oyster/stoddert/murch/mann??

[Anonymous]

We live in the city (currently in Eaton, but we've decided against sending our daughter there next Sept).

Our lease is up in 2 months, so we need to choose a school/neighborhood pretty soon. I've lived in DC for 10 years, but I'm having a hard time making this decision!

Should we do Oyster? Concerns - the new Adams middle school? We're unsure of how the merge is going.

Stoddert? Test scores aren't as good as we thought and we're also concerned about the new rec center and construction. but we like the community

Murch? I don't like that area of Connecticut, but have heard good things about the school

Mann? The "best" school in DC, but Gtown crime has been pretty bad and rent is expensive (we can't buy)

What are your thoughts? thanks!

[Anonymous]

I'd pick Mann or Murch. Mann's test scores are a bit higher, but the student body at Murch is wonderfully diverse -- racially, internationally, and socioeconomically.

[Anonymous]

I would vote for Murch (though I do like the neighborhood once you get off Conn), I am hoping to send my daughter there. I work on 36th St in Georgetown and the crime for the last 2-3 months has been out of control, way more than at anytime during my 8 years here, with a good deal taking place during the day. Definitely not the time to move here, in my opinion.

[Anonymous]

What about Key?

[Anonymous]

I live in Glover Park and most people here love Stoddert. I think the test scores reflect a slightly more diverse student body than the other schools you mention. I think Stoddert takes some students from military bases in the area. People who live here really like the school and the community.

[Anonymous]

How about Lafayette? There are some nice rental buildings over that way and the school is excellent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I live in Glover Park and most people here love Stoddert. I think the test scores reflect a slightly more diverse student body than the other schools you mention. I think Stoddert takes some students from military bases in the area. People who live here really like the school and the community.

PP is correct. You should look at the test scores for the kids that match the demographic for your kids. Schools like Stoddert and Hyde have a number of poor students who tend not to score as well on tests. Family background is a key determinant of performance on these tests. My dd went to Hyde (in Georgetown) and had a great experience. I can't speak specifically to Stoddert but I recommend that you visit the school and try to talk to parents. Don't let test scores turn you away without doing further research.

[Anonymous]

OP, Horace Mann isn't in Georgetown. It serves Wesley Heights and Spring Valley, neither of which have many rental properties. Hyde is Georgetown's elementary school.

We're in Glover Park, and GPers do love Stoddert for many reasons. I definitely recommend visiting the school, and also hanging out after school in the adjacent ball park/tot lot (playground) to meet some neighborhood families. GP is a very family-friendly community with lots of walkable stores/restaurants, tons of woods trails/green spaces, and an extremely low crime rate.

[Anonymous]

I've used a horribly simplistic formula to try to tease out how well various schools educate children from "advantaged" backgrounds (i.e., stable marriage, enough income that money's not a constant stressor, college-educated-plus mom, etc.). Generally, but not always, it involves using scores from the "white" demographic. Again, it's horribly simplistic -- I think it's useful to see where there might be significant gaps, but even I think it's utterly useless for making fine distictions between schools. That said, here are the "total" scores it spits out for the 2006-08 period for the schools that have been mentioned in this chain:

Lafayette -- 625
Mann -- 619
Key -- 611
Murch -- 600
Oyster -- 586
Eaton -- 578
Hyde -- 532
Stoddert -- 446

[Anonymous]

Mann isn't in Gtown - it's in Spring Valley behind AU. Expensive and isolated. I would rather do Lafayette (Chevy Chase)

Murch is fine, but I was very underwhelmed on the tour and talking with parents with older kids at the school. It's just "eh"

Stoddert - Glover Park is a fabulous nabe for families. The construction is a concern for us as well and we ultimately decided against it for that reason. Also, there's no metro in glover park, which is important to us.

Oyster - is spanish immersion, so can't truly be compared to the others. Language is very very important to us, so we've chosen Oyster. The school is also very strong in science. This is our first year and we've been very happy with the principal. I honestly don't have 1st hand info on the middle school, but the fmailies I do know with older kids say that 4-6 are very strong and it's the 7&8 (which are the 2 new grades this year) that need work.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oyster - is spanish immersion, so can't truly be compared to the others. Language is very very important to us, so we've chosen Oyster. The school is also very strong in science. This is our first year and we've been very happy with the principal. I honestly don't have 1st hand info on the middle school, but the fmailies I do know with older kids say that 4-6 are very strong and it's the 7&8 (which are the 2 new grades this year) that need work.

It's good to hear from someone who actually has kids at Oyster and is actually happy with the school. (These boards seem to be full of both rabid supporters and haters, neither of which tend to have kids at the school.)

[Anonymous]

What about using the DC Public Schools Board instead???

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oyster - is spanish immersion, so can't truly be compared to the others. Language is very very important to us, so we've chosen Oyster. The school is also very strong in science. This is our first year and we've been very happy with the principal. I honestly don't have 1st hand info on the middle school, but the fmailies I do know with older kids say that 4-6 are very strong and it's the 7&8 (which are the 2 new grades this year) that need work.

It's good to hear from someone who actually has kids at Oyster and is actually happy with the school. (These boards seem to be full of both rabid supporters and haters, neither of which tend to have kids at the school.)

Oyster is my first choice, but we're moving to DC with two kids entering K and 4. Our older child speaks French, but has no Spanish. Would it be crazy to try to put her in Oyster in 4th? Also, we have about $900K to spend for a house, and I can't find anything in that price range in Oyster. All are 1.3M plus houses or apartments that are too small for us. Just wondering where people live who go to Oyster if they have our budget. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

We're in one of those apartments, but there are only three of us. Three-bedroom apartments do exist, though there aren't many. DC hasn't traditionally had that kind of demand for density, since until recently, houses were relatively inexpensive.

It is definitely not crazy to put a 4th grader into Oyster. The worst that could possibly happen is that he/she would need some tutoring and founder a little temporarily. I expect a strong knowledge of French would help a lot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've used a horribly simplistic formula to try to tease out how well various schools educate children from "advantaged" backgrounds (i.e., stable marriage, enough income that money's not a constant stressor, college-educated-plus mom, etc.). Generally, but not always, it involves using scores from the "white" demographic. Again, it's horribly simplistic -- I think it's useful to see where there might be significant gaps, but even I think it's utterly useless for making fine distictions between schools. That said, here are the "total" scores it spits out for the 2006-08 period for the schools that have been mentioned in this chain:

Lafayette -- 625
Mann -- 619
Key -- 611
Murch -- 600
Oyster -- 586
Eaton -- 578
Hyde -- 532
Stoddert -- 446

Anyone have any idea why Stoddert scores lower than other NW schools? Is the Glover Park demographic different? the school?