PK3 list critique - Park View/Petworth

[Anonymous]

My DC does Spanish immersion at LAMB. It has been wonderful. It is nuts how quickly children pick up a new language. We thought it was going to be a difficult transition but it has been surprisingly easy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:CMI is accessible from Park View and great for ECE if you don’t get Bruce Monroe.

If you don't get into Bruce Monroe in-bounds, you probably won't get into CMI, either.

So unfortunately we aren’t going to rank CMI. I’ll share just for any other parent reading this trying to decide - I went to the Saturday open house and loved the campus and the outdoor space and was so excited about it. Then we went on a tour during the afternoon when class was actually in session. Two of the pre k rooms were blaring loud music (ex. Frozen soundtrack). The big bright windows had dark curtains over them inexplicably. The rooms just looked like chaos. We are at a daycare now with a mixed age room so I’m not a stranger to what free play in a class with ages 3-5 looks like - but what we saw at CMI just seemed nuts. The teachers looked depressed and not engaged. Other school tours have just had a really different, calmer feel to me, even during free play time.

I was really bummed because the location is great and I was so prepared to love it, but we won’t rank it.

I'm not sure what you walked in on, but my kid is in PK3 at CMI and it's unbelievably awesome. She's even happier than at her prior federal daycare, which I also loved. Tours are tough because you only get a snapshot and I know that first impressions mean a lot. But our experience has been nothing but fantastic. And, as for depressed teachers, there have been some tough bugs going around school so it's possible someone was not feeling well that day-- but who knows. I've had bad tours of schools before that other people say are great, so I know how it can affect your viewpoint. Good luck!

OP here, thanks for sharing your experience! I'm glad to hear your daughter has been happy there. Maybe we'll still rank it and visit again if that's where we get in...could have been an off day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:CMI is accessible from Park View and great for ECE if you don’t get Bruce Monroe.

If you don't get into Bruce Monroe in-bounds, you probably won't get into CMI, either.

So unfortunately we aren’t going to rank CMI. I’ll share just for any other parent reading this trying to decide - I went to the Saturday open house and loved the campus and the outdoor space and was so excited about it. Then we went on a tour during the afternoon when class was actually in session. Two of the pre k rooms were blaring loud music (ex. Frozen soundtrack). The big bright windows had dark curtains over them inexplicably. The rooms just looked like chaos. We are at a daycare now with a mixed age room so I’m not a stranger to what free play in a class with ages 3-5 looks like - but what we saw at CMI just seemed nuts. The teachers looked depressed and not engaged. Other school tours have just had a really different, calmer feel to me, even during free play time.

I was really bummed because the location is great and I was so prepared to love it, but we won’t rank it.

I'm not sure what you walked in on, but my kid is in PK3 at CMI and it's unbelievably awesome. She's even happier than at her prior federal daycare, which I also loved. Tours are tough because you only get a snapshot and I know that first impressions mean a lot. But our experience has been nothing but fantastic. And, as for depressed teachers, there have been some tough bugs going around school so it's possible someone was not feeling well that day-- but who knows. I've had bad tours of schools before that other people say are great, so I know how it can affect your viewpoint. Good luck!

OP here, thanks for sharing your experience! I'm glad to hear your daughter has been happy there. Maybe we'll still rank it and visit again if that's where we get in...could have been an off day.

I second this. Our experience at CMI for ECE was amazing. DC loved his teachers, the school, and still talks about it a year later. We just switched ithis year in K because we awaited language immersion and was lucky into getting in a good charter but would have stayed if that was not the case.

[Anonymous]

BM parent here of a 1st grader. The school is real hidden gem, few beahvioral issues, very low staff turnover, high quality experience teachers. I have heard any complaints about the full PK spanish immersion. but I think its due to the rapid gentrification and more kids coming in with no spanish background. By K it goes to one day spanish/one day english. We are in walking distance and its great to run into families and friends on the walk in each day. We are staying put. Just worred about middle school. But prepare to be waitlisted. I think you want a number 15 or lower to have any chance of getting into PK even if you are IB,

[Anonymous]

I'd switch ITDS and DC Prep on your list.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:CMI is accessible from Park View and great for ECE if you don’t get Bruce Monroe.

If you don't get into Bruce Monroe in-bounds, you probably won't get into CMI, either.

So unfortunately we aren’t going to rank CMI. I’ll share just for any other parent reading this trying to decide - I went to the Saturday open house and loved the campus and the outdoor space and was so excited about it. Then we went on a tour during the afternoon when class was actually in session. Two of the pre k rooms were blaring loud music (ex. Frozen soundtrack). The big bright windows had dark curtains over them inexplicably. The rooms just looked like chaos. We are at a daycare now with a mixed age room so I’m not a stranger to what free play in a class with ages 3-5 looks like - but what we saw at CMI just seemed nuts. The teachers looked depressed and not engaged. Other school tours have just had a really different, calmer feel to me, even during free play time.

