less popular charters

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Applied to Meridian for PS3 and PK4 got in for PS3 and wait listed for PK4

That should put you at the top of the WL though, right?

i'm not sure there was no wait list number in the letter. i really liked the school so im hoping they will both get in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A total outsider guess here, but I predict that Meridian's stock will rise as a result of its new location & beautiful building.

Other charters to consider: the Center City PCS schools, recently converted from Catholic parochial schools. Some of the campuses (Petworth among them) get very good reviews on the PCSB scorecard. (Though I don't think they have ps3.)

I have thought the exact same thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We got a PK3 spot at Meridian, and so far that's our only public school option, although we will get into our in-boundary school by Kindergarten at the latest. Meridian is beautiful and the staff seems super nice. I recently spoke with a parent whose child is there now for PK3 and is very happy with the school. I have read complaints that the school focuses too much on reading and math, but I figure that the money we save by going to public school, we can afford to do after-school classes in art, music, dance, languages, etc.

Meridian parent here. Yes, the school focuses on pre-reading and pre-math skills. That is not a terrible thing; some of us really appreciate that curriculum. I can enroll my child in other enrichment activities or take him to the many free events around town. I'm not sure where my recent posts ended up but as a parent, here's my experience.

Diversity - the school overall (if you look at the numbers) doesn't seem terribly diverse. However, PS3/PK4 is the most diverse and I know many other families from PS3 who are staying for PK4 (hence the waitlist this year). I have been pleasantly surprised at the SES breakdown and it does not hew to stereotypical racial lines. The majority of parents I've met are very nice and the kids are generally well-behaved.

Teachers - Our kid's teacher is great. She has 10 years experience and can run a classroom firmly but with kindness. She's been wonderful to work with and we get a lot of feedback. Our child is definitely learning new literacy and math concepts, but they also do art projects and go to library, technology, music and gym classes. We have an IEP and she was instrumental in helping us get that set up, explaining the process, acting as the bridge between us and the SPED coordinator/providers. It was all new to us but we couldn't have done it without her.

Administration - Everyone, from the principal to her vice principals, office staff - even the janitors - have been unfailingly nice. There have been some ugly rumors about the principal "yelling" at the children that you will read on here and that is insanity. She stands outside the school every morning greeting children by name and always with a smile on her face. She has been very accessible to us when we've had questions, going so far to give us her cell # and texting us on mornings when our child had a tough transition into school to assure us that our child had calmed down and was doing well.

Scores - the posts I've read on here are hung up on the scores. It's true Meridian doesn't have the highest scores, but they have been steadily improving and the principal and her dean of students are very open about the process and the work they are doing to improve. One has to consider that Meridian pulls in students from every ward in the city and that there are many ESL students who struggle with standardized tests.

Parent Involvement - IME, when there are field trips and such, there are always a good number of parents who show up. Our first trip to the pumpkin patch was a first time experience for some of the parents and they seemed to enjoy it as much as their kids. The parents chatted across race/SES boundaries and everyone was kind to the kids. The school has a Parent Involvement Center that seeks to provide information to parents, hosting programs like "Early Owls" (the school mascot is an owl) to help equip parents with strategies and tools to engage kids in learning at home. I believe the center also sometimes acts as a place where parents can go to confidently make their needs known to the school. The school occasionally has fundraisers where you can pay $1 to dress out of uniform for the day to raise money for this purpose and other school needs. There are also events like Back to School Night, International Night, a holiday program, etc to bring the school community together.

Overall, I have been extremely pleased with the school. After some difficulty with the initial transition (it was a BFD for DC going from a daycare group of 8 kids to a PS3 class of 25 and a big, big school building), our child is doing great. Our teacher has been a great partner with us and a joy to work with. Meridian was not my first choice, but it has turned out to be a really good experience for us. We are gladly staying for PK4 and hope that other middle/upper middle class parents will come join us.

I hope this helps. If you have specific questions about Meridian I'd be glad to answer them to the best of my ability.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Applied to Meridian for PS3 and PK4 got in for PS3 and wait listed for PK4

That should put you at the top of the WL though, right?

i'm not sure there was no wait list number in the letter. i really liked the school so im hoping they will both get in.

Meridian parent here. Frankly, I think this may be the first time they've had a wait list. Regardless, the administration was so nice to us when we first toured the school and graciously answered our many questions. I think if you call to ask about the process and what to expect, they will happily explain.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Applied to Meridian for PS3 and PK4 got in for PS3 and wait listed for PK4

That should put you at the top of the WL though, right?

i'm not sure there was no wait list number in the letter. i really liked the school so im hoping they will both get in.

Meridian parent here. Frankly, I think this may be the first time they've had a wait list. Regardless, the administration was so nice to us when we first toured the school and graciously answered our many questions. I think if you call to ask about the process and what to expect, they will happily explain.

Yea I called them today they are very nice my PK4 child is number 7 on the wait list.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Applied to Meridian for PS3 and PK4 got in for PS3 and wait listed for PK4

That should put you at the top of the WL though, right?

i'm not sure there was no wait list number in the letter. i really liked the school so im hoping they will both get in.

Meridian parent here. Frankly, I think this may be the first time they've had a wait list. Regardless, the administration was so nice to us when we first toured the school and graciously answered our many questions. I think if you call to ask about the process and what to expect, they will happily explain.

