Columbia Heights: Are families attracted?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unless kids are in Private school you are not going to many people with kids over 3.

Says the person who has never been to Columbia Heights.

OP, we're a professional family with school-aged kids, and we can walk to the homes of dozens of friends. I know several other families who bemoan being priced out of CH, because it's where they really want to live.

Says the idiot who hasn't contemplated school or simply doesn't give a darn.... OP, I'm in Columbia Heights now and looking for a way out. The neighborhood is lovely for young couples, those with infants, twenty-somethings fresh out of college, gay couples with no kids, etc... but it loses it's charm once your kid hits pre-school age. Tubman is awful, so most area parents scramble in the lottery shuffle for a decent OOB DCPS or charter. Some luck out. Most don't. We're in private right now, but can't afford it forever, so we'll continue to play the lottery while we try to move away. Already been to a bejesus number of open houses in VA and MD and all of the house hoppers have DC license plates. In just a few short convos, we've discovered we're all DC expat wannabes. Sad, but true. Don't stage the house with children in mind. Better to keep it neutral.

You know, for every one of you in Columbia Heights, there are also families who are perfectly happy to stay there, with kids of school age. I'm one of them, and I know at least 4-5 other families personally who are not leaving any time soon.

I do agree about neutral staging, though.

The bold above really is the crux of the issue. PP who wants to stay - where do your kids go to school? I'll wager it isn't Tubman. Families who have good school options (charter, OOB or private) love CH. We moved there pre-kids, with no intention of staying. We were actively looking at houses in Arlington and MoCo when we got lucky in the charter school lottery. I freely admit to being a CH cheerleader, but it's silly to to pretend the realities of the situation do not exist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unless kids are in Private school you are not going to many people with kids over 3.

Says the person who has never been to Columbia Heights.

OP, we're a professional family with school-aged kids, and we can walk to the homes of dozens of friends. I know several other families who bemoan being priced out of CH, because it's where they really want to live.

Says the idiot who hasn't contemplated school or simply doesn't give a darn.... OP, I'm in Columbia Heights now and looking for a way out. The neighborhood is lovely for young couples, those with infants, twenty-somethings fresh out of college, gay couples with no kids, etc... but it loses it's charm once your kid hits pre-school age. Tubman is awful, so most area parents scramble in the lottery shuffle for a decent OOB DCPS or charter. Some luck out. Most don't. We're in private right now, but can't afford it forever, so we'll continue to play the lottery while we try to move away. Already been to a bejesus number of open houses in VA and MD and all of the house hoppers have DC license plates. In just a few short convos, we've discovered we're all DC expat wannabes. Sad, but true. Don't stage the house with children in mind. Better to keep it neutral.

You know, for every one of you in Columbia Heights, there are also families who are perfectly happy to stay there, with kids of school age. I'm one of them, and I know at least 4-5 other families personally who are not leaving any time soon.

I do agree about neutral staging, though.

The bold above really is the crux of the issue. PP who wants to stay - where do your kids go to school? I'll wager it isn't Tubman. Families who have good school options (charter, OOB or private) love CH. We moved there pre-kids, with no intention of staying. We were actively looking at houses in Arlington and MoCo when we got lucky in the charter school lottery. I freely admit to being a CH cheerleader, but it's silly to to pretend the realities of the situation do not exist.

DD didn't get into charters this lottery. She did get in OOB to another DCPS that people talk smack about on this board. Because she flat-out got in there and I ranked Tubman last because it was a safety, new rules took her out of the running for Tubman. Honestly, if it had been a choice between the OOB school and Tubman, I would send her to Tubman. It's right down the street and IS improving. As it is, she's staying in the daycare she's been in for 2 years. We'll lottery again next year, and if she doesn't get in anywhere more exciting, I'm happy to send her to Tubman.

I know this throws off your sample and probably makes you think I'm a shitty parent, but I really don't care. Go ahead and leave the neighborhood if that's what your priorities are. I know a lot of people who are not doing so. My kid isn't the only one who will likely be going to Tubman for K in my circle of CH friends.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

DD didn't get into charters this lottery. She did get in OOB to another DCPS that people talk smack about on this board. Because she flat-out got in there and I ranked Tubman last because it was a safety, new rules took her out of the running for Tubman. Honestly, if it had been a choice between the OOB school and Tubman, I would send her to Tubman. It's right down the street and IS improving. As it is, she's staying in the daycare she's been in for 2 years. We'll lottery again next year, and if she doesn't get in anywhere more exciting, I'm happy to send her to Tubman.

