what do you wish you had known/done differently in previous lotteries?

[Anonymous]

I wish I hadn't believed the people on the tour who told me Garrison was 100% a lock for a renovation in the summer of 2014 and instead had looked at other nearby schools that had been renovated. By the time it was announced that Garrison wouldn't be renovated, there wasn't much time to research other schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wish I hadn't believed the people on the tour who told me Garrison was 100% a lock for a renovation in the summer of 2014 and instead had looked at other nearby schools that had been renovated. By the time it was announced that Garrison wouldn't be renovated, there wasn't much time to research other schools.

You mean the people whose kids don't even go there?

[Anonymous]

I think you can't trust renovation plans until they break ground. Look at Murch, who knows when that school will begin renovations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish I hadn't believed the people on the tour who told me Garrison was 100% a lock for a renovation in the summer of 2014 and instead had looked at other nearby schools that had been renovated. By the time it was announced that Garrison wouldn't be renovated, there wasn't much time to research other schools.

You mean the people whose kids don't even go there?

No I mean the school principal

[Anonymous]

Ditto commute as key. Also do not put too much value on what you read here. A couple posters can easily sway impressions for better or for worse. If you want the scoop, go hang out on playgrounds near the schools you're considering, or better yet try to find a friend of a friend or some real connection. Ask parents to tell it to you straight. And remember, schools can change quickly. Don't discount your neighborhood school.

[Anonymous]

Does nobody who posts on this forum have a child over the age of 4?

[Anonymous]

I think the majority are under 5.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does nobody who posts on this forum have a child over the age of 4?

I posted above and have a child over the age of 4. Why do you ask?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ditto commute as key. Also do not put too much value on what you read here. A couple posters can easily sway impressions for better or for worse. If you want the scoop, go hang out on playgrounds near the schools you're considering, or better yet try to find a friend of a friend or some real connection. Ask parents to tell it to you straight. And remember, schools can change quickly. Don't discount your neighborhood school.

+1

[Anonymous]

School tours were incredibly valuable!

[Anonymous]

We're 2 miles from our school and it takes 15 minutes on a bad day, less than 10 on a good day. So I guess you just can't go by miles!

[Anonymous]

If you have an excellent waitlist number, be ready to move midyear, charter and dcps.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does nobody who posts on this forum have a child over the age of 4?

I posted above and have a child over the age of 4. Why do you ask?

Me too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I definitely agree with all the other PPs re: commute. Last year was my first playing, and I was completely fixated on trying to get my kid into one of the HRCSs, especially the immersion ones. However, as the lottery got closer, I started kind of hoping my kid wouldn't get into any of these, since I realized the commute would be a killer. No need to worry, we were way down on all the waitlists. So a lot of needless anxiety and obsessing--but perhaps that's par for the course in the DC school search.

Fast forward a year later--I'm on the job market, interviewing for positions literally all over the DC metro. If we'd landed a spot at one of the HRCSs I'd coveted, work commute and school pickup would have been epic--and not in a good way.

Landing a spot this year at our surprisingly lovely IB school was a blessing in disguise. I can easily pop down the street and pick up my kid after getting home from work. And I can apply for jobs in locations I would not have otherwise considered given commute logistics.

So for me, the moral of the story is:

1) try not to obsess too much since the odds of getting a spot are low at any one school.

2) If it's at all possible you'll be on the job market in the near future, you may want to weigh commute even more heavily (with a school near your home being most preferable).

I'm sorry - I'm new to all these acronyms. What is HRCS?

[Anonymous]

HRCS = highly regarded charter school It's not any sort of official designation but shorthand for those that are considered desirable by a critical mass of people who post on this list