Feedback on Eaton Elementary School in Cleveland Park, NW

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here- thanks for the feedback.
We belong to Eaton, but you can only get in by lottery
at age 4. So, i am wondering what the chances are.
We live closer to both Stoddert and H. Mann, so that's one concern. I heard good things about the program itself, but Stoddert and Mann seem to have better and more modern infrastructure. Also, from what I saw on the DCPS website, Eaton has a higher ratio of out of boundary kids, so i would also prefer the other two schools for this reason.

And what's wrong with going to school with out of bounds kids?

I went to eaton and that was the best part,

It was very diverse as a result.

Scared of brown kids?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here- thanks for the feedback.
We belong to Eaton, but you can only get in by lottery
at age 4. So, i am wondering what the chances are.
We live closer to both Stoddert and H. Mann, so that's one concern. I heard good things about the program itself, but Stoddert and Mann seem to have better and more modern infrastructure. Also, from what I saw on the DCPS website, Eaton has a higher ratio of out of boundary kids, so i would also prefer the other two schools for this reason.

Of course, at Stoddert or Mann, your child would be one of those undesirable OOB kids of the sort that attends Eaton.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here- thanks for the feedback.
We belong to Eaton, but you can only get in by lottery
at age 4. So, i am wondering what the chances are.
We live closer to both Stoddert and H. Mann, so that's one concern. I heard good things about the program itself, but Stoddert and Mann seem to have better and more modern infrastructure. Also, from what I saw on the DCPS website, Eaton has a higher ratio of out of boundary kids, so i would also prefer the other two schools for this reason.

And what's wrong with going to school with out of bounds kids?

I went to eaton and that was the best part,

It was very diverse as a result.

Scared of brown kids?

At Mann or Stoddert, the OP would be OOB.

That said, we are an Eaton family (IB) and wish that there was more balance at the school. It feels sometimes that Eaton is in Cleveland Park geographically but doesn't have the neighborhood-centric feeling and strong community support of other NW elementary schools like Janney and Lafayette.

[Anonymous]

We LOVED Eaton--kids were there 2-5 grades and we miss the intimacy, nurturing and overall amazing experience. It is a great school with a ton of opportunities for students, an active parent body and (mostly) terrific and engaged teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Eaton was fully renovated in the early 80s, not fifty years ago.

If that's true, then Marion Barry must have managed the construction himself because it has not worn well at all. The common spaces in particular are tired, dark and uninviting. Janney has had like three renovations in 10 years, Mann and Hearst are new, Lafayette and Murch are in process. And what about Eaton?

[Anonymous]

OP here, thanks for the feedback guys. Will attend open house in November. I wonder what the chances of getting in with lottery for 4 year old might be...

[Anonymous]

Don't know about eaton pk4 but you would have 0 chance of getting into stoddert pk4 (not even everyone with sibs gets in) so maybe it's a win for you if your chances are better there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here, thanks for the feedback guys. Will attend open house in November. I wonder what the chances of getting in with lottery for 4 year old might be...

IB? Probably pretty good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Eaton was fully renovated in the early 80s, not fifty years ago.

If that's true, then Marion Barry must have managed the construction himself because it has not worn well at all. The common spaces in particular are tired, dark and uninviting. Janney has had like three renovations in 10 years, Mann and Hearst are new, Lafayette and Murch are in process. And what about Eaton?

The eaton hsa raised the money and paid for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Eaton was fully renovated in the early 80s, not fifty years ago.

If that's true, then Marion Barry must have managed the construction himself because it has not worn well at all. The common spaces in particular are tired, dark and uninviting. Janney has had like three renovations in 10 years, Mann and Hearst are new, Lafayette and Murch are in process. And what about Eaton?

The eaton hsa raised the money and paid for it.

The renovation was completed in 1983.

[Anonymous]

Why must everyone speak highly about another school by way of dissing another? Always. So sickening. We have attended Stoddert for six years and we have loved it. It's a fabulous community with a great PTO, great aftercare program, etc. However, we have friends whose children attend Eaton and they love it and I hear equally great things. OP, you can't go wrong with either school.

Plus, in truth, the likelihood of your child getting into Stoddert for PK next year is very slim. There is only one PK class and I highly doubt there will be two next year (no space) and all of those 20 seats (actually 19 since one is reserved for Early Stages) will be taken by siblings of current students. This year there were a couple families where the PK sibling did not get in. Meaning zero "new" families got a spot. Forget OOB. I think there were around 60 IB families who lotteried for a spot at Stoddert, so you'd be behind all of them for the OOB lottery. Count yourself lucky to be in zone for Eaton. Not only is it a great school, but you will likely get a PK spot. Your odds are better--at Eaton there are two PKs (and 3 Kindergartens which demonstrates the IB demand). At Stoddert there is one PK (but 4 Kingergartens)...more IB demand for Stoddert.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here- thanks for the feedback.
We belong to Eaton, but you can only get in by lottery
at age 4. So, i am wondering what the chances are.
We live closer to both Stoddert and H. Mann, so that's one concern. I heard good things about the program itself, but Stoddert and Mann seem to have better and more modern infrastructure. Also, from what I saw on the DCPS website, Eaton has a higher ratio of out of boundary kids, so i would also prefer the other two schools for this reason.

LOL, so you want to be the OOB student at another school? You see how ridiculous that statement is, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Eaton was fully renovated in the early 80s, not fifty years ago.

If that's true, then Marion Barry must have managed the construction himself because it has not worn well at all. The common spaces in particular are tired, dark and uninviting. Janney has had like three renovations in 10 years, Mann and Hearst are new, Lafayette and Murch are in process. And what about Eaton?

Some of those schools hadn't been renovated still they were built in the 1920s and 1930s. Looking around at the needs and conditions around the city, I doubt Eaton will be renovated anytime soon. Some of the schools in the city would be condemned if they were held by the private sector. And renovation dollars have now become scarce so the pace of construction will slow considerably.

[Anonymous]

Eaton is a great school. We love it there. Very welcoming community, lots going on, excellent outreach to parents and kids.

For In boundary preK, your chances are very good. Not 100%, but more likely than not. I have to believe it is more likely you will get into Eaton with IB preference than you will get in OOB at Mann or Stoddert. But at the same time, no guarantee.

And, let me just echo that Eaton's condition is really annoying. 1983 was 30 years ago!!! It's badly in need of an overhaul. That said, the school works with what it has and my kids both love it there. Eaton once again wa pushed down on the rehab list, os I don't think anything will be done before 2017. I would be so happy if it just had an interior paint job and new windows in the library!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Eaton is a great school. We love it there. Very welcoming community, lots going on, excellent outreach to parents and kids.

For In boundary preK, your chances are very good. Not 100%, but more likely than not. I have to believe it is more likely you will get into Eaton with IB preference than you will get in OOB at Mann or Stoddert. But at the same time, no guarantee.

And, let me just echo that Eaton's condition is really annoying. 1983 was 30 years ago!!! It's badly in need of an overhaul. That said, the school works with what it has and my kids both love it there. Eaton once again wa pushed down on the rehab list, os I don't think anything will be done before 2017. I would be so happy if it just had an interior paint job and new windows in the library!

As mentioned up thread, even if you somehow stayed IB for Stoddert, you are not likely to get a PK spot. Chances at Eaton are much better simply by looking at the numbers. Count yourself lucky.