If you "lost" in the lottery at 6th grade, where did your kid end up?

[Anonymous]

Start figuring out what “winning” looks like. Then rank carefully considering the commute and everything. If you rank enough schools - You are guaranteed a middle school match at somewhere that is not your IB.

[Anonymous]

JOW is basically open entry in upper grades and right next to you if you're IB for Wheatley. (L-T is a better pick, but much harder to get into, especially this past year. Watkins may or may not be preferable once the commute is factored in, but was basically open entry as well.) SH is a solid middle school option. Once you have that locked in, you can apply only to places you'd prefer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Start figuring out what “winning” looks like. Then rank carefully considering the commute and everything. If you rank enough schools - You are guaranteed a middle school match at somewhere that is not your IB.

Please don't say things that can be so easily misinterpreted. OP, you need to figure out which easy-to-get-into schools you are okay with. Because there is not a guarantee.

[Anonymous]

I will say, as someone who lives in the neighborhood and knows kids at S-H, E-H, and all of their various feeders, that I think Eliot-Hine is a pretty easy lottery option that is okay. Not great, but okay, especially with involved parents. The Hill families we know there have great kids who seem to like the school fine and are doing as well there as kids I know at any other public in the city.

I also hear decent (again, not great, just okay, maybe a little more enthusiastic than about E-H) about Stuart-Hobson, which is our feeder MS. As long as you're talking about kids with involved, committed parents who are willing to do extra to make sure their kids are getting their academic needs met, these schools are okay.

HS is a whole other matter, I don't know any families choosing Eastern, everyone is figuring something new out for HS. But I know tons of families who liked their Hill elementary a lot (both DCPS and charter), are okay with S-H or E-H, and are willing to wait for 9th to make the big sacrifice if needed (moving or private, if the application school lottery doesn't work the way they want).

But E-H seems like a lottery gimme that is actually okay enough to get you that little bit extra down the road. Which might be significant, because it's easier to pay for 4 years of private than 7, and it's easier to imagine doing a temporary move for schools for 4 years than 7.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I will say, as someone who lives in the neighborhood and knows kids at S-H, E-H, and all of their various feeders, that I think Eliot-Hine is a pretty easy lottery option that is okay. Not great, but okay, especially with involved parents. The Hill families we know there have great kids who seem to like the school fine and are doing as well there as kids I know at any other public in the city.

I also hear decent (again, not great, just okay, maybe a little more enthusiastic than about E-H) about Stuart-Hobson, which is our feeder MS. As long as you're talking about kids with involved, committed parents who are willing to do extra to make sure their kids are getting their academic needs met, these schools are okay.

HS is a whole other matter, I don't know any families choosing Eastern, everyone is figuring something new out for HS. But I know tons of families who liked their Hill elementary a lot (both DCPS and charter), are okay with S-H or E-H, and are willing to wait for 9th to make the big sacrifice if needed (moving or private, if the application school lottery doesn't work the way they want).

But E-H seems like a lottery gimme that is actually okay enough to get you that little bit extra down the road. Which might be significant, because it's easier to pay for 4 years of private than 7, and it's easier to imagine doing a temporary move for schools for 4 years than 7.

I agree-- would give E-H a very good look. It's got a lot going for it.

As for Eastern, they do have a program called EPIC for more academically capable 9th graders. I think Eastern is better than it used to be and I wish it all the best. With the feeder middle schools strengthening, perhaps it will attract more well-prepared kids.

[Anonymous]

OP here. We struck out for 5th. We had Latins, Basis, and a bunch of feeder schools - we never got off the waitlist for L-T, ITS, Maury, Watkins. I did eventually take myself off the JOW waitlist because their swing space sounded like a hassle.

But moving is just not in the cards for next summer. We are looking at privates too, but seems we can't wait for lottery results to secure a spot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:But moving is just not in the cards for next summer. We are looking at privates too, but seems we can't wait for lottery results to secure a spot.

This is way down the road for you, but you are right that you may have to put a deposit down at a private school before you get lottery results. But, in general, that deposit is not an ironclad commitment until June. So there is time for the lottery to play out as long as you're willing to walk away from the deposit (small potatoes relative to the cost of private for 3 years).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. We struck out for 5th. We had Latins, Basis, and a bunch of feeder schools - we never got off the waitlist for L-T, ITS, Maury, Watkins. I did eventually take myself off the JOW waitlist because their swing space sounded like a hassle.

But moving is just not in the cards for next summer. We are looking at privates too, but seems we can't wait for lottery results to secure a spot.

It seems like Eliot-Hine is the closest, and most likely option for 6th for you. I think that there is a large class of 5th graders at Maury this year (like 65+ kids), so it seems like there will be continued momentum at EH with in-bound buy-in. Will it make the lottery harder next year? Probably, but likely still decent odds.

