What does PreK Look Like in DCPS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Okay, you're not high-strung, you're just writing a big-words essay at 6:19 AM about precisely what kind of preschool you think is best for everyone.

It sounds like you want a more play-based and child-led approach than you're going to get in DCPS. Yes, there's research, but DCPS has other considerations too. Like the feasibility of a truly child-led approach within DCPS' adult-child ratio, which is funding-driven. Like how much recess can each class have when the school has only one playground and 20+ classes. And the fact that not all parents feel as strongly about play-based as you do. Myself, I'm very up on the research literature through my job, but still felt that a hybrid play-based and direct instruction approach was perfect for my specific child.

You need to understand that in the lottery it's unlikely you'll get a PK3 spot at a school with strong test scores in the upper grades. Possible but unlikely.

Sadly, my kid woke up at 4:30AM and I didn’t fall back asleep. I had been meaning to post but kept forgetting. Sue me for thinking being more articulate would help get the point across. Your factious comment as to what you think my personality is like isn’t helpful.

And it’s not what I think is best, it’s what research shows. I have also stated that I do not care if there is some academics that are teacher led. The particular school I was in boundary for before I moved just seemed so strict I was worried this might be the norm.

I also didn’t say playground time specifically. 30 minutes isn’t ideal, 45-60 would be better but that would be fine if the rest of the day wasn’t small groups and whole group teacher-led all day.

You're not going to get what you're hoping for from DCPS. You're not going to get a 60-minute recess because those minutes are mandated to be used for other purposes. It's math. It's just not how it works in public school, and it's not up to the individual schools. And what on earth is wrong with small groups?

If you come in being like "The research proves that this is unequivocally best and therefore the school must provide it", you're just going to alienate everyone. Research changes! It comes and goes, it ebbs and flows, all kinds of stupid things have been rolled out as research-based and then rolled back again. If you hang your hat on the research you'll just annoy everyone and seem like an inexperienced preschool parent.

This is 100 years of research…it hasn’t changed in terms of play being best. American public school districts with universal PK don’t listen.

Nothing is wrong with small groups, just 30 minutes each day (for each kid) seems like a lot. And 60 min of whole group, not including the morning meeting. You are right the day is short, that’s why I was worried. When I raised concerns the school said it was the ‘gold standard in DCPS.’

I am inexperienced! That is why I am asking. I think the in boundary school would be Van Ness or Brent.

I'm trying to tell you, it's not just that they're ignoring the research. They're not fully implementing the research for *reasons*. Real reasons. Research doesn't make other constraints disappear. And it doesn't make people want what the research thinks they should.

The small group and whole group instruction doesn't happen all in one time slot. It's not like they sit and hear an hour long lecture like college students! Come on. And they're probably counting specials time, so like if they're all singing a song or doing a dance with the music teacher, that's whole-group because they're all doing the same thing at the same time. It's okay. Very few people are as passionate about a heavily play-based approach as you seem to be, and I think that's driven by their experience of having children in DCPS and it being just fine.

You can determine your in-boundary school here: https://enrolldcps.dc.gov/node/41. Brent is a highly regarded school and applying without sibling preference you may or may not get a spot. You need to think about schools you can get into if you don't have a good lottery number.

[Anonymous]

Just echoing others -- our PK experience in DCPS was amazing. Very play based, child directed. A typical day was:

-- Free play on playground until around 9:30
-- Morning circle time with songs and talking about stuff like nature, the weather, families, etc.
-- "Choice time" They had stations around the classroom (water play, blocks and building, arts and crafts, etc.) and kids chose an activity and did for around an hour
-- Snack time
-- Specials, where music or Spanish teachers would push into the classroom for age appropriate lessons in these areas
-- lunch (in the classroom)
-- recess
-- nap
-- small group instruction (this was the "academics" and was only about 15-20 minutes and I actually don't think started until PK4)

They also took walks in the neighborhood to look at trees throughout the year, visited the local fire station and the grocery store, spent time in the school garden learning about plants and bugs, and did a lot of art projects.

Couldn't have asked for a better PK experience, I can't believe we received this for free through DCPS. Amazing.

K was more academic than I would have liked and was too much sitting down and listening and not enough free play or time outdoors. DCPS should overhaul its kindergarten curriculum. The problem is that while all PK teachers in DCPS have degrees in early childhood education (a requirement, it's great) the K teachers don't need to meet this requirement and many of them don't support or care about a model for ECE that is focused on play and experiential learning. DC did fine in K, I just would have preferred a less academic environment.

