Recent Experiences (K-5): Garrison, ITS, John Francis, Lee, John Lewis, Haynes, Seaton

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:ITDS is pretty good on differentiation upwards, and you would have the option of staying for middle which is pretty good. I feel fine about the amount of screens, which I guess is a medium amount. People tend to care less about this as their kid gets older. I appreciate ITDS' emphasis on math fluency and am fine with it being delivered by screen games.

Lee's test scores are so low relative to demographics, I can't see how you would be happy there if that's your main concern.

I'm gagging at those dragging Lee who 1. don't attend/have never attended 2. haven't seen updated data 3. have no idea what Montessori is to even be able to assess a program based on "test scores."

If you're coming to DCUM to ask about lottery rankings, you're only going to find opinions rooted in anecdotes or rumors. Attend the open houses of all of these schools. Ask them the questions about scores and what the school focuses on. Ask actual parent representatives or the PTO contacts. This will give you more a sense of the culture and if your family aligns with their values. All the rest is just gross noise.

These DCUM posts and replies are so tired. And the boosters/antagonists are parents that are either too old or too obnoxious to listen to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:ITDS is pretty good on differentiation upwards, and you would have the option of staying for middle which is pretty good. I feel fine about the amount of screens, which I guess is a medium amount. People tend to care less about this as their kid gets older. I appreciate ITDS' emphasis on math fluency and am fine with it being delivered by screen games.

Lee's test scores are so low relative to demographics, I can't see how you would be happy there if that's your main concern.

I'm gagging at those dragging Lee who 1. don't attend/have never attended 2. haven't seen updated data 3. have no idea what Montessori is to even be able to assess a program based on "test scores."

If you're coming to DCUM to ask about lottery rankings, you're only going to find opinions rooted in anecdotes or rumors. Attend the open houses of all of these schools. Ask them the questions about scores and what the school focuses on. Ask actual parent representatives or the PTO contacts. This will give you more a sense of the culture and if your family aligns with their values. All the rest is just gross noise.

These DCUM posts and replies are so tired. And the boosters/antagonists are parents that are either too old or too obnoxious to listen to.

Why don't you tell us why the racial gap at Lee is so big. And while you're at it, how about the financial mess that has them on a very tight budget?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:ITDS is pretty good on differentiation upwards, and you would have the option of staying for middle which is pretty good. I feel fine about the amount of screens, which I guess is a medium amount. People tend to care less about this as their kid gets older. I appreciate ITDS' emphasis on math fluency and am fine with it being delivered by screen games.

Lee's test scores are so low relative to demographics, I can't see how you would be happy there if that's your main concern.

I'm gagging at those dragging Lee who 1. don't attend/have never attended 2. haven't seen updated data 3. have no idea what Montessori is to even be able to assess a program based on "test scores."

If you're coming to DCUM to ask about lottery rankings, you're only going to find opinions rooted in anecdotes or rumors. Attend the open houses of all of these schools. Ask them the questions about scores and what the school focuses on. Ask actual parent representatives or the PTO contacts. This will give you more a sense of the culture and if your family aligns with their values. All the rest is just gross noise.

These DCUM posts and replies are so tired. And the boosters/antagonists are parents that are either too old or too obnoxious to listen to.

Lee is a great pick for OP because attrition is so high, her kids will get in. Yay!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:ITDS is pretty good on differentiation upwards, and you would have the option of staying for middle which is pretty good. I feel fine about the amount of screens, which I guess is a medium amount. People tend to care less about this as their kid gets older. I appreciate ITDS' emphasis on math fluency and am fine with it being delivered by screen games.

Lee's test scores are so low relative to demographics, I can't see how you would be happy there if that's your main concern.

I'm gagging at those dragging Lee who 1. don't attend/have never attended 2. haven't seen updated data 3. have no idea what Montessori is to even be able to assess a program based on "test scores."

If you're coming to DCUM to ask about lottery rankings, you're only going to find opinions rooted in anecdotes or rumors. Attend the open houses of all of these schools. Ask them the questions about scores and what the school focuses on. Ask actual parent representatives or the PTO contacts. This will give you more a sense of the culture and if your family aligns with their values. All the rest is just gross noise.

These DCUM posts and replies are so tired. And the boosters/antagonists are parents that are either too old or too obnoxious to listen to.

Lee is a great pick for OP because attrition is so high, her kids will get in. Yay!

Oh you're the same poster twice, trying to act like two different people. Whatever your beef is with the school, take it to therapy, dawg. Move along.

[Anonymous]

All of these schools will lose kids in 5th to charters - that's just the way of it.

