Future of Brent Pk3?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No chance, so long as Van Ness can accommodate the Brent PK overflow.

I'm in the 130s on the Van Ness wait list. That school is not simply available for Brent overflow.

+1. I'm never surprised by how Brent parents think that all other schools and resources are their's for the taking.

Brent is educating the future leaders of America. The other schools are not. Leaders need more resources.

I hope you're trolling or just being sarcastic. But sadly, I know too many capitol hill parents who believe that elitist garbage. And yet can't afford to send their kids to private school where they will get more resources.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is only PK4 in NW, it would make sense for them to eliminate PK3 at Brent since there is no real financial need; however since it's years ahead of other Capitol Hill schools, it's unlikely DCPS would eliminate PK3 at just Brent without eliminating it at all Hill schools.

They should likely eliminate the mixed classes in PK3 and PK4 to accommodate more IB kids at Brent.

No horse in this race, but I don't think Maury and Ludlow Taylor are far behind.

All Hill schools are improving- even Payne and Miner. I went charter but would have been happy at any Hill elementary.

i hate comments like this - your actions speak much louder than your words.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DCPS, Brent principal and PTA board have made it clear that they don't want to ditch PreK3/mixed-age classes. Issue is not being discussed seriously. If you really need a PreK3 somewhere on or around the Hill, you'll get a spot by the start of school from your 12 choices, probably at an AppleTree campus. You just can't apply only to super popular programs. try JO Wilson, Miner, Payne, Walker Jones, Amidon etc. They're all decent for that age group.

I wouldn't dismiss a number of 150+ if you're willing to jump in after the school year starts. You'd be surprised how low schools will still dip into waiting lists come late Sept. or early Oct.

This is simply not true any more. None of the schools on or near the hill are a guarantee for PK3 or 4 even after the school year starts. We never got off the waiting list at Payne or Tyler (traditional not Spanish) or Van Ness last year. The schools are all improving. They are all on people's communizing route in. There are more and more young families staying on the Hill and trying their neighborhood schools, in part because they can't get into charters. And for Brent families some of the schools you mentioned are far away and in the opposite direction. People tend to live on the hill because they love a walkable community. Two miles each way twice a day is not walkable with small kids.

And to the poster who said that the Brent boundary is fine, what are you smoking? The school is not big enough to accommodate all the in bounds kids. When next year's kindergarten class starts (the one that had 40 or so in bounds kids wait listed for PK3) where are they going to put them? Or are they just going to cram them all into the existing classrooms and have 40 kids in a K class. They either need to expand the school or shrink the boundary. The boundary review was a joke because it didn't do any forward projections. Five years ago you could lottery into Brent out of bounds, now you can't even get in if you are IB, yet they used the upper grades OOB stats to say the boundary/capacity was fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCPS, Brent principal and PTA board have made it clear that they don't want to ditch PreK3/mixed-age classes. Issue is not being discussed seriously. If you really need a PreK3 somewhere on or around the Hill, you'll get a spot by the start of school from your 12 choices, probably at an AppleTree campus. You just can't apply only to super popular programs. try JO Wilson, Miner, Payne, Walker Jones, Amidon etc. They're all decent for that age group.

I wouldn't dismiss a number of 150+ if you're willing to jump in after the school year starts. You'd be surprised how low schools will still dip into waiting lists come late Sept. or early Oct.

This is simply not true any more. None of the schools on or near the hill are a guarantee for PK3 or 4 even after the school year starts. We never got off the waiting list at Payne or Tyler (traditional not Spanish) or Van Ness last year. The schools are all improving. They are all on people's communizing route in. There are more and more young families staying on the Hill and trying their neighborhood schools, in part because they can't get into charters. And for Brent families some of the schools you mentioned are far away and in the opposite direction. People tend to live on the hill because they love a walkable community. Two miles each way twice a day is not walkable with small kids.

And to the poster who said that the Brent boundary is fine, what are you smoking? The school is not big enough to accommodate all the in bounds kids. When next year's kindergarten class starts (the one that had 40 or so in bounds kids wait listed for PK3) where are they going to put them? Or are they just going to cram them all into the existing classrooms and have 40 kids in a K class. They either need to expand the school or shrink the boundary. The boundary review was a joke because it didn't do any forward projections. Five years ago you could lottery into Brent out of bounds, now you can't even get in if you are IB, yet they used the upper grades OOB stats to say the boundary/capacity was fine.

+1 Most or all of the Hill schools mentioned above are filling with IB kids for PK3, so it is simply not possible to lottery into them OOB.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCPS, Brent principal and PTA board have made it clear that they don't want to ditch PreK3/mixed-age classes. Issue is not being discussed seriously. If you really need a PreK3 somewhere on or around the Hill, you'll get a spot by the start of school from your 12 choices, probably at an AppleTree campus. You just can't apply only to super popular programs. try JO Wilson, Miner, Payne, Walker Jones, Amidon etc. They're all decent for that age group.

I wouldn't dismiss a number of 150+ if you're willing to jump in after the school year starts. You'd be surprised how low schools will still dip into waiting lists come late Sept. or early Oct.

