Probably moving out of school catchment: chances of staying at our elementary?

[Anonymous]

Hi! If all goes well, we expect to move from the school catchment area we have lived in since before we even had kids to a different catchment. We would like our child (currently in 2nd grade, entering 3rd grade next year) to be able to complete elementary school at their current school, both because we like the school and because DC has good friends there.

I understand that, with administrative approval, it is sometimes possible for a student to remain at their current school after a change in residence. I was hoping to learn how much discretion school administrators typically have in making these decisions, and whether requests of this kind are approved as a matter of routine or, alternatively, sometimes denied.

A related question: does the timing of the move (specifically, whether it occurs before or after registration for the upcoming school year) affect how such requests are evaluated?

Thanks in advance!

[Anonymous]

You should be fine to stay in current ES through terminal grade. I believe that’s formally stated in the enrollment guide for Dcps, but I’m too lazy to look that up right now.

Technically, you wouldn’t be allowed to follow your current ES feeder pattern to MS. You technically would need to enroll in your home MS. In reality, they almost never check and enforce this at all.

[Anonymous]

Thanks! We wouldn't need the middle school path, since our older kid is at a charter we like.

[Anonymous]

100% chance. You are entitled to stay through the last grade in the building but DCPS doesn’t track whether you enrolled as in boundary or lottery so you can continue in the feeder.

[Anonymous]

Where does it say in the current guidance they can stay until terminal grade of elementary? I know it used to say that but I saw a post here that it was updated. It was changed to say they are entitled to attend school in their new boundary but doesn’t clarify if they can remain at their old school.

[Anonymous]

It doesn’t functionally matter what central office policy says if they don’t update their system infrastructure to allow individual schools to track and enforce the change in policy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where does it say in the current guidance they can stay until terminal grade of elementary? I know it used to say that but I saw a post here that it was updated. It was changed to say they are entitled to attend school in their new boundary but doesn’t clarify if they can remain at their old school.

It switched back again.

[Anonymous]

you just reenroll. its a non-issue. however, if you ask a lot of questions now because you want total certainty, be prepared for the elementary school registrar to either be unfamiliar with the dcps you can stay and reenroll policy and/or to get worried you are moving out of dc etc.