Real life experiences at schools in Del Rey

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We live in Del Ray with a toddler, but there are plenty of elementary aged kids on our block. They go to Mount Vernon Elementary School or Barrett, but would be zoned for J-H now.

They all happy, healthy interested and interesting kids. There's a lot of support for parents and families in Del Ray, with plenty of extra-curriculars just down the street - music school, dance school, sports, art, clubs, parks, etc. And (of course) tons of community involvement.

We will be going to Jefferson-Houston in three years. Everyone on this forum acts like it's the end of the world, but everyone who actually has kindergartners, first or second graders there are happy and see the school thriving.

OP - take a tour of the schools and see for yourself. I think you'll be impressed.

What? Who are you speaking with that says the school is thriving?I'm zoned for JH but luckily caught the tale end of the transfer train so my kids never attended. Of all the families I've seen move in in the interim, about 90% have pulled their kids after a year and gotten transfers to other grade schools. It's like ACPS wants to see the kids suffer for a year before they'll grant a transfer.

It's a joke. It couldn't be more confusing or disorganized.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have friends from our pool that live there with elementary age kids, and they send them to St. Mary's. I have also had a coworker with a child approaching elementary move out of Del Ray. I am sure that there are families that are happy with the schools, and it is a great neighborhood, but I have not known anyone who has used the elementary options.

Strange that MVCS is over-capacity. The way people talk on this board makes it sound like MVCS is an empty elementary school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have friends from our pool that live there with elementary age kids, and they send them to St. Mary's. I have also had a coworker with a child approaching elementary move out of Del Ray. I am sure that there are families that are happy with the schools, and it is a great neighborhood, but I have not known anyone who has used the elementary options.

Strange that MVCS is over-capacity. The way people talk on this board makes it sound like MVCS is an empty elementary school.

Its not over capacity because of wealthy or UMC kids.

[Anonymous]

A friend of mine in the neighborhood got her kid into Maury cause the school s/he was zoned for was so bad.

[Anonymous]

This board is weirdly anti-ACPS. Clearly a few people have an ax to grind. Maybe they regret a move? Anyway, I'd look elsewhere for advice.

One thing to note, if you're in the zone for MVCS, I'm pretty sure you can still opt out of the immersion program and get a transfer to another nearby elem. school.

[Anonymous]

I have a 4 year old, so have sought information from others in the neighborhood to figure out our plan. A lot of neighborhood families have started sending their kids to MVCS, and are active in the PTA. They seem happy and enthusiastic about the school. JH is still a hard sell; I know several families with 4 year olds who are considering sending their child there but reluctant; all of them would send their kid to MVCS without hesitation if they could.

We are still undecided between private and MVCS. If we're able to transfer out of MVCS to a school we prefer, we'll probably go public for elementary.

[Anonymous]

We lived in del ray for 12 years and left a little over a year ago before our oldest started K. We lived in the JH zone and no transfers were happening and the market was nuts so we decided to decamp and leave our small house and move to Fairfax. We have several friends who did send their kids to JH. All of them seemed happy with the K year and all of them sent their kids for 1st fwiw.

We opted to move for a few reasons. First, and to put it bluntly, we're black and we were extremely concerned about black performance in ACPS. We did a lot of digging and found that it's not just ACPS. It's awful in expensive school zones as well. Oddly, our research led us to focus on Hayfield and West Springfield feeders but we realized now that there's a nexus between strong black performance in public school and schools with a high military population. We ended up buying in one of these feeders and were extremely impressed.

We were also about to buy a home with a low mortgage so I'm now working very, very part-time. I've been able to be more hands on and that's been a blessing as well.

That said, I think from our friends (who are white fwiw), that JH has improved, has a good facility, and isn't worth the scorn it gets. But I do think parents have a right to choose the best school for their children and if that means moving so be it.

