Moving from DCPS to Charter but commute is terrible

[Anonymous]

Prek4 & 3 going into K & Prek4. We love our DCPS elementary school but feeder pattern is not great (MacFarland). We just accepted a spot at a charter school that feeds into DCI.

Now having regrets because our commute went from walking our kids to school to a 40 minute drive (20 each way). Am I crazy that I am already regretting our decision. We only switched because the current feeder pattern is not great and we can't afford to move to another part of the city and we are undecided if we may move down the line to the burbs.

I assume I could try the lottery when the kids are in upper years and switch the kids back if the commute this year sucks.. but who knows how that will go.. looking for advice

[Anonymous]

No advice but if you work from home you have basically set yourself up for a forty minute commute twice a day for the next seven years. If you are set on DCI, I guess just suck it up. If you might not end up at dci I don’t think it’s worth it.

[Anonymous]

20 min drive each way is not bad at all. Our drive was 18 minutes.

You won’t regret it as your kid moves past K as the achievement gap gets bigger. It’s not just the DCI feed. It’s about learning a 2nd language and actually getting grade level content teaching and above.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Prek4 & 3 going into K & Prek4. We love our DCPS elementary school but feeder pattern is not great (MacFarland). We just accepted a spot at a charter school that feeds into DCI.

Now having regrets because our commute went from walking our kids to school to a 40 minute drive (20 each way). Am I crazy that I am already regretting our decision. We only switched because the current feeder pattern is not great and we can't afford to move to another part of the city and we are undecided if we may move down the line to the burbs.

I assume I could try the lottery when the kids are in upper years and switch the kids back if the commute this year sucks.. but who knows how that will go.. looking for advice

No one is forcing you to do the commute. Switch back to your IB school and let another family have the spot.

[Anonymous]

Assuming you’re in Petworth and the charter is in Brookland - Yu Ying and MV8 have a lot of parents in petworth so you could likely share the commuting burden. Best path there is the school WhatsApp groups/petworth peanuts etc.

If Stokes, it’s so small that you’re less likely to find someone to share with. So you either move to Brookland, suck it up, or move school.

[Anonymous]

One thing you may not realize when your kids are very young is that there's tons of good options when it comes to elementary schools, but as the child ages, the options get much, much worse. DCI is a massive improvement over MacFarland and Roosevelt, and a 20 minute commute seems fairly normal. And there's not a huge price difference between living in Petworth and living in Brightwood/Takoma/Shepherd Park, and you could end up moving closer to DCI eventually.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Prek4 & 3 going into K & Prek4. We love our DCPS elementary school but feeder pattern is not great (MacFarland). We just accepted a spot at a charter school that feeds into DCI.

Now having regrets because our commute went from walking our kids to school to a 40 minute drive (20 each way). Am I crazy that I am already regretting our decision. We only switched because the current feeder pattern is not great and we can't afford to move to another part of the city and we are undecided if we may move down the line to the burbs.

I assume I could try the lottery when the kids are in upper years and switch the kids back if the commute this year sucks.. but who knows how that will go.. looking for advice

I don’t get this. Like you didn’t know the commute time when you listed the school? Seriously??

[Anonymous]

Try it for a year and see how it goes. You may get used to it, you may hate it. Your feeder option through DCPS is not great so you don't have many options unless you move or lottery in somewhere else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Prek4 & 3 going into K & Prek4. We love our DCPS elementary school but feeder pattern is not great (MacFarland). We just accepted a spot at a charter school that feeds into DCI.

Now having regrets because our commute went from walking our kids to school to a 40 minute drive (20 each way). Am I crazy that I am already regretting our decision. We only switched because the current feeder pattern is not great and we can't afford to move to another part of the city and we are undecided if we may move down the line to the burbs.

I assume I could try the lottery when the kids are in upper years and switch the kids back if the commute this year sucks.. but who knows how that will go.. looking for advice

No one is forcing you to do the commute. Switch back to your IB school and let another family have the spot.

Terrible advice. Do the commute once school starts and see how it goes. You may get used to it.

[Anonymous]

What is your commute? Is this 20 minutes there and back, and then you have to get to work? Do you work remotely? Anyway you can drop your kids off on your way to work?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Prek4 & 3 going into K & Prek4. We love our DCPS elementary school but feeder pattern is not great (MacFarland). We just accepted a spot at a charter school that feeds into DCI.

Now having regrets because our commute went from walking our kids to school to a 40 minute drive (20 each way). Am I crazy that I am already regretting our decision. We only switched because the current feeder pattern is not great and we can't afford to move to another part of the city and we are undecided if we may move down the line to the burbs.

I assume I could try the lottery when the kids are in upper years and switch the kids back if the commute this year sucks.. but who knows how that will go.. looking for advice

No one is forcing you to do the commute. Switch back to your IB school and let another family have the spot.

Terrible advice. Do the commute once school starts and see how it goes. You may get used to it.

OP just accepted the spot and is already whining about a mere 20 minute commute. Doesn’t bode well at all. She should stay at her IB and then plan to move after elementary to the burbs.

[Anonymous]

It will all work out in the end.

[Anonymous]

I've been doing a similar commute to a WOTP elementary for 4 years. It does suck and we spend way more time going back and forth than I even imagined for school activities/playdates/etc. But I have learned to enjoy the time with my kids to chat about their days, listen to audiobooks/radio and play silly car games. It is what you make of it. And my oldest is headed to middle school next year (and massively struck out of the closer to home charter options) so it does feel like it is finally paying off.

[Anonymous]

Twenty minutes doesn't seem bad to me, but I work from home and have a flexible schedule.

Will your kids be able to walk, bus, or metro when a bit older?

When I drive my kid, it is about 15 minutes in rush hour traffic. He's older now and walks unless the weather is horrid, which takes about 30 minutes each way. He has friends that walk -- they all split off about halfway to go their own way home, but its also fun for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've been doing a similar commute to a WOTP elementary for 4 years. It does suck and we spend way more time going back and forth than I even imagined for school activities/playdates/etc. But I have learned to enjoy the time with my kids to chat about their days, listen to audiobooks/radio and play silly car games. It is what you make of it. And my oldest is headed to middle school next year (and massively struck out of the closer to home charter options) so it does feel like it is finally paying off.

This. I think if you give up this spot, you are going to really regret it once middle school comes.