good neighborhood school vs. city-wide or charter school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We live on Capitol Hill and our child goes to Two Rivers. The school is exactly two miles away from our house in SE. While Two Rivers is obviously a city wide school, we've found that nearly all of her friends live in the greater Capitol Hill area so it really feels like a neighborhood school. She plays soccer with classmates through Soccer on the Hill and we always run into school friends at Eastern Market and Yards Park.

I don't know anyone from the neighborhood who goes to Mundo Verdo or Stokes, and I only know of one child who goes to IT and another who goes to Sela. Yu Ying is sort of the exception -- I know a few kids there. So this thread made me curious -- are other charter schools like Two Rivers in that they have a large percentage of students from a specific geographic location? Or is our experience just an anomaly? I would think that many folks would want to go to a school that is relatively close and I'd this is the case, the charter school may actually feel looked a neighborhood school.

We live in Ward 5 close to MV's new location. On our block we have kids who attend 2R, LAMB and YY. I don't know anyone who attend our in bound elementary, Walker Jones. I always run into DC's classmates/families wherever I go including Target, Home Depot, Harris Teeter, Costco, etc. I think for most of the popular charters in Ward 5/6, they mostly draw from families in the ward or that's what it feels like.

[Anonymous]

This worries me. We host a nanny share so I've never done drop off. Do people really think a 10-15 min walk would revert to the car? I'm having a hard time really figuring out what a daily commute with kid will look like. That's a shame that schools don't allow strollers to be left! I was sort of counting on that.

[Anonymous]

I'm finding the term "citywide" school to be a misnomer.

For example, at my charter school most of the kids are from Columbia heights, Petworth, Logan circle, downtown.

The idea that people are commuting from all over....is slightly exaggerated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This worries me. We host a nanny share so I've never done drop off. Do people really think a 10-15 min walk would revert to the car? I'm having a hard time really figuring out what a daily commute with kid will look like. That's a shame that schools don't allow strollers to be left! I was sort of counting on that.

Do you mean 10-15 minute walk at toddler speed, or at adult speed. My 2 year old walks about a third of the way to daycare, before we move to the stroller. At toddler speed, it takes 10-15 minutes for her to walk this (more like 5 mins at adult speed). The DCPS in our neighborhood (Adams-Morgan) are all walkable with her, and finding parking would probably be impossible anyway. We will definitely be walking there with her. AI don't think she is ready to walk the 30-40 mins it would take to go with her in a walk that I can do in 10-15 mins, but maybe she will increase her stamina by next year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live on Capitol Hill and our child goes to Two Rivers. The school is exactly two miles away from our house in SE. While Two Rivers is obviously a city wide school, we've found that nearly all of her friends live in the greater Capitol Hill area so it really feels like a neighborhood school. She plays soccer with classmates through Soccer on the Hill and we always run into school friends at Eastern Market and Yards Park.

I don't know anyone from the neighborhood who goes to Mundo Verdo or Stokes, and I only know of one child who goes to IT and another who goes to Sela. Yu Ying is sort of the exception -- I know a few kids there. So this thread made me curious -- are other charter schools like Two Rivers in that they have a large percentage of students from a specific geographic location? Or is our experience just an anomaly? I would think that many folks would want to go to a school that is relatively close and I'd this is the case, the charter school may actually feel looked a neighborhood school.

We live in Ward 5 close to MV's new location. On our block we have kids who attend 2R, LAMB and YY. I don't know anyone who attend our in bound elementary, Walker Jones. I always run into DC's classmates/families wherever I go including Target, Home Depot, Harris Teeter, Costco, etc. I think for most of the popular charters in Ward 5/6, they mostly draw from families in the ward or that's what it feels like.

