Can you tell me about Key?

[Anonymous]

I read so much about Janney, Murch, Hearst, etc on these forums but not a lot of info about Key. The threads I found through searching are seriously out-of-date or seem to be lacking in actual parent reviews.

For parents who have kids there, what are your experiences with the school? How does it compare to the other Ward 3 elementaries - smaller class sizes? More/less OOB kids? Test scores?

We are looking at houses and we really like the Palisades. Some of the SFHs are in our price range. It's also close to our in-laws just over the border in Bethesda. We'd be applying for the Pre-K-4 in two years. We don't want to move again for a very long time, so we are buying with the intention of sticking here for 10 years at least.

[Anonymous]

First rule of Key... don't post on DCUM about Key.

Half-serious - it's a close-knit community.

http://profiles.dcps.dc.gov/Key+Elementary+School
http://keyschooldc.org/dcps/

The Palisades really is an fairly isolated area of the city - so it does have a 'small town in the city' and neighborhood feel to it - which is probably what is most different than the others you mentioned. Lots of community-feeling events, drop off on the playground, quiet area. Awesome playground where lots of kids congregate & two blocks from the Palisades Rec Center/Park which is also a neighborhood kid hub. About half of the kids who live in-boundary for the school go to Key & half to privates. About 10% OOB kids. It's a great schools - smaller overall size that Janney, Murch, Lafeyette - a little smaller than Stoddert, a little bigger than Mann. On par/in-range test scores with other JKLMs, a little more diversity than Janney & Lafayette & Mann - on par with Murch & Stoddert. Class size around 20 (pre-k 4s all have a limit of 20, there were a number of families who didn't get in this year), 3 kindergarten classes 21-24 kids - which was the biggest in years. Great teachers, great principal, involved parents. 5th grades are in semi-permanent trailers, which most people don't mind. Biggest downside for us is the feeder pattern to Hardy for Middle School - which is rising but not on par with the performance of the feeder elementary schools yet - but there's a lot of optimism building for it - but currently only about 10 or so(?) kids went there from Key last year & as of know lots of families start heading to privates or charters in 5th grade - which could impact your longer-term calculations.

[Anonymous]

Totally true about there not being a lot of Key talk on this forum.

[Anonymous]

Palisades resident here. Key is a great school! Full disclosure, my kids go to Mann, as the last few blocks in NW DC on the east side of MacArthur and a few blocks further east are in Mann district (officially, it is Kent, but everyone considers it Palisades) both schools ar lovely, and Key has a great neighborhood feel, since pretty much everyone at Key lives in Palisades and Foxhall Village. Do not assume you will get a spot in Pre-K, however-they are coveted and siblings get first preference. It's a really nice size, very international, with smart kids and committed parents.

[Anonymous]

OP, I was you 13 years ago. We moved in-bounds for Key with our three children, saw them all go through and it was some of the happiest years of my life. We were active in the PTA and got to know a lot of families, it's a small school and you can feel like you know all of the parents and kids. Palisades in many ways is like a small town, if you know people at Key you'll be thick with the whole neighborhood. It's great.

But for the dark side: enrollment at Key starts dropping off around the third grade, the fifth grade is about a third the size of the kindergarten. The reason is anxiety about middle school. Very few families go to Hardy, and if you're leaving DCPS for charters or private your choices are a lot better if you leave for fourth or fifth grade.

A dozen years ago, middle school was a decade away for my kids. The neighbors warned me about Hardy, but I figured DCPS had changed so much in the prior decade that there is no telling what Hardy would be like a decade hence. While Hardy hasn't changed as much as we'd hoped in the past decade, there's no telling what the next decade holds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I was you 13 years ago. We moved in-bounds for Key with our three children, saw them all go through and it was some of the happiest years of my life. We were active in the PTA and got to know a lot of families, it's a small school and you can feel like you know all of the parents and kids. Palisades in many ways is like a small town, if you know people at Key you'll be thick with the whole neighborhood. It's great.

But for the dark side: enrollment at Key starts dropping off around the third grade, the fifth grade is about a third the size of the kindergarten. The reason is anxiety about middle school. Very few families go to Hardy, and if you're leaving DCPS for charters or private your choices are a lot better if you leave for fourth or fifth grade.

