Future parents--heartburn over schooling--would love insight

[Anonymous]

We are trying to move to Capitol Hill and are really at the max end of our personal budget, but have not found the right home in a workable school district.

We are very interested in a home that would be in-bounds for Amidon-Bowen Elementary, which, for us, is not a workable school because it is not progressive/competitive enough at this time (I hope not to offend anybody; it's just my personal assessment). But paying close to $800K (and commensurate taxes) without the peace of mind that we can send our future child (planning now) to a good public school is giving me so much heartburn/keeping me up. The state of DC public schools is a crime, but that is a whole 'nother story.

Without digressing too much-- I have a toughy question. I would really feel better with some input from parents working through the DCPS now. What are the chances of getting into a Brent or Peabody/Watkins or similar school through the lottery system? If we tried the lottery for 2 years, beginning in pre-K, would it probably work out? Probably not?

We probably wouldn't be able to afford private schooling for more than a couple of years...

Trying to live the urban mom dream and raise children in the city that I love!

All thoughts welcome. We're still learning.

[Anonymous]

Probably not. A friend in the Navy Yards area (so Amidon Bowen) tried for PK3 and PK4 to get into the schools you name and was shut out (I don't think anyone out of bounds (OOB) is getting in to those schools; unlikely even if you are OOB w/sibling). She did get into Tyler traditional, but opted to keep her child in daycare.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Probably not. A friend in the Navy Yards area (so Amidon Bowen) tried for PK3 and PK4 to get into the schools you name and was shut out (I don't think anyone out of bounds (OOB) is getting in to those schools; unlikely even if you are OOB w/sibling). She did get into Tyler traditional, but opted to keep her child in daycare.

Thanks. That's a very helpful example.... I just don't know what we're going to do.

[Anonymous]

For $800K and no kids yet, you should be able to find something in the Brent, Maury, or Cluster neighborhoods. There is no way you are going to get into those schools OOB. Don't make the mistake of thinking things will somehow magically change in the next five years--if a DCPS education is important to you, then you should buy in the right neighborhood now.

[Anonymous]

For us, the only way we are staying in the city is because of our fantastic charter school.

[Anonymous]

For $800K you should be able to get into Maury boundary. I live in the Navy Yard/south cap Hill area and we are zone for Amidon but send our child to a sought after charter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For $800K you should be able to get into Maury boundary. I live in the Navy Yard/south cap Hill area and we are zone for Amidon but send our child to a sought after charter.

Thanks. That's very helpful too. I just don't have a great handle on charter school options because there is so much to research-- don't even know where to begin.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Probably not. A friend in the Navy Yards area (so Amidon Bowen) tried for PK3 and PK4 to get into the schools you name and was shut out (I don't think anyone out of bounds (OOB) is getting in to those schools; unlikely even if you are OOB w/sibling). She did get into Tyler traditional, but opted to keep her child in daycare.

My son goes to Stuart and is OOB. The last 2 years my younger son who does not go to a Cluster school got into Watkins as OOB w/sibling preference. Thus far I have not taken the slot but am planning to next year assuming I can get him in with sibling preference again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son goes to Stuart and is OOB. The last 2 years my younger son who does not go to a Cluster school got into Watkins as OOB w/sibling preference. Thus far I have not taken the slot but am planning to next year assuming I can get him in with sibling preference again.

That's great, but doesn't help the OP, who doesn't have any sibling preference. It is foolish to assume that she will be able to lottery in OOB to any of the popular CH schools. Perhaps by the time her future children are ready for PS-3, there will be other OOB options for her, but she can only plan for the reality of now, which is that there is no way for anyone OOB to get into these schools.

[Anonymous]

There's always a chance. It just may not happen when you want it to. We're in bounds for Miner (never a consideration for my family) and got into Watkins OOB this year after changes at our charter made it impossible for us to return next year. We were called off their waiting list last year as well, but declined. I play the lottery every year since you never know what may happen.

Plus, there's always AppleTree as an option for a couple years while you keep trying to get into the school you want.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son goes to Stuart and is OOB. The last 2 years my younger son who does not go to a Cluster school got into Watkins as OOB w/sibling preference. Thus far I have not taken the slot but am planning to next year assuming I can get him in with sibling preference again.

That's great, but doesn't help the OP, who doesn't have any sibling preference. It is foolish to assume that she will be able to lottery in OOB to any of the popular CH schools. Perhaps by the time her future children are ready for PS-3, there will be other OOB options for her, but she can only plan for the reality of now, which is that there is no way for anyone OOB to get into these schools.

Yes true, but I only made the point because someone else was making a point of how difficult it is to get in because even if you have sibling preference that does not work. My point is that it is in fact not that difficult so perhaps it's not as bleak as people are making it out to be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For $800K you should be able to get into Maury boundary. I live in the Navy Yard/south cap Hill area and we are zone for Amidon but send our child to a sought after charter.

Thanks. That's very helpful too. I just don't have a great handle on charter school options because there is so much to research-- don't even know where to begin.

OP, we also got into Maury, but decided to go with the charter (language immersion). My child attended AppleTree (now at Lincoln Park in Capitol Hill) for PreS, which was a great option until we got him into a long term option for PreK.

[Anonymous]

Remember that charter schools are boundary-free, and there are more and more excellent charter options in DC!!!

[Anonymous]

Our experience may be helpful too: We moved into a school boundary - really not thinking too much about it at the time - whose school was definitely in a worse place than Amidon-Bowen now is. We ran with it anyway, not so much for lack of options but because we placed a high premium on staying in the neighborhood and not shuttling our kids around. And it was all worth it. Our children, now in lower and upper elementary school, are thriving and so is the school. Amidon-Bowen is/will be that kind of school, no doubt. It has the support of great parents and goodwill all around.
The bigger problem you may face is what our neighbors are now facing, namely having paid a premium on property to have a chance at enrolling their little one at (possibly!) great school. And seeing that materialize, they now can't get their in-boundary first-born 3 or 4 year old off the waitlist because so many others have done the same math. Paradoxically, that Amidon-Bowen isn't on the top 10 list city-wide (yet!), may actually make it worthwhile paying a little extra I'd say. If you're a full-time working family, that extra should amount to about two years of paid daycare minus the cost of afterschool care and summer camps.

[Anonymous]

OP, I think you should buy the house you love in the neighborhood you love and not worry too much about schools right now (you don't have kids yet, right?). There are just too many variables and too much time before you might need schools that I don't think it makes sense to make that your primary deciding factor.

You might not be able to have kids.

You might have kids with special needs and a regular public school would not be a good fit.

You or your spouse might be offered a dream job in another city and decide to move.

Your neighborhood school, even if it doesn't look good now, might make a transformation and you end up sending your kids there. (This is what happened to us when we bought in boundary for Maury in 2001.)

New charters schools are opening every year that you might be interested in.

There are several desirable charter schools already and your chance of getting in is as good as anyone else's.

You can start you own charter school!

I know plenty of parents (okay, almost every single parent on the Hill that I know) with school angst and everyone, I mean everyone, has found something that is at a bare minimum acceptable, and more likely something they are really happy with. It doesn't always shake out right after the lotteries and it sometimes takes a year or two or trying to get into the school you want, but I honestly can't think of anyone who has been totally shut out and without any acceptable options.

If you are considering two comparable houses, one in bounds for a "good" school and the other in bounds for "bad" school, then by all means, choose the one with the better school. I just don't think schools should be your primary factor if you don't have kids yet.

Good luck.