Elementary School Recommendations for Family moving to DC from Australia

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thank you everyone for the advice. I've read mixed reviews about Wilson though. Is it fair to say that it has had some ups and downs? Is Deal considered better than Hardy? With the move, we would prefer to settle down as permanently as possible. We are not adverse to the suburbs in VA or MD, though we've always lived in cities (first NYC then Melbourne). We are completely comfortable to rent for a year (or years!), but would prefer that wherever we are is in the location where our kids will go to school longterm.

My son will be 5 as of September 2019. The twins will 1 year 11 months.

Here is one thing to consider if you aren't familiar with the DC area. The divide between city and suburb is much less pronounced here than in NYC, at least if you are talking Manhattan and much of Brooklyn.

Much of UNW, which includes a lot of the area zoned for Wilson, has a fairly suburban feel to it, not all that different from close-in areas across the border, especially in MD as there is not physical barrier and it you simply cross a street to go from DC to Maryland. Downtown areas of Bethesda and Arlington also have a somewhat urban feel.

So, if you really want city, you may not get what you want in parts of Wilson. Conversely, if you are ok with quasi-suburban quasi-urban, you have some options across the borders as well as areas zoned for Wilson.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thank you everyone for the advice. I've read mixed reviews about Wilson though. Is it fair to say that it has had some ups and downs? Is Deal considered better than Hardy? With the move, we would prefer to settle down as permanently as possible. We are not adverse to the suburbs in VA or MD, though we've always lived in cities (first NYC then Melbourne). We are completely comfortable to rent for a year (or years!), but would prefer that wherever we are is in the location where our kids will go to school longterm.

My son will be 5 as of September 2019. The twins will 1 year 11 months.

AU Park or Tenleytown. You wiill have lots of safety--Janney or Hearst, Deal, Wilson, lots of possibles for HS--charters, Walls, Ellington etc. and there are also some reasonable private schools. YOu are also thinking WAY too far ahead. Lots could change before HS including new school options--but you will be 'safe' in AU Park, and it meets your budget.

OP here THANK YOU for your advice. I am probably thinking too far ahead! I think since we know the HS where my daughter would be going if we stayed in Australia so well, it's so hard to move without "knowing" all of the details... but I think I need to have a bit of faith and also things will definitely change in the next eight years.

OP, we are an international family in AU Park and we love it. It's a safe, leafy neighborhood, and it's nice to be able to walk to the metro and the shops/restaurants in Friendship Heights and Tenleytown. Janney is a wonderful school with lots of people from all over the world. We are nine years out from Wilson, and I think the school, which we would probably send our kid to now, will still improve over the next decade as IB enrollment is going up and they recently shrunk the boundary. So I'm not worried about it at this point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks everyone with your feedback. I'm frankly not too excited about Wilson because of its size. Looking for small and progressive options. Do people often do the lottery for HS? This whole lottery thing is very new to me.

Wilson is really as good as it gets for DC. But, the publics in MD and VA that others have mentioned are also big. There really aren't small public HSs around here.

In terms of progressive, it depends on what you mean. Most of the people at any of these schools are progressive. In terms of pedagogy, I would say they are fairly traditional.

This. And frankly, there are benefits to a large HS, including the variety of classes and extracurricular activities it can offer by virtue of its size and resources. If you want small, you need to go private. If you want a decent guaranteed option, live IB for Wilson. Wilson has its detractors, but we know many families who sent their kids there and were happy with the education, and the kids had no trouble going on to good colleges. It's big and diverse, but has options for lots of kinds of kids.

The only HS that people try to lottery into is Wilson. Other "lottery" HS are actually application-only (Banneker, School Without Walls, Ellington, etc.)

In terms of elementary school, pretty much any of the Wilson feeders will be both good and contain many international students, because NW DC is full of international families. Deal is considered the best MS, although Hardy seems to be improving rapidly as more kids from the feeder ES continue on to Hardy. Personally, I'd be okay with sending my kid to either one.

I'd look at neighborhoods that are in bounds for Janney, Mann, Murch, Hearst, Lafayette, Stoddert, Eaton, or Shepherd Elementary schools. All are full of UMC kids, have a decent cohort of international students, and feed to Hardy or Deal. Frankly, given your budget and housing needs, you might find that the choice is driven by the real estate market, but these schools will offer a good education and a solid feeder pattern to MS and HS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Shepherd Park can get you a nice sized lovely home in the Deal feeder pattern

There are two coming on the market too

[Anonymous]

Deal MS is great. Wilson is two different school in one. I have no issues with my children attending Wilson. My oldest is in 8th Grade. I would put money on Wilson being spectacular by the time your child hits HS age. In fact, I think DC will be different by then. It is changing rapidly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Shepherd Park can get you a nice sized lovely home in the Deal feeder pattern

There are two coming on the market too

Where? I know there's one new one this week, but out of OP's range (1.85).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks everyone with your feedback. I'm frankly not too excited about Wilson because of its size. Looking for small and progressive options. Do people often do the lottery for HS? This whole lottery thing is very new to me.

Wilson is really as good as it gets for DC. But, the publics in MD and VA that others have mentioned are also big. There really aren't small public HSs around here.

In terms of progressive, it depends on what you mean. Most of the people at any of these schools are progressive. In terms of pedagogy, I would say they are fairly traditional.

This. And frankly, there are benefits to a large HS, including the variety of classes and extracurricular activities it can offer by virtue of its size and resources. If you want small, you need to go private. If you want a decent guaranteed option, live IB for Wilson. Wilson has its detractors, but we know many families who sent their kids there and were happy with the education, and the kids had no trouble going on to good colleges. It's big and diverse, but has options for lots of kinds of kids.

