Moving to DC - Murch or Eaton (or other?)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, if you're worried about the size of Murch, just know that the new Eaton will be larger than the original. They are expanding the size of the school so that they can take a lot more out-of-boundary kids. I have no issue with OOB kids, but if you're hoping for a "small school" setting then it won't be the new Eaton.

Plus, Ethan is the designated school for the Ward 3 family homeless shelter. That’s fine in many ways, but those at-risk kids likely will have special needs which will require a lot of teacher resources and there will be lots of classroom turnover. Finally Murch feeds to the best middle school, Deal. Eaton feeds to second tier Hardy MS.

Wow. Love these friendly WOTP people. I'd actually suggest Eaton based on this feedback, so your kid can be less of an asshole when they grow up.

PP didn't say where he/she actually is. The people who follow these threads most closely are from Cap Hill.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, if you're worried about the size of Murch, just know that the new Eaton will be larger than the original. They are expanding the size of the school so that they can take a lot more out-of-boundary kids. I have no issue with OOB kids, but if you're hoping for a "small school" setting then it won't be the new Eaton.

Plus, Ethan is the designated school for the Ward 3 family homeless shelter. That’s fine in many ways, but those at-risk kids likely will have special needs which will require a lot of teacher resources and there will be lots of classroom turnover. Finally Murch feeds to the best middle school, Deal. Eaton feeds to second tier Hardy MS.

Wow. Love these friendly WOTP people. I'd actually suggest Eaton based on this feedback, so your kid can be less of an asshole when they grow up.

PP didn't say where he/she actually is. The people who follow these threads most closely are from Cap Hill.

NP. I doubt someone from Cap Hill would be so keen to dismiss Hardy in favor of Deal. I'm IB for Deal myself, and I bet this was a Deal person trying to disparage Hardy.

As for OP, I'd just pick the house you like. If your oldest is just entering K in the fall, Hardy or Deal will be fine and similarly regarded by the time you need middle schools, given current trends.

[Anonymous]

We moved from Woodley Park to Forest Hills. Earlier lived in Cleveland Park. (Decade plus in DC)

Both are good schools. (We are at Oyster) Personally if you are renting, I would recommend looking at Forest Hills as there are bigger apartments, safe vibe as the kids gain independence. Also would recommend renting from a condo/coop building rather than an apartment building because they tend to have more permanent, vested people who care about the sense of community. (We found our last two homes on Hotpad.com)

[Anonymous]

I have two kids at Eaton. It’s a wonderful school! It’s a very warm, inviting, and diverse community. The swing space is different, but it’s not that bad. In some ways, it’s actually nicer than the old building (it got really run down.)

If you google “John Eaton Modernization” you’ll find the google site with all the construction updates and plans. In the materials from the January 8th meeting, there’s a video showing what the school is going to look like. Most people I’ve chatted with are really exited about it. There’s also a meeting at the swing space this Thursday if you are in town and want more information about the modernization.

I know several families at Murch and they are happy there. I’m sure either school would be great for you family. I would choose which home/apt you like the best.

[Anonymous]

We're at Murch, and have had a good experience. Even though the school is big, the class sizes aren't enormous (my kid has 20 or 21 kids in her class). We haven't found the size to be a problem. The renovation is really nice, so they've got a nice, new building. The Murch catchment also has lots of apartment buildings (many are rent-controlled!) so there are plenty of options.

I think both schools are good, but I just wanted to address your specific concerns about Murch's size -- in our experience, it's not an issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, if you're worried about the size of Murch, just know that the new Eaton will be larger than the original. They are expanding the size of the school so that they can take a lot more out-of-boundary kids. I have no issue with OOB kids, but if you're hoping for a "small school" setting then it won't be the new Eaton.

Plus, Ethan is the designated school for the Ward 3 family homeless shelter. That’s fine in many ways, but those at-risk kids likely will have special needs which will require a lot of teacher resources and there will be lots of classroom turnover. Finally Murch feeds to the best middle school, Deal. Eaton feeds to second tier Hardy MS.

You must know a whole lot about the families who have yet to move into the shelter.
OP, Hardy will be number 1 middle school by the time your child goes to 6th grade.
Concentrate on finding a good rental. We hate our building (we own) which has ended up being much bigger problem that the schools in upper NW.

Hardy MS also has 1990s-style urban school uniforms.

[Anonymous]

Jeez. Some of y’all are horrible. They are both great schools. The swing space issue is a temporary one. Murch is brand new now. If you find a place in bounds for either of them, you’ll be in a good place.

The rest of you should seriously consider how to be better people. I mean. Wow.

[Anonymous]

You should also consider Hearst. It is smaller than Eaton and Murch.