We couldn't afford private though, so we were stuck with it. My understanding is that charters are uneven on this point -- some are great, others are not. We didn't get into our preferred charters so we stuck it out with DCPS and on balance it's been okay. But the PK program is phenomenal -- I would do that again in a heartbeat, but I might try harder to get into a charter for K if I had it to do again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look, you can't come in to DPCS expecting they'll do the "best practices" of the moment or be entirely research-based. They have a LOT of other factors, such as federal mandates, city laws and regs, budget limitations, physical space limitations, etc. You need to manage your expectations and remember that you get what you pay for (if you're lucky-- sometimes you don't even get that).

There are plenty of examples of school systems doing something they think is research-based and it ends up being a disaster and not having the expected result. (The math fiasco in San Francisco is a recent example.) DCPS isn't that quick to move with the ever-changing research and ebb and flow of trends. That can have very real pros and cons.

Budget limitations is an interesting statement, considering how much they spent on this math curriculum. I’m also not sure how allowing for play without a ton of small group and whole group all day doesn’t align with mandates.

But I do understand what you’re saying. I am not expecting magic here, I just want my child to mostly be happy first and foremost. I also don’t want my kid to be a statistic.

It's very unclear to me how a typical DCPS preschool would cause your child to "be a statistic". Lots of kids have a not-totally-play-based preschool experience and are just fine in preschool and in the future. Lots of parents prefer it that way. Is there a specific reason you're concerned your child would not thrive?

I’m just worried. I have other POC friends with children a bit older and have heard some stories, such as teachers taking 5-25 minutes of recess away from their 3 year old child…
It seems there may be some high expectations at some schools.

And again, I am not looking for totally play based. Just not primarily academic-teacher led. For example 70/30 or 60/40 for play vs. the opposite.

Teachers are not supposed to do that, again because kids have a certain amount of minutes of recess and physically activity mandated. Definitely ask at the open house whether your school allows this as a policy. Some schools (charters) may have a longer recess and allow for 5 minutes to be taken away but still meet the mandates, for example.

Remember, however old your child is now, they will be quite a bit older and more mature in August 2025. It's really normal for the parents of two-year-olds to feel some apprehension at the prospect of formal schooling. But PK3 is designed for the age, and most kids are just fine.

Perhaps you've got too binary a distinction in your mind of "play" vs. "the opposite". Ideally, the kid is having a play-ish experience even if they're limited to a certain toy or activity, and the teacher is supporting them by offering particular activities that are most needed for the particular kid's growth, and by participating with them in a way that directs their attention to needed things. Without it feeling like a lecture or chore.

[Anonymous]

I don't doubt the research, but my favorite thing about PK3 and PK4 is that my kid learned to follow directions and routines! I don't quite the see the longterm value of a 5 year old who still tantrums about having to put on a coat to go outside or needing to listening quietly while someone else is talking, if those things can be avoided with a little instruction and social reinforcement. Not trying to make this an either/or - just admitting that I don't know the parameters of this child-led play theory.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, my kid had a wonderful 6 months in PK3 at a DCPS elementary...then Covid hit and that was that. I can't remember much about it other than his teacher was great and he loved it. It's PK3, it's play based. It was a title one school so there were 16 kids in his class.

Honestly, you sound pretty high strung. It's PK, they play, they learn the alphabet, how to count to 10, then 20, then more. They learn sounds and syllables. That's it. Breathe. It's where they go while you go to work. If you want whatever else, pay for a private.

Me again. After reading some other posts below, it made me remember a bit more about typical days and what the classroom was like.
First, it was a PK3/PK4 classroom. There were several play stations (like a kitchen, a dollhouse, a grocery store etc). Kids sat at round tables to draw, paint etc. They started each day with a morning meeting with songs, talking about the day etc. They had a good social-emotional unit and each day, one kid was chosen to be complimented and everyone had to give the classmate a compliment. The teacher set the tone with things like I like how you sing songs when you’re playing in the kitchen. Sometimes, the teacher would write the compliment on a paper and the kid who gave it did a drawing of it and gave it to my kid (so sweet and cute).

