter options is only going to get harder.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is the most depressing thread ever. For all the rah raving about diversity and picking on posters who want high performance and diversity, when it comes down to it everyone merely pushes the rich white wannabe suburbs known as WOTP?? Screw that.

This OP has been looking in Takoma and Brookland. Stop steering them toward the elites. OP, I’m in Brookland and it’s great. You can try the lottery and have a pathway. If it’s a no go, move to Takoma Park. Skip the snooty NW and it’s oh so diverse World Bank employees and share the true diversity of DC with your children as much as you can.

I have lived in AU Park and EotP. I will take my EoTP neighborhood hands down. We are far happier EotP than in AU Park. I agree with you! FWIW, the crime is the same in both neighborhoods.

What is your IB Middle School? Are you sending your child there?

Deal MS. Yes, my daughter went there and is at Wilson now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is the most depressing thread ever. For all the rah raving about diversity and picking on posters who want high performance and diversity, when it comes down to it everyone merely pushes the rich white wannabe suburbs known as WOTP?? Screw that.

This OP has been looking in Takoma and Brookland. Stop steering them toward the elites. OP, I’m in Brookland and it’s great. You can try the lottery and have a pathway. If it’s a no go, move to Takoma Park. Skip the snooty NW and it’s oh so diverse World Bank employees and share the true diversity of DC with your children as much as you can.

I have lived in AU Park and EotP. I will take my EoTP neighborhood hands down. We are far happier EotP than in AU Park. I agree with you! FWIW, the crime is the same in both neighborhoods.

What is your IB Middle School? Are you sending your child there?

Deal MS. Yes, my daughter went there and is at Wilson now.

But the only places EOTP that someone with a 6yo now could send to Deal and Wilson are Mt. Pleasant (which would be difficult because the oldest would be dissuaded from entering Bancroft as a second-grader who speaks no Spanish) or Shepherd Park, which has been suggested many times to OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is the most depressing thread ever. For all the rah raving about diversity and picking on posters who want high performance and diversity, when it comes down to it everyone merely pushes the rich white wannabe suburbs known as WOTP?? Screw that.

This OP has been looking in Takoma and Brookland. Stop steering them toward the elites. OP, I’m in Brookland and it’s great. You can try the lottery and have a pathway. If it’s a no go, move to Takoma Park. Skip the snooty NW and it’s oh so diverse World Bank employees and share the true diversity of DC with your children as much as you can.

I have lived in AU Park and EotP. I will take my EoTP neighborhood hands down. We are far happier EotP than in AU Park. I agree with you! FWIW, the crime is the same in both neighborhoods.

What is your IB Middle School? Are you sending your child there?

Deal MS. Yes, my daughter went there and is at Wilson now.

So were you able to stay at Janney OR was your new property EOTP IB for a feeder to Deal?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Shepherd Park is a nice neighborhood, but OP should be aware that buying there would mean that her kids have to cross the park (by car or bus) in order to get to middle and high school. Same for her if she works in Georgetown. Commute-wise, it would be better for all of them if they live west of the park.

Also, while Shepherd Elementary is fine, it is not on par with the Deal and Hardy feeders west of the park.

OP Here: Thank you very much for this advice. Which park should we be west of? Thanks!

As the other PP said, it's Rock Creek Park that runs north-south through the city. Due to Washington's history of segregation, the areas west of RCP (WOTP) are the historically whiter, wealthier ones, where the public schools have a longer history of upper middle class attendance and are therefore generally high performing. They are more suburban in character and have lower levels of violent crime. They are also the areas where upper middle class international families tend to gravitate, partly due to the fact that most embassies are west of the park, but there are also many international transplants in those neighborhoods who have no connections to the embassies.

Neighborhoods east of RCP (EOTP) will be more urban, more racially diverse, have more crime, and generally lower performing schools (although there are some high performing schools EOTP as well). This is not to say that they are unsafe (most are not), but there is definitely more violent crime than WOTP if you look at the statistics (google DC crime map if this is of concern to you). Some neighborhoods EOTP are also rather suburban, but many will be more interesting in terms of restaurants and bars and have more of a feel of being in the city.