[Anonymous]

At a charter not popular on this forum and kid is doing just fine

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. We struck out for 5th. We had Latins, Basis, and a bunch of feeder schools - we never got off the waitlist for L-T, ITS, Maury, Watkins. I did eventually take myself off the JOW waitlist because their swing space sounded like a hassle.

But moving is just not in the cards for next summer. We are looking at privates too, but seems we can't wait for lottery results to secure a spot.

This doesn't make sense.

The JOW swing space is certainly less of a hassle than moving or paying for private, if S-H is an acceptable school for you.

Also, it sounds like you only lotteried for other Hill elementaries one year (for 5th). That makes it hard. Most people will lottery for these schools for multiple years and they will virtually always get an offer somewhere. It also sounds like you didn't include Payne or Miner, both of which feed to E-H. Payne in particular is a great school, and Miner is a really easy commute from the Wheatley boundary.

I'm sorry but I'm just baffled. I don't understand how you got into this situation.

[Anonymous]

The odds of getting in anywhere dont really decrease each year. But you need to rank carefully and be somewhat flexible if you are putting all of your eggs in the 6th grade lottery. Look hard at the middle schools near you, including some that are relatively easy to lottery into.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. We struck out for 5th. We had Latins, Basis, and a bunch of feeder schools - we never got off the waitlist for L-T, ITS, Maury, Watkins. I did eventually take myself off the JOW waitlist because their swing space sounded like a hassle.

But moving is just not in the cards for next summer. We are looking at privates too, but seems we can't wait for lottery results to secure a spot.

This doesn't make sense.

The JOW swing space is certainly less of a hassle than moving or paying for private, if S-H is an acceptable school for you.

Also, it sounds like you only lotteried for other Hill elementaries one year (for 5th). That makes it hard. Most people will lottery for these schools for multiple years and they will virtually always get an offer somewhere. It also sounds like you didn't include Payne or Miner, both of which feed to E-H. Payne in particular is a great school, and Miner is a really easy commute from the Wheatley boundary.

I'm sorry but I'm just baffled. I don't understand how you got into this situation.

You still have a very good chance of getting a seat at Eliot-Hine for 6th grade. 92% were offered a 6th grade seat this year, 82% the year before, and 100% for each of the three years before that.

It really doesn't make much sense to lottery into Maury, Payne, Miner, or SWS just for feeder rights.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The odds of getting in anywhere dont really decrease each year. But you need to rank carefully and be somewhat flexible if you are putting all of your eggs in the 6th grade lottery. Look hard at the middle schools near you, including some that are relatively easy to lottery into.

This isn't exactly true. Grade cohorts fluctuate in size, and this year's 4th and 5th grades are particularly large. The 5th grade lottery saw noticeably more students vying for BASIS and Latin seats this year.

[Anonymous]

What about John Francis Education Campus?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. We struck out for 5th. We had Latins, Basis, and a bunch of feeder schools - we never got off the waitlist for L-T, ITS, Maury, Watkins. I did eventually take myself off the JOW waitlist because their swing space sounded like a hassle.

But moving is just not in the cards for next summer. We are looking at privates too, but seems we can't wait for lottery results to secure a spot.

This doesn't make sense.

The JOW swing space is certainly less of a hassle than moving or paying for private, if S-H is an acceptable school for you.

Also, it sounds like you only lotteried for other Hill elementaries one year (for 5th). That makes it hard. Most people will lottery for these schools for multiple years and they will virtually always get an offer somewhere. It also sounds like you didn't include Payne or Miner, both of which feed to E-H. Payne in particular is a great school, and Miner is a really easy commute from the Wheatley boundary.

I'm sorry but I'm just baffled. I don't understand how you got into this situation.

You still have a very good chance of getting a seat at Eliot-Hine for 6th grade. 92% were offered a 6th grade seat this year, 82% the year before, and 100% for each of the three years before that.

It really doesn't make much sense to lottery into Maury, Payne, Miner, or SWS just for feeder rights.

I could see doing it if you didn't love your current school and thought your kid might do better meeting at least some kids they would be in MS with. If you love your elementary though, I agree it wouldn't be worth it.

It's hard to say what makes sense for OP because they have not said where their kids are now. If they are at Wheatley, I would absolutely take Maury, Payne, or even Miner over staying at Wheatley for 5th. If your kid is not staying for MS, there's just reason to stay at Wheatley.

If, on the other hand, they are at a school like Lee Montessori, I could see staying with the current school, since it's the terminal term at that school and if you've liked it this far, you'll probably like it for one more.