What’s your HS “back up” option?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The question was not about whether families should do it (rent an apartment and live there July through December before moving back to the house they own in Shaw or Logan Circle or Michigan Park), but if people know of any families who have done it. We talk about it all the time on DCUM as something you can or shouldn't do. But does anyone ever do it?

I know a lot of lottery families and a lot of families that move from one JKML boundary to another and stay at their previous school. And I know someone using a grandparent's address. But no one I know falls into this category. Maybe brief renters tell parents they lotteried? Or maybe there's always an easier, better plan b?

I think people talk about it all the time and rarely do it because the current state of schools in DC is that there is no guarantee your kid will get a decent high school, but the odds are high. Being able to say, “if all else fails, we’ll rent an apartment inbounds for JR” makes people more comfortable waiting out the application/lottery process and/or taking a chance on a school like MacArthur. But most of the time things work out, so very few people wind up pulling that rip cord.

Agree. And there are fairly low cost catholic schools. Of my large cohort of ward 5 families who I met in PK3, none moved to NWDC or arlington. They lotteried into JR feeders, chose one of the dc magnets, dci, latin, catholic schools, or ended up at a pricy private. The latin families seem happiest, FWIW.

Interesting, I also live in Ward 5 and know tons of people who moved to upper NW for schools. Other paths I see -- Latin, DCI, BASIS, lotterying into a JR path and now their kids take transit there, moving to Bethesda, private. Lots of families in all these categories.

(Add to that Walls, Banneker and McKinley Tech)

… which don’t accept everyone. Do you have any useful input?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The question was not about whether families should do it (rent an apartment and live there July through December before moving back to the house they own in Shaw or Logan Circle or Michigan Park), but if people know of any families who have done it. We talk about it all the time on DCUM as something you can or shouldn't do. But does anyone ever do it?

I know a lot of lottery families and a lot of families that move from one JKML boundary to another and stay at their previous school. And I know someone using a grandparent's address. But no one I know falls into this category. Maybe brief renters tell parents they lotteried? Or maybe there's always an easier, better plan b?

Honestly, I don’t get why would you rent an apt to go to JR. Then move back to your house only to have your kid do the horrible commute WOTP RT.

Just move to Arlington for bigger house, much better school, kid can take bus to close by school, and easier commute to downtown. Plus greatin state VA college options.

Are families that desperate to stay in the city??

1 million gets a hell of a lot more in DC than in Arlington (if you can get anything for that in Arlington)

As someone who has been looking at houses in Arlington to solve this exact school problem,‘I can confirm 1 million gets you very little, especially if you want metro access. The houses in that range are run down 50’s-60’s split levels.

So buy a place a few mikes from metro and then park and drive.

The worst schools in Arlington are probably equivalent to JR which is really just a mediocre school. The best schools in Arlington are head and shoulders so much better.

Interesting..a lot of my friends moved to Arlington when they started having kids and none of them seem that impressed with the schools- in fact, they complain way more than I do about DCPS. It's ultimately all about perspective and how you see the world. A girl's school just got bombed in Iran, so I don't have much to complain about, do I?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The question was not about whether families should do it (rent an apartment and live there July through December before moving back to the house they own in Shaw or Logan Circle or Michigan Park), but if people know of any families who have done it. We talk about it all the time on DCUM as something you can or shouldn't do. But does anyone ever do it?

I know a lot of lottery families and a lot of families that move from one JKML boundary to another and stay at their previous school. And I know someone using a grandparent's address. But no one I know falls into this category. Maybe brief renters tell parents they lotteried? Or maybe there's always an easier, better plan b?

Honestly, I don’t get why would you rent an apt to go to JR. Then move back to your house only to have your kid do the horrible commute WOTP RT.

Just move to Arlington for bigger house, much better school, kid can take bus to close by school, and easier commute to downtown. Plus greatin state VA college options.

Are families that desperate to stay in the city??

1 million gets a hell of a lot more in DC than in Arlington (if you can get anything for that in Arlington)

As someone who has been looking at houses in Arlington to solve this exact school problem,‘I can confirm 1 million gets you very little, especially if you want metro access. The houses in that range are run down 50’s-60’s split levels.

So buy a place a few mikes from metro and then park and drive.

The worst schools in Arlington are probably equivalent to JR which is really just a mediocre school. The best schools in Arlington are head and shoulders so much better.

