Just keep playing the lottery and eventually it will work out...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:While it is true that Seaton is not under the radar, it has historically (as recently as last year) cleared its waitlist for PK4 and K.

The thing that stands out to me about Seaton is knowing several people with 3rd and 4th graders who are happy there. Delivering quality for upper grades makes it stand out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm PP above (at 11:19) who listed schools where I knew people and would be happy to send my kids. For some reason I had not understood the question to be about DCPS schools so did not include any of those. We also have several friends in DCPS schools that seem happy and would definitely second the recommendations for both Powell, Bruce-Monroe, and Whittier. I don't really think Shepherd or Bancroft count as "under the radar" but our friends there also seem happy in upper grades.

We have friends with kids younger than ours (so possibly closer in age to you) that seem happy at L-T, TEC, West, and Garrison (but time will tell if they stay - obviously a choice with many factors).

I am also watching Wells and Truth for MS. Too early to tell, but I'm choosing to hope for success for both of them.

How are things going at Truth so far, did they get enough kids to open?

[Anonymous]

OP, as other poster mentioned, you will probably get in a good school before first grade. All my DS daycare classmates end up in an immersion school (LAMB, MV, and DCB) by kindergarten. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Yes! We just got into SWS after 5 years of trying ...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We're 0/2 in the lottery and keep hearing this from folks with older kids. I have to admit, I'm getting lottery fatigue already and feel like it's selection bias. These folks are still in DC, so only hanging around with the folks that did end up winning the lottery. They're probably forgetting about those PK3 families that are now in MD. Plus we don't have a second child, so no sibling preference to up our odds.

What do you think, does it usually work out if you keep playing? Or are our friends full of it?

Full of it. I've been playing for 7 years, and have lost everytime. If we can't get into an HRCS next year, I'm moving to the suburbs.

[Anonymous]

It took until 1st grade but eventually we got into our first choice school. Part of it is an endurance test. How long can you hold out for a school you believe in? I'm not saying it was easy to wait that long. It was very stressful.

But eventually we got offers from many good schools, not all of which would have been good fits.

Was it worth it? I don't know. I love our house and we didn't want to go private so it would have meant moving to MOCO.

But we love the school where we've landed. Life is good. The commute (in normal times) is good. Our kids are happy. It's not perfect but it's good enough.

[Anonymous]

Does this apply to oyster after prek or am I aiming too high?

[Anonymous]

We just got into Seaton for PK-4 today OOB, but of course we moved to MD over the summer. So hopefully we made someone’s day!

[Anonymous]

Is no one concerned about the impact on their kids moving schools so often? I remember changing schools in first grade and third and it was very tough both times. I did it again in ninth and it was also very hard. I’m sure some kids can manage better than others, but I feel like some parents are just changing schools because they are getting in a dream school without thinking of how hard it is to make new friends. Obviously, if your kid is miserable at a school, that’s a totally different story. I’d also be concerned about being in a school knowing there’s zero chance to stay in it with that friend group past a certain point. Just seems really tough on kids emotionally.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes! We just got into SWS after 5 years of trying ...

So you’re signing your kid up for basically just DL and the trailers? This seems like a weird call unless your current situation is terrible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is no one concerned about the impact on their kids moving schools so often? I remember changing schools in first grade and third and it was very tough both times. I did it again in ninth and it was also very hard. I’m sure some kids can manage better than others, but I feel like some parents are just changing schools because they are getting in a dream school without thinking of how hard it is to make new friends. Obviously, if your kid is miserable at a school, that’s a totally different story. I’d also be concerned about being in a school knowing there’s zero chance to stay in it with that friend group past a certain point. Just seems really tough on kids emotionally.

OP here (surprised to see this pop up on recent topics). Yes I am concerned, which is partially why the lottery is stressful. I’d prefer to move DC once, but then that raises the question of whether you hold out for your top choice school. I will say, I think it’s much more normal for DC kids to have classmates come and go, and to move themselves, because of the lottery system. Especially if you’re not at a top choice charter, people leave constantly. I know people move their kids multiple times, but its something I’d rather not do if at all possible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is no one concerned about the impact on their kids moving schools so often? I remember changing schools in first grade and third and it was very tough both times. I did it again in ninth and it was also very hard. I’m sure some kids can manage better than others, but I feel like some parents are just changing schools because they are getting in a dream school without thinking of how hard it is to make new friends. Obviously, if your kid is miserable at a school, that’s a totally different story. I’d also be concerned about being in a school knowing there’s zero chance to stay in it with that friend group past a certain point. Just seems really tough on kids emotionally.

