Garrison, anyone can provide input?

[Anonymous]

Yes, the my school is better than your school posts are always pretty tiring...

[Anonymous]

OP here. thanks everyone for your input.
I was just wondering because I'm looking at safety schools near my house, not that these 2 are SUPER close but they are the closest safety schools I could find.
I think that Garrison is moving to my #14th spot... oh wait!

[Anonymous]

Seaton parent here. I don't know anything about Garrison other than what I read at DCUM. That said, I am not going to say anything for/against it. My best advice is visit both schools (granted you are also considering Seaton as a safety) on a weekday ideally (while classes are going on) and see for yourself which school is the best fit for your child. I've been to open houses at HRCS/more popular schools (popular by DCUM standards) and frankly wondered why there was so much online hype. Take everything you read on here with a grain of salt. Ultimately, you know what is best for your child and your family. Goodluck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Seaton parent here. I don't know anything about Garrison other than what I read at DCUM. That said, I am not going to say anything for/against it. My best advice is visit both schools (granted you are also considering Seaton as a safety) on a weekday ideally (while classes are going on) and see for yourself which school is the best fit for your child. I've been to open houses at HRCS/more popular schools (popular by DCUM standards) and frankly wondered why there was so much online hype. Take everything you read on here with a grain of salt. Ultimately, you know what is best for your child and your family. Goodluck!

This is great advice, no matter what schools you are considering.

[Anonymous]

OP here. I did visit Seaton and I was impressed by the classroom dynamics, from the PK to the 5th grade math.
EVERYONE was on task, no yelling, no running around. Nothing. The smallest kids were having fun and learning while the older ones were doing math (yeah, not so much) but everyone seemed ON. Sometimes you don't even see that in an office environment!
The library was nice and everyone, from the volunteers to the art teacher was welcoming and eager to show their work and the kids work. Nothing seemed "staged" for the open house. So, that was my Seaton impression.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I did visit Seaton and I was impressed by the classroom dynamics, from the PK to the 5th grade math.
EVERYONE was on task, no yelling, no running around. Nothing. The smallest kids were having fun and learning while the older ones were doing math (yeah, not so much) but everyone seemed ON. Sometimes you don't even see that in an office environment!
The library was nice and everyone, from the volunteers to the art teacher was welcoming and eager to show their work and the kids work. Nothing seemed "staged" for the open house. So, that was my Seaton impression.

I don't get it. What were the kids doing in math if not math? When I stop in to my older kid's math class I usually see them doing math. Is that odd?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I did visit Seaton and I was impressed by the classroom dynamics, from the PK to the 5th grade math.
EVERYONE was on task, no yelling, no running around. Nothing. The smallest kids were having fun and learning while the older ones were doing math (yeah, not so much) but everyone seemed ON. Sometimes you don't even see that in an office environment!
The library was nice and everyone, from the volunteers to the art teacher was welcoming and eager to show their work and the kids work. Nothing seemed "staged" for the open house. So, that was my Seaton impression.

PP (Seaton parent) here. I am glad to hear you were left with that impression. I assure you that was not staged. I see that every single day and that was one of the many reasons why we chose to send our child there. Our kid is happy and eager to go to school everyday. Seaton has a warm, community feel. Before school started, I did not know what to expect in a DCPS school and I was worried that the older kids will be unruly. I found out for myself (and was pleasantly surprised) to see how behaved and respectful they were. Sometimes it gets chaotic in there during drop off/pick up time (I guess like any other school) and I've had older kids hold the door for me while I struggle to get my kid out the door.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm confused by the latest Round 1 numbers (and garrison and seaton are both close to our home, so likely contenders for us in PK3 next year): Garrison's test scores are way worse, but Garrison's PK filled up more than Seaton's? You'd think that, given that both schools are close by each other so many parents consider both of them, Seaton would be in far more demand than Garrison. Am I understanding the numbers right? Can anyone explain?

I am a current Garrison parent, and can only speak of my own personal reasons for choosing Garrison over Seaton. We're actually in-bounds for Seaton. I've said it before and I'll say it again, either school would serve your child well. I think Seaton is a fine school. I think Garrison is a fine school.

We also looked at the test scores and other criteria, but there are other factors in making a decision about which school would be best for your child. For me, test scores are pretty irrelevant. Schools test the upper grades, which tend to have low enrollment, which is the case for many DCPS school including Garrison and Seaton. So if one or two kids bomb the test, well there you have it. Also, I don't want my child to be taught to the test. I'm sure if Garrison did test prep around the clock, the scores would be really high. (And just so people don't try to misconstrue what I am saying, I'm not implying at all that this is what Seaton does.) But I value other things like play and outdoor time, and Garrison values these "non-academic" activities. As for school safety, I haven't witnessed anything that is of concern, and I'm there a lot, including the middle of the day when things could get rowdy. Parent involvement was also a very important factor for me, which is not measured on any of the criteria DCPS is interested in. Garrison has an active parent community, and I wanted to be a part of that.

Like other posters have said, visit both schools and decide. You really can't go wrong with either in my opinion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm confused by the latest Round 1 numbers (and garrison and seaton are both close to our home, so likely contenders for us in PK3 next year): Garrison's test scores are way worse, but Garrison's PK filled up more than Seaton's? You'd think that, given that both schools are close by each other so many parents consider both of them, Seaton would be in far more demand than Garrison. Am I understanding the numbers right? Can anyone explain?

