Watkins vs Ross

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are you unhappy at Watkins, OP? That may help us advise you.

This would be ourfirst year at Watkins

Are you the one who posted several weeks ago about falling in love with a house IB for the Cluster? Everything we said to you there about Watkins stands. What are you apprehensive about precisely?

[Anonymous]

The current 3rd grade class at Ross is losing some kids next year for various reasons, so your child has a good chance of getting in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The current 3rd grade class at Ross is losing some kids next year for various reasons, so your child has a good chance of getting in.

only if they take more kids. Ross doesn't tend to backfill for the testing grades.

[Anonymous]

Op commented several days ago that her child got accepted to Ross.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The current 3rd grade class at Ross is losing some kids next year for various reasons, so your child has a good chance of getting in.

only if they take more kids. Ross doesn't tend to backfill for the testing grades.

Which is bs and not how things are supposed to work at all. But carry on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The current 3rd grade class at Ross is losing some kids next year for various reasons, so your child has a good chance of getting in.

only if they take more kids. Ross doesn't tend to backfill for the testing grades.

Which is bs and not how things are supposed to work at all. But carry on.

Ladies. The school at 110% of capacity. And you want them to admit kids off the wait list. Give me a break.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The current 3rd grade class at Ross is losing some kids next year for various reasons, so your child has a good chance of getting in.

only if they take more kids. Ross doesn't tend to backfill for the testing grades.

Which is bs and not how things are supposed to work at all. But carry on.

Ladies. The school at 110% of capacity. And you want them to admit kids off the wait list. Give me a break.

They are not overcapacity for the higher grades. Their 4th and 5th grades are really underenrolled. The fifth grade had less than 20 kids a few years back. They might be full in the lower grades, but they have steady attrition, mostly based on families moving out of the catchment for larger homes as they have more kids, or for a different feeder pattern. They could accept more kids off the waitlist for upper grades if they wanted to. They don't want to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The current 3rd grade class at Ross is losing some kids next year for various reasons, so your child has a good chance of getting in.

only if they take more kids. Ross doesn't tend to backfill for the testing grades.

Which is bs and not how things are supposed to work at all. But carry on.

Ladies. The school at 110% of capacity. And you want them to admit kids off the wait list. Give me a break.

They are not overcapacity for the higher grades. Their 4th and 5th grades are really underenrolled. The fifth grade had less than 20 kids a few years back. They might be full in the lower grades, but they have steady attrition, mostly based on families moving out of the catchment for larger homes as they have more kids, or for a different feeder pattern. They could accept more kids off the waitlist for upper grades if they wanted to. They don't want to.

This was the case a few years back. The upper grades are in the mid 20s now as the majority follow the feed to SWW at Francis.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The current 3rd grade class at Ross is losing some kids next year for various reasons, so your child has a good chance of getting in.

only if they take more kids. Ross doesn't tend to backfill for the testing grades.

Which is bs and not how things are supposed to work at all. But carry on.

Ladies. The school at 110% of capacity. And you want them to admit kids off the wait list. Give me a break.

They are not overcapacity for the higher grades. Their 4th and 5th grades are really underenrolled. The fifth grade had less than 20 kids a few years back. They might be full in the lower grades, but they have steady attrition, mostly based on families moving out of the catchment for larger homes as they have more kids, or for a different feeder pattern. They could accept more kids off the waitlist for upper grades if they wanted to. They don't want to.

This was the case a few years back. The upper grades are in the mid 20s now as the majority follow the feed to SWW at Francis.

Since OP confirmed they were offered a spot for 4th last week, I think the issue is what is a better fit looking forward to middle school, will they fit better with the Ross or Watkins communities, and how much the commute will matter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She eventually got off the waiting list. I would appreciate parents that have their kids at these schools to please provide me some insights.
I see people putting Ross in their lottery application but never watkins, so that makes me believe ine is much better than other

As a current Ross parent, we love the school community and are mostly happy with the school staff. However, I'm not sure it would be as great for a family living on Capitol Hill. Part of the reason we love it is that most of the families live nearby, making it easy to organize outings, playdates, etc. Some days we walk down the street and see five kids we know, and we rarely go to Stead Park without having a Ross kid to play with. The academics are another positive, and the staff are generally good at making sure that kids don't fall through the cracks and that those who extra need help get it quickly. I can't compare it with Watkins, but we are pleased with Ross overall.

