What elementary school on The Hill?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many of the parents of IB Watkins kids (who are currently attending lower grades at Watkins) I've talked to would not switch to Brent or SWS right now because 1) they are familiar with the current cohort of kids since they've known them since Peabody, and 2) SWS and Brent are currently dependent on lottery luck for middle school. It's working out now, but what will the waitlists for Latin or Basis look like in a few years?

Meanwhile, L-T and Peabody/Watkins seems to be turning, with JO Wilson catching up. By the time these kids get to SH, things might be great. If not, they can enter the lottery just as they would at SWS or Brent. It also helps that SH is part of the Cluster, so parents who are already participating in the Cluster PTA for Peabody and Watkins can also be involved with SH, before their kids even arrive.

One of the biggest knocks against Watkins (for IB families) in the upper grades were the huge numbers of OOB kids. However, now that the school is reducing the number of classes at each grade to match the 4 classes coming from Peabody, more parents feel there is a better chance of the cohort staying the same all the way through.

Funny -- like many SWS families, we look at SH as a fallback as our boundary school. It's nice to have options as SH has its own share of issues.

+1. To answer the previous poster, I might consider SWS for this reason, but not Brent. Although, I'm not yet sold on Reggio Emilia for grades past kindergarten, so I'd want to check that out first.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many of the parents of IB Watkins kids (who are currently attending lower grades at Watkins) I've talked to would not switch to Brent or SWS right now because 1) they are familiar with the current cohort of kids since they've known them since Peabody, and 2) SWS and Brent are currently dependent on lottery luck for middle school. It's working out now, but what will the waitlists for Latin or Basis look like in a few years?

Meanwhile, L-T and Peabody/Watkins seems to be turning, with JO Wilson catching up. By the time these kids get to SH, things might be great. If not, they can enter the lottery just as they would at SWS or Brent. It also helps that SH is part of the Cluster, so parents who are already participating in the Cluster PTA for Peabody and Watkins can also be involved with SH, before their kids even arrive.

One of the biggest knocks against Watkins (for IB families) in the upper grades were the huge numbers of OOB kids. However, now that the school is reducing the number of classes at each grade to match the 4 classes coming from Peabody, more parents feel there is a better chance of the cohort staying the same all the way through.

Funny -- like many SWS families, we look at SH as a fallback as our boundary school. It's nice to have options as SH has its own share of issues.

What grade does SWS run up through?

Currently, third, will have fifth by 2016-2017.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, you don't really have an issue with Brent other than your belief/perception that DCPS teachers are required to "teach to the test"?

What is wrong with you people!!! Could you be any more thin skinned or be so unsure of yourselves? No one took a shot at your beloved Brent. She doesn't like it as much as she likes MV.

I apologize as it appears that I have struck a nerve or otherwise offended your delicate sensibilities. My question about PP's experience at Brent was genuine as was my follow up, which was not intended as sarcastic or to demean PP in any way. I regret that you chose to interpret in that manner. In spite of the penchant of some on this Board to crap all over what they curiously perceive as the Almighty Brent, or anonymously wring their hands about administration ineptitude, many of us are simply not aware of each amd every area in which the school may be coming up short. It therefore can be helpful to solicit unfiltered information in the hope that these shortcomings can be addressed. Finally, for those who appear to get off on some sort of smug satisfaction by lobbing digital Molotov cocktails at Brent, grow up. The "mean girls" shtick is boorish.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm neighbors with 2 rising first graders from Peabody, and both families have told me that almost the entire class is going to Watkins. A few more classes like that and Watkins will be a different place.

I'm the parent of a rising First Grader from Peabody who will be going to Watkins. I currently only know of two kids (from a total of four classes) in the entire school NOT going to Watkins. I'm sure there are more than a handful, but, honestly, I just don't know of more than two, and I've been asking....(and I presently haven't heard of anybody going to MV, though maybe my kid's in another circle.)

As for SES status, if it's any indicator, I've been to A LOT of birthdays that cost over $500. And The school's starting to look like a mini-Boden catalog.

There's also a visible demographic shift between my K child's class and my Pk3 child's. (The PK3 class is diverse, but my impression--based on no hard-data, but impressions from fellow parents--is that it's more uniformlyl higher SES.)

I'm the parent of a rising 2nd grader at Watkins. The vast, vast majority of kids in PK4 have continued to 1st grade at Watkins, I haven't heard of any 1st graders who aren't continuing to 2nd (though I'm sure there will be some), and we've had many conversions with other parents (yes, lawyers, etc.) who really hope and plan for the cohort to continue through to Stuart Hobson.

If you're interested, see this relatively recent thread with several hundred posts: http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/461253.page (Watkins Parents: How pleased are you? How optimistic?)

PP what are your impressions of Watkins so far? Do you feel like your child is getting a good education? Did your kid's class have any behavioral issues that you didn't feel were adequately addressed?

If you magically got into SWS or Brent tomorrow, would you stay at Watkins?

Short version: yes, good education; impressed with academic progress ; from child reports, no behavioral issues beyond what you'd expect from pretty much any group of 6&7 year olds.

