Help me with Kindergarten tours

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP again - I am IB for Maury but we are considering moving. I am very interested in LAMB among others so if we got in we would move closer.

You're IB with a guaranteed seat at a five star school with great test scores - why are you even looking elsewhere?

THIS. Truly you are making this way harder than it needs to be. You are in-bounds for Maury. You go to Maury. End of process.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I posted this in the wrong forum so am now reposting with a twist:

We are currently in process of touring elementary schools for DD who starts Kindergarten next year. Only interested in DC public and public charter at this time. We are touring our boundary school along with many others. The information is overwhelming. My question for the DCUM's that have been through this, is what were your biggest deciding factors in determining how to rank your top schools for the lottery? Can you rank for me from most to least important?

Some that I've captured so far include:
- The look on the kids' faces (do they look happy)
- How the teachers talk to/interact with the kids
- Proximity to home
- Curriculum and if teachers are trained on curriculum
- Cadence of the day (e.g. do they do math in AM or PM)
- Special features (e.g. "we were set on dual language because...")
- Good gut feeling
- Transportation options
- Diversity of student body and teachers
- Test scores
- Other?

LOL!! Nice list but way too detailed and some of it you won't get a chance to see.

1) Not all schools offer tours or open house during the school day, even if they do you probably can't make it to ever school on what I am guessing is a long list. If you go during school day there will be little to no interaction with teachers, if you go after school/weekend there is obviously no class observation & there still may or may not be teachers in your kids grade available for questions.

2) Even if they are during the day you and like 10-30 other parents will all be trying to see the class rooms. You will in most cases get a couple minutes to peek into a few classrooms. You will be strongly discouraged from talking to the teachers & students as it will disrupt their day. In the middle of a random part of the day and you can't really compare schools very well that way beyond if a class room seems productive, somewhat organized etc.

3) How "teacher interact" & your "gut feelings" you will need to be aware of and check by you bias. Also, now how swayed you are by sometimes flashy extras Charters have vrs how well a DCPS does with what little they have. For example many charters have staff specifically for open houses, tours, parent engagement, and lots of other extras. DCPS often have administrators, specials staff, PTO/PTA or anyone available doing tours everyone else is busy working. (I you want to know more about how the teachers are at school, school culture etc try to talk to 3-5 parents at different ages, sped, soco economic levels, races, etc this will give you a much better idea)

4) Very few DC school are actually diverse if are looking for what the word actually means which is a mix or balance of different races and economic levels.


5) Please don't insult the teachers with questions about how well they are trained or know their own jobs. They all went to school to be teachers, sure some are new but many in DCPS have been working for years as teachers. They have adjusted to more often curriculum changes more than you can imagine, they have on going continuing education, THEY ARE PROFESSIONALS!! And you may not meet any of the teachers you kid might have anyway. Don't be that parent that thinks they know more about education than those actually in the schools.

6) Test scores only help when you compare the other demographics and maybe as a last thing to look at. If a school with 90% upper income kids is only doing ok (by dc standards) that is very good... if a lower income school is doing okay (by dc standards) that is probably a + for that school.

7) Walking and or Drive time is important for sure. Also, look into before & after care options if that is thing you will need. DCPS all have after care but it is often limited, though a few have aftercare for all. So, be sure you have other options. Charters often have seats for everyone and you can sign up mid year in most cases. However the more flexible the more expensive... keeping in a Nanny share or adjusting work schedules might be just as good of a deal. Especially when you factor the 30 some days off throughout the school year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP again - I am IB for Maury but we are considering moving. I am very interested in LAMB among others so if we got in we would move closer.

You're IB with a guaranteed seat at a five star school with great test scores - why are you even looking elsewhere?

THIS. Truly you are making this way harder than it needs to be. You are in-bounds for Maury. You go to Maury. End of process.

Is this because you want a bigger home? I'd suggest you consider Two Rivers and Inspired Teaching-- both schools that will hold you through 8th if need be, with a doable commute while figure out your move.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some of the items on your list compel me to say that you need to remember you are choosing a school, not a single teacher or a specific set of classmates.

At every school there will be classes that are a dream and classes that are a nightmare, teachers that are rockstars and teachers that don't gel with your kid, schedules and "cadence" will change, curriculum can change year to year, amout o f recess can change too. So don't let items that specific sway you as much as other considerations. There simply are no guarantees.

I've had two kids in the same schools and their experiences were so different at each (of three schools) that it was almost as if they went to different schools.

In that case, what sort of things actually matter, especially when considering a school for multiple kids that may have different needs?

1) COMMUTE. Seriously, this is a big thing. Make sure you try out getting there in the morning and evening and ask yourself if you can honestly swing it every day.
2) Organization. Is the school humming with life, or a disorganized mess?
3) Parent satisfaction. Reach out to the PTA. Ask them what they love or hate about their school.
4) Gut instinct. I do think you need to go with this as well. Can you see your kid going there?

These are great but 2 and 3 you won’t be able to know. Entering the school once won’t necessarily tell you how organized it is. The PTA won’t tell you the straight story. Best you can do is talk to neighbors who go to the school and ask for the good and the bad. Taking it with a grain of salt because it’s just one view.

This is why most people rely on the tiers, scores, stars and the like. If you are going to try for something that isn’t Maury, know why and what you hope to get that you can’t in your IB.