Move to West or stay at Powell?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Asking for special permission is the good ole days, don't think that's a possibility anymore.

I'm sure the new principal doesn't want to start off on the wrong foot.

+1. You actually CAN'T stay at Powell. The rules no longer allow it. West it is.

Can you link to the rule? I thought the moving out of boundary while staying in DC was suspended, at least for this upcoming year. I don't see why OP can't just keep enrolling her kid in Powell.

What link do you need? Powell is no longer their IB, therefore they would need to switch schools at least next school year when registration begins. They may be ok this year.

+1

It's in the DME materials in the sticky thread. Sorry i am lazy, but what you are looking for is the end of principal discretion to allow IB families to leave when they move OOB. It is a new rule change. You can stay until the end of this school year and then you must apply OOB to Powell. For 1st grade you have a good chance.

[Anonymous]

Next year to stay at Powell you will need to lottery in.

You might as well move to West this year to start establishing relationships.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Asking for special permission is the good ole days, don't think that's a possibility anymore.

I'm sure the new principal doesn't want to start off on the wrong foot.

+1. You actually CAN'T stay at Powell. The rules no longer allow it. West it is.

Can you link to the rule? I thought the moving out of boundary while staying in DC was suspended, at least for this upcoming year. I don't see why OP can't just keep enrolling her kid in Powell.

What link do you need? Powell is no longer their IB, therefore they would need to switch schools at least next school year when registration begins. They may be ok this year.

We were in boundary when we got in last year. New boundaries make us OOB, but give us permission to stay. Our new address puts us just a few blocks OOB and I would think a principal would approve staying in the interest of continuity, though maybe that's not so important before testing grades.

As for STEM, I only brought it up because we see him leaning that way (as have his teachers) and so Spanish is less important and not a reason for us to stay at Powell.

[Anonymous]

There were some neat STEM type projects that the kids at West did last year. I think I remember seeing it on their facebook page or twitter feed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Asking for special permission is the good ole days, don't think that's a possibility anymore.

I'm sure the new principal doesn't want to start off on the wrong foot.

+1. You actually CAN'T stay at Powell. The rules no longer allow it. West it is.

Can you link to the rule? I thought the moving out of boundary while staying in DC was suspended, at least for this upcoming year. I don't see why OP can't just keep enrolling her kid in Powell.

What link do you need? Powell is no longer their IB, therefore they would need to switch schools at least next school year when registration begins. They may be ok this year.

We were in boundary when we got in last year. New boundaries make us OOB, but give us permission to stay. Our new address puts us just a few blocks OOB and I would think a principal would approve staying in the interest of continuity, though maybe that's not so important before testing grades.

As for STEM, I only brought it up because we see him leaning that way (as have his teachers) and so Spanish is less important and not a reason for us to stay at Powell.

You keep missing the point. The principal could have all the willingness in the world, but has lost the power to make this exception for you. This discretion was widely abused and now the city is removing it to prevent abuse. You need DCPS central permission now and unless there is some unsual issue like special needs that cannot be served in the new school, they won't grant it.

[Anonymous]

Again, the STEM projects are for students in the upper grades. West is an EC. To the O.P. since you are not moving before school starts and it is not inconvenient I would stay at Powell another year. There really won't be a huge difference between "forming relationships" this year or next. Young children adjust quickly and make new friends easily should you decide to transfer. At least find out what your option are from an official source first before you make a final decision. You have time to weight all of the pros and cons and you can observe West in action (so to speak) if you stay at Powell this year and visit once school is in session.

[Anonymous]

*options

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Asking for special permission is the good ole days, don't think that's a possibility anymore.

I'm sure the new principal doesn't want to start off on the wrong foot.

+1. You actually CAN'T stay at Powell. The rules no longer allow it. West it is.

Can you link to the rule? I thought the moving out of boundary while staying in DC was suspended, at least for this upcoming year. I don't see why OP can't just keep enrolling her kid in Powell.

What link do you need? Powell is no longer their IB, therefore they would need to switch schools at least next school year when registration begins. They may be ok this year.

We were in boundary when we got in last year. New boundaries make us OOB, but give us permission to stay. Our new address puts us just a few blocks OOB and I would think a principal would approve staying in the interest of continuity, though maybe that's not so important before testing grades.

As for STEM, I only brought it up because we see him leaning that way (as have his teachers) and so Spanish is less important and not a reason for us to stay at Powell.

You keep missing the point. The principal could have all the willingness in the world, but has lost the power to make this exception for you. This discretion was widely abused and now the city is removing it to prevent abuse. You need DCPS central permission now and unless there is some unsual issue like special needs that cannot be served in the new school, they won't grant it.

I haven't missed anything. He's enrolled in Powell for this year and has permission to stay for this year. That's established. The purpose of my query is to resolve a disagreement: I'd like to get him going at his new school, while my husband wants to wait until next year because our kid knows the school and vice versa, he's enrolled in aftercare, and there's virtually no impact on our commute. The thing we agree on is not wanting to make possibly three school jumps in three years if West isn't a good fit so I'm seeking first hand experiences because we know virtually nothing about the school. Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned STEM, because yes, I realize it's not going to be a focus for younger kids. That was just to underscore that, while many parents prioritize Spanish, it's not a reason for us to stay at Powell.

The suggestion that we stay for this year while researching West and other options is a good one.

Anyone out there with opinions/insight on West?

[Anonymous]

We are at West, with a kid going into Kindergarten next year. Like you, I'm also not as concerned about language immersion - more interested in a good fundamental education. We've had an overall good experience in the PK years. I've been mainly looking at the K-5 grades to see what's going on and our friends with elementary age kids there have been pretty happy too.

