Help navigating the Capitol Hill school situation

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you’d be OK with a parochial HS later on, and could afford one, it’s worth staying. You won’t get stuck w/Catholic school as your parachute. Public middle school is manageable from CH even if you don’t get lucky at BASIS or one of the Latins. HS can be the deal breaker.

ECE parent here. That’s our tentative plan though we know a lot can change. Think we may have found a solid enough prek-8 path in DCPS, assuming no lottery luck in middle, then banneker/mckinley/walls if DC can get in. Building up DCs 529 in case the selective high schools or charters don’t work out and Eastern hasn’t changed much by then. You can use 529 for both k12 and college.

There is another thread right now that talks a lot about McKinley and Banneker with many posts from parents that are there, if anybody wants to learn more about those two options.
Everybody is different and many people move and are happier that they move. But there are tons of people who are in schools here and very happy that they stayed, so do what is best for your family. A panic move when your kid is only one might not be the best for every family.

[Anonymous]

If you really want to stay on the Hill with kids, you will forge ahead, find a way. If you’re on the fence, you will give up and go. The question to ask yourself with a toddler is how committed are you. BASIS and the Latins are just OK compared to the better suburban middle schools. The determinant is your commitment to Hill/city life. You’re the only one who can answer the critical question, OP.

[Anonymous]

I agree with this: "A panic move when your kid is only one might not be the best for every family." If you already have lots of school-related anxiety, then sure get serious about moving now to a suburb with more reputable public schools. But the Hill is in many respects really great with small kids. It is pretty walkable, there is public transportation, there are lots of other families, there are lots of activities in this area geared towards kids, and the schools are overall okay (most people go DCPS for elementary school). You take it a year at a time and some anxiety about upper elementary and middle school hits about 4th grade, but a lot of people muddle okay through that too. If your child is one, you have a lot of years to gradually figure things out.

[Anonymous]

The Hill is also great for big kids with some city smarts. My middle school-age kids take city buses and Metro with siblings or friends to get to activities all the time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unless you really love the Hill and couldn't consider (or afford) living elsewhere, move now. Or stay at Peabody with a move in the near-term future. If your love for the Hill outweighs your concerns about school, stay and it might work out that you have an ok place to send your kids to school. There are no public or charter options on the Hill past 5th grade that are great. And I'd argue that even the popular public elementaries are just good to ok, not great.

Ok, but BASIS is close and very easy to get to both driving and public transport and Latin has a bus from the Hill. So if you get lucky, you can stay.

I hate this plan because people assume that you can put any kid in these schools and they will thrive. This isn't true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree with this: "A panic move when your kid is only one might not be the best for every family." If you already have lots of school-related anxiety, then sure get serious about moving now to a suburb with more reputable public schools. But the Hill is in many respects really great with small kids. It is pretty walkable, there is public transportation, there are lots of other families, there are lots of activities in this area geared towards kids, and the schools are overall okay (most people go DCPS for elementary school). You take it a year at a time and some anxiety about upper elementary and middle school hits about 4th grade, but a lot of people muddle okay through that too. If your child is one, you have a lot of years to gradually figure things out.

However, it gets harder to move every year. You build relationships with your school community in elementary. It's hard to do that in older grades. Just move now OP.

[Anonymous]

However, it gets harder to move every year. You build relationships with your school community in elementary. It's hard to do that in older grades. Just move now OP.

The fact that this piece of advice is given (and repeated) without any nuance or attention to different interests and contingencies is immediately disqualifying.

You are happy with your choice, we got it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unless you really love the Hill and couldn't consider (or afford) living elsewhere, move now. Or stay at Peabody with a move in the near-term future. If your love for the Hill outweighs your concerns about school, stay and it might work out that you have an ok place to send your kids to school. There are no public or charter options on the Hill past 5th grade that are great. And I'd argue that even the popular public elementaries are just good to ok, not great.

Ok, but BASIS is close and very easy to get to both driving and public transport and Latin has a bus from the Hill. So if you get lucky, you can stay.

I hate this plan because people assume that you can put any kid in these schools and they will thrive. This isn't true.

