When you think about it...getting shut out for PK

[Anonymous]

^ just go private, lady!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In areas where the IB school is good, preK is a nice to have. Where you do not have guaranteed access to a good elementary school, it is one of a few paths for getting into a good elementary school, so losing out on the lottery is also losing out on one of a family's few opportunities to get into a good school. The solution if you strike out repeatedly is to move and it becomes clear that the choice provided to DC families is only a choice if your family is lucky. That must be incredibly disheartening.

the complaining by those that have good elementary options by right do not generate much sympathy from me but there also is this larger issue.

This. OP doesn't get it. People are stressed because they're worried about K and beyond, not because they are losing out on free PreK, IMO.

- Ward 5 parent happily ensconced in a charter school (but would have happily kept my eldest in daycare at 3 and 4 if we hadn't lucked out)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why can't free pre-K be universal? The demand is there. This lottery system sounds dumb.

It is, if you are willing to go anywhere in the city. There are always open spots at the start of the year. Bridges still has PK3 and PK4 spots that are unfilled.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some counties like prince William are cutting K to half day. In DC we are lucky to have some pk3 and pk4 options - I bet that there are spots people just need to be willing to travel or go to "less desirable" schools.

+1 the empathy that many of us are feeling for waitlisted and shut out families is quickly being eroded. I'm starting to have things like "stop your whining!" Run through my head when I see these threads. PS3 and PK are not required grades and your child's access to them is not guaranteed. It's that simple.

I live in Ward 3 and feel that Pre-k should not be offered in the Ward. Eliminating pre-k 4 would free up a significant amount of space at "overcrowded" schools in the Ward. It would also force some families to seek out schools for pre-k 3 and 4 in other neighborhoods therefore greater diversifying schools throughout the city. Those that opt not do go to other neighborhoods can go private and should not be subsidized. Some of these families may even stay for at least the mid-term in other Wards after seeing firsthand good quality education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some counties like prince William are cutting K to half day. In DC we are lucky to have some pk3 and pk4 options - I bet that there are spots people just need to be willing to travel or go to "less desirable" schools.

+1 the empathy that many of us are feeling for waitlisted and shut out families is quickly being eroded. I'm starting to have things like "stop your whining!" Run through my head when I see these threads. PS3 and PK are not required grades and your child's access to them is not guaranteed. It's that simple.

I live in Ward 3 and feel that Pre-k should not be offered in the Ward. Eliminating pre-k 4 would free up a significant amount of space at "overcrowded" schools in the Ward. It would also force some families to seek out schools for pre-k 3 and 4 in other neighborhoods therefore greater diversifying schools throughout the city. Those that opt not do go to other neighborhoods can go private and should not be subsidized. Some of these families may even stay for at least the mid-term in other Wards after seeing firsthand good quality education.

15 years ago your argument had merit . Now, many high income parents in W1, W2, and W4 take advantage of PS3 in their neighborhoods school. There is no longer a correlation between income and PS3. Only W3 does not have PS3. If you want to fix the overcrowding, insist that the W3 boundaries get redrawn so that Hearst and Eaton become truly IB schools. There is plenty of IB room in both schools to take the stress of JKLLM. Otherwise, please take you hand out of my pocketbook. Private PS3/PS4 for two kids will cost our family $70,000. Just another hidden tax for the W3 parents. Suggesting to attend PS3/PS4 in other Wards is impractical and inconsistent with the city's stated walkability goals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I live in Ward 3 and feel that Pre-k should not be offered in the Ward. Eliminating pre-k 4 would free up a significant amount of space at "overcrowded" schools in the Ward. It would also force some families to seek out schools for pre-k 3 and 4 in other neighborhoods therefore greater diversifying schools throughout the city. Those that opt not do go to other neighborhoods can go private and should not be subsidized. Some of these families may even stay for at least the mid-term in other Wards after seeing firsthand good quality education.

15 years ago your argument had merit . Now, many high income parents in W1, W2, and W4 take advantage of PS3 in their neighborhoods school. There is no longer a correlation between income and PS3. Only W3 does not have PS3. If you want to fix the overcrowding, insist that the W3 boundaries get redrawn so that Hearst and Eaton become truly IB schools. There is plenty of IB room in both schools to take the stress of JKLLM. Otherwise, please take you hand out of my pocketbook. Private PS3/PS4 for two kids will cost our family $70,000. Just another hidden tax for the W3 parents. Suggesting to attend PS3/PS4 in other Wards is impractical and inconsistent with the city's stated walkability goals.

High income clearly doesn't correlate to high reading comprehension since you clearly miss the previous poster's point. No one would be taking money from your pocketbook since you could still seek placement at a PK3/4 program elsewhere in the city, just not your IB elementary. The plus for you would be that the rest of us low income leeches wouldn't be able to get into your wonderful WOTP school.

What this post does prove is that WOTP schools are not better because the kids that go there are any smarter than the rest of the kids in the city, or at least not base don the intelligence of their parents.