Comparing elementary schools on things that matter

[Anonymous]

OP, if you're this overwhelmed I assume you live in Ward 5 or Ward 6? That's the only place you could even consider 20 schools without an awful commute.

Here's what I did.

1) Figure out how far I'm willing to commute, *including* parking and walking the child *into their classroom*, then walking back to the car, with a toddler sibling along for the ride if you have one. That should cut the list right down for ya.

2) Do I want Montessori, yes or no? Eliminate schools accordingly.

3) Do I want a language school and if so, which language(s)? Eliminate schools accordingly.

4) Which schools on my list do I stand literally zero chance of getting in because I don't live within the boundary? https://enrolldcps.dc.gov/node/61
https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/aaron2446/viz/MSDCSeatsandWaitlistOfferData_draft/MSDCPublicDisplay

If those four steps don't cut your list down to 10 schools or less, I don't know what to tell ya.

[Anonymous]

Charter school Qualitative Site Reviews are here: https://dcpcsb.org/qualitative-site-reviews

If the DCPS schools seem similar to each other, it's because they are pretty similar. Because they're all under the same central management, and they're all subject to the same DC and federal laws. Likewise, the preschool programs all have to comply with certain set rules that are conditions of federal funding and state and federal law. It's okay that they seem similar to you.

[Anonymous]

Unless you are willing to move, I don't think you have as many choices as you think you have.

[Anonymous]

First, look on the myschooldc website and determine how far you're willing to commute. Just a rough estimate. Then see which schools are within this distance.

Then you can find out some basic info about the school by looking at the school's website. For example: here is Payne's. https://paynedc.org/ Here is Janney's. https://janneyschool.org/

Obviously, you can't tell everything from a website, but you can find out at least some things and it may give you an idea of the questions you want answered for your in person visits.

[Anonymous]

Just post your list and we'll tell you which ones are impossible for you to get into. Easy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, if you're this overwhelmed I assume you live in Ward 5 or Ward 6? That's the only place you could even consider 20 schools without an awful commute.

Here's what I did.

1) Figure out how far I'm willing to commute, *including* parking and walking the child *into their classroom*, then walking back to the car, with a toddler sibling along for the ride if you have one. That should cut the list right down for ya.

2) Do I want Montessori, yes or no? Eliminate schools accordingly.

3) Do I want a language school and if so, which language(s)? Eliminate schools accordingly.

4) Which schools on my list do I stand literally zero chance of getting in because I don't live within the boundary? https://enrolldcps.dc.gov/node/61
https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/aaron2446/viz/MSDCSeatsandWaitlistOfferData_draft/MSDCPublicDisplay

If those four steps don't cut your list down to 10 schools or less, I don't know what to tell ya.

Or, if you don't have a list, tell us your neighborhood (or just your IB), and answer the questions above. We are all looking to fill time between now and lottery results, we will craft a list for you.

[Anonymous]

OP, let me also suggest that you don't really know what are going to be the "things that matter" for your child. You have no idea how much outdoor time your kid is going to need when they're 7. You have no idea if your kid will have special needs and what they will be, what subjects and activities they love, how they'll best learn to read, what activities they'll enjoy when they're older, etc. And you have no idea what the stability of each school's leadership will be. In DCPS you don't know whether you'll be re-boundaried or have feeder pattern changes or big programming changes, and charter schools can change location or suddenly close for various reasons too. There's a lot you don't know, won't know, can't know-- and it's really important stuff. You're going to have to live with that.

[Anonymous]

And going by reputation or "what DCUM thinks" seems like a terrible way to pick a school.

Yes, reputation as in "everyone knows that X is a 'bad' school" is not reliable, but talking to neighbors and acquaintances who have kids at specific school is an excellent way to learn, and even hearing secondhand, as in "my friend loves X" or "a neighbor moved because his child didn't feel safe at y" is also meaningful information, though not definative.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, let me also suggest that you don't really know what are going to be the "things that matter" for your child. You have no idea how much outdoor time your kid is going to need when they're 7. You have no idea if your kid will have special needs and what they will be, what subjects and activities they love, how they'll best learn to read, what activities they'll enjoy when they're older, etc. And you have no idea what the stability of each school's leadership will be. In DCPS you don't know whether you'll be re-boundaried or have feeder pattern changes or big programming changes, and charter schools can change location or suddenly close for various reasons too. There's a lot you don't know, won't know, can't know-- and it's really important stuff. You're going to have to live with that.