Long version: see earlier thread.

also https://twitter.com/MsDrummAP https://twitter.com/MrLawsonAP http://www.capitolhillclusterschool.org/our-schools/watkins-elementary/new-at-watkins-elementary - obviously not a unbiased picture, but gives you a sense of things that are going on.

As to switching to SWS or Brent, would not switch because of continuity problems. If we had been able to start out in one of those schools, maybe. My sense is that upper elementary is more of a sure thing at those schools, but there wouldn't be the continuity through middle school (Stuart Hobson), and from what I've heard, having a good peer group is especially important at those ages.

you do know that SH has a lower percentage of students who are proficient or better in math (and a lower percentage of kids who are advanced in math) than Jefferson, right? In reading, Stuart Hobson has 61% proficient and Jefferson has 45%, so there is admittedly a distinction there. Jefferson has more than twice the in-bounds percentage of Stuart-Hobson, too. Learndc no longer seems to have the 2014 equity reports posted, but the most recent stats I could find showed a higher median growth percentile at Jefferson than Stuart-Hobson. So I'm not sure that S-H is the only middle school option for kids on the Hill that can provide a "good peer group." Unless you think kids need to be white to be good peers, in which case yes, there are about 40 at Stuart Hobson.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, you don't really have an issue with Brent other than your belief/perception that DCPS teachers are required to "teach to the test"?

What is wrong with you people!!! Could you be any more thin skinned or be so unsure of yourselves? No one took a shot at your beloved Brent. She doesn't like it as much as she likes MV.

I apologize as it appears that I have struck a nerve or otherwise offended your delicate sensibilities. My question about PP's experience at Brent was genuine as was my follow up, which was not intended as sarcastic or to demean PP in any way. I regret that you chose to interpret in that manner. In spite of the penchant of some on this Board to crap all over what they curiously perceive as the Almighty Brent, or anonymously wring their hands about administration ineptitude, many of us are simply not aware of each amd every area in which the school may be coming up short. It therefore can be helpful to solicit unfiltered information in the hope that these shortcomings can be addressed. Finally, for those who appear to get off on some sort of smug satisfaction by lobbing digital Molotov cocktails at Brent, grow up. The "mean girls" shtick is boorish.

You must work in politics. Just between us girls you should know that an apology isn't an apology if you're apologizing for what others did, not your own actions. And you can't be the mean girl and then be all offended at the mean girls; pick a side. Be a b*tch if you want to be, but own it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm neighbors with 2 rising first graders from Peabody, and both families have told me that almost the entire class is going to Watkins. A few more classes like that and Watkins will be a different place.

I'm the parent of a rising First Grader from Peabody who will be going to Watkins. I currently only know of two kids (from a total of four classes) in the entire school NOT going to Watkins. I'm sure there are more than a handful, but, honestly, I just don't know of more than two, and I've been asking....(and I presently haven't heard of anybody going to MV, though maybe my kid's in another circle.)

As for SES status, if it's any indicator, I've been to A LOT of birthdays that cost over $500. And The school's starting to look like a mini-Boden catalog.

There's also a visible demographic shift between my K child's class and my Pk3 child's. (The PK3 class is diverse, but my impression--based on no hard-data, but impressions from fellow parents--is that it's more uniformlyl higher SES.)

I'm the parent of a rising 2nd grader at Watkins. The vast, vast majority of kids in PK4 have continued to 1st grade at Watkins, I haven't heard of any 1st graders who aren't continuing to 2nd (though I'm sure there will be some), and we've had many conversions with other parents (yes, lawyers, etc.) who really hope and plan for the cohort to continue through to Stuart Hobson.

If you're interested, see this relatively recent thread with several hundred posts: http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/461253.page (Watkins Parents: How pleased are you? How optimistic?)

PP what are your impressions of Watkins so far? Do you feel like your child is getting a good education? Did your kid's class have any behavioral issues that you didn't feel were adequately addressed?

If you magically got into SWS or Brent tomorrow, would you stay at Watkins?

Short version: yes, good education; impressed with academic progress ; from child reports, no behavioral issues beyond what you'd expect from pretty much any group of 6&7 year olds.

Long version: see earlier thread.

also https://twitter.com/MsDrummAP https://twitter.com/MrLawsonAP http://www.capitolhillclusterschool.org/our-schools/watkins-elementary/new-at-watkins-elementary - obviously not a unbiased picture, but gives you a sense of things that are going on.

As to switching to SWS or Brent, would not switch because of continuity problems. If we had been able to start out in one of those schools, maybe. My sense is that upper elementary is more of a sure thing at those schools, but there wouldn't be the continuity through middle school (Stuart Hobson), and from what I've heard, having a good peer group is especially important at those ages.

you do know that SH has a lower percentage of students who are proficient or better in math (and a lower percentage of kids who are advanced in math) than Jefferson, right? In reading, Stuart Hobson has 61% proficient and Jefferson has 45%, so there is admittedly a distinction there. Jefferson has more than twice the in-bounds percentage of Stuart-Hobson, too. Learndc no longer seems to have the 2014 equity reports posted, but the most recent stats I could find showed a higher median growth percentile at Jefferson than Stuart-Hobson. So I'm not sure that S-H is the only middle school option for kids on the Hill that can provide a "good peer group." Unless you think kids need to be white to be good peers, in which case yes, there are about 40 at Stuart Hobson.

pp nailed it on the head

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm neighbors with 2 rising first graders from Peabody, and both families have told me that almost the entire class is going to Watkins. A few more classes like that and Watkins will be a different place.