OP here (surprised to see this pop up on recent topics). Yes I am concerned, which is partially why the lottery is stressful. I’d prefer to move DC once, but then that raises the question of whether you hold out for your top choice school. I will say, I think it’s much more normal for DC kids to have classmates come and go, and to move themselves, because of the lottery system. Especially if you’re not at a top choice charter, people leave constantly. I know people move their kids multiple times, but its something I’d rather not do if at all possible.

+1. It's less than ideal, yes, but it's more normal here. Where we live (lower Ward 5), there are a multitude of schools and my child will already have friends at any school we choose and they won't be the only new kid. And I think changing schools is much less of a big deal when you're not moving house as well. We had the strategy of hanging in at our IB until we got an offer at our top choice, so we made only one switch (for 1st) and are planning to be there through 8th. I do think some people move too often, trading up incrementally rather than holding out for a top choice.

It's entirely normal for children to go to a preschool and then to a different institution for elementary school. Changing in PK4 or 1st rather than K is just a different flavor of that.

Myself, I switched for 1st, 6th, and 9th, and it was hard but not really that big a deal-- and in some ways a healthy challenge.

[Anonymous]

We struck out on the PK3 lottery this year and I have been wondering about the same thing as OP. Our IB is really not a long-term option.

But today out of curiosity I was looking at the "short-waitlist list" on the myschoolsdc site and decided to see if any of our target schools were listed for older grades. Turns out one of our top-choice schools has a super short waitlist for both K and 1st, even though the PK waitlists are super long. It made me feel more optimistic. Now, maybe this is a weird year for waitlists because of the pandemic, or maybe that school is up-and-coming and more people will rank it in future years. But it still made me feel like there's a good chance we will land somewhere we're happy with. I think it helps that we aren't super attached to getting into one of the super in-demand charters (I mean, we will rank some of them because we like them, but we're not leaving the school district if we don't get in).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We struck out on the PK3 lottery this year and I have been wondering about the same thing as OP. Our IB is really not a long-term option.

But today out of curiosity I was looking at the "short-waitlist list" on the myschoolsdc site and decided to see if any of our target schools were listed for older grades. Turns out one of our top-choice schools has a super short waitlist for both K and 1st, even though the PK waitlists are super long. It made me feel more optimistic. Now, maybe this is a weird year for waitlists because of the pandemic, or maybe that school is up-and-coming and more people will rank it in future years. But it still made me feel like there's a good chance we will land somewhere we're happy with. I think it helps that we aren't super attached to getting into one of the super in-demand charters (I mean, we will rank some of them because we like them, but we're not leaving the school district if we don't get in).

I want to add that this school is a traditional DCPS and not a bilingual immersion. I get why the immersion schools often have short waitlists for older grades because I imagine it's harder to transition into those schools if you haven't been in immersion before.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We struck out on the PK3 lottery this year and I have been wondering about the same thing as OP. Our IB is really not a long-term option.

But today out of curiosity I was looking at the "short-waitlist list" on the myschoolsdc site and decided to see if any of our target schools were listed for older grades. Turns out one of our top-choice schools has a super short waitlist for both K and 1st, even though the PK waitlists are super long. It made me feel more optimistic. Now, maybe this is a weird year for waitlists because of the pandemic, or maybe that school is up-and-coming and more people will rank it in future years. But it still made me feel like there's a good chance we will land somewhere we're happy with. I think it helps that we aren't super attached to getting into one of the super in-demand charters (I mean, we will rank some of them because we like them, but we're not leaving the school district if we don't get in).

I want to add that this school is a traditional DCPS and not a bilingual immersion. I get why the immersion schools often have short waitlists for older grades because I imagine it's harder to transition into those schools if you haven't been in immersion before.

K is just an easier lottery year. The class size goes up between PK4 and K at most schools, so there are just more seats total. Hang in there, it will likely be fine!