[Anonymous]

Had a friend with a kid in Mount Vernon. If your kid has any special needs, like dyslexia, this might not be the school system for them. They are dealing with so many low income, English language learners, that the special needs of upper income students get lost in the shuffle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, check out this interesting 2014 WP article that discusses the Del Ray elementary school:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/sometimes-the-school-down-the-block-makes-you-nervous/2014/08/15/e8098c54-24d7-11e4-958c-268a320a60ce_story.html?utm_term=.6c89dcdc3835

The article concludes with this list:

Twelve Things to Look For in a School

1. A Good Principal. Spend at least 30 minutes with the principal. Talk to parents and teachers as well. Five or more years experience at the school is a good sign. If the school has had more than two principals in the past five years, that’s a bad sign. Be particularly cautious if the principal doesn’t have 30 minutes to see you.

2. What It Feels Like. Don’t discount the mood and the atmosphere. Are the walls gaily decorated? Are the teachers friendly? Do the children seem happy?

3. Active Parents. Never put your child in a school without speaking to at least two parents already there, including at least one PTA officer. If you can’t find such a person, or if there’s no active PTA or equivalent organization, beware.

4. Good Teachers. If average scores are in the 70th percentile, or are rising year to year, that’s a good sign. But more important is the quality of the teachers your child will likely get. Ask experienced parents about them.

5. Long-Term Superintendent. Most urban systems, including the District, average little more than three years per superintendent, and yet have many good schools. But a suburban system with rapid superintendent turnover is less common and a matter for concern.

6. A Well-Stocked and Well-Used Library.Are there enough books and computer terminals? And how many students are using them? A library full of kids is a sign of health.

7. Using Every Minute. Are there before-school classes for students with special needs? Is there tutoring available at lunch or after school? Are there Saturday sessions? An active summer school?

8. High Expectations. Are there accelerated classes? Gifted student services? Are these available for all students who want them, not just for those who have high grades? Look for signs of enrichment outside the classroom -- -student musicals, publications and athletic contests.

9. Connections to Adults. Some schools have set up systems to ensure that at least one school employee -- a teacher, a counselor, an aide, a coach -- knows each child and his or her family well. Such schools are rare gems.

10. Safety. This is less likely to be a problem than the headlines would suggest. If you are comfortable living in your community, then the neighborhood school will almost certainly be safe enough for you. If you are looking at a school far from home, talk to parents who send their children to that school.

11. Challenges Ahead. Does the high school your child is headed for have Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate courses? Does it provide dual enrollment in local college courses? Are such programs open to any student who wants them?

12. Listen to Your Heart. The school may pass all these tests, and yet you’re still not sure. If there’s another school you like better, even if it doesn’t look as good on paper, go there.

This article is actually from 2000 so it's really out of date and doesn't at all reflect the opinions of the school that I've encountered in the neighborhood recently. The general advice is still good though.

[Anonymous]

Hi OP.

We’ve lived in Del Ray for 17 years and have seen it go through a lot of changes. In that time, the kid population has definitely grown exponentially. We now have a middle schooler and two elementary aged kids, all in ACPS. We’re an MVCS family, so I cannot speak to Jefferson Houston (Del Ray south of Monroe Ave is zoned there) or Cora Kelly (a small part of Del Ray on the north side of Hume and beyond is zoned there).

We love MVCS, which as an earlier poster noted is a dual language school (Spanish/English). The school is definitely on the large side and the building is old (as are most elementary buildings in ACPS), but the teachers and staff are great and we could not ask for a better or more vibrant parent/student community. When our oldest child started at MVCS, there was definitely a lot of trepidation among parents in the neighborhood about the school, and it was not uncommon for families to opt out to go to other ACPS schools. That has absolutely changed. Now it is fairly unusual for families to opt out - so much so that in recent years there have been in-zone families in danger of not getting in and no transfers in accepted. It has been a great thing to see happen over time. It’s delightful in the mornings to watch all of the kids walking to school in the neighborhood. One of our neighbors jokes about the “MVCS walking highway” past her house.