I'm the parent of a rising First Grader from Peabody who will be going to Watkins. I currently only know of two kids (from a total of four classes) in the entire school NOT going to Watkins. I'm sure there are more than a handful, but, honestly, I just don't know of more than two, and I've been asking....(and I presently haven't heard of anybody going to MV, though maybe my kid's in another circle.)

As for SES status, if it's any indicator, I've been to A LOT of birthdays that cost over $500. And The school's starting to look like a mini-Boden catalog.

There's also a visible demographic shift between my K child's class and my Pk3 child's. (The PK3 class is diverse, but my impression--based on no hard-data, but impressions from fellow parents--is that it's more uniformlyl higher SES.)

I'm the parent of a rising 2nd grader at Watkins. The vast, vast majority of kids in PK4 have continued to 1st grade at Watkins, I haven't heard of any 1st graders who aren't continuing to 2nd (though I'm sure there will be some), and we've had many conversions with other parents (yes, lawyers, etc.) who really hope and plan for the cohort to continue through to Stuart Hobson.

If you're interested, see this relatively recent thread with several hundred posts: http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/461253.page (Watkins Parents: How pleased are you? How optimistic?)

PP what are your impressions of Watkins so far? Do you feel like your child is getting a good education? Did your kid's class have any behavioral issues that you didn't feel were adequately addressed?

If you magically got into SWS or Brent tomorrow, would you stay at Watkins?

Short version: yes, good education; impressed with academic progress ; from child reports, no behavioral issues beyond what you'd expect from pretty much any group of 6&7 year olds.

Long version: see earlier thread.

also https://twitter.com/MsDrummAP https://twitter.com/MrLawsonAP http://www.capitolhillclusterschool.org/our-schools/watkins-elementary/new-at-watkins-elementary - obviously not a unbiased picture, but gives you a sense of things that are going on.

As to switching to SWS or Brent, would not switch because of continuity problems. If we had been able to start out in one of those schools, maybe. My sense is that upper elementary is more of a sure thing at those schools, but there wouldn't be the continuity through middle school (Stuart Hobson), and from what I've heard, having a good peer group is especially important at those ages.

you do know that SH has a lower percentage of students who are proficient or better in math (and a lower percentage of kids who are advanced in math) than Jefferson, right? In reading, Stuart Hobson has 61% proficient and Jefferson has 45%, so there is admittedly a distinction there. Jefferson has more than twice the in-bounds percentage of Stuart-Hobson, too. Learndc no longer seems to have the 2014 equity reports posted, but the most recent stats I could find showed a higher median growth percentile at Jefferson than Stuart-Hobson. So I'm not sure that S-H is the only middle school option for kids on the Hill that can provide a "good peer group." Unless you think kids need to be white to be good peers, in which case yes, there are about 40 at Stuart Hobson.

Jefferson is undeniably outperforming SH in student progress. That likely reflects that the school is meeting the needs of its students of color in a way that SH is not. SH has always been fine for advanced students regardless of race, but there is a large performance gap along racial lines. SH is bigger and provides at least some advanced coursework for those capable. SH (and by extension its feeders) are not meeting the needs a lot of students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm neighbors with 2 rising first graders from Peabody, and both families have told me that almost the entire class is going to Watkins. A few more classes like that and Watkins will be a different place.

I'm the parent of a rising First Grader from Peabody who will be going to Watkins. I currently only know of two kids (from a total of four classes) in the entire school NOT going to Watkins. I'm sure there are more than a handful, but, honestly, I just don't know of more than two, and I've been asking....(and I presently haven't heard of anybody going to MV, though maybe my kid's in another circle.)

As for SES status, if it's any indicator, I've been to A LOT of birthdays that cost over $500. And The school's starting to look like a mini-Boden catalog.

There's also a visible demographic shift between my K child's class and my Pk3 child's. (The PK3 class is diverse, but my impression--based on no hard-data, but impressions from fellow parents--is that it's more uniformlyl higher SES.)

I'm the parent of a rising 2nd grader at Watkins. The vast, vast majority of kids in PK4 have continued to 1st grade at Watkins, I haven't heard of any 1st graders who aren't continuing to 2nd (though I'm sure there will be some), and we've had many conversions with other parents (yes, lawyers, etc.) who really hope and plan for the cohort to continue through to Stuart Hobson.

If you're interested, see this relatively recent thread with several hundred posts: http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/461253.page (Watkins Parents: How pleased are you? How optimistic?)

PP what are your impressions of Watkins so far? Do you feel like your child is getting a good education? Did your kid's class have any behavioral issues that you didn't feel were adequately addressed?

If you magically got into SWS or Brent tomorrow, would you stay at Watkins?

