What's the best Pk3 and Pk4 programs in DC? Rank 1-5
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Anonymous
Why yes I do! |
Anonymous
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1. Mundo Verde
2. LAMB 3. Oyster 4. Stokes 5. Ross |
Anonymous
| Are any of the programs bad? Went to many open houses and they all seemed similar to me. |
Anonymous
they are all very similar. it depends on the teacher and who your child will be in class with. some pk programs have more disruptive children than others.
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Anonymous
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I think that is a good point... they are all similar because many of them are very good. Just like there is more than one "dream" school for university, the same for elementary. There are many, many good programs out there. Judging or ranking them depends on your own values/criteria - whether you want an array of specials, big playground, language immersion. Your desire for one thing (immersion) may outweigh negatives in a host of other areas. With Spanish immersion, there are lots of choices but if you are looking at Chinese or French, you only have YY and Stokes. Also, neighborhood and ease of commute makes a HUGE difference. Without the parent-run bus of my DD's school, there is no way I would ever be able to manage drop-offs and pick-ups. I have read about families driving one hour each way through cross-town traffic but I just don't know how I could do it, even if I felt comfortable driving/parking, without going insane. Don't get me wrong, I know parents would do anything for their kids but if there is a very, very good school near me, then why would I have to sacrifice to go cross-town. With that said, I know that some people unlucky in the lottery have very little choice.
I think you are going about it the wrong way - you want to see which ones have the best "reputations". But as people have pointed out, families usually only have direct experience from one or two schools. After reading these message boards for a long time, the good news is that there is a long list of schools that seem to have a good reputation, people on the whole speak very highly of. in no particular order, SWS, Capitol Hill Montessori (forget what it is called now, right near Union Station) Brent, JKLMM, Peabody, Maury, Ludlow-Taylor (its reputation for early childhood far exceeds that of the school overall), Tyler, YY, LAMB, CapCity, Stokes, Two Rivers, Hearst, Stoddert, Appletree, Bridges, Mundo Verde, Inspired Teaching, Creative Minds, Oyster, E.L. Haynes Not all have both PS-3 and PK-4. And there are other good options - I'm sure I'm forgetting some that I know about and don't know enough about others (West, Ross, etc.) to comment. For example, I hear KIPP is great for those seeking a very structured framework. Yes, posters will say that direct experience is necessary and that is true but I had to apply for and to some extent pick (I got to visit the schools we got into once we arrived) from afar. I used DCUM as background and it was helpful. It was a lot of reading but going through all the threads often eked out a good balanced viewpoint. |
Anonymous
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Yes, it depends what you are looking for. Play-based? Tools of the mind? Montessori? Bilingual? Discipline? Master teachers? Arts integration? Small class size?
DS is having a great time at Inspired Teaching, but I can imagine that it would not be great for every kid. |
Anonymous
All you did was name the schools in the toniest neighborhoods. Do you really know enough about each of those schools to say? |
Anonymous
It was intended to be a flip response. The OP asked a question that is not black and white. She does not live WOTP. Asked a similar question already on another thread. She can easily go read all the threads from a year ago, or 2 years ago to understand the complexities of the question. |
Anonymous
how many schools did you visit that had FARMS populations of higher than 50%? |
Anonymous
Not to change the subject, but can you explain FARMS to me. I see it referenced a lot and I have no idea what it is. Thanks. |
Anonymous
| Yu Ying has been an amazing experience for us and many of our friends. |
Anonymous
FARMS stands for Free and Reduced Meals. It is an indicator of the percent of low income children at a school. It is also tied to Title 1 funding - but I am not exactly sure how. Title 1 funding was a large discussion earlier this year within the DC Public Schools section as schools that were not Title 1 were getting their subsidized aftercare programs cut. (I am not sure where this landed but there was a lot of concern over this in August) |
Anonymous
Got it. Thank you so much! |
Anonymous
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Agreed, the way OP is asking the question, why not just look at the length of waitlists (they're posted on DCPS). That's the best indication of popularity. A little hard to compare with charters because there is no limit to how many applications you can submit and not ranking either.
It may sound cheesy but, especially for preschool/elementary school, the best option is the one that works best for your family. As a parent, you're so closely involved that, for example, the "best" choice at the other end of town will just really not be the best choice because that involvement and your time with the child will be compromised. Or if you have a child who has sensory sensitivities, then maybe a play-based model isn't so great. If you have child who is extremely timid, then Montessori may not be a good fit etc. Or you end up with the "best" program can't stand a bunch of whining parents who make you miserable, then that's also not "best", not in my mind anyway. |
Anonymous
| I'm not sure whether the PP who asked about touring FARMS schools was trying to imply something, or if so what, but I can't imagine a better PS3 experience for our child than the one he had at a Title I school using a Head Start for All model. |