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Eaton vs Janney
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Anonymous
| Can anyone compare these two for me? I have visited Janney, but not Eaton. I am moving next year, and prefer the more urban feel of Cleveland Park, but am hesitant about Eaton, if only because i haven't seen it, and don't have any friends with kids there. Or any other neighborhoods to suggest where in-boundry would be great? |
Anonymous
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Eaton has a more urban school population than Janney because there has traditionally been room for out-of-boundary transfers. This may be changing. The new principal, entering her second year, is a popular and very effective leader with a lot of ideas about how to martial resources to address each student's specific needs. Prospective parent tours and orientations happen throughout the school year. Of course, you're always welcome to drop by. Some one will be available to show you around the school.
You might consider Oyster's neighborhood, too: both Woodley Park and Kalorama Triangle are more urban and central than Cleveland Park. |
Anonymous
| I have several friends who are at Eaton. All are out-of-boundary, all could have chosen private school (these people are large-firm partners, etc.) but all love Eaton. They are all very active in the PTA. I think Janney is larger and more crowded. But, don't let "a lot of out-of-boundary" students fool you in to thinking these people are less involved in the school. As a matter of fact, the fact that these families went through the process implies that they are very concerned and involved parents. |
Anonymous
| Also, people love Lafayette so check out Chevy Chase. |
Anonymous
| Murch is very popular; from much of the district you can walk to Tenleytown or Van Ness. More of a neighborhood school than Eaton (where something like 50% are out-of-boundary). |
Anonymous
| What does "a more urban school population" mean? Is that code for something? Anyway, Eaton has a pretty good reputation, but the reason there are a lot of out-of-boundary kids there is because a lot of families in boundary send their kids to private schools, a number of which are in the neighborhood. One of the drawbacks is that they don't have a very nice outdoor space, unlike Janney, which also has a more neighborhood feel. Janney just lost its beloved principal, Scott Cartland, so there'll be a new principal in the fall I assume. |
Anonymous
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I looked at Eaton this year and was impressed with the kindergarten teachers and facilities, but I have heard from other parents that many of the neighborhood families that do attend transfer their children to another school by third grade or so. I also believe that test scores at Eaton are lower than at the "top" NW schools and that in particular, they recently turned sharply downward. I'm not worried about test scores per se, but I was concerned that the shcool would be overly focused on raising the scores. In the end we decided on private school.
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Anonymous
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Definitely, Janney, even considering that there will be a new principal there this year. Better academics (i.e. stronger academic programs in place & stronger test scores) there, and better social/behavioral learning curriculum for students.
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Anonymous
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Yes, Eaton's scores were really awful last year. BUT - I know 2 families there (1 is the Pres of the PTA) and they love it. The new principal is supposed to be great.
By saying it's urban - it's poor minority families from OOB. Janney is all white and wealthy. But great scores. |
Anonymous
OOB? |
Anonymous
| Out of Boundary. |
Anonymous
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I take offense to the comment about Janney being all white and wealthy. The school stats from 2006 are available at:
http://dcschoolsearch.dc.gov/schools/detail.asp?pos=74&id=35&tab=2 The school is nearly 17% AA and 10% Asian. As for Eaton: http://dcschoolsearch.dc.gov/schools/detail.asp?pos=45&id=23&tab=2 Eaton is approximately 1/3 Caucasian, 43% AA, ~14% Hispanic and 10% Asian |
Anonymous
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Janney's outdoor space could end up housing a 100+ unit apartment building, in which case the school will be a major construction site for a few years. I'd wait and see what happens with the public-private partnership proposal before I'd make a decision about whether to send my kid to Janney.
If the PPP is nixed (and it could be), and you decide you want Janney but are looking for a more urban environment, you might look at Friendship Heights. Many of those homes are within Janney's boundaries and that neighborhood is a lot more urban (in terms of bustle/commerce) than AU Park. Tenleytown is more villagy/small town than either. |
Anonymous
| I didn't mean to give "urban population" a negative connotation at all, but I do think it's correct to say that this is a difference between the two schools. Eaton parents think of the school's economic diversity as an advantage that also brings challenges, like broadly varied levels of readiness in the classroom. The new principal is very keenly aware of the diversity of students' needs and is providing the kind of instructional leadership that will both narrow achievement gaps and provide enrichment. OP, please come visit our school. You'll find a friendly community and very involved parents. |
Anonymous
| If you value diversity (asians, hispanics, blacks, whites each constitute at least 10% of the population), an energized principal, wonderful teachers, a terrific facility (there is also a great park across the street (Macomb Park)), foreign language instruction, involved parents, and a more urban neighborhood, you will love Eaton. It is a school on the rise. Janney can be over-crowded and may very well be losing much of its green space to a planned condominium. Also, Janney tends to attract many of the upwardly mobile types you see at Turtle Park, many of whom hightail it to the suburbs come 6th grade. The new principal at Eaton is very approachable and has completely turned the school around, getting rid of the 2-3 bad teachers and increasing the morale of the faculty. |