How long are you planning on staying in DCPS or charter?

[Anonymous]

Will go private for high school or for 5th or 8th grade if our charter option, pk - 8, does not work out.

[Anonymous]

We've been in public - now charter- and are staying through HS. Fine with it.

[Anonymous]

I'm currently in a very popular charter. We will probably move out of the city for middle school. I'm certain that I'll need a more established school system for middle and high school.

[Anonymous]

Staying in DCPS for the duration.

[Anonymous]

We're staying.

[Anonymous]

We're in a very popular charter for the long haul. If they expand it all the way through HS, we'll do that too.

[Anonymous]

I will in as long as it is working for my child. I don't understand how some parents already know they are leaving, or planning to leave--how will you know what your child wants/needs until you get to that point?

[Anonymous]

We just left for 6th -- going private.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I will in as long as it is working for my child. I don't understand how some parents already know they are leaving, or planning to leave--how will you know what your child wants/needs until you get to that point?

Good point. Jay Mathews wrote about Annandale HS in VA in the Post about how families choose HS with lower scores and higher # low income for value of IB and diversity. We're sticking DCPS for elementary for sure. It just seems daunting to uproot our kids and move far from extended DC family and friends solely for a public school. Lots to consider.

[Anonymous]

What about the social aspect of moving schools?

I moved schools at 6th grade (last year of elementary school then) and did not recover from it socially in many ways until college (I likely got into a lot more troubling behavior in jr. high and high because of difficultly finding a good fit of friends, confidence, etc. and the move was less than 10 miles but a different school district)

I have it in my head that if I am going to move my kids (currently my oldest is in a JKLM elementary, in-boundary for Deal) I need to do it by the time my oldest is entering 3rd grade so that she has time to adjust and make friends before middle school. Do a lot of kids move at older ages around here so that kids are generally accepting of newcomers?

Do most of the private high schools in this area have a large influx of new students in 9th grade so this is not a big issue if we stick it out through middle and then move private?

[Anonymous]

Kids are generally resilient. Parents in DC create such unnecessary drama around school decisions. You are lucky enough to live in an area where there are great public schools (MD and VA) and lots of specialized private schools (DC, MD and VA privates). Pick a school that you value and that you can AFFORD. The rest will fall into place. School is not magic. Children are shaped by the totality of their experiences not just by the school you choose. Assuming that you are not expecting the school to parent your child, to provide each and every social experience for your child, and to guarantee a perfect future for your child, then your school choice will be just one of many choices that will shape your child. If, you do expect the school to do all of these things, well, then you don't have much confidence in your parenting and you are likely in for a rude awakening.

[Anonymous]

Will any of the charters have opportunities for kids to participate in sports?

[Anonymous]

new poster here--

yes, some kids are highly resilient, some are not. I was very well-adjusted and came from a lovely family and still had a really hard time switching (private) schools in the 9th grade. I still remember how hard it was to fit into an already established peer group. Certainly I wasn't scarred for life but I also didn't leave high school with life long friends like many of my peers did.
I think the previous poster makes some very valid points and i'll be very careful when and if we switch schools for my children.

[Anonymous]

My oldest DC is in a good DCPS school which feeds into a middle school that at this point is a no-go for my family. Even if it improves, I know that his peer group will be broken up (some DCPS, some charter, some private, some burbs) and it makes me sad.

[Anonymous]

Have a rising first grader in one of the JKLM schools, will love to stay in DCPS and go to deal, but I think my little one may need a smaller controlled environment. Will make a decision after we get to 3rd grade.