Just moved to DC post-divorce and COMPLETELY confused about public schools - Please Help!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Exactly, which schools in Arlington are amazing on a 750 budget that is close to Georgetown?

I don't buy this either. At that point OP, better off finding an apartment in upper NW where the schools will actually be good.

[Anonymous]

Deal/Wilson or move to Montgomery County in the Pyle/Whitman area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:with so many kids and already in middle school, just move into a deal zone and you are done. easiest thing to do.

This. OP, it's too late to apply for the lottery for your kids. The simplest and best thing to do would be to look for a house that in inbounds to Deal Middle School.

The elementary schools that feed to deal are:
Eaton Elementary School
Bancroft Elementary School
Lafayette Elementary School
Murch Elementary School
Janney Elementary School
Shepherd Elementary School
Hearst Elementary School

I thought Eaton lost their Deal feed?

I like this advice a lot (except Eaton no longer feeds to Deal unless you are currently 2nd grade or above, as new resident you'd feed to Hardy). I really LOVE Shepherd! Very diverse neighborhood, strong school and easy access to rock creek park and WOTP (West of the Park). There is a bus that will take your middle schoolers to Deal. You can buy for $700-$750k or rent for $2800-$3500. You'd be set. Also, as of now and through 2022 you can buy inbound to some parts of Crestwood ans 16th street heights and still access Deal and Wilson (however elementary is not as strong as Shepherd). I would not recommend moving to Montgomery or VA. My sister graduated with honors from top Arlington school and is not doing any better than Wilson kids. The benefits of city living close to your sister are great.

I do really like the advice of Inspired Teaching (Charter near Catholic). You'd likely quickly get your 6th and 7th grader in and pull your youngest up. This would open up where you can live. Inspired is only in its 4th year but their test scores for non-poverty kids (hate prefacing it that way) are top 5 or so in the city (including the highly sought after JKLM schools). The middle school is very small however with only one class per grade at present. I wish you lots of luck and support!

[Anonymous]

How is living near Sheppard either close to Georgetown or city living?

OP, ask you sister what she thinks! And move as close to her as possible but inbounds for Deal.

[Anonymous]

And how is Catholic near Georgetown? Isn't that like a 45 min drive?

[Anonymous]

Arlington, somewhere in Rosslyn makes sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Exactly, which schools in Arlington are amazing on a 750 budget that is close to Georgetown?

Yorktown on Rosslyn Island. 750 will get you a 1500 sq ft condo at the atrium. Walk to Georgetown.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How is living near Sheppard either close to Georgetown or city living?

OP, ask you sister what she thinks! And move as close to her as possible but inbounds for Deal.

Deal to Georgetown. Also on weekends, Shepherd is easier to access GTown than Arltington dealing with bridge/M Street traffic. Catholic, no. But opens up more affordable options which may be a priority for a newly single mother. Don't want to be presumptuous, but that is my thinking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Exactly, which schools in Arlington are amazing on a 750 budget that is close to Georgetown?

Yorktown on Rosslyn Island. 750 will get you a 1500 sq ft condo at the atrium. Walk to Georgetown.

Do not do Arlington! 1500 square foot condo with HOA dues for family of 4?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Addendum to my list: Yes, PP is right, it's too late to apply for the lottery but DCI and Basis may go through their lists and so might Hardy. You can have your name placed on the back of those lists and still try.

I'm not totally up on everything, but when I went to check my waitlist numbers today, there was an option to apply to any school acknowledging that you will be at the end of the waitlist. Might be worth checking if any of your grades have openings at a decent OOB or charter school. You probably work for state or AID, so you may be able to afford the Deal neighborhoods. I work in International work and make six figures, I can't afford those areas unless I chose to live in a box.

MD or VA are also other options that might be simpler that DC...again, not up on it all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Exactly, which schools in Arlington are amazing on a 750 budget that is close to Georgetown?

Yorktown on Rosslyn Island. 750 will get you a 1500 sq ft condo at the atrium. Walk to Georgetown.

Do not do Arlington! 1500 square foot condo with HOA dues for family of 4?

Seriously, what would a modern condo cost within 0.3 mi of Georgetown in DC?

And Yorktown and W-L are far better schools than wilson, look up how GS scores work across state lines.

If op doesn't mind being 0.7 miles from Georgetown than townhouses in 750k are readily available

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Exactly, which schools in Arlington are amazing on a 750 budget that is close to Georgetown?

Yorktown on Rosslyn Island. 750 will get you a 1500 sq ft condo at the atrium. Walk to Georgetown.

Do not do Arlington! 1500 square foot condo with HOA dues for family of 4?

Seriously, what would a modern condo cost within 0.3 mi of Georgetown in DC?

And Yorktown and W-L are far better schools than wilson, look up how GS scores work across state lines.

If op doesn't mind being 0.7 miles from Georgetown than townhouses in 750k are readily available

OP didn't say she needed to live near Georgetown. She said she preferred moving in the city. Go back to VA pages.

[Anonymous]

So, in DC, every home has an assigned elementary school, middle school, and high school. You are guaranteed a spot for K-12 for the schools assigned to your address.

You need to enter the lottery if you want a charter, if you want pre-k, or if you want to send your child to a school in another catchment area (out of bounds).There are enough preK3 and prek4 spots in town for most kids, but not enough at any particular school, so while you have a preference at your local school for prek, it isn't guaranteed.

I agree that best thing to do is to rent a place inbounds for Deal or Hardy Middle school.

I am also a single parent. I can tell you that if you are working, the most important distance is from office to the school, since single parents need to do both dropoff and pickup. For you, the distance to the school/daycare your little one attends will be the important part, since your older two are probably pretty self-sufficient.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So, in DC, every home has an assigned elementary school, middle school, and high school. You are guaranteed a spot for K-12 for the schools assigned to your address.

You need to enter the lottery if you want a charter, if you want pre-k, or if you want to send your child to a school in another catchment area (out of bounds).There are enough preK3 and prek4 spots in town for most kids, but not enough at any particular school, so while you have a preference at your local school for prek, it isn't guaranteed.

I agree that best thing to do is to rent a place inbounds for Deal or Hardy Middle school.

I am also a single parent. I can tell you that if you are working, the most important distance is from office to the school, since single parents need to do both dropoff and pickup. For you, the distance to the school/daycare your little one attends will be the important part, since your older two are probably pretty self-sufficient.

Good advice. However, you do t have to enter lottery for charters. You can place your name on WL to charters after lottery and like PP said above Inspired Teaching is likely to go through their entire WL for 6th and 7th due to it being a new middle school and some kids leave for Latin/Basis.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Exactly, which schools in Arlington are amazing on a 750 budget that is close to Georgetown?

Yorktown on Rosslyn Island. 750 will get you a 1500 sq ft condo at the atrium. Walk to Georgetown.

Do not do Arlington! 1500 square foot condo with HOA dues for family of 4?

Seriously, what would a modern condo cost within 0.3 mi of Georgetown in DC?

And Yorktown and W-L are far better schools than wilson, look up how GS scores work across state lines.

If op doesn't mind being 0.7 miles from Georgetown than townhouses in 750k are readily available

OP didn't say she needed to live near Georgetown. She said she preferred moving in the city. Go back to VA pages.

Obama didn't find dcps adequate for his children