Thomson ES VS Garrison

[Anonymous]

Hello! My family is moving to DC this summer as I am starting law school in the fall. My daughter is starting 1st grade and a 3 year old. Our in-boundary school is Garrison and the lottery school she got into is Thomson. I have no idea where to send her. I’m leaning more towards Thomson because it has the better feeder school but feeling super confused. Hoping to see if there’s any parents who have experience with either school.

How do the schools respond to bullying? My kids are half white/Iranian and hoping to send her to a school with a lot of diversity!

[Anonymous]

I would pick Garrison. The playground is WAY better. It's not even funny how much better it is. The neighborhood is great and it's so very beneficial to have a short commute and live near friends.

You have plenty of time to figure out feeder patterns later. And just FYI they are building a new middle school for Garrison to feed to, planned to open in August 2028. That would be for grades 6-8.

[Anonymous]

You can see demographics on the MyschoolDC website. They're both quite diverse. I don't know that either school is really different re: bullying, but maybe someone else has an opinion about it.

Are you planning for your younger child to start PK3? Enrolling your older child at Garrison would cause your younger child to move to the Sibling category of the Garrison waitlist, but it's possible the younger one wouldn't get in. Probably it will be fine.

[Anonymous]

My little one is number one on the lottery waitlist for Garrison. So hoping he would get in regardless of where she goes!

[Anonymous]

Why are you concerned about middle school? You will be out of law school, working, and be able to move to a better school zone if you want to. It's common here not to attend your zoned middle school. You can use the lottery to get into something else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My little one is number one on the lottery waitlist for Garrison. So hoping he would get in regardless of where she goes!

Oops sorry, I had that backwards. So if you enroll at Thomson, your little one would be a sibling on the Thomson waitlist, and would probably get in. It's an easier school to get into than Garrison is. (Which should indicate to you that it isn't significantly better *despite* having a better middle school feeder).

[Anonymous]

Just being an over thinker. I don’t want to separate her from her friends and have her be the new kid in the middle school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just being an over thinker. I don’t want to separate her from her friends and have her be the new kid in the middle school.

Understand the way the system works here, kids go to all kinds of middle schools and there will be many new kids, and many kids who know other kids from their prior school or their activities or whatever. Whatever middle school she goes to, some of her friends will be there and some will be elsewhere. In 5th grade, it's common to lottery for Latin and BASIS, so some of her friends will go there and she may go too, or not. It's a much more mobile system than you may be used to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why are you concerned about middle school? You will be out of law school, working, and be able to move to a better school zone if you want to. It's common here not to attend your zoned middle school. You can use the lottery to get into something else.

Everyone said this to us and now we’re scrambling for middle school
For the oldest…it does matter if you never get a lottery number for a school you want with decent feeder rights and don’t really want to move.

[Anonymous]

Funnily I lived right by garrison while in law school (I’m assuming you’re going to GULC?) though my kids didn’t exist yet! It’s a great space and as an outsider, I planned to send my future kids there— they were always planning neighborhood events, had a nice playground etc. Life circumstances intervened, as they often do post-law school, and we moved, but that was my sense. I don’t think you can go wrong. Thomson also has its fans and is really conveniently located downtown.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are you concerned about middle school? You will be out of law school, working, and be able to move to a better school zone if you want to. It's common here not to attend your zoned middle school. You can use the lottery to get into something else.

Everyone said this to us and now we’re scrambling for middle school
For the oldest…it does matter if you never get a lottery number for a school you want with decent feeder rights and don’t really want to move.

I wouldn't say that if OP's child were older. It seems like this family has a natural pivot and income change when he becomes a lawyer, so they can reevaluate then.

[Anonymous]

Does Thomson still have recess in a parking garage?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does Thomson still have recess in a parking garage?

Yes. Compared to what Garrison has!

[Anonymous]

Both of my kids attended Thomson from Pre-K 3 through 4th grade and then lotteried into a public charter for middle school. Thomson has strong teachers, a good principal, and a nice community. My kids were very well prepared for middle school - academically, socially, and emotionally - which is about all I could ask for from an elementary school.

[Anonymous]

We are a Garrison family, where our son has been since PK3 (he's now in third grade). We absolutely love it! It is a terrific, warm, supportive place where kids thrive, and the community/PTA are engaged. This is almost entirely due to the Principal and the excellent teachers he hires and tone he sets. I can't say enough about how great the school is. Sadly, our son won't benefit from the new middle school (it won't open in time) so we are transferring next year to ensure a MS and HS pathway. We would 100% be staying at Garrison through 5th if the MS was going to be ready.

P.S. The playground and field are a real bonus!