Short version: yes, good education; impressed with academic progress ; from child reports, no behavioral issues beyond what you'd expect from pretty much any group of 6&7 year olds.

Long version: see earlier thread.

also https://twitter.com/MsDrummAP https://twitter.com/MrLawsonAP http://www.capitolhillclusterschool.org/our-schools/watkins-elementary/new-at-watkins-elementary - obviously not a unbiased picture, but gives you a sense of things that are going on.

As to switching to SWS or Brent, would not switch because of continuity problems. If we had been able to start out in one of those schools, maybe. My sense is that upper elementary is more of a sure thing at those schools, but there wouldn't be the continuity through middle school (Stuart Hobson), and from what I've heard, having a good peer group is especially important at those ages.

you do know that SH has a lower percentage of students who are proficient or better in math (and a lower percentage of kids who are advanced in math) than Jefferson, right? In reading, Stuart Hobson has 61% proficient and Jefferson has 45%, so there is admittedly a distinction there. Jefferson has more than twice the in-bounds percentage of Stuart-Hobson, too. Learndc no longer seems to have the 2014 equity reports posted, but the most recent stats I could find showed a higher median growth percentile at Jefferson than Stuart-Hobson. So I'm not sure that S-H is the only middle school option for kids on the Hill that can provide a "good peer group." Unless you think kids need to be white to be good peers, in which case yes, there are about 40 at Stuart Hobson.

pp nailed it on the head

Nailed what on the head? PP's post doesn't make any sense. The first poster has a kid going into second grade right now. Who cares what SH and Jefferson look like at the moment? Things could be totally different 5 years from now. As for peer group, SH has 3 schools feeding into it, so if all of PP's kid's classmates go, more than 1/3 of the peer group is going to be the peers PP already knows (as Watkins is the biggest of the three feeders into SH). If PP is happy with those current peers, chances are pretty strong that she'll be happy with them when they reach SH.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, you don't really have an issue with Brent other than your belief/perception that DCPS teachers are required to "teach to the test"?

What is wrong with you people!!! Could you be any more thin skinned or be so unsure of yourselves? No one took a shot at your beloved Brent. She doesn't like it as much as she likes MV.

I apologize as it appears that I have struck a nerve or otherwise offended your delicate sensibilities. My question about PP's experience at Brent was genuine as was my follow up, which was not intended as sarcastic or to demean PP in any way. I regret that you chose to interpret in that manner. In spite of the penchant of some on this Board to crap all over what they curiously perceive as the Almighty Brent, or anonymously wring their hands about administration ineptitude, many of us are simply not aware of each amd every area in which the school may be coming up short. It therefore can be helpful to solicit unfiltered information in the hope that these shortcomings can be addressed. Finally, for those who appear to get off on some sort of smug satisfaction by lobbing digital Molotov cocktails at Brent, grow up. The "mean girls" shtick is boorish.

You must work in politics. Just between us girls you should know that an apology isn't an apology if you're apologizing for what others did, not your own actions. And you can't be the mean girl and then be all offended at the mean girls; pick a side. Be a b*tch if you want to be, but own it.

Thank you for your insightful commentary and advice. It is much appreciated, as is the helpful manner in which you have given emphasis to a sentence from my post.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm neighbors with 2 rising first graders from Peabody, and both families have told me that almost the entire class is going to Watkins. A few more classes like that and Watkins will be a different place.

I'm the parent of a rising First Grader from Peabody who will be going to Watkins. I currently only know of two kids (from a total of four classes) in the entire school NOT going to Watkins. I'm sure there are more than a handful, but, honestly, I just don't know of more than two, and I've been asking....(and I presently haven't heard of anybody going to MV, though maybe my kid's in another circle.)

As for SES status, if it's any indicator, I've been to A LOT of birthdays that cost over $500. And The school's starting to look like a mini-Boden catalog.

There's also a visible demographic shift between my K child's class and my Pk3 child's. (The PK3 class is diverse, but my impression--based on no hard-data, but impressions from fellow parents--is that it's more uniformlyl higher SES.)

I'm the parent of a rising 2nd grader at Watkins. The vast, vast majority of kids in PK4 have continued to 1st grade at Watkins, I haven't heard of any 1st graders who aren't continuing to 2nd (though I'm sure there will be some), and we've had many conversions with other parents (yes, lawyers, etc.) who really hope and plan for the cohort to continue through to Stuart Hobson.

If you're interested, see this relatively recent thread with several hundred posts: http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/461253.page (Watkins Parents: How pleased are you? How optimistic?)

PP what are your impressions of Watkins so far? Do you feel like your child is getting a good education? Did your kid's class have any behavioral issues that you didn't feel were adequately addressed?

If you magically got into SWS or Brent tomorrow, would you stay at Watkins?

Short version: yes, good education; impressed with academic progress ; from child reports, no behavioral issues beyond what you'd expect from pretty much any group of 6&7 year olds.

Long version: see earlier thread.

also https://twitter.com/MsDrummAP https://twitter.com/MrLawsonAP http://www.capitolhillclusterschool.org/our-schools/watkins-elementary/new-at-watkins-elementary - obviously not a unbiased picture, but gives you a sense of things that are going on.

