Capital city or Mundo verde

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it P St or 8th?

OP here, it's 8th

Cap. City. We almost went and really love it. Got into our very first choice and that's the only reason we declined but lower school seemed great and the facilities top notch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand. You ranked MV because you want Spanish immersion. If that’s the case, then go with MV. If Spanish immersion now is not so important to you, then go to Cap city so another family who really wants Spanish immersion has the opportunity.

I'm not sure what you don't understand. Don't most families want a complex set of characteristics in their schools? Given that no school fits all the criteria anyone could want you need to consider trade offs. We are prioritizing a non-traditional approach to learning but would love to also have Spanish. We can support the language at home. We did not however apply for stokes or DV bilingual as we don't want the type of education model they offer. What I'm trying to determine right now is wether MV could give us both, the nontraditional approach to learning and the Spanish. Also, you're comment about giving up a spot for a family who really wants Spanish strikes me as a bit silly, if we took the MV spot we'd be giving up a Capital City spot for a family that may really want that approach. We're going to take only one spot regardless.

[Anonymous]

As to the "different approach" ... honestly, it comes down to teacher quality. Especially in preK4 and K, DCB, Stokes, MV, and Cap. City really don't offer the kids that different of a classroom, garden, field trip, etc. experience. School organization, strong teachers, and solid admin. will be much more notable differences than the overall early childhood teaching approach.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do folks think MV is really going to be that bad? We are at an ok but not great on paper neighborhood dcps and weighing our low waitlist number at P st.

No MV is not going to be really that bad. Yes it’s a new campus but the curriculum, etc.. will all be the same. The families that will be at MV8 will likely be similar to families at MVP. PARCC scores are not the be all, end all but if you want some objective measure:

MV - Almist 50% students with a PARCC 4 in both ELA and math. Greater than 65% PARCC 3 in ELA and math

Cap city - 30% students PARCC 4 in both ELA and math. About 55% PARCC 3 in ELA and math


So look up your neighborhood DCPS numbers and compare to MV. If you are thinking of staying in the city past elementary, I would also compare the middle school.

OP, please don’t look at just the raw PARCC scores. MV is 11% at risk and CC is 34%. This more than accounts for the 20 point gap that PP mentions above.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As to the "different approach" ... honestly, it comes down to teacher quality. Especially in preK4 and K, DCB, Stokes, MV, and Cap. City really don't offer the kids that different of a classroom, garden, field trip, etc. experience. School organization, strong teachers, and solid admin. will be much more notable differences than the overall early childhood teaching approach.

Good point, but it's key to look beyond those years. What about the education model past K? Also I would imagine that language is the biggest difference among the schools you mention here (and between MV and CC).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do folks think MV is really going to be that bad? We are at an ok but not great on paper neighborhood dcps and weighing our low waitlist number at P st.

No MV is not going to be really that bad. Yes it’s a new campus but the curriculum, etc.. will all be the same. The families that will be at MV8 will likely be similar to families at MVP. PARCC scores are not the be all, end all but if you want some objective measure:

MV - Almist 50% students with a PARCC 4 in both ELA and math. Greater than 65% PARCC 3 in ELA and math

Cap city - 30% students PARCC 4 in both ELA and math. About 55% PARCC 3 in ELA and math


So look up your neighborhood DCPS numbers and compare to MV. If you are thinking of staying in the city past elementary, I would also compare the middle school.

OP, please don’t look at just the raw PARCC scores. MV is 11% at risk and CC is 34%. This more than accounts for the 20 point gap that PP mentions above.

The 20 point gap is actually a 67% difference in PARCC 4. So that difference is all because of more at risk students period. No impact of teachers, classroom instruction, language immersion, curriculum, or peer group. Poorer scores is always because the students are at risk. No other factor. Got it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Capital City is better run and more stable than either MV location. A kid with involved, engaged parents will do equally well at either. If you don't want start up turmoil (assuming 8th) and aren't fully committed to the language, then I'd go with Cap City. Bonus is the guaranteed middle school path.

Yes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Capital City is better run and more stable than either MV location. A kid with involved, engaged parents will do equally well at either. If you don't want start up turmoil (assuming 8th) and aren't fully committed to the language, then I'd go with Cap City. Bonus is the guaranteed middle school path.

Yes.

Cap City is getting a new principal - any decision on that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Capital City is better run and more stable than either MV location. A kid with involved, engaged parents will do equally well at either. If you don't want start up turmoil (assuming 8th) and aren't fully committed to the language, then I'd go with Cap City. Bonus is the guaranteed middle school path.

Yes.

Cap City is getting a new principal - any decision on that?

They are down to finalists who are scheduled to meet with a wider range of stakeholders in the upcoming days. Should have a decision relatively soon, I would think.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Capital City is better run and more stable than either MV location. A kid with involved, engaged parents will do equally well at either. If you don't want start up turmoil (assuming 8th) and aren't fully committed to the language, then I'd go with Cap City. Bonus is the guaranteed middle school path.

Yes.

Cap City is getting a new principal - any decision on that?

They are down to finalists who are scheduled to meet with a wider range of stakeholders in the upcoming days. Should have a decision relatively soon, I would think.

Hopefully it was a real process this time - not 1 friend of the founder and 8 candidates who were not qualified.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Capital City is better run and more stable than either MV location. A kid with involved, engaged parents will do equally well at either. If you don't want start up turmoil (assuming 8th) and aren't fully committed to the language, then I'd go with Cap City. Bonus is the guaranteed middle school path.

Yes.

Cap City is getting a new principal - any decision on that?

It was just announced that the new Capital City Lower School principal will be Michelle Johnson (interestingly, given the subject of this thread, she is the current Mundo Verde principal).

[Anonymous]

MV family SO SO sad to see Michelle Johnson go. (MV is a good fit for us; EL really works for our kid and immersion seems to be taking, three years in.)

Cap City has been around longer, has a comprehensive campus, and seems like a great option as well.