The Lists are In...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For PK3:

1. Francis Stevens
2. Appletree - Columbia Heights

(3. Stay at daycare)

These are odd choices. Why?

Why not? We are IB for an upper NW school that starts at PK4. We looked at schools where we thought we had a non-zero shot but where the commute wouldn't be too bad. Our list started at 6-8, but we quickly dropped schools where the commute seemed unreasonable or we were less comfortable with the open house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not PP, but we also found te DC bilingual open house very impressive. It was the most organized open house I attended. You got a good sense not only of academics, but of how they approach non-academics, like nutrition. Met with all the specials teachers in addition to classroom teachers. We ranked it very high, certainly higher than PK3 DCPS dual language programs. No comparison in our view.

I'm the PP and I agree. Very organized, great energy, dedicated and enthusiastic teachers and staff.

I think the reason others didn't rank it high is that they skipped the open house. I can't imagine ranking a nearby dual language DCPS like Bancroft higher if you attended both open houses.

Proximity (and my sanity every single school day) is much more important than a one evening open house.

That's why I said nearby DCPS. Bancroft is right nearby. Everyone I know who went to both open houses--even those that lived right by Bancroft--put DC Bilingual higher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:21:50, do you work near the new MV location? how do you plan to make the commute?

I´m hoping for a car pool. MV is also more or less on the way to work for DH.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1)MV (2%)
2) Marie Reed Dual (IB) (Pretty sure thing if we are willing to wait until August)
3) Powell Dual Language (0% first round,maybe 25% if we wait until August)
4) Bancroft (0%)
5) Cleveland Dual Language (15%)
6) Ross (0%)
7) Capitol Montessori (12%)
8) DC Bilingual (?)
9) Appletree CH (Pretty sure thing if we wait until August)
10) Lee Montessori (?)

Also Lamb (12% if we wait until August), Stokes (0%), and SHIning Stars (30%)

My priorities are Spanish immersion (one or two way), followed by Montessori with adjustments for proximity and skewed perceptions of program quality. I have also included my estimated odds of getting into each as a one shot based on fact, rumor, and innuendo.

I have to say that I think your probabilities of getting in are way off. Shining Stars should be at 100%. The Principal said they went through the entire waitlist last year. Plus, with all the changes going on there, I think it will be a lot less desirable. LAMB I think may be 12% if you wait til September/October and only if you are willing to go to the NE location. My understanding is that the NW location has seats snagged by sibs and by those who are lucky enough to get a slot in the initial lottery. Stokes is higher too this year, since they have more spots than usual this year. Lee Montessori I'd put at 100%. Bad location for many, new school with no sibs, and Montessori--which works for some but not all kids. Marie Reed did go through its entire English only list last year, but dual language was in much higher demand, according to the principal, and he said several people got off in October. So by August, I don't think the dual language program is a sure thing.

I fully accept that my forecasts may lack information. In fact, this is exactly the kind of pointless discussion I was hoping to generate to sustain me through this month, for is not this the DC parent's version of March Madness, and should we not kibbitz about our brackets?

We are IB for Marie Reed, so I think our odds are pretty good for the start of school.

I will defer to your superior info on Shining Stars. I also think your point about the LAMB campuses is well taken; the commute to that location may finish me off. I'm not sure that it matters that Stokes has 5 or 10 more spots. That may just move them into MV territory in terms of odds.

Lee is an interesting case. As a previous poster indicate, it seems to be choice #12 for a lot of people. Are the people who choose Lee as #12 the same wide-eyed people who have packed choices 1-11 with MV, Two Rivers, IT etc., or are they the pragmatic realists that have dotted their applications with Appletree and a school where they have proximity preference?

I ranked Lee in first position for pk3

[Anonymous]

^^ What was the rest of your list? I think you can probably count on going to Lee, but I am still curious.

[Anonymous]

pp here: Lee, IT, Mundo Verde, cap hill Logan Montessori, cap city, Ross, powell

[Anonymous]

NP here: I think Lee will fill up quickly. There has been a baby boom in the nearby neighborhoods of Bloomingdale, Eckington and Brookland, not to mention the "blizzard baby" effect on this year's incoming PS3 class from Snowmaggedeon. Most of the IB ES are not options, although I know of a few Brookland families take chances on Burroughs and Bethune.

[Anonymous]

We were OOB for Marie Reed dual last year for PS3. We were in the top 10 and I'm pretty sure we got in by June 1. We really were interested in the immersion but the facilities were so poor, the classrooms so messy and scattered and we couldn't see how drop off would work well, so we skipped. The place was falling apart with fake walls dividing the classrooms and since we figured we could stay private and then go to our IB Hearst and give the spot to another family.

Anyway, all of this is to say that at least last year the list was moving fast. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not PP, but we also found te DC bilingual open house very impressive. It was the most organized open house I attended. You got a good sense not only of academics, but of how they approach non-academics, like nutrition. Met with all the specials teachers in addition to classroom teachers. We ranked it very high, certainly higher than PK3 DCPS dual language programs. No comparison in our view.

I'm the PP and I agree. Very organized, great energy, dedicated and enthusiastic teachers and staff.

I think the reason others didn't rank it high is that they skipped the open house. I can't imagine ranking a nearby dual language DCPS like Bancroft higher if you attended both open houses.

PP here. As a fan of proximity I totally see your point, but could the person I was referring to be located closer to Bancroft, Powell and Cleveland than to DC bilingual? It seems physically impossible.

