Elementary School Recommendations for Family moving to DC from Australia

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thank you everyone for the advice. I've read mixed reviews about Wilson though. Is it fair to say that it has had some ups and downs? Is Deal considered better than Hardy? With the move, we would prefer to settle down as permanently as possible. We are not adverse to the suburbs in VA or MD, though we've always lived in cities (first NYC then Melbourne). We are completely comfortable to rent for a year (or years!), but would prefer that wherever we are is in the location where our kids will go to school longterm.

My son will be 5 as of September 2019. The twins will 1 year 11 months.

[Anonymous]

Wilson is a big school. There are very rich and very poor kids from various parts of the city (those who live out of bounds got in to the school or its feeders through the lottery). Some kids are going to be fine there and others may feel lost or intimidated or just gravitate towards the worst-behaved peers. Since your kid is 6 there's no way to know precisely what she'll be like at 16.

If Wilson isn't your preference in the future you can do the lottery for charters or selective admissions schools. But if you want a guarantee of a high school with higher test scores and wealthier demographics you are going to have to look outside of DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wilson is a big school. There are very rich and very poor kids from various parts of the city (those who live out of bounds got in to the school or its feeders through the lottery). Some kids are going to be fine there and others may feel lost or intimidated or just gravitate towards the worst-behaved peers. Since your kid is 6 there's no way to know precisely what she'll be like at 16.

If Wilson isn't your preference in the future you can do the lottery for charters or selective admissions schools. But if you want a guarantee of a high school with higher test scores and wealthier demographics you are going to have to look outside of DC.

+1. Wilson is as good as you can get for a school in Washington, DC that you access by virtue of where you live. Deal has been stronger than Hardy, it's much larger. But Hardy is gaining quickly. By the time your kids are ready they will be equally strong.

If you want a better public, guaranteed option, you should consider North Arlington in Virginia or the Bethesda area of Montgomery County Maryland (start with schools in the boundary for Whitman High School). Neither of those suburban areas are a very difficult commute to the city and are in your price range with less uncertanty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thank you everyone for the advice. I've read mixed reviews about Wilson though. Is it fair to say that it has had some ups and downs? Is Deal considered better than Hardy? With the move, we would prefer to settle down as permanently as possible. We are not adverse to the suburbs in VA or MD, though we've always lived in cities (first NYC then Melbourne). We are completely comfortable to rent for a year (or years!), but would prefer that wherever we are is in the location where our kids will go to school longterm.

My son will be 5 as of September 2019. The twins will 1 year 11 months.

AU Park or Tenleytown. You wiill have lots of safety--Janney or Hearst, Deal, Wilson, lots of possibles for HS--charters, Walls, Ellington etc. and there are also some reasonable private schools. YOu are also thinking WAY too far ahead. Lots could change before HS including new school options--but you will be 'safe' in AU Park, and it meets your budget.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks everyone with your feedback. I'm frankly not too excited about Wilson because of its size. Looking for small and progressive options. Do people often do the lottery for HS? This whole lottery thing is very new to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thank you everyone for the advice. I've read mixed reviews about Wilson though. Is it fair to say that it has had some ups and downs? Is Deal considered better than Hardy? With the move, we would prefer to settle down as permanently as possible. We are not adverse to the suburbs in VA or MD, though we've always lived in cities (first NYC then Melbourne). We are completely comfortable to rent for a year (or years!), but would prefer that wherever we are is in the location where our kids will go to school longterm.

My son will be 5 as of September 2019. The twins will 1 year 11 months.

AU Park or Tenleytown. You wiill have lots of safety--Janney or Hearst, Deal, Wilson, lots of possibles for HS--charters, Walls, Ellington etc. and there are also some reasonable private schools. YOu are also thinking WAY too far ahead. Lots could change before HS including new school options--but you will be 'safe' in AU Park, and it meets your budget.

OP here THANK YOU for your advice. I am probably thinking too far ahead! I think since we know the HS where my daughter would be going if we stayed in Australia so well, it's so hard to move without "knowing" all of the details... but I think I need to have a bit of faith and also things will definitely change in the next eight years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wilson is a big school. There are very rich and very poor kids from various parts of the city (those who live out of bounds got in to the school or its feeders through the lottery). Some kids are going to be fine there and others may feel lost or intimidated or just gravitate towards the worst-behaved peers. Since your kid is 6 there's no way to know precisely what she'll be like at 16.

If Wilson isn't your preference in the future you can do the lottery for charters or selective admissions schools. But if you want a guarantee of a high school with higher test scores and wealthier demographics you are going to have to look outside of DC.

+1. Wilson is as good as you can get for a school in Washington, DC that you access by virtue of where you live. Deal has been stronger than Hardy, it's much larger. But Hardy is gaining quickly. By the time your kids are ready they will be equally strong.

If you want a better public, guaranteed option, you should consider North Arlington in Virginia or the Bethesda area of Montgomery County Maryland (start with schools in the boundary for Whitman High School). Neither of those suburban areas are a very difficult commute to the city and are in your price range with less uncertanty.

All of this. It comes down to how risk-averse you are. I guess we were a little less risk-averse than some, since we moved here from the suburbs to buy our first home.

