Got into EW Stokes East End PK4... Worth the Commute??

[Anonymous]

We just spent a year with a soul crushing commute to an immersion charter school to try it out. I did appreciate the bonding time with my PK 3 child and the experience at the immersion school was fine. However, it was really difficult to be part of the community of the school because we lived far away. Because my child had to do before care and after care, we had to be very deliberate about interacting with teachers. Lastly, driving in DC is insane. There's some atrocious driving behavior that we witnessed on a daily basis. Unless you have the ability to be totally zen about it, it wears on you. We did the lottery again and ended up choosing a school in our neighborhood. We are sad about losing the immersion experience, but feel good about how our lifestyle should improve.

That said, you can always try the commute for a year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The commute will be a good time to further bond with your child. Life isn’t easy when you really want something. The commute is the same as when you put it on the lottery list. Go on Mapquest to find multiple possible routes to try.

Mapquest?

[Anonymous]

What's your in-bounds school? I live in Petworth and work at Union Station and that commute looks pretty terrible. I think the question would be whether it would be worth eventually moving to be closer to the school - somewhere on the Hill, Woodridge or maybe Deanwood?

I think you could do the hour commute for a year or two, but it will get really old, fast. Also in PK3 I regularly got calls during the school day to come get my kids (potty accidents, or getting sick, etc)...just have to think how you would deal with that.

[Anonymous]

Is there a metro near there or anything? Metro commute might be much better if so.

If not...tough call. I'd probably do it for one year and then lottery again. That's just because I know Stokes would be an excellent school. If you really really love it and don't get in anywhere else, you can always move closer. I know, sounds crazy but that's what a lot of people do for schools around here. We are considering it too. Or, you can band together with other parents and try to get bussing organized (paid for by parents it's $$ but can be done). Or, carpools. Sometimes it can be worth the sacrifice - I've been surprised at the distances parents are traveling to attend our immersion school, for many years.