Looking for lottery recommendations and also best ways to research schools?

[Superiorwitt]

Hi all,

We've been researching schools options for a 2026 pre-ker, and I was curious if anyone would be able to provide feedback and perspective on the following criteria:

We'd prefer a school that leans heavier into the academic side (STEM focused).. maybe not at the PK/K level but particularly when the grade levels begin. Bilingual would be an interest as well. We currently live in Deanwood, but also have property in the Union Market area; so schools in either area would be a option. We're currently at a program in Brookland; the consensus here at DCUM, seems to be Burroughs>Langdon>Langley? Where does EW Stokes fit into these options? Any others of consideration?

In the Union Market area, Ludlow-Taylor Elementary seems to be the only above average option it seems?

Also open to other school suggestions in any nearby areas. We've been researching based on Great Schools, Niche, this forum and attending open houses.. Are there any other best practices to apply when looking into area schools?


Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Ok, stop using Greatschools and Niche. Those websites do not understand how the DC school system operates and are often out of date. For example, you should definitely look at JO Wilson, which is near Union Market and is in a temporary space. They will be moving back into a newly remodeled building in 2026. Having to use a swing space sometimes causes a school's scores to dip because people leave, but I think JO Wilson will be a great pick and do really well once the renovation is over. This is an example of why you shouldn't just rely on Great schools.

If you want to look at test score data, you can look here: https://osse.dc.gov/dccape

Each school has a page on https://schoolreportcard.dc.gov/home and you can look up each school and review the topics most of interest to you.

There's a lot of data here https://www.empowerk12.org/dcdatahub although it's a little bit of work to understand how to use the dashboard. This will help you to review schools in the context of their demographics-- and this is important because DCPS has many lovely preschool and early elementary programs that don't have great test scores, either because of a high proportion of special needs students or people leaving the elementary school due to a lack of a middle school feeder.

You need to decide whether you're interested in language programs and whether you're interested in Montessori. Start by determining that. Then look geographically and decide how much you care about what the middle school option is.

[Anonymous]

There isn't a STEM-focused elementary school here. Beware of Harmony-- it markets itself as such, but its math performance is really low and it was nearly closed down a few years ago.

I would suggest you look at Langley, Seaton, Burroughs, Langdon, and Inspired Teaching. Stokes is a French and Spanish school so consider whether you want language, if you do, consider Mundo Verde and Yu Ying as well. Avoid Shining Stars Montessori, it seems to be in some sort of slow-motion collapse. Lee Montessori is okay.

You can use this resource to see if any out-of-boundary PK3s were accepted in recent years. https://enrolldcps.dc.gov/node/61 This helps you to avoid wasting a spot where you have zero chance. Look up Ludlow-Taylor and you'll see what I mean-- they waitlisted in-boundary students so out-of-boundary students don't stand a chance.

The best thing you can do for yourself is 1) understand the difference between boundary and non-boundary schools (which isn't the same thing as charter vs non-charter) and watch the video on MySchoolDC to see how the lottery works and make sure you do truly understand it.

[Anonymous]

You can look at Two Rivers, but be aware the academic performance isn't very good. It's fine for preschool though.

Same goes for Miner and Payne.

[Superiorwitt]

Anonymous wrote:Ok, stop using Greatschools and Niche. Those websites do not understand how the DC school system operates and are often out of date. For example, you should definitely look at JO Wilson, which is near Union Market and is in a temporary space. They will be moving back into a newly remodeled building in 2026. Having to use a swing space sometimes causes a school's scores to dip because people leave, but I think JO Wilson will be a great pick and do really well once the renovation is over. This is an example of why you shouldn't just rely on Great schools.

If you want to look at test score data, you can look here: https://osse.dc.gov/dccape

Each school has a page on https://schoolreportcard.dc.gov/home and you can look up each school and review the topics most of interest to you.

There's a lot of data here https://www.empowerk12.org/dcdatahub although it's a little bit of work to understand how to use the dashboard. This will help you to review schools in the context of their demographics-- and this is important because DCPS has many lovely preschool and early elementary programs that don't have great test scores, either because of a high proportion of special needs students or people leaving the elementary school due to a lack of a middle school feeder.

You need to decide whether you're interested in language programs and whether you're interested in Montessori. Start by determining that. Then look geographically and decide how much you care about what the middle school option is.

Thank you soo much for this context! I'll start checking into this links to create a more refined list. Are there any sites, specific tips or recommendations to follow when using the school lottery as well?

[Superiorwitt]

Anonymous wrote:There isn't a STEM-focused elementary school here. Beware of Harmony-- it markets itself as such, but its math performance is really low and it was nearly closed down a few years ago.

