Tubman elementary?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What specifically do you want to know? Based on interactions with kids who go there in our local playground, we did not apply.

We would like to buy a home, and while we don't have kids yet , we'd like to live near a good elementary school. We feel like a lot of the good upper northwest schools' location is too suburban for us at this point. We would like a row house or single family home that is walking distance to retail. I saw Tubman had good ratings on good schools.com, and we like Columbia heights, so I wanted to get more info on Tubman. Suggestions of other areas are welcome.

You can have an "urban/cool" neighborhood in DC, OR a decent zoned elementary school, but not both. Pick what is more important to you.

Not true. What a out oyster Adams?

Limited few can afford more than an apartment in that zone. Perhaps that's why?

[Anonymous]

I'd go for the part of col heights that feeds to other schools, like Bruce Monroe at Park View. it's a dual language school that has better parent feedback than tubman

[Anonymous]

OP, don't buy anything unless you'd be willing to live there regardless of the currently zoned elementary school. There's no telling what the boundaries and feeder patterns will look like 5 years from now. Let alone the percentage of students attending charters regardless of boundary. Over 40% of kids are in charters now and there will likely be new charters opening every year.

If you want an "urban" experience that is uniquely DC, then focus on Capitol Hill. At least you'll have some degree of resale value regardless of school should you find your lifestyle priorities change after you actually have children. It happens to the hippest of us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What specifically do you want to know? Based on interactions with kids who go there in our local playground, we did not apply.

We would like to buy a home, and while we don't have kids yet , we'd like to live near a good elementary school. We feel like a lot of the good upper northwest schools' location is too suburban for us at this point. We would like a row house or single family home that is walking distance to retail. I saw Tubman had good ratings on good schools.com, and we like Columbia heights, so I wanted to get more info on Tubman. Suggestions of other areas are welcome.

You can have an "urban/cool" neighborhood in DC, OR a decent zoned elementary school, but not both. Pick what is more important to you.

Not true. What a out oyster Adams?

Limited few can afford more than an apartment in that zone. Perhaps that's why?

It's certainly not affordable, but I would think if one could afford jklm nw areas he or she could afford Woodley. Could be wrong though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What specifically do you want to know? Based on interactions with kids who go there in our local playground, we did not apply.

We would like to buy a home, and while we don't have kids yet , we'd like to live near a good elementary school. We feel like a lot of the good upper northwest schools' location is too suburban for us at this point. We would like a row house or single family home that is walking distance to retail. I saw Tubman had good ratings on good schools.com, and we like Columbia heights, so I wanted to get more info on Tubman. Suggestions of other areas are welcome.

You can have an "urban/cool" neighborhood in DC, OR a decent zoned elementary school, but not both. Pick what is more important to you.

OP here - this is our concern. Are there schools outside of Chevy chase and american you would consider good?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What specifically do you want to know? Based on interactions with kids who go there in our local playground, we did not apply.

We would like to buy a home, and while we don't have kids yet , we'd like to live near a good elementary school. We feel like a lot of the good upper northwest schools' location is too suburban for us at this point. We would like a row house or single family home that is walking distance to retail. I saw Tubman had good ratings on good schools.com, and we like Columbia heights, so I wanted to get more info on Tubman. Suggestions of other areas are welcome.

You can have an "urban/cool" neighborhood in DC, OR a decent zoned elementary school, but not both. Pick what is more important to you.

OP here - this is our concern. Are there schools outside of Chevy chase and american you would consider good?

I live IB for Hearst, which I think is a great school and it feeds to Deal and Wilson. The area isn't as "cool" as Columbia Heights but I can walk to 2 metros, 2 grocery stores, a great wine store, several restaurants, a toy store, a library, a farmers market, some playgrounds, etc. and not too far from the Cleveland Park business area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What specifically do you want to know? Based on interactions with kids who go there in our local playground, we did not apply.

We would like to buy a home, and while we don't have kids yet , we'd like to live near a good elementary school. We feel like a lot of the good upper northwest schools' location is too suburban for us at this point. We would like a row house or single family home that is walking distance to retail. I saw Tubman had good ratings on good schools.com, and we like Columbia heights, so I wanted to get more info on Tubman. Suggestions of other areas are welcome.

You can have an "urban/cool" neighborhood in DC, OR a decent zoned elementary school, but not both. Pick what is more important to you.

OP here - this is our concern. Are there schools outside of Chevy chase and american you would consider good?

I live IB for Hearst, which I think is a great school and it feeds to Deal and Wilson. The area isn't as "cool" as Columbia Heights but I can walk to 2 metros, 2 grocery stores, a great wine store, several restaurants, a toy store, a library, a farmers market, some playgrounds, etc. and not too far from the Cleveland Park business area.

