Brent vs JKLM

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, we're at a JKLM, and I have no way of comparing our school to Brent and would never make some baldface statement that our school is better, so personally I would dismiss the posters who claim that Brent is not as good (especially the one from Ward 4 - how would you even know?).

I'm also use the red and orange/blue/silver lines several times a week and would much prefer to not have to deal with the sucky service on the red line, FWIW.

Ok even if one says Brent and JKLM are comparable (which they are clearly not in terms of scores), even Brent parents admit that IB kids leave by the dozens as early as 3rd grade of not sooner. Who wants to gamble on the chance of getting into Basis or Latin in 6-7 years? Or pay $20-$30k a year for private?

[Anonymous]

FACT: Brent kids don't leave by the "dozens" starting in Third Grade. IIRC, one rising Third Grader transferred to CHDS with a younger sibling over the summer and several families moved out of the area. Two or three rising Fourth Graders transferred to Eaton two years ago and other families have left as tbe result of State Department or military postings.

FACT: Brent is projecting that few rising Fourth Graders will be departing and, for this reason, will be adding another Fourth Grade classroom next year.

FACT: A majority of IB families leave after Fourth Grade, principally due to the lack of a viable middle school option, but alot can change in 6-7 years, as evidenced by Brent itself. Students at Mann and other WotP schools also choose not to attend Hardy.

PP seems to know very little about Brent from her far away perch in Ward 4. One day she may appreciate that schools are much more than the sum of DC-CAS scores.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, we're at a JKLM, and I have no way of comparing our school to Brent and would never make some baldface statement that our school is better, so personally I would dismiss the posters who claim that Brent is not as good (especially the one from Ward 4 - how would you even know?).

I'm also use the red and orange/blue/silver lines several times a week and would much prefer to not have to deal with the sucky service on the red line, FWIW.

Ok even if one says Brent and JKLM are comparable (which they are clearly not in terms of scores), even Brent parents admit that IB kids leave by the dozens as early as 3rd grade of not sooner. Who wants to gamble on the chance of getting into Basis or Latin in 6-7 years? Or pay $20-$30k a year for private?

5 grade levels before testing, plus 5th grade exodous at Brent to charter leaves two real testing grades for kids who come up through the program. with current demographic projections Basis will be openly accessible to 5th graders willing to take on the rigorous program. Latin maybe less so.

$20k is only going to cut it for parochial. The better privates start at $30K and go higher from there. And how is this any different for Brent than for families at Key or Mann?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, we're at a JKLM, and I have no way of comparing our school to Brent and would never make some baldface statement that our school is better, so personally I would dismiss the posters who claim that Brent is not as good (especially the one from Ward 4 - how would you even know?).

I'm also use the red and orange/blue/silver lines several times a week and would much prefer to not have to deal with the sucky service on the red line, FWIW.

Ok even if one says Brent and JKLM are comparable (which they are clearly not in terms of scores), even Brent parents admit that IB kids leave by the dozens as early as 3rd grade of not sooner. Who wants to gamble on the chance of getting into Basis or Latin in 6-7 years? Or pay $20-$30k a year for private?

Based on what? there are only 360 kids in the entire school, so how do kids leave 3rd grade by "the dozens"? Are suggesting there are no kids left in the testing grades, because there are only 2 classes of ~22-25

[Anonymous]

Brent is a great school but if you want long term viability then go ahead and move west of the park. You don't have a middle school option on Hill, and even if you did 6 or 7 years from now you still won't have a high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FACT: Brent kids don't leave by the "dozens" starting in Third Grade. IIRC, one rising Third Grader transferred to CHDS with a younger sibling over the summer and several families moved out of the area. Two or three rising Fourth Graders transferred to Eaton two years ago and other families have left as tbe result of State Department or military postings.

FACT: Brent is projecting that few rising Fourth Graders will be departing and, for this reason, will be adding another Fourth Grade classroom next year.

FACT: A majority of IB families leave after Fourth Grade, principally due to the lack of a viable middle school option, but alot can change in 6-7 years, as evidenced by Brent itself. Students at Mann and other WotP schools also choose not to attend Hardy.

PP seems to know very little about Brent from her far away perch in Ward 4. One day she may appreciate that schools are much more than the sum of DC-CAS scores.

Aren't we defensive? I am not the ward 4 poster. I would much prefer my kid to attend Hardy than any hill middle school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, we're at a JKLM, and I have no way of comparing our school to Brent and would never make some baldface statement that our school is better, so personally I would dismiss the posters who claim that Brent is not as good (especially the one from Ward 4 - how would you even know?).

