Just keep playing the lottery and eventually it will work out...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If your kid is a kid who needs a crop of high achievers around to do well, and you want a guarantee of that k-12, just move now. If your kid will sink to the lowest common denominator (and even Deal or Churchill are going to have slackers/addicts/cutters/etc.) then you're probably going to need to go private eventually so you might as well save on housing.

If you have a 4 year old, you probably don't know how he will be 5-10 years from now so it may make sense to stay where you are as long as your kid is happy and learning (and if he isn't because of distance learning, it's not going to be much better in other districts in the DMV) and figure things out once you have a better sense of your kid. [/quote

OP here. Thank you so much for this. In all of the stress over the lottery, one thing I'm grateful for is that it's given us TIME to figure out what kind of student our kid will be before having to commit to a school pathway. Most people go to their neighborhood school and stick it out, regardless of whether it's the best fit. If we had won the lottery in PK3 or PK4, we'd probably be vested in making it work just like in a neighborhood school. But what do you think - do you think you can get a sense of your child by first or second? Of course things can change, but generally speaking? What age is "old enough" to know what your kid needs from a school?

[Anonymous]

Maybe all of you should actually send your kids to your neighborhood public schools and then invest the time and effort to make those schools better rather than undermining that effort and adding to traffic congestion and global warming by racing all over town?

There is a good reason some people hate gentrifiers - if Shaw is good enough to live in it should be good enough for your kids to go to school with the children of color of long time residents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If your kid is a kid who needs a crop of high achievers around to do well, and you want a guarantee of that k-12, just move now. If your kid will sink to the lowest common denominator (and even Deal or Churchill are going to have slackers/addicts/cutters/etc.) then you're probably going to need to go private eventually so you might as well save on housing.

If you have a 4 year old, you probably don't know how he will be 5-10 years from now so it may make sense to stay where you are as long as your kid is happy and learning (and if he isn't because of distance learning, it's not going to be much better in other districts in the DMV) and figure things out once you have a better sense of your kid. [/quote

OP here. Thank you so much for this. In all of the stress over the lottery, one thing I'm grateful for is that it's given us TIME to figure out what kind of student our kid will be before having to commit to a school pathway. Most people go to their neighborhood school and stick it out, regardless of whether it's the best fit. If we had won the lottery in PK3 or PK4, we'd probably be vested in making it work just like in a neighborhood school. But what do you think - do you think you can get a sense of your child by first or second? Of course things can change, but generally speaking? What age is "old enough" to know what your kid needs from a school?

Well, our daughter spoke English early and often, so we assumed she would like immersion, turns out that science is her passion.

You may know by age 7 or so if you need to select a school for its special needs offerings,. Also, a lot can just change for your family and in the school system. My work location and commute has changed. We had a third child so we really liked having a school where all 3 could be together. And schools that seemed fab to me as a naive preschool parent, when I didn't have friends with older children to give me the real scoop, I can now see are not that great for upper grades. I had assumed schools would improve in time, but some do and some don't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here again, thanks all, this is reassuring. Still not sure if we'll have the patience to stick it out indefinitely, but it's heartening to read these reassurances. Though with DCI not being guaranteed anymore, the prospect of playing until first or second, then starting all over again in fifth or sixth is REALLY unappealing. One thing if you get into your DCI feeder in PK then have 6-7 years before thinking of the lottery again, another if you are playing the lottery more years than not...

I think it's hard to predict what your kid will need and I think it's hard to predict what other stressful things will come up in your life so if you're already wondering about patience to stick it out, I would make the decision that takes the least amount of patience and mental wherewithal. Build up your reserves now so you'll be able to handle things you can't 'protect' against with more emotional/mental reserves. Education in DC only gets more stressful, not less so as you get to MS and HS (I have one in each and it's not been an easy road let alone other things that come up in life; if I could do it again, I'd go the easier route of an established suburban school to remove a source of stress/uncertainty. And I would have said this even before coronavirus)

[Anonymous]

Thanks again, PP. I was thinking around 7/second grade. Appreciate the perspective of an experienced parent.

If you don't mind dishing anonymously, what schools are those that seemed fab? Don't want to get into a school specific debate, but that's another thing in the back of my mind - how happy are these lottery "winners" going to be by 3rd or 4th grade? The only schools I hear consistently positive feedback on through the upper grades is DCB and LAMB if you're into Montessori. But then you still have the unknowns of DCI in a few years.

[Anonymous]

I think that, as with all anonymous internet message boards, you should take what you read here with a grain of salt. Which is not to say everything is wrong, but that complaints about schools may be disproportionate to most parent/student experiences.

One issue to keep in mind, even the "best" schools have problems. Sometimes schools get so built up in people's minds, that it can be a rude awakening when they actually get to a school and realize it's not a perfect utopia.

