Housing dilemma in Capitol Hill - which schools are worth it?

[Anonymous]

Maury was also recently renovated if those things matter to you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, as posters rightly point out, Ludlow-Taylor is a decent ES these days. But would I, Hill denizen since the 90s, pick it over Maury or Brent if I could land anywhere on the Hill? No.

Ludlow has retained a bunch of old school teachers in the upper grades, who are still adapting to gentrification. We have close friends who quietly bailed from Ludlow to Bethesda last year, in the middle of 4th grade, after having started at the school in 3rd grade. They'd hit the wall with their child's classroom teacher and cohort. Privately, they were tired of a PC vibe (emphasis on celebrating black history and culture), along with a focus on test prep.

Please, PTA resources matter, and many Hill parents care little about PARCC scores. They know that the 10-hour-long test isn't well crafted, explaining why only DC still uses the "pure PARCC." That's right, all the states that once used used the straight-up PARCC have dropped it in the last decade. Only DC sticks with the deeply flawed PARCC.

OP may be fine with Ludlow, but the school isn't as safe a bet as Maury or Brent. For one thing, Ludlow parents have no clue who the new principal will be, since the current principle just quit at very short notice. It's tough to get a strong DCPS principal into a school under the best or circumstances. These circumstances aren't the best.

Wow.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, as posters rightly point out, Ludlow-Taylor is a decent ES these days. But would I, Hill denizen since the 90s, pick it over Maury or Brent if I could land anywhere on the Hill? No.

Ludlow has retained a bunch of old school teachers in the upper grades, who are still adapting to gentrification. We have close friends who quietly bailed from Ludlow to Bethesda last year, in the middle of 4th grade, after having started at the school in 3rd grade. They'd hit the wall with their child's classroom teacher and cohort. Privately, they were tired of a PC vibe (emphasis on celebrating black history and culture), along with a focus on test prep.

Please, PTA resources matter, and many Hill parents care little about PARCC scores. They know that the 10-hour-long test isn't well crafted, explaining why only DC still uses the "pure PARCC." That's right, all the states that once used used the straight-up PARCC have dropped it in the last decade. Only DC sticks with the deeply flawed PARCC.

OP may be fine with Ludlow, but the school isn't as safe a bet as Maury or Brent. For one thing, Ludlow parents have no clue who the new principal will be, since the current principle just quit at very short notice. It's tough to get a strong DCPS principal into a school under the best or circumstances. These circumstances aren't the best.

Wow.

+1

+2

[Anonymous]

If OP has the patience for a school just coming off Title 1 status, more power to him or her. Not every parent does. Know which sort of parent you are, OP, and act accordingly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, as posters rightly point out, Ludlow-Taylor is a decent ES these days. But would I, Hill denizen since the 90s, pick it over Maury or Brent if I could land anywhere on the Hill? No.

Ludlow has retained a bunch of old school teachers in the upper grades, who are still adapting to gentrification. We have close friends who quietly bailed from Ludlow to Bethesda last year, in the middle of 4th grade, after having started at the school in 3rd grade. They'd hit the wall with their child's classroom teacher and cohort. Privately, they were tired of a PC vibe (emphasis on celebrating black history and culture), along with a focus on test prep.

Please, PTA resources matter, and many Hill parents care little about PARCC scores. They know that the 10-hour-long test isn't well crafted, explaining why only DC still uses the "pure PARCC." That's right, all the states that once used used the straight-up PARCC have dropped it in the last decade. Only DC sticks with the deeply flawed PARCC.

OP may be fine with Ludlow, but the school isn't as safe a bet as Maury or Brent. For one thing, Ludlow parents have no clue who the new principal will be, since the current principle just quit at very short notice. It's tough to get a strong DCPS principal into a school under the best or circumstances. These circumstances aren't the best.

Wow.

+1

+2

No dog in this fight but I'm also sick of DCPS preaching to my kid about this and that. More emphasis on teaching spelling, grammar, writing, appreciation of classic children's literature, geography, unbiased history etc., thanks.

Humanities instruction is just plain weak in DCPS elementary schools, no matter which one you pick.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, as posters rightly point out, Ludlow-Taylor is a decent ES these days. But would I, Hill denizen since the 90s, pick it over Maury or Brent if I could land anywhere on the Hill? No.

Ludlow has retained a bunch of old school teachers in the upper grades, who are still adapting to gentrification. We have close friends who quietly bailed from Ludlow to Bethesda last year, in the middle of 4th grade, after having started at the school in 3rd grade. They'd hit the wall with their child's classroom teacher and cohort. Privately, they were tired of a PC vibe (emphasis on celebrating black history and culture), along with a focus on test prep.