I know this throws off your sample and probably makes you think I'm a shitty parent, but I really don't care. Go ahead and leave the neighborhood if that's what your priorities are. I know a lot of people who are not doing so. My kid isn't the only one who will likely be going to Tubman for K in my circle of CH friends.

I know a couple of families who have kids at Tubman (educated families who own $500k+ houses-- because let's call it what it is. It's not like there were no children at Tubman five years ago, right? Just not *our* children), and several more who are planning to send their children there in the next year or two.

[Anonymous]

A lot of people will say whatever they can to make themselves feel better about their choices. At the end of the day Tubman is a failing school and I cannot in good consciousness send my kid there. I could talk self-righteously about the AA kids and Hispanic kids who've been stuck going there because they truly have no other options, so I feel like a civil rights hero by sending my kid there. But in reality, those kids were/are cheated and so would my kids. I just cannot do it. I love CH, but Tubman is not good. It may get there, but it is not there now and I cannot let my kids go to a shitty school right now. We'll continue to try lottery while we look to move to MoCo and VA. The other sucky reality is inventory is bad in those areas as like minded families scramble for a space.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We just moved to CH. Have two school age kids. We were able to get into a charter and found a house we liked in CH. Not much of a yard but you have the trolley park and Upshur park. Getting to Carter Barron for sports is so easy! Great place to be if you have the school situation figured out.

Only people who get in to charters are cheerleaders for Columbia Heights. There's many more of us who haven't/won't get in and are looking for a way out.

Is this an invitation to a pity party?? Because it isn't an answer to OP's question.

Are you in at a good charter? You assholes never care about others once your kids are taken care of. The hell with others, right?

[Anonymous]

DD didn't get into charters this lottery. She did get in OOB to another DCPS that people talk smack about on this board. Because she flat-out got in there and I ranked Tubman last because it was a safety, new rules took her out of the running for Tubman. Honestly, if it had been a choice between the OOB school and Tubman, I would send her to Tubman. It's right down the street and IS improving. As it is, she's staying in the daycare she's been in for 2 years. We'll lottery again next year, and if she doesn't get in anywhere more exciting, I'm happy to send her to Tubman.

I know this throws off your sample and probably makes you think I'm a shitty parent, but I really don't care. Go ahead and leave the neighborhood if that's what your priorities are. I know a lot of people who are not doing so. My kid isn't the only one who will likely be going to Tubman for K in my circle of CH friends.

I don't think you're a shitty parent - it's not a choice I would make, but hey, if you're comfortable with it, more power to you. The only way Tubman, and other schools like it, will change is by parents like you taking the plunge. I do often think about what the school would be like if all of the high-SES IB kids I know (and the dozens I don't know) in Tubman's catchment area went there - it would be quite a springboard. But sadly, it'll have to happen in incremental steps.

I do wonder why you ranked a school you would not send your kid to over one you would send your kid to, though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

DD didn't get into charters this lottery. She did get in OOB to another DCPS that people talk smack about on this board. Because she flat-out got in there and I ranked Tubman last because it was a safety, new rules took her out of the running for Tubman. Honestly, if it had been a choice between the OOB school and Tubman, I would send her to Tubman. It's right down the street and IS improving. As it is, she's staying in the daycare she's been in for 2 years. We'll lottery again next year, and if she doesn't get in anywhere more exciting, I'm happy to send her to Tubman.

I know this throws off your sample and probably makes you think I'm a shitty parent, but I really don't care. Go ahead and leave the neighborhood if that's what your priorities are. I know a lot of people who are not doing so. My kid isn't the only one who will likely be going to Tubman for K in my circle of CH friends.

I don't think you're a shitty parent - it's not a choice I would make, but hey, if you're comfortable with it, more power to you. The only way Tubman, and other schools like it, will change is by parents like you taking the plunge. I do often think about what the school would be like if all of the high-SES IB kids I know (and the dozens I don't know) in Tubman's catchment area went there - it would be quite a springboard. But sadly, it'll have to happen in incremental steps.

