Will Van Ness Elementary School be on the same level as Brent/Maury in 3 years?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let's assume that you (1) have a rising K'er in August 2015, (2) live IB for Van Ness, and (3) win lottery spots at Brent and/or Maury. What would you do?

Absolutely you would take the spot at Brent. Brent over Maury is no contest especially given the location. Brent over Van Ness is trickier but I would pick the tried and true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let's assume that you (1) have a rising K'er in August 2015, (2) live IB for Van Ness, and (3) win lottery spots at Brent and/or Maury. What would you do?

This is like saying, would you rather eat at Rose's or an unnamed restaurant scheduled to open next year?

Of course everyone is going to choose the quality known over the unknown.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Van Ness Elementary School near the Navy Yard is slated to open for the 2015 - 2016 school year. With all the new development (Whole Foods, Harris Teeter, etc) and housing springing up every year, how likely will Van Ness become a high performing, high demand elementary school like Brent & Maury? My take on this is that it will open with limited grades (PS3, PK4, K), and and a grade every year until it becomes a full fledged elementary school. I think this will allow the school to grow just as the community is growing, and that it will most likely being just as good (or even better) than Brent & Maury.

If Watkins is a barometer, you will be waiting a long, long, long time. That's not meant to be a slight, but more of an observation that Watkins is in a far more developed area than Van Ness, is a well-established school, feeds to SH, and it still can't come close to filling itself with IB kids.

Two factors. Development doesn't necessarily equal lots of young kids. As others have noted, that area is more targeted toward young professionals than families. You also have so many options. Even if you had the potential to fill Van Ness with a critical mass a high SES kids, you will still lose a fair number to charters and privates.

I think you need to lower your expectations and hope that in 5 years it might be on par with Ludlow Taylor.

I predict the following for Van Ness Elementary:
The school will open only for PS3, PK4, K. Doing this will allow the school to start off as a school with a majority of inbound kids from high SES familes (most of the the kids living in public housing are much older). Every year, the school will add a grade and pretty much keep the demographics the same. It will have a snowball effect. Since a ton of new housing is planned, families from across the city will see Van Ness Elementary as a up and coming school, and they will also have lots of different new housing units to choose from. By the time Van Ness Elementary is a full PS3 - 5 elementary school, it will be at least on the same level as what Brent is now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
It's hard for me to guess...like others have mentioned, most of the housing over there consists of 1-2 bedroom apartments and condos. will there be enough IB children (high SES especially) to sustain a school through grade 5?

Young high-SES families live in 2 BR condos. I know -- i was one.

For goodness sakes, where did anyone say it "never" happens? The point is that you are much more likely to find families in SFHs than 2 BR condos. That is all.

There are many rowhouses on the Hill with families in them that are only 2BR.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let's assume that you (1) have a rising K'er in August 2015, (2) live IB for Van Ness, and (3) win lottery spots at Brent and/or Maury. What would you do?

I'll play! 1. go to Brent

Why in the world would you commute to Maury from there? If the choice was Maury or Van Ness, I'd go to Van Ness. There are bound to be other kids in the neighborhood that go to Brent already and there will be others that go to Van Ness.

Maury is an established, known quantity. It is less than 2 miles from VN, about an 8 minute drive, albeit this might become more challenging once CSX starts digging. You also then have the option for Eliot-Hine, which could be significantly better than Jefferson in another five or six years.

I would not bet money on either EH or Jefferson being seriously good in 5-6 years, so that would not tip Maury in my favor. And 2 miles on the Hill during rush hour can be a horrible commute if you are driving.

[Anonymous]

It would be helpful to know two things. 1. What DCPS has committed to at this point. 2. The IB population profile in 16 months. I assume there will be at least two classrooms for PS, PK and K. This would yield between 110 and 120 students. How many IB 3, 4 & 5 YOs will there be in March 2015, when the lottery is held? I think it is fair to say that more than 60 percent of the school population will be OOB, particularly if it is assumed that some IB three year olds lottery into SWS, Logan or a desirable charter. Undoubtedly some Capitol Hill families IB for Watkins, LT, Tyler, Payne or Miner might be drawn to Van Ness, as they were to Brent in past years. There are really too many unknowns, including the boundary review process.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let's assume that you (1) have a rising K'er in August 2015, (2) live IB for Van Ness, and (3) win lottery spots at Brent and/or Maury. What would you do?

I'll play! 1. go to Brent

Why in the world would you commute to Maury from there? If the choice was Maury or Van Ness, I'd go to Van Ness. There are bound to be other kids in the neighborhood that go to Brent already and there will be others that go to Van Ness.

Maury is an established, known quantity. It is less than 2 miles from VN, about an 8 minute drive, albeit this might become more challenging once CSX starts digging. You also then have the option for Eliot-Hine, which could be significantly better than Jefferson in another five or six years.

I would not bet money on either EH or Jefferson being seriously good in 5-6 years, so that would not tip Maury in my favor. And 2 miles on the Hill during rush hour can be a horrible commute if you are driving.

Agreed. I'd gamble on a new school before going out of my way for Maury.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let's assume that you (1) have a rising K'er in August 2015, (2) live IB for Van Ness, and (3) win lottery spots at Brent and/or Maury. What would you do?

Never happen-- how could you possibly get a K spot at Brent? I think the only folks that get into Brent OOB are those with siblings already at Brent. So don't worry about it-- Van NEss will be great-- and anyway, why would you want to walk to Brent when the CSX demo starts? It's going to be crazy dusty and a tremendous hassle to walk around the construction site.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
It's hard for me to guess...like others have mentioned, most of the housing over there consists of 1-2 bedroom apartments and condos. will there be enough IB children (high SES especially) to sustain a school through grade 5?