I would suggest you look at Langley, Seaton, Burroughs, Langdon, and Inspired Teaching. Stokes is a French and Spanish school so consider whether you want language, if you do, consider Mundo Verde and Yu Ying as well. Avoid Shining Stars Montessori, it seems to be in some sort of slow-motion collapse. Lee Montessori is okay.

You can use this resource to see if any out-of-boundary PK3s were accepted in recent years. https://enrolldcps.dc.gov/node/61 This helps you to avoid wasting a spot where you have zero chance. Look up Ludlow-Taylor and you'll see what I mean-- they waitlisted in-boundary students so out-of-boundary students don't stand a chance.

The best thing you can do for yourself is 1) understand the difference between boundary and non-boundary schools (which isn't the same thing as charter vs non-charter) and watch the video on MySchoolDC to see how the lottery works and make sure you do truly understand it.

This is super helpful; thank you much

[Superiorwitt]

For additional context.. are the top 10 elementary schools(mostly upper NW) THAT much better than options elsewhere in the city?

ie Janney, Key, Stoddart, Oyster-Adams etc.

[Anonymous]

Superiorwitt wrote:For additional context.. are the top 10 elementary schools(mostly upper NW) THAT much better than options elsewhere in the city?

ie Janney, Key, Stoddart, Oyster-Adams etc.

Well, yes in terms of their test scores. But they have a much easier road because of their high-income student body, and they don't struggle with retention because they feed into a good high school. So it's not necessarily the case that their teachers are actually more skilled or that your child will have a better experience in preschool. Also, those schools don't offer PK3 and not everyone gets in for PK4 even if you live in the boundary. And you can have a dud teacher at any school.

You need to decide for yourself what "better" means. If it means a school that's over-performing its demographics, if it means language instruction or Montessori, if it means feeding to a good high school, if it means experienced teachers, etc. Parents have all different opinions about these things. Focus on the needs of your child, not on ratings and sites that grind up data and spit out a score with no nuance and no knowledge.

[Anonymous]

Check out Houston and Bunker Hill.

[Anonymous]

Each school has an annual report, which will be on their website and/or the charter board's website. Charter schools have board meetings and they are supposed to post their minutes online-- it's a red flag if they don't! If you poke around in the past meeting archives of the charter board, you can find each school's 5-year review and read about any concerns that were raised.

Where you live, OP, you're not gonna be able to commute to a high-performing school. So make your peace with that and decide what your priorities are.

[Anonymous]

It's not enough to own a property, it has to be your actual residence to get in-boundary preference. So you would have to move.

[Anonymous]

One thing that you should understand, that someone above said but I want to underscore, is that it is basically impossible to get into desirable schools with boundaries, if you live out of boundary, for PK3. That is either because all the PK3 spots go to in-boundary students, like with Ludlow-Taylor, Maury, Brent, etc., or because the school doesn’t offer PK3 (most WOTP schools). The same is not true for PK4 and up, when more spots become available so it becomes possible to get in out of boundary at some desirable schools with a good lottery number.

It’s not a waste of time to research those schools if they would interest you for later years, but you would only get in out of boundary in PK3 if there was some very weird demographic dip/fluke.

This is not true of all schools that have good preK programs - you can get in to JO Wilson and Miner out of boundary in PK3 - but it is true for the schools with boundaries that are viewed as the top tier test score wise.

There are many schools with no boundaries that are nearly impossible to get into in PK3 without sibling preference (like SWS, Stokes), and others that basically let everyone in (like Mundo Verde Cook, Two Rivers).

[Anonymous]

https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/aaron2446/viz/MSDCSeatsandWaitlistOfferData_draft/MSDCPublicDisplay

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's not enough to own a property, it has to be your actual residence to get in-boundary preference. So you would have to move.

Yeah there’s so much going on in this post but don’t overlook this piece. Beyond this, you are asking very basic questions that can be answered by doing some research on the My School DC website and crunching the tableau data they have available. That will show you how little chance you have of getting into the highly-rated schools that have boundary and sibling preferences for PK3 if you don’t have boundary preference. We live across from our kid’s school and couldn’t get in until K because there were too many siblings among the ppl with boundary preference.

Obviously, take a shot at some schools but don’t hold out hope of amazing lottery luck until K, when more spots open up. I wouldn’t sweat the academic challenge of PK3 all that much either. If your kid is safe and happy and maybe getting some social emotional learning in, they will be good.

[Anonymous]

The PK3 lottery is tough because the class sizes are so small. It's a lot easier in PK4 and K and 1st. Make your peace with having a bad lottery number, finding a convenient preschool program, and sorting the rest out later.