DC residents & private

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Live on Capitol Hill. If I could do it all over again, I would have banked the money and moved them both in 6th but that's hindsight of course. It's a lot of money. We had two in private from first grade on.

Beware though. Private to private to catholic are not all the same. There will be a transition period and for me, I wouldn't want that to occur in 9th grade.

Yes, this is ver true. We moved our first in 9th grade and then moved the subsequent kids in 7th and 8th (we were confident that we would get 1 of mabe 2 8th grade spots by kid #3).
There is a really big difference in expectations between DCPS and a top private. Most kids take a semester or 2 to ramp up the academics. The have to learn to write, etc. I've seen this happen with many DCPS kids. Not all but I can confidently say most.

To be frank, even a few 9th grade Bs will change a kid's college options. So if you can get the kinks out before high school that is ideal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We started in 4th and wish we had started earlier. We left DCPS in part because our kid felt lost in the middle of classes filled with students who were really struggling and kids who seemed to teach themselves to read and do math. We felt like our kid was not doing well but we just heard from teachers that it was fine and there were kids in the class much farther behind. This is at a DCPS that people on this board love. Within a few weeks of moving to private they had identified issues and turns out kid had an undiagnosed learning disability. The private schools has been very supportive and kid is now doing very well in middle school.

We left a very well- regarded DCPS after first for this reason. No regrets. It’s a good school for a lot of kids, but not for my kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Live in Glover Park. Started private in middle school for both kids. In hindsight, as much as we all love Stoddert, I wish we pulled them sooner. The way they taught math really screwed both kids up.

This seems super dramatic given the Stoddert kids I know (and it’s a lot). Haven’t heard of any of them becoming “screwed up” because of the way math is taught lol.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I started DD in private in Pre-K when we didn't get a spot in our local public (she would have gotten one for K, but by then we liked her current school).

Being honest my calculus had to do with our family structure; I'm a single parent and I needed school to be her "co-parent" of sorts. It made a huge difference that her school environment was so structured and accessible. I could pick up the phone and call the head of school; front desk staff always knew where she was if I needed to drop something off.

I felt remorse that we didn't have the neighborhood community of her public school peers; families with whom I probably would have connected with better socially. But we needed the scaffolding for our life, despite the not insignificant dent in our budget. She is starting Sidwell for 9th from her small K-8 and we're pretty happy.

Good for you and congratulations on admission to Sidwell! I know exactly what you mean about the supportive structure of a private school. It makes a world of difference.

[Anonymous]

Private part time daycare
DCPS immersion PK3 and PK4
Private school for repeat of PK4

Definitely don’t regret waiting and taking advantage of the pre K3 and pre k4 plus it created diverse roots and exposure.

Would have had child repeat K but with project 2025 and everything else didn’t want to chance waiting another year in public.

[Anonymous]

Tried public for 2 years and then transitioned to private. Absolutely do not regret trying public. It really depends on the kid. Our child was in a class of nearly 30 and we decided to make the move to private as our middle school feeder was not particularly strong.

In working with new families at my child's private school, the transition either before or during the middle school years provides parents with the opportunity to meet more members of the community. Parents are more involved and academics are not as consuming, thereby giving space for the child and parent to understand the expectations and engage in the community.

If you have a good public, try it and see. There are many benefits to a neighborhood school versus private.

[Anonymous]

PK

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are in Cathedral Heights and started private in PK4. The move to private at some point felt inevitable, and it’s so much easier to get in during the early years. Obviously the cost is a huge consideration, but I never regret starting as soon as we could.

(Just FYI for others who might be reading this and worried their kids won't get into private unless they apply super early) - We are also a Cathedral Heights family. Many, if not most of the kids in our neighborhood go to Stoddert for elementary.The ones that have broken off for private in middle and high school have all got in- we do not know any families here that have not been able to go private at some point. Some have even gone to private during non-entry year- it's really not an issue.

Fully agree with this. The biggest scam the privates have somehow promulgated is if you don’t start in PK you won’t get in. Literally every DCPS family we know who wants to go to private gets in.

I guess. Some private high schools are not that great. If all you need is “not DCPS” then, sure.

[Anonymous]

3rd. Came from a JKLM, don’t regret it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:3rd. Came from a JKLM, don’t regret it.

I think moving to private school around the 3rd or 4th grade is a good choice. The kid has time to adjust, and parents have time to get to know the community.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are in Cathedral Heights and started private in PK4. The move to private at some point felt inevitable, and it’s so much easier to get in during the early years. Obviously the cost is a huge consideration, but I never regret starting as soon as we could.

I love driving through Cathedral Heights/Glover Park for the hilly terrain. It always makes me daydream “what if.”

[Anonymous]

Started in K, no regrets w a few years to go. Live east of the park, zoned for Cardozo MS/HS. At the time my kid was in K, I wouldn’t send them to our local ES either. Maybe I would now but not sure as I haven’t looked into it. Having only one child made it easier to decide to stay and do private instead of moving.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are in Cathedral Heights and started private in PK4. The move to private at some point felt inevitable, and it’s so much easier to get in during the early years. Obviously the cost is a huge consideration, but I never regret starting as soon as we could.

I love driving through Cathedral Heights/Glover Park for the hilly terrain. It always makes me daydream “what if.”

Just don’t go to Beavoir as it is a total waste of time. Any other privates are better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Live in Glover Park. Started private in middle school for both kids. In hindsight, as much as we all love Stoddert, I wish we pulled them sooner. The way they taught math really screwed both kids up.

This seems super dramatic given the Stoddert kids I know (and it’s a lot). Haven’t heard of any of them becoming “screwed up” because of the way math is taught lol.

Screwed the kids up with their comprehension of math. Not screwed them up as humans.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are in Cathedral Heights and started private in PK4. The move to private at some point felt inevitable, and it’s so much easier to get in during the early years. Obviously the cost is a huge consideration, but I never regret starting as soon as we could.

I love driving through Cathedral Heights/Glover Park for the hilly terrain. It always makes me daydream “what if.”

Just don’t go to Beavoir as it is a total waste of time. Any other privates are better.

Oh, I don’t dream about living there or the nearby privates, I dream about how great it would be if instead of all those dumpy row houses there was a great country club and golf course. Charles Carroll Glover should have had more vision!