considering relocating for work, is lottery still an option?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you looking to rent or buy? You could consider renting near a Title I school and being in-boundary, you would be high on the list for any spots that open up. That should hold you through K or until you figure out where you actually want to move.

Definitely renting for now. I would still not be guaranteed a spot at my IB school though, right?

You wouldn't be guaranteed, but as an IB family your kid will go before all OOB kids on the waitlist. Look for DCPS and charters with short waitlists: http://www.myschooldc.org/find-schools/available-spaces

My son went to Friendship Armstrong this past year (PK3) and loved it; they usually have a short or non-existent waitlist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can you afford to live in DC proper for the free preK? We make 130 and that will go to 200 when I go back to work and we live in a nice suburb with no universal preK and spending 30k a year on Montessori. We can't afford DC housing prices to be frank with you.

That's funny because we happily live in DC on the same income.

Not going to lie the kids have trust funds but how do you save any money living in DC? How do you pay off your student loans? You must have bought in Petworth or Ft. Totten like a decade ago.

Not PP, but we bought in Brookland less than 5 years ago, have kid in Montessori (public charter) and one in the fall, have a HHI of 180k and just finished paying off our loans (which were undergrad not grad/post-grad)

Lots happened in 5 years. 20% appreciation on housing prices every year. EVERY YEAR.

[Anonymous]

OP, you can get on the waitlists now at myschooldc, but you will have to prove residency when you enroll. If you feel like you can move fast and sign a lease when a spot on a waitlist pops up, that's a good thing. You won't be able to claim you live in-bounds for a school until you have an address that you list.


The first thing you need to consider is how far you are willing to commute each day between home, school, and work. I would suggest getting on the waitlists now for any schools that are close enough to your job that you'd be willing to send your kid there. You are probably not going to get into the more popular PK programs but that is ok. All the teachers are licensed and all the schools are fine for little kids. The test scores of 3rd-5th graders should not be your primary concern when deciding on a place for your 3yo, especially when your pickings are limited.

I will put in a plug for my in-bound school, Amidon-Bowen. Families of various races/incomes/education levels seem happy with the early grades. There is an involved PTA and the principal seems friendly. It has a nice playground and library, too, and the art teacher is a gem. There is plenty of rental housing in the neighborhood and it is close to the metro. I don't know how long the wait-list is now for in-bound students but it is probably shorter than many DCPS schools and charters. Appletree Southwest is also nearby and because it only serves PK students, there are few people with sibling priority and it tends to go through the waitlist quickly.

The schools that have space at this point are not going to have good test scores. Many but not all are far from metro. Most are in Wards 7 and 8 and will have high poverty levels.

Look into Sela and Walker Jones. Savoy is close to the Anacostia metro. There are several schools in Anacostia that have a lot of PK classrooms and may have space now.

If you enroll someplace you can still stay on the waitlists for the schools you ranked higher. So there really isn't any harm in listing a ton of schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can you afford to live in DC proper for the free preK? We make 130 and that will go to 200 when I go back to work and we live in a nice suburb with no universal preK and spending 30k a year on Montessori. We can't afford DC housing prices to be frank with you.

That's funny because we happily live in DC on the same income.

Not going to lie the kids have trust funds but how do you save any money living in DC? How do you pay off your student loans? You must have bought in Petworth or Ft. Totten like a decade ago.

Not PP, but we bought in Brookland less than 5 years ago, have kid in Montessori (public charter) and one in the fall, have a HHI of 180k and just finished paying off our loans (which were undergrad not grad/post-grad)

Lots happened in 5 years. 20% appreciation on housing prices every year. EVERY YEAR.

That's BS. Our house was purchased 2 years ago in Brookland and it's Zestimate has decreased. But mortgage is comparable to what rent would've been (actually much less tbh). DC is affordable on the salary you are making, which is above middle class by the way. Then add on 30k for the montessori, which you wouldn't have to pay.

Not to say DC is cheap by any means.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you looking to rent or buy? You could consider renting near a Title I school and being in-boundary, you would be high on the list for any spots that open up. That should hold you through K or until you figure out where you actually want to move.

Definitely renting for now. I would still not be guaranteed a spot at my IB school though, right?

Not until K. Some don't offer very much preschool, some have room for all, it just depends.

You might like Bloomingdale/Eckington. Langley and Seaton are fine through K, very kid-friendly neighborhood, and short commute to downtown. You could see how you do in the PK4 lottery for charters and then move or not, depending.
.

+1. My kid goes to Langley and is returning for PK4. This year they added a PK3 classroom and the waitlist decreased when that happened, so it is possible you could get in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can you afford to live in DC proper for the free preK? We make 130 and that will go to 200 when I go back to work and we live in a nice suburb with no universal preK and spending 30k a year on Montessori. We can't afford DC housing prices to be frank with you.

That's funny because we happily live in DC on the same income.

Not going to lie the kids have trust funds but how do you save any money living in DC? How do you pay off your student loans? You must have bought in Petworth or Ft. Totten like a decade ago.

Not PP, but we bought in Brookland less than 5 years ago, have kid in Montessori (public charter) and one in the fall, have a HHI of 180k and just finished paying off our loans (which were undergrad not grad/post-grad)

Lots happened in 5 years. 20% appreciation on housing prices every year. EVERY YEAR.

That's BS. Our house was purchased 2 years ago in Brookland and it's Zestimate has decreased. But mortgage is comparable to what rent would've been (actually much less tbh). DC is affordable on the salary you are making, which is above middle class by the way. Then add on 30k for the montessori, which you wouldn't have to pay.