Interesting..a lot of my friends moved to Arlington when they started having kids and none of them seem that impressed with the schools- in fact, they complain way more than I do about DCPS. It's ultimately all about perspective and how you see the world. A girl's school just got bombed in Iran, so I don't have much to complain about, do I?

School quality isn't measured by anecdotes about friend complaints. By average objective measure there's no doubt that APS is better than DCPS.

In any event, it shouldn't be surprising that your friends complain more than you. They moved out of the city for schools. That means they care deeply about school quality. That means they're going to complain more. Not less.

[Anonymous]

*every objective

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The question was not about whether families should do it (rent an apartment and live there July through December before moving back to the house they own in Shaw or Logan Circle or Michigan Park), but if people know of any families who have done it. We talk about it all the time on DCUM as something you can or shouldn't do. But does anyone ever do it?

I know a lot of lottery families and a lot of families that move from one JKML boundary to another and stay at their previous school. And I know someone using a grandparent's address. But no one I know falls into this category. Maybe brief renters tell parents they lotteried? Or maybe there's always an easier, better plan b?

Honestly, I don’t get why would you rent an apt to go to JR. Then move back to your house only to have your kid do the horrible commute WOTP RT.

Just move to Arlington for bigger house, much better school, kid can take bus to close by school, and easier commute to downtown. Plus greatin state VA college options.

Are families that desperate to stay in the city??

1 million gets a hell of a lot more in DC than in Arlington (if you can get anything for that in Arlington)

As someone who has been looking at houses in Arlington to solve this exact school problem,‘I can confirm 1 million gets you very little, especially if you want metro access. The houses in that range are run down 50’s-60’s split levels.

So buy a place a few mikes from metro and then park and drive.

The worst schools in Arlington are probably equivalent to JR which is really just a mediocre school. The best schools in Arlington are head and shoulders so much better.

Interesting..a lot of my friends moved to Arlington when they started having kids and none of them seem that impressed with the schools- in fact, they complain way more than I do about DCPS. It's ultimately all about perspective and how you see the world. A girl's school just got bombed in Iran, so I don't have much to complain about, do I?

School quality isn't measured by anecdotes about friend complaints. By average objective measure there's no doubt that APS is better than DCPS.

In any event, it shouldn't be surprising that your friends complain more than you. They moved out of the city for schools. That means they care deeply about school quality. That means they're going to complain more. Not less.

Exactly. I would like to know what exactly they are complaining about. The people I know who waited it out longer in DCPS or charters are basically dumbfounded when they realize how bad the school was in restrospect in comparison to Fairfax or APS …

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The question was not about whether families should do it (rent an apartment and live there July through December before moving back to the house they own in Shaw or Logan Circle or Michigan Park), but if people know of any families who have done it. We talk about it all the time on DCUM as something you can or shouldn't do. But does anyone ever do it?

I know a lot of lottery families and a lot of families that move from one JKML boundary to another and stay at their previous school. And I know someone using a grandparent's address. But no one I know falls into this category. Maybe brief renters tell parents they lotteried? Or maybe there's always an easier, better plan b?

I think people talk about it all the time and rarely do it because the current state of schools in DC is that there is no guarantee your kid will get a decent high school, but the odds are high. Being able to say, “if all else fails, we’ll rent an apartment inbounds for JR” makes people more comfortable waiting out the application/lottery process and/or taking a chance on a school like MacArthur. But most of the time things work out, so very few people wind up pulling that rip cord.

Things absolutely do not work out “most of the time.”

But they do. Most (ie, 62% of) rising 9th graders who only apply to one high school match with that high school, and the odds go up for students who list multiple high schools.

Oh come on. OP and the people worried about backups are not just applying to their IB HS and happy with it. The fact is, if you get to 8th grade and don’t consider the IB HS an option, then it is a pretty precarious situation. We always knew we would be staring this down, but still sucks to be living it.

Do you even live in DC? No one applies to their IB high school. That’s not how it works here.

Obviously I meant the zoned HS. I don’t know where you got that quote but it is not possibly true that 62% of applicants to application HSs get their first choice.

You aren’t helping yourself. In this context an IB high school is a zoned (“in bounds”) high school. And while some other cities make 9th graders apply or lottery even for their zoned schools, in DC it’s actually impossible to apply or lottery for your zoned school. You just enroll.