The building isn't great, but I'm not personally as worried about it. Even the open classroom thing - I've taken the tour during an open house, and it's not a deal-breaker for me.
I probably have low expectations for communications from a public school. They're sometime on the ball / sometimes things seem last minute, but it's been good enough for me.
The elementary grade kids have talked about doing SEM projects, so I don't think that's just middle school. They seemed neat, but I didn't hear much about it for the last half of the year. I think something happened with the SEM coordinator, so hopefully that will be better this year.
The parent group is pretty good and seems to be getting bigger / more organized each year - very welcoming. It seems like some number peel off around kindergarten and then upper elementary grades or for Deal middle school. At least for elementary grades, it doesn't feel like huge amounts of churn. The last principal had some data / talking points that showed that the kids that started around PK and continued through the upper grades were doing really well on test scores for whatever that's worth.

Powell seems like a nice school too - I'm not sure you can go that wrong either way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Asking for special permission is the good ole days, don't think that's a possibility anymore.

I'm sure the new principal doesn't want to start off on the wrong foot.

+1. You actually CAN'T stay at Powell. The rules no longer allow it. West it is.

Can you link to the rule? I thought the moving out of boundary while staying in DC was suspended, at least for this upcoming year. I don't see why OP can't just keep enrolling her kid in Powell.

What link do you need? Powell is no longer their IB, therefore they would need to switch schools at least next school year when registration begins. They may be ok this year.

Has there been another announcement by the mayor regarding this or is it Powell specific? DCPS has no policy which is why the recommendation that you must lottery in if you move OOB was part of the DME recs. the last announcement I heard from the Mayor was that is was suspended. So looking for a. Update given the certainty in this thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Asking for special permission is the good ole days, don't think that's a possibility anymore.

I'm sure the new principal doesn't want to start off on the wrong foot.

+1. You actually CAN'T stay at Powell. The rules no longer allow it. West it is.

Can you link to the rule? I thought the moving out of boundary while staying in DC was suspended, at least for this upcoming year. I don't see why OP can't just keep enrolling her kid in Powell.

What link do you need? Powell is no longer their IB, therefore they would need to switch schools at least next school year when registration begins. They may be ok this year.

We were in boundary when we got in last year. New boundaries make us OOB, but give us permission to stay. Our new address puts us just a few blocks OOB and I would think a principal would approve staying in the interest of continuity, though maybe that's not so important before testing grades.

As for STEM, I only brought it up because we see him leaning that way (as have his teachers) and so Spanish is less important and not a reason for us to stay at Powell.

You keep missing the point. The principal could have all the willingness in the world, but has lost the power to make this exception for you. This discretion was widely abused and now the city is removing it to prevent abuse. You need DCPS central permission now and unless there is some unsual issue like special needs that cannot be served in the new school, they won't grant it.

Please show me the policy that states you need DCPS central permission. Or the person to call. A press release. Something?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Asking for special permission is the good ole days, don't think that's a possibility anymore.

I'm sure the new principal doesn't want to start off on the wrong foot.

+1. You actually CAN'T stay at Powell. The rules no longer allow it. West it is.

Can you link to the rule? I thought the moving out of boundary while staying in DC was suspended, at least for this upcoming year. I don't see why OP can't just keep enrolling her kid in Powell.

What link do you need? Powell is no longer their IB, therefore they would need to switch schools at least next school year when registration begins. They may be ok this year.

We were in boundary when we got in last year. New boundaries make us OOB, but give us permission to stay. Our new address puts us just a few blocks OOB and I would think a principal would approve staying in the interest of continuity, though maybe that's not so important before testing grades.

As for STEM, I only brought it up because we see him leaning that way (as have his teachers) and so Spanish is less important and not a reason for us to stay at Powell.

If you start the school year at your Powell address, I believe you're allowed to stay at Powell through the end of the year.

If you start next school year with a West address, you have to attend West unless you lottery into Powell. Being just a few blocks or 600 blocks OOB doesn't matter; if you're not IB at the start of the school year, you must lottery in.

Seeing as how you're probably going to have to move schools anyway, I'd just do it now.

[Anonymous]

But, didn't the OP lottery into Powell (as an ECE student), and therefore have the right to remain at the school regardless of her home address?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Asking for special permission is the good ole days, don't think that's a possibility anymore.

I'm sure the new principal doesn't want to start off on the wrong foot.

+1. You actually CAN'T stay at Powell. The rules no longer allow it. West it is.

Can you link to the rule? I thought the moving out of boundary while staying in DC was suspended, at least for this upcoming year. I don't see why OP can't just keep enrolling her kid in Powell.

What link do you need? Powell is no longer their IB, therefore they would need to switch schools at least next school year when registration begins. They may be ok this year.

We were in boundary when we got in last year. New boundaries make us OOB, but give us permission to stay. Our new address puts us just a few blocks OOB and I would think a principal would approve staying in the interest of continuity, though maybe that's not so important before testing grades.

As for STEM, I only brought it up because we see him leaning that way (as have his teachers) and so Spanish is less important and not a reason for us to stay at Powell.

If you start the school year at your Powell address, I believe you're allowed to stay at Powell through the end of the year.

If you start next school year with a West address, you have to attend West unless you lottery into Powell. Being just a few blocks or 600 blocks OOB doesn't matter; if you're not IB at the start of the school year, you must lottery in.

Seeing as how you're probably going to have to move schools anyway, I'd just do it now.

How? They just won a bid on the new house. They don't have the required documents to just transfer now. They should stay at Powell this school year and once they are in the new house they can establish residency and figure out next school year.

[Anonymous]

OP unless someone on here is able to prove that you need to change schools, I wouldn't bring this up to anyone, including the principal.

I wouldn't take advice from anyone on here unless they include their name and DCPS title.