I was really bummed because the location is great and I was so prepared to love it, but we won’t rank it.

I'm not sure what you walked in on, but my kid is in PK3 at CMI and it's unbelievably awesome. She's even happier than at her prior federal daycare, which I also loved. Tours are tough because you only get a snapshot and I know that first impressions mean a lot. But our experience has been nothing but fantastic. And, as for depressed teachers, there have been some tough bugs going around school so it's possible someone was not feeling well that day-- but who knows. I've had bad tours of schools before that other people say are great, so I know how it can affect your viewpoint. Good luck!

PP, why do you think CMI went so much deeper into its waitlist last year? And why is the waitlist so much shorter than in prior years?

I think a few things were going on, including MV8 opening and various vocal posters on this board. Personally, I don't really care about WL movement, it just means kids who got bad lottery draws get in. It's certainly a year of transition with an ED search and strategic planning, but, even with all of that, our year has gone smoothly and we really like the community. We plan to stay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:BM parent here of a 1st grader. The school is real hidden gem, few beahvioral issues, very low staff turnover, high quality experience teachers. I have heard any complaints about the full PK spanish immersion. but I think its due to the rapid gentrification and more kids coming in with no spanish background. By K it goes to one day spanish/one day english. We are in walking distance and its great to run into families and friends on the walk in each day. We are staying put. Just worred about middle school. But prepare to be waitlisted. I think you want a number 15 or lower to have any chance of getting into PK even if you are IB,

+100 Also have kids at Bruce Monroe and love it. It really is a great neighborhood school -- wonderful families, teachers, administration. Wishing you good luck in the lottery! I think you mentioned you were IB, so you can always come for K if the PK years don't work out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BM parent here of a 1st grader. The school is real hidden gem, few beahvioral issues, very low staff turnover, high quality experience teachers. I have heard any complaints about the full PK spanish immersion. but I think its due to the rapid gentrification and more kids coming in with no spanish background. By K it goes to one day spanish/one day english. We are in walking distance and its great to run into families and friends on the walk in each day. We are staying put. Just worred about middle school. But prepare to be waitlisted. I think you want a number 15 or lower to have any chance of getting into PK even if you are IB,

+100 Also have kids at Bruce Monroe and love it. It really is a great neighborhood school -- wonderful families, teachers, administration. Wishing you good luck in the lottery! I think you mentioned you were IB, so you can always come for K if the PK years don't work out.

BM mom here. I expect the school will start seeing a significant uptick in enrollment of IB kids at K. I know three families IB who did not get in for PK as english dominant but plan to come back for K

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:CMI is accessible from Park View and great for ECE if you don’t get Bruce Monroe.

If you don't get into Bruce Monroe in-bounds, you probably won't get into CMI, either.

So unfortunately we aren’t going to rank CMI. I’ll share just for any other parent reading this trying to decide - I went to the Saturday open house and loved the campus and the outdoor space and was so excited about it. Then we went on a tour during the afternoon when class was actually in session. Two of the pre k rooms were blaring loud music (ex. Frozen soundtrack). The big bright windows had dark curtains over them inexplicably. The rooms just looked like chaos. We are at a daycare now with a mixed age room so I’m not a stranger to what free play in a class with ages 3-5 looks like - but what we saw at CMI just seemed nuts. The teachers looked depressed and not engaged. Other school tours have just had a really different, calmer feel to me, even during free play time.

I was really bummed because the location is great and I was so prepared to love it, but we won’t rank it.

I'm not sure what you walked in on, but my kid is in PK3 at CMI and it's unbelievably awesome. She's even happier than at her prior federal daycare, which I also loved. Tours are tough because you only get a snapshot and I know that first impressions mean a lot. But our experience has been nothing but fantastic. And, as for depressed teachers, there have been some tough bugs going around school so it's possible someone was not feeling well that day-- but who knows. I've had bad tours of schools before that other people say are great, so I know how it can affect your viewpoint. Good luck!

I have a PreK kid and have worked in schools -- and I agree with tours being tough. Also, asking the tour guide WHY something is happening is an okay thing to do. Some PreK rooms have blackout curtains for nap-time, so if you were there post-nap, they may have been down, or there was a major glare. And -- I can't give a reason for loud music, but the Frozen soundtrack is all over the place. Kids love dancing to it and singing the songs. Songs don't have to be about colors or numbers to be educational. Playing music and encouraging kids to sing helps develop language skills, and Frozen is huge motivator.