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Why aren't there more Pre-K3 programs in DCPS?
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Anonymous
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AFAIK, Appletree is still rolling admissions. They are accepting applications through 3/31. If demand exceeds availability a public lottery will be held Monday, April 6th. If there are still open seats they will continue to accept admissions.
All the others expect to have more applications then they have placements. Appletree 3 campuses: 2 in SW, 1 in Columbia Heights Deadline: 3/31/09 b-day cutoff = 9/30/06 http://appletreeinstitute.org/index.php/aelpcs/ *anticipates rolling admissions at new campus Bridges Columbia Heights/Petworth Deadline: 4/15/09 b-day cutoff = 12/31/06 http://bridgespcs.org/index.php?page=admissions *student does not have to be potty-trained DC Bilingual Columbia Heights Deadline: 4/3/09 b-day cutoff = 9/30/06 http://www.centronia.org/html/dc_bilingual_public_charter_sc.html *Bi-lingual program, does not have sibling preference for admissions Potomac Lighthouse Brookland Deadline: 4/8/09 b-day cutoff = 10/30/06 http://www.lighthouse-academies.org/potomac.htm *b-day cutoff is not firm, there is flexibility if the child has been in pre-school/daycare already WEDJ 2 campuses: 1 in NE, 1 in NW Deadline: 4/1/09 b-day cutoff = 9/30/06 http://www.wedjschool.us/admissions.htm *NW campus is in the Soldiers & Airmen's Retirement Home, WEDJ took over Tri-Community PCS which was leasing space there when Tri-Community lost its charter |
Anonymous
That's you. Sounds like you know exactly the right course you should take. As for my pretty advanced 3 year-old DC, they LOVE the phonics, print-awareness, early literacy, early numeracy, field trips, social opportunities, music - really everything that goes with being in school. DC genuinely enjoy sharpening their academic skills and I see no reason not to encourage that. I was academically gifted too as a child and I understand the love of learning, even at a very young age. We're a pretty typical middle class family by DC standards and I see no reason why we shouldn't take advantage of pre-school just because we're not poor or otherwise qualified for head-start. |
Anonymous
The DC Bilingual website and application form are confusing, and I have not yet been to an open house or discussed this with anyone at DC Bilingual, but I understand DC Bilingual to have a sibling preference and the PK3 year to be open only to siblings. Anyone have definitive information on these points? |
Anonymous
I know that when we filled out an application and dropped it off they made a point of telling me to make sure that we had applied to other programs in addition to theirs - the odds are REALLY long. 
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Anonymous
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whoa...Some of these comments are really wierd. "PreK 3 is just daycare for poor kids?" Huh??
My daughter participated in a Prek 3 program at a DC charter and it was NOT filled with poor kids. Maybe some were "poor", but other parents were working class and middle class. My experience was fine, my daughter DOES have a stimulating home environment, and my expectations are not that I should now have a PreK 2 program for my toddler son. Sheesh. |
Anonymous
It can be made into more than just "daycare for poor kids," but I'll bet that the impetus for the gov't. funding it is to save these kids, our educational system, and eventually the judicial system future pain by giving at risk kids a head start so their schooling has a better chance of being successful. |
Anonymous
Well aren't you nasty. As other posters have pointed out, no, PK-3 is NOT "day care for poor kids." There are children from families across the economic spectrum at my DC's pre-school and we love it. Some of them are certainly poor, others are wealthy enough to have older children in private schools, it's quite a wide range. It's equally diverse in terms of racial representation and that's something we genuinely like about the school. We're not poor and we never considered day care for our DC, I can't imagine thinking pre-school was some sort of substitute. For the record, the poorest children at DC's school do not attend the beforecare/aftercare. Those are conveniences which primarily the working and middle class families avail themselves of. Your efforts to belittle schools you know nothing about betrays your own ignorance. There's a wealth of research available on early learning and early literacy in addition to the field of early intervention. You ought to consider educating yourself on the subject. |
Anonymous
That's called "Head Start" and you can bet all you want, but the government funding behind that particular program has nothing to do with the charter school legislation which enabled charters that offer pre-K 3 to open in DC. Charter schools tend to be driven by academic research and experimentation and the administrative decisions aren't made anywhere near the Federal Government level (i.e., Head Start). Charters are run at the SCHOOL level, and many charter schools (based on the academic research behind their charters) believe in formal education for children before age 5. All children. Not just the poor ones. |
Anonymous
Nice - Do you live in DC? Have you visited any of the preschool programs offered in DC? Why would you assume that these programs are dubious quality if you haven't even bothered to visit one, and why would you be upset with DC for offering these options for all children, rather than restricting them to children of lower economic means? The public preschool that my child attended last year had a fantastic teacher who engaged the children in all sorts of age and developmentally appropriate academic pursuits. There were children of all economic and racial backgrounds in the program. |
Anonymous
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Listen, our family's HHI is only a little over 100K. Our house is valued at less than 3/4 of a million. Between us, we only have two Bachelor's and two Master's degrees, only one of which is from an elite school. We speak a total of three languages, but only two of them fluently.
I figured that for DC, we are poor and uneducated. If it weren't for PK-3, our DC might end up just like us! 
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Anonymous
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NP here; I think alot of the sparring PPs actually agree with each other - PreK3 is a lovely idea, it can be academic or not academic, it's often engaging, it can be diverse, it can be for poor people or affluent or both, whatever.
The only issue here, left unsaid by the original post, is that preK3 is not FREE and UNIVERSAL in the District of Columbia. S/he's clearly pissed off about that, railing at The System. Anyone posting or reading this can put her 3 yr old in a preschool, yes? |
Anonymous
It does say in bold "Please Note: spaces are not guaranteed for siblings of current students." on this page: http://www.centronia.org/html/DCBilingualCharterSchool_Enrollment_08.html. That suggests that either there is no sibling preference, or else there are so many sibling applications that they can no longer guarantee placements for all of them (much less anyone else). |
Anonymous
You can teach academics at home. It is more difficult to replicate a preschool environment at home though unless you borrow the neighborhood kids everyday for a few hrs. I do the academic stuff at home when my DS shows interest. My son is 3 and just began reading too. But I would have issues w/ a preschool that would teach this to 3 yr olds b/c not all 3 yr olds are ready or interested. |
Anonymous
Well since your child isn't enrolled you must be thrilled that he's not being exposed to this environment on a daily basis. As for me, I have visited my child's classroom many times and I KNOW they're doing much more in that school than I can provide at home! My professional background is in technology and business, not early education. So, I'm genuinely grateful that such a terrific program is available for my 3 year-old because if left to me, DC would be missing out. I would strongly encourage anyone who is interested in pre-schools for their 3 year-old to check out as many options as you can, because you may need to apply to more than one to get a spot. |
Anonymous
I think the latter reading is correct, specifically as applied to Pre-K 3, but, as PP noted, it's ambiguous. |