They rotated through the play stations, played outside, did some literacy and math, and that was it. They had recess separately from the higher grades.

We lived in walking distance and that was great too. It was also the school where most of my kid’s daycare friends ended up so he already had friends when he started.

We were able to tour etc before entering the lottery. I suspect many schools allow this.

All this to say OP, do some research, talk to your friends and neighbors about schools you’re considering and go from there. Your DCPS may be what you’re looking for.

[Anonymous]

We had a fantastic PK experience in DCPS but it certainly was a work hard/play hard approach. It's a predominantly Black Title 1 school that works really hard to address achievement gaps. There was a lot of play time and centers but there was also a lot of reading and learning. As a result a good number of the kindergarteners could then read semi independently entering K. Kids are friends, community is fantastic. So while understand the research, I would focus on the community and school. A happy kid is a happy kid regardless of whether research says they should get 15 more minutes outside. And happy kids achieve more, too.

I would also talk to other Black parents at the school to get an idea of their experience. While this city does fail a lot of groups, the individual schools are very different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Okay, you're not high-strung, you're just writing a big-words essay at 6:19 AM about precisely what kind of preschool you think is best for everyone.

It sounds like you want a more play-based and child-led approach than you're going to get in DCPS. Yes, there's research, but DCPS has other considerations too. Like the feasibility of a truly child-led approach within DCPS' adult-child ratio, which is funding-driven. Like how much recess can each class have when the school has only one playground and 20+ classes. And the fact that not all parents feel as strongly about play-based as you do. Myself, I'm very up on the research literature through my job, but still felt that a hybrid play-based and direct instruction approach was perfect for my specific child.

You need to understand that in the lottery it's unlikely you'll get a PK3 spot at a school with strong test scores in the upper grades. Possible but unlikely.

Sadly, my kid woke up at 4:30AM and I didn’t fall back asleep. I had been meaning to post but kept forgetting. Sue me for thinking being more articulate would help get the point across. Your factious comment as to what you think my personality is like isn’t helpful.

And it’s not what I think is best, it’s what research shows. I have also stated that I do not care if there is some academics that are teacher led. The particular school I was in boundary for before I moved just seemed so strict I was worried this might be the norm.

I also didn’t say playground time specifically. 30 minutes isn’t ideal, 45-60 would be better but that would be fine if the rest of the day wasn’t small groups and whole group teacher-led all day.

You're not going to get what you're hoping for from DCPS. You're not going to get a 60-minute recess because those minutes are mandated to be used for other purposes. It's math. It's just not how it works in public school, and it's not up to the individual schools. And what on earth is wrong with small groups?

If you come in being like "The research proves that this is unequivocally best and therefore the school must provide it", you're just going to alienate everyone. Research changes! It comes and goes, it ebbs and flows, all kinds of stupid things have been rolled out as research-based and then rolled back again. If you hang your hat on the research you'll just annoy everyone and seem like an inexperienced preschool parent.

This is 100 years of research…it hasn’t changed in terms of play being best. American public school districts with universal PK don’t listen.

Nothing is wrong with small groups, just 30 minutes each day (for each kid) seems like a lot. And 60 min of whole group, not including the morning meeting. You are right the day is short, that’s why I was worried. When I raised concerns the school said it was the ‘gold standard in DCPS.’

I am inexperienced! That is why I am asking. I think the in boundary school would be Van Ness or Brent.

My kids both did prek 3 & 4 (and onwards) at Van Ness and can share that they followed the same schedule that an above poster shared for the day. They both loved school and still remember their teachers (currently in upper ES and MS). Happy to answer specific questions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Okay, you're not high-strung, you're just writing a big-words essay at 6:19 AM about precisely what kind of preschool you think is best for everyone.

It sounds like you want a more play-based and child-led approach than you're going to get in DCPS. Yes, there's research, but DCPS has other considerations too. Like the feasibility of a truly child-led approach within DCPS' adult-child ratio, which is funding-driven. Like how much recess can each class have when the school has only one playground and 20+ classes. And the fact that not all parents feel as strongly about play-based as you do. Myself, I'm very up on the research literature through my job, but still felt that a hybrid play-based and direct instruction approach was perfect for my specific child.

You need to understand that in the lottery it's unlikely you'll get a PK3 spot at a school with strong test scores in the upper grades. Possible but unlikely.