As to switching to SWS or Brent, would not switch because of continuity problems. If we had been able to start out in one of those schools, maybe. My sense is that upper elementary is more of a sure thing at those schools, but there wouldn't be the continuity through middle school (Stuart Hobson), and from what I've heard, having a good peer group is especially important at those ages.

you do know that SH has a lower percentage of students who are proficient or better in math (and a lower percentage of kids who are advanced in math) than Jefferson, right? In reading, Stuart Hobson has 61% proficient and Jefferson has 45%, so there is admittedly a distinction there. Jefferson has more than twice the in-bounds percentage of Stuart-Hobson, too. Learndc no longer seems to have the 2014 equity reports posted, but the most recent stats I could find showed a higher median growth percentile at Jefferson than Stuart-Hobson. So I'm not sure that S-H is the only middle school option for kids on the Hill that can provide a "good peer group." Unless you think kids need to be white to be good peers, in which case yes, there are about 40 at Stuart Hobson.

pp nailed it on the head

Nailed what on the head? PP's post doesn't make any sense. The first poster has a kid going into second grade right now. Who cares what SH and Jefferson look like at the moment? Things could be totally different 5 years from now. As for peer group, SH has 3 schools feeding into it, so if all of PP's kid's classmates go, more than 1/3 of the peer group is going to be the peers PP already knows (as Watkins is the biggest of the three feeders into SH). If PP is happy with those current peers, chances are pretty strong that she'll be happy with them when they reach SH.

Ludlow Taylor is relatively small and JO Wilson is roughly the same size as Watkins but includes ECE. The # of feeder kids from Watkins is > 1/2 rising SH 6th grade.

Not sure I buy that things will be totally different 5 years from now, but 7-8 years is another story.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm neighbors with 2 rising first graders from Peabody, and both families have told me that almost the entire class is going to Watkins. A few more classes like that and Watkins will be a different place.

I'm the parent of a rising First Grader from Peabody who will be going to Watkins. I currently only know of two kids (from a total of four classes) in the entire school NOT going to Watkins. I'm sure there are more than a handful, but, honestly, I just don't know of more than two, and I've been asking....(and I presently haven't heard of anybody going to MV, though maybe my kid's in another circle.)

As for SES status, if it's any indicator, I've been to A LOT of birthdays that cost over $500. And The school's starting to look like a mini-Boden catalog.

There's also a visible demographic shift between my K child's class and my Pk3 child's. (The PK3 class is diverse, but my impression--based on no hard-data, but impressions from fellow parents--is that it's more uniformlyl higher SES.)

I'm the parent of a rising 2nd grader at Watkins. The vast, vast majority of kids in PK4 have continued to 1st grade at Watkins, I haven't heard of any 1st graders who aren't continuing to 2nd (though I'm sure there will be some), and we've had many conversions with other parents (yes, lawyers, etc.) who really hope and plan for the cohort to continue through to Stuart Hobson.

If you're interested, see this relatively recent thread with several hundred posts: http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/461253.page (Watkins Parents: How pleased are you? How optimistic?)

PP what are your impressions of Watkins so far? Do you feel like your child is getting a good education? Did your kid's class have any behavioral issues that you didn't feel were adequately addressed?

If you magically got into SWS or Brent tomorrow, would you stay at Watkins?

Short version: yes, good education; impressed with academic progress ; from child reports, no behavioral issues beyond what you'd expect from pretty much any group of 6&7 year olds.

Long version: see earlier thread.

also https://twitter.com/MsDrummAP https://twitter.com/MrLawsonAP http://www.capitolhillclusterschool.org/our-schools/watkins-elementary/new-at-watkins-elementary - obviously not a unbiased picture, but gives you a sense of things that are going on.

As to switching to SWS or Brent, would not switch because of continuity problems. If we had been able to start out in one of those schools, maybe. My sense is that upper elementary is more of a sure thing at those schools, but there wouldn't be the continuity through middle school (Stuart Hobson), and from what I've heard, having a good peer group is especially important at those ages.

you do know that SH has a lower percentage of students who are proficient or better in math (and a lower percentage of kids who are advanced in math) than Jefferson, right? In reading, Stuart Hobson has 61% proficient and Jefferson has 45%, so there is admittedly a distinction there. Jefferson has more than twice the in-bounds percentage of Stuart-Hobson, too. Learndc no longer seems to have the 2014 equity reports posted, but the most recent stats I could find showed a higher median growth percentile at Jefferson than Stuart-Hobson. So I'm not sure that S-H is the only middle school option for kids on the Hill that can provide a "good peer group." Unless you think kids need to be white to be good peers, in which case yes, there are about 40 at Stuart Hobson.

pp nailed it on the head

Nailed what on the head? PP's post doesn't make any sense. The first poster has a kid going into second grade right now. Who cares what SH and Jefferson look like at the moment? Things could be totally different 5 years from now. As for peer group, SH has 3 schools feeding into it, so if all of PP's kid's classmates go, more than 1/3 of the peer group is going to be the peers PP already knows (as Watkins is the biggest of the three feeders into SH). If PP is happy with those current peers, chances are pretty strong that she'll be happy with them when they reach SH.

