Feedback on Eaton Elementary School in Cleveland Park, NW
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Anonymous
So why is DC spending nearly $200 to renovate Duke Ellington into a friggin' Taj Mahal? If you are right about funding, then Eaton has missed the boat while Janney was doing serial modernizations. We try to teach our kids to advocate for themselves, but where are Eaton's advocates when it comes to DCPS funding decisions? |
Anonymous
And if we believe this after all the slippage, someone has a bridge over Rock Creek Park to sell us. |
Anonymous
Chances are very good. 35 PK4 spots 14 went to IB with Sibling 21 went to IB 5 IBs were wait listed |
Anonymous
Only way to explain this is OP is referring to the brown or riff raff from EOTP OOB kids. She's not really OOB in her mind because she's wealthy, likely white and lives WOTP. |
Anonymous
Why does everything devolve into race-baiting? You have know idea of the race, nationality or gender of the OP. |
Anonymous
Of course, if Eaton were to be renovated, it would likely make it attractive to even more in-boundary families. This is what happened at Stoddert and is happening at Hearst. Maybe some are afraid of that. |
Anonymous
Wow! You're saying that the HSA had to self-finance the renovations to Eaton 35 years ago?! DC sure was a sorry "Dysfunctional City" back then. If true, therefore Eaton has gotten virtually no taxpayer support for capital improvements in many decades. How does it get a modest piece of the pie now? |
Anonymous
Yes, let OP explain what the concerns are about OOB kids rather than making an assumption. OP, please weigh in about why you prefer a school with a smaller ratio of OOB kids since this is impacting your decision-making. |
Anonymous
And how your stance would change if you would become a dreaded OOB family yourself. |
Anonymous
We are an OOB family  True Story.
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Anonymous
NP here and one who sends my Eaton-zoned kids to private schools -- but -- I still hate this question. "Going to school with out of bounds kids" is like being at a private school, which frankly, I consider a negative. Public schools are supposed to be neighborhood schools. That is the appeal. If Eaton were more neighborhood oriented, we would have considered that as a real option. |
Anonymous
DCPS claims to be a system of neighborhood schools. It's good to have an OOB contingent, but when that goes above 45-50%, then the school is no longer really a neighborhood school, just a city-wide school that happens to be located somewhere. Neighborhood schools provide a steady foundation for community activism, involvement and support, with parents whose kids once attended the school continuing to support it, advocate for it. This happens to some extent (and some of the old Cleveland Park families are very loyal to Eaton) but not as much as it could be. Also, it's easier on kids if more of their friends live in the general area, for after school play dates and activities, etc. One reason why Eaton may lose out on renovations, is that no councilmember really "owns" it. If Cheh knows that only 38-40% of Eaton parents are Ward 3 voters, she's going to show more attention to schools where the political equation is more compelling. My personal view is that about 2/3 IB and 1/3 OOB enrollment would be about ideal, providing the strong neighborhood identity and foundation yet with broad diversity and support. |
Anonymous
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OP here - thanks for the feedback everyone. Good to know chances of getting in are pretty good. I don't feel like moving right now, but of course will if have to, when kid is 5 years old. Contemplating if moving to Montgomery County is worth it for the Public School system.
I am white, originally from Europe and want my kid to go to a school with kids who are at least as smart, ambitious and motivated as he is, and I want my child to see and be surrounded by good role models. It is not about race, but about the quality and value system of the kids/families who attend the school. I am a single Mom and want the best for my kid. I do not earn much money, so cannot afford private school, so the only thing I can control is to make sure that my child gets into the best possible school system and gets the best education, just like I did as a child (and it was free of charge all the way through college!!). Since I am a single mom, I need to make my/our life as simple and hassle free as possible, so the fact that Eaton is further away than Stoddert and H. Mann is a factor for me. I would like his buddies to be from our neighborhood and to be able to easily manage playdates, activities and b'day parties. I would like to be surrounded by like-minded families/ parents. I love our neighborhood, that is why we have been living there, and I would like my kid to have classmates from that neighborhood, that's all. I agree with one of the previous posters, who said: " That said, we are an Eaton family (IB) and wish that there was more balance at the school. It feels sometimes that Eaton is in Cleveland Park geographically but doesn't have the neighborhood-centric feeling and strong community support of other NW elementary schools like Janney and Lafayette. " By the way Hearst is much worse. I did go to an open house last year. The OOB ratio is really high there. I was very surprised. Did not at all reflect the neighborhood population. |
jsteele
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We are one of the OOB families that is dragging Hearst down. But, just imagine what we would do to real estate values if we moved inbounds. |
Anonymous
I doubt Eaton is farther away than Stoddert from where you live. I'm pretty familiar with how the boundaries around Stoddert were rewritten and the blocks that were reassigned to Eaton are not further away than they are from Stoddert, in most cases equidistant. I'm guessing you must live around the 4000 block of Cathedral or Massachusetts Avenue, the 3000 block of Idaho, the 3000 or 3100 block of 39th Street, or the 3800 block of Klingle Place (all blocks that were affected). |