Yea I called them today they are very nice my PK4 child is number 7 on the wait list.

Good for you! Hope you can join us.

[Anonymous]

Thank you 9:05. that is the kind of really helpful, informed assessment that makes DCUM valuable. I appreciate the time you took to tell us about your experience and I hope it continues to be a good one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank you 9:05. that is the kind of really helpful, informed assessment that makes DCUM valuable. I appreciate the time you took to tell us about your experience and I hope it continues to be a good one.

Thanks - and you're welcome!

[Anonymous]

@ 9:05

Thanks for information. I think Meridian is an up-and-coming school, and am excited about it.

Based on your description, it sounds like you have a child in either PS or PK (not asking for you to reveal too much). My assumption is that since the move to the new building, the school is attracting a more diverse community, starting in the lower years. Fair assumption?

Also, I'm curious how smoothly the drop-off pick-up works. I love the idea of using Metro as part of the commute schedule, but don't know how practical that would be in reality. Do many families do it? Is it really much of a time-saver (vs. parking/walking)? Is there any kind of a metro-pool set-up? As in, group of families who meet at a metro or bus stop and travel together? Maybe it would be possible to start and then after families got to know each other and children got used to the trip, trade-off some chaperoning duty?

I'd like to hear more about the PS/PK community - group picnics or potlucks or birthday parties?

Meridian reminds me of Stokes a few years ago - it wasn't really on the radar until the nice building in Brookland, then all of a sudden it became a "hot" school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:@ 9:05

Thanks for information. I think Meridian is an up-and-coming school, and am excited about it.

Based on your description, it sounds like you have a child in either PS or PK (not asking for you to reveal too much). My assumption is that since the move to the new building, the school is attracting a more diverse community, starting in the lower years. Fair assumption?

Also, I'm curious how smoothly the drop-off pick-up works. I love the idea of using Metro as part of the commute schedule, but don't know how practical that would be in reality. Do many families do it? Is it really much of a time-saver (vs. parking/walking)? Is there any kind of a metro-pool set-up? As in, group of families who meet at a metro or bus stop and travel together? Maybe it would be possible to start and then after families got to know each other and children got used to the trip, trade-off some chaperoning duty?

I'd like to hear more about the PS/PK community - group picnics or potlucks or birthday parties?

Meridian reminds me of Stokes a few years ago - it wasn't really on the radar until the nice building in Brookland, then all of a sudden it became a "hot" school.

Yes, that was exactly my point. This is why PS3/PK4 seems overall to be more diverse than the upper grades. I think that will continue to change as the classes stay and move up.

As for pick-up/drop-off, we drive and we have no problems finding a spot to walk our child in. This is around 7:45/8am or so. The principal and her staff stand outside to greet kids, so if it is very crowded/busy you can stop and drop-off your kids for them to usher safely inside. I usually see the older kids going in by themselves and the preschool kids being ushered inside by mom/dad/grandma/aunt whomever. I really don't know if people carpool or Metro, but I suspect they do and I imagine this might be easy enough to set up with people who are near you.

Community - no, in general, I haven't seen much of that. Geographically people are pretty spread out, since kids are coming in from every ward, and there's all kinds of work schedules to contend with. I'm also not the kind of person to organize this stuff, and I may or may not attend even if invited. I have the best intentions, but with two FT working parents and lots of friends to catch up with on weekends/things to do around our house, our dance card is generally pretty full. However I imagine if you tried to organize something you would get a friendly reception even if most people didn't show or couldn't participate.

[Anonymous]

Not Meridian-related, but in the vein of less popular charters, we have a spot at KIPP Grow for PS3 and are very strongly considering it. It is the closest school to home, by far, and I've been impressed by the facility, the quality of teachers, and the required parental commitment to the program.

Still weighing issues such as the ethics of enrolling in a program targeted to under-resourced kids and communities (when my kid is not in the target group), and how we feel about the strong focus on academics at the PS3 level. Not concerned about being the only white kid in school.

Would love to hear from anyone else considering KIPP Grow and/or anyone currently enrolled. FWIW, right now we're thinking about the school as a good option through K, and then would likely re-evaluate.

[Anonymous]

Is the meridian PS program academic like Appletree's? Or more play-based?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is the meridian PS program academic like Appletree's? Or more play-based?

I don't know much about Apple Tree. Can you provide some details about their curriculum and then I can respond?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not Meridian-related, but in the vein of less popular charters, we have a spot at KIPP Grow for PS3 and are very strongly considering it. It is the closest school to home, by far, and I've been impressed by the facility, the quality of teachers, and the required parental commitment to the program.

Still weighing issues such as the ethics of enrolling in a program targeted to under-resourced kids and communities (when my kid is not in the target group), and how we feel about the strong focus on academics at the PS3 level. Not concerned about being the only white kid in school.

Would love to hear from anyone else considering KIPP Grow and/or anyone currently enrolled. FWIW, right now we're thinking about the school as a good option through K, and then would likely re-evaluate.

When did you hear back from Kipp?

[Anonymous]

I suspect that there's more diversity is PS3 and PS4 at Meridian because parents flee when kindergarten rolls around, not because the demographics are changing. Many schools have diverse PS3 and PK4 classes, but the demographics change a lot once the K fleeing happens.