Young high-SES families live in 2 BR condos. I know -- i was one.

For goodness sakes, where did anyone say it "never" happens? The point is that you are much more likely to find families in SFHs than 2 BR condos. That is all.

There are many rowhouses on the Hill with families in them that are only 2BR.

A SFH is not comparable to a high-rise, at least IMO. Aside from the Yards and Canal Park, the Navy Yard area is not particularly family friendly in terms of restaurants and other amenities. And yes, i know that Harris Teeter and a gym are coming, to be followed by Whole Foods several years down the road. Too many commuters, plus stadium traffic, and the Green Line is overwhelmed on game days. My fear is that developers will leave the neighborhood with all of the charm of Crystal City more high rises continue to spring up. I would much prefer Near Northeast (H Street/Atlas District) which also will have a Whole Foods and more interesting restaurant offerings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let's assume that you (1) have a rising K'er in August 2015, (2) live IB for Van Ness, and (3) win lottery spots at Brent and/or Maury. What would you do?

I'll play! 1. go to Brent

Why in the world would you commute to Maury from there? If the choice was Maury or Van Ness, I'd go to Van Ness. There are bound to be other kids in the neighborhood that go to Brent already and there will be others that go to Van Ness.

Maury is an established, known quantity. It is less than 2 miles from VN, about an 8 minute drive, albeit this might become more challenging once CSX starts digging. You also then have the option for Eliot-Hine, which could be significantly better than Jefferson in another five or six years.

I would not bet money on either EH or Jefferson being seriously good in 5-6 years, so that would not tip Maury in my favor. And 2 miles on the Hill during rush hour can be a horrible commute if you are driving.

Yes. Eliot Hine is a loooooooonnnnnnnggggg shot. And having a school close by where you can walk to it each day is priceless for elementary school. Worth any middle school angst up until 4th grade when you can start focusing on what to do for middle school. Lots of options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
It's hard for me to guess...like others have mentioned, most of the housing over there consists of 1-2 bedroom apartments and condos. will there be enough IB children (high SES especially) to sustain a school through grade 5?

Young high-SES families live in 2 BR condos. I know -- i was one.

First poster here. I live in a 2br condo now. But with a 3 year old and another baby on the way, I can't imagine living here throughout elementary school. I know others manage, but sooner or later (more like sooner) we'll want more space.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
It's hard for me to guess...like others have mentioned, most of the housing over there consists of 1-2 bedroom apartments and condos. will there be enough IB children (high SES especially) to sustain a school through grade 5?

Young high-SES families live in 2 BR condos. I know -- i was one.

For goodness sakes, where did anyone say it "never" happens? The point is that you are much more likely to find families in SFHs than 2 BR condos. That is all.

There are many rowhouses on the Hill with families in them that are only 2BR.

A SFH is not comparable to a high-rise, at least IMO. Aside from the Yards and Canal Park, the Navy Yard area is not particularly family friendly in terms of restaurants and other amenities. And yes, i know that Harris Teeter and a gym are coming, to be followed by Whole Foods several years down the road. Too many commuters, plus stadium traffic, and the Green Line is overwhelmed on game days. My fear is that developers will leave the neighborhood with all of the charm of Crystal City more high rises continue to spring up. I would much prefer Near Northeast (H Street/Atlas District) which also will have a Whole Foods and more interesting restaurant offerings.

Disagree. Canal Park, the ice skating rink, proximity to the river and Friday night free concerts and the baseball stadium are gems for families. Plus the metro station smack in the middle to whack you to the National Mall or the shopping mall!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let's assume that you (1) have a rising K'er in August 2015, (2) live IB for Van Ness, and (3) win lottery spots at Brent and/or Maury. What would you do?

Never happen-- how could you possibly get a K spot at Brent? I think the only folks that get into Brent OOB are those with siblings already at Brent. So don't worry about it-- Van NEss will be great-- and anyway, why would you want to walk to Brent when the CSX demo starts? It's going to be crazy dusty and a tremendous hassle to walk around the construction site.

Brent is adding a K class next year, which will open up at least a few spots to OOB five year olds. It remains to be seen whether the Brent baby boom will continue over the next few years. There just aren't as many young families moving into the neighborhood as home prices continue to climb.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
It's hard for me to guess...like others have mentioned, most of the housing over there consists of 1-2 bedroom apartments and condos. will there be enough IB children (high SES especially) to sustain a school through grade 5?

Young high-SES families live in 2 BR condos. I know -- i was one.

For goodness sakes, where did anyone say it "never" happens? The point is that you are much more likely to find families in SFHs than 2 BR condos. That is all.

There are many rowhouses on the Hill with families in them that are only 2BR.

A SFH is not comparable to a high-rise, at least IMO. Aside from the Yards and Canal Park, the Navy Yard area is not particularly family friendly in terms of restaurants and other amenities. And yes, i know that Harris Teeter and a gym are coming, to be followed by Whole Foods several years down the road. Too many commuters, plus stadium traffic, and the Green Line is overwhelmed on game days. My fear is that developers will leave the neighborhood with all of the charm of Crystal City more high rises continue to spring up. I would much prefer Near Northeast (H Street/Atlas District) which also will have a Whole Foods and more interesting restaurant offerings.

Have you been to Yards Park in the summer? It's crowded with families on a nice day. We always see friends at the ice-skating rink in winter. Food options are growing, but for now Nando's has been great. I live north of the freeway but have spent lots of time with my kids in the general area.

[Anonymous]

^^ Same here, there are lots of fun activities we enjoy there in the spring and summer and we see lots of families..but how many of those families live there?