Sadly, my kid woke up at 4:30AM and I didn’t fall back asleep. I had been meaning to post but kept forgetting. Sue me for thinking being more articulate would help get the point across. Your factious comment as to what you think my personality is like isn’t helpful.

And it’s not what I think is best, it’s what research shows. I have also stated that I do not care if there is some academics that are teacher led. The particular school I was in boundary for before I moved just seemed so strict I was worried this might be the norm.

I also didn’t say playground time specifically. 30 minutes isn’t ideal, 45-60 would be better but that would be fine if the rest of the day wasn’t small groups and whole group teacher-led all day.

You're not going to get what you're hoping for from DCPS. You're not going to get a 60-minute recess because those minutes are mandated to be used for other purposes. It's math. It's just not how it works in public school, and it's not up to the individual schools. And what on earth is wrong with small groups?

If you come in being like "The research proves that this is unequivocally best and therefore the school must provide it", you're just going to alienate everyone. Research changes! It comes and goes, it ebbs and flows, all kinds of stupid things have been rolled out as research-based and then rolled back again. If you hang your hat on the research you'll just annoy everyone and seem like an inexperienced preschool parent.

This is 100 years of research…it hasn’t changed in terms of play being best. American public school districts with universal PK don’t listen.

Nothing is wrong with small groups, just 30 minutes each day (for each kid) seems like a lot. And 60 min of whole group, not including the morning meeting. You are right the day is short, that’s why I was worried. When I raised concerns the school said it was the ‘gold standard in DCPS.’

I am inexperienced! That is why I am asking. I think the in boundary school would be Van Ness or Brent.

Go to open houses. You'll get a much better feel for the philosophies, schedules, and classroom spaces of the specific school(s) you're considering.

Keep in mind that Brent and Van Ness are both schools where being in-boundary doesn't guarantee a PK3 spot.

Also important to know that if it's Brent, the school is undergoing a modernization in SY25-26 and SY26-27 and students will be bussing to a swing space in Columbia Heights.

[Anonymous]

We did not do prek in DCPS. But our neighbor did and there was worksheet homework. It wasn’t required but that was that. She pulled her kid out after 1 year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We did not do prek in DCPS. But our neighbor did and there was worksheet homework. It wasn’t required but that was that. She pulled her kid out after 1 year.

It was stunning to me that some parents actually requested worksheet homework in preschool. Just a cultural difference I guess. But it happens.

[Anonymous]

My kid didn't get worksheet homework until 3rd grade, has been in DCPS since prek3.

[Anonymous]

OP you may want to look at Peabody. Peabody is amazing - school of prek3,prek4,and K so an entire building of people only focused on ECE. We ended up leaving and went private for K (largely in part because Peabody feeds into Watkins and Watkins wasn't what we wanted) but my child's two years at Peabody were incredible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP you may want to look at Peabody. Peabody is amazing - school of prek3,prek4,and K so an entire building of people only focused on ECE. We ended up leaving and went private for K (largely in part because Peabody feeds into Watkins and Watkins wasn't what we wanted) but my child's two years at Peabody were incredible.

When is the last time Peabody offered a PK3 seat to an out of boundary student? You'd have to be very, very lucky to even have this as an option.

[Anonymous]

I would recommend looking into Lee Montessori

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid's day (this was at a Ward 5 Title I in 2016) was:

Circle time-- talk about what's on tap for the day, what day of the week it is, sing a song or two.

Then they did the "play plan" which was a thing at the time-- they would "write" or do a picture of what they intended to do.

Centers time-- they had the Tools of the Mind curriculum at the tunem where they have the classroom set up to play different scenarios such as restaurant.

Specials-- music, art, PE, etc, either they walk or the teacher comes to them.

Literacy-- the aide read aloud to some of them while others had more explicit phonics instruction in a small group with the teacher.

A math activity of some sort such as a game where you count things or play with math manipulatives such as pattern blocks.

Occasionally a field trip (they walked to a fire station) or a visiting performer in the school auditorium.

Lunch, recess, nap (90 mins sleep or look at a book or quietly play on your cot)

Closing circle which is just sort of a goodbye routine with a song.

Personally I was fine with the direct instruction as my DD enjoyed it and made great progress in her early reading skills. I think you'll find not everyone is seeking as purely play-based a curriculum as you seem to be.

This was our experience in 2023 pre-k. My kid loved preschool.