Not to say DC is cheap by any means.

If you can spend 30K/year on Montessori, you can definitely afford to live in DC! 30K/year would almost cover my mortgage (more than 75% of it, at least) and I live on the Hill (in the NE corner).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can you afford to live in DC proper for the free preK? We make 130 and that will go to 200 when I go back to work and we live in a nice suburb with no universal preK and spending 30k a year on Montessori. We can't afford DC housing prices to be frank with you.

WTF is "DC proper?"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can you afford to live in DC proper for the free preK? We make 130 and that will go to 200 when I go back to work and we live in a nice suburb with no universal preK and spending 30k a year on Montessori. We can't afford DC housing prices to be frank with you.

WTF is "DC proper?"

It's an expression that means within the city limits of DC, as opposed to living in Maryland or Virginia but telling people you live in 'Washington.'

[Anonymous]

Our daycare with a great preschool program is about $17k/year in the district -- definitely not $30k.

Throwing out that # as a reference point for you as you weigh the city versus the suburbs. For us, we decided to keep renting a smaller place in the district versus moving to a larger home in the suburbs because the savings from free public preK (times two children) was greater than the money we'd save on housing right now. That said, we can afford paying for daycare if we do not get a spot in public preK. So, if I were in your shoes, I'd throw my name on some waiting lists and then run numbers to see where you can afford to live in case you do not get public preschool.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can you afford to live in DC proper for the free preK? We make 130 and that will go to 200 when I go back to work and we live in a nice suburb with no universal preK and spending 30k a year on Montessori. We can't afford DC housing prices to be frank with you.

WTF is "DC proper?"

It's an expression that means within the city limits of DC, as opposed to living in Maryland or Virginia but telling people you live in 'Washington.'

You know that D.C. isnt a city in MD or VA right? It's a totally separate thing. If you live in MD or VA and tell people you live in Washington you're just lying.

[Anonymous]

There are several PK programs at nonprofits that I think are also free--see them at http://www.myschooldc.org/find-schools/school-options-outside-my-school-dc/ under "enhanced programs"

If you wind up not getting into a school you like for PK3, I'd suggest moving to Brookland and enrolling at the Scrilli school. People love it and it's very cheap. You don't have to be Catholic--I know gay couples who sent their kids there, and people of various/no religion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, you can get on the waitlists now at myschooldc, but you will have to prove residency when you enroll. If you feel like you can move fast and sign a lease when a spot on a waitlist pops up, that's a good thing. You won't be able to claim you live in-bounds for a school until you have an address that you list.


The first thing you need to consider is how far you are willing to commute each day between home, school, and work. I would suggest getting on the waitlists now for any schools that are close enough to your job that you'd be willing to send your kid there. You are probably not going to get into the more popular PK programs but that is ok. All the teachers are licensed and all the schools are fine for little kids. The test scores of 3rd-5th graders should not be your primary concern when deciding on a place for your 3yo, especially when your pickings are limited.

I will put in a plug for my in-bound school, Amidon-Bowen. Families of various races/incomes/education levels seem happy with the early grades. There is an involved PTA and the principal seems friendly. It has a nice playground and library, too, and the art teacher is a gem. There is plenty of rental housing in the neighborhood and it is close to the metro. I don't know how long the wait-list is now for in-bound students but it is probably shorter than many DCPS schools and charters. Appletree Southwest is also nearby and because it only serves PK students, there are few people with sibling priority and it tends to go through the waitlist quickly.

The schools that have space at this point are not going to have good test scores. Many but not all are far from metro. Most are in Wards 7 and 8 and will have high poverty levels.

Look into Sela and Walker Jones. Savoy is close to the Anacostia metro. There are several schools in Anacostia that have a lot of PK classrooms and may have space now.

If you enroll someplace you can still stay on the waitlists for the schools you ranked higher. So there really isn't any harm in listing a ton of schools.

What do you think about Amidon-Bowen for 1st or 2nd grade?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can you afford to live in DC proper for the free preK? We make 130 and that will go to 200 when I go back to work and we live in a nice suburb with no universal preK and spending 30k a year on Montessori. We can't afford DC housing prices to be frank with you.

WTF is "DC proper?"

It's an expression that means within the city limits of DC, as opposed to living in Maryland or Virginia but telling people you live in 'Washington.'

You know that D.C. isnt a city in MD or VA right? It's a totally separate thing. If you live in MD or VA and tell people you live in Washington you're just lying.

NP- some people tell their friends or family who live in other states that they live in DC, but use it to mean the region. DC Proper is a term just like Boston Proper is a term. The Pp was correct in the definition.

[Anonymous]

OP here are schools with pk3 spots http://www.myschooldc.org/find-schools/available-spaces/grade

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can you afford to live in DC proper for the free preK? We make 130 and that will go to 200 when I go back to work and we live in a nice suburb with no universal preK and spending 30k a year on Montessori. We can't afford DC housing prices to be frank with you.

WTF is "DC proper?"

It's an expression that means within the city limits of DC, as opposed to living in Maryland or Virginia but telling people you live in 'Washington.'

You know that D.C. isnt a city in MD or VA right? It's a totally separate thing. If you live in MD or VA and tell people you live in Washington you're just lying.

NP- some people tell their friends or family who live in other states that they live in DC, but use it to mean the region. DC Proper is a term just like Boston Proper is a term. The Pp was correct in the definition.

DC Proper is for posers who live in Alexandria.