Capitol Hill families - If you moved to NW or burbs for school, do you have any regrets?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not buying it. Believe me, nobody who renovated a decrepit, gutted shell of a Hill row house 15 years ago, then got their own construction permits after the renovation budget didn't extend for a contractor or permit facilitator to do it for them, is overvaluing their efforts.

Things exactly weren't "going well" for most of us for 5 or 10 years after we bought. There was far more crime on the Hill in the early 2000s than there is now. Our house was burgled twice between 2008 and 2010. Even the best of the DCPS Hill elementary schools were still iffy in those days. At that time, in-bound parents of babies and toddlers would sometimes get involved in PTAs, even before the ECE years, to try to improve the schools.

What I see happening these days is parents who don't do nearly enough research, realistic thinking or back-up planning having a tendency to hit a wall on middle school if they lack lottery luck at BASIS or Latin. We've been putting money away for a back-up parochial middle school for a decade and went to a lot of hassle and test prep to prepare to apply to half a dozen. We're not wealthy--we earn 150K between us--but we planned to stay and have.

Having been there, that part just wasted everyone's time.

NP who doesn't know what you're getting us. DCPS elementary schools will take in-boundary volunteers where they can find them. To my knowledge, the parents of toddlers were the ones who got the ball rolling on major change at Brent 20 years ago, Maury 15 years ago, Ludlow 5 years ago. Good for them. Yes, if you don't want to move to the burbs for schools eventually, you do what you can to stay, starting now.

This whole line of argument is so absurd. The point here is not “what kind of random machination can someone do to stay on the Hill” but rather what the bulk of normal people have as dependable options. Useless suggestions include:

- plan to be rich and buy a $1+ house in N Arlington
- plan to have the money to send kids to private MS and HS (and of course plan to have your kids admitted)
- plan for your housing equity to double
- volunteer at the HS and MS starting when your child is 2, and plan for that to turnaround the schools in 10 years
- plan to get a spot at Latin or Basis

- focus on raising and educating kids, not on obsessive school quality comparisons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm tired of hearing 4th grade parents we've come up through Brent with expressing shock and dismay (and more shock and dismay) that they're way down on the BASIS and Latins waiting lists.

If you don't like being around CH parents who planned ahead for middle school, who made Plan B, for goodness sakes, move. Find your own kind elsewhere.

Well I guarantee the feeling is mutual. None of your fellow Brent 4th grade parents enjoy listening to you expound upon what a genius you are for having a MS plan that doesn't rely on charters, either. Especially if that genius plan involves "buying a house 15 years ago" or "being rich" or "simply not caring about the quality of my kids' schools."

Maybe you're the one who needs to go "find your own kind" and by that I mean: smug a$$holes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not buying it. Believe me, nobody who renovated a decrepit, gutted shell of a Hill row house 15 years ago, then got their own construction permits after the renovation budget didn't extend for a contractor or permit facilitator to do it for them, is overvaluing their efforts.

Things exactly weren't "going well" for most of us for 5 or 10 years after we bought. There was far more crime on the Hill in the early 2000s than there is now. Our house was burgled twice between 2008 and 2010. Even the best of the DCPS Hill elementary schools were still iffy in those days. At that time, in-bound parents of babies and toddlers would sometimes get involved in PTAs, even before the ECE years, to try to improve the schools.

What I see happening these days is parents who don't do nearly enough research, realistic thinking or back-up planning having a tendency to hit a wall on middle school if they lack lottery luck at BASIS or Latin. We've been putting money away for a back-up parochial middle school for a decade and went to a lot of hassle and test prep to prepare to apply to half a dozen. We're not wealthy--we earn 150K between us--but we planned to stay and have.

Having been there, that part just wasted everyone's time.

NP who doesn't know what you're getting us. DCPS elementary schools will take in-boundary volunteers where they can find them. To my knowledge, the parents of toddlers were the ones who got the ball rolling on major change at Brent 20 years ago, Maury 15 years ago, Ludlow 5 years ago. Good for them. Yes, if you don't want to move to the burbs for schools eventually, you do what you can to stay, starting now.

This whole line of argument is so absurd. The point here is not “what kind of random machination can someone do to stay on the Hill” but rather what the bulk of normal people have as dependable options. Useless suggestions include:

- plan to be rich and buy a $1+ house in N Arlington
- plan to have the money to send kids to private MS and HS (and of course plan to have your kids admitted)
- plan for your housing equity to double
- volunteer at the HS and MS starting when your child is 2, and plan for that to turnaround the schools in 10 years
- plan to get a spot at Latin or Basis

- focus on raising and educating kids, not on obsessive school quality comparisons.