Ludlow Taylor is relatively small and JO Wilson is roughly the same size as Watkins but includes ECE. The # of feeder kids from Watkins is > 1/2 rising SH 6th grade.

Not sure I buy that things will be totally different 5 years from now, but 7-8 years is another story.

The other half is kids from Maryland.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm neighbors with 2 rising first graders from Peabody, and both families have told me that almost the entire class is going to Watkins. A few more classes like that and Watkins will be a different place.

I'm the parent of a rising First Grader from Peabody who will be going to Watkins. I currently only know of two kids (from a total of four classes) in the entire school NOT going to Watkins. I'm sure there are more than a handful, but, honestly, I just don't know of more than two, and I've been asking....(and I presently haven't heard of anybody going to MV, though maybe my kid's in another circle.)

As for SES status, if it's any indicator, I've been to A LOT of birthdays that cost over $500. And The school's starting to look like a mini-Boden catalog.

There's also a visible demographic shift between my K child's class and my Pk3 child's. (The PK3 class is diverse, but my impression--based on no hard-data, but impressions from fellow parents--is that it's more uniformlyl higher SES.)

I'm the parent of a rising 2nd grader at Watkins. The vast, vast majority of kids in PK4 have continued to 1st grade at Watkins, I haven't heard of any 1st graders who aren't continuing to 2nd (though I'm sure there will be some), and we've had many conversions with other parents (yes, lawyers, etc.) who really hope and plan for the cohort to continue through to Stuart Hobson.

If you're interested, see this relatively recent thread with several hundred posts: http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/461253.page (Watkins Parents: How pleased are you? How optimistic?)

PP what are your impressions of Watkins so far? Do you feel like your child is getting a good education? Did your kid's class have any behavioral issues that you didn't feel were adequately addressed?

If you magically got into SWS or Brent tomorrow, would you stay at Watkins?

Short version: yes, good education; impressed with academic progress ; from child reports, no behavioral issues beyond what you'd expect from pretty much any group of 6&7 year olds.

Long version: see earlier thread.

also https://twitter.com/MsDrummAP https://twitter.com/MrLawsonAP http://www.capitolhillclusterschool.org/our-schools/watkins-elementary/new-at-watkins-elementary - obviously not a unbiased picture, but gives you a sense of things that are going on.

As to switching to SWS or Brent, would not switch because of continuity problems. If we had been able to start out in one of those schools, maybe. My sense is that upper elementary is more of a sure thing at those schools, but there wouldn't be the continuity through middle school (Stuart Hobson), and from what I've heard, having a good peer group is especially important at those ages.

you do know that SH has a lower percentage of students who are proficient or better in math (and a lower percentage of kids who are advanced in math) than Jefferson, right? In reading, Stuart Hobson has 61% proficient and Jefferson has 45%, so there is admittedly a distinction there. Jefferson has more than twice the in-bounds percentage of Stuart-Hobson, too. Learndc no longer seems to have the 2014 equity reports posted, but the most recent stats I could find showed a higher median growth percentile at Jefferson than Stuart-Hobson. So I'm not sure that S-H is the only middle school option for kids on the Hill that can provide a "good peer group." Unless you think kids need to be white to be good peers, in which case yes, there are about 40 at Stuart Hobson.

pp nailed it on the head

Nailed what on the head? PP's post doesn't make any sense. The first poster has a kid going into second grade right now. Who cares what SH and Jefferson look like at the moment? Things could be totally different 5 years from now. As for peer group, SH has 3 schools feeding into it, so if all of PP's kid's classmates go, more than 1/3 of the peer group is going to be the peers PP already knows (as Watkins is the biggest of the three feeders into SH). If PP is happy with those current peers, chances are pretty strong that she'll be happy with them when they reach SH.

Ludlow Taylor is relatively small and JO Wilson is roughly the same size as Watkins but includes ECE. The # of feeder kids from Watkins is > 1/2 rising SH 6th grade.

Not sure I buy that things will be totally different 5 years from now, but 7-8 years is another story.

The other half is kids from Maryland.

you a birther too?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm neighbors with 2 rising first graders from Peabody, and both families have told me that almost the entire class is going to Watkins. A few more classes like that and Watkins will be a different place.

I'm the parent of a rising First Grader from Peabody who will be going to Watkins. I currently only know of two kids (from a total of four classes) in the entire school NOT going to Watkins. I'm sure there are more than a handful, but, honestly, I just don't know of more than two, and I've been asking....(and I presently haven't heard of anybody going to MV, though maybe my kid's in another circle.)

As for SES status, if it's any indicator, I've been to A LOT of birthdays that cost over $500. And The school's starting to look like a mini-Boden catalog.

There's also a visible demographic shift between my K child's class and my Pk3 child's. (The PK3 class is diverse, but my impression--based on no hard-data, but impressions from fellow parents--is that it's more uniformlyl higher SES.)

