Tell me about Elementary and middle schools in NW DC

[Anonymous]

We may be moving to DC area in nearby future and currently looking at NW DC, Arlington or Falls Church. As far as I understand from some research the best bet in terms of schools will be in Falls Church zoned for Fairfax region, but I am thinking it is too suburban and not really walkable even close to metro.

How is the Hearst elementary school vs. Eaton? Is there a problem if you are not zoned for the best ones (Mann, Murch, Janney, etc)?

I am new to this and grew up oversees, so not familiar with the US school system at all. Will we make a terrible choice if deciding to live in DC vs. Arlington or suburbs? I am just not ready for suburbs, never lived in one and it will be a huge culture shock. Arlington seems to be walkable, but every time I visited it I found it unappealing in terms of nature/architecture, overall vibe. With the prices through the roof in metro accessible areas of Arlington (more expensive than DC), I don't see the value and honestly cannot afford it.

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We may be moving to DC area in nearby future and currently looking at NW DC, Arlington or Falls Church. As far as I understand from some research the best bet in terms of schools will be in Falls Church zoned for Fairfax region, but I am thinking it is too suburban and not really walkable even close to metro.

How is the Hearst elementary school vs. Eaton? Is there a problem if you are not zoned for the best ones (Mann, Murch, Janney, etc)?

I am new to this and grew up oversees, so not familiar with the US school system at all. Will we make a terrible choice if deciding to live in DC vs. Arlington or suburbs? I am just not ready for suburbs, never lived in one and it will be a huge culture shock. Arlington seems to be walkable, but every time I visited it I found it unappealing in terms of nature/architecture, overall vibe. With the prices through the roof in metro accessible areas of Arlington (more expensive than DC), I don't see the value and honestly cannot afford it.

Thanks!

sounds like you are not ready to move to suburbia..so I would suggest visit dcps.gov, greatschools.com, and start researching the schools for NW DC or VA, if you decide to take the leap!

[Anonymous]

Good for you for considering DC instead of the burbs! Get familiar with all your schooling choices before you make your decision. In DC, you do have options beyond the local school closest to your house -- specifically out-of-boundary schools (often abbreviated here as OOB) that you can qualify for via an annual lottery system, and DC's robust charter school system. Browse around this site to get a feel for how the system operates -- but do take everything you read here with a grain of salt. It's popular to slag off other people's choices for what's best for their children.

For the official word on how the OOB lottery works, see http://dcps.dc.gov/DCPS/Learn+About+Schools/Out-of-Boundary+Lottery.

We have been immensely pleased with Hearst. My son, now in 4th grade, has been at Hearst since pre-K, and is doing just great. His learning is on par with what his friends at some of the top-tier privates have experienced. The school is small (currently about 260 students) and until two years ago only went up to the 3rd grade. Now it's full pre-K through 5th grade, and feeds into Deal Middle School and from there to Wilson H.S.

As a small school built in the 1930s, it does lack some of the basics that everyone should be able to take for granted, such as a gymnasium and cafeteria. Hard to believe, but true, and the staff and kids do a great job of making it work. Note that Hearst is currently budgeted to undergo a full-blown renovation and expansion starting in 2013. Don't be surprised if the boundaries for Hearst expand when the renovation is complete, possibly encompassing some blocks that now send kids to Murch and Janney.

I don't have direct experience with Eaton, but my impression is of a good school getting better. It is considerably larger than Hearst.

Both schools currently attract a large percentage of kids from out-of-boundary, but the number of in-boundary students is growing.

[Anonymous]

I think both Eaton and Hearst are decent schools-- and whatever their weaknesses, they're not in the "terrible choice" category at all.

But the neighborhoods from which they draw are not urban in character at all, with some parts more walkable than others. You may not feel that you've actually escaped suburbia there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think both Eaton and Hearst are decent schools-- and whatever their weaknesses, they're not in the "terrible choice" category at all.

But the neighborhoods from which they draw are not urban in character at all, with some parts more walkable than others. You may not feel that you've actually escaped suburbia there.

Agree with all this. Least suburban areas of DC zoned for generally considered good elementary schools are the part of Kalorama zoned for Oyster and Georgetown (Hyde or Stoddert).

