Bethune 16th St is a mess, unfortunately. We live really close to the current site and really wanted to continue Spanish immersion for my kid, but ultimately heard too many horror stories from the families we currently know there (several of whom are transferring out for the 24-25 school year) and decided that Spanish immersion alone was not a compelling reason to have our kid at a completely dysfunctional school. A little anecdote to illustrate: a few months ago, a group of prospective parents showed up to Bethune for an advertised open house and not a single person at the school knew that the open house was scheduled. One of the administrators told the parents that she was new to the position, but that she had already given her notice and would not be continuing as an administrator. To be fair, most of the families we know who are unhappy with Bethune have not been unhappy with their kids' teachers, but have been so frustrated by the administration's/LEO's lack of communication and disorganization that they had a terrible experience notwithstanding that. Also, the school continues to have issues finding a suitable site and currently has several basement classrooms that are prone to flooding. |
We live in Brookland about a five minute drive from WHC, and we love it here. It's a great community with many young kids. For what it's worth, we recently left Columbia Heights, mostly because we wanted more space but also because the crime had become intolerable. |
Public schools and charters have A LOT of random days off. If you don't have a flexible schedule it's going to be really difficult to do childcare for those random days (prof development, parent-teacher conference days, early release), which may or may not have aftercare available (take a look at AppleTrees calender for example: https://www.appletreeinstitute.org/our-calendar). Also, some schools have limited aftercare slots. If you don't have flexibility or a on-call/flexible child care provider then you are better off going the paid daycare route. |
Brookland is great. Monroe St Market apartments is a good option. A couple good pre-k options with public and charter. So many neighborhood families (whether you're at a public or charter), and you'll see familiar families at the farmers market and playground.
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Try North Arlington |
OP here. Got some more info on my schedule. Schedule is released in 3 month blocks every quarter. I can put in requests for a guaranteed 5-7 days off each quarter in advance. I’ll have the schedule one month in advance so I’ll know when/what times she needs care outside of preschool. I’ll be doing one week on one week off 60% of the time, 8-4 with 9-7 one day a week.
Leaning towards Petworth (hopefully Dorothy Heights if she makes it off the waitlist), Brookland (but she doesn’t have any prospects of getting into preK 3 there it seems), or Cleveland Park/Van Ness (should be able to join St Albans Early Childhood Center.) Thanks all for your input regarding nanny. I guess I underestimated my care needs. I’m wondering if having the schedule in advance and school calendar in advance I can use multiple part time nannies to cover my needs instead of paying full time? I might be able to group nights together and fly my mom in to help during those nights. The schedule is flexible - I can switch shifts pretty easily with colleagues if I can’t find someone to pick up/drop off. |
If you like Brookland, try Noyes and Shining Stars Montessori. Both are pretty easy to get into (because they aren't great schools). |
Dp. Just don't burn out your mom. Assuming she raised you I'm sure she loves her granddaughter but doesn't want to be the first person you go to. Let her have fun! |
plenty of good location recs. and get an au pair. you make enough. |
You posted your salary so I’m going to assume you have student loans or other debt or something, because you’re trying to save by paying for part time nannies. You may be able to work something out with a service but honestly, finding a nanny who can flex around your hours and pay her accordingly ($30 an hour most likely if you have late nights or overnights) is your most sustainable solution. A small child will do better with consistency and connection to a caregiver, especially if it’s someone who will be doing her bedtime a lot. Good nannies are hard to find here and most good ones don’t do random part time gigs. |
And what about Bethune? |
Waitlisted #13 at Shining Stars and #40 at Creative Minds - would love insight on if any chance of her matching at Creative Minds. |
Look at St Ann’s just over the border from Brookland in MD and Scrilli School in NE DC. Both go up to 5 and are probably on par with after care costs at some schools but are much more reliable preschool calendars. |
Totally possible but you won't know for a while. There's typically a burst of waitlist movement in May after the enrollment deadline passes, then not as much in June and July, then more in August as people get serious about their plans and schools start giving shorter reply deadlines. |
Also a good idea. |