Future parents--heartburn over schooling--would love insight

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I think you should buy the house you love in the neighborhood you love and not worry too much about schools right now (you don't have kids yet, right?). There are just too many variables and too much time before you might need schools that I don't think it makes sense to make that your primary deciding factor.

You might not be able to have kids.

You might have kids with special needs and a regular public school would not be a good fit.

You or your spouse might be offered a dream job in another city and decide to move.

Your neighborhood school, even if it doesn't look good now, might make a transformation and you end up sending your kids there. (This is what happened to us when we bought in boundary for Maury in 2001.)

New charters schools are opening every year that you might be interested in.

There are several desirable charter schools already and your chance of getting in is as good as anyone else's.

You can start you own charter school!

I know plenty of parents (okay, almost every single parent on the Hill that I know) with school angst and everyone, I mean everyone, has found something that is at a bare minimum acceptable, and more likely something they are really happy with. It doesn't always shake out right after the lotteries and it sometimes takes a year or two or trying to get into the school you want, but I honestly can't think of anyone who has been totally shut out and without any acceptable options.

If you are considering two comparable houses, one in bounds for a "good" school and the other in bounds for "bad" school, then by all means, choose the one with the better school. I just don't think schools should be your primary factor if you don't have kids yet.

Good luck.

This is great advice. When we bought our house and my daughter was 3 weeks old, everyone said we were crazy, her IB school was horrible and we would "SORRY" - I didn't know enough about DC schools to know better. But, I thought privates would be an option.

Now, there is a huge wait list to get into our IB school. The horrible school became an "up and coming" and now a good school.

Things change so fast in DC....and you aren't even pregnant yet.

[Anonymous]

Our family's story.

Got in to Watkins OOB in upper elementary, and commute from another Ward in the city.

Things that will/could change.

VanNess reopens.
Boundary study shifts boundaries.
In bound schools improve.
Schools are closed after boundary study.
Fewer (or more) slots in PreS3 / PreK4.
School within School locates near the home, giving you in bounds or geographic preference.

Things I would pay attention to:

How safe is the neighborhood? If you don't have physical safety with an infant(s)/ toddler(s) and are home alone, or kids home with nanny, that can be very uncomfortable. Concentrate on that phase for now.

In some ways, better to buy in a so so neighborhood than buy in bounds for a good school and have a boundary realignment take that away from the home. Someone will be reassigned to less desirable schools, I predict. I probably would not pay a premium for an as of yet unconceived child.

[Anonymous]

OP here-- you guys are super helpful and such thoughtful parents/community members. I'm just solidifying my feeling that I can't count on much school-wise unless I buy in-bounds for our desired schools. It's particularly comforting to know that you all have found options that work for you. I'm still torn about this home in the Navy Yards area, but I feel more informed...

[Anonymous]

I would move to the Navy yard area with an expectation of having kids. I like the amenities available to families - Yards (water) Park, Canal Park (skating), new homes, safe and walkable. The neighborhood school Van Ness ES is re-opening in 2015 and the Capitol Quarter community has broad enough shoulders for Van Ness to be successful. I would bank on Near S.E.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would move to the Navy yard area with an expectation of having kids. I like the amenities available to families - Yards (water) Park, Canal Park (skating), new homes, safe and walkable. The neighborhood school Van Ness ES is re-opening in 2015 and the Capitol Quarter community has broad enough shoulders for Van Ness to be successful. I would bank on Near S.E.

Yes, we are very happy here. I forgot about Van Ness reopening. Also, Harris Teeter is coming and restaurants on M street. We feel very safe, great police and security presence (probably because of the business and feds) and also use Garfield Park in addition to the Yards park.

[Anonymous]

Also, Near SE has preference at Tyler. Thus, Tyler's general and Spanish programs may be an option.

[Anonymous]

Why are you set on buying OP? W/O kids -- I would try renting and see where life takes you. You can afford a better neighborhood and you wouldn't be stuck if the schools in your area turned out to be a disaster or whatever.

[Anonymous]

Also, even "bad" schools are often widely seen as acceptable or even desirable through kindergarten. If you aren't even pregnant yet, that means worst case scenario, if you felt like you had to move after kindergarten because of schools, that is six or so years away--it is within the realm of reasonable to sell a place after six years, even if it isn't your ideal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For $800K you should be able to get into Maury boundary. I live in the Navy Yard/south cap Hill area and we are zone for Amidon but send our child to a sought after charter.

Thanks. That's very helpful too. I just don't have a great handle on charter school options because there is so much to research-- don't even know where to begin.