DP, but yes, this is exactly the kind of useless suggestion the PP is talking about. "Focus on educating your kids, but ignore the fact that only a tiny sliver of Eastern's students are at or above grade level in any subject." Ok.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't get why people who move, feel this strong urge to justify their actions. Move on, do your thing, no need to beat ones who chose not to, instead focus on improving schools you picked.

I mean, this is a thread where the OP specifically asked people who moved to explain how they feel about it. So it's weird to complain about them... responding to the OP by explaining how they feel about it.

I don't get why people who did not move, and who don't intend to move, care so much about whether the people who did move are happy or not. If you're so content on CH, why are you even in a thread that is explicitly about moving away from it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most people on CH can’t afford to move or go private, so they are really stuck. However there are more charter high schools than the ones DCUM finds acceptable and many families I know send their kids to these high schools.

Total BS. Whether a family rents or buys on CH, the same money spent on rent and equity/mortgage payments could be spent on housing in the DC burbs. No middle-class family is stuck with mediocre or bad schooling options in Ward 6.

No, housing is relatively cheaper on the Hill. Many of us can’t trade up that easily.

Cheaper as compared to where? North and Central Arlington 3-bedroom houses and Hill houses are priced comparably (we've done lots of searching). Same with 3-bedroom rentals. Almost all of Fairfax and Falls Church and at least half of MoCo are cheaper than the Hill.

Not for schools that are clearly better.

NW DC, Arlington, Falls Church and MoCo zoned for the “good” schools have almosr nothing under $1m. 20002/20003 currently have 150+ 2br+ properties for under $1 mil. Fairfax is better but you start getting really deep into the burbs and trading off time for money.

This leaves families contemplating a move to the DCC or Richard Montgomery HS. At that point many Hill families will stick it out a bit longer to hope that Walls or McKinley or a cheaper Catholic HS will work out.

You keep saying this. But you've been told over and over again that things sell quickly in these areas so you just won't ever see lots of inventory at any price point. (At least not in the 7 years I've lived in Arlington.) There are never ever 150+ properties on the market in a single price range. You have to watch when things come up and pounce. It doesn't mean that there aren't options. It just means that they don't sit around.

This is not even remotely limited to Arlington. Houses in the Dc area sell fast. And i don’t know where you’re finding homes under 1 million on Capitol Hill. They don’t really exist.

As a final note- Arlington middle schools are not good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not buying it. Believe me, nobody who renovated a decrepit, gutted shell of a Hill row house 15 years ago, then got their own construction permits after the renovation budget didn't extend for a contractor or permit facilitator to do it for them, is overvaluing their efforts.

Things exactly weren't "going well" for most of us for 5 or 10 years after we bought. There was far more crime on the Hill in the early 2000s than there is now. Our house was burgled twice between 2008 and 2010. Even the best of the DCPS Hill elementary schools were still iffy in those days. At that time, in-bound parents of babies and toddlers would sometimes get involved in PTAs, even before the ECE years, to try to improve the schools.

What I see happening these days is parents who don't do nearly enough research, realistic thinking or back-up planning having a tendency to hit a wall on middle school if they lack lottery luck at BASIS or Latin. We've been putting money away for a back-up parochial middle school for a decade and went to a lot of hassle and test prep to prepare to apply to half a dozen. We're not wealthy--we earn 150K between us--but we planned to stay and have.

Having been there, that part just wasted everyone's time.

NP who doesn't know what you're getting us. DCPS elementary schools will take in-boundary volunteers where they can find them. To my knowledge, the parents of toddlers were the ones who got the ball rolling on major change at Brent 20 years ago, Maury 15 years ago, Ludlow 5 years ago. Good for them. Yes, if you don't want to move to the burbs for schools eventually, you do what you can to stay, starting now.

Maybe these Uber volunteers made a difference in elementary school but nothing really changed with middle and high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm tired of hearing 4th grade parents we've come up through Brent with expressing shock and dismay (and more shock and dismay) that they're way down on the BASIS and Latins waiting lists.

If you don't like being around CH parents who planned ahead for middle school, who made Plan B, for goodness sakes, move. Find your own kind elsewhere.

Well I guarantee the feeling is mutual. None of your fellow Brent 4th grade parents enjoy listening to you expound upon what a genius you are for having a MS plan that doesn't rely on charters, either. Especially if that genius plan involves "buying a house 15 years ago" or "being rich" or "simply not caring about the quality of my kids' schools."

