Just moved to DC post-divorce and COMPLETELY confused about public schools - Please Help!
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Anonymous
| Hi! Just moved back to DC after fifteen years in Pakistan, post-divorce, and looking to settle down as a single mom with my three kids. They are entering Grades 7, 6, and a 2 1/2 year old. I am completely confused by the public school system here - lottery, immersion, feeders - it seems like I am learning a new language! Since I have not decided ultimately where to settle, I want to do so based on school districts. (I can go to MD or VA if needed, but have a sister in Georgetown I ideally wanted to be near by). Prefer city living to the suburbs. My kids have been in private schools all their lives, but post-divorce I can't afford them, - can anyone help me figure out this tangle, and how I choose where to settle down and restart, how I figure out what schools are the "better" ones, what the deal is with "charter" and "magnet" schools, and basically show me how to navigate the public school system here? THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! |
Anonymous
| with so many kids and already in middle school, just move into a deal zone and you are done. easiest thing to do. |
Anonymous
| Maybe capitol hill? Good elemntary schools but you may have to lottery for middle. |
Anonymous
Why would you suggest that to someone with a 6th and 7th grader? |
Anonymous
| What is your budget for housing? |
Anonymous
This. OP, it's too late to apply for the lottery for your kids. The simplest and best thing to do would be to look for a house that in inbounds to Deal Middle School. The elementary schools that feed to deal are: Eaton Elementary School Bancroft Elementary School Lafayette Elementary School Murch Elementary School Janney Elementary School Shepherd Elementary School Hearst Elementary School |
Anonymous
Anonymous
| Better to use the map from the Deputy Mayor for Education's recent reassignment: http://dme.dc.gov/node/885182 |
Anonymous
|
Somebody will surely shoot me down but, frankly, this is a case for a public school consultant. (And I'm not that consultant, and neither posting for any of them, just saying because I've seen another friend from overseas go through that who was very glad to have a consultant.)
Meanwhile, here my take: - You likely will need to make your housing affordability a priority; so as much as you'd like to place your school district first, it likely won't happen and will just be frustrating. - Use your entering 6h and 7th graders as your guide. (They will enter the first/second year of any public middle school or the second/third of some charters.) Your preschooler will be much easier to figure out (he/she will need to turn 3 by August to be eligible for the lottery; no by right school until K). - Feeder patterns may not be as important to you if your middle schoolers do well in school and have a good shot at an application high school but that may be hard to predict given the circumstances (divorce, new country/language/culture etc.). So your case may be one where you'd place a strong premium on finding a well connected middle/high school solution. If that's so, then your options are going to be limited enough and thereby completely manageable. Here my pick of what you should look at, in about that order (public = by right or via lottery, charter = only via lottery, not location specific): - Public: Hardy MS or Deal MS --> Wilson HS (I'm pretty certain that neither will be affordable to located into but you can probably get your kids into Hardy from outside its boundaries via the lottery) - Charter: Latin MS --> Latin HS (virtually impossible because you'll be applying for 6th and 7th, which is not an entry year; you ) - Charter: Basis MS --> Basis HS (better chances than Latin but test heavy and therefore maybe not what your kids need right now) - Charter: DCI (DC International) --> no clear high school option at this stage but chances of getting in at this point are quite good and your kids would match its profile and feel happy there (my friend in a similar situation opted for that and is very happy) - Public: Stuart-Hobson MS --> try application HS with Eastern HS's International Baccalaureate Diploma track as a good backup option (difficult to find affordable housing that feeds into Stuart-H) - Public: Eliot-Hine MS (International Bac) or Jefferson MS (Adcademy) --> try application HS or Eastern HS as a good back-up |
Anonymous
| Addendum to my list: Yes, PP is right, it's too late to apply for the lottery but DCI and Basis may go through their lists and so might Hardy. You can have your name placed on the back of those lists and still try. |
Anonymous
This is your best option considering you missed the lottery. Deal is the best choice and probably the best MS in DC next to Latin and Basis. |
Anonymous
| I would move to virginia or Maryland |
Anonymous
|
Here is another thing to consider: If you move in with your sister over the summer, use that address to get your middle schoolers into Hardy and from there to Wilson or an application high school (likely the MS associated with her address but check on the DCPS website). You can then move where you want to. Unless your children struggle mightily or they have poor attendance, you will not be asked to leave once enrolled (all paperwork fully completed!) even if you move out of the boundaries. But wait until well into the fall to officially move away from that address to make it stick. I doubt this will solve anything for your youngster, you can sort that out more easily from whatever address you'll be moving to. Early childhood programs are pretty good throughout. No worries there.
I should also add another interesting option for you to consider, especially if your middle schoolers are strong in technology, science, and math. Take a closer look at McKinley Tech MS and McKinley Tech HS. The area that feeds into McKinley Tech MS is quite central and affordable area a safe bet in terms of schools. Although McKinley Tech MS doesn't automatically grant access to its HS, if your child does well in its MS, then acceptance into its high school is very likely. |
Anonymous
|
You need to share your housing budget.
I |
Anonymous
| When will your 2 1/2 year old turn 3. There maybe be some PK3 slots available of their birthday is before September 30. |