Single dad moving to DC with 3 year old - recommendations for where to move and preK 3?
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Anonymous
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If you’re not staying long-term, most DC elementary schools are good. The ones you listed are great. Anywhere WOTP is a safe bet but it can be $$. I would prioritize commute.
PK 3 and 4 are hard to get spots but check out commminkids, which has multiple locations, one near Glover Park, and is part of DCs PK program. It will also have extended care. People really like it: https://communikids.com/program/free-dc-pre-k/ You’ll get more opinions in the DC school forum but a lot of those folks are worried about middle school and HS feeders so elementary school reviews are based on that. Check the crime map in Columbia Heights if you decide to live in that area. It has some parts that are nice, some are rough. Good luck! |
Anonymous
Oyster’s PK 4 is impossible to get into unless you’re Spanish dominant. There are very few English spots (3 or 4) and they all go siblings of current students. |
Anonymous
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Not OP but the advice here is all over the place. Yes Ward 3 is the safest area of the city but the schools don’t offer PK3!
With OP salary and then having to pay private preschool, to me it’s going to be tight IMO. |
Anonymous
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While there are hospitals that look like they are near Columbia Heights on a map (Howard, CNMC, WHC, NRH), none of them are in Columbia Heights. Columbia Heights is incredibly congested during commuting, if you can figure it out so that you bypass the area and line in another area it might be better. Brookland, which is closer georgraphically to 3 of the hospitals and less congested might be a choice, or Takoma which is further on paper but not by actual commute. I have never committed to Howard so I can’t comment on timing there.
I think your other question needs to be whether you’d prefer a school that is highly regarded but unlikely to have a PreK3 spot, and use daycare, or a school where PreK3 often has spaces but the school is not well regarded, but you are set for the upper grades. |
Anonymous
| Move to ward 4 and go to Dorothy height in ward 4/petworth. |
Anonymous
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If I was looking for the former (well regarded, short commute that avoids Columbia Heights traffic, kid friendly neighborhood with outdoor space, willing to do daycare) I might look around John Lewis Elementary.
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Anonymous
| Look along the green line (SW, Navy Yard). I don’t think Amidon Bowen or Van Ness are going to have much wait list movement this year but you could try for Appletree and the private daycare in the area usually have preK spots as a lot of the class leaves for public preK and you could get into your in bounds the following year. 2-bedroom apartments will run $3000-3500 at least, private preK will be about $1500/month I think. |
Anonymous
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Wow, these suggestions are awful. Half of these schools don’t even offer PK3! In your situation, here are some DCPS schools I’d submit a post lottery app to:
- Military Road ELC - Truesdell - Whittier - Takoma - Burroughs - Bunker Hill - Dorothy Height All of these are within 2 miles of the hospital, and close to bus/metro. I’m less familiar with charters, but Appletree CH, Lee (Brookland), Meridian PCS, Sela, Bethune, Shining Stars, maybe Creative Minds? |
Anonymous
I am the John Lewis poster, but this is the same neighborhood. I am also a single parent, and I would put a very high premium on short commute for my kid, and then for me. A neighborhood school in walking distance would be fantastic, and this would give you two neighborhood options. Will you be working hours that play well with school/aftercare, or needing a nanny for wrap around hours. A school in walking distance to where you live will help with the latter a lot! |
Anonymous
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Hi there OP! We can definitely help you out with this. Here are some steps to follow.
1) Create the account on MySchoolDC and add your daughter to a lot of lists, just to get a place in line ASAP. You can use the map feature to identify schools that are near your work. Don't think too hard about it, just add them. If you're really working in Columbia Heights, add Raymond, Appletree, HD Cooke, and Tubman. 2) If you're actually working in the hospitals at Michigan Ave and North Capitol street (Children's, MedStar WHC, VA Medical Center) or at Howard, that opens up a different set of schools for you, where it may be easier to get a spot. Consider the neighborhoods of Bloomingdale, Eckington, Edgewood, and Brookland-- all are lovely and full of little kids, so it makes for an enjoyable lifestyle. So add some schools in that area that are easier to get into-- Langley, Noyes, Langdon, Bethune, Shining Stars Montessori, Bunker Hill, and Burroughs. Might as well add Cleveland and Mundo Verde too. Not all of these schools have great test scores, but they're all fine for preschool and K-- face the fact that as a late applicant, you're not going to be at a school with great test scores! But it'll be fine. 3) To actually register with a school once you get in, you'll need an address, so focus your attentions on that. |
Anonymous
But he’s not going to get off the WL for John Lewis for pk3 this late in the game… |
Anonymous
| There are a few early action pre-k programs that offer automatic spots to those who live in bounds. I am also a single parent and live in petworth. Our in bounds school is truesdell and according to the dcps website if you live in bounds your kid automatically gets a spot even for pre k. Can’t comment from experience because we moved here after my kids were in pre-k but worth considering. We have friends in the neighborhood with kids in pre-k who love it. The commute to Washington hospital center area is also super easy from here. |
Anonymous
He won't get early action because that's only in the initial lottery. |
Anonymous
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If I was in your shoes, I would look to renting anywhere along CT or WI and look to the free PreK programs like Communikids, St. Alban's Early Childhood Center, 2 Birds.
AppleTree Spring Valley might be pushing it for distance for your morning commute -but it is a place I would expect you can get a spot. I love the earlier recommendation of looking for a rental that is inbounds for Eaton as they recently completed a school renovation. I have commuted from AU Park (near Janney elementary school) to Children's and it is an easy commute once you understand the traffic pattern and especially if you have a little flexibility in your schedule (do not try to get past a bunch of schools when they are doing morning drop off) Best of Luck |
Anonymous
| What about Mount Pleasant, so she can go to Bancroft? It's an excellent school, charming neighborhood and Columbia Heights is adjacent/walkable/a 5 minute drive to any destination. |