Looking on the Hill - curious for reviews of area elementary schools

[Anonymous]

We are at Payne. The teachers are fantastic. It's small and nimble and handled the pandemic well. I think if you surveyed folks you'd find that folks are generally happier at Payne than the surrounding schools and I don't know anyone who has left because of the education their kid was getting.

[Anonymous]

OP, be aware that there is a contingent on this board that is trying to persuade everyone that L-T is better than Peabody/Watkins and basically the same as Brent and Maury. This isn’t actually true. L-T is pretty similar to the Cluster if you look at the stats, and Peabody has been one of the best schools for PK/K for quite a while.

[Anonymous]

DGS has started work on Peabody, and will finish over the summer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are at Payne. The teachers are fantastic. It's small and nimble and handled the pandemic well. I think if you surveyed folks you'd find that folks are generally happier at Payne than the surrounding schools and I don't know anyone who has left because of the education their kid was getting.

that’s terrific to hear.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are at Payne. The teachers are fantastic. It's small and nimble and handled the pandemic well. I think if you surveyed folks you'd find that folks are generally happier at Payne than the surrounding schools and I don't know anyone who has left because of the education their kid was getting.

What grade is your child?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, be aware that there is a contingent on this board that is trying to persuade everyone that L-T is better than Peabody/Watkins and basically the same as Brent and Maury. This isn’t actually true. L-T is pretty similar to the Cluster if you look at the stats, and Peabody has been one of the best schools for PK/K for quite a while.

. If only. The reality is that L-T has steadily changed For the better in the last 5 or 6 years while Watkins has struggled with fairly high SES hostile leadership.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, be aware that there is a contingent on this board that is trying to persuade everyone that L-T is better than Peabody/Watkins and basically the same as Brent and Maury. This isn’t actually true. L-T is pretty similar to the Cluster if you look at the stats, and Peabody has been one of the best schools for PK/K for quite a while.

This is a weird comment. L-T has been headed solidly in one direction whereas Peabody/Watkins has not. No poster in this thread has suggested that L-T is akin to Maury, other than to say that both are solid choices. Also, this person is particularly asking for K next year and Peabody's building is literally a demolition/building site with few ostensible signs of progress and a completion date that magically moved from October to August without any evidence that the first date wasn't the accurate one. If I were looking for in person school, I would not be counting on Peabody having that next year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are at Payne. The teachers are fantastic. It's small and nimble and handled the pandemic well. I think if you surveyed folks you'd find that folks are generally happier at Payne than the surrounding schools and I don't know anyone who has left because of the education their kid was getting.

This is fantastic to hear. I worry about the test scores there making it a short-term only option, but also realize that things can change really quickly if families just take the leap and stay the course. We have 2 family friends with kids in 1st and both are very happy and planning to stay for next year, which is a great sign.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are at Payne. The teachers are fantastic. It's small and nimble and handled the pandemic well. I think if you surveyed folks you'd find that folks are generally happier at Payne than the surrounding schools and I don't know anyone who has left because of the education their kid was getting.

This is fantastic to hear. I worry about the test scores there making it a short-term only option, but also realize that things can change really quickly if families just take the leap and stay the course. We have 2 family friends with kids in 1st and both are very happy and planning to stay for next year, which is a great sign.

test scores look solid to me - 60%+ meeting or exceeding expectations. trust me when I say there are fantastic kids and teachers in every school in DC. I am not pollyanna and would not send my kid to a severely troubled school. But Payne looks solid to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are at Payne. The teachers are fantastic. It's small and nimble and handled the pandemic well. I think if you surveyed folks you'd find that folks are generally happier at Payne than the surrounding schools and I don't know anyone who has left because of the education their kid was getting.

This is fantastic to hear. I worry about the test scores there making it a short-term only option, but also realize that things can change really quickly if families just take the leap and stay the course. We have 2 family friends with kids in 1st and both are very happy and planning to stay for next year, which is a great sign.

test scores look solid to me - 60%+ meeting or exceeding expectations. trust me when I say there are fantastic kids and teachers in every school in DC. I am not pollyanna and would not send my kid to a severely troubled school. But Payne looks solid to me.

Payne does not have 60% of kids meeting or exceeding grade level... Unless you’re counting 3s? No one counts 3s.

[Anonymous]

Test scores are complicated. But they are moving in the right direction and the upper grade neighborhood kids are sticking around, not because they have to but because they want to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are at Payne. The teachers are fantastic. It's small and nimble and handled the pandemic well. I think if you surveyed folks you'd find that folks are generally happier at Payne than the surrounding schools and I don't know anyone who has left because of the education their kid was getting.