I'm also use the red and orange/blue/silver lines several times a week and would much prefer to not have to deal with the sucky service on the red line, FWIW.

Ok even if one says Brent and JKLM are comparable (which they are clearly not in terms of scores), even Brent parents admit that IB kids leave by the dozens as early as 3rd grade of not sooner. Who wants to gamble on the chance of getting into Basis or Latin in 6-7 years? Or pay $20-$30k a year for private?

5 grade levels before testing, plus 5th grade exodous at Brent to charter leaves two real testing grades for kids who come up through the program. with current demographic projections Basis will be openly accessible to 5th graders willing to take on the rigorous program. Latin maybe less so.

$20k is only going to cut it for parochial. The better privates start at $30K and go higher from there. And how is this any different for Brent than for families at Key or Mann?

Ok $20-$30k+ (is that better now that I added a + sign)? Schools I would consider would be Gonzaga and the like. Honestly, I would hate to have a million dollar house and have to fork over a dime to private because there are no public choices (save lottery chances) in my neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

You're a real peach. Have you even set foot in Brent?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FACT: Brent kids don't leave by the "dozens" starting in Third Grade. IIRC, one rising Third Grader transferred to CHDS with a younger sibling over the summer and several families moved out of the area. Two or three rising Fourth Graders transferred to Eaton two years ago and other families have left as tbe result of State Department or military postings.

FACT: Brent is projecting that few rising Fourth Graders will be departing and, for this reason, will be adding another Fourth Grade classroom next year.

FACT: A majority of IB families leave after Fourth Grade, principally due to the lack of a viable middle school option, but alot can change in 6-7 years, as evidenced by Brent itself. Students at Mann and other WotP schools also choose not to attend Hardy.

PP seems to know very little about Brent from her far away perch in Ward 4. One day she may appreciate that schools are much more than the sum of DC-CAS scores.

Aren't we defensive? I am not the ward 4 poster. I would much prefer my kid to attend Hardy than any hill middle school.

SH and Hardy -- roughly same Farm %. Hardy slightly more OOB. Hardy scores slightly better but roughly the same along demographic lines. Biggest difference is # of AA kids if that's a problem for you

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You're a real peach. Have you even set foot in Brent?

Golly gee can't a poster say they prefer a JKLM school over Brent without getting harassed? What happened to opinions and preferences? Why can't you accept the fact that people might prefer something other than the world you live in?

[Anonymous]

We lived on the Hill and have friends who remain and many more who have left. Whether it's safe or not is subjective. Objectively, there is a ton more crime on the Hill than in any of the JKLM areas. We moved from a great house near Eastern Market 5 years ago to Upper NW because I didn't feel safe having kids on the Hill. We were lucky in that while we were there, we only experienced a steady stream of petty crime (cars being broken into, things stolen from front porch and garage, etc.). I have several friends who have been victims or more serious crime, including robbed at gun and knife-point, house robbed while they were home and a car jacking, among many home burglaries and auto thefts. At one point, there was a person or group targeting women with strollers. In the 5 years I've lived in NW, I haven't heard of one of these types of serious crimes and and the petty crime is so rare, it's virtually unheard of.

Aside from the crime, there is a non-criminal element to the Hill. The parks will be full of families and people with dogs at certain times, but other times, you can still find homeless people sleeping on benches and the odd needle or used condom (I've seen any of these in any of the NW parks). Walk around and you can smell the urine of said homeless people who don't discriminate where they relieve themselves (including your garden). At least monthly, you'll get someone knocking on your door begging for money at odd times of the day or night. I worked from home and never felt safe during the day b/c everyone around me was gone and that's when these characters seemed to come out. I also never felt safe going out and getting home later than 9.

I can easily think of a dozen friends we had who lived on the Hill who moved to the JKLM area before they had children or when their kids were babies. The schools may have been an issue, but they were more concerned with the safety. We just found out that one close family friends we have who still live on the Hill are desperately trying to buy a house in NW because there was an incident with their middle-schooler while he was riding his bike and he keeps telling his parents he doesn't feel safe in their neighborhood.

Many people have a different tolerance level for crime than we do and you may feel perfectly comfortable living on the Hill. However, I urge you to do your research, including looking at crime stats, reading M.O.T.H., before making a decision.

[Anonymous]

If PP had any objective basis for her preference I would be happy to hear it. Unfortunately, she is parroting information which is demonstrably false. Moreover, the tenor of her "is that better" comment is snarky and condescending. I get it, she thinks we are fools for sending our kids to a school she considers to be mediocre in comparison to JKLM, and that apparent error in judgment is compounded by the possibility of not being able to attend Latin or Basis. And yet she seems entirely unaware that families attending Key and Mann spend millions for their homes and yet choose not to attend Hardy. If you're going to be boneheaded and contentious then you deserve to be called out for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would do WOTP for long term reasons. Also, Cap Hill is too isolated for me. If like to have access to Bethesda, SS, and Downtown.