[Anonymous]

Ross looks very similar to our current school (out of state).
They called us to let us know they will also accept our 1st grader with sibling preference. I feel bad not giving Watkins a chance without even trying. We did visit it though. It just Ross looks more appealing to us because similar size to kids cuerrent school.
I am very torn because I dont think commute will be fun.
Any Ross and Watkins parents out there?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ross looks very similar to our current school (out of state).
They called us to let us know they will also accept our 1st grader with sibling preference. I feel bad not giving Watkins a chance without even trying. We did visit it though. It just Ross looks more appealing to us because similar size to kids cuerrent school.
I am very torn because I dont think commute will be fun.
Any Ross and Watkins parents out there?

You have gotten advice on this thread and your prior ones about moving IB for the Cluster. You are right that Ross and Watkins are far different in size and if that is what you are comfortable with, then move forward and make peace with yourself. It will be fine. I do think that part of the appeal of any neighborhood school is the connections you make with neighbors. Moving onto the Hill without being at a Hill school will be more of a challenge but SOTH and other activities can make up for that. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ross looks very similar to our current school (out of state).
They called us to let us know they will also accept our 1st grader with sibling preference. I feel bad not giving Watkins a chance without even trying. We did visit it though. It just Ross looks more appealing to us because similar size to kids cuerrent school.
I am very torn because I dont think commute will be fun.
Any Ross and Watkins parents out there?

You have gotten advice on this thread and your prior ones about moving IB for the Cluster. You are right that Ross and Watkins are far different in size and if that is what you are comfortable with, then move forward and make peace with yourself. It will be fine. I do think that part of the appeal of any neighborhood school is the connections you make with neighbors. Moving onto the Hill without being at a Hill school will be more of a challenge but SOTH and other activities can make up for that. Good luck.

do yourself a favor and either a) do the commute from the Hill to Dupont a few times during school days during morning rush hour (school dropoff is 8:35-8:45 unless you plan before care) and whatever time you plan on picking up (aftercare or no); or b) at a minimum run your routes there and back through Google maps with departure set to the appropriate times. Keep in mind that school activities/volunteering, events, etc require additional planning. Parking in Dupont is an absolute beast as a rule. Dupont Metro station is a short walk. Union Station is a longer one from much of the Watkins zone (aside from Stanton Park area) but you can always transfer from orange/blue to Red. Uber may be your friend.

Good luck

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ross looks very similar to our current school (out of state).
They called us to let us know they will also accept our 1st grader with sibling preference. I feel bad not giving Watkins a chance without even trying. We did visit it though. It just Ross looks more appealing to us because similar size to kids cuerrent school.
I am very torn because I dont think commute will be fun.
Any Ross and Watkins parents out there?

You have gotten advice on this thread and your prior ones about moving IB for the Cluster. You are right that Ross and Watkins are far different in size and if that is what you are comfortable with, then move forward and make peace with yourself. It will be fine. I do think that part of the appeal of any neighborhood school is the connections you make with neighbors. Moving onto the Hill without being at a Hill school will be more of a challenge but SOTH and other activities can make up for that. Good luck.

do yourself a favor and either a) do the commute from the Hill to Dupont a few times during school days during morning rush hour (school dropoff is 8:35-8:45 unless you plan before care) and whatever time you plan on picking up (aftercare or no); or b) at a minimum run your routes there and back through Google maps with departure set to the appropriate times. Keep in mind that school activities/volunteering, events, etc require additional planning. Parking in Dupont is an absolute beast as a rule. Dupont Metro station is a short walk. Union Station is a longer one from much of the Watkins zone (aside from Stanton Park area) but you can always transfer from orange/blue to Red. Uber may be your friend.

Good luck

Honestly I think this would be a horrible commute, day after day after day after day . . . . and you would miss out on the huge benefits of walking to your neighborhood school; playdates with all the neighborhood school friends . . . not worth it for elementary school (given that Watkins is a solid option)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The current 3rd grade class at Ross is losing some kids next year for various reasons, so your child has a good chance of getting in.

only if they take more kids. Ross doesn't tend to backfill for the testing grades.

Which is bs and not how things are supposed to work at all. But carry on.

Ladies. The school at 110% of capacity. And you want them to admit kids off the wait list. Give me a break.

They are not overcapacity for the higher grades. Their 4th and 5th grades are really underenrolled. The fifth grade had less than 20 kids a few years back. They might be full in the lower grades, but they have steady attrition, mostly based on families moving out of the catchment for larger homes as they have more kids, or for a different feeder pattern. They could accept more kids off the waitlist for upper grades if they wanted to. They don't want to.

This was the case a few years back. The upper grades are in the mid 20s now as the majority follow the feed to SWW at Francis.

The DC school report card shows they have 14 5th graders this year.