Murch vs. Janney

[Anonymous]

We are in boundary for Murch, but I have heard mixed reviews of it. By contrast, I have heard nothing but good things about Janney (minus a recent post about the facilities). Am I correct to assume that out-of-boundary is a near impossibility at Janney. And, I know this will sound stupid, but I just get a better vibe from Janney and it seems happier, smaller, more personal. I admit to having more friends with kids at Janney, so I tend to hear more about it. I would love to hear more about the two schools, especially as to how their environments might be for a shy, but very bright child who does best in smaller groups.

[Anonymous]

I'm in Murch, as well, and I feel like I hear equally good (and bad) things about both schools. For Janney, the "bad" involves overcrowding and concerns about the library development next door. For Murch, I hear mixed things about the principal.

I think they're both probably really great schools and would be happy to send my kid to either one. And I feel lucky that I'm in boundary for one of them and thus don't have to worry about the OOB process.

[Anonymous]

If you're starting in preK you still have to worry. I'm sure you know that not all preK kids get a spot!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you're starting in preK you still have to worry. I'm sure you know that not all preK kids get a spot!

Yes, I do know that, but I'll just keep my first at his pre-school for pre-K if he doesn't get into Murch. And my second will get top priority as a sibling. Also, it looks like DCPS may be taking over all aspects of pre-K lottery, which means Murch likely won't have an OOB-sibling-preference policy anymore; if that's the case, our chances increase substantially.

Regardless, my approach is neighborhood school unless there is a really compelling reason not to go there. I haven't heard anything compelling about Janney or Murch that would make me think twice about sending my kids to either school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Yes, I do know that, but I'll just keep my first at his pre-school for pre-K if he doesn't get into Murch. And my second will get top priority as a sibling. Also, it looks like DCPS may be taking over all aspects of pre-K lottery, which means Murch likely won't have an OOB-sibling-preference policy anymore; if that's the case, our chances increase substantially.

I got here when dc was in 1st grade so I don't know anything about the pre-k lottery. However, when we were dealing with the lottery for the upper grades, the OOB-sibling preference was in effect as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Yes, I do know that, but I'll just keep my first at his pre-school for pre-K if he doesn't get into Murch. And my second will get top priority as a sibling. Also, it looks like DCPS may be taking over all aspects of pre-K lottery, which means Murch likely won't have an OOB-sibling-preference policy anymore; if that's the case, our chances increase substantially.

I got here when dc was in 1st grade so I don't know anything about the pre-k lottery. However, when we were dealing with the lottery for the upper grades, the OOB-sibling preference was in effect as well.

It's an issue only in pre-K because there are limited slots, unlike K-5, where all in-boundary kids are guaranteed admission. So, until this year, some schools were giving preference to OOB siblings over in-boundary firstborns for pre-K, which has frustrated a lot of in-boundary parents. In the upper grades, the OOB sibling preference means that siblings get preference over OOB firstborns, once all in-boundary kids are seated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm in Murch, as well, and I feel like I hear equally good (and bad) things about both schools. For Janney, the "bad" involves overcrowding and concerns about the library development next door. For Murch, I hear mixed things about the principal.
[snip!]

I'm not in-boundary for either school (so have no dog in this fight), but I've done a ton of tours of both neighborhood and charter schools over the past few months and actually found Janney's principal to be the least impressive of the lot so far (by a pretty comfortable margin). Janney's vice principal seemed quite good, though.

(For anyone wondering, Lafayette's principal is in a league of her own. Wow. All the others have seemed fine/good/in a pretty tight cluster between the Janney and Lafayette extremes.)

[Anonymous]

to pp, can you elaborate on why janney's principal did not seem impressive to you ?
i am, or my kids are, in boundary for janney

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:to pp, can you elaborate on why janney's principal did not seem impressive to you ?
i am, or my kids are, in boundary for janney

With the obvious caveat that this was only one, relatively brief observation: She spoke in that falsely confident way that people who doubt their own competence speak (i.e., somewhat condescending grand language laced with hyper-urbanisms). More telling was that the kids brought in as our guides who were sitting on the stage behind her as she spoke were, to a one, not paying attention to her as she described their school. In contrast, when the vice principal spoke, they largely perked up and tuned in.

If I lived in-boundary at Janney, I'd send my kinds there largely without qualms. I certainly wouldn't move just to send them to a different NW elementary school. Living in-boundary for a truly lousy school gives me the "opportunity" to weigh the pros and cons of various options, all of which would entail some degree of uprooting. In that analysis, Janney's principal would fall into my "con" column, but Janney also has many pros, and perhaps the principal will grow into her position (I understand that she's relatively new).