Maybe you're the one who needs to go "find your own kind" and by that I mean: smug a$$holes.

I posted above but am not actually the poster you seem to be responding to.

We don't talk about our middle school plans with other Brent families. Far too many high SES Hill families don't seem to approach public middle school possibilities with their eyes open. If you're going to slam me for making that observation, be my guest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most people on CH can’t afford to move or go private, so they are really stuck. However there are more charter high schools than the ones DCUM finds acceptable and many families I know send their kids to these high schools.

Total BS. Whether a family rents or buys on CH, the same money spent on rent and equity/mortgage payments could be spent on housing in the DC burbs. No middle-class family is stuck with mediocre or bad schooling options in Ward 6.

No, housing is relatively cheaper on the Hill. Many of us can’t trade up that easily.

Cheaper as compared to where? North and Central Arlington 3-bedroom houses and Hill houses are priced comparably (we've done lots of searching). Same with 3-bedroom rentals. Almost all of Fairfax and Falls Church and at least half of MoCo are cheaper than the Hill.

Not for schools that are clearly better.

NW DC, Arlington, Falls Church and MoCo zoned for the “good” schools have almosr nothing under $1m. 20002/20003 currently have 150+ 2br+ properties for under $1 mil. Fairfax is better but you start getting really deep into the burbs and trading off time for money.

This leaves families contemplating a move to the DCC or Richard Montgomery HS. At that point many Hill families will stick it out a bit longer to hope that Walls or McKinley or a cheaper Catholic HS will work out.

You keep saying this. But you've been told over and over again that things sell quickly in these areas so you just won't ever see lots of inventory at any price point. (At least not in the 7 years I've lived in Arlington.) There are never ever 150+ properties on the market in a single price range. You have to watch when things come up and pounce. It doesn't mean that there aren't options. It just means that they don't sit around.

This is not even remotely limited to Arlington. Houses in the Dc area sell fast. And i don’t know where you’re finding homes under 1 million on Capitol Hill. They don’t really exist.

As a final note- Arlington middle schools are not good.

What is your basis for arguing this? I live on the Hill while my ex lives in Arlington. We split custody. I like the neighborhood MS my boys attend in Arlington, although it's not one of the several with the "most favorable demographics." My rising 8th grader has earned the grades to enroll in "intensified" (honors) classes across the board for his last year in MS, in science, math (geometry and algebra II), social studies (geography for HS credit), English and band. He's also going into his 3rd year of Chinese at the school. He's taken band as a daily class since 6th grade, learned to play a brass instrument well for free. For the most part, his teachers are strong, experienced, older, been at the school for many years. Admins tell me that intensified classes outside math will be available to younger son starting in 7th grade, a new county initiative.

At the several DCPS middle schools in Ward 6, which my ex and I considered, the only definite honors classes I heard about are for math, and maybe grade-level English at Stuart Hobson. If Arlington middle schools aren't good, where are they good in this area, other than the super duper GT test-in programs in Fairfax and MoCo serving less than 10% of students? Arlington doesn't have test-in GT, DCPS either of course.

[Anonymous]

All 6 Arlington neighborhood middle schools are popular with high SES neighborhood families. DCPS middle schools East of Rock Creek, not so much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most people on CH can’t afford to move or go private, so they are really stuck. However there are more charter high schools than the ones DCUM finds acceptable and many families I know send their kids to these high schools.

Total BS. Whether a family rents or buys on CH, the same money spent on rent and equity/mortgage payments could be spent on housing in the DC burbs. No middle-class family is stuck with mediocre or bad schooling options in Ward 6.

No, housing is relatively cheaper on the Hill. Many of us can’t trade up that easily.

Cheaper as compared to where? North and Central Arlington 3-bedroom houses and Hill houses are priced comparably (we've done lots of searching). Same with 3-bedroom rentals. Almost all of Fairfax and Falls Church and at least half of MoCo are cheaper than the Hill.

Not for schools that are clearly better.

NW DC, Arlington, Falls Church and MoCo zoned for the “good” schools have almosr nothing under $1m. 20002/20003 currently have 150+ 2br+ properties for under $1 mil. Fairfax is better but you start getting really deep into the burbs and trading off time for money.

This leaves families contemplating a move to the DCC or Richard Montgomery HS. At that point many Hill families will stick it out a bit longer to hope that Walls or McKinley or a cheaper Catholic HS will work out.

