Fellow PK3 newbies, post your lottery nerves here!

[Anonymous]

Bumping this one!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is there really a birthing boom? Cite?

OP here. I just did a quick google search and found the articles below. While not super significant, it’s hard for first-time parents/parents of 1 child with all of the preferences allowed to siblings trying to get the few available positions per school.

https://www.nationalacademies.org/news/2022/06/the-pandemic-baby-bust-and-rebound

“Kearney spoke at a recent webinar hosted by the National Academies’ Societal Experts Action Network (SEAN) and Committee on Population that explored how the pandemic affected birth rates in the U.S., along with longer-term trends in birth rates.

Added to peoples’ economic concerns, she said, was a public health crisis that might lead them to worry about health implications and the ability to access medical facilities. The closest comparable event is the Spanish Flu pandemic in 1918-1919, which led to a large decrease in birth rates despite the absence of modern contraceptives.

By analyzing data on birth rates for late 2020 and 2021, Kearney and her colleagues calculated that there were 62,000 fewer conceptions than usual during the first few months of the pandemic, which led to a baby bust six to nine months later. (That number also may include some early-term miscarriages and abortions, she noted.) But that trend reversed in summer and fall 2020, with 51,000 more conceptions than usual, which suggests that many people delayed their conceptions, said Kearney.”



https://time.com/6223625/covid-pandemic-birth-rates/

“While there was in fact an overall reduction in the birth rate—measured as the annual number of births per thousand people in a population—across the country, the NBER researchers, analyzing data and microdata from the National Center for Health Statistics and the California Department of Health, determined that the decrease didn’t look the way many observers had predicted it would, with births driven down across the board. Rather, travel restrictions likely played a role: The rate of births from women born outside the U.S., which accounted for nearly 23% of births in 2019, plummeted in 2020. And soon after, the rate of births for U.S.-born mothers began to grow.”

FWIW nearly all children eligible for PK3 in DC this Fall would have been conceived prior to March 2020. So any pandemic baby boom children would be in next year's PK3 lottery.

+1. My late August rising PK3er was conceived in December 2019. This isn't the baby boom year. And I echo what someone else said - anecdotally, most people I knew in DC who already had kids and worked in the early days of the pandemic completely held off for a long time until they had some semblance of sanity. Had I not been pregnant already, I would have too.

Really? Why stop there? Were there candles and flowers? Oddly specific...

[Anonymous]

Any predictions from the group if there will be significantly greater demand for PK3 spots for 23-24 than there were 22-23? The match/waitlist data is so different for years 19-20 and earlier than it is for the years following the start of pandemic.

[Anonymous]

Honestly, the lack of engagement in this thread suggests (if anything) there will be less demand. Obvious DCUM is hardly representative of the general population, but this thread has faded a few times now. The lack of clamoring for this thread suggests there may not be as many people (which may be more broadly true as well).

[Anonymous]

I think this thread will get a lot more interest right before the results are announced...We've still got nearly 3 weeks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Any predictions from the group if there will be significantly greater demand for PK3 spots for 23-24 than there were 22-23? The match/waitlist data is so different for years 19-20 and earlier than it is for the years following the start of pandemic.

That data was back from when people wanted to go to MV. Times have changed!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m nervous about my kid starting preschool. She’s a COVID baby who has been at home with a parent or a relative since she was born, and I’m so nervous about sending her off away from us! It’ll be good for her but wow it’s hard just thinking about it right now. We’re trying to put her in more activities and then summer camps to get her ready but I’m thinking of next school year with a mix of joy and dread.

The biggest challenge for clingy kids who know only home and family or private nannies is, in my experience, not the kids' ability to adapt to PS3. The issue is parents - as it almost always is with kids. My kid cried their eyes out at drop off every day for a week or two. I reminded myself that my kid was going to be fine and they were taking their cues from me. I hugged them, but then told them I'd see them at pick up and walked away. Most kids who react this way are only doing it to manipulate parents. Once they figure out they are going to go back every day they relax and usually love pre-school. I watched in horror parents who were in tears as they left their kids in class each day and then had the audacity to say their kids weren't ready; as if their behavior wasn't the driver of the way the kids reacted.

I'm sure lots of DCUM readers will take offence to this, but parents who say "my kid isn't ready" are projecting. Your kid will be fine. If this is emotional for you and you need to melt down for the first few days/weeks, do yourself and your kid a favor and DON"T do it in front of them.

P.S. PS3 teachers are inhuman gods. I cannot imagine having to deal with a classroom full of 3 and 4 year olds every day. I used to volunteer for an hour or two and I went straight home for bourbon!

