SWS vs Maury for K

[Anonymous]

Our child is currently attending a mid-range Capitol Hill elementary for PK4, we did the lottery on a lark and got into both SWS and Maury. We live in the greater Cap Hill area, we're IB for a school that's worse than the one our kid currently attends.

So we're choosing between SWS and Maury. Maury seems nice since it draws from the neighborhood, so the kids will be closer. On the other hand, SWS seems marginally better academically. We're not sure what to make of the teaching style at SWS, though hopefully it means less screens? We also has a 2 yo, so it seems like the sibling preference and lack of IB preference at Maury would mean we should choose SWS to get her in there at PK3.

I realize this is a nice problem to have, thank you for your wisdom!

[Anonymous]

First, logistics. The only way this is possible is if you ranked both on the lottery, got into the one you ranked lower (and thus placed on the waitlist for the one you ranked higher), and then received a waitlist offer from the one you ranked higher.

If this is the situation, then why did you rank one higher than the other in the lottery in the first place? You know all the factors and we don't -- relative commutes, your particular attraction to the Reggio approach at SWS, your feelings about a neighborhood school like Maury, your understanding of the vibe and aftercare offerings of each school. Presumably you've been to open houses at both?

We can't answer this for you. The are both good programs and you are insanely fortunate to be choosing between them. There is no incorrect answer. Go figure it out.

[Anonymous]

I am not on the Hill, and so I don't know those schools in detail, but I wouldn't think about K. I would think about 3-5 grade and which school you'll want then. You're not going to want to move AGAIN.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am not on the Hill, and so I don't know those schools in detail, but I wouldn't think about K. I would think about 3-5 grade and which school you'll want then. You're not going to want to move AGAIN.

I think both of those are strong through elementary, and both have the same middle school feeder (although many SWS families don't go to their feeder).
I would say one appeal of Maury is more of the kids live nearby so it has a more neighborhood feel - but if you are coming from OOB then that may not make as much of a difference to you.

[Anonymous]

We are an OOB family at SWS through 2 kids, one has already moved on to middle school. Our experience is that it's a mix of kids who live walking distance to the school and kids who commute from other parts of the city (including other parts of the Hill) so the social experience is not quite as insular as a school with boundaries. If it matters to you, SWS is a smaller school (2 classes per grade), and I think Maury is bigger. We prefer the smaller school feel, so that works for us. We've been happy with the academic growth with both of our kids while they've been there and feel like SWS is preparing them well for middle school. No school is perfect, and we know folks who have been happy and unhappy at both SWS and Maury.

[Anonymous]

On a lark we put SWS down and got in so I did a ton of research. I went through and spoke to several parents who sent their kids there or left there for another school. A lot of the people I spoke to were very excited about the “kindness” of the school, the SWS parent prom, and praised the “wonderful” principal. Others will tell you the parent community is “patronizing and sanctimonious”, and the principal is mostly focused on “ensuring everyone knows he’s not racist”. I did not meet the principal to confirm this, but the parent who told me this seemed very worked up about this so I didn’t want to go into specifics. Some parents I spoke to told me (using extremely questionable metrics IMO) that their child is getting an incredible education. I did notice that the test scores were below normal for the very white population. Either way the testing didn’t seem terrible but maybe had room for improvement.

I don’t know about Maury but it seems great too.

We decided to stay at our current school with the thought of moving to the suburbs for middle school. I really did not like the feeder pattern for SWS and feel the suburbs will be better for middle/high school.

[Anonymous]

My kids go to LT, so no dog in the fight. I'd send my kids to Maury hands-down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids go to LT, so no dog in the fight. I'd send my kids to Maury hands-down.

Why?

[Anonymous]

We considered both of these schools, but were further down on the waitlist than you and looking at PK3. We ranked SWS ahead of Maury because the preschool seems to be strong in implementing Reggio and we happen to think Reggio is a really great way to experience preschool. But we didn’t get the sense that Reggio would be as much of a factor/differentiator from K onward. A scenario we actually pictured was to do preschool at SWS and then move to Maury for K which is a tiny bit closer to us. I’d guess screen time is about the same at both, but if parents did want to rally to reduce that, I could see Maury leadership being more proactive and responsive (yes I’m making a lot of assumptions based on single digit number of interactions).

Ultimately SWS is a DCPS school and will have the same screen-based requirements as other DCPS schools, and again I don’t think Reggio is as big a deal or really shows up in later grades (I could be wrong! Please correct if you know better).

Of course your experience will vary depending on the teacher, too, since most of these schools don’t have any official policy that’s being enforced. So I just wouldn’t go in expecting screen-light or anything like that. Some teachers will do the bare minimum they can get away with (AKA, only the required iReady assessments) and some will be more liberal in using iReady for instructional purposes (eg, if a kid is ahead, they will get some kind of work on the tablet while teacher works with others catching up—this happens at both Maury and SWS) as well as other digital content like YouTube videos, and lots of smart board use and so on.