You keep saying this. But you've been told over and over again that things sell quickly in these areas so you just won't ever see lots of inventory at any price point. (At least not in the 7 years I've lived in Arlington.) There are never ever 150+ properties on the market in a single price range. You have to watch when things come up and pounce. It doesn't mean that there aren't options. It just means that they don't sit around.

This is not even remotely limited to Arlington. Houses in the Dc area sell fast. And i don’t know where you’re finding homes under 1 million on Capitol Hill. They don’t really exist.

As a final note- Arlington middle schools are not good.

What is your basis for arguing this? I live on the Hill while my ex lives in Arlington. We split custody. I like the neighborhood MS my boys attend in Arlington, although it's not one of the several with the "most favorable demographics." My rising 8th grader has earned the grades to enroll in "intensified" (honors) classes across the board for his last year in MS, in science, math (geometry and algebra II), social studies (geography for HS credit), English and band. He's also going into his 3rd year of Chinese at the school. He's taken band as a daily class since 6th grade, learned to play a brass instrument well for free. For the most part, his teachers are strong, experienced, older, been at the school for many years. Admins tell me that intensified classes outside math will be available to younger son starting in 7th grade, a new county initiative.

At the several DCPS middle schools in Ward 6, which my ex and I considered, the only definite honors classes I heard about are for math, and maybe grade-level English at Stuart Hobson. If Arlington middle schools aren't good, where are they good in this area, other than the super duper GT test-in programs in Fairfax and MoCo serving less than 10% of students? Arlington doesn't have test-in GT, DCPS either of course.

A lot of UMC in Ward 6 have kids at BASIS, which starts in 5th. True, you have to get accepted in 5th grade and it gets harder each year (easier with sibling preference).

There are other options in DC as well:

https://www.usnews.com/education/k12/middle-schools/district-of-columbia

Other than maybe Williamsburg or Swanson, it doesn't seem like Arlington has very good options.

[Anonymous]

This long thread has taught me little.

It seems that DCPS parents who leave don't have regrets, just like parents who stay. Moreover, parents who don't get into BASIS or the Latins and can't afford private school move away w/out regrets, because they're in no way responsible for hitting the wall on CH (contrary to what resolute planners have to say on the subject, because they're nothing but lucky).

That's it, 2 dozen pages worth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm tired of hearing 4th grade parents we've come up through Brent with expressing shock and dismay (and more shock and dismay) that they're way down on the BASIS and Latins waiting lists.

If you don't like being around CH parents who planned ahead for middle school, who made Plan B, for goodness sakes, move. Find your own kind elsewhere.

Exactly. Plan ahead people!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm tired of hearing 4th grade parents we've come up through Brent with expressing shock and dismay (and more shock and dismay) that they're way down on the BASIS and Latins waiting lists.

If you don't like being around CH parents who planned ahead for middle school, who made Plan B, for goodness sakes, move. Find your own kind elsewhere.

Well I guarantee the feeling is mutual. None of your fellow Brent 4th grade parents enjoy listening to you expound upon what a genius you are for having a MS plan that doesn't rely on charters, either. Especially if that genius plan involves "buying a house 15 years ago" or "being rich" or "simply not caring about the quality of my kids' schools."

Maybe you're the one who needs to go "find your own kind" and by that I mean: smug a$$holes.

I went ahead and reported the "go find your own kind" post, because it sounded every type of -ist to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most people on CH can’t afford to move or go private, so they are really stuck. However there are more charter high schools than the ones DCUM finds acceptable and many families I know send their kids to these high schools.

Total BS. Whether a family rents or buys on CH, the same money spent on rent and equity/mortgage payments could be spent on housing in the DC burbs. No middle-class family is stuck with mediocre or bad schooling options in Ward 6.

No, housing is relatively cheaper on the Hill. Many of us can’t trade up that easily.

Cheaper as compared to where? North and Central Arlington 3-bedroom houses and Hill houses are priced comparably (we've done lots of searching). Same with 3-bedroom rentals. Almost all of Fairfax and Falls Church and at least half of MoCo are cheaper than the Hill.

Not for schools that are clearly better.

NW DC, Arlington, Falls Church and MoCo zoned for the “good” schools have almosr nothing under $1m. 20002/20003 currently have 150+ 2br+ properties for under $1 mil. Fairfax is better but you start getting really deep into the burbs and trading off time for money.

This leaves families contemplating a move to the DCC or Richard Montgomery HS. At that point many Hill families will stick it out a bit longer to hope that Walls or McKinley or a cheaper Catholic HS will work out.

