would you send your Kindergartner to Powell?

[Anonymous]

The school is filled with OOB kids, and some IB for pre-K. Some MD staff have their kids there as well.

[Anonymous]

We are sending our daughter for PS3, and were fairly impressed with the program as a whole and the principle in particular. It's not perfect but we are a part of a wave of Petworth parents that would love to see community activism around making Powell a great option for our kids. And trust me the entusisim is there. The demographics in the neighborhood are changing rapidly and in the next several years all the young families having babies will have to send their kids somewhere and the same 6 charters can't support all of us. I for one am fairly committed to Powell and would love to see all my kids there, past kindergarten. It's also slated for renovation in the coming years starting this summer so the space itself will also improve. It is more structure with less outdoor play space for the kids, then my daughter is used to, they get a 30 minute recess a day, which in my option is not enough. but with several parks nearby I plan on having my daughter play after school outside as much as possible. I feel like there are enough parents interested in Powell that it can be a great place and is on its way to being a desired spot for the Petworth baby boomers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Powell is our IB and we have accepted at Sela and have a fairly decent WL # at Bridges. We just haven't been impressed with Powell on our tours, and the neighborhood talk about bullying and fights among the older kids is just to active for us to chance it. We have toured Bridges and gone to the Sela information session and have been really impressed with their programs. If you haven't considered some of the charters with newer programs (Bridges just expanded to K, Sela is a new school), I would give them a try.

What??! Who gave you a tour? Powell gave the best tour of 10 schools I visited, including Bridges. This "neighborhood talk" is not something I've heard in the neighborhood or at the school and sounds like a lot of nonsense. If you are serious about what you're saying please provide some details.

If Powell was called "Powell Public Charter School" it would be all the rage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most of the neighborhood people with negative remarks about Powell, don't actually have first-hand knowledge of the school. There may have been problems in the past, but we have had a very positive experience at this school. My children will be there for Kindergarten.

This is exactly right. It's not 2005 anymore people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP, thanks for posting this. I really like the Petworth neighborhood and I am thinking about moving back to DC and targeting this area for home purchases. Where can I find more information on the Petworth listserve.

I wish there were enough concerned parents in my neighborhood to pressure my local elementary school.

Suggest you try to find something in Barnard Elementary boundary rather than Powell.

[jsteele]

Can someone tell me whether the dual language program is required or something to which you can opt-in? What would happen to an in-bound student in an grade such as 2nd or 3rd that didn't speak Spanish?

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:Can someone tell me whether the dual language program is required or something to which you can opt-in? What would happen to an in-bound student in an grade such as 2nd or 3rd that didn't speak Spanish?

We toured and I believe we were told in the earliest grades - I believe through K - it is dual-language 70% English-30% Spanish for all. At K, there is a 50-50 English-Spanish segment and an English-only segment. So you can come in at 3rd grade and not have to work up to bilingual Spanish.

[Anonymous]

I love the Petworth neighborhood with all the trees and parks, and thinking about buying inbounds for Powell. Have the parents talked about updating the website soon?

And thanks to 16:04 too, I will look at Barnard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

jsteele wrote:Can someone tell me whether the dual language program is required or something to which you can opt-in? What would happen to an in-bound student in an grade such as 2nd or 3rd that didn't speak Spanish?

We toured and I believe we were told in the earliest grades - I believe through K - it is dual-language 70% English-30% Spanish for all. At K, there is a 50-50 English-Spanish segment and an English-only segment. So you can come in at 3rd grade and not have to work up to bilingual Spanish.

This is correct! All 5 PS/PK classes are dual language. Out of the 3 Kindergarten classes, 2 are dual-language.... so yes you have the option, starting in K, to be on an english-only tract.

[Anonymous]

I've been a parent at Powell for about 7 yrs. and wouldn't dream of transferring my kids.They learned so much at Powell, infact my eldest son who is so quiet and unsociable developed a lot ,character wise and curriculum wise.Infact he now writes weekly article on The North West Current newspaper,he's also a member of the Robotic Club,wrote two plays on Young Playwrights Theater,which are both chosen as a finalist,and got published on their books.He just competed on the Informer Spelling Bee which will be air this Sunday on NBC 4.Aside from the other awards he received, he's also the current Mayor of Powell.Now,let me tell you,I consider myself and my husband an overprotective parents, and we will never put our kids in a school or neighborhood were there's a lot of violence,and in my 7 yrs. at Powell I never witness any violence considering I'm an hands on mom who volunteer a lot and participate on every parent meeting.Not to forget because of Powell we got invited to the White House for trick or treatin and easter egg roll.We got free tickets to see the Nationals, the Capitals and the Redskins players chose to visit Powell for the past 3 yrs.to give inspirational thoughts to the kids.I can go on and on with all the academic stuffs my kids had been participated,and in case you wonder my other son is also an honor student, a schoolwide Spelling Bee champion,and he scored 100% in his ANET test in Math.This are the reasons that's why i love Powell, they have dedicated teachers and a great principal.I came from a family where education is very important, me and my five siblings all finish college and I want that for my kids and Powell is giving them their first tool to their journey.

[Anonymous]

Powell...it's the wave of the future.
You'll see.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Powell...it's the wave of the future.
You'll see.

NP, I believe the above. I came to DC not knowing a thing about any particular school. In talking to DCPS about which schools might have PS slots for someone who missed the lottery, I heard good things about Powell. Unfortunately for us there was no way we were getting in (they had quite a waitlist last year for PS3) and we applied this year again and were thrilled to be in top 20 on WL for PK4.

In the meantime, I've learned a LOT about DC public and charter schools. And regardless of what the other hot, of the moment schools were like, my visit to Powell, meeting the Principal, talking regularly to staff (the summer we were hoping to get in from the bottom of the WL - not happening!), it all made Powell stick out in our mind as a school that is already good, maybe really good, and will be great in under 5 years. I think it will be very very hot probably just within the next 2 years for the younger grades, because the Administration is great, school has a beautiful warm feel, the current parents I know love it, and it's bilingual.

Wave of the future? I believe it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love the Petworth neighborhood with all the trees and parks, and thinking about buying inbounds for Powell.

I'm looking at an aerial map right now and I see only one park that is IN Petworth itself -- Upshur. Of course there are parks nearby, in other neighborhoods (Crestwood, Brightwood) but are there any other parks that are actually in Petworth?

[Anonymous]

8th and Taylor. Where the Petworth Jazz Project performs and where the Petworth Rec Center are.

[Anonymous]

Don't forget Hamilton Park.