moving to DC: elementary school recs/how to apply

[Anonymous]

We are moving to DC from Boston. We have a first grader in the Boston public schools and are trying to learn more about different DC elementary schools. What schools would you recommend and why? Also, can you explain how the school assignment policy works? Are children assigned to the school nearest their home, or is there some application or lottery system? (In Boston, it's enormously complicated, so assume it's probably the same way in DC.) many thanks!

[Anonymous]

You might do a search on schools on this board since this has been discussed quite often but here are the basics:

Your child is assigned to the school you are in-boundaries for BUT....you can apply once a year (in January I believe) in the lottery for three different schools to attend out-of-boundary in schools which have additional openings (you folks who have done this more recently please correct me if I am wrong). There are also a lot of charter schools, most of which are meant to serve low-income kids but there are a few which are popular with DC's middle-class parents. The charter schools have to take whoever applies and if there are more kids than slots they also hold a lottery.

Another strategy is to rent in-boundaries for the school you want your child to attend and then the following year buy in a neighborhood you like/can afford and continue to send your child to the same school out-of-boundaries. That's what we did -- although we didn't do it as an intentional strategy.

The most highly regarded schools tend to be in the wealthiest neighborhoods and you will see their names often on these boards. People mention Lafayette, Mann, Janney, Murch, Key, Oyster-Adams (bilingual) generally. There is more dispute (I don't know why) about other good schools such as Hyde (where my kid went), Stoddert, Hearst. I'm sure there are more schools but that's all I can think of for now.


However, if you narrow down your neighborhood search you should investigate directly all the possible schools in the neighborhood. With gentrification, young middle class people who have small children are now staying in DC and working with their local schools rather than moving to the suburbs. For example, in Capitol Hill, it used to be that people wanted to send their kids to Peabody and Watkins (part of the Capitol Hill Cluster schools) and that's all you ever heard of. But now on the neighborhood listserve I am hearing good things about Brent, Maury, Ludlow-Taylor, and Tyler.

Of course it depends on what you're looking for and your level of willingness to work with a school but for some people it is doable. And it also depends on what kind of neighborhood you want to live in and how much you can afford.

But I promise you, if you bring it up on these boards, someone will debate it! Good luck!

[Anonymous]

i am from boston and my sister teaches in brookline public schools. what system are you coming from and what do you like/not like about it?

[Anonymous]

am coming from Boston public schools, and have been very happy with quality of teachers and effectiveness of admin. It's a very large elem school (600+ students) but well-resourced. love the diversity and richness of backgrounds (our daughters' school is in Chinatown, and 75% Asian, mostly new immigrants) and rich pedagogy of teachers (many of them teach at nearby universities in the early ed programs). Main drawback I suppose is that the tight-knit community surrounding the neighborhood understandably keeps a pretty close circle among its own and we have had a hard time on the socialization front over the years (I have a 7th grader who went there 5 years before as well). is that helpful as background?

14:05, thank you so much for your great insights! We will certainly do a followup search on this forum to read more, but this is a terrific kick start to our efforts. I am very grateful!

[Anonymous]

Just looked at the post article, and wow, there are so many charters.

There's a general consensus on DCUM of the best NW public schools -- is there a similar consensus on the best charters?

Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just looked at the post article, and wow, there are so many charters.

There's a general consensus on DCUM of the best NW public schools -- is there a similar consensus on the best charters?

Thanks.

Two of the best are Capitol City and E.L. Haynes.

Some DCUM parents seem to like Washington Latin Public CHarter School as well.

[Anonymous]

If you are living in downtown Boston and enjoy it, you might want to look on Capitol Hill. Large parts of upper NW probably are more like Brookline (quasi-urban) than the city.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just looked at the post article, and wow, there are so many charters.

There's a general consensus on DCUM of the best NW public schools -- is there a similar consensus on the best charters?

Thanks.

Two of the best are Capitol City and E.L. Haynes.

Some DCUM parents seem to like Washington Latin Public CHarter School as well.

Also look at Two Rivers, which gets a lot of acclaim. And Washington Yu Ying (the brand-new Mandarin Immersion school), but only if your children are young enough.

[Anonymous]

OP, when are you planning to move?

Your 1st-grader is just young enough to apply to Washington Yu Ying (the school is growing from Pre-K to 8, but right now the oldest class is 1st grade). Your DC would have to attend (school-run) Mandarin language camp in August, but would graduate 8th grade bilingual and biliterate in English and Chinese. The school follows the International Baccalaureate curriculum framework. You can learn more at:

http://www.washingtonyuying.org/

[Anonymous]

Or you could apply OOB (Out of Boundry) for Thomson Elementary, which also teaches Chinese, and follows an IB curriculum. Thomson is located downtown, and is a very good school.