Please, PTA resources matter, and many Hill parents care little about PARCC scores. They know that the 10-hour-long test isn't well crafted, explaining why only DC still uses the "pure PARCC." That's right, all the states that once used used the straight-up PARCC have dropped it in the last decade. Only DC sticks with the deeply flawed PARCC.

OP may be fine with Ludlow, but the school isn't as safe a bet as Maury or Brent. For one thing, Ludlow parents have no clue who the new principal will be, since the current principle just quit at very short notice. It's tough to get a strong DCPS principal into a school under the best or circumstances. These circumstances aren't the best.

Wow.

+1

+2

No dog in this fight but I'm also sick of DCPS preaching to my kid about this and that. More emphasis on teaching spelling, grammar, writing, appreciation of classic children's literature, geography, unbiased history etc., thanks.

Humanities instruction is just plain weak in DCPS elementary schools, no matter which one you pick.

If by we need to teach "unbiased" history you mean talking more about how our country was built off of the labor of slaves, and later how white people structured systems to systemically steal wealth and power from Black people, and oh don't forget how women were treated as less than full citizens until the late 70s and how being gay was essentially criminal until the early 2000s....totally!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, as posters rightly point out, Ludlow-Taylor is a decent ES these days. But would I, Hill denizen since the 90s, pick it over Maury or Brent if I could land anywhere on the Hill? No.

Ludlow has retained a bunch of old school teachers in the upper grades, who are still adapting to gentrification. We have close friends who quietly bailed from Ludlow to Bethesda last year, in the middle of 4th grade, after having started at the school in 3rd grade. They'd hit the wall with their child's classroom teacher and cohort. Privately, they were tired of a PC vibe (emphasis on celebrating black history and culture), along with a focus on test prep.

Please, PTA resources matter, and many Hill parents care little about PARCC scores. They know that the 10-hour-long test isn't well crafted, explaining why only DC still uses the "pure PARCC." That's right, all the states that once used used the straight-up PARCC have dropped it in the last decade. Only DC sticks with the deeply flawed PARCC.

OP may be fine with Ludlow, but the school isn't as safe a bet as Maury or Brent. For one thing, Ludlow parents have no clue who the new principal will be, since the current principle just quit at very short notice. It's tough to get a strong DCPS principal into a school under the best or circumstances. These circumstances aren't the best.

Wow.

+1

+2

No dog in this fight but I'm also sick of DCPS preaching to my kid about this and that. More emphasis on teaching spelling, grammar, writing, appreciation of classic children's literature, geography, unbiased history etc., thanks.

Humanities instruction is just plain weak in DCPS elementary schools, no matter which one you pick.

If by we need to teach "unbiased" history you mean talking more about how our country was built off of the labor of slaves, and later how white people structured systems to systemically steal wealth and power from Black people, and oh don't forget how women were treated as less than full citizens until the late 70s and how being gay was essentially criminal until the early 2000s....totally!

Beat me to it pp. When I was growing up “unbiased history” regarding African Americans meant learning Lincoln freed slaves and MLK made a speech. And that was pretty much it.

[Anonymous]

If you are in the southern end of the Maury zone, i would pick Maury. If you are on the northern or eastern side of the Maury zone, i would pick Brent.

Both are great schools, but the neighborhood around Brent is uniformly nice and more convenient.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, as posters rightly point out, Ludlow-Taylor is a decent ES these days. But would I, Hill denizen since the 90s, pick it over Maury or Brent if I could land anywhere on the Hill? No.

Ludlow has retained a bunch of old school teachers in the upper grades, who are still adapting to gentrification. We have close friends who quietly bailed from Ludlow to Bethesda last year, in the middle of 4th grade, after having started at the school in 3rd grade. They'd hit the wall with their child's classroom teacher and cohort. Privately, they were tired of a PC vibe (emphasis on celebrating black history and culture), along with a focus on test prep.

Please, PTA resources matter, and many Hill parents care little about PARCC scores. They know that the 10-hour-long test isn't well crafted, explaining why only DC still uses the "pure PARCC." That's right, all the states that once used used the straight-up PARCC have dropped it in the last decade. Only DC sticks with the deeply flawed PARCC.

OP may be fine with Ludlow, but the school isn't as safe a bet as Maury or Brent. For one thing, Ludlow parents have no clue who the new principal will be, since the current principle just quit at very short notice. It's tough to get a strong DCPS principal into a school under the best or circumstances. These circumstances aren't the best.

Wow.

+1

+2

No dog in this fight but I'm also sick of DCPS preaching to my kid about this and that. More emphasis on teaching spelling, grammar, writing, appreciation of classic children's literature, geography, unbiased history etc., thanks.

Humanities instruction is just plain weak in DCPS elementary schools, no matter which one you pick.