Since the best public middle schools and the only good public high school in DC are WOTP, I would recommend settling there. Yes, it is true that there is a dedicated bus that takes kids to Deal/Wilson from feeder neighborhoods EOTP, but if you live in AU Park/Tenleytown, or in the eastern parts of Chevy Chase DC, your kids will be able to walk or bike to school, which in my opinion is invaluable.

I live EOTP and generally agree with this summary of things. However, I would say that there is a fair amount of international diversity in some EOTP neighborhoods too--perhaps more so now than in years past. For example, I can think of neighbors who speak French, Spanish, German, Italian, Swahili, Amharic, Finnish, etc. in ours. Also have neighbors from anglophone countries (UK, Caribbean, etc.).

I realized I can't think of anyone from Australia or New Zealand, though--but lots of other parts of the world represented.

My DH (and kids) are Kiwi and we live EOTP (in Capitol Hill). We have also found a few other Kiwis around here and there is actually some Aussie Embassy housing

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is the most depressing thread ever. For all the rah raving about diversity and picking on posters who want high performance and diversity, when it comes down to it everyone merely pushes the rich white wannabe suburbs known as WOTP?? Screw that.

This OP has been looking in Takoma and Brookland. Stop steering them toward the elites. OP, I’m in Brookland and it’s great. You can try the lottery and have a pathway. If it’s a no go, move to Takoma Park. Skip the snooty NW and it’s oh so diverse World Bank employees and share the true diversity of DC with your children as much as you can.

I have lived in AU Park and EotP. I will take my EoTP neighborhood hands down. We are far happier EotP than in AU Park. I agree with you! FWIW, the crime is the same in both neighborhoods.

What is your IB Middle School? Are you sending your child there?

Deal MS. Yes, my daughter went there and is at Wilson now.

So were you able to stay at Janney OR was your new property EOTP IB for a feeder to Deal?

She went private when we lived in AU Park but we are zoned for Deal and Wilson in CV.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is the most depressing thread ever. For all the rah raving about diversity and picking on posters who want high performance and diversity, when it comes down to it everyone merely pushes the rich white wannabe suburbs known as WOTP?? Screw that.

This OP has been looking in Takoma and Brookland. Stop steering them toward the elites. OP, I’m in Brookland and it’s great. You can try the lottery and have a pathway. If it’s a no go, move to Takoma Park. Skip the snooty NW and it’s oh so diverse World Bank employees and share the true diversity of DC with your children as much as you can.

I have lived in AU Park and EotP. I will take my EoTP neighborhood hands down. We are far happier EotP than in AU Park. I agree with you! FWIW, the crime is the same in both neighborhoods.

What is your IB Middle School? Are you sending your child there?

Deal MS. Yes, my daughter went there and is at Wilson now.

So were you able to stay at Janney OR was your new property EOTP IB for a feeder to Deal?

She went private when we lived in AU Park but we are zoned for Deal and Wilson in CV.

So for the OP who is looking for a public school option - you are recommending live in Colonial Village and said kids to Shepherd?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is the most depressing thread ever. For all the rah raving about diversity and picking on posters who want high performance and diversity, when it comes down to it everyone merely pushes the rich white wannabe suburbs known as WOTP?? Screw that.

This OP has been looking in Takoma and Brookland. Stop steering them toward the elites. OP, I’m in Brookland and it’s great. You can try the lottery and have a pathway. If it’s a no go, move to Takoma Park. Skip the snooty NW and it’s oh so diverse World Bank employees and share the true diversity of DC with your children as much as you can.

I have lived in AU Park and EotP. I will take my EoTP neighborhood hands down. We are far happier EotP than in AU Park. I agree with you! FWIW, the crime is the same in both neighborhoods.

What is your IB Middle School? Are you sending your child there?

Deal MS. Yes, my daughter went there and is at Wilson now.

So were you able to stay at Janney OR was your new property EOTP IB for a feeder to Deal?

She went private when we lived in AU Park but we are zoned for Deal and Wilson in CV.

So for the OP who is looking for a public school option - you are recommending live in Colonial Village and said kids to Shepherd?

If the OP comes from an urban environment, I highly doubt she would prefer Colonial Village over AU Park. Colonial Village is not walkable at all, unless you are in that tiny corner from which you can walk to Silver Spring. It's a much sleepier neighborhood than AU.