[Anonymous]

If you want PreK for your younger child next year, know that neither school offers PK3 (you'd be looking at Hyde-Addison or Shepherd for Wilson-feeders that do). Your odds of getting the younger child in for PK3 at schools that offer it or PK4 at schools that don't are very good, but not guaranteed. Having a sibling there and living inbounds gives you highest priority for PK seats.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you want PreK for your younger child next year, know that neither school offers PK3 (you'd be looking at Hyde-Addison or Shepherd for Wilson-feeders that do). Your odds of getting the younger child in for PK3 at schools that offer it or PK4 at schools that don't are very good, but not guaranteed. Having a sibling there and living inbounds gives you highest priority for PK seats.

Or Bancroft, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, if you're worried about the size of Murch, just know that the new Eaton will be larger than the original. They are expanding the size of the school so that they can take a lot more out-of-boundary kids. I have no issue with OOB kids, but if you're hoping for a "small school" setting then it won't be the new Eaton.

Plus, Ethan is the designated school for the Ward 3 family homeless shelter. That’s fine in many ways, but those at-risk kids likely will have special needs which will require a lot of teacher resources and there will be lots of classroom turnover. Finally Murch feeds to the best middle school, Deal. Eaton feeds to second tier Hardy MS.

You must know a whole lot about the families who have yet to move into the shelter.
OP, Hardy will be number 1 middle school by the time your child goes to 6th grade.
Concentrate on finding a good rental. We hate our building (we own) which has ended up being much bigger problem that the schools in upper NW.

Hardy MS also has 1990s-style urban school uniforms.

Sigh. Deal is the only MS in DC that doesn't require uniforms.

Lot of Deal parents, us among them, aren't thrilled with Deal and I think probably the biggest concern is how big and unwieldy the school has become.

A smaller school like Hardy seems very appealing right about now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, if you're worried about the size of Murch, just know that the new Eaton will be larger than the original. They are expanding the size of the school so that they can take a lot more out-of-boundary kids. I have no issue with OOB kids, but if you're hoping for a "small school" setting then it won't be the new Eaton.

Plus, Ethan is the designated school for the Ward 3 family homeless shelter. That’s fine in many ways, but those at-risk kids likely will have special needs which will require a lot of teacher resources and there will be lots of classroom turnover. Finally Murch feeds to the best middle school, Deal. Eaton feeds to second tier Hardy MS.

You must know a whole lot about the families who have yet to move into the shelter.
OP, Hardy will be number 1 middle school by the time your child goes to 6th grade.
Concentrate on finding a good rental. We hate our building (we own) which has ended up being much bigger problem that the schools in upper NW.

Hardy MS also has 1990s-style urban school uniforms.

Will you ever stop? You post this on every Hardy thread. No one thinks it's funny except you. And no, not a Hardy parent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, if you're worried about the size of Murch, just know that the new Eaton will be larger than the original. They are expanding the size of the school so that they can take a lot more out-of-boundary kids. I have no issue with OOB kids, but if you're hoping for a "small school" setting then it won't be the new Eaton.

Plus, Ethan is the designated school for the Ward 3 family homeless shelter. That’s fine in many ways, but those at-risk kids likely will have special needs which will require a lot of teacher resources and there will be lots of classroom turnover. Finally Murch feeds to the best middle school, Deal. Eaton feeds to second tier Hardy MS.

You must know a whole lot about the families who have yet to move into the shelter.
OP, Hardy will be number 1 middle school by the time your child goes to 6th grade.
Concentrate on finding a good rental. We hate our building (we own) which has ended up being much bigger problem that the schools in upper NW.

Hardy MS also has 1990s-style urban school uniforms.

Will you ever stop? You post this on every Hardy thread. No one thinks it's funny except you. And no, not a Hardy parent.

Public school uniforms aren’t funny, but they are kind of pathetic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you want PreK for your younger child next year, know that neither school offers PK3 (you'd be looking at Hyde-Addison or Shepherd for Wilson-feeders that do). Your odds of getting the younger child in for PK3 at schools that offer it or PK4 at schools that don't are very good, but not guaranteed. Having a sibling there and living inbounds gives you highest priority for PK seats.

Or Bancroft, right?

Yes. But the odds of getting in when English dominant are smaller there, because at HA and Shepherd IB with Sibling is the highest preference and at Bancroft and other dual language schools the PK preference are different, designed to get a high enough percentage of Spanish dominant PK students. Last year, all three schools took all IB kids with siblings enrolled. But Bancroft waitlisted all other IB English dominant kids while the other two schools accepted some, which makes me think there is a bigger risk of getting waitlisted even as a PK3 IB with sibling at Bancroft than the other schools.

I also think Bancroft is most likely to get rezoned to a different middle and high school but OP's kids could be grandfathered in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You should also consider Hearst. It is smaller than Eaton and Murch.

Hearst class size is much larger than Murch.
Murch school size is much larger than Hearst.