The stat that most rising 9th graders who list one school in the application/lottery system match with that school comes from My School itself.

https://www.myschooldc.org/sites/default/files/dc/sites/myschooldc/page/attachments/SY25_26_Match_Grade_School_Selections.pdf

As you can see from that data, over 90% of students who list four or more high schools match with one. And that’s the reality. There is no guarantee that your kid will get into the perfect school, but the odds of getting into a decent high school are high. That’s why people stick around through the process, and why they mutter about renting an apartment in JR “if all else fails,” but rarely do it, because all else rarely fails.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The question was not about whether families should do it (rent an apartment and live there July through December before moving back to the house they own in Shaw or Logan Circle or Michigan Park), but if people know of any families who have done it. We talk about it all the time on DCUM as something you can or shouldn't do. But does anyone ever do it?

I know a lot of lottery families and a lot of families that move from one JKML boundary to another and stay at their previous school. And I know someone using a grandparent's address. But no one I know falls into this category. Maybe brief renters tell parents they lotteried? Or maybe there's always an easier, better plan b?

I think people talk about it all the time and rarely do it because the current state of schools in DC is that there is no guarantee your kid will get a decent high school, but the odds are high. Being able to say, “if all else fails, we’ll rent an apartment inbounds for JR” makes people more comfortable waiting out the application/lottery process and/or taking a chance on a school like MacArthur. But most of the time things work out, so very few people wind up pulling that rip cord.

Agree. And there are fairly low cost catholic schools. Of my large cohort of ward 5 families who I met in PK3, none moved to NWDC or arlington. They lotteried into JR feeders, chose one of the dc magnets, dci, latin, catholic schools, or ended up at a pricy private. The latin families seem happiest, FWIW.

Interesting, I also live in Ward 5 and know tons of people who moved to upper NW for schools. Other paths I see -- Latin, DCI, BASIS, lotterying into a JR path and now their kids take transit there, moving to Bethesda, private. Lots of families in all these categories.

(Add to that Walls, Banneker and McKinley Tech)

My observation after watching this for years is that if your kid is more or less on grade level (say, B's or above in MS or a high 3 on CAPE), is a capable student, and has ok teacher recommendations, they can land a spot at one of: McKinley Tech, Duke, Banneker, Walls.

Not all kids are willing to go to all of these schools. I'd be curious if folks know of any examples of kids who were willing to go to any of these schools and didn't match with any of them (especially if they applied to one of the Duke tracks that is historically an easier admit).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The question was not about whether families should do it (rent an apartment and live there July through December before moving back to the house they own in Shaw or Logan Circle or Michigan Park), but if people know of any families who have done it. We talk about it all the time on DCUM as something you can or shouldn't do. But does anyone ever do it?

I know a lot of lottery families and a lot of families that move from one JKML boundary to another and stay at their previous school. And I know someone using a grandparent's address. But no one I know falls into this category. Maybe brief renters tell parents they lotteried? Or maybe there's always an easier, better plan b?

I think people talk about it all the time and rarely do it because the current state of schools in DC is that there is no guarantee your kid will get a decent high school, but the odds are high. Being able to say, “if all else fails, we’ll rent an apartment inbounds for JR” makes people more comfortable waiting out the application/lottery process and/or taking a chance on a school like MacArthur. But most of the time things work out, so very few people wind up pulling that rip cord.

Agree. And there are fairly low cost catholic schools. Of my large cohort of ward 5 families who I met in PK3, none moved to NWDC or arlington. They lotteried into JR feeders, chose one of the dc magnets, dci, latin, catholic schools, or ended up at a pricy private. The latin families seem happiest, FWIW.

Interesting, I also live in Ward 5 and know tons of people who moved to upper NW for schools. Other paths I see -- Latin, DCI, BASIS, lotterying into a JR path and now their kids take transit there, moving to Bethesda, private. Lots of families in all these categories.

(Add to that Walls, Banneker and McKinley Tech)

My observation after watching this for years is that if your kid is more or less on grade level (say, B's or above in MS or a high 3 on CAPE), is a capable student, and has ok teacher recommendations, they can land a spot at one of: McKinley Tech, Duke, Banneker, Walls.

Not all kids are willing to go to all of these schools. I'd be curious if folks know of any examples of kids who were willing to go to any of these schools and didn't match with any of them (especially if they applied to one of the Duke tracks that is historically an easier admit).

They don’t look at the PARCC. And given recent chatter there really doesn’t seem to be a reason why some kids get into application schools and some kids are overlooked. Plus there are many parents with kids taking the easiest classes for good grades which are frankly not prepared for these application schools.