Good schools, urban amenities, reasonably priced, close to Metro -- more than three is impossible, more than two is rare (alas, more than one is uncommon).

[Anonymous]

The MS should definiltely factor into your decision.

Deal=good
Hardy=bad
Good charters=(aka Latin) oversubscribed and entry is by lottery

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think both Eaton and Hearst are decent schools-- and whatever their weaknesses, they're not in the "terrible choice" category at all.

But the neighborhoods from which they draw are not urban in character at all, with some parts more walkable than others. You may not feel that you've actually escaped suburbia there.

Agree with all this. Least suburban areas of DC zoned for generally considered good elementary schools are the part of Kalorama zoned for Oyster and Georgetown (Hyde or Stoddert).

Good schools, urban amenities, reasonably priced, close to Metro -- more than three is impossible, more than two is rare (alas, more than one is uncommon).

Capitol hill has good schools, urban amenities and close to metro, but, alas, is not reasonably priCed. If you can afford it (think 800k for 3beDroom house) it could suit you very well. Goo d luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We may be moving to DC area in nearby future and currently looking at NW DC, Arlington or Falls Church. As far as I understand from some research the best bet in terms of schools will be in Falls Church zoned for Fairfax region, but I am thinking it is too suburban and not really walkable even close to metro.

How is the Hearst elementary school vs. Eaton? Is there a problem if you are not zoned for the best ones (Mann, Murch, Janney, etc)?

I am new to this and grew up oversees, so not familiar with the US school system at all. Will we make a terrible choice if deciding to live in DC vs. Arlington or suburbs? I am just not ready for suburbs, never lived in one and it will be a huge culture shock. Arlington seems to be walkable, but every time I visited it I found it unappealing in terms of nature/architecture, overall vibe. With the prices through the roof in metro accessible areas of Arlington (more expensive than DC), I don't see the value and honestly cannot afford it.

Thanks!

Gee, I wonder if there are about 1,000 or more threads already devoted to this subject?

[Anonymous]

PP you are right lots of posts on this topic. However wonderful Jeff's forum system is, it is not search friendly. And honestly if there was a limit on duplication this forum might have 100 hundred topics with about 90 pages each. For better or worse this forum cycles a pretty common list of issues or maybe it just cycles people. Who knows?

[Anonymous]

It definitely cycles snark (she said snarkily).

[Anonymous]

The only areas worth considering are in NW that feed into Deal, and then you'll probably have to go private for high school (Wilson is inferior to Deal). The cheerleaders who want to recruit you to DCPS will try and tell you otherwise, but there's a reason why the Arlington and Falls Church schools are gaining students and DCPS continues to shrink.

[Anonymous]

DCPS actually grew this past year:

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dcschools/2011/03/dcps_joins_charters_in_rising.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DCPS actually grew this past year:

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dcschools/2011/03/dcps_joins_charters_in_rising.html

My understanding is that it grew because it gained preschool 3 and pre-K, not high school students.

[Anonymous]

Yes that is true about the Pk grades. But is also a demographic bulge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The only areas worth considering are in NW that feed into Deal, and then you'll probably have to go private for high school (Wilson is inferior to Deal). The cheerleaders who want to recruit you to DCPS will try and tell you otherwise, but there's a reason why the Arlington and Falls Church schools are gaining students and DCPS continues to shrink.

But if the plan is to go into private schools eventually anyway, why not try an elementary school in a neighborhood that the family will love that has great metro service and other urban amenities- and may cost less than Deal feeder neighborhood. We are very happy at BRent (on Capitol Hill) with metro only 2 blks from our home and oodles of great restaurants in walking distance and parks, etc. At middle school, we will consider our public options, but likely go with private school. And since we are close to metro, the kid can take metro and or bus to the school if the private school is out of our neighborhood. Deal is a great school, but is it really worth living in a suburban neighborhood for if that is not what makes the family happy? I considered the homes in that area, but I have an adverse reaction to center hall colonials and just couldn't bring myself to accept it. Sounds to me like the OP is of the same mind and I hope she gives more urban areas of DC some consideration.