Keep in mind that iReady is a factor in teacher performance and compensation, so even if a teacher feels it’s not the best use of time, they will do what DCPS requires. YMMV.

[Anonymous]

You have already realized that if you want your younger to get a PK3 spot at the same school, SWS is a better bet. At Maury I’d be surprised if you get an OOB-sibling offer for the younger before K.

If you prefer Maury and don’t mind doing two drop offs for two or more years, roll the dice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our child is currently attending a mid-range Capitol Hill elementary for PK4, we did the lottery on a lark and got into both SWS and Maury. We live in the greater Cap Hill area, we're IB for a school that's worse than the one our kid currently attends.

So we're choosing between SWS and Maury. Maury seems nice since it draws from the neighborhood, so the kids will be closer. On the other hand, SWS seems marginally better academically. We're not sure what to make of the teaching style at SWS, though hopefully it means less screens? We also has a 2 yo, so it seems like the sibling preference and lack of IB preference at Maury would mean we should choose SWS to get her in there at PK3.

I realize this is a nice problem to have, thank you for your wisdom!

How can you get into two schools at one time?

[Anonymous]

I have no knowledge of Maury but have a kid in an upper and a lower grade at SWS and have loved it. It’s not perfect, but my kids are happy and enjoy school. I like the small school atmosphere and that kids know each other and play across grades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:First, logistics. The only way this is possible is if you ranked both on the lottery, got into the one you ranked lower (and thus placed on the waitlist for the one you ranked higher), and then received a waitlist offer from the one you ranked higher.

If this is the situation, then why did you rank one higher than the other in the lottery in the first place? You know all the factors and we don't -- relative commutes, your particular attraction to the Reggio approach at SWS, your feelings about a neighborhood school like Maury, your understanding of the vibe and aftercare offerings of each school. Presumably you've been to open houses at both?

We can't answer this for you. The are both good programs and you are insanely fortunate to be choosing between them. There is no incorrect answer. Go figure it out.

Just because they got through ranking them for the lottery doesn’t mean they can’t have more questions or can’t be unsure. Open houses only reveal so much. Asking fellow parents is part of figuring it out.

I don’t understand the condescending tone here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First, logistics. The only way this is possible is if you ranked both on the lottery, got into the one you ranked lower (and thus placed on the waitlist for the one you ranked higher), and then received a waitlist offer from the one you ranked higher.

If this is the situation, then why did you rank one higher than the other in the lottery in the first place? You know all the factors and we don't -- relative commutes, your particular attraction to the Reggio approach at SWS, your feelings about a neighborhood school like Maury, your understanding of the vibe and aftercare offerings of each school. Presumably you've been to open houses at both?

We can't answer this for you. The are both good programs and you are insanely fortunate to be choosing between them. There is no incorrect answer. Go figure it out.

Just because they got through ranking them for the lottery doesn’t mean they can’t have more questions or can’t be unsure. Open houses only reveal so much. Asking fellow parents is part of figuring it out.

I don’t understand the condescending tone here.

Then go ask actual parents at these schools. On here anyone can respond and you are not going to get some clear concensus between these two schools. They are both good.

On here you just get stuff like someone saying "Maury, hands down" or "we've loved the Reggio at SWS." Ok. Many of the comments are from people who don't have kids at either school. How is this helpful.

Go to open houses. Talk to current parents. Search your gut, pick one, and rest assured both are fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First, logistics. The only way this is possible is if you ranked both on the lottery, got into the one you ranked lower (and thus placed on the waitlist for the one you ranked higher), and then received a waitlist offer from the one you ranked higher.

If this is the situation, then why did you rank one higher than the other in the lottery in the first place? You know all the factors and we don't -- relative commutes, your particular attraction to the Reggio approach at SWS, your feelings about a neighborhood school like Maury, your understanding of the vibe and aftercare offerings of each school. Presumably you've been to open houses at both?

We can't answer this for you. The are both good programs and you are insanely fortunate to be choosing between them. There is no incorrect answer. Go figure it out.

Just because they got through ranking them for the lottery doesn’t mean they can’t have more questions or can’t be unsure. Open houses only reveal so much. Asking fellow parents is part of figuring it out.

I don’t understand the condescending tone here.

Then go ask actual parents at these schools. On here anyone can respond and you are not going to get some clear concensus between these two schools. They are both good.

On here you just get stuff like someone saying "Maury, hands down" or "we've loved the Reggio at SWS." Ok. Many of the comments are from people who don't have kids at either school. How is this helpful.

Go to open houses. Talk to current parents. Search your gut, pick one, and rest assured both are fine.

Maury is also Reggio inspired in pre-k, one of the teachers has been in a book (about Reggio practices).
It’s just not official like SWS.