OP, I have an above grade level kid at Seaton and have been happy; they'll be in a swing space on Bryant Street the next couple years which will be even closer to you. I don't love the amount of screens they use but my guess is that screen use is pretty consistent across the DCPSs as they all use the same curriculum. I would guess our experience would be pretty similar to Garrison and John Lewis (I know both have great teachers and admin).

[Anonymous]

This is the OP. My thanks to the two ITDS parents who wrote in with their experiences. That's very helpful, I appreciate it!

The rest of this thread is very frustrating. Test scores and demographics are publicly available data, I don't need DCUM to tell me who has low scores. I'm specifically asking for FIRST HAND accounts - yes, I am going to open houses, and yes, I'm going to ask to talk to parents, but the PTO is going to have me talk to happy, enthusiastic parents (duh). I'm looking to round out that view with other parents, who may have more mixed feelings or who may have pulled their kid from the school for one reason or another.

Are there any other recent first hand experiences at one of these schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All of these schools will lose kids in 5th to charters - that's just the way of it.

OP, I have an above grade level kid at Seaton and have been happy; they'll be in a swing space on Bryant Street the next couple years which will be even closer to you. I don't love the amount of screens they use but my guess is that screen use is pretty consistent across the DCPSs as they all use the same curriculum. I would guess our experience would be pretty similar to Garrison and John Lewis (I know both have great teachers and admin).

OP here - thank you! I didn't see this before I posted. I've actually been surprised on tours about the variation of screen usage even within DCPS, though everyone gave me basically the same party line at EdFest. Thomson, for example, stood out - basically every single kid I saw who was not in PK was either on a laptop or watching a movie. It was so bad. While John Lewis and Ross had much, much less.

How are you feeling about the swing space? We actually live in between the permanent site and the swing space so both would be fine for our commute. Do you think you'll lose a lot of kids next year? I know Tubman saw a HUGE drop in enrollment when they moved to their swing space.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All of these schools will lose kids in 5th to charters - that's just the way of it.

OP, I have an above grade level kid at Seaton and have been happy; they'll be in a swing space on Bryant Street the next couple years which will be even closer to you. I don't love the amount of screens they use but my guess is that screen use is pretty consistent across the DCPSs as they all use the same curriculum. I would guess our experience would be pretty similar to Garrison and John Lewis (I know both have great teachers and admin).

They will all lose kids way earlier than 5th. It starts in K and numbers go up from there. Thats the reality.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All of these schools will lose kids in 5th to charters - that's just the way of it.

OP, I have an above grade level kid at Seaton and have been happy; they'll be in a swing space on Bryant Street the next couple years which will be even closer to you. I don't love the amount of screens they use but my guess is that screen use is pretty consistent across the DCPSs as they all use the same curriculum. I would guess our experience would be pretty similar to Garrison and John Lewis (I know both have great teachers and admin).

OP here - thank you! I didn't see this before I posted. I've actually been surprised on tours about the variation of screen usage even within DCPS, though everyone gave me basically the same party line at EdFest. Thomson, for example, stood out - basically every single kid I saw who was not in PK was either on a laptop or watching a movie. It was so bad. While John Lewis and Ross had much, much less.

How are you feeling about the swing space? We actually live in between the permanent site and the swing space so both would be fine for our commute. Do you think you'll lose a lot of kids next year? I know Tubman saw a HUGE drop in enrollment when they moved to their swing space.

Good for you for doing your homework here! Ive had kids at two different DCPS elementary schools and the screen usage was very, very different. I think the parents at "high screen" schools comfort themselves to think that it's all the same everywhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would love to get some recent first hand experiences with any of the following schools:

Garrison
Inspired Teaching
John Francis
Lee
John Lewis
EL Haynes
Seaton

We're currently finalizing our lottery lists for our rising K and first grader. We're looking for a school that will take us all the way to 4th or 5th grade.

Particularly - do you feel good about staying through late elementary? How is differentiation in the upper grades (particularly for above grade level students)? How much time would you guess your kid is spending on screens? Does it feel valuable or like it's too much? How's the community?

Would love any and all insight. Thanks so much.

This is how I would rank these:

John Francis
Garrison
John Lewis
Inspired Teaching
Seaton
EL Haynes
Lee

Im this PP and I have been a family at one of these schools and know families and teachers at four of the others. I'm not familiar with EL Haynes or Lee so I put those at the end bc of test scores.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would love to get some recent first hand experiences with any of the following schools:

Garrison
Inspired Teaching
John Francis
Lee
John Lewis
EL Haynes
Seaton

We're currently finalizing our lottery lists for our rising K and first grader. We're looking for a school that will take us all the way to 4th or 5th grade.