This is fantastic to hear. I worry about the test scores there making it a short-term only option, but also realize that things can change really quickly if families just take the leap and stay the course. We have 2 family friends with kids in 1st and both are very happy and planning to stay for next year, which is a great sign.

test scores look solid to me - 60%+ meeting or exceeding expectations. trust me when I say there are fantastic kids and teachers in every school in DC. I am not pollyanna and would not send my kid to a severely troubled school. But Payne looks solid to me.

Payne does not have 60% of kids meeting or exceeding grade level... Unless you’re counting 3s? No one counts 3s.

This. 3 is not grade level people. 4 is grade level and 5 is above.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are at Payne. The teachers are fantastic. It's small and nimble and handled the pandemic well. I think if you surveyed folks you'd find that folks are generally happier at Payne than the surrounding schools and I don't know anyone who has left because of the education their kid was getting.

This is fantastic to hear. I worry about the test scores there making it a short-term only option, but also realize that things can change really quickly if families just take the leap and stay the course. We have 2 family friends with kids in 1st and both are very happy and planning to stay for next year, which is a great sign.

test scores look solid to me - 60%+ meeting or exceeding expectations. trust me when I say there are fantastic kids and teachers in every school in DC. I am not pollyanna and would not send my kid to a severely troubled school. But Payne looks solid to me.

Payne does not have 60% of kids meeting or exceeding grade level... Unless you’re counting 3s? No one counts 3s.

This. 3 is not grade level people. 4 is grade level and 5 is above.

BTW pretty easy to be at grade level if you are middle class. 5 is what you should be looking at for a high performing peer group.

DC uses 3 as acceptable to make things look better because performance and standards are so low in the city.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are at Payne. The teachers are fantastic. It's small and nimble and handled the pandemic well. I think if you surveyed folks you'd find that folks are generally happier at Payne than the surrounding schools and I don't know anyone who has left because of the education their kid was getting.

This is fantastic to hear. I worry about the test scores there making it a short-term only option, but also realize that things can change really quickly if families just take the leap and stay the course. We have 2 family friends with kids in 1st and both are very happy and planning to stay for next year, which is a great sign.

test scores look solid to me - 60%+ meeting or exceeding expectations. trust me when I say there are fantastic kids and teachers in every school in DC. I am not pollyanna and would not send my kid to a severely troubled school. But Payne looks solid to me.

Payne does not have 60% of kids meeting or exceeding grade level... Unless you’re counting 3s? No one counts 3s.

Sorry you’re right - it’s about 1/3 meets and 1/3 approaches. Personally I have zero qualms about that - it seems very solid for an urban elementary school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are at Payne. The teachers are fantastic. It's small and nimble and handled the pandemic well. I think if you surveyed folks you'd find that folks are generally happier at Payne than the surrounding schools and I don't know anyone who has left because of the education their kid was getting.

This is fantastic to hear. I worry about the test scores there making it a short-term only option, but also realize that things can change really quickly if families just take the leap and stay the course. We have 2 family friends with kids in 1st and both are very happy and planning to stay for next year, which is a great sign.

test scores look solid to me - 60%+ meeting or exceeding expectations. trust me when I say there are fantastic kids and teachers in every school in DC. I am not pollyanna and would not send my kid to a severely troubled school. But Payne looks solid to me.

Payne does not have 60% of kids meeting or exceeding grade level... Unless you’re counting 3s? No one counts 3s.

This. 3 is not grade level people. 4 is grade level and 5 is above.

BTW pretty easy to be at grade level if you are middle class. 5 is what you should be looking at for a high performing peer group.

DC uses 3 as acceptable to make things look better because performance and standards are so low in the city.

Honestly, if you have a little kid or baby and you're overwhelming focus is already that they must have a "high performing peer group," that's a pretty stressful way to live. You have no idea what kind of kid you'll have. You may have a kid who blossoms being a leader if they truly are "high performing." You may find that (gasp) your child actually is not "high performing" and your kid is a solid 3 or 4. You may find that it's more important for you to have a small, nurturing school than your kid being part of a huge cohort of a "high performing peer group." You may find that your little 5 actually gets more "differentiation" as an outlier. You may even find that those 3s are nice and good friends to your "high performer" and that is more important than anything else. There may be many non-academic factors that are more important, like access to a good aftercare program, a shorter commute, a tight school community with friends in the neighborhood, and of course, housing costs. At the end of the day, this is *elementary school." There are a lot of things much, much more important than your kid being surrounded by 5s, and you actually have no idea how your kid's social, emotional, and academic trajectories are going to work out. Advanced learning and "high performing peer groups" can come later.