This is such good advice. We moved in boundary for a school that checked all of our boxes. It was great for one kid but a really bad fit for my other kid (and for none of the reasons on your list!). You sound like a type-A person who really wants to figure things out for your kid now and stay put. But I’ll tell you this gently, schooling in DC requires some trial and error and compromise. Best of luck at your IB next year. I hope you love it and are spared any more moves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: And going by reputation or "what DCUM thinks" seems like a terrible way to pick a school.

Yes, reputation as in "everyone knows that X is a 'bad' school" is not reliable, but talking to neighbors and acquaintances who have kids at specific school is an excellent way to learn, and even hearing secondhand, as in "my friend loves X" or "a neighbor moved because his child didn't feel safe at y" is also meaningful information, though not definative.

DCUM general vibe and chatter reputation is terrible, but there are people on here who are very knowledgeable about schools and can point you to real information or help you understand and interpret real information in a very helpful way. And honestly, the anonymity makes people rude and snarky but it also makes them willing to say things that are true and valuable but not socially acceptable to say in person. There's hardly any other place where you can get that.

OP, if you're looking for a school where the preschool is cozy and crunchy and all-natural low-pressure but the upper elementary academics are strong, well.... you might have to move. Lots of people want that, but it's pretty hard to come by. Those things tend to point in opposite directions.

[Anonymous]

I attended an open house where the most pressing question from one parent was if students were allowed to bring fruit snacks in their lunch.

[Anonymous]

You're getting a lot of sound advice here, OP. I agree with the posters that urge you to consider what you would want for a third grader, knowing you don't yet know what third grader YOU'LL have, and understand that preschool is a small blip and often policies that work well in pre-K are actually detrimental in elementary.

In general, DC schools are more similar than they are different. There are Ward 3 schools with Ward 3 demographics, poorly performing DCPS and charters that stick out like a sore thumb, and a lot of very similar DCPS and charters that provide 90% the same education but may have different looking test scores depending on demographics. Your child is going to have a very similar education at Powell vs. DC Bilingual, or Seaton vs. Inspired Teaching. The fact is that so much choice in DC makes people come to very different decisions based on very subjective reasons. You may prioritize the feeder pattern, commute, or Montessori/language immersion. Once you think through what factors YOU prioritize, then take some time reading through DCUM with a huge grain of salt, and more importantly talking to parents of elementary students (NOT pre-K parents, they just don't know yet). Then go to open houses and ask about class sizes, screen time, etc.

[Anonymous]

If I were you, I would probably just go to the nearby in-bound PreK3 with an open mind. Meet some families. A lot of people in your shoes believe it or not just enroll and later on eschew the lottery to just stay at the same nearby elementary school. There to something to be said about stability for children. This obviously changes if you find that you dislike the school for some reason. But I do not think very many people change schools year in and year out.

[Anonymous]

Has anyone posted a link to quantify behavioral incidents at the different schools? Because that is useful information and it conserve as a proxy from any of the other things that OP is wondering about.

[Anonymous]

It sounds like the things that matter to OP are: test scores, screen time, and outdoor time.

The only item that you are going to be able to find hard data on is test scores. The OSSE page is very helpful and breaks scores down by demographics, so you can see not just how students overall are doing, but also how students in your demographic group are doing, which might give you a better sense of how your child would do at the school. I know you didn't ask this, but I will throw this out there-- we moved from a school with overall ok test scores but scores that were poor relative to demographics, to a school with great overall test scores that were also great relative to demographics. Everyone at our first school told us that test scores don't mean anything. The education at my kids' new school is about twice as rigorous (in a good way), which I believe accounts for the test scores.

Screen time-- if you are at a school where all kids are assigned their own tablets, then expect more screen time than you are probably comfortable with. It will vary teacher-by-teacher but there will probably not be a policy imposing limits. If your school has the kids share computers, it will be harder to default to screens (but those schools might come with other issues).

Outdoor time-- There will be a general school policy, that probably won't vary too much by school, but again it will be very teacher-specific.

Good luck! I think these are all valid questions.