I have kids in upper elementary, and based on the experience of people I know, I would send me kids to the following (not to say, or to suggest, these are the only schools, just ones where I know people, and would be happy to go to): ITS, Cap City, Lee, 2 Rivers, EL Haynes, DCB, and LAMB.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think that, as with all anonymous internet message boards, you should take what you read here with a grain of salt. Which is not to say everything is wrong, but that complaints about schools may be disproportionate to most parent/student experiences.

One issue to keep in mind, even the "best" schools have problems. Sometimes schools get so built up in people's minds, that it can be a rude awakening when they actually get to a school and realize it's not a perfect utopia.

I have kids in upper elementary, and based on the experience of people I know, I would send me kids to the following (not to say, or to suggest, these are the only schools, just ones where I know people, and would be happy to go to): ITS, Cap City, Lee, 2 Rivers, EL Haynes, DCB, and LAMB.

+1 Would add Stokes Brookland, YY and Powell

[Anonymous]

Thanks! What about schools that get built up in people's minds, but you would NOT send your kids to?

Interesting to hear Powell, any other "below the radar" DCPS options that upper elementary families seem happy at? Middle school concerns aside...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks! What about schools that get built up in people's minds, but you would NOT send your kids to?

Interesting to hear Powell, any other "below the radar" DCPS options that upper elementary families seem happy at? Middle school concerns aside...

I would suggest Seaton, Bruce-Monroe, and Whittier as under the radar winners. Whittier's stats are very impressive and it is a slightly more affordable area if you want an actual yard. Langley has a long way to go still, but from my old lady perspective it has made amazing strides in the past 4-5 years. Van Ness and Amidon-Bowen as well. For up and coming middles, I think Brookland and Wells bear watching.

I would not send my child to SSMA after K. And the stores I hear from MV P St leave me astonished. CMI is underperforming its demographics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks! What about schools that get built up in people's minds, but you would NOT send your kids to?

Interesting to hear Powell, any other "below the radar" DCPS options that upper elementary families seem happy at? Middle school concerns aside...

I would suggest Seaton, Bruce-Monroe, and Whittier as under the radar winners. Whittier's stats are very impressive and it is a slightly more affordable area if you want an actual yard. Langley has a long way to go still, but from my old lady perspective it has made amazing strides in the past 4-5 years. Van Ness and Amidon-Bowen as well. For up and coming middles, I think Brookland and Wells bear watching.

I would not send my child to SSMA after K. And the stores I hear from MV P St leave me astonished. CMI is underperforming its demographics.

Seaton is hardly under the radar. And all of the dual enrollment DCPS are hard to crack OOB.

[Anonymous]

I'm PP above (at 11:19) who listed schools where I knew people and would be happy to send my kids. For some reason I had not understood the question to be about DCPS schools so did not include any of those. We also have several friends in DCPS schools that seem happy and would definitely second the recommendations for both Powell, Bruce-Monroe, and Whittier. I don't really think Shepherd or Bancroft count as "under the radar" but our friends there also seem happy in upper grades.

We have friends with kids younger than ours (so possibly closer in age to you) that seem happy at L-T, TEC, West, and Garrison (but time will tell if they stay - obviously a choice with many factors).

I am also watching Wells and Truth for MS. Too early to tell, but I'm choosing to hope for success for both of them.

[Anonymous]

What do you mean by "dual enrollment" DCPS? Not familiar with that term.

Thanks again, PP, really appreciate it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks! What about schools that get built up in people's minds, but you would NOT send your kids to?

Interesting to hear Powell, any other "below the radar" DCPS options that upper elementary families seem happy at? Middle school concerns aside...

I would suggest Seaton, Bruce-Monroe, and Whittier as under the radar winners. Whittier's stats are very impressive and it is a slightly more affordable area if you want an actual yard. Langley has a long way to go still, but from my old lady perspective it has made amazing strides in the past 4-5 years. Van Ness and Amidon-Bowen as well. For up and coming middles, I think Brookland and Wells bear watching.

I would not send my child to SSMA after K. And the stores I hear from MV P St leave me astonished. CMI is underperforming its demographics.

Seaton is hardly under the radar. And all of the dual enrollment DCPS are hard to crack OOB.

Kimball. Good metrics and outstanding playground. I envy it every time I pass by.

I thought we would love Stokes but the math scores put me off.

People tend to love Lee for ECE but retention is not great for 5th and 6th graders. Hopefully will improve in time.

[Anonymous]

While it is true that Seaton is not under the radar, it has historically (as recently as last year) cleared its waitlist for PK4 and K.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What do you mean by "dual enrollment" DCPS? Not familiar with that term.

Thanks again, PP, really appreciate it!

PP means dual language, I think. It is hard to get in OOB unless your children speak Spanish as their dominant language or are at least pretty good at it.