Truer words were never spoken. A kid was pulled out of my kid's PK3 and sent back to in-home care at the beginning of this year and the mom said something along the lines of "every day he comes home and describes a way in which he has been invalidated or unsupported in his growth." Her kid, who we met through several pre-preK meetups, was really shy around other kids and borderline non-verbal even with his mom. It was the wildest case of projection I've ever seen, but if she feels better keeping him home then so be it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m nervous about my kid starting preschool. She’s a COVID baby who has been at home with a parent or a relative since she was born, and I’m so nervous about sending her off away from us! It’ll be good for her but wow it’s hard just thinking about it right now. We’re trying to put her in more activities and then summer camps to get her ready but I’m thinking of next school year with a mix of joy and dread.

The biggest challenge for clingy kids who know only home and family or private nannies is, in my experience, not the kids' ability to adapt to PS3. The issue is parents - as it almost always is with kids. My kid cried their eyes out at drop off every day for a week or two. I reminded myself that my kid was going to be fine and they were taking their cues from me. I hugged them, but then told them I'd see them at pick up and walked away. Most kids who react this way are only doing it to manipulate parents. Once they figure out they are going to go back every day they relax and usually love pre-school. I watched in horror parents who were in tears as they left their kids in class each day and then had the audacity to say their kids weren't ready; as if their behavior wasn't the driver of the way the kids reacted.

I'm sure lots of DCUM readers will take offence to this, but parents who say "my kid isn't ready" are projecting. Your kid will be fine. If this is emotional for you and you need to melt down for the first few days/weeks, do yourself and your kid a favor and DON"T do it in front of them.

P.S. PS3 teachers are inhuman gods. I cannot imagine having to deal with a classroom full of 3 and 4 year olds every day. I used to volunteer for an hour or two and I went straight home for bourbon!

Truer words were never spoken. A kid was pulled out of my kid's PK3 and sent back to in-home care at the beginning of this year and the mom said something along the lines of "every day he comes home and describes a way in which he has been invalidated or unsupported in his growth." Her kid, who we met through several pre-preK meetups, was really shy around other kids and borderline non-verbal even with his mom. It was the wildest case of projection I've ever seen, but if she feels better keeping him home then so be it.

Oh FFS! A little unsupporting is critical to their development! I wonder what the invalidation was. Maybe they wanted him to sit criss cross applesauce?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, the lack of engagement in this thread suggests (if anything) there will be less demand. Obvious DCUM is hardly representative of the general population, but this thread has faded a few times now. The lack of clamoring for this thread suggests there may not be as many people (which may be more broadly true as well).

Is it possible that more people have just decided to stick with their IB so they’re not nervous about getting in? With lots of people working from home now, I bet they’d rather stick to schools close to home too. I’m not doing the PK lotto until next year but personally we won’t be leaving the neighborhood because it’s soo much easier to just walk my toddler down the road. We can lotto again later for better MS options or go private.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, the lack of engagement in this thread suggests (if anything) there will be less demand. Obvious DCUM is hardly representative of the general population, but this thread has faded a few times now. The lack of clamoring for this thread suggests there may not be as many people (which may be more broadly true as well).

Is it possible that more people have just decided to stick with their IB so they’re not nervous about getting in? With lots of people working from home now, I bet they’d rather stick to schools close to home too. I’m not doing the PK lotto until next year but personally we won’t be leaving the neighborhood because it’s soo much easier to just walk my toddler down the road. We can lotto again later for better MS options or go private.

DP but not all IBs guarantee or even offer PK3, which is why it's historically been a big "where should I be looking" year for parents.

[Anonymous]

yeah at least on the Hill, many of us likely won't get into our IB school for pre-k, so I doubt it's that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, the lack of engagement in this thread suggests (if anything) there will be less demand. Obvious DCUM is hardly representative of the general population, but this thread has faded a few times now. The lack of clamoring for this thread suggests there may not be as many people (which may be more broadly true as well).

Is it possible that more people have just decided to stick with their IB so they’re not nervous about getting in? With lots of people working from home now, I bet they’d rather stick to schools close to home too. I’m not doing the PK lotto until next year but personally we won’t be leaving the neighborhood because it’s soo much easier to just walk my toddler down the road. We can lotto again later for better MS options or go private.

DP but not all IBs guarantee or even offer PK3, which is why it's historically been a big "where should I be looking" year for parents.

