Moving (suddenly!) to DC/Columbia Heights, what great (or good) PK3 can we get into mid July?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another idea is Takoma Ed campus. It's a DCPS with a Reggio Emilia program. Likely only a one year solution but that's what you're going to get at this point.

The Takoma PS-3 waitlist is pretty long. And it's a great solution for both years of pre-school! Possibly longer.

[Anonymous]

What about Bridges?

[Anonymous]

DC Bilingual and CentoNia were started by the same people but they have different applications.

EasterSeals has a great rep. Also might try Jubilee Jumpstart in Adams Morgan as it is part of universal preK as well.

I bet you will get in to AppleTree and possibly Bridges--Appletree only covers 3 and 4 year olds so people who get into a preS-5th grade would likely go with that instead since it means they do not have to go through the lottery again if they don't want to. Bridges got approved to offer preS-5th very late this spring (will have preS-K next year) so does not have the huge wait list other schools do.

Do you know what DCPS school you are in boundary for? We are in Tubman's boundary. We would probably send our kids there for preS and preK if we didn't have another option.

Good luck! We love living here, hope you will too.

[Anonymous]

Welcome to the neighborhood, you'll love it (mom of 4 and 5 year old)!

You are probably too late for the DCPS or Charter PS programs, but you can put your name on the lists. Tubman and Cooke are nearby DCPS schools and their PS programs are fine (more than fine).

For pay daycare options, try CentroNia, EasterSeals at 13th and Girard, JCC, David's Stars in Adam's Morgan. Also for three year olds, you might not encounter bad waiting lists at the downtown daycares (which might be more conventient to work).


See you at the park!

[Anonymous]

You are all SO wonderful, this information has been so very very helpful!

We've applied now to many of these, still need to research many others. And the staff at both Apple Tree and Creative Minds (and EL Haynes who I called weeks ago, even though we don't have a snowball's chance there) have all been SO AWESOME and helpful! They've all taken real time to give me other ideas and offer info I wouldn't have even thought I'd need to know.

I didn't speak to staff at most of the others you guys have recommended so far, so calling the above out as great is NOT to say others have been less helpful - just applied online so far to the others but didn't speak to anyone yet.

Tomorrow I'll call Harriet Tubman and a few others.

Now just a curiosity question: today I learned that both Mundo Verde and Creative Minds are taking the buildings that Capital City Charter is moving out of, and I was wondering if that move caused a lot of parents to not follow CC to it's new location, or mostly students are following the school? That's purely a curiosity question, since location (to the degree we have a choice!) is playing such a big part in my family's preferences, but it also sounds like great reasons CC is moving from what little I've read.

Thanks again everyone!

[Anonymous]

Bridges used to go far down on their waitlist as it was a temporary option (up to Pk) but since this year they are expanding, I doubt their lists will move as much. Definitely look into Shining Stars. They started last year and I've heard great things. They are temporarily moving to 13th and Florida (next to Inspired Teaching's new location). DC Bilingual WL is longer thanost others mentioned. Imagine Hope Charter doesn't get rave reviews for later grades, but their preschool is very solid. They have a campus off Kansas NW.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You are all SO wonderful, this information has been so very very helpful!

We've applied now to many of these, still need to research many others. And the staff at both Apple Tree and Creative Minds (and EL Haynes who I called weeks ago, even though we don't have a snowball's chance there) have all been SO AWESOME and helpful! They've all taken real time to give me other ideas and offer info I wouldn't have even thought I'd need to know.

I didn't speak to staff at most of the others you guys have recommended so far, so calling the above out as great is NOT to say others have been less helpful - just applied online so far to the others but didn't speak to anyone yet.

Tomorrow I'll call Harriet Tubman and a few others.

Now just a curiosity question: today I learned that both Mundo Verde and Creative Minds are taking the buildings that Capital City Charter is moving out of, and I was wondering if that move caused a lot of parents to not follow CC to it's new location, or mostly students are following the school? That's purely a curiosity question, since location (to the degree we have a choice!) is playing such a big part in my family's preferences, but it also sounds like great reasons CC is moving from what little I've read.

Thanks again everyone!

