Bancroft, Cooke, Marie Reed and Tubman

[Anonymous]

PP here. I was referring to the typo. One would think a principal would be the principle reviewer of his text.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP here. I was referring to the typo. One would think a principal would be the principle reviewer of his text.

I assume you mean principal reviewer.

[Anonymous]

So, moving on from the principal vs principle debate.....

OP - I live in the southern part of Columbia Heights and was in your shoes a few years ago. We are currently sending our child to Bancroft and she is doing quite well; she has made lots of progress in reading, started in K as an average reader and is now about a grade and half above grade level with reading. We did get into two schools west of the park, but like you have noted, it's not easy to get across town twice a day at rush hour. We only have one car so I neeed a school that was walking distance or bus accessible. I also felt it important that she have a bilingual educational experience. Overall we have been happy with Bancroft, the building is old, but functional, and they just finished a great new playground and field. I have also been happy with her teachers. For better or worse I have had little interation with with principal and assistant prinicipal.

[Anonymous]

Gee, these boards would be much more helpful if we stayed on topic and didn't get sucked into silly points. I'm just waiting for the "If you really cared about your kid you would sacrifice anything and drive any amount of time to get them in the best school possible no matter what" crowd to show up.

But I'll tell you, like the previous poster, that I was in the same boat too and we choose Cooke. And it has been a GREAT choice for us. Yes, test scores are not good, but the kids in my child's class are lovely, spirited kids who all work together to LEARN.

But most importantly, I really do think across the board elementary education in DC is good. Pick one of the local schools - attend open houses, do a tour, decide what is the right fit for your family - and GO FOR IT. You'll be surprised by how good it is (and dismayed by how many people look at you like you are crazy, but that's another thread, I think). We're new at this, but it seems to me that the option to lottery into another school in later years is certainly there. So stay local, see what it's like, make your life easier (which makes your kid happier, as well as your whole life happier), and keep your eyes and ears open for options down the road. Despite what some on this baord might have you think no decision is forever, and you're not shutting yourself out of Harvard because you - gasp! - made a decision that was best for your family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Gee, these boards would be much more helpful if we stayed on topic and didn't get sucked into silly points. I'm just waiting for the "If you really cared about your kid you would sacrifice anything and drive any amount of time to get them in the best school possible no matter what" crowd to show up.

But I'll tell you, like the previous poster, that I was in the same boat too and we choose Cooke. And it has been a GREAT choice for us. Yes, test scores are not good, but the kids in my child's class are lovely, spirited kids who all work together to LEARN.

But most importantly, I really do think across the board elementary education in DC is good. Pick one of the local schools - attend open houses, do a tour, decide what is the right fit for your family - and GO FOR IT. You'll be surprised by how good it is (and dismayed by how many people look at you like you are crazy, but that's another thread, I think). We're new at this, but it seems to me that the option to lottery into another school in later years is certainly there. So stay local, see what it's like, make your life easier (which makes your kid happier, as well as your whole life happier), and keep your eyes and ears open for options down the road. Despite what some on this baord might have you think no decision is forever, and you're not shutting yourself out of Harvard because you - gasp! - made a decision that was best for your family.

Great post.

[Anonymous]

The OOB JLKMO route is closed, pretty much. The recession and baby boom have conspired to keep us poor middle class folks out of those schools. So the next tier is the best option, other than charters (which are overflowing as well). What else are you going to do? Private schools are really expensive and does a 4 yr old really need a $27,000 per year education?

[Anonymous]

15:00, great post. I agree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The OOB JLKMO route is closed, pretty much. The recession and baby boom have conspired to keep us poor middle class folks out of those schools. So the next tier is the best option, other than charters (which are overflowing as well). What else are you going to do? Private schools are really expensive and does a 4 yr old really need a $27,000 per year education?

Maybe. But the only difference between those JLKMO schools and the east of the park schools (Cooke etc) is who attends. The teachers and staff at the east of the park schools are as good, sometimes better. The buildings are as good (better in the case of Cooke). If you and your fellow poor middle class folks just sent your kids to the schools together you'd be ok.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Gee, these boards would be much more helpful if we stayed on topic and didn't get sucked into silly points. I'm just waiting for the "If you really cared about your kid you would sacrifice anything and drive any amount of time to get them in the best school possible no matter what" crowd to show up.

But I'll tell you, like the previous poster, that I was in the same boat too and we choose Cooke. And it has been a GREAT choice for us. Yes, test scores are not good, but the kids in my child's class are lovely, spirited kids who all work together to LEARN.

But most importantly, I really do think across the board elementary education in DC is good. Pick one of the local schools - attend open houses, do a tour, decide what is the right fit for your family - and GO FOR IT. You'll be surprised by how good it is (and dismayed by how many people look at you like you are crazy, but that's another thread, I think). We're new at this, but it seems to me that the option to lottery into another school in later years is certainly there. So stay local, see what it's like, make your life easier (which makes your kid happier, as well as your whole life happier), and keep your eyes and ears open for options down the road. Despite what some on this baord might have you think no decision is forever, and you're not shutting yourself out of Harvard because you - gasp! - made a decision that was best for your family.

Great post.

Agreed. A much-needed voice of reason. My only quibble: the "If you really cared about your kid you would sacrifice anything and drive any amount of time to get them in the best school possible no matter what" crowd is already here.

We're a Cooke family out of necessity and choice - yes, I tried some charter lotteries, OOB commutes aren't really an option, and I can't afford private. But we've been very happy at Cooke. We're a 10 minute walk from school. It's a beautiful new building. His teachers are friendly, enthusiastic, and really enjoy the kids. Ms. Black is completely plugged into the school - I really like her.

We always have the option to revisit the charter/OOB decision, but for now, we like Cooke.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The OOB JLKMO route is closed, pretty much. The recession and baby boom have conspired to keep us poor middle class folks out of those schools. So the next tier is the best option, other than charters (which are overflowing as well). What else are you going to do? Private schools are really expensive and does a 4 yr old really need a $27,000 per year education?

Maybe. But the only difference between those JLKMO schools and the east of the park schools (Cooke etc) is who attends. The teachers and staff at the east of the park schools are as good, sometimes better. The buildings are as good (better in the case of Cooke). If you and your fellow poor middle class folks just sent your kids to the schools together you'd be ok.

Actually, the point has been made and proven that fairly or unfairly, the majority of high-performing teachers are in Wards 2 and 3 west of the park. Now, could you make the case that they might not have such great scores if they taught east of the park? Apparently, some groups of children are harder to teach than others - even for the "rockstars" which Rhee was so determined to identify.