The only HS that people try to lottery into is Wilson. Other "lottery" HS are actually application-only (Banneker, School Without Walls, Ellington, etc.)

In terms of elementary school, pretty much any of the Wilson feeders will be both good and contain many international students, because NW DC is full of international families. Deal is considered the best MS, although Hardy seems to be improving rapidly as more kids from the feeder ES continue on to Hardy. Personally, I'd be okay with sending my kid to either one.

I'd look at neighborhoods that are in bounds for Janney, Mann, Murch, Hearst, Lafayette, Stoddert, Eaton, or Shepherd Elementary schools. All are full of UMC kids, have a decent cohort of international students, and feed to Hardy or Deal. Frankly, given your budget and housing needs, you might find that the choice is driven by the real estate market, but these schools will offer a good education and a solid feeder pattern to MS and HS.

latin

[Anonymous]

DC High Schools:
Neighborhood Schools to consider: Wilson
Note - it is a large urban school. There are lots of things that break it into a smaller feel - but it is still a large urban school.

DC Public application schools: School without Walls, Ellington School of the Arts, Banneker (Math and Science Focus) All of these are smaller and depending on your child can be a fit.

DC Private Schools - many

DC Middle Schools:
Neighborhood Schools to consider: Most in demand are Hardy and Deal. They are both fine. Deal is larger than Hardy and has a longer track record for high performance. By the time you are considering Middle School they will be comparable.

Elementary Schools:
Any that feed into Deal and Hardy are solid. Most of the housing stock that feeds Hyde and Stoddert elementary school is smaller and probably not fit your family / budget. Housing that feeds Key, Mann and Shepherd elementary schools is not as easily accessible to metro / public transportation. Parts of Lafayette are also far for metro.


There are public charter schools and that is another conversation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also I am so interested in what job you're doing. Not a Fulbright or other fellowship if you're buying and staying a while, probably not a federal government job restricted to US citizens or a DC government job with residency preference, not an embassy job if you're mostly going to be working in Wards 4-8...and yet something that allows a single earner to buy a $1.25 million house and support 6 people. Whatever you're doing sounds fascinating and lucrative--kudos to you!

OP said that they're dual citizens, so why couldn't they get a job that's limited to US citizens?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Shepherd Park can get you a nice sized lovely home in the Deal feeder pattern

There are two coming on the market too

Where? I know there's one new one this week, but out of OP's range (1.85).

There is a house coming on Holly St between Alaska and 14th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Shepherd Park can get you a nice sized lovely home in the Deal feeder pattern

There are two coming on the market too

Where? I know there's one new one this week, but out of OP's range (1.85).

There is a house coming on Holly St between Alaska and 14th.

Forgot to add another two are being renovated.

[Anonymous]

Shepherd Park is a nice neighborhood, but OP should be aware that buying there would mean that her kids have to cross the park (by car or bus) in order to get to middle and high school. Same for her if she works in Georgetown. Commute-wise, it would be better for all of them if they live west of the park.

Also, while Shepherd Elementary is fine, it is not on par with the Deal and Hardy feeders west of the park.

[Anonymous]

Not sure this has been mentioned yet: Considering your family configuration, and to keep you sane, I recommend you prioritize finding housing that works for your family, considering such aspects as affordability, access to transportation, grocery shopping, and leisure. That is going to be the most critical piece to your sanity. Unless you somehow have an unusual amount of disposable income (I suspect not if you plan on putting 4 children through college and retire comfortably), then let the school(s) fall into place. There are so many different paths to success in DC public & charter schools that driving yourself nuts over this going into your relocation is bananas. So is paying a huge premium for it. Not to mention, you may find your four children actually do need different options and before long they may be at different schools anyway, probably taking themselves there on public transit.

Here is why I'm saying this: What good is it for you to have it all lined up school-wise from Janey, to Deal, to Wilson, if the six of you will drive each other to the brink of destruction in a crammed apartment for the next ten years? Might you not prefer living sanely and happily, with room and income to spare in, say, Brookland, Hyattsville, Takoma Park, or Hillcrest? From any of these places, you have good to excellent options. Not to mention, by the time your babies hit middle and high school, the world (and most certainly DCPS) will be a different place.

[Anonymous]

I’d look in Glover Park or Burleith. You’ll get plenty of room, walkable and zoned for a good elementary and middle schoo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not sure this has been mentioned yet: Considering your family configuration, and to keep you sane, I recommend you prioritize finding housing that works for your family, considering such aspects as affordability, access to transportation, grocery shopping, and leisure. That is going to be the most critical piece to your sanity. Unless you somehow have an unusual amount of disposable income (I suspect not if you plan on putting 4 children through college and retire comfortably), then let the school(s) fall into place. There are so many different paths to success in DC public & charter schools that driving yourself nuts over this going into your relocation is bananas. So is paying a huge premium for it. Not to mention, you may find your four children actually do need different options and before long they may be at different schools anyway, probably taking themselves there on public transit.

Here is why I'm saying this: What good is it for you to have it all lined up school-wise from Janey, to Deal, to Wilson, if the six of you will drive each other to the brink of destruction in a crammed apartment for the next ten years? Might you not prefer living sanely and happily, with room and income to spare in, say, Brookland, Hyattsville, Takoma Park, or Hillcrest? From any of these places, you have good to excellent options. Not to mention, by the time your babies hit middle and high school, the world (and most certainly DCPS) will be a different place.

Their budget is $1.25 million. They will not be living in a crammed apartment even if they choose to live in an area that feeds Wilson. And houses of the size they want/need in the other parts of the city you mention are equally expensive.