That is the case with literally all schools. If OP moves to the suburbs, that school might not work out for her kid either.

[Anonymous]

BASIS plans on opening a K-4 campus in 2025. See here: https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1130536.page.

So, if your kid(s) is/are really young and you think they would do well in an academically challenging environment, you can try for that, and move if you lose out in the lottery.

We live on the Hill and have kids at BASIS. If we hadn't done well in the lottery (BASIS was our only choice for 5th grade), we would have moved to the burbs.

The education at BASIS is as good as, if not better, than you get at a suburban school. Plus, the classes are a lot smaller.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unless you really love the Hill and couldn't consider (or afford) living elsewhere, move now. Or stay at Peabody with a move in the near-term future. If your love for the Hill outweighs your concerns about school, stay and it might work out that you have an ok place to send your kids to school. There are no public or charter options on the Hill past 5th grade that are great. And I'd argue that even the popular public elementaries are just good to ok, not great.

Ok, but BASIS is close and very easy to get to both driving and public transport and Latin has a bus from the Hill. So if you get lucky, you can stay.

I hate this plan because people assume that you can put any kid in these schools and they will thrive. This isn't true.

That is the case with literally all schools. If OP moves to the suburbs, that school might not work out for her kid either.

True enough.

You can move to Annandale and spent a big chunk of your day commuting to and from DC, shopping in soulless strip malls, and rarely visiting DC on the weekend. And then TRY to get your kid in at TJ.

But it is clearly the school not for everyone. Here is a the results of a recent survey there: https://tjhsst.fcps.edu/resources/challenge-success-student-survey-executive-summary.

For example, "75% of students report experiencing a stress related health symptom in the last month. Exhaustion, difficulty sleeping, and headaches are the most commonly reported symptoms."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Hill is also great for big kids with some city smarts. My middle school-age kids take city buses and Metro with siblings or friends to get to activities all the time.

They’re definitely going to need those city smarts.

https://www.popville.com/2023/07/terrifying-gun-violence-dc-kingman-island/

[Anonymous]

Come on, you raise your kid in a suburban cocoon if you want. My 7th and 8th grader handle their Metro commutes well because they grew up on the Hill. We've never been mugged or burgled in DC, not in 20 years. Our parked car has been broken into in Alexandra though, twice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Hill is also great for big kids with some city smarts. My middle school-age kids take city buses and Metro with siblings or friends to get to activities all the time.

They’re definitely going to need those city smarts.

https://www.popville.com/2023/07/terrifying-gun-violence-dc-kingman-island/

Yes, in Bethesda too. Place sounds like a hellhole.

https://www.wusa9.com/amp/article/news/local/maryland/bethesda-assault-investigation/65-1de6c49e-ad96-4689-984b-49c8da6f6477

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Hill is also great for big kids with some city smarts. My middle school-age kids take city buses and Metro with siblings or friends to get to activities all the time.

They’re definitely going to need those city smarts.

https://www.popville.com/2023/07/terrifying-gun-violence-dc-kingman-island/

Yes, in Bethesda too. Place sounds like a hellhole.

https://www.wusa9.com/amp/article/news/local/maryland/bethesda-assault-investigation/65-1de6c49e-ad96-4689-984b-49c8da6f6477

Yup.

McLean too.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/03/22/youngblood-murder-shooting-children/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Come on, you raise your kid in a suburban cocoon if you want. My 7th and 8th grader handle their Metro commutes well because they grew up on the Hill. We've never been mugged or burgled in DC, not in 20 years. Our parked car has been broken into in Alexandra though, twice.

I just don't understand this myopic view from fellow CH parents. We are long time CH residents, our kids are in high school, soon to graduate in the next few years (Latin). We have dear friends in suburban communities in VA, MD...indeed all over the country. They are not raising their children in "cocoons" and are not having these soulless lives that many CH parents feel exists outside this neighborhood. They are happy and connected to various communities and are living fulfilling lives. If we hadn't gotten into Latin and private school didn't work as an option--we would have moved. And we--my husband, I, kids--we would have all adjusted and been FINE.
We've been on the Hill forever and will likely not move in the near future. But I don't sit in judgement of others and where they live urban/rural/suburban.