DC School/Lottery Education Process 101

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP. How would your approach differ if your IB school doesn't offer PK3?

You are lucky--if your IB school doesn't offer PK3, it is probably a very good school. If it were me and I *knew* I wanted/needed PK3, then I would look at charters and, as a backup, plan the DCPS lottery. However, I do think that people who go to DCPS just for PK3 & PK4 and then move to another school after that really screw over the initial school. The acceptable schools you can get into OOB for PK3 in DCPS are generally working really hard to retain people past PK4; if you know that you won't be staying, then I think it's best to go with a charter. Personally, I think Appletree offers the perfect solution--great PK3 and PK4 class, and everyone has to leave for K so you are not hurting anyone.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP. How would your approach differ if your IB school doesn't offer PK3?

You are lucky--if your IB school doesn't offer PK3, it is probably a very good school. If it were me and I *knew* I wanted/needed PK3, then I would look at charters and, as a backup, plan the DCPS lottery. However, I do think that people who go to DCPS just for PK3 & PK4 and then move to another school after that really screw over the initial school. The acceptable schools you can get into OOB for PK3 in DCPS are generally working really hard to retain people past PK4; if you know that you won't be staying, then I think it's best to go with a charter. Personally, I think Appletree offers the perfect solution--great PK3 and PK4 class, and everyone has to leave for K so you are not hurting anyone.

Good luck!

OK, follow-up question. My IB school is good, but I may not stay IB. I would like to move to a bigger place, but DS's education is the priority. If I got into a good school for PK3/PK4 and I could afford to move there, I would. So, I guess I should use neighborhoods I would move to as an additional variable, in addition to schools close to home/work. A charter is another option, but I am confused about the locations. It seems like charter schools move ALL the time. Are there some charters that have permanent locations? Proximity to school is a big deal for me, since I don't drive and want to spend as little of the precious little after-work/school time commuting as possible. Ideally, speaking, that is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP. How would your approach differ if your IB school doesn't offer PK3?

You are lucky--if your IB school doesn't offer PK3, it is probably a very good school. If it were me and I *knew* I wanted/needed PK3, then I would look at charters and, as a backup, plan the DCPS lottery. However, I do think that people who go to DCPS just for PK3 & PK4 and then move to another school after that really screw over the initial school. The acceptable schools you can get into OOB for PK3 in DCPS are generally working really hard to retain people past PK4; if you know that you won't be staying, then I think it's best to go with a charter. Personally, I think Appletree offers the perfect solution--great PK3 and PK4 class, and everyone has to leave for K so you are not hurting anyone.

Good luck!

Actually, you kind of screw things up there too.

If you take a slot at say, LAMB, where they don't allow kids after PK and you stay for PS and PK when you know you are going to leave at K. That isn't really a fair deal for a family who is really wanting to go to LAMB.

If you KNOW you are going to go to JKLMM for school, but you need a place holder (and can't afford daycare) I'm not sure what your options are, but "just go charter" isn't a dumping ground while you wait for your school to accept you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP. How would your approach differ if your IB school doesn't offer PK3?

You are lucky--if your IB school doesn't offer PK3, it is probably a very good school. If it were me and I *knew* I wanted/needed PK3, then I would look at charters and, as a backup, plan the DCPS lottery. However, I do think that people who go to DCPS just for PK3 & PK4 and then move to another school after that really screw over the initial school. The acceptable schools you can get into OOB for PK3 in DCPS are generally working really hard to retain people past PK4; if you know that you won't be staying, then I think it's best to go with a charter. Personally, I think Appletree offers the perfect solution--great PK3 and PK4 class, and everyone has to leave for K so you are not hurting anyone.

Good luck!

OK, follow-up question. My IB school is good, but I may not stay IB. I would like to move to a bigger place, but DS's education is the priority. If I got into a good school for PK3/PK4 and I could afford to move there, I would. So, I guess I should use neighborhoods I would move to as an additional variable, in addition to schools close to home/work. A charter is another option, but I am confused about the locations. It seems like charter schools move ALL the time. Are there some charters that have permanent locations? Proximity to school is a big deal for me, since I don't drive and want to spend as little of the precious little after-work/school time commuting as possible. Ideally, speaking, that is.

That's a good question to ask at the Charter School fair.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP. How would your approach differ if your IB school doesn't offer PK3?

You are lucky--if your IB school doesn't offer PK3, it is probably a very good school. If it were me and I *knew* I wanted/needed PK3, then I would look at charters and, as a backup, plan the DCPS lottery. However, I do think that people who go to DCPS just for PK3 & PK4 and then move to another school after that really screw over the initial school. The acceptable schools you can get into OOB for PK3 in DCPS are generally working really hard to retain people past PK4; if you know that you won't be staying, then I think it's best to go with a charter. Personally, I think Appletree offers the perfect solution--great PK3 and PK4 class, and everyone has to leave for K so you are not hurting anyone.

Good luck!

Actually, you kind of screw things up there too.

If you take a slot at say, LAMB, where they don't allow kids after PK and you stay for PS and PK when you know you are going to leave at K. That isn't really a fair deal for a family who is really wanting to go to LAMB.

If you KNOW you are going to go to JKLMM for school, but you need a place holder (and can't afford daycare) I'm not sure what your options are, but "just go charter" isn't a dumping ground while you wait for your school to accept you.