If by we need to teach "unbiased" history you mean talking more about how our country was built off of the labor of slaves, and later how white people structured systems to systemically steal wealth and power from Black people, and oh don't forget how women were treated as less than full citizens until the late 70s and how being gay was essentially criminal until the early 2000s....totally!

Beat me to it pp. When I was growing up “unbiased history” regarding African Americans meant learning Lincoln freed slaves and MLK made a speech. And that was pretty much it.

Don’t you think there is a middle ground, though?

I’m not advocating for a return to the white-washed history many of us got growing up, but there are two risks to the current approach. First, moving to a curriculum biased in the other direction isn’t any better. And too much time spent on these issues (no matter how taught) to the detriment of time on reading, math, and other fundamentals isn’t ultimately going to benefit students.

[Anonymous]

I live a block from Maury—it is hard to find parking on a Sunday night but otherwise easy.

[Anonymous]

OP -

Two more questions - Is Brent scheduled to go through modernization soon? I don't feel like dealing with a long commute if it gets put in far away temp space.

Also, I drove by Maury today and saw a bunch of police cars in the back, at least 12-15. What is that about?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP -

Two more questions - Is Brent scheduled to go through modernization soon? I don't feel like dealing with a long commute if it gets put in far away temp space.

Also, I drove by Maury today and saw a bunch of police cars in the back, at least 12-15. What is that about?

I think Brent was in the budget for like 2023? Can’t remember off top of my head.

And they are using Maury for police staging in case of trouble at Lincoln Park.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, as posters rightly point out, Ludlow-Taylor is a decent ES these days. But would I, Hill denizen since the 90s, pick it over Maury or Brent if I could land anywhere on the Hill? No.

Ludlow has retained a bunch of old school teachers in the upper grades, who are still adapting to gentrification. We have close friends who quietly bailed from Ludlow to Bethesda last year, in the middle of 4th grade, after having started at the school in 3rd grade. They'd hit the wall with their child's classroom teacher and cohort. Privately, they were tired of a PC vibe (emphasis on celebrating black history and culture), along with a focus on test prep.

Please, PTA resources matter, and many Hill parents care little about PARCC scores. They know that the 10-hour-long test isn't well crafted, explaining why only DC still uses the "pure PARCC." That's right, all the states that once used used the straight-up PARCC have dropped it in the last decade. Only DC sticks with the deeply flawed PARCC.

OP may be fine with Ludlow, but the school isn't as safe a bet as Maury or Brent. For one thing, Ludlow parents have no clue who the new principal will be, since the current principle just quit at very short notice. It's tough to get a strong DCPS principal into a school under the best or circumstances. These circumstances aren't the best.

Wow.

+1

+2

+3 And they're in for a rude awakening since MoCo curriculum also has a strong diversity emphasis.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, as posters rightly point out, Ludlow-Taylor is a decent ES these days. But would I, Hill denizen since the 90s, pick it over Maury or Brent if I could land anywhere on the Hill? No.

Ludlow has retained a bunch of old school teachers in the upper grades, who are still adapting to gentrification. We have close friends who quietly bailed from Ludlow to Bethesda last year, in the middle of 4th grade, after having started at the school in 3rd grade. They'd hit the wall with their child's classroom teacher and cohort. Privately, they were tired of a PC vibe (emphasis on celebrating black history and culture), along with a focus on test prep.

Please, PTA resources matter, and many Hill parents care little about PARCC scores. They know that the 10-hour-long test isn't well crafted, explaining why only DC still uses the "pure PARCC." That's right, all the states that once used used the straight-up PARCC have dropped it in the last decade. Only DC sticks with the deeply flawed PARCC.

OP may be fine with Ludlow, but the school isn't as safe a bet as Maury or Brent. For one thing, Ludlow parents have no clue who the new principal will be, since the current principle just quit at very short notice. It's tough to get a strong DCPS principal into a school under the best or circumstances. These circumstances aren't the best.

Wow.

+1

+2

+3 And they're in for a rude awakening since MoCo curriculum also has a strong diversity emphasis.

I think it's kind of funny that they threw their racist friends under the bus. Bethesda elementary schools probably don't have two families with one kid who moved from L-T halfway through fourth grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP -

Two more questions - Is Brent scheduled to go through modernization soon? I don't feel like dealing with a long commute if it gets put in far away temp space.

Also, I drove by Maury today and saw a bunch of police cars in the back, at least 12-15. What is that about?

No, Brent isn't scheduled for a modernization within the next 5 years. The principal has been pushing DCPS to modernize faster but hasn't succeeded. I'd be surprised if she does, given all the covid upheaval in DCPS and new strains on the city budget. The building is OK as is, although the playground space is small. Brent got an elevator last year and will get a 3rd classroom trailer (where the teachers parking lot is) this summer, to accommodate a 4th K class. Each K cohort has almost entirely in-boundary for years.