Lottery opening - will you share your list?
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Anonymous
Neither can Shepherd. |
Anonymous
We're IB for Shepherd and it's great, but I agree-would not want to make that drive everyday, especially if it's with a 3 or 4yo. My PKer is cranky enough just walking two blocks if it's after 5:30. |
Anonymous
Shepherd *might* be considering a 2nd PK3 room. Not saying that means OOB kids will get in, but maybe?? |
Anonymous
I would remove all 4 schools (unless Brent is your IB) and add Appletree LP, SW, Oklahoma Ave at the bottom of the list. I'm not sure how far away Bancroft is or how hard it is to get in OOB, but you may want to reconsider that one too. |
Anonymous
If they are OK staying in daycare/nanny then no biggie. But if they prioritize a spot somewhere then they should follow your advice and also remove Maury. They are filled to the gills and haven't taken OOB either. |
Anonymous
Ditto Lee Montessori. |
Anonymous
Hi, OP. I find little consistency of your rankings showing how much you care aboute dual language vs. non-dual language, your list really reads like a charter popularity contest. We went through that wringer a couple of times - and actually got into one of the HRCS on our 'final' try in 1st last year only to be disappointed and return to our IB DCPS which, though it doesn't try to hard to sell itself, has a solid community and not a ton of turnover. All that to say, look for a safety school and our visit your IB DCPS, even though it's may not market itself as well and the HRCS. And unless you have a boundary preference, you can forget about Oyster. |
Anonymous
Agree with all this, and will point out for maybe the 3rd time that Oyster DOES NOT HAVE PK3. So that's a total non-starter. |
Anonymous
Your list is all over the place. What are you looking for (short commute, feeder pattern, language immersion) and what is your inbound? |
Anonymous
Yes this is all over the place but you have time to tweak it. If language immersion is what you're looking for I would drop CMI down on your list. They don't teach languages just "expose" you to them. So I'd put them low or remove them entirely. Oyster has no PK3. What is your inbound? Why not consider stokes since it has a good feeder and better scores than inspired teaching and Marie Reed. Have you considered the commute times? Your list is sort of everywhere. Rank your preferences - language immersion, feeder patterns, location, etc and this will help remove and maybe add some schools. |
Anonymous
Why don't you have Peabody (Cluster School), Payne or Tyler Traditional on your list? |
Anonymous
OP here. I appreciate the feedback and am working to tweak the list with input from others. I only have 11 right now and obviously Oyster is going to have to drop off. I actually do value dual language quite a bit but realistically think our chances our slim anywhere, so if I can't have School A, B, or C I might have to settle for a non-dual language school which has other things to offer. CMI seemed to have an international focus, smaller classes, and a very engaged parent community so I put that first but might actually want to drop it down below some of the immersion. And I am IB for Tubman so I should probably list it somewhere as a safety. I am not sure on the commutes from my house but I would be willing to drive 2.5 miles even if it is out of the way for my kid's education. This is our first child and the school environment here has a lot of different options, so I am honestly not sure what teaching style would work best for my kid... my DH thinks Lee might actually be a good fit, but we don't know anyone who has children who went through a full Montessori education so we don't know too much about it. |
Anonymous
There's an open house at Lee on Thursday 6:30pm. You can RSVP from the website. I don't think any of us knew what our kids needed at 2 or 2.5 when we first started going through this process. Also no idea what our kids interests or strengths would be. Montessori works well for kids with all kinds of different needs and interests and ability levels because it's so developmentally appropriate and tailored to the individual child. I'd encourage you to check it out, though it's a commitment for parents to truly learn about and understand the method because it's so different from much of traditional education. That said, you also have some other great options on your list. I do agree with others though about how it seems all over the place in types of schools, but also in location. 2.5 miles during rush hour gets old pretty fast. Even 1.5 miles can take 20 minutes, plus another 20 minutes to get the kids out of the car and into their classrooms, then 20 minutes back -- then that's an hour out of your day, plus a second hour for pick up. I'd think carefully about commute. |
Anonymous
OP, you are getting a lot of advice here - and everyone is coming at you from there preference. What is best for them (and their child). You need to think about what is what you want. Go to the open houses, think about what you want and what your family enjoys about each school. What do you like about CMI, Lee, YY, etc. There is plenty of time to do your rankings. You don't have to decide today. Do test drives of the schools and talk to some of the parent communities. We love our school (one of the ones you have listed) - but at the end of the day, you need to make a choice for the best fit for your child. Good luck! |
Anonymous
OP, veteran lottery enterer and Columbia Heights neighbor. Please actually try to do the commutes to each of the schools on your list. Do it at rush hour. Do exactly what you would do on a normal Tuesday. Traffic in this city is miserable, unpredictable except in its awfulness, and often counter-intuitive. My DD went to summer camp with the YMCA which was located at ITS this summer, and I will tell you that the commute to and from camp, particularly when I needed to get to and from my office downtown, was dealbreakingly bad. Depending on where you live in Columbia Heights, it can and will take you 30-40 minutes to get to Marie Reed, much less up to Bridges (moving to Ft. Totten) and back. You have plenty of time to do the actual test drives. Every year, people say, "I'm willing to drive 2.5 miles out of my way for my kid's education" and every year, people switch schools because the commute is unsustainable. |