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DC Public and Public Charter Schools
Applications down 21% on myschooldc
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Anonymous
| Almost anyone who wants a spot can find one within 2 miles of their house except maybe people in upper northwest. I live near u street and there is a charter that has almost no waitlist! |
Anonymous
We will really know in October/Nov, but I would expect a larger decline than myschoolsdc. Anecdotally there are tons or reports of so many missing kids who never showed up to online school - and that will all come out in the wash in enrollment season. If anything, I would expect there would be more interest in charters this year than dcps, relatively speaking. |
Anonymous
The MySchool press release tried out this narrative but I'm skeptical given the demand all private schools have seen. |
Anonymous
As a parent of middle schoolers, DC has utterly failed this year and doesn't look like its going to do a whole lot better next year. That's what's missing. |
Anonymous
| I'm the parent of a rising 5th grader, and I've noticed that the waitlists for both Latin and Basis are down by half. Have that people really moved or found private seats? Where are all these private schools offering seats, and how are people affording the burbs in this crazy real estate market? |
Anonymous
Yes. |
Anonymous
' House in Petworth purchased in 2004. Paid off in 2019 and sold for $750k. Staying in an apt through the end of the school year for two day a week school and to finish out a terminal year for our oldest with her friends. Couldn't quite pay cash for our new place in Ellicot City but came close. |
Anonymous
| We know a few people who left DC for good. It was less about the schools, though, and more because of full time telework and a desire to be closer to family during Covid. |
Anonymous
IT IS UNIVERSAL. There is a prek3/4 seat for EVERY child in the city. Its just not at your closest school or a school you are willing to send your child to. That’s your choice. But everyone has a seat |
Anonymous
| The DC government cares more about WTU's *feelings* about coronavirus than educating children. |
Anonymous
Yep. Universal and not means tested are the best things going for it. |
Anonymous
That's true. But when you are assessing the utility of the program and how much value one should place on the program in terms of where to live, it is also important to consider what you will have to sacrifice to be able to use the program. There is a difference between not being at the "closest" school and not being able to get a spot at a school that is logistically feasible. The best option we ever had would have added 45 minutes to our commute each way. Yes, it was my choice to turn down this option, but the costs to this "free" service would have been prohibitive. |
Anonymous
What would your solution be? Have the city add more pre-K classes to your closest school by taking away k-5 classrooms? Your choice is to go where there are seats or shut up |
Anonymous
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Couple observations from the perspective of a mom whose kid is supposedly headed to PK3 in the fall:
1) I'm curious how many first time moms and dads missed the deadline. I am very new to the schools game but EdFest was poorly publicized. I get it's a national paper, but I wish WaPo dedicated more prominent space to some of these DC-local issues vs ad nauseum political and cultural click bait. It's tough for things like EdFest to spread by word of mouth if you aren't seeing people. I wonder how participation compared to previous years. 2) At the virtual open houses I attended, only one school was straightforward about their re-opening metrics. They said they expect PK3 to come back last and that they had staffing issues to work out in that grade. I appreciated their honesty vs a generic "when it's safe" response from everyone else (IPL is a necessity for me but I actually ranked that school higher because I thought it might be a proxy for other communications issues down the line). Totally understand that a pandemic does not work like a train schedule, but some families who need IPL may prefer the certainty of an existing child care arrangement vs risking it on virtual PK3. We matched at a DCPS and I am still reluctant to say we don't need care. I don't want the rug pulled out from me in August. 3) The virtual presentations I attended were really underwhelming. You couldn't see the physical space - which if you are concerned about ventilation or overcrowding or just want to see where your kid is going to be spending their time, is not helpful. Several spent more time on their food allergies policies (I know it's important!) than on how they might handle COVID safety, regardless of date of re-opening. I feel like I have a good sense of risk at schools and elsewhere because I have to keep up to date on that for my job (recognizing risk tolerance is a different thing). Others might have a harder time and default to a lower risk option. 4) It is unlikely that there will be widespread vaccinations for the youngest children in the fall. My kid has been in daycare since May, so student vaccinations are not a deal-breaker for me, but it may be for others who have lots of flexibility. |
Anonymous
The breakdown of application numbers by grade reflects this--entry years (PK, 6, 9) were still pretty high. MSDC's read on it is that families are opting to stay put. |