what/where are the good public schools in NW?

[Anonymous]

Hi,

DH, DD and I currently live in SE. We are going to move this summer. My daughter will be attending daycare for another year, then hopefully, I can put her in a decent public preschool/elementary school program. Our plan is to move close to where we'd like her to go to. I know about our NE/SE neighborhood schools. However, I haven't got a clue about other decent places in the city.
Can you give me some info about other schools?
TIA!!

[Anonymous]

Mann.

[Anonymous]

OP, if you're going to move for school, make sure you think long-term, ie all the way through high school. There are several good elementaries (Mann, Janney, Hyde to start), IMO, but no high school I would voluntarily have my child attend. Unless you plan to look private later, I'd move to VA or MD.

[Anonymous]

OP here- we're considering VA and MD as well. I am a private school teacher myself, but will not be able to put DD in my school, the tuition rebate is ridiculous...

[Anonymous]

Does it make sense to get relatively close to your or DH's jobs? That's a huge issue for us and will help you narrow it down a little.

[Anonymous]

I would take a look at the DC Public and Charter school forum. Some of us that post to it are neurotic nut cakes, but in-between some of the snarky posts is useful information.

[Anonymous]

You really need to give us more info, OP.

1) Do you need to be near a Metro?
2) Do you need to be near work?
3) Do you want to buy or rent?

If you are thinking public schools through high school, you should choose NoVa or MontCo. DC high schools are a bit too unpredictable.

[Anonymous]

OP here. We're planning on renting. We are stuck with a condo that we can't sell for now, so housing #2 has to be a rental. Trying to live closer to DH's job which is in Chevy Chase, MD. I work in SE but have a couple friends who communte to my school and they say the drive is really not bad. So, we are considering either NW or Chevy Chase. However, having lived in SE (Capitol Hill East) for 6 years, I really don't know anything about rental prices and schools in the NW area. I would like to find a couple of school options in NW and look for a rental around it....
Thanks!!!

[Anonymous]

Hi OP,

We live in SE, also, Hillcrest to be specific. I have gone to EVERY open house you can imagine, & here is my humble assessment:

We applied to Stoddert, Hyde, Eaton, (most impressive to me in NW) & then 3 on the Hill, Brent, Ludlow-Taylor, & the Peabody Cluster.

I visited Lafayette (too big for me); Murch, supposedly one of the best, I wasn't overly impressed); Mann, liked it, but unless you live in bounds, forget it; liked Janney, may still apply, dropping one of the Cap Hill Schools, not sure yet.

I thought about renting, as well, in most of these areas, & for a house, not even a big one, you're looking at $3K+a month. I could bring myself to renting for that price. Only gonna spend that much on something that belongs to me. That's just me, though. Hope this helps a little.

[Anonymous]

I would include Key School. Palisades isn't a cheap neighborhood, but it has a pretty good mix of housing. Some apartments on MacArthur and some older, smaller houses that are rented.

[Anonymous]

OP, do you need to be near a Metro?

If so, I would cross Eaton, Mann, Key, Murch, and Lafayette off your list.

Oyster and Janney are your best bets. Both have nearby apartment buildings for rent. A bit pricier than typical, but they are metro-accessible.

[Anonymous]

Re 14:08 - I wouldn't cross out Murch on the basis of Metro accessibility. There are plenty of apartment buildings along Conn Ave between Van Ness and Nebraska that are inboundary for Murch and walkable to Van Ness, Tenley, or both.