Benefits of a neighborhood school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the ability to walk to school is huge:

- For mental health (of you and the kids) in terms of ease of getting to/from school (including the ability to call a neighbor at the last minute and ask them to walk your kid home),

- For a connected and engaged school community, where it is easy for families to volunteer, stay for PTA meetings, etc. It is much harder to generate that sort of community if people have a 30 minute drive to get there.

- To help the surrounding neighborhood (including neighbors and businesses) feel invested and engaged with the school

- For a stable student population that (generally) would stay in the school for the full time

I hope DCPS considers these sorts of intangibles in the current discussions about boundaries and school assignments.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the ability to walk to school is huge:

- For mental health (of you and the kids) in terms of ease of getting to/from school (including the ability to call a neighbor at the last minute and ask them to walk your kid home),

- For a connected and engaged school community, where it is easy for families to volunteer, stay for PTA meetings, etc. It is much harder to generate that sort of community if people have a 30 minute drive to get there.

- To help the surrounding neighborhood (including neighbors and businesses) feel invested and engaged with the school

- For a stable student population that (generally) would stay in the school for the full time

I hope DCPS considers these sorts of intangibles in the current discussions about boundaries and school assignments.

+1

+2

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the ability to walk to school is huge:

- For mental health (of you and the kids) in terms of ease of getting to/from school (including the ability to call a neighbor at the last minute and ask them to walk your kid home),

- For a connected and engaged school community, where it is easy for families to volunteer, stay for PTA meetings, etc. It is much harder to generate that sort of community if people have a 30 minute drive to get there.

- To help the surrounding neighborhood (including neighbors and businesses) feel invested and engaged with the school

- For a stable student population that (generally) would stay in the school for the full time

I hope DCPS considers these sorts of intangibles in the current discussions about boundaries and school assignments.

+1

+2

+3. The whole system benefits when we support the schools that are closest to our homes. I have no idea what's going to come from the boundary redrawing process, but I certainly hope it doesn't include a switch to citywide elementary schools. There is real value in community and community schools and a great need for it. Let's put more money into the ones that are struggling to help pull them up rather than try to place people in schools away from their homes, which just aren't viable for most folks without the time and money it takes to ship their small children across town.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ironic. EOTP no one wants to go to the neighborhood schools because of their high inbound population.

Not true. Lots of EOTP parents object to their schools' high OOB population. See: almost every not-quite-desirable school on/near the Hill.

[Anonymous]

We're OOB for my daughter's, but in the same general area. Many of her friends are walking distance; those who aren't are still generally in the neighborhood/on the same side of town.

It makes playdates SO much more convenient, and it also means we are more likely to run into her classmates when we're out and about, which is always nice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP is right about trying to think ahead 3 or 4 years. But here's the thing...many of those rising schools will change drastically in just a few years...and I truly believe that. There are so many new, young, middle class families moving into neighborhoods like Petworth and Brookland and Woodridge and etc...that those neighborhood schools WILL change, WILL get better. So, yes, think if you want to be there in 3-4 years, but depending on the school, I bet you can gauge that some schools will have a fast turnaround. Good luck, OP.

I'm not so sure about that at all. If it were true, then Brent and Maury would be able to maintain their student populations as they age. The unfortunate reality is that they can't. The result is losing kids as soon as parents have a better option.

I think Brent is adding a 3rd grade classroom this year. How is that not keeping students? 5th is of course a different story.

[Anonymous]

Brent's population declines between 4th and 5th and the only reason is the middle school question. If parents had a guaranteed path to an acceptable middle school, they'd stay at Brent through fifth for sure.

[Anonymous]

Being at a neighborhood school really has myriad benefits for our family even though some of our neighbors turn up their nose. Why? My DC has a two block walk to school and home. She may not have fancy afterschool activities but she has great caregivers and plays outside on a real playground and grass. What can you do with the time you aren't commuting? Be involved with the school, read a book to your kid, go to the park, or take them to a lesson or class. My daughter never goes to the neighborhood park or drug store without seeing a kid from school. We can walk to play dates, get to know other committed parents and attend school events that we could not do. Also we don't have the expense of a car, driving, parking, or shared van service. Also, I firmly believe in the social benefits of public school education to teach diversity and inclusion. It may be less pretty and a tad more chaotic and have lower test scores than a school with a self selected or higher socioeconomic schools but the benefits so outweigh the downsides for our family

[Anonymous]

Op here. Thank you, thank you, everyone. These are some great reasons to stay closer to home, a number of which I hadn't thought of before. This is really helpful! Always good to hear some positives!

[Anonymous]

20:46 - Awesome. Thank you.

[Anonymous]

We go to a charter that is actually closer to home than our in-bound DCPS would be, and I agree with all the benefits of convenience and neighborhood feel.