LAMB or Stokes? PK 3

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Yes, I am okay with separating the two if it is well worth it. We live 5 min from both and I'll be working at home from Sept-Dec. We also have 2 drop-offs currently (DC1 at one school, DCs 2&3 at a daycare). I like school A for my current child, but school B might fit the other a bit better. I am interested to hear from anyone who has made a similar decision, though - it is worth reconsidering if people have had a hard time with this. My sense is that if it is just too much on us and not worth it, we can switch next year since school A offers us sibling preference. My kids are 4 years apart, so they won't be in middle or HS together ever, but we do have a third who will start a year after DC2 who we will put at the same school as DC2.

It does give me pause that the campus close to us (NE) only goes up to 3rd. The other LAMB campus is not close to us and I am not sure we'd be willing to do that commute. Stokes offers longevity, in that sense, that LAMB does not.

The NE location goes up to 5th, The NW location goes to 3rd but everyone is supposed to move to Walter Reed Campus when it opens.

What will they do with their building on Missouri ave?

[Anonymous]

I would chose LAMB in a heartbeat.

[Anonymous]

if you have two other children OP, I can see why you are okay with switching, but think about the commute if the school moves, that sounds like the biggest deal. maybe you should talk to LAMB to see what they say about potential for moving?

[Anonymous]

Please post here and tell us what you know!

[Anonymous]

how do we know that the school OP's child goes to is Stokes and not LAMB?

[Anonymous]

she has no idea about the plans for LAMB to move it sounds like.

[Anonymous]

OP here. PP, good context clues

Thanks for the info. Yep, a potential move within the next 4 years could completely sway me toward Stokes. I mean totes make or break for us, since we are downtown and I telework from home part time. I will reach out to the administration to see what they are saying.

Hold on to your lottery numbers, DCUM - a highly coveted PK3 spot will be opening up either way! Good luck everyone.

[Anonymous]

OP - we work downtown, just to clarify

[Anonymous]

Now if only we knew what WL # LAMB is on for Prek3.

[Anonymous]

What do you think of Stokes OP?

[Anonymous]

OP here - Hey 19:11. So, we didn't do PK/PS at Stokes. My perspective might not be helpful if you are looking at those grades specifically. I can say that the teachers we have had so far are wonderful people. Our DC has good command of his target language (also spoken by caregivers at ages 3+4, before enrolled at Stokes). I wish that they were stronger in math and science, but we do a ton of enrichment at home bc DH and I are both IT people with a love for STEM. The parents are a little clique-ish but we don't send our kids to school to find a social circle for ourselves, so we press ignore on that. The administration can come off a little abrasive at times, which I think is a reflection of them knowing that they are a HRCS. My DC is at one of the higher reading levels in his class and so far, I can say that the teachers really put forth effort to keep DC challenged. Not sure what parents at the other end of that, with kids who need extra help, would say, though. After care is fantastic - chess, violin, steel drums and soccer are all options (or have been in the past). As diverse at it may be in terms of ethnicity and socio -economic status, we find that the parents are very similar in terms of values. Lots of us are the crunchy type, with pretty sheltered kids and probably a solid home structure, no matter the composition. Stokes is sort of a bubble in that way, which is both good and bad. Lots of people consider DCI to be a huge perk, but we are not leaning toward sending our kids there for middle at this point since we are eyeing a possible private school and maybe a move outside of the city. I think Stokes parents are pretty quiet on DCUM, but we love the school for everything it is and love talking about how happy our child is to go to school every single day.

[Anonymous]

Older sib must be at Stokes or this would be a no-brainer; you never would have asked.

Reputation suggests that LAMB is the better school environment on several fronts. However, dealing with two children in two different schools for several years sounds miserable!

Stokes.

[Anonymous]

Stokes has a poverty problem. It's politically incorrect to care about that (unless you're a politician or education activist), but it's the truth. The most important indicator of a quality school is the relative income of the parents. LAMB is significantly more desirable than Stokes by that measure. (Yes, there are other measures - but this one is very important and becoming topical.)

As appeared on a San Francisco education blog post recently: Diversity is the round hole, your child is the square peg.

That's brutal, but nonetheless worth considering in the competitive nature of DC schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here - Hey 19:11. So, we didn't do PK/PS at Stokes. My perspective might not be helpful if you are looking at those grades specifically. I can say that the teachers we have had so far are wonderful people. Our DC has good command of his target language (also spoken by caregivers at ages 3+4, before enrolled at Stokes). I wish that they were stronger in math and science, but we do a ton of enrichment at home bc DH and I are both IT people with a love for STEM. The parents are a little clique-ish but we don't send our kids to school to find a social circle for ourselves, so we press ignore on that. The administration can come off a little abrasive at times, which I think is a reflection of them knowing that they are a HRCS. My DC is at one of the higher reading levels in his class and so far, I can say that the teachers really put forth effort to keep DC challenged. Not sure what parents at the other end of that, with kids who need extra help, would say, though. After care is fantastic - chess, violin, steel drums and soccer are all options (or have been in the past). As diverse at it may be in terms of ethnicity and socio -economic status, we find that the parents are very similar in terms of values. Lots of us are the crunchy type, with pretty sheltered kids and probably a solid home structure, no matter the composition. Stokes is sort of a bubble in that way, which is both good and bad. Lots of people consider DCI to be a huge perk, but we are not leaning toward sending our kids there for middle at this point since we are eyeing a possible private school and maybe a move outside of the city. I think Stokes parents are pretty quiet on DCUM, but we love the school for everything it is and love talking about how happy our child is to go to school every single day.

Thanks so much OP! DC hasn't come close the last 2 years at getting in, just want to know if it's worth trying (yet again ) next year. We're really interested for the French language and Stokes is the only immersion option. We're also not sure if we're interested in DCI, but would love the foundation in the early years.

[Anonymous]

PP, keep trying. We tried for two years and got in on the third. We compared the school to the others we got into, including a private, MMB and YY (it was a pretty great year, lol). Still happy with our choice!