[Anonymous]

Is there an outdoor space at DC Bilingual. Having a access to a good outdoor playground is an important factor for me in an elementary school. I am also reluctant to sign up for a charter that doesn't have a permanent home. What if it moves to the other side of town in 2 yrs. total PITA. Again a factor that might lead to putting dcps such as Bancroft over charter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is there an outdoor space at DC Bilingual. Having a access to a good outdoor playground is an important factor for me in an elementary school. I am also reluctant to sign up for a charter that doesn't have a permanent home. What if it moves to the other side of town in 2 yrs. total PITA. Again a factor that might lead to putting dcps such as Bancroft over charter.

Hmmm. Instead of speculating, I was actually hoping to hear from the person who made that list...but maybe she has checked out (good for her!).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is there an outdoor space at DC Bilingual. Having a access to a good outdoor playground is an important factor for me in an elementary school. I am also reluctant to sign up for a charter that doesn't have a permanent home. What if it moves to the other side of town in 2 yrs. total PITA. Again a factor that might lead to putting dcps such as Bancroft over charter.

Hmmm. Instead of speculating, I was actually hoping to hear from the person who made that list...but maybe she has checked out (good for her!).

I toured DC Bilingual. They have a roof-top playground. They are also looking to move, but are trying to stick close-by in Ward 1. They said they might move up to Ward 4 by Petworth. If we get in, we would stick with them likely in Ward 1, but if Ward 4 was not doable for us we'd look to switch. I know we were not comfortable with the commute to Haynes and didn't put it on our list for this reason. Still, if you are in-boundary for a dual-language program like Bancroft, I can't see the threat of them moving as a reason to apply to Bancroft first. I'd apply to DC Bilingual first and then move if necessary once they decide to move and have a space. (That can take several years, I understand from talking to others who send their kids to charter schools).

By way of background, when I visited Bancroft, the heat wasn't working in half the building, and the principal was scrambling to try to combine classrooms that had heat with classrooms that didn't. When I spoke to a Bancroft parent a month later, they said the issue still had not been resolved. The teacher who presented at Bancroft was pretty down on TOTM and said she had seen lots of gimmicks over the years and seemed frustrated at the frequent curriculum changes at the preschool level. By way of background, I thought the current facilities at DCB were fantastic, especially compared with Bancroft (low bar though), and the teachers enthusiastic and supported. I was especially impressed with the principal and administrative staff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is there an outdoor space at DC Bilingual. Having a access to a good outdoor playground is an important factor for me in an elementary school. I am also reluctant to sign up for a charter that doesn't have a permanent home. What if it moves to the other side of town in 2 yrs. total PITA. Again a factor that might lead to putting dcps such as Bancroft over charter.

Hmmm. Instead of speculating, I was actually hoping to hear from the person who made that list...but maybe she has checked out (good for her!).

I toured DC Bilingual. They have a roof-top playground. They are also looking to move, but are trying to stick close-by in Ward 1. They said they might move up to Ward 4 by Petworth. If we get in, we would stick with them likely in Ward 1, but if Ward 4 was not doable for us we'd look to switch. I know we were not comfortable with the commute to Haynes and didn't put it on our list for this reason. Still, if you are in-boundary for a dual-language program like Bancroft, I can't see the threat of them moving as a reason to apply to Bancroft first. I'd apply to DC Bilingual first and then move if necessary once they decide to move and have a space. (That can take several years, I understand from talking to others who send their kids to charter schools).

By way of background, when I visited Bancroft, the heat wasn't working in half the building, and the principal was scrambling to try to combine classrooms that had heat with classrooms that didn't. When I spoke to a Bancroft parent a month later, they said the issue still had not been resolved. The teacher who presented at Bancroft was pretty down on TOTM and said she had seen lots of gimmicks over the years and seemed frustrated at the frequent curriculum changes at the preschool level. By way of background, I thought the current facilities at DCB were fantastic, especially compared with Bancroft (low bar though), and the teachers enthusiastic and supported. I was especially impressed with the principal and administrative staff.

I was on the same tour. It was a mess. I felt bad for the principal who was clearly judging a million emergencies while trying to assuage her open housers. But I didn't feel bad for the teacher--she was so obsessed with talking about herself it was hard to know what was actually happening in the classroom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is there an outdoor space at DC Bilingual. Having a access to a good outdoor playground is an important factor for me in an elementary school. I am also reluctant to sign up for a charter that doesn't have a permanent home. What if it moves to the other side of town in 2 yrs. total PITA. Again a factor that might lead to putting dcps such as Bancroft over charter.

Hmmm. Instead of speculating, I was actually hoping to hear from the person who made that list...but maybe she has checked out (good for her!).

By way of background, when I visited Bancroft, the heat wasn't working in half the building, and the principal was scrambling to try to combine classrooms that had heat with classrooms that didn't. When I spoke to a Bancroft parent a month later, they said the issue still had not been resolved. The teacher who presented at Bancroft was pretty down on TOTM and said she had seen lots of gimmicks over the years and seemed frustrated at the frequent curriculum changes at the preschool level. By way of background, I thought the current facilities at DCB were fantastic, especially compared with Bancroft (low bar though), and the teachers enthusiastic and supported. I was especially impressed with the principal and administrative staff.

Was it the principal's fault (or the school's for that matter) that the heat wasn't working? Old 70s building, right?

[Anonymous]

I don't think it's her "fault," but that they spent months without heat in combined classrooms seems problematic to me. It seems like it's a school that is having trouble meeting the basic needs of the kids. And it definitely seemed like she was really scrambling that day--certainly not where I would want to see my child's principal spending her time. Again, not her fault, but also not making a particularly good impression on prospective parents. And as PP noted, the preschool teacher there did not help matters out at all.

By the way, I went to plenty of other old 70s or earlier buildings in need of renovation, including the building that I thought would be in the worst shape, Marie Reed, which doesn't even have walls. I definitely think it was in better shape than Bancroft.