I would be a little hesitant to send my kid to Wilson now if I had a high school-aged kid (some of that has to do with the fact that we are POC, and I'd ideally want a high-performing group of kids that look like mine present at the school). However, since we live in-boundary, we'll definitely consider it for my 2nd grader when the time comes, since I feel the current second graders at our Deal/Wilson feeder (and others) are a strong cohort.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks everyone with your feedback. I'm frankly not too excited about Wilson because of its size. Looking for small and progressive options. Do people often do the lottery for HS? This whole lottery thing is very new to me.

Most of the high schools in this area by neighborhood right (DC, MD, and VA) are very large like Wilson. The school’s you sound like you’re looking for are lottery only (see school without walls).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks everyone with your feedback. I'm frankly not too excited about Wilson because of its size. Looking for small and progressive options. Do people often do the lottery for HS? This whole lottery thing is very new to me.

Wilson is really as good as it gets for DC. But, the publics in MD and VA that others have mentioned are also big. There really aren't small public HSs around here.

In terms of progressive, it depends on what you mean. Most of the people at any of these schools are progressive. In terms of pedagogy,, I would say they are fairly traditional.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks everyone with your feedback. I'm frankly not too excited about Wilson because of its size. Looking for small and progressive options. Do people often do the lottery for HS? This whole lottery thing is very new to me.

Most of the high schools in this area by neighborhood right (DC, MD, and VA) are very large like Wilson. The school’s you sound like you’re looking for are lottery only (see school without walls).

Walls is a good option but is actually an application school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks everyone with your feedback. I'm frankly not too excited about Wilson because of its size. Looking for small and progressive options. Do people often do the lottery for HS? This whole lottery thing is very new to me.

Most of the high schools in this area by neighborhood right (DC, MD, and VA) are very large like Wilson. The school’s you sound like you’re looking for are lottery only (see school without walls).

Walls is a good option but is actually an application school.

DP. More importantly for OP, admission to Walls or any of the lottery schools she might consider are highly uncertain and you definitely couldn't count on getting a spot. If you want guaranteed viable options, go Wilson pyramid or Bethesda/Arlington.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks everyone with your feedback. I'm frankly not too excited about Wilson because of its size. Looking for small and progressive options. Do people often do the lottery for HS? This whole lottery thing is very new to me.

If your goal is small progressive high school, I'd suggest living below your means now and sending your children to private high school. Oneness Family is a Montessori program in Bethesda that now goes through high school. Blyth-Templeton on Capitol Hill is a very small high school as well. If you pick the latter, there are several well-regarded elementary schools on Capitol Hill (Brent and Maury have the highest test scores; I'd also look at Van Ness, Ludlow-Taylor, and maybe J.O.Wilson) but the middle schools have lower test scores than Deal or Hardy (Stuart-Hobson has more diversity at the moment but Jefferson seems to be making faster progress).

[Anonymous]

NP. I would also consider homes in the Ross boundary in Dupont if you want a more urban experience. The elementary school is the smallest in DCPS, with lots of international families and some of the best test scores in the city. Middle school feeder is quickly improving, and more and more Ross kids go to it every year. High school is still an issue, but if you’re not sold on Wilson anyway, you might want to look. It’d be tough to get a large house for 1.25 mil but most families at Ross make do with two or three bedrooms. It’s a great community and a super walkable area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thank you everyone for the advice. I've read mixed reviews about Wilson though. Is it fair to say that it has had some ups and downs? Is Deal considered better than Hardy? With the move, we would prefer to settle down as permanently as possible. We are not adverse to the suburbs in VA or MD, though we've always lived in cities (first NYC then Melbourne). We are completely comfortable to rent for a year (or years!), but would prefer that wherever we are is in the location where our kids will go to school longterm.

My son will be 5 as of September 2019. The twins will 1 year 11 months.

AU Park or Tenleytown. You wiill have lots of safety--Janney or Hearst, Deal, Wilson, lots of possibles for HS--charters, Walls, Ellington etc. and there are also some reasonable private schools. YOu are also thinking WAY too far ahead. Lots could change before HS including new school options--but you will be 'safe' in AU Park, and it meets your budget.

what are these reasonable private schools?
I live in AU Park and am interested.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thank you everyone for the advice. I've read mixed reviews about Wilson though. Is it fair to say that it has had some ups and downs? Is Deal considered better than Hardy? With the move, we would prefer to settle down as permanently as possible. We are not adverse to the suburbs in VA or MD, though we've always lived in cities (first NYC then Melbourne). We are completely comfortable to rent for a year (or years!), but would prefer that wherever we are is in the location where our kids will go to school longterm.

My son will be 5 as of September 2019. The twins will 1 year 11 months.

AU Park or Tenleytown. You wiill have lots of safety--Janney or Hearst, Deal, Wilson, lots of possibles for HS--charters, Walls, Ellington etc. and there are also some reasonable private schools. YOu are also thinking WAY too far ahead. Lots could change before HS including new school options--but you will be 'safe' in AU Park, and it meets your budget.

what are these reasonable private schools?
I live in AU Park and am interested.

NP. If you mean somewhat reasonably priced - St Johns College, Oneness Family, Washington Waldorf. If you mean reasonably possible to be admitted to add Burke, St Andrews Episcopal, Landon, WIS, Bullis.