Neighbor! We are over the line in Ward 6. On my block I have kids who attend LAMB, IT and CM. I know one person who attends Walker Jones, but she commutes from Capital Hill. All of our play dates are neighborhood based, we have a large neighborhood listserv and play dates happen that way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We live on Capitol Hill and our child goes to Two Rivers. The school is exactly two miles away from our house in SE. While Two Rivers is obviously a city wide school, we've found that nearly all of her friends live in the greater Capitol Hill area so it really feels like a neighborhood school. She plays soccer with classmates through Soccer on the Hill and we always run into school friends at Eastern Market and Yards Park.

I don't know anyone from the neighborhood who goes to Mundo Verdo or Stokes, and I only know of one child who goes to IT and another who goes to Sela. Yu Ying is sort of the exception -- I know a few kids there. So this thread made me curious -- are other charter schools like Two Rivers in that they have a large percentage of students from a specific geographic location? Or is our experience just an anomaly? I would think that many folks would want to go to a school that is relatively close and I'd this is the case, the charter school may actually feel looked a neighborhood school.

The NW neighborhoods EOTPWOTR are different. Capital Hill is almost like a suburb.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This worries me. We host a nanny share so I've never done drop off. Do people really think a 10-15 min walk would revert to the car? I'm having a hard time really figuring out what a daily commute with kid will look like. That's a shame that schools don't allow strollers to be left! I was sort of counting on that.

Our commute never reverted to a car except in bad weather. But I also put away the stroller at 3 so he got used to walking. I think it will be slow going for the first few weeks then your child will get the hang of it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live on Capitol Hill and our child goes to Two Rivers. The school is exactly two miles away from our house in SE. While Two Rivers is obviously a city wide school, we've found that nearly all of her friends live in the greater Capitol Hill area so it really feels like a neighborhood school. She plays soccer with classmates through Soccer on the Hill and we always run into school friends at Eastern Market and Yards Park.

I don't know anyone from the neighborhood who goes to Mundo Verdo or Stokes, and I only know of one child who goes to IT and another who goes to Sela. Yu Ying is sort of the exception -- I know a few kids there. So this thread made me curious -- are other charter schools like Two Rivers in that they have a large percentage of students from a specific geographic location? Or is our experience just an anomaly? I would think that many folks would want to go to a school that is relatively close and I'd this is the case, the charter school may actually feel looked a neighborhood school.

The NW neighborhoods EOTPWOTR are different. Capital Hill is almost like a suburb.

I live EOTPWOTR. Not sure what you mean. Agree that Hill is less dense than my neighborhood. But not sure how that relates to PP's comment. Can you explain? (Genuinely interested in your perspective.)

[Anonymous]

IT currently draws 1/3 of its student body from Ward 5, but does have students from every single ward in attendance. I think the ward 5 percentage will only get higher with its move to Edgewood in the fall as families search for schools that are closer.

[Anonymous]

Capitol Hill is like a suburb how? In terms of location, it's certainly not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This worries me. We host a nanny share so I've never done drop off. Do people really think a 10-15 min walk would revert to the car? I'm having a hard time really figuring out what a daily commute with kid will look like. That's a shame that schools don't allow strollers to be left! I was sort of counting on that.

Our commute never reverted to a car except in bad weather. But I also put away the stroller at 3 so he got used to walking. I think it will be slow going for the first few weeks then your child will get the hang of it.

Thanks, this gives me more hope. My kid is good for about a mile on a good day now. We'll just have to leave very very early in case along the way there are any sticks or rocks or flowers or plastic wrappers or funny graffiti or...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Yes, for pre-school, but we would hope to stay at whatever school we start in through 5th grade. These posts have been helpful. Keep them coming! For what it is worth, the IB school is a few blocks away, and the city-wide school we are considering would be a 30-min walk (at an adult pace) or a 10-min drive, not in the complete opposite direction of work, but not directly in the path either. I do not think the schools are exactly equal. If I did, I would give the IB school the edge automatically b/c of proximity. The city-wide school is definitely more established and probably has fewer teachers "who no one wants to have."

