Ranking Ludlow-Taylor vs SWS

[Anonymous]

Oh and Capitol Hill Montessori- you can get in there with a top 1/3 lottery number or so.

[Anonymous]

L-T’s ECE is much bigger than most: 3 full classes of PK3 & PK4. This year, a few OOB, proximity sibs got in. Definitely worth applying just in case, however unlikely,

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am currently planning to rank SWS over LT, but would be happy with either. I have kids entering PK3 and K this year.

OOB PK3 at LT is a mathematical impossibility, so I'm not worried about that. SWS is pretty unlikely across the board absent sibling preference, but in theory there is a slightly higher chance of getting both of my kids in there more quickly than at LT, partly because as a non-charter you are always fighting uphill against the power of in-bound preference (or a guaranteed seat after ECE).

Among the reasons I'm leaning SWS over LT is that it has much nicer facilities and is closer to my house. SWS definitely makes a bigger deal about Reggio than LT, but not sure how it is implemented in practice.

If you did luck out and get a lottery number that would get you into either, having one kid at SWS would be a strong enough anchor to pull your others. Not sure if LT could have a year with so many IB that you’d be shut out as OOB sib

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think TR4 is a good analog to SWS because both schools have very nurturing ECE programs and the culture of the school is very geared toward ECE parents, but neither school is known for upper grade academics.

Whereas L-T, while it still has a loved ECE program, feels culturally more geared to 2nd-5th grade, especially with their after school clubs and the amount of family programming they have.

For this reason I would lean towards L-T because it's much harder to find good programming for older kids in DC and in the long run that will be more meaningful for your kids. Plus it's not like ECE is bad and L-T -- it's a good program.

Huh? SWS has higher scores above the board than LT.

[Anonymous]

For early childhood both are great. However, long term academics are weak. Our youngest got a spot at sws and we are inbound for Ludlow. We decided against both and went for an immersion school with a dci feed. Even if the academics weren’t super strong at the immersion school it had a great path through high school and the ability to learn another language. I doubt this helps but I figured I would share since I had this choice. I would rank SWS above ludlow because we always had the right to enroll at ludlow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For early childhood both are great. However, long term academics are weak. Our youngest got a spot at sws and we are inbound for Ludlow. We decided against both and went for an immersion school with a dci feed. Even if the academics weren’t super strong at the immersion school it had a great path through high school and the ability to learn another language. I doubt this helps but I figured I would share since I had this choice. I would rank SWS above ludlow because we always had the right to enroll at ludlow.

Mundo Verde or Yu Ying? What kind of commute are you doing? I am OOB for LT but very nearby and considering both MVs and YY but commute is a big concern.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For early childhood both are great. However, long term academics are weak. Our youngest got a spot at sws and we are inbound for Ludlow. We decided against both and went for an immersion school with a dci feed. Even if the academics weren’t super strong at the immersion school it had a great path through high school and the ability to learn another language. I doubt this helps but I figured I would share since I had this choice. I would rank SWS above ludlow because we always had the right to enroll at ludlow.

Mundo Verde or Yu Ying? What kind of commute are you doing? I am OOB for LT but very nearby and considering both MVs and YY but commute is a big concern.

MV P st. Commute is fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think TR4 is a good analog to SWS because both schools have very nurturing ECE programs and the culture of the school is very geared toward ECE parents, but neither school is known for upper grade academics.

Whereas L-T, while it still has a loved ECE program, feels culturally more geared to 2nd-5th grade, especially with their after school clubs and the amount of family programming they have.

For this reason I would lean towards L-T because it's much harder to find good programming for older kids in DC and in the long run that will be more meaningful for your kids. Plus it's not like ECE is bad and L-T -- it's a good program.

Huh? SWS has higher scores above the board than LT.

Depends on how you break them down. If you don't consider demographics, then yes. If you do, then no. LT is more socioeconomically diverse than SWS with a higher at risk percentage (particularly in the testing grades) and a high needs classroom testing (10 student CES classroom of 3rd-5th graders). I don't think the exact percentage of students getting 4s+ or 5s tells you all that much about your kid's experience as long as the number is high enough. Both of these schools have solid populations getting 4s & 5s and getting 5s. When I dig into the numbers to look apples to apples, it looks to me like SWS is doing better at math and L-T is doing better at ELA relative to their student populations. But I don't think the difference in test scores is enough to be relevant to a decision.

I do think L-T has the best extracurricular and after school offerings that I have ever seen in a DCPS and from my perspective, that is way more likely to make my kid love school than most other factors out there. Also, it does seem to have a particularly active and tight knit school community that is rooted in the neighborhood. As SWS' Hill-based population has decreased, I think some of that has been lost. Of course, this is only a pro-L-T factor if you actually live close to the school. If you're commuting from a different neighborhood, you might be better off at a citywide school that caters to that where folks are more likely to be driving to playdates, etc.

[Anonymous]

My view is that it is crazy to opt out of a very solid IB unless you’re looking for something specific that it can’t offer (like immersion). If you are IB for LT (or close enough to take advantage of the benefits of a school where the majority of kids live in a very small area), I would choose it for sure. The benefits of having 50%-80% of your kids friends living within a distance they can walk alone by 4th grade really can’t be overstated. If you’re coming from farther afield, then I think it’s a toss up based on personal preferences.

