King Elementary School, Democracy Prep or others in Congress Heights

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Never heard of any of these schools and I've been living here all my life.

Needless to say, I doubt if anyone has heard on them on this forum either.

Some of us have heard of these schools.

+1

The poster who lived here all her life and never heard of King? Get out of Ward 3 from time to time.

The bolded, X 10. I've heard of all of those schools, although I don't know distinguishing details about them that would make a useful comparison. For the charters you could also just call the Public Charter School Board office and see who there can help you compare.

In the end though, seriously OP, it's all going to come down to you touring every single school you're interested in and seeing for yourself. You could even swing by sometime a couple of weeks after school starts and ask them questions, ask if they did open houses last year and about what time of year it was, maybe even ask if anyone can show you around now. Chances are there aren't too many parents asking for tours so if it's not hectic maybe they'll oblige. But even without a tour, stopping by and talking to folks in the office is a start to getting a feel for the school atmosphere. Test scores pretty much speak for themselves, but if the scores are really poor, that's certainly a fair question for the Principal or Assistant Principal.

[Anonymous]

I'd rec Achievement Prep, Democracy hasn't had a chance to prove themselves yet and they've inherited a big mess...

[Anonymous]

I would do some visits to preschools. A lot of charters that have good elementary programs have weak preschools. I've spoken to cater preschool teachers who say their program is an afterthought and their curriculum is not developmentally appropriate.

[Anonymous]

Sorry posted too soon. King does Tools of the mind which is a play based program and more developmentally appropriate for kids than academic drills and worksheets.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Never heard of any of these schools and I've been living here all my life.

Needless to say, I doubt if anyone has heard on them on this forum either.

Some of us have heard of these schools.

+1

The poster who lived here all her life and never heard of King? Get out of Ward 3 from time to time.

OP, there are community activists working on reenergizing the neighborhood schools in your area. I'd reach out to them to talk about King. As far as Democracy Prep, I'd check out the Ward 8 representative on the Community Advisory Group for the Public Charter School Board. They can give you a better sense of what's going on re: those schools.

I actually live in Ward 4. I have been to Ward 8 schools for sport competitions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Never heard of any of these schools and I've been living here all my life.

Needless to say, I doubt if anyone has heard on them on this forum either.

Some of us have heard of these schools.

+1

The poster who lived here all her life and never heard of King? Get out of Ward 3 from time to time.

The bolded, X 10. I've heard of all of those schools, although I don't know distinguishing details about them that would make a useful comparison. For the charters you could also just call the Public Charter School Board office and see who there can help you compare.

In the end though, seriously OP, it's all going to come down to you touring every single school you're interested in and seeing for yourself. You could even swing by sometime a couple of weeks after school starts and ask them questions, ask if they did open houses last year and about what time of year it was, maybe even ask if anyone can show you around now. Chances are there aren't too many parents asking for tours so if it's not hectic maybe they'll oblige. But even without a tour, stopping by and talking to folks in the office is a start to getting a feel for the school atmosphere. Test scores pretty much speak for themselves, but if the scores are really poor, that's certainly a fair question for the Principal or Assistant Principal.

OP here again. I agree with this post. I plan on going to check out these schools soon. I look forward to doing so!

BUT I think it's worthwhile asking about Ward 8 schools on this forum and getting other parents' thoughts, especially now that the schools are out of session, and especially because it appears that Ward 8 schools are less often a subject of discussion here. Parents and others acquainted with the schools are an enormous resource, and I enjoy hearing more from them!

And honestly, it's difficult to find parents of students at King in my neighborhood. Maybe I should be asking the opposite question. Is anyone zoned for King Elementary-zoned parent or another Ward 8 school-zoned and chose to send their child elsewhere? What did you base your decision off of? Prospects of better education elsewhere? Or after having attended the school and having had a negative experience?

I appreciate all the responses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah I agree. I haven't seen too many threads about schools in Ward 8. Lol. The one thread about the new Ballou HS building is what emboldened me to post. I figured there's got to be some Ward 8 mommas out there on this forum! Just wondering where my neighbors send their kids!

Charter schools in NE.

That seems like a heck of a commute to me. If I lived EOTR, I would look downtown first (if the commute allowed it). Maybe Thompson, Seaton.

Maybe Van Ness when it opens? Should have a core of high SES kids but plenty of OOB slots, and easier access from Congress Heights.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah I agree. I haven't seen too many threads about schools in Ward 8. Lol. The one thread about the new Ballou HS building is what emboldened me to post. I figured there's got to be some Ward 8 mommas out there on this forum! Just wondering where my neighbors send their kids!

Charter schools in NE.

That seems like a heck of a commute to me. If I lived EOTR, I would look downtown first (if the commute allowed it). Maybe Thompson, Seaton.

Maybe Van Ness when it opens? Should have a core of high SES kids but plenty of OOB slots, and easier access from Congress Heights.

I think I am going to apply to Van Ness and Tyler as my top two schools. Tyler for the Spanish immersion program because we speak Spanish at home, and Van Ness because the already active teacher association sounds like they're off to a good start. But, man, I would love it if King was a good school. On one hand, we live so close to the other side of the river distance-wise, but when the Frederick Douglass bridge gets backed up in the morning, it adds 30 minutes to the commute. I would love to walk my baby to school. That's how I'll console myself when the lottery doesn't pan out for us anyways.

[Anonymous]

Zoned for King. The school was not an option. I send my child to a school in NE.

[Anonymous]

I suggest you go to the school, when it starts, and try and talk to some of the parents doing drop off/pick up.
Good luck!

[Anonymous]

I live in Congress Heights also.. My 3 year is going to Payne this year but Eagle Academy was one of my choices also.. Definitely check them out..

[Anonymous]

The teacher at Democracy Prep was just arrested and fired for assaulting a student:
http://www.myfoxdc.com/story/29037099/first-on-fox-dc-teacher-arrested-for-assaulting-student

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The teacher at Democracy Prep was just arrested and fired for assaulting a student:
http://www.myfoxdc.com/story/29037099/first-on-fox-dc-teacher-arrested-for-assaulting-student

this lead the 10:00 news last night and me and my husband thought it was not smart to have the kid there on tv like that. glad teacher was fired on the spot.

[Anonymous]

I know some kids at Leckie Elementary. More of the folks living on JBAB are sending their kids there. Check it out if it's close by.

[Anonymous]

I attend a church in that community and a large number of the people I know really like the Kipp schools. On another note, a friend who lives deep in W8 sends her DC to Maret!

I volunteered for a few years in a struggling school and while there were many good teachers and kids there, you just never know what you are going to get from day to day. Real life issues intrude early and often.