See post above. I do not KNOW that I'm going to my IB school. I do know, from following this thread, that the only good chance of getting into a different school is during the PK3/4 and maybe K lotteries. So, I have to see where I get in and then figure out where I am moving.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP. How would your approach differ if your IB school doesn't offer PK3?

You are lucky--if your IB school doesn't offer PK3, it is probably a very good school. If it were me and I *knew* I wanted/needed PK3, then I would look at charters and, as a backup, plan the DCPS lottery. However, I do think that people who go to DCPS just for PK3 & PK4 and then move to another school after that really screw over the initial school. The acceptable schools you can get into OOB for PK3 in DCPS are generally working really hard to retain people past PK4; if you know that you won't be staying, then I think it's best to go with a charter. Personally, I think Appletree offers the perfect solution--great PK3 and PK4 class, and everyone has to leave for K so you are not hurting anyone.

Good luck!

OK, follow-up question. My IB school is good, but I may not stay IB. I would like to move to a bigger place, but DS's education is the priority. If I got into a good school for PK3/PK4 and I could afford to move there, I would. So, I guess I should use neighborhoods I would move to as an additional variable, in addition to schools close to home/work. A charter is another option, but I am confused about the locations. It seems like charter schools move ALL the time. Are there some charters that have permanent locations? Proximity to school is a big deal for me, since I don't drive and want to spend as little of the precious little after-work/school time commuting as possible. Ideally, speaking, that is.

PP to whom you were responding to here--I think that changes things. If you genuinely don't know where you will be living, then I would do the PK3 lottery for both DCPS and charters. On DCPS, you need to be strategic--looking at schools that you have a shot at getting into OOB, but also would potentially work through 5th grade for you. Ross was mentioned earlier in this thread, and it is great--but unfortunately I think the chances of getting into it OOB are pretty much zero. You will probably have more luck with the good charters than a school like Ross, since there is no IB preference at the charters. (That doesn't mean you'll have luck--will still be difficult--but you at least have a shot.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP. How would your approach differ if your IB school doesn't offer PK3?

You are lucky--if your IB school doesn't offer PK3, it is probably a very good school. If it were me and I *knew* I wanted/needed PK3, then I would look at charters and, as a backup, plan the DCPS lottery. However, I do think that people who go to DCPS just for PK3 & PK4 and then move to another school after that really screw over the initial school. The acceptable schools you can get into OOB for PK3 in DCPS are generally working really hard to retain people past PK4; if you know that you won't be staying, then I think it's best to go with a charter. Personally, I think Appletree offers the perfect solution--great PK3 and PK4 class, and everyone has to leave for K so you are not hurting anyone.

Good luck!

Actually, you kind of screw things up there too.

If you take a slot at say, LAMB, where they don't allow kids after PK and you stay for PS and PK when you know you are going to leave at K. That isn't really a fair deal for a family who is really wanting to go to LAMB.

If you KNOW you are going to go to JKLMM for school, but you need a place holder (and can't afford daycare) I'm not sure what your options are, but "just go charter" isn't a dumping ground while you wait for your school to accept you.

I think a school like LAMB can compete (in my view--but I am very pro Montessori and pro immersion) with the best DCPS schools. That is, if PP got in there, even with a great JKLM option, she might decide to stay. Whereas at the DCPS EOTP schools she could actually get into, she probably wouldn't. That's the difference. Even so, originally I suggested looking at Appletree, which is perfect for someone from JKLM because it is a two-year program. But, given that she is not sure she'll be staying in her current place, I think looking at a broader range of charters makes sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP. How would your approach differ if your IB school doesn't offer PK3?

You are lucky--if your IB school doesn't offer PK3, it is probably a very good school. If it were me and I *knew* I wanted/needed PK3, then I would look at charters and, as a backup, plan the DCPS lottery. However, I do think that people who go to DCPS just for PK3 & PK4 and then move to another school after that really screw over the initial school. The acceptable schools you can get into OOB for PK3 in DCPS are generally working really hard to retain people past PK4; if you know that you won't be staying, then I think it's best to go with a charter. Personally, I think Appletree offers the perfect solution--great PK3 and PK4 class, and everyone has to leave for K so you are not hurting anyone.

Good luck!

Actually, you kind of screw things up there too.

If you take a slot at say, LAMB, where they don't allow kids after PK and you stay for PS and PK when you know you are going to leave at K. That isn't really a fair deal for a family who is really wanting to go to LAMB.

If you KNOW you are going to go to JKLMM for school, but you need a place holder (and can't afford daycare) I'm not sure what your options are, but "just go charter" isn't a dumping ground while you wait for your school to accept you.

See post above. I do not KNOW that I'm going to my IB school. I do know, from following this thread, that the only good chance of getting into a different school is during the PK3/4 and maybe K lotteries. So, I have to see where I get in and then figure out where I am moving.

I know how the lottery works.

I was typing my response when yours came in, which is why I didn't see your post above. So....yeah, best of luck.

[Anonymous]

I find it hard to believe someone living with a child in DC can really know this little about the process.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I find it hard to believe someone living with a child in DC can really know this little about the process.

You know, everyone has to start somewhere, and for those who are looking to enroll their kids in DCPS or charter schools for PS and PK, this forum seems like a great place to start.