Charters are public schools, they're just independently run. That means they can make their own programs, hire their own faculty, etc., so they can "re-invent" school to do something interesting or extra. They do not have boundaries, anyone can apply and there's a lottery for open spaces (except for siblings, who get preference). There are a number of charter schools which have some cachet, and are often mentioned here:

Capital City (Expeditionary Learning)
EL Haynes (year-round program - summer enrichment classes)
Elsie Stokes (French & Spanish Immersion)
Inspired Teaching (Demonstration school run by the Inspired Teaching Foundation)
Latin American Montessori Bilingual, aka "LAMB" (Spanish Immersion)
Mundo Verde (Spanish Immersion)
Two Rivers (Expeditionary Learning)
Washington Yu Ying (Mandarin Immersion)

There are a couple more that are new and generating buzz:

Creative Minds (International Primary Curriculum) - this school opens in Fall 2012
SELA (Hebrew Immersion) - this school was just chartered, they open in Fall 2013? (Not sure, but someone out there might know).

[Anonymous]

We bought a house with no thought to schools but very much wanting kids. We now have three kids. Schools have worked out very well for us. We even briefly had 2 kids in a school not unlike Amidon (while we waited for the waitlist to move at another school) and it was a very positive experience.

[Anonymous]

I hate to be the Debbie Downer -

Things are changing so fast in DC right now that some families I know that got older children into a solid OOB school can not execute the plan to get younger child in and are now stuck. I know 2 families that got older child into Hyde and Stoddard a few years ago and they have no shot at all of getting younger one in now for PreK - and they do not know when they will get the younger one in.

My point is - the only sure thing you have is your in-bounds school. If this is not something you are comfortable with, either work NOW to make it something you are comfortable with, make sure you are camping out the night the application process occurs for charters that wait list is driven by order they are received, be ready to spend $ for private.

There are a lot more young families in the area you are looking - everyone right now will say they are committed to the school - but the minute a better option comes they will take it.

5 years ago, who would have guessed that Oyster would no longer qualify for Title 1 funding? They are losing 1/2 of their teachers. I could not imagine what the school will look like next year. The assumptions that many people were working under have fundamentally changed.

[Anonymous]

Just to provide a contrast, here is a thumbnail of our experience. We bought a house we loved with a neighborhood school that was not acceptable to us and figured that we would work it out when it happened. Here's where we wound up for PS-3.

Charter schools - applied to 14 different. The only ones we got into were Bethune and Appletree Oklahoma Ave. Best lottery number otherwise was 103.

DCPS - Applied to the second-tier CH schools, (didn't even try for Maury, Brent, Logan, or Tyler SI). The only one we got into was J.O. Wilson and our best lottery number was in the 30's at Miner. We are okay with sending our child to J.O. through PK-4 for sure, but will definitely be trying to lottery out ASAP. We also didn't max out our budget, so we can afford to go private or move if we need to.

So, yeah, if I was a planner and had $800K to spend, I would definitely try to get a house where I liked the in-bounds school. For every family that loves their charter or got lucky in the lottery, there are lots of families like us scrambling and patching stuff together.

Just another experience. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just to provide a contrast, here is a thumbnail of our experience. We bought a house we loved with a neighborhood school that was not acceptable to us and figured that we would work it out when it happened. Here's where we wound up for PS-3.

Charter schools - applied to 14 different. The only ones we got into were Bethune and Appletree Oklahoma Ave. Best lottery number otherwise was 103.

DCPS - Applied to the second-tier CH schools, (didn't even try for Maury, Brent, Logan, or Tyler SI). The only one we got into was J.O. Wilson and our best lottery number was in the 30's at Miner. We are okay with sending our child to J.O. through PK-4 for sure, but will definitely be trying to lottery out ASAP. We also didn't max out our budget, so we can afford to go private or move if we need to.

So, yeah, if I was a planner and had $800K to spend, I would definitely try to get a house where I liked the in-bounds school. For every family that loves their charter or got lucky in the lottery, there are lots of families like us scrambling and patching stuff together.

Just another experience. Good luck.

... I would guess that by K, you will have something a little more satisfactory. I never expected to have a public PreS or PreK option and had planned to pay for these programs. It was a nice surprise that we wound up not having to pay for PreK for DC #1 and PreS/PreK for DC #2.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks SO much for the info re: charters. I know what charters are and how they're funded, etc. But didn't really get a start on researching the reputation and features of the various charter schools. I will look at the list closely.

As to Qs re: why buy now--the reasons are low interest rates (which arguably could continue to be the case for another year) and current buying power (I own two condos, one of which I live in and plan to keep because it has been a great investment, so I need my current high income to qualify for a home. Some time in the future, I would like to have a less demanding job, meaning less $$$, meaning less buying power from the bank's perspective.) So, it's the right time for reasons unrelated to children.

[Anonymous]

By all means look at the charters. But as hinted above, don't bank on getting into the most desirable ones. Stokes and Two Rivers had PS3 (and PS4?) classes that were completely filled with siblings. Mundo Verde had 900 applicants and the PS3 waiting list was running in the 300s. Same with LAMB, which only takes kids in PS3 and PS4. So it is possible to get into an amazing charter, but it does require luck, and likely a sizable commute to NW or Brookland.