I'm the parent of a rising 2nd grader at Watkins. The vast, vast majority of kids in PK4 have continued to 1st grade at Watkins, I haven't heard of any 1st graders who aren't continuing to 2nd (though I'm sure there will be some), and we've had many conversions with other parents (yes, lawyers, etc.) who really hope and plan for the cohort to continue through to Stuart Hobson.

If you're interested, see this relatively recent thread with several hundred posts: http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/461253.page (Watkins Parents: How pleased are you? How optimistic?)

PP what are your impressions of Watkins so far? Do you feel like your child is getting a good education? Did your kid's class have any behavioral issues that you didn't feel were adequately addressed?

If you magically got into SWS or Brent tomorrow, would you stay at Watkins?

Short version: yes, good education; impressed with academic progress ; from child reports, no behavioral issues beyond what you'd expect from pretty much any group of 6&7 year olds.

Long version: see earlier thread.

also https://twitter.com/MsDrummAP https://twitter.com/MrLawsonAP http://www.capitolhillclusterschool.org/our-schools/watkins-elementary/new-at-watkins-elementary - obviously not a unbiased picture, but gives you a sense of things that are going on.

As to switching to SWS or Brent, would not switch because of continuity problems. If we had been able to start out in one of those schools, maybe. My sense is that upper elementary is more of a sure thing at those schools, but there wouldn't be the continuity through middle school (Stuart Hobson), and from what I've heard, having a good peer group is especially important at those ages.

you do know that SH has a lower percentage of students who are proficient or better in math (and a lower percentage of kids who are advanced in math) than Jefferson, right? In reading, Stuart Hobson has 61% proficient and Jefferson has 45%, so there is admittedly a distinction there. Jefferson has more than twice the in-bounds percentage of Stuart-Hobson, too. Learndc no longer seems to have the 2014 equity reports posted, but the most recent stats I could find showed a higher median growth percentile at Jefferson than Stuart-Hobson. So I'm not sure that S-H is the only middle school option for kids on the Hill that can provide a "good peer group." Unless you think kids need to be white to be good peers, in which case yes, there are about 40 at Stuart Hobson.

pp nailed it on the head

Nailed what on the head? PP's post doesn't make any sense. The first poster has a kid going into second grade right now. Who cares what SH and Jefferson look like at the moment? Things could be totally different 5 years from now. As for peer group, SH has 3 schools feeding into it, so if all of PP's kid's classmates go, more than 1/3 of the peer group is going to be the peers PP already knows (as Watkins is the biggest of the three feeders into SH). If PP is happy with those current peers, chances are pretty strong that she'll be happy with them when they reach SH.

Ludlow Taylor is relatively small and JO Wilson is roughly the same size as Watkins but includes ECE. The # of feeder kids from Watkins is > 1/2 rising SH 6th grade.

Not sure I buy that things will be totally different 5 years from now, but 7-8 years is another story.

The other half is kids from Maryland.

you a birther too?

I'm a neighbor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm neighbors with 2 rising first graders from Peabody, and both families have told me that almost the entire class is going to Watkins. A few more classes like that and Watkins will be a different place.

I'm the parent of a rising First Grader from Peabody who will be going to Watkins. I currently only know of two kids (from a total of four classes) in the entire school NOT going to Watkins. I'm sure there are more than a handful, but, honestly, I just don't know of more than two, and I've been asking....(and I presently haven't heard of anybody going to MV, though maybe my kid's in another circle.)

As for SES status, if it's any indicator, I've been to A LOT of birthdays that cost over $500. And The school's starting to look like a mini-Boden catalog.

There's also a visible demographic shift between my K child's class and my Pk3 child's. (The PK3 class is diverse, but my impression--based on no hard-data, but impressions from fellow parents--is that it's more uniformlyl higher SES.)

I'm the parent of a rising 2nd grader at Watkins. The vast, vast majority of kids in PK4 have continued to 1st grade at Watkins, I haven't heard of any 1st graders who aren't continuing to 2nd (though I'm sure there will be some), and we've had many conversions with other parents (yes, lawyers, etc.) who really hope and plan for the cohort to continue through to Stuart Hobson.

If you're interested, see this relatively recent thread with several hundred posts: http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/461253.page (Watkins Parents: How pleased are you? How optimistic?)

PP what are your impressions of Watkins so far? Do you feel like your child is getting a good education? Did your kid's class have any behavioral issues that you didn't feel were adequately addressed?

If you magically got into SWS or Brent tomorrow, would you stay at Watkins?

Short version: yes, good education; impressed with academic progress ; from child reports, no behavioral issues beyond what you'd expect from pretty much any group of 6&7 year olds.

Long version: see earlier thread.

also https://twitter.com/MsDrummAP https://twitter.com/MrLawsonAP http://www.capitolhillclusterschool.org/our-schools/watkins-elementary/new-at-watkins-elementary - obviously not a unbiased picture, but gives you a sense of things that are going on.