This is simply not true any more. None of the schools on or near the hill are a guarantee for PK3 or 4 even after the school year starts. We never got off the waiting list at Payne or Tyler (traditional not Spanish) or Van Ness last year. The schools are all improving. They are all on people's communizing route in. There are more and more young families staying on the Hill and trying their neighborhood schools, in part because they can't get into charters. And for Brent families some of the schools you mentioned are far away and in the opposite direction. People tend to live on the hill because they love a walkable community. Two miles each way twice a day is not walkable with small kids.

And to the poster who said that the Brent boundary is fine, what are you smoking? The school is not big enough to accommodate all the in bounds kids. When next year's kindergarten class starts (the one that had 40 or so in bounds kids wait listed for PK3) where are they going to put them? Or are they just going to cram them all into the existing classrooms and have 40 kids in a K class. They either need to expand the school or shrink the boundary. The boundary review was a joke because it didn't do any forward projections. Five years ago you could lottery into Brent out of bounds, now you can't even get in if you are IB, yet they used the upper grades OOB stats to say the boundary/capacity was fine.

Brent will figure it out and accommodate accordingly. The K class this year had an extensive wait list for PK3 and PK4 as well. By the time they got to K, many moved, opted for privates or charters and the 3 K classes had 26 kids and they even accommodated OOB kids who lotteried in for K. NW schools have
large classes and they figure it out, Brent can too.

[Anonymous]

Brent should do a combined grade 4/5 classroom and free up some space. And they need to change the boundary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Brent should do a combined grade 4/5 classroom and free up some space. And they need to change the boundary.

On maybe just take IB kids and become more vigilant about checking addresses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No chance, so long as Van Ness can accommodate the Brent PK overflow.

I'm in the 130s on the Van Ness wait list. That school is not simply available for Brent overflow.

+1. I'm never surprised by how Brent parents think that all other schools and resources are their's for the taking.

Brent is educating the future leaders of America. The other schools are not. Leaders need more resources.

I hope you're trolling or just being sarcastic. But sadly, I know too many capitol hill parents who believe that elitist garbage. And yet can't afford to send their kids to private school where they will get more resources.

Or won't afford to send them to private school. If they can afford to live inbounds for Brent, they can afford private school. They just don't want to make the lifestyle changes...

[Anonymous]

Any chance Brent takes any OOB into K again this year? We have an extremely good WL number (under 5).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Any chance Brent takes any OOB into K again this year? We have an extremely good WL number (under 5).

I hope not. The school is already crowded with IB kids only.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Any chance Brent takes any OOB into K again this year? We have an extremely good WL number (under 5).

Yes, there is a chance. We know two IB families heading to other schools for 1st grade and there must be others. Ask the registrar. That's a really promising number.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Brent should do a combined grade 4/5 classroom and free up some space. And they need to change the boundary.

Why a combined 4/5 grade classroom when this year's 5th grade class is likely to be 20+ kids?

The city concluded the first boundary review they'd done in the 1970s two years ago, after a 40 year period without a boundary review, and isn't planning another review for at least 8 or 9 more years. You don't change a school boundary in a snap in DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Brent should do a combined grade 4/5 classroom and free up some space. And they need to change the boundary.

Why a combined 4/5 grade classroom when this year's 5th grade class is likely to be 20+ kids?

The city concluded the first boundary review they'd done in the 1970s two years ago, after a 40 year period without a boundary review, and isn't planning another review for at least 8 or 9 more years. You don't change a school boundary in a snap in DC.

IIRC there is a trigger for a boundary review when a school surpasses 70 or 75 percent inbound.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No chance, so long as Van Ness can accommodate the Brent PK overflow.

I'm in the 130s on the Van Ness wait list. That school is not simply available for Brent overflow.

+1. I'm never surprised by how Brent parents think that all other schools and resources are their's for the taking.

Brent is educating the future leaders of America. The other schools are not. Leaders need more resources.

I hope you're trolling or just being sarcastic. But sadly, I know too many capitol hill parents who believe that elitist garbage. And yet can't afford to send their kids to private school where they will get more resources.

Or won't afford to send them to private school. If they can afford to live inbounds for Brent, they can afford private school. They just don't want to make the lifestyle changes...

Not everyone who is in the Brent District can afford private. Not sure what you're smoking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is only PK4 in NW, it would make sense for them to eliminate PK3 at Brent since there is no real financial need; however since it's years ahead of other Capitol Hill schools, it's unlikely DCPS would eliminate PK3 at just Brent without eliminating it at all Hill schools.

They should likely eliminate the mixed classes in PK3 and PK4 to accommodate more IB kids at Brent.

No horse in this race, but I don't think Maury and Ludlow Taylor are far behind.

All Hill schools are improving- even Payne and Miner. I went charter but would have been happy at any Hill elementary.

i hate comments like this - your actions speak much louder than your words.

Yes, my DCI feeding immersion school is much better than any Hill school for MY kids. I'm not turning down the opportunity for my kids to learn my native language even if it means a longer commute than a quick walk to Brent. Im not putting my kids in Jefferson, so it's preferable for me to go charter now.

Not sure why you care about the choice I made for my family. I still think all the Hill schools are great, but we got the choice to go to a school that is a far better fit for my family. Come talk to me once you're kid is in Jefferson, since you're so anti-charter.