How to decide which neighborhoods to look at given the crapshoot DC school lottery system?

[Anonymous]

Not sure if this should go here or in DC Public Schools. We live in Mount Pleasant now with DC1 (20 months) and are expecting DC2 later this year. We're thinking about buying a bigger house, although we could make things work in our current house for at least a few more years. We want our kids to go to public or charter schools. So howdo we figure out which neighborhoods to look in given the ridiculous crapshoot that is the DC school lottery system? It seems crazy to spend $100Ks extra to buy in a more expensive neighborhoods with good in bounds elementary schools since the kidlets could end up going to a charter or an OOB school. But of course we wouldn't want to trap ourselves by buying a cheaper or bigger house in a neighborhood with an IB school that we don't feel comfortable with, finding out we didn't get in anywhere else, and having to move again or pay for private school.

Obviously I am not the first person to confront this problem, but there doesn't seem to be any good answer. How do people handle this?

[Anonymous]

The charter system works very well for those already living in DC and looking for a way to stay. But it's impossible to predict which charter your child will get into. The decent DCPS don't have OOB spots, so don't worry about relocating within commuting distance of them. It's tough to advise specific neighborhoods without knowing your budget and eventual school.

So your child will be eligible for PS3 for the 2014 - 2015 school year, right? Could you wait until that lottery then move to a neighborhood convenient to school? That's about a year from now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The charter system works very well for those already living in DC and looking for a way to stay. But it's impossible to predict which charter your child will get into. The decent DCPS don't have OOB spots, so don't worry about relocating within commuting distance of them. It's tough to advise specific neighborhoods without knowing your budget and eventual school.

So your child will be eligible for PS3 for the 2014 - 2015 school year, right? Could you wait until that lottery then move to a neighborhood convenient to school? That's about a year from now.

I agree with this, if you want a charter try the 3 and 4 year old entry years, if you do not make it buy in bounds for a good school. That also may be a broader list in 2/3 years. Anything other than that or buying in bounds for a good school now is setting yourself up for a lot of stress and possibly another move.

[Anonymous]

It seems crazy to spend $100Ks extra to buy in a more expensive neighborhoods with good in bounds elementary schools since the kidlets could end up going to a charter or an OOB school.

A lot of us don't think this is crazy at all.

It is true that if you bought your dream structure in, say, Ward 8, and you decided to apply for charters and OOB spots, you WOULD be guaranteed to get 1) a spot in "a charter of some type" and 2) also a slot someplace in some OOB school, somewhere.

Now I ask you -- will those 2 schools be as good as Janney ->> Deal --> Wilson Academies? Are you sure? Most of the charters don't even have a track record, keep in mind. Sure, you tell me that Mundo Verde or Creative Minds is awesome. Maybe they are. But no one really knows, do they? Whereas Murch has a 30+ PROVEN track record of nicely educating kids K-6 (now 5).

So that is why many thousands of us choose the sure-thing school over the extra bedroom.

[Anonymous]

30 YEAR track record of turning out kids with a good education foundation. ^^^ Maybe longer. I just personally know of kids from the late 70s.

[Anonymous]

I am 17:16, and I agree that the risk averse (myself included) have often chosen to move to JKLMM boundaries for the "sure" thing. I think there is an argument for waiting and seeing if you do not need to move right away as long as you know that is what you are doing. Of course, also read the how long is the commute to Vienna thread.

I may not love my house, but I love our elementary, neighborhood and our commutes.

[Anonymous]

we did not do well in the lotteries and ended up in private. i would follow the PPs advice to see where you get in pre-K and if you get shut out move to a neighborhood with a good inbounds school for K.

[Anonymous]

The Charters are a gamble in some ways and that makes me uneasy. The newish ones don't know where they will ultimately end up. And funding I always an issue.

[Anonymous]

17:08 here. Full disclosure, I'm a charter school parent living in the U ST neighborhood.

The extra $ to get in bounds for a JKLMM isn't just for school entry. It buys you into a neighborhood full of families sending their children to the same neighborhood school.

OTOH, it's definitely less of an urban environment. But some people don't care as much about that once they have kids.

[Anonymous]

We are inbounds for JLM. We purchased when I was pregnant with DC #1 as our small row house would no longer support our needs. There was no way to make it child safe, parking etc.

We attend a desirable charter. It is a better fit for our family. We obviously paid a premium to buy into a great elementary, solid middle and best neighborhood HS option in DC. For our family, worth every penny - even though we drive across the city each morning.

We needed to move anyway when I was pregnant and I did not want to move somewhere that was temporary. I wanted to establish connections with neighbors.

[Anonymous]

What makes the charter a better fit than the local JKLM? Language immersion? Special Needs?

[Anonymous]

I would wait until you know where you child is going to school. We sent our children to private preschools then waited to see where they got in for K. We rented in a JKLMM neighborhood but moved EotP because we wanted a larger, nicer house for less money. If we didn't get a spot for K then we would have either continued to rent for a while then move out to MoCo or settle for a tiny, over-priced house we hated in the JKLMM neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

Go Charter! Don't spend 900K for a small house that needs work just for Janney. They just remodeled and are already over capacity. Not worth it! Honestly at a second tier charter school you can get just as good of an education.

[Anonymous]

See the thread on "why did you choose to live where you live." If you want to live in Mt. Pleasant-- and don't want to spend the $$ on low-risk/boring JKLM neighborhoods-- then yes, the schools will be a crapshoot. The charters are pure lottery. Most good DCPS schools are impossible to get into OOB.

If I were you, I would hold out until you see if DC1 gets into PK-3 anywhere good. That's only a year from now. If not, then move. Or try again for PK-4.

[Anonymous]

Op here. Thanks everybody. This is helpful advice to wait for a year.