[Anonymous]

I don't have a preference here, but was following the discussion and looked at school profiles and wow SWS has made great strides in diversifying their student population in the last 5 years ago! I remember when we were doing the lottery,the one thing about SWS that gave me pause was that it was like 80% white. That is really strange for a DCPS school that fills all seats via lottery, as it means that very few black families were choosing to lottery for SWS despite the good test scores. We still ranked it, but way lower than I would have otherwise because I saw this as a potential red flag that it wasn't a very welcoming community.

Well that's really different now. Less than 50% white and nearly 30% black. I assume there are some geographic reasons for it to still be more white than most charters and all city schools (it's not super accessible by public transit) but this is still a big improvement and indicates the school is working to be inclusive. Good for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just for the record, SWS is not in that boat. The waitlist remains super long and neighborhood people choose it over other highly sought after schools.

Not really. In-boundary Cap Hill parents almost always choose Brent (at least before this school year/the demolition), Maury and, increasingly, Ludlow and Payne, over SWS. Cluster parents tend to go with SWS over Peabody if they get a spot, true, mainly because Watkins continues to struggle. Same with Miner and JO Wilson parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For early childhood both are great. However, long term academics are weak. Our youngest got a spot at sws and we are inbound for Ludlow. We decided against both and went for an immersion school with a dci feed. Even if the academics weren’t super strong at the immersion school it had a great path through high school and the ability to learn another language. I doubt this helps but I figured I would share since I had this choice. I would rank SWS above ludlow because we always had the right to enroll at ludlow.

Mundo Verde or Yu Ying? What kind of commute are you doing? I am OOB for LT but very nearby and considering both MVs and YY but commute is a big concern.

MV P st. Commute is fine.

In case this PP is still around… could you say more about what you mean by academics at MV not being “super strong”? We’re going to rank both campuses and also trying our luck on a mix of immersion and non-immersion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't have a preference here, but was following the discussion and looked at school profiles and wow SWS has made great strides in diversifying their student population in the last 5 years ago! I remember when we were doing the lottery,the one thing about SWS that gave me pause was that it was like 80% white. That is really strange for a DCPS school that fills all seats via lottery, as it means that very few black families were choosing to lottery for SWS despite the good test scores. We still ranked it, but way lower than I would have otherwise because I saw this as a potential red flag that it wasn't a very welcoming community.

Well that's really different now. Less than 50% white and nearly 30% black. I assume there are some geographic reasons for it to still be more white than most charters and all city schools (it's not super accessible by public transit) but this is still a big improvement and indicates the school is working to be inclusive. Good for them.

I think you're misremembering. Farthest back I can find is 2018-2019 at 68% white. By 2020-2021 that was down to 59%. And 47% last year.

I think driven by 1) more apartments built up around that area, so more accessible to people who don't live in expensive Capitol Hill row houses, 2) more people in the Capitol Hill row houses opting into their IB school.

[Anonymous]

Isn’t the diversification of SWS because they added equitable access lottery seats?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't have a preference here, but was following the discussion and looked at school profiles and wow SWS has made great strides in diversifying their student population in the last 5 years ago! I remember when we were doing the lottery,the one thing about SWS that gave me pause was that it was like 80% white. That is really strange for a DCPS school that fills all seats via lottery, as it means that very few black families were choosing to lottery for SWS despite the good test scores. We still ranked it, but way lower than I would have otherwise because I saw this as a potential red flag that it wasn't a very welcoming community.

Well that's really different now. Less than 50% white and nearly 30% black. I assume there are some geographic reasons for it to still be more white than most charters and all city schools (it's not super accessible by public transit) but this is still a big improvement and indicates the school is working to be inclusive. Good for them.

I think you're misremembering. Farthest back I can find is 2018-2019 at 68% white. By 2020-2021 that was down to 59%. And 47% last year.

I think driven by 1) more apartments built up around that area, so more accessible to people who don't live in expensive Capitol Hill row houses, 2) more people in the Capitol Hill row houses opting into their IB school.

PP here and yes, I guess I misremembered the exact number. Still -- 68% white for an all-city school where admission is entirely based on the lottery is crazy high. Also I disagree that the increase in apartments in the neighborhood has led to greater socioeconomic variety -- it's the opposite. All the new apartments in Capitol Hill are higher end, and housing costs have only increased in the time period your are talking about. $4000/mo 2 bedroom apartments along H street are not helping to diversify SWS. Agree that more people on the Hill are choosing IB schools, but I would assume the school has also made a concerted effort to do outreach to non-white parents. I see they started doing equitable access a few years ago as well, resulting in 10 or so PK seats a year going to EA applicants. That likely helps a lot, especially at a school as small as SWS.

As a black family, seeing a lottery-based DCPS with more than 60% white students in a fairly diverse neighborhood was really jarring. We live in Ward 5 with a really weak IB school, but with an easy commute through the Hill so we were looking at lots of Hill and Hill-adjacent schools in the lottery. SWS was the only school where the percentage of white students was that high and it didn't make sense to me given the demographics of the city and the lottery. I'm glad to see it's more balanced now.