Whittier vs. Catholic School

[Anonymous]

We are moving to D.C. - We are an African American family. We are trying to decide between our son, who will be in 3rd grade, attending a Catholic school he has been admitted to or Whittier (which it looks like we would be zoned for). If your kids attend this school, do you like it? Do you find it challenging and how is behavior, etc. and the administration? Our son has primarily been in private school since Pre-K but we tried our public school this year and there are things, of course, that we liked and haven’t liked. Main issues in the public have been some persistent behavior issues and lack of diversity (son is only black boy in entire grade) and no Black staff vs. his previous private school which was extremely diverse (all races).

Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Well, you can see Whittier's student and teacher demographics here:

https://schoolreportcard.dc.gov/lea/1/school/338/report#measure-107

[Anonymous]

Diversity won’t be an issue at Whittier.

[Anonymous]

We're in pre-K4 at Whittier and absolutely love it. Most of the teachers are black and wonderfully loving. They focus a lot of socio emotional development. Our kid had some behavioral issues and they worked with her and reassured us it was developmentally normal. I know kids at other schools who got kicked out or told the parents needed to hire a behavioral therapist for similar issues, so we are really grateful. The principal and VP are amazing and are at the door every morning greeting the kids and singing karaoke. It's a joyful loving place and we have many good friends there.

[Anonymous]

In pre-K the classes have 16 kids and 2 teachers. The kids are about 1/3 black, 1/3 white, and 1/3 Hispanic, and probably about half higher SES and half lower SES/recent immigrants. It's a very welcoming environment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In pre-K the classes have 16 kids and 2 teachers. The kids are about 1/3 black, 1/3 white, and 1/3 Hispanic, and probably about half higher SES and half lower SES/recent immigrants. It's a very welcoming environment.

This is true for Pk, but OP has a rising third grader. Thr school is much less diverse in upper grades, in terms of race and SES status.

[Anonymous]

I’m not white and I would 1,000,000% choose Whittier over Catholic. You do not want a majority white school if you can avoid it (for your sanity and for your children’s).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In pre-K the classes have 16 kids and 2 teachers. The kids are about 1/3 black, 1/3 white, and 1/3 Hispanic, and probably about half higher SES and half lower SES/recent immigrants. It's a very welcoming environment.

This is true for Pk, but OP has a rising third grader. Thr school is much less diverse in upper grades, in terms of race and SES status.

Thanks - this is OP. How is it different? Thank you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In pre-K the classes have 16 kids and 2 teachers. The kids are about 1/3 black, 1/3 white, and 1/3 Hispanic, and probably about half higher SES and half lower SES/recent immigrants. It's a very welcoming environment.

This is true for Pk, but OP has a rising third grader. Thr school is much less diverse in upper grades, in terms of race and SES status.

Thanks - this is OP. How is it different? Thank you.

It definitely is less white and less wealthy in the upper grades. We're in lower grades but know folks in 3rd through 5th who have had great experiences! They've really upped their offerings and even have the city's only (Junior) STEM Honors Society.

They will be in a swing space across the street for the next two years but the trailers should be very workable and they'll still have all the amenities they have now.

It is a very proudly Black school with lots of events during BHM and throughout the year, but also very welcoming of all races and ethnicities. Most teachers, the principal, and AP are all Black and the school year usually ends with an international food festival where families bring in food from their heritage.

[Anonymous]

What is your plan for middle school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is your plan for middle school?

The Catholic K-8 would cover middle school. I’m not familiar with what middle school would come after Whittier.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is your plan for middle school?

The Catholic K-8 would cover middle school. I’m not familiar with what middle school would come after Whittier.

Wells is the assigned middle school and I would say it's a bit above average for dcps middle school but not the best. There are charters too. I have heard great things about Whittier's principal and the test scores are quite high for each subgroup they serve. I personally would do it for elementary and then consider Catholic, charter, and out of bounds dcps plus Wells once you get to middle school (realizing that basis and latin start middle school in 5th grade so if you want a chance at those, you need to lottery sooner)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is your plan for middle school?

The Catholic K-8 would cover middle school. I’m not familiar with what middle school would come after Whittier.

Go with Catholic because you have middle school locked in. Middle school is one of the most competitive seat in the city and you need to consider the feeder when looking at elementary.

[Anonymous]

My children go to Whittier and I echo the previous posts. It’s a wonderful school, wonderful school community and the leadership is strong. It has a low teacher turnover rate (which is a good indicator in DCPS of a well run school and a good professional setting for teachers). My kids are in lower grades. While we love Whittier, I can’t imagine sending my kids to Wells.

[Anonymous]

Many Catholic K8 schools in DC are diverse student bodies.