Upper NW elementary schools- Lafayette, Murch, Janney- any difference?

[Anonymous]

Janney parent here, though no real skin in this argument -- Ive been at a few different DCPS elementaries and Janney's outdoor space is great. Turf field, two playgrounds (plus another for pre-k), basketball court, year-round large vegetable/flower garden with little bridges and paths, and a chicken coop.

[Anonymous]

The three schools (and neighborhoods) do have different cultures and different pros/cons. Go and visit and see which is the best fit for you.
Janney - a lot of anxious lawyer parents. Excellent facilities. High quality of teachers. Well run. Somehow able to operate outside many of the more draconian limitations of DCPS.
Lafayette - nicer houses than in Janney area. I found the school to be less academically good than Janney but it was a while ago.
Murch - perhaps the most beholden to DCPS nonsense. But also slightly less undiverse than the other two.
Lafayette and Murch are also closer to the rest of DC. If you live in the Janney area, you are going to be spending a lot of time in Bethesda.

[Anonymous]

Hearst is a very good option that you should also explore.

[Anonymous]

We’re lafayette parents and can not agree with the “strivers” and unfriendly comment. I mean I guess there are strivers? Idk. In line with general population. As to friendliness, we joke that it’s like being back in college. In CCDC we can’t leave the house with a casual run in, a hug, an invite to Friday night pizza. It’s so communal and friendly.

Our resilient, social and academically average daughter has done wonderfully at Lafayette. It’s big enough that I am relieved our kid is so self confident and can “handle” it but there are plenty of other kids who are a little softer and shy who have come out of their shell and blossomed there.

[Anonymous]

So we just moved this summer from out of state. Previously lived in Shaw when they were babies so not "new" to DC. We ended up buying within Murch. We wanted a house that was walkable to all three schools (Lafayette was too far from Deal/Jackson Reed). We also found the lot sizes to be too small zoned for Janney - again what was available - I am SURE there are big lots in bound for Janney.
Lafayette seemed too big for us (we were coming from a small private) which also had the bigger lot sizes. However, now being at Murch it feels way too regimented. I wish we had bought in Janney or Lafayette. Our kids (two different grades) are ONLY allowed to eat with their respective homerooms at lunch. Which means their universe of making friends is smaller than the private we were coming from. yes, there is recess but when you are new and kids have known each other for years it's harder to make friends when the only interaction is at recess.

[Anonymous]

Why don’t they eat with other kids at Murch? Do they eat in cafeteria but are forced to sit with their class?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The three schools (and neighborhoods) do have different cultures and different pros/cons. Go and visit and see which is the best fit for you.
Janney - a lot of anxious lawyer parents. Excellent facilities. High quality of teachers. Well run. Somehow able to operate outside many of the more draconian limitations of DCPS.
Lafayette - nicer houses than in Janney area. I found the school to be less academically good than Janney but it was a while ago.
Murch - perhaps the most beholden to DCPS nonsense. But also slightly less undiverse than the other two.
Lafayette and Murch are also closer to the rest of DC. If you live in the Janney area, you are going to be spending a lot of time in Bethesda.

How can one person make such blanket statements about three different elementary schools? And Lafayette is "closer to the rest of DC" than Janney, which is more or less on top of a Metro station? What? Lafayette is close to almost nothing but houses and Rock Creek Park. I guess it's closer to Silver Spring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why don’t they eat with other kids at Murch? Do they eat in cafeteria but are forced to sit with their class?

It's an extremely weird thing to complain about. It's not like they eat in silence.

[Anonymous]

Another Hearst parent chiming in to say that the small, tight-knit community feel is wonderful!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why don’t they eat with other kids at Murch? Do they eat in cafeteria but are forced to sit with their class?

Yes that is exactly what I said…they are not allowed to eat with anyone except their homeroom class. They are new so they basically get to interact with the same 20-24 kids.

This is not made clear at tours so I think it is something worth noting.

Sorry if some of you think it’s “weird” to have an issue with it 🙄

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The three schools (and neighborhoods) do have different cultures and different pros/cons. Go and visit and see which is the best fit for you.
Janney - a lot of anxious lawyer parents. Excellent facilities. High quality of teachers. Well run. Somehow able to operate outside many of the more draconian limitations of DCPS.
Lafayette - nicer houses than in Janney area. I found the school to be less academically good than Janney but it was a while ago.
Murch - perhaps the most beholden to DCPS nonsense. But also slightly less undiverse than the other two.
Lafayette and Murch are also closer to the rest of DC. If you live in the Janney area, you are going to be spending a lot of time in Bethesda.

You have Lafayette and Janney mixed up location-wise. Janney is the furthest south and right next to a metro; houses in bounds for Lafayette are in the area that borders MD and are further from the metro

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why don’t they eat with other kids at Murch? Do they eat in cafeteria but are forced to sit with their class?

Yes that is exactly what I said…they are not allowed to eat with anyone except their homeroom class. They are new so they basically get to interact with the same 20-24 kids.

This is not made clear at tours so I think it is something worth noting.

Sorry if some of you think it’s “weird” to have an issue with it 🙄

As you pointed out, they can play with anyone they want at recess, and afterschool activities/sports/music provide further opportunities. I doubt the 35 minutes they have to spend with specific classmates at lunch is going to damage them. What a bizarre thing to complain about.

[Anonymous]

OP here- thanks to everyone who has chimed in so far. This is all really helpful. I definitely should have included Hearst on the list. DH really wants to preserve our closeness to a metro stop, and I know it's a great option for trying to do that between Van Ness and Tenleytown metros being near the zone. We currently live in Brookland and have a big lot and are very close to a metro, so it's hard to swallow giving that up, but having certainty in the school pathway tops our list of priorities (also for sanity reasons).

[Anonymous]

One thing you could look into is to compare the administration at each school and the number of teachers staying/leaving at each school. It is a positive sign if the teachers are staying.

[Anonymous]

They’re all very similar.