I have never heard of anyone thinking of Capitol Hill as isolated. We have Barracks Row and nearby H Street. You can walk to Nationals Park, SE Waterfront/Navy Yard and National Mall/Smithsonian Museums. Holiday concerts and occasional sledding on the Capitol Grounds. Child-friendly programs at the Library of Congress. Arts programs at CHAW. Ballet at St. Marks. Skating at Canal Park. Yards Splash fountain. Marine Barracks or concerts at Yards Park on summer evenings. Sports on the Hill. Capitol Hill Little League. Bike to the Pirate Ship in Anacostis Park. Fort Dupont or Ballston for year-round indoor ice skating. Shopping at Eastern Market or nearby Union Market. Winter days at tbe Botanic Garden. Short drive to the National Arboretum and Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens.

Downtown in less than 15 minutes by Blue/Orange/Silver Line. Ten minutes by car to National Airport or Pentagon City Mall. Three Target stores within a 15 minute drive, if you don't take advantage of delivery services like Instacart. We seldom leave the Hill and couldn't think of a good reason to drive to Silver Spring or Bethesda. To each her own I guess.

Agree. Capitol Hill is closer to downtown, so that's silly, and thankfully we have no need to get to Bethesda or Silver Spring. Why would you? If you don't work there or live close by, those are not destinations. The Capitol Hill is isolated argument is oft-repeated on this site and it really shows a lack of knowledge about DC and the Hill in particular.

It's considered since most other neighborhoods with young families are across town. So if you have friends in Petworth, Tenleytown, Mt Pleasant, AU Park, Columbia Heights, Takoma Park, etc then Capitol Hill is completed isolated because it feels far away from all these neighborhoods, but all of these neighborhoods are relatively close to one another. If all your friends are on Capitol Hill then it's not isolated. I live in Petworth and most of my friends and colleagues are in the areas listed. Getting to Capitol Hill from any of these areas is a pain.

[Anonymous]

PP here. Meant to say that Capitol Hill is considered isolated because....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We lived on the Hill and have friends who remain and many more who have left. Whether it's safe or not is subjective. Objectively, there is a ton more crime on the Hill than in any of the JKLM areas. We moved from a great house near Eastern Market 5 years ago to Upper NW because I didn't feel safe having kids on the Hill. We were lucky in that while we were there, we only experienced a steady stream of petty crime (cars being broken into, things stolen from front porch and garage, etc.). I have several friends who have been victims or more serious crime, including robbed at gun and knife-point, house robbed while they were home and a car jacking, among many home burglaries and auto thefts. At one point, there was a person or group targeting women with strollers. In the 5 years I've lived in NW, I haven't heard of one of these types of serious crimes and and the petty crime is so rare, it's virtually unheard of.

Aside from the crime, there is a non-criminal element to the Hill. The parks will be full of families and people with dogs at certain times, but other times, you can still find homeless people sleeping on benches and the odd needle or used condom (I've seen any of these in any of the NW parks). Walk around and you can smell the urine of said homeless people who don't discriminate where they relieve themselves (including your garden). At least monthly, you'll get someone knocking on your door begging for money at odd times of the day or night. I worked from home and never felt safe during the day b/c everyone around me was gone and that's when these characters seemed to come out. I also never felt safe going out and getting home later than 9.

I can easily think of a dozen friends we had who lived on the Hill who moved to the JKLM area before they had children or when their kids were babies. The schools may have been an issue, but they were more concerned with the safety. We just found out that one close family friends we have who still live on the Hill are desperately trying to buy a house in NW because there was an incident with their middle-schooler while he was riding his bike and he keeps telling his parents he doesn't feel safe in their neighborhood.

Many people have a different tolerance level for crime than we do and you may feel perfectly comfortable living on the Hill. However, I urge you to do your research, including looking at crime stats, reading M.O.T.H., before making a decision.

Seriously? You clearly weren't living IB for Brent back in 2009. Stop clutching your pearls and come visit the Hill again sometime. You Could even enjoy one of our restaurants after dusk. In the meantime, the rest of us will continue to enjoy our urban neighborhood, even if it means having to remain aware of our surroundings, deadbolting our doors amd setting our alarms, and not leaving valuable shit in our cars. BTW, have your heard that there have been incidents reported where Wilson students have committed criminal acts. City living isn't for everyone, but let's not pretend Capitol Hill is Compton.