But, would you really be walking those few blocks? Or would you end up driving anyway? Trying to get a 3-4 year old to walk a few blocks may take you more than 10 minutes in any event. And as someone else noted, you really can't use a stroller unless you plan on walking it back home. I'm not saying this is universal, but the vast majority of parents I see walking their kids to school are stay at home moms.

That's not to say that driving 5 minutes is still not a heck of a lot better than driving 15 minutes.

I think this is a strange comment. We've walked our 4 and 6 yos to school almost every day this year, and it is a 10-15 minute walk at a kid pace. It is much easier and more relaxing than packing everyone into the car, driving, looking for a spot, etc. And we are definitely not in the minority at our school. We love our school for many reasons but proximity is in the top 3 for sure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Yes, for pre-school, but we would hope to stay at whatever school we start in through 5th grade. These posts have been helpful. Keep them coming! For what it is worth, the IB school is a few blocks away, and the city-wide school we are considering would be a 30-min walk (at an adult pace) or a 10-min drive, not in the complete opposite direction of work, but not directly in the path either. I do not think the schools are exactly equal. If I did, I would give the IB school the edge automatically b/c of proximity. The city-wide school is definitely more established and probably has fewer teachers "who no one wants to have."

But, would you really be walking those few blocks? Or would you end up driving anyway? Trying to get a 3-4 year old to walk a few blocks may take you more than 10 minutes in any event. And as someone else noted, you really can't use a stroller unless you plan on walking it back home. I'm not saying this is universal, but the vast majority of parents I see walking their kids to school are stay at home moms.

That's not to say that driving 5 minutes is still not a heck of a lot better than driving 15 minutes.

I think this is a strange comment. We've walked our 4 and 6 yos to school almost every day this year, and it is a 10-15 minute walk at a kid pace. It is much easier and more relaxing than packing everyone into the car, driving, looking for a spot, etc. And we are definitely not in the minority at our school. We love our school for many reasons but proximity is in the top 3 for sure.

Strange how? You also leave unanswered the 64k question. How do you get to work after that? Walk back home and drive? Walk to metro (assuming one is near the school)? And how long does it actually take to get into the car? 2-3 minutes? I agree that parking could in theory be difficult, but that's school/neighborhood specific. We've never had a problem with it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Yes, for pre-school, but we would hope to stay at whatever school we start in through 5th grade. These posts have been helpful. Keep them coming! For what it is worth, the IB school is a few blocks away, and the city-wide school we are considering would be a 30-min walk (at an adult pace) or a 10-min drive, not in the complete opposite direction of work, but not directly in the path either. I do not think the schools are exactly equal. If I did, I would give the IB school the edge automatically b/c of proximity. The city-wide school is definitely more established and probably has fewer teachers "who no one wants to have."

But, would you really be walking those few blocks? Or would you end up driving anyway? Trying to get a 3-4 year old to walk a few blocks may take you more than 10 minutes in any event. And as someone else noted, you really can't use a stroller unless you plan on walking it back home. I'm not saying this is universal, but the vast majority of parents I see walking their kids to school are stay at home moms.

That's not to say that driving 5 minutes is still not a heck of a lot better than driving 15 minutes.

I think this is a strange comment. We've walked our 4 and 6 yos to school almost every day this year, and it is a 10-15 minute walk at a kid pace. It is much easier and more relaxing than packing everyone into the car, driving, looking for a spot, etc. And we are definitely not in the minority at our school. We love our school for many reasons but proximity is in the top 3 for sure.

Strange how? You also leave unanswered the 64k question. How do you get to work after that? Walk back home and drive? Walk to metro (assuming one is near the school)? And how long does it actually take to get into the car? 2-3 minutes? I agree that parking could in theory be difficult, but that's school/neighborhood specific. We've never had a problem with it.

Not PP, but I find it strange, too. We all live in DC. It's a city. I cannot imagine driving when I could walk 10-15 minutes at a child's pace.