We feel that our kids have gotten a good educational foundation at MVCS and they have a real sense of community belonging both from the school and from just living in Del Ray, where they feel comfortable walking and riding their bikes to parks/friends’ houses/businesses. Our middle schooler goes to GW with kids from the “best” ACPS elementary schools and there does not seem to be any difference in how well any of them were prepared for middle school.

If you are otherwise interested in Del Ray, it is definitely worth checking out. There is usually a community pumpkin patch event at the school in the fall that is a great opportunity to bring your preschooler there and meet some people. I believe this year it is Oct. 19. The main playground is being renovated, so it will be on the adjacent rec center field. More information should be available on the MVCS PTA website.

Whatever you decide, good luck, OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live in Del Ray with a toddler, but there are plenty of elementary aged kids on our block. They go to Mount Vernon Elementary School or Barrett, but would be zoned for J-H now.

They all happy, healthy interested and interesting kids. There's a lot of support for parents and families in Del Ray, with plenty of extra-curriculars just down the street - music school, dance school, sports, art, clubs, parks, etc. And (of course) tons of community involvement.

We will be going to Jefferson-Houston in three years. Everyone on this forum acts like it's the end of the world, but everyone who actually has kindergartners, first or second graders there are happy and see the school thriving.

OP - take a tour of the schools and see for yourself. I think you'll be impressed.

What? Who are you speaking with that says the school is thriving?I'm zoned for JH but luckily caught the tale end of the transfer train so my kids never attended. Of all the families I've seen move in in the interim, about 90% have pulled their kids after a year and gotten transfers to other grade schools. It's like ACPS wants to see the kids suffer for a year before they'll grant a transfer.

It's a joke. It couldn't be more confusing or disorganized.

Are you able to give any specifics of what the families endured? Or any details why a transfer was absolutely necessary after a year at JH? Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have friends from our pool that live there with elementary age kids, and they send them to St. Mary's. I have also had a coworker with a child approaching elementary move out of Del Ray. I am sure that there are families that are happy with the schools, and it is a great neighborhood, but I have not known anyone who has used the elementary options.

Strange that MVCS is over-capacity. The way people talk on this board makes it sound like MVCS is an empty elementary school.

Its not over capacity because of wealthy or UMC kids.

How do they like St. Marys?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This board is weirdly anti-ACPS. Clearly a few people have an ax to grind. Maybe they regret a move? Anyway, I'd look elsewhere for advice.

One thing to note, if you're in the zone for MVCS, I'm pretty sure you can still opt out of the immersion program and get a transfer to another nearby elem. school.

Yes, this. We live in Del Ray and have a 2nd grader and a 4th grader. We are zoned for MVCS, but opted out of the Spanish immersion. We know many, many well educated families whose kids go to MVCS and who are very happy with the school. Our kids go to George Mason, which is the next school over - just because we didn't think the Spanish immersion was right for our children. We are similarly happy with our experiences at George Mason - excellent teachers, amazing music program, engaged principal, active PTA. On our one block, there are 10 elementary school kids. Three families are at MVCS, two families are at George Mason, and one family is at a religious school.

[Anonymous]

On our street we have five kids going to MVCS, one at J-H Middle School, three at GW Middle School and three at TC Williams.

Everyone seems happy and well educated for their grade level. We're just happy to have so many baby sitting options at this point!

[Anonymous]

As a former teacher who has older kids, I find the constant nastiness about ACPS stunning (although not surprising).

My best guess as someone who has lived in the neighborhood for many years is that these nasty folks are those who are resentful they've paid so much money for private school or moving to a less-fun/further out neighborhood and are looking to convince themselves that they made the right decision and/or convince others to follow their lead, thus reinforcing their decision that way.

What I have always told families is this: every single family has to make their own choice, and you can't do that by following the herd, certainly not on an anonymous message board. Go on a school visit. Talk to current (not former, not people who never went) families. That's the only way you'll see if a school is right for you.

And as for the people saying there are no kids in Del Ray, what planet are you living on??? Nearly everyone here besides a few old timers still left has a kid, a dog, and a yoga mat.