Transitioning from "good" DCPS elementary to MD/VA schools: academic/social challenges

[Anonymous]

Are there any parents here whose kids transitioned from one of the better DCPS elementary schools to a MD/VA public school for either upper elementary or middle? If so, did you notice any academic gaps you wish you had supplemented earlier? Also, how was the transition socially? Our in-bound middle school isn’t an option for us and I'm not blown away by any of the (limited) lottery options, so trying to plan ahead for when we inevitably move to the burbs.

[Anonymous]

You might have better luck in the VA or FFX forum

[Anonymous]

I can't answer your question but as someone perhaps slightly further along in exploring these options, one thing to look at when you start thinking about which districts you are interested in is whether they do AAP tracking. DCPS does not, and districts that do it usually start it at 3rd or 4th. Some allow kids to test into in later grades, in others this is hard.

We have a kid who is academically advanced in DCPS and I think would like AAP tracking/classes, so when we've toured specific schools, we will often ask how that process works for kids entering the district in 6th, which is when our kid would be moving.

In some district this would make it hard for her to access some programming. So just something to be aware of.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can't answer your question but as someone perhaps slightly further along in exploring these options, one thing to look at when you start thinking about which districts you are interested in is whether they do AAP tracking. DCPS does not, and districts that do it usually start it at 3rd or 4th. Some allow kids to test into in later grades, in others this is hard.

We have a kid who is academically advanced in DCPS and I think would like AAP tracking/classes, so when we've toured specific schools, we will often ask how that process works for kids entering the district in 6th, which is when our kid would be moving.

In some district this would make it hard for her to access some programming. So just something to be aware of.

I’m not OP but I also have a rising 6th grader and considering moving out of the district. Which ones have you found that seem like it would be hard to join an AAP track later?

[Anonymous]

I moved to Arlington and was reading this board because my kids are monopolizing the TV and I am bored. Anyhow, we switched when my oldest was in third grade and it was not a problem at all. But Arlington does not do separate AAP programs, for better or for worse. It was fine for us and my kids made friends quickly and were not really behind.

One thing to think about is that after elementary school it is much harder to get to know the other school parents unless you luck out and your kid does a sport that involves a lot of chatting on the slidelines. So I kind of wish we moved earlier since I think I would have a broader parent network. But if you are outgoing or have time to volunteer with the PTA etc I am sure you can overcome that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I moved to Arlington and was reading this board because my kids are monopolizing the TV and I am bored. Anyhow, we switched when my oldest was in third grade and it was not a problem at all. But Arlington does not do separate AAP programs, for better or for worse. It was fine for us and my kids made friends quickly and were not really behind.

One thing to think about is that after elementary school it is much harder to get to know the other school parents unless you luck out and your kid does a sport that involves a lot of chatting on the slidelines. So I kind of wish we moved earlier since I think I would have a broader parent network. But if you are outgoing or have time to volunteer with the PTA etc I am sure you can overcome that.

OP here. Maybe it’s because my kid is still young, but I hadn’t thought about the implications for us as parents. Do you have a sense of why it’s hard to get to know other parents after elementary? Is it just that people are settled in their communities by then and it’s hard to break in as a newbie?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I moved to Arlington and was reading this board because my kids are monopolizing the TV and I am bored. Anyhow, we switched when my oldest was in third grade and it was not a problem at all. But Arlington does not do separate AAP programs, for better or for worse. It was fine for us and my kids made friends quickly and were not really behind.

One thing to think about is that after elementary school it is much harder to get to know the other school parents unless you luck out and your kid does a sport that involves a lot of chatting on the slidelines. So I kind of wish we moved earlier since I think I would have a broader parent network. But if you are outgoing or have time to volunteer with the PTA etc I am sure you can overcome that.

OP here. Maybe it’s because my kid is still young, but I hadn’t thought about the implications for us as parents. Do you have a sense of why it’s hard to get to know other parents after elementary? Is it just that people are settled in their communities by then and it’s hard to break in as a newbie?

Just speaking as someone who has a middle schooler -- it's very very different. The kids take themselves to and from school, so there is zero chatting at drop off and pick up. They make their own friends (in elementary they often were friends with the kids of parents I liked). Birthday parties are drop off and often carpool there, so there is no chatting during the party.


It's just vastly different. My kid also moved from a DCPS elementary to a charter where he didn't know too many kids. He has friends, but we hardly know the parents, though I do like them when I see them.

[Anonymous]

There are a ton of DC transplants in our close in Bethesda cluster. Many come at the beginning of elementary with a new wave as middle school approaches. Fewer than I suspected when HS started but I guess for the mass of folks if they could afford to move they would have by then and if they can afford a Whitman type quality school, Privates are also an option to stick it out downtown.

They are easy to spot as they start most sentences with "when we lived in the city" as if most of us didn't when we were younger.

[Anonymous]

If you are attempting to move to a magnet middle school or have your child Gifted & Talented tested or language immersion program testing, you would miss out on that in 3rd grade and 5th grade when MCPS has those lotteries. If you don't care and just want a plain middle school then you will be fine.