It seems like people are a lot more chill, a lot more willing to accept their IB, and a lot less interested in long commutes to charters that once had the buzz but don't anymore. So that makes waitlists a lot shorter. It's not that there's so many fewer kids, it's that each kid is lotterying for fewer schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, the lack of engagement in this thread suggests (if anything) there will be less demand. Obvious DCUM is hardly representative of the general population, but this thread has faded a few times now. The lack of clamoring for this thread suggests there may not be as many people (which may be more broadly true as well).

Is it possible that more people have just decided to stick with their IB so they’re not nervous about getting in? With lots of people working from home now, I bet they’d rather stick to schools close to home too. I’m not doing the PK lotto until next year but personally we won’t be leaving the neighborhood because it’s soo much easier to just walk my toddler down the road. We can lotto again later for better MS options or go private.

DP but not all IBs guarantee or even offer PK3, which is why it's historically been a big "where should I be looking" year for parents.

It seems like people are a lot more chill, a lot more willing to accept their IB, and a lot less interested in long commutes to charters that once had the buzz but don't anymore. So that makes waitlists a lot shorter. It's not that there's so many fewer kids, it's that each kid is lotterying for fewer schools.

Pretty sure it's the addition of CBOs creating this new brand of superchill parents, not necessarily a sea change in views on IB schools. When Ward 3 parents can just choose to stay close to home for free PK, there is much less churn for the schools along their commutes to work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, the lack of engagement in this thread suggests (if anything) there will be less demand. Obvious DCUM is hardly representative of the general population, but this thread has faded a few times now. The lack of clamoring for this thread suggests there may not be as many people (which may be more broadly true as well).

Is it possible that more people have just decided to stick with their IB so they’re not nervous about getting in? With lots of people working from home now, I bet they’d rather stick to schools close to home too. I’m not doing the PK lotto until next year but personally we won’t be leaving the neighborhood because it’s soo much easier to just walk my toddler down the road. We can lotto again later for better MS options or go private.

DP but not all IBs guarantee or even offer PK3, which is why it's historically been a big "where should I be looking" year for parents.

It seems like people are a lot more chill, a lot more willing to accept their IB, and a lot less interested in long commutes to charters that once had the buzz but don't anymore. So that makes waitlists a lot shorter. It's not that there's so many fewer kids, it's that each kid is lotterying for fewer schools.

Pretty sure it's the addition of CBOs creating this new brand of superchill parents, not necessarily a sea change in views on IB schools. When Ward 3 parents can just choose to stay close to home for free PK, there is much less churn for the schools along their commutes to work.

There's not really that many more CBO seats though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m nervous about my kid starting preschool. She’s a COVID baby who has been at home with a parent or a relative since she was born, and I’m so nervous about sending her off away from us! It’ll be good for her but wow it’s hard just thinking about it right now. We’re trying to put her in more activities and then summer camps to get her ready but I’m thinking of next school year with a mix of joy and dread.

The biggest challenge for clingy kids who know only home and family or private nannies is, in my experience, not the kids' ability to adapt to PS3. The issue is parents - as it almost always is with kids. My kid cried their eyes out at drop off every day for a week or two. I reminded myself that my kid was going to be fine and they were taking their cues from me. I hugged them, but then told them I'd see them at pick up and walked away. Most kids who react this way are only doing it to manipulate parents. Once they figure out they are going to go back every day they relax and usually love pre-school. I watched in horror parents who were in tears as they left their kids in class each day and then had the audacity to say their kids weren't ready; as if their behavior wasn't the driver of the way the kids reacted.

I'm sure lots of DCUM readers will take offence to this, but parents who say "my kid isn't ready" are projecting. Your kid will be fine. If this is emotional for you and you need to melt down for the first few days/weeks, do yourself and your kid a favor and DON"T do it in front of them.

P.S. PS3 teachers are inhuman gods. I cannot imagine having to deal with a classroom full of 3 and 4 year olds every day. I used to volunteer for an hour or two and I went straight home for bourbon!

Truer words were never spoken. A kid was pulled out of my kid's PK3 and sent back to in-home care at the beginning of this year and the mom said something along the lines of "every day he comes home and describes a way in which he has been invalidated or unsupported in his growth." Her kid, who we met through several pre-preK meetups, was really shy around other kids and borderline non-verbal even with his mom. It was the wildest case of projection I've ever seen, but if she feels better keeping him home then so be it.

Oh FFS! A little unsupporting is critical to their development! I wonder what the invalidation was. Maybe they wanted him to sit criss cross applesauce?

I hear this, but also had a terrible experience with DCPS PK. In our case, the whole class was struggling and the teacher is notorious. (Like you would tell parents of older kids that your kid had her and they would say “I’m sorry.”) it really soured me on the DCPS PK experience.