Entering lottery for PK3 in 2019 — first steps?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op - exact same position as you. Toddler entering next year and #2 due in March. I haven't found any schools (that I am interested in) that do open houses until after EdFest (12/8). They all seem to start in December and peak in Jan.

That's because the lottery doesn't open until Dec...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op - exact same position as you. Toddler entering next year and #2 due in March. I haven't found any schools (that I am interested in) that do open houses until after EdFest (12/8). They all seem to start in December and peak in Jan.

That's because the lottery doesn't open until Dec...

And they actually have work to do now, like teaching children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One more recommendation: there has been a school fair in Brookland the last several years. It's worth going to. It's all parent-run and there are parents there from all the local schools and charters in Ward 5. Will probably be in the winter sometime at Menkiti. Informal mixer type setup. You can get a little more personal views on schools there.

Similarly, OP, you aren't very far from the Hill, so the MOTH school fair on Saturday, Nov. 3 from 2-5 pm at Capitol Hill Day School may also be worth your time.

Is there some sort of master list of all open houses - whether they are formal or informal?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One more recommendation: there has been a school fair in Brookland the last several years. It's worth going to. It's all parent-run and there are parents there from all the local schools and charters in Ward 5. Will probably be in the winter sometime at Menkiti. Informal mixer type setup. You can get a little more personal views on schools there.

Similarly, OP, you aren't very far from the Hill, so the MOTH school fair on Saturday, Nov. 3 from 2-5 pm at Capitol Hill Day School may also be worth your time.

Is there some sort of master list of all open houses - whether they are formal or informal?

Many open houses are posted to the calendar section of the My School DC website, but not all.

I don't know what you mean by formal vs informal for an open house. Typically there is a presentation by a school leader and a tour of the building, perhaps a short time to observe an ECE class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here - thanks everyone for your suggestions, really helpful!

For reference, my IB schools would be Whittier and LaSalle. Again, haven't done research on these schools so not sure if they are favorable or not. I believe I would want language immersion but again very green in this area so figuring this all out now.

Our open house dates are already posted, along with a ton of other info about the school: http://bit.ly/WhittierPTA

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:some schools accept very few, if any, kids who aren't inbounds and/or who aren't siblings of current students. don't bother applying to those schools, or at least don't get your hopes up with them. also, be lucky. a lot of this just boils down to whether you got a good lottery number. if you have a good number, you will have good options. if you get a bad number, you won't.

Don’t tell her don’t bother applying to these schools. Someone has to get in. I was successful getting my kid into a HRCS with no sibs pref. Even though I never thought I would. You just never know. Just list schools in your true preference and leave the rest up to fate

[Anonymous]

We have two kids and have been though the Charter admissions rigamarole for several years as we have a third grader.

We are also living in Riggs Park.

I will say that over the course of years you are likely to get into some of the schools near the top of your list.

Driving to upper NW (or even Petworth) can be very time consuming even though most times it’s uite close.

Some schools with a good commute from Riggs Park

Bridges (walking or bus commute)
DC Bilingual (also walking or bus commute)
Inspired Teaching
Yu Ying
Stokes
LAMB
Shepherd
LaSalle Backus
Lee Montessori

Not in order.

It can take years to get into a good school. It’s worth trying for the Bilingual schools until K, but after that the school likely isn’t trying as hard to integrate new students and not the language. It’s good at that point to think about whether or not your kid is the right fit for the school. Probably it’s too late.

This might be a long game to get your kid into one of your top choice schools.

Even if you don’t get into any of your top schools it is still good to go to the open houses of schools you might like as you may get in in a future year with only a few hours to make a decision.

This process can feel very long and frustrating or you might get lucky he first year. The good news is that if you’re smart about your list (some easier to get into schools, some harder) you’ll likely get in somewhere. Eventually, over the course of five years of applying, we got into all the schools we most wanted. Don’t lose hope.

[Anonymous]

This was my advice: https://medium.com/@harkinna/why-you-dont-need-to-worry-about-the-dc-school-lottery-39be607e9c26

[Anonymous]

I always try to remember that all of the choices in DC start to affect what we think we want for our kids. For instance, the fact that there is a Mandarin Language Immersion program makes me think that I want my child to be in a Mandarin Language Immersion program (and perhaps I really do want that). BUT, if I were to live in an area that only had the option of a traditional elementary school, I would probably not be thinking about Mandarin Language Immersion. (Our family doesn't speak Mandarin, our jobs do not require it, we don't have any friends who speak it, etc. It sounds great.. but just isn't necessary..)

I guess, what I am trying to say... just know that all the choices makes things harder and start impacting what we think is an "acceptable" school. So many DCPS schools are perfectly acceptable traditional elementary schools. Your child will be fine in any of those schools.

Of course, figure out your preferences and rank accordingly. But know that your kid will be completely fine at choice #1 or choice #12.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This was my advice: https://medium.com/@harkinna/why-you-dont-need-to-worry-about-the-dc-school-lottery-39be607e9c26

Good advice. Care to share where you landed? I’m always curious to hear the aftermath.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This was my advice: https://medium.com/@harkinna/why-you-dont-need-to-worry-about-the-dc-school-lottery-39be607e9c26

Good advice. Care to share where you landed? I’m always curious to hear the aftermath.

She is at LAMB

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In general you can't just walk into schools and have them show you around--there are security protocols to keep strangers out, and it's distracting to the staff and students. Check the school's website, twitter, or facebook pages as well as local listservs and the myschooldc website for open house dates. If you can't find out from that, email the principal or the PTA if there is one.

This is right. But I will say if you’re trying to get a head start, Stokes is having yours this fall also. My daughter’s experience there so far has been great and I’m blown away by how much French she’s learned in only a month. I’m sure it’s going to be the same now that she’s on the Spanish track. And I know everyone says Stokes is a long shot but just remember someone has to get in and be lucky enough to get these slots. My daughter was #10 for the Spanish waitlist, and everyone on this message board said she’d never get in with even that number, and here we are. So don’t be discouraged. Just so as much research as possible and be strategic about how you pick and rank your schools. Everything will work out the way it is supposed to.

Do you know how I can find information about the fall tours? I didn’t see anything on the school’s website or fb page.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One more recommendation: there has been a school fair in Brookland the last several years. It's worth going to. It's all parent-run and there are parents there from all the local schools and charters in Ward 5. Will probably be in the winter sometime at Menkiti. Informal mixer type setup. You can get a little more personal views on schools there.

I’m the PP who just asked about Stokes tours. I also couldn’t find info about a Brookland school fair. Any idea how I can learn more/stay informed about that? Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Keep your powder dry. When does the lottery close? March? If you're that anxious, hire a consultant with your friends.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In general you can't just walk into schools and have them show you around--there are security protocols to keep strangers out, and it's distracting to the staff and students. Check the school's website, twitter, or facebook pages as well as local listservs and the myschooldc website for open house dates. If you can't find out from that, email the principal or the PTA if there is one.

This is right. But I will say if you’re trying to get a head start, Stokes is having yours this fall also. My daughter’s experience there so far has been great and I’m blown away by how much French she’s learned in only a month. I’m sure it’s going to be the same now that she’s on the Spanish track. And I know everyone says Stokes is a long shot but just remember someone has to get in and be lucky enough to get these slots. My daughter was #10 for the Spanish waitlist, and everyone on this message board said she’d never get in with even that number, and here we are. So don’t be discouraged. Just so as much research as possible and be strategic about how you pick and rank your schools. Everything will work out the way it is supposed to.

Do you know how I can find information about the fall tours? I didn’t see anything on the school’s website or fb page.

Call the school and ask.