A dozen years ago, middle school was a decade away for my kids. The neighbors warned me about Hardy, but I figured DCPS had changed so much in the prior decade that there is no telling what Hardy would be like a decade hence. While Hardy hasn't changed as much as we'd hoped in the past decade, there's no telling what the next decade holds.

OP here:
Thanks - this is great insight! Are your kids at Hardy? Or did you go private/HRCS? Or did you completely leave the area?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I was you 13 years ago. We moved in-bounds for Key with our three children, saw them all go through and it was some of the happiest years of my life. We were active in the PTA and got to know a lot of families, it's a small school and you can feel like you know all of the parents and kids. Palisades in many ways is like a small town, if you know people at Key you'll be thick with the whole neighborhood. It's great.

But for the dark side: enrollment at Key starts dropping off around the third grade, the fifth grade is about a third the size of the kindergarten. The reason is anxiety about middle school. Very few families go to Hardy, and if you're leaving DCPS for charters or private your choices are a lot better if you leave for fourth or fifth grade.

A dozen years ago, middle school was a decade away for my kids. The neighbors warned me about Hardy, but I figured DCPS had changed so much in the prior decade that there is no telling what Hardy would be like a decade hence. While Hardy hasn't changed as much as we'd hoped in the past decade, there's no telling what the next decade holds.

OP here:
Thanks - this is great insight! Are your kids at Hardy? Or did you go private/HRCS? Or did you completely leave the area?

After much soul-searching, went private. Over $300K to put three kids through middle school. We tried to lottery into Deal or a charter but didn't get in, moving was the only alternative. Many of our friends left DC, some even left the country.

[Anonymous]

National Blue Ribbon School

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I was you 13 years ago. We moved in-bounds for Key with our three children, saw them all go through and it was some of the happiest years of my life. We were active in the PTA and got to know a lot of families, it's a small school and you can feel like you know all of the parents and kids. Palisades in many ways is like a small town, if you know people at Key you'll be thick with the whole neighborhood. It's great.

But for the dark side: enrollment at Key starts dropping off around the third grade, the fifth grade is about a third the size of the kindergarten. The reason is anxiety about middle school. Very few families go to Hardy, and if you're leaving DCPS for charters or private your choices are a lot better if you leave for fourth or fifth grade.

A dozen years ago, middle school was a decade away for my kids. The neighbors warned me about Hardy, but I figured DCPS had changed so much in the prior decade that there is no telling what Hardy would be like a decade hence. While Hardy hasn't changed as much as we'd hoped in the past decade, there's no telling what the next decade holds.

I could have written this post. Oldest is in private and still 2 at Key. We are holding out hope that Hardy will feel right for our youngest, but doubt it.

[Anonymous]

Our oldest just started pk4 at Key. We love it. We are IB but did not initially lottery in. Don't worry, the waitlist moves, even among IB families.

We are hoping hard for a Hardy option in the future (7 years away for us). If this board is to be believed, Stoddert is going to be the bellwether, and once they start packing Hardy classes with Stoddert alumni, the school should become a much more convivial place for Key kids.

[Anonymous]

Another Key parent hoping for the Hardy option in the future. I keep wondering if there's more that parents with younger Key kids can/should do to get involved earlier with moving Hardy to match the neighborhood interests before their kids reach 3rd/4th grade & start getting in the private/charter application time frame.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another Key parent hoping for the Hardy option in the future. I keep wondering if there's more that parents with younger Key kids can/should do to get involved earlier with moving Hardy to match the neighborhood interests before their kids reach 3rd/4th grade & start getting in the private/charter application time frame.

22:46 here. The PTA Hardy Focus Group is meeting tonight, with some other feeder-school parents, at the Kennedy Warren building near the zoo. I have a conflict, but wish I could attend -- this is a conversation in which we should be taking part.

There is also an Open House at Hardy on October 8. Watch for PTA email with more info.

[Anonymous]

Get rid of the uniforms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Get rid of the uniforms.

Key does not have uniforms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Get rid of the uniforms.

Key does not have uniforms.

PP was referring to Hardy uniforms (immediately followed the post about a Hardy info meeting).