I do wonder why you ranked a school you would not send your kid to over one you would send your kid to, though.

Honestly? By mistake. The school in question is Marie Reed. I would have been thrilled to send DD to the dual language program, since that's the one that is promising there. In the stress of lottery choices, I selected the traditional program instead of dual language, and that's what she got into. Initially, I was excited about it, but after visiting a couple of times, it was really my impression that the traditional preschool program is a bit of an afterthought and the focus, such as it is, is on the bilingual program.

So that's my logic. If I'm going to send my child to an elementary school that needs work and where I would want to be as involved as possible, I'd much rather it be somewhere I can basically see from my front door.

[Anonymous]

So that's my logic. If I'm going to send my child to an elementary school that needs work and where I would want to be as involved as possible, I'd much rather it be somewhere I can basically see from my front door.

I agree with that - and we are neighbors, because I can see the Tub from my front door, too.

[Anonymous]

Are you really "happy" to send your dd to a school with such poor reading and math scores and such a high level of needy kids (96% free lunch)? Odd word choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you really "happy" to send your dd to a school with such poor reading and math scores and such a high level of needy kids (96% free lunch)? Odd word choice.

You know, I'm happy to continue talking about school choice, but for what it's worth, there are also other things to consider when looking for a place to live. I looked at the improvement in test scores at Tubman. I also looked at what there was to do in the neighborhood with a little kid. I looked at convenience of shopping and parking. I looked at access to public transportation to get to other areas of the city. I looked at diversity in the neighborhood - race, gender, age, apparent SES, etc. I looked at whether people were comfortable hanging out on their front porches and whether they would respond if you said hello when you passed on the street.

I chose CH because it has always felt friendly and active. There are many things to do with kids, and it's easy and quick to get to other parts of the city. I looked at schools, and yes, like everyone, I hope she manages to score a place at one of the awesome charters (in the neighborhood or out of it) - not because Tubman is unacceptable, but because many of those charters offer things that a traditional public school is not equipped to offer. At the end of the day, though, there is a lot more to my child's life than the school she attends. Much like I would not move to a terrible, boring place solely for a really fabulous job, I would not move to Arlington or Bethesda solely for a really fabulous school.

However, these are MY priorities. Yours are likely different, and that's fine.

[Anonymous]

OP here.

Thanks for the conversation, folks. Even the contradictory conversation. It seems best to stage things neutral, as some here proposed.

For what it's worth, our place is really close to 16th, actually, Between 16th and 14th, very close to Target, Tivoli Theater, and CH Metro. Folks hang out on their front porches, families of various SES and ethnicities have raised children here. But those with money seem to send their children to private school. It's a very diverse block, and folks who own tend to stay and stay and stay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here.

Thanks for the conversation, folks. Even the contradictory conversation. It seems best to stage things neutral, as some here proposed.

For what it's worth, our place is really close to 16th, actually, Between 16th and 14th, very close to Target, Tivoli Theater, and CH Metro. Folks hang out on their front porches, families of various SES and ethnicities have raised children here. But those with money seem to send their children to private school. It's a very diverse block, and folks who own tend to stay and stay and stay.

You on Monroe, OP? I might be interested . . .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here.

Thanks for the conversation, folks. Even the contradictory conversation. It seems best to stage things neutral, as some here proposed.

For what it's worth, our place is really close to 16th, actually, Between 16th and 14th, very close to Target, Tivoli Theater, and CH Metro. Folks hang out on their front porches, families of various SES and ethnicities have raised children here. But those with money seem to send their children to private school. It's a very diverse block, and folks who own tend to stay and stay and stay.

You on Monroe, OP? I might be interested . . .

No, but if you do a Zillow search for "make me move" you'll find us pretty quickly. I don't think I'm allowed to advertise my place on here, otherwise I'd give you more specific info.

[Anonymous]

Don't buy in CH if you have young kids and are not planning on doing private. Not everybody gets the school they want in the lottery and then you have to sell within a few years and lose $ on the transaction costs. I know - just went through it. We just moved from CH and cash is pretty tight.

[Anonymous]

Another thing to note - Getting into a "good" Charter doesn't mean that you will actually like the school. I know many who have been disillusioned, left and are happier at either a JKLM or suburban school. Be careful.