I am a current Garrison parent, and can only speak of my own personal reasons for choosing Garrison over Seaton. We're actually in-bounds for Seaton. I've said it before and I'll say it again, either school would serve your child well. I think Seaton is a fine school. I think Garrison is a fine school.

We also looked at the test scores and other criteria, but there are other factors in making a decision about which school would be best for your child. For me, test scores are pretty irrelevant. Schools test the upper grades, which tend to have low enrollment, which is the case for many DCPS school including Garrison and Seaton. So if one or two kids bomb the test, well there you have it. Also, I don't want my child to be taught to the test. I'm sure if Garrison did test prep around the clock, the scores would be really high. (And just so people don't try to misconstrue what I am saying, I'm not implying at all that this is what Seaton does.) But I value other things like play and outdoor time, and Garrison values these "non-academic" activities. As for school safety, I haven't witnessed anything that is of concern, and I'm there a lot, including the middle of the day when things could get rowdy. Parent involvement was also a very important factor for me, which is not measured on any of the criteria DCPS is interested in. Garrison has an active parent community, and I wanted to be a part of that.

Like other posters have said, visit both schools and decide. You really can't go wrong with either in my opinion.

I'm the PP who asked why Garrison has tighter PK numbers than Seaton, despite test scores and otherwise having some negative feedback. I get why some people nonetheless like Garrison. I guess I'm just confused about why Seaton isn't as in demand as Garrison, given that Seaton has overall better feedback?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm confused by the latest Round 1 numbers (and garrison and seaton are both close to our home, so likely contenders for us in PK3 next year): Garrison's test scores are way worse, but Garrison's PK filled up more than Seaton's? You'd think that, given that both schools are close by each other so many parents consider both of them, Seaton would be in far more demand than Garrison. Am I understanding the numbers right? Can anyone explain?

I am a current Garrison parent, and can only speak of my own personal reasons for choosing Garrison over Seaton. We're actually in-bounds for Seaton. I've said it before and I'll say it again, either school would serve your child well. I think Seaton is a fine school. I think Garrison is a fine school.

We also looked at the test scores and other criteria, but there are other factors in making a decision about which school would be best for your child. For me, test scores are pretty irrelevant. Schools test the upper grades, which tend to have low enrollment, which is the case for many DCPS school including Garrison and Seaton. So if one or two kids bomb the test, well there you have it. Also, I don't want my child to be taught to the test. I'm sure if Garrison did test prep around the clock, the scores would be really high. (And just so people don't try to misconstrue what I am saying, I'm not implying at all that this is what Seaton does.) But I value other things like play and outdoor time, and Garrison values these "non-academic" activities. As for school safety, I haven't witnessed anything that is of concern, and I'm there a lot, including the middle of the day when things could get rowdy. Parent involvement was also a very important factor for me, which is not measured on any of the criteria DCPS is interested in. Garrison has an active parent community, and I wanted to be a part of that.

Like other posters have said, visit both schools and decide. You really can't go wrong with either in my opinion.

I'm the PP who asked why Garrison has tighter PK numbers than Seaton, despite test scores and otherwise having some negative feedback. I get why some people nonetheless like Garrison. I guess I'm just confused about why Seaton isn't as in demand as Garrison, given that Seaton has overall better feedback?

Seaton has been referred to as a hidden gem in the neighborhood. I personally think Seaton did not get any attention until the current Principal came on board. Since she became the Principal, good changes have been happening at the school and scores have been improving every year. Word is slowly getting around and people are just now checking them out.

[Anonymous]

OP here
During the open house, the principal came across as warm and non-nonsense. The school had zero sales-pitch, I liked that. I tend to cringe at glossy brochures.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here
During the open house, the principal came across as warm and non-nonsense. The school had zero sales-pitch, I liked that. I tend to cringe at glossy brochures.

Seaton parent here. Did you get to peek in the PK classrooms? DD mentioned they had visitors but she said she was busy singing (apparently, they were doing their welcome/greeting song) .

[Anonymous]

I live in the neighborhood and have friends I trust who like both schools. With the early grades especially, having a great teacher is so important and there are great teachers at both schools. And now both schools have great principals. I'm sure there are pros and cons to both schools but they both use the same curriculum so for the early grades are likely to be similar.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm confused by the latest Round 1 numbers (and garrison and seaton are both close to our home, so likely contenders for us in PK3 next year): Garrison's test scores are way worse, but Garrison's PK filled up more than Seaton's? You'd think that, given that both schools are close by each other so many parents consider both of them, Seaton would be in far more demand than Garrison. Am I understanding the numbers right? Can anyone explain?

You are reading them correctly. There is no logical reason why Garrison is "in demand" over Seaton, from the test scores to the diversity to the satisfaction rates. It's the main reason why I have posted on these threads.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm confused by the latest Round 1 numbers (and garrison and seaton are both close to our home, so likely contenders for us in PK3 next year): Garrison's test scores are way worse, but Garrison's PK filled up more than Seaton's? You'd think that, given that both schools are close by each other so many parents consider both of them, Seaton would be in far more demand than Garrison. Am I understanding the numbers right? Can anyone explain?

You are reading them correctly. There is no logical reason why Garrison is "in demand" over Seaton, from the test scores to the diversity to the satisfaction rates. It's the main reason why I have posted on these threads.

Part of the reason for garrison's popularity last year could have been that up until just before the lottery closed, patents were promised a renovated school by Sept.