MV and CM are taking the CC Upper School space, but I believe both schools are moving. I don't have any personal knowledge, but I would be very surprised if many people are leaving because of location, they just aren't moving that far.

[Anonymous]

Thanks, I was just curious about that.

[Anonymous]

Cap City still has a huge WL. Plus, for preS the parents will mostly be new (unless they have a sibling). We got into creative minds but cap city has a great reputation. We might make the trek to cap city if we got in. Not a chance, though, with a WL number in the 170s.

[Anonymous]

Actually many MV families live in the CC upper school area and are looking forward to the move.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You are all SO wonderful, this information has been so very very helpful!

We've applied now to many of these, still need to research many others. And the staff at both Apple Tree and Creative Minds (and EL Haynes who I called weeks ago, even though we don't have a snowball's chance there) have all been SO AWESOME and helpful! They've all taken real time to give me other ideas and offer info I wouldn't have even thought I'd need to know.

I didn't speak to staff at most of the others you guys have recommended so far, so calling the above out as great is NOT to say others have been less helpful - just applied online so far to the others but didn't speak to anyone yet.

Tomorrow I'll call Harriet Tubman and a few others.

Now just a curiosity question: today I learned that both Mundo Verde and Creative Minds are taking the buildings that Capital City Charter is moving out of, and I was wondering if that move caused a lot of parents to not follow CC to it's new location, or mostly students are following the school? That's purely a curiosity question, since location (to the degree we have a choice!) is playing such a big part in my family's preferences, but it also sounds like great reasons CC is moving from what little I've read.

Thanks again everyone!

Re CCPCS, I asked today during Parent Teacher Conferences how many current K students are moving to the new location - 100% of the class has turned in paper work for re-enrollment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Tomorrow I'll call Harriet Tubman and a few others.

14th is last day of DCPS. Call Monday and they might have more time to help you.

[Anonymous]

Bridges is fantastic but the kindergarten expansion got approved late and they only recently secured a building so there is less momentum than there ordinarily might have been... I mean, they may still go far down the waitlist, defying conventional wisdom. The delay in approval was no fault at all of Bridges and I'm a huge fan of the school. Just saying that the WL situation may lean more towards previous years than one might expect.

[Anonymous]

I would get on the wait list for Garrison Elementary (13th & S) as soon as possible. The PreS3 PreK4 and K programs are actually quite good and the school has loads of outdoor space and is in a central location served by both bus and Metro. If you work downtown this will be on your way to work. Appletree will have a waitlist, but they often make it all the way to the 100s by August.

[Anonymous]

UPDATE: Wow, so after calling around to a LOT of schools, even though I knew and you've all been telling me, it's really sinking in just HOW IMPOSSIBLE the timing of our move is making this. There's nothing we can do about that, things happened when they happened, but now I'm wondering what our Plan B can be....

Our neighborhood school is Bruce Monroe at Parkside, and looking at what I've seen of their student achievement rates, I seriously ask myself if it's better to not send her to school at all than to go to a school that seems (from the scores anyway) so challenged? No offense to anyone on here that might have a student there (and if there's great stuff we should know about Bruce Monroe, please let me know! I'd love to hear good things!)... but I'm pretty terrified now of what our options will be. We're moving for my job, which is a great opportunity, but because it's so sudden my husband doesn't have a job yet. He's been an incredibly hands on dad to our daughter up to now, but if he has to be a stay-at-home dad for more than a few months I worry they'll both need therapy after that!

We can't afford private daycare with what we're now paying in rent (and definitely can't afford a nanny), so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that something will open up miraculously, but I'm also getting crazy anxious.

I've checked out just about every school that's been mentioned in this thread, and I guess our timing (plus the huge demand in DC for PS3 slots) is, well it's nothing you can imagine would be so difficult if none of your DC friends have kids so they couldn't warn you!

Y'all are some strong amazing folks to be able to go through all the uncertainty of the lottery and all... I haven't even done it yet and I'm getting advance anxiety just from this experience now! I truly had no idea what this process would look like, it's so different from where we are now... and of course we have 2 salaries here to work with.

SORRY, just needed to vent. Thanks again for all your help everyone, so so so much appreciated!