+1

[Anonymous]

Before you buy West of Rick Creek for the schools, read up on redistricting that may happen. If you want to buy somewhere more fun, you could always move later. Elementary school is a long way off of you aren't even pregnant yet (that said, if you do decide to move to a "hip" neighborhood, I think you are smart to try to identify an up and coming school district). Or if you can afford it, Ross is great and is near 14th street.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I live in the area and think that the problem with most of the schools, including Tubman, is that people will stay in the early years and bail when they can. We are looking to move. (Struck out in the lottery this year.)

THIS. There are less than a dozen DCPS schools that parents love, and only one of them is EotP (Brent). Every other DCPS is a "work in progress" and parents will absolutely lie and say they're "all in!" right up until they tell you that they are:

A) just accepted to one of the great charters
B) just got lucky in the OOB lottery
C) have decided to move to FFX or MoCo

DCPS boosters will howl in protest, but its true. Nobody who cares about education wants their child in one of "those" schools by the time they hit the testing grades. It would only affirm that you made a terrible parenting decision that is starkly compromising your child's future.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in the area and think that the problem with most of the schools, including Tubman, is that people will stay in the early years and bail when they can. We are looking to move. (Struck out in the lottery this year.)

THIS. There are less than a dozen DCPS schools that parents love, and only one of them is EotP (Brent). Every other DCPS is a "work in progress" and parents will absolutely lie and say they're "all in!" right up until they tell you that they are:

A) just accepted to one of the great charters
B) just got lucky in the OOB lottery
C) have decided to move to FFX or MoCo

DCPS boosters will howl in protest, but its true. Nobody who cares about education wants their child in one of "those" schools by the time they hit the testing grades. It would only affirm that you made a terrible parenting decision that is starkly compromising your child's future.

You know, there are a lot of people who send their kids to schools that are not popular on this board (read: not WotP) who do actually care about education. They just don't post here. Be more of a snob, please. We certainly haven't heard enough about how wonderful it is WotP.

- parent of student at EotP elementary school, all in at that school until grade 5

[Anonymous]

Tubman definitely has a core group of very supportive parents. However, there were some major issues when the PTA head was white. Apparently the principal wasn't going to let that go too far. (check the archives, there were definitely threads discussing this). Tubman is at an ongoing disadvantage in that Columbia Village Public Housing feeds to it and that is a notoriously troubled complex and the root of quite a bit of crime and violence in CH. PP are right, look in sections of Petworth to be IB for Barnard, West, Powell and maybe even Bruce Monroe.
Signed, '
former CH resident, but had a kid and moved to Petwroth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tubman definitely has a core group of very supportive parents. However, there were some major issues when the PTA head was white. Apparently the principal wasn't going to let that go too far. (check the archives, there were definitely threads discussing this). Tubman is at an ongoing disadvantage in that Columbia Village Public Housing feeds to it and that is a notoriously troubled complex and the root of quite a bit of crime and violence in CH. PP are right, look in sections of Petworth to be IB for Barnard, West, Powell and maybe even Bruce Monroe.
Signed, '
former CH resident, but had a kid and moved to Petwroth.

I'm always baffled by these Tubman threads. Their scores are SO much higher than the other schools you mention--something good must be going on, but DCUMers are too scared to find out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I live 1/2 block from Tubman. I love the neighborhood - but send my son to a charter......

Interesting. I had heard that Tubman was on the upward swing (this is from those of us further north who have worse IBs to deal with), and might have even considered applying OOB.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tubman definitely has a core group of very supportive parents. However, there were some major issues when the PTA head was white. Apparently the principal wasn't going to let that go too far. (check the archives, there were definitely threads discussing this). Tubman is at an ongoing disadvantage in that Columbia Village Public Housing feeds to it and that is a notoriously troubled complex and the root of quite a bit of crime and violence in CH. PP are right, look in sections of Petworth to be IB for Barnard, West, Powell and maybe even Bruce Monroe.
Signed, '
former CH resident, but had a kid and moved to Petwroth.

I'm always baffled by these Tubman threads. Their scores are SO much higher than the other schools you mention--something good must be going on, but DCUMers are too scared to find out.

Or something "not good" could be going on, such as cheating. Given the history of cheating on the DCCAS in challenged schools elsewhere in the District, this possibility can't be dismissed out of,hand.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tubman definitely has a core group of very supportive parents. However, there were some major issues when the PTA head was white. Apparently the principal wasn't going to let that go too far. (check the archives, there were definitely threads discussing this). Tubman is at an ongoing disadvantage in that Columbia Village Public Housing feeds to it and that is a notoriously troubled complex and the root of quite a bit of crime and violence in CH. PP are right, look in sections of Petworth to be IB for Barnard, West, Powell and maybe even Bruce Monroe.
Signed, '
former CH resident, but had a kid and moved to Petwroth.

I'm always baffled by these Tubman threads. Their scores are SO much higher than the other schools you mention--something good must be going on, but DCUMers are too scared to find out.

Scores are only part of the picture. If some parents are made to feel like gentrifying interlopers every time they make a suggestion then thats a huge problem to overcome.