Particularly - do you feel good about staying through late elementary? How is differentiation in the upper grades (particularly for above grade level students)? How much time would you guess your kid is spending on screens? Does it feel valuable or like it's too much? How's the community?

Would love any and all insight. Thanks so much.

This is how I would rank these:

John Francis
Garrison
John Lewis
Inspired Teaching
Seaton
EL Haynes
Lee

Im this PP and I have been a family at one of these schools and know families and teachers at four of the others. I'm not familiar with EL Haynes or Lee so I put those at the end bc of test scores.

OP here - can you tell me about their experiences at those schools?

[Anonymous]

Parent of a current 2nd grader at John Lewis, been at the school since K, and have been really happy with the core educational experience as well as the school community, level of parent and staff involvement in extracurriculars, and the fact that there are more than the minimum number of required specials so things rotate throughout the year.

If you care about foreign language, you should know that there is no language as a special. The school play is incredible but is not a guarantee you child can be in it except for PK students who are all in the show (otherwise, it's an audition process).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Parent of a current 2nd grader at John Lewis, been at the school since K, and have been really happy with the core educational experience as well as the school community, level of parent and staff involvement in extracurriculars, and the fact that there are more than the minimum number of required specials so things rotate throughout the year.

If you care about foreign language, you should know that there is no language as a special. The school play is incredible but is not a guarantee you child can be in it except for PK students who are all in the show (otherwise, it's an audition process).

OP here - thank you for this! We loved the tour and were really impressed.

Do you think you'll stay at least through 4th? Do you get the feeling most of your child's friends will stick through 4th? (I know 5th is always a bit of a wildcard everywhere).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All of these schools will lose kids in 5th to charters - that's just the way of it.

OP, I have an above grade level kid at Seaton and have been happy; they'll be in a swing space on Bryant Street the next couple years which will be even closer to you. I don't love the amount of screens they use but my guess is that screen use is pretty consistent across the DCPSs as they all use the same curriculum. I would guess our experience would be pretty similar to Garrison and John Lewis (I know both have great teachers and admin).

OP here - thank you! I didn't see this before I posted. I've actually been surprised on tours about the variation of screen usage even within DCPS, though everyone gave me basically the same party line at EdFest. Thomson, for example, stood out - basically every single kid I saw who was not in PK was either on a laptop or watching a movie. It was so bad. While John Lewis and Ross had much, much less.

How are you feeling about the swing space? We actually live in between the permanent site and the swing space so both would be fine for our commute. Do you think you'll lose a lot of kids next year? I know Tubman saw a HUGE drop in enrollment when they moved to their swing space.

Good for you for doing your homework here! Ive had kids at two different DCPS elementary schools and the screen usage was very, very different. I think the parents at "high screen" schools comfort themselves to think that it's all the same everywhere.

Thomson mom who has spent a lot of time at the school, in classrooms. I can't speak for Ross or Lewis, but this has not been our experience at Thomson. I think it's a very solid school.

There are reasons not to choose Thomson (the lack of an outdoor playground and crappy facilities for one, and certainly Ross and probably John Lewis have higher test scores) but I don't feel like over-reliance on screens is a problem and I think they use the right ed-tech when kids are on screens. I work in education and am glad the school uses Zearn, a math program backed by evidence that's great at accelerating learning but does call for a blended teaching model. If you visited during a math block, that may explain what you saw. They also use videos during morning meeting to teach kids breathing exercises for mindfulness.

[Anonymous]

Garrison and John Lewis have really strong school leadership and this impacts the experience in a variety of ways -- excellent teachers, the leadership tries to meet the needs of all the demographics in their diverse school, and both of these schools have lots of extras (like a school play, which the PP above mentioned). All the families I know at these schools are effusive about their experience.

Francis has a beautiful new building and a warm middle school that is a genuine option. And the interest is growing. so I think that's first because you could be satisfied through 8th, and then the school will help your kid find a high school that fits. But now that I know you live in CH, maybe not. Commute matters a lot in elementary school, and you can solve the middle school issue later.

ITS you have to visit yourself -- the academics have pros and cons, but the vibe and school culture are not for everyone.

Seaton has a warm community, but the test scores declined since the school changed leadership. There are a variety of factors that led to that happening, and it could be fixed in the future. The new teachers that have been hired are all really good. It is also missing some of the extras that Garrison and John Lewis have (the play, sports). And the swing space is going to be annoying for the next two years.

And Lee and EL Haynes just going based on test scores.