As to switching to SWS or Brent, would not switch because of continuity problems. If we had been able to start out in one of those schools, maybe. My sense is that upper elementary is more of a sure thing at those schools, but there wouldn't be the continuity through middle school (Stuart Hobson), and from what I've heard, having a good peer group is especially important at those ages.

you do know that SH has a lower percentage of students who are proficient or better in math (and a lower percentage of kids who are advanced in math) than Jefferson, right? In reading, Stuart Hobson has 61% proficient and Jefferson has 45%, so there is admittedly a distinction there. Jefferson has more than twice the in-bounds percentage of Stuart-Hobson, too. Learndc no longer seems to have the 2014 equity reports posted, but the most recent stats I could find showed a higher median growth percentile at Jefferson than Stuart-Hobson. So I'm not sure that S-H is the only middle school option for kids on the Hill that can provide a "good peer group." Unless you think kids need to be white to be good peers, in which case yes, there are about 40 at Stuart Hobson.

pp nailed it on the head

Nailed what on the head? PP's post doesn't make any sense. The first poster has a kid going into second grade right now. Who cares what SH and Jefferson look like at the moment? Things could be totally different 5 years from now. As for peer group, SH has 3 schools feeding into it, so if all of PP's kid's classmates go, more than 1/3 of the peer group is going to be the peers PP already knows (as Watkins is the biggest of the three feeders into SH). If PP is happy with those current peers, chances are pretty strong that she'll be happy with them when they reach SH.

Ludlow Taylor is relatively small and JO Wilson is roughly the same size as Watkins but includes ECE. The # of feeder kids from Watkins is > 1/2 rising SH 6th grade.

Not sure I buy that things will be totally different 5 years from now, but 7-8 years is another story.

The other half is kids from Maryland.

you a birther too?

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/satire

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm neighbors with 2 rising first graders from Peabody, and both families have told me that almost the entire class is going to Watkins. A few more classes like that and Watkins will be a different place.

I'm the parent of a rising First Grader from Peabody who will be going to Watkins. I currently only know of two kids (from a total of four classes) in the entire school NOT going to Watkins. I'm sure there are more than a handful, but, honestly, I just don't know of more than two, and I've been asking....(and I presently haven't heard of anybody going to MV, though maybe my kid's in another circle.)

As for SES status, if it's any indicator, I've been to A LOT of birthdays that cost over $500. And The school's starting to look like a mini-Boden catalog.

There's also a visible demographic shift between my K child's class and my Pk3 child's. (The PK3 class is diverse, but my impression--based on no hard-data, but impressions from fellow parents--is that it's more uniformlyl higher SES.)

I'm the parent of a rising 2nd grader at Watkins. The vast, vast majority of kids in PK4 have continued to 1st grade at Watkins, I haven't heard of any 1st graders who aren't continuing to 2nd (though I'm sure there will be some), and we've had many conversions with other parents (yes, lawyers, etc.) who really hope and plan for the cohort to continue through to Stuart Hobson.

If you're interested, see this relatively recent thread with several hundred posts: http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/461253.page (Watkins Parents: How pleased are you? How optimistic?)

PP what are your impressions of Watkins so far? Do you feel like your child is getting a good education? Did your kid's class have any behavioral issues that you didn't feel were adequately addressed?

If you magically got into SWS or Brent tomorrow, would you stay at Watkins?

Short version: yes, good education; impressed with academic progress ; from child reports, no behavioral issues beyond what you'd expect from pretty much any group of 6&7 year olds.

Long version: see earlier thread.

also https://twitter.com/MsDrummAP https://twitter.com/MrLawsonAP http://www.capitolhillclusterschool.org/our-schools/watkins-elementary/new-at-watkins-elementary - obviously not a unbiased picture, but gives you a sense of things that are going on.

As to switching to SWS or Brent, would not switch because of continuity problems. If we had been able to start out in one of those schools, maybe. My sense is that upper elementary is more of a sure thing at those schools, but there wouldn't be the continuity through middle school (Stuart Hobson), and from what I've heard, having a good peer group is especially important at those ages.

you do know that SH has a lower percentage of students who are proficient or better in math (and a lower percentage of kids who are advanced in math) than Jefferson, right? In reading, Stuart Hobson has 61% proficient and Jefferson has 45%, so there is admittedly a distinction there. Jefferson has more than twice the in-bounds percentage of Stuart-Hobson, too. Learndc no longer seems to have the 2014 equity reports posted, but the most recent stats I could find showed a higher median growth percentile at Jefferson than Stuart-Hobson. So I'm not sure that S-H is the only middle school option for kids on the Hill that can provide a "good peer group." Unless you think kids need to be white to be good peers, in which case yes, there are about 40 at Stuart Hobson.

I'm not the poster you are quoting, but it seems more likely that the poster does not consider Jefferson as a Capitol Hill middle school. It's in SW by the waterfront. It may be a better school academically than SH, but SH is an easy walk, scooter or bike ride for middle school kids that actually live on the Hill. I'm a Brent parent and I would rather enroll my child at SH for that reason rather than Jefferson. Jefferson just isn't in my neighborhood-- SH is. Quite galling that Brent doesn't feed into the neighborhood middle school. When Hine middle school was available, it made sense to not have Brent feed SH since Hine was only 4 blocks from Brent. but now? I don't understand it.

To the subject at hand, Brent is fine, so are most of the elementary schools on the Hill. Find a house you love and enjoy! I don't think you will regret it! Good luck!