Help me convince my husband we should put our kids in DCPS

[Anonymous]

OP,
I was your DH and I'd second the rec of the PP above but be open to the conclusion you draw. I went to many open houses, both public, in DC and MD and private. I really tried to get a feel for what each place was actually like. We were not comfortable with our local school and actually all friends that tried pk 4 have gone elsewhere for k. (Not a Hill school.) We were fortunate in that we got into JLKMO out of bounds, and so far it has been working. We take it year by year and are open to the burbs. There is no magic right place, even with privates you have to find a good fit for your child and their ability level. I personally like NoVA but it would be bad for DH's commute. We will make a decision in the next year to stay or go, I think 3rd is a good time to jump. We rent so have a different calculation than those that may nearly own their houses. We are trying to think long term, the relationships the kids are building are important too and it's not fair to experiement too recklessly and uproot them too casually. Don't make a decision in the abstract, really invest some time in your search before you decide. Think about your kids not some abstract responsibility to a neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

I am a DC Charter parent and was a little offended by some of the comments. My children previously attended school in Chevy Chase, MD and I must tell you, I love the charter school much more. My older son had 24 students and 3 teachers in his class. In MoCo, the ratio for middle school is 33 to 1. You also have to look at test scores with a grain of salt. Our school's scores hovered around 67% proficiency. My son did great on DC CAS. I think that your kid will do well no matter what if his/her parents are involved. People should not be fooled into thinking that MD and VA are better just because they are not DC. Both of my kids' classrooms are incredibly diverse. My kids will tell you that they think that's pretty cool. The kids are from Vietnam, China, Mexico, El Salvador, Somalia, India, Ethiopia, etc. with a few black and white kids sprinkled in. I love the diversity, but more importantly, I love the education. Our school actually has an outdoor coordinator whose sole job is to plan outdoor trips like rock climbing, etc. You can't beat that for a free education. I fully recognize that my husband and I are probably better educated than many of the parents, but I've seen such fire in these kids. They really want to succeed. I love hanging out with them. I think that I can contribute so much to the school.

So, needless to say, be openminded and spend some time talking to parents with kids in Charters and DCPS. You will find some real gems in the city. Plus, the DC Tag program gives each graduate $10K per year for college if you are a District resident.

[Anonymous]

Curious if anyone knows wehn the DC Tag program is set to expire? Sorry to highjack.

PP can you pls share the name of your charter? Sounds really fun.

[Anonymous]

OP here. I really appreciate the posts from other Hill parents and will share them with my husband. I may have shot myself in the foot because, per a suggestion here (and a good one), during one of our big talks I offered to reconsider my stance on private school if we could just give DCPS a shot for a few years. My husband checked the tuition rates for some of the private schools and his eyes almost fell out of his head. So now he thinks the choice is DCPS or the suburbs, and he's angling for suburbs for our next move.

As for the question about why we love the Hill so much, it's for a lot of the same reasons others have posted. But also it's been our home for awhile now, and we have made a life for ourselves here. We love our friends and neighbors and local businesses, the fact that we walk just about everywhere, and we love the rhythm our lives have taken. I am reluctant to uproot our family to move to a new 'hood in pursuit of The Perfect School--which may or may not exist--without serious consideration for all of the benefits we derive from living here. There's comfort in the familiar, you know?

[Anonymous]

It's not just the familiar, it's a lifestyle. You'll likely be in your car if you move to the suburbs. What about Takoma Park? If you could find something close to the center of town? If private is not an option, will your neighborhood school do your children right for the next several years? You could try charter and OOB lotteries, too. If you get lucky ...

[Anonymous]

13:37 My kids attend Capital City Public Charter.

[Anonymous]

"You also have to look at test scores with a grain of salt. Our school's scores hovered around 67% proficiency. My son did great on DC CAS. I think that your kid will do well no matter what if his/her parents are involved."

Yep. A recent Dept. of Education study found that 90% of these test scores is due to the child's socioeconomic status. I don't know what the DCPS numbers look like across the board, but you can see this when when you look scores of the better-performing schools. Generally, there is over 90% proficiency for the white kids who are not low income or LD. The scores for the minority subgroups at these same schools are strikingly lower. Whether this is due to racial bias in the tests, or just socioeconomic issues, I don't know. But you have to make sure you're comparing apples to apples when you're looking at scores, which means not comparing all of DCPS to Mont. Co.

[Anonymous]

I think that even if your inbound schools is SWS or Brent, you will have to re-evaluate every couple of years. And if you get into a sought after charter, you may find that it only suits your child for part of the grade-span that it serves.

[Anonymous]

Also, if your child is in a charter at some distance, a lot of what you like about the Hill lifestyle may change. There will be a long commute to and from school and classmates may live at some distance making playdates a hassle. As kids get to be school age, their lives, and that of their family really start to center more around school, soccer, after school activities, etc. Having done a close and a far elementary for 2 of my kids, your life also takes a hit if the school is too far away. As the kids of your friends on the Hill get older you may find that shift occuring to privates, charters, etc. Many friends with kids at Two Rivers or Haynes have not stayed to go all the way through. It is disruptive to kids to move them around too much, it really impacts their social networks and it is hard to be the new kid.

Some walkable neighborhoods you might want to consider are the Clarendon neighborhood in Arlington (orange line metro) or Takoma Park, MD (red line).

[Anonymous]

Isn't CHDS the obvious choice here?

[Anonymous]

CHDS?? Capitol Hill Day School? sure, if you have $25K to throw at a problem every year, go for it! while you're at it, spring for my kid, too?

[Anonymous]

OP here. I think we've made a decision to try DCPS for the first few years and re-assess every year. In the end, I would rather have made the effort to change DCPS by being an involved parent--even if it means admitting failure after a couple of years and retreating to the suburbs--than foregoing that option altogether. Be the change you want to see and all that jazz.

[Anonymous]

I'm new to these forums - what does kwim stand for?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm new to these forums - what does kwim stand for?

Know What I Mean?

[Anonymous]

Thanks for helping a newbie out!