You keep saying this. But you've been told over and over again that things sell quickly in these areas so you just won't ever see lots of inventory at any price point. (At least not in the 7 years I've lived in Arlington.) There are never ever 150+ properties on the market in a single price range. You have to watch when things come up and pounce. It doesn't mean that there aren't options. It just means that they don't sit around.

This is not even remotely limited to Arlington. Houses in the Dc area sell fast. And i don’t know where you’re finding homes under 1 million on Capitol Hill. They don’t really exist.

As a final note- Arlington middle schools are not good.

there are many properties zoned for Maury (or in zones where people might go to a NE charter) that are under $1mil.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most people on CH can’t afford to move or go private, so they are really stuck. However there are more charter high schools than the ones DCUM finds acceptable and many families I know send their kids to these high schools.

Total BS. Whether a family rents or buys on CH, the same money spent on rent and equity/mortgage payments could be spent on housing in the DC burbs. No middle-class family is stuck with mediocre or bad schooling options in Ward 6.

No, housing is relatively cheaper on the Hill. Many of us can’t trade up that easily.

Cheaper as compared to where? North and Central Arlington 3-bedroom houses and Hill houses are priced comparably (we've done lots of searching). Same with 3-bedroom rentals. Almost all of Fairfax and Falls Church and at least half of MoCo are cheaper than the Hill.

Not for schools that are clearly better.

NW DC, Arlington, Falls Church and MoCo zoned for the “good” schools have almosr nothing under $1m. 20002/20003 currently have 150+ 2br+ properties for under $1 mil. Fairfax is better but you start getting really deep into the burbs and trading off time for money.

This leaves families contemplating a move to the DCC or Richard Montgomery HS. At that point many Hill families will stick it out a bit longer to hope that Walls or McKinley or a cheaper Catholic HS will work out.

You keep saying this. But you've been told over and over again that things sell quickly in these areas so you just won't ever see lots of inventory at any price point. (At least not in the 7 years I've lived in Arlington.) There are never ever 150+ properties on the market in a single price range. You have to watch when things come up and pounce. It doesn't mean that there aren't options. It just means that they don't sit around.

This is not even remotely limited to Arlington. Houses in the Dc area sell fast. And i don’t know where you’re finding homes under 1 million on Capitol Hill. They don’t really exist.

As a final note- Arlington middle schools are not good.

What is your basis for arguing this? I live on the Hill while my ex lives in Arlington. We split custody. I like the neighborhood MS my boys attend in Arlington, although it's not one of the several with the "most favorable demographics." My rising 8th grader has earned the grades to enroll in "intensified" (honors) classes across the board for his last year in MS, in science, math (geometry and algebra II), social studies (geography for HS credit), English and band. He's also going into his 3rd year of Chinese at the school. He's taken band as a daily class since 6th grade, learned to play a brass instrument well for free. For the most part, his teachers are strong, experienced, older, been at the school for many years. Admins tell me that intensified classes outside math will be available to younger son starting in 7th grade, a new county initiative.

At the several DCPS middle schools in Ward 6, which my ex and I considered, the only definite honors classes I heard about are for math, and maybe grade-level English at Stuart Hobson. If Arlington middle schools aren't good, where are they good in this area, other than the super duper GT test-in programs in Fairfax and MoCo serving less than 10% of students? Arlington doesn't have test-in GT, DCPS either of course.

A lot of UMC in Ward 6 have kids at BASIS, which starts in 5th. True, you have to get accepted in 5th grade and it gets harder each year (easier with sibling preference).

There are other options in DC as well:

https://www.usnews.com/education/k12/middle-schools/district-of-columbia

Other than maybe Williamsburg or Swanson, it doesn't seem like Arlington has very good options.

This CH mom with kids in a public MS in Arlington, where my ex lives, doesn't agree. My boys aren't at Williamsburg, Swanson or Dorothy Hamm. Every Arlington MS teaches MS math on a par with that at BASIS, offers robust foreign language options (from 6th grade, and not just at the beginning level), serious electives and a full menu of core honors classes in 8th grade (and 7th grade from SY 2024-25). My kids' biggest classes have two dozen kids. Their writing classes (separate from reading classes) have no more than 15 students. They can take like ASL, orchestra, chorus, band, cooking, forensics or science competition prep as electives daily. Their school has giant playing fields/courts, a greenhouse and a large vegetable garden, an indoor track, a student run TV station, a modern theater/stage, and giant gym and library. I've worked as a consultant in the miserable BASIS building and know it well.