DCI or Deal

[Anonymous]

We're very interested and we're Jewish. We can't afford Sidwell etc. and don't like the cocoon scene at pricey schools in Upper NW.

[Anonymous]

What does any of this have to do with Deal or DCI?

[Anonymous]

If you can't take any more DC public school middle school BS--serious crowding at Deal, lack of academic tracking for humanities and science subjects at both schools, long commutes from Cap Hill to DCI etc.--there are some affordable private schools that may be within reach.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Come on, there really aren't "wealthy" AA families in DC public schools. Some UMC, but fewer proportionate to their numbers than other races (and for good reason).

The same as there aren’t any real wealthy white people in DCPS. But if you mean ~$400-500k income, there are many AA that are in public schools.

Compared to % of whites in category above and overall % AA in the city with income above, its small. And I would bet all of them are in public schools that feed into Wilson.

My point is that most white folks >500k are also private. Wilson and Deal are predominantly $200-300, maybe $350k earners. The true wealthy are in private regardless of race.

And compared to the rest of the city and the DMV, a family of 4 with $200-350K annual HHI is also in the upper-income tier (aka wealthy). https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/09/06/are-you-in-the-american-middle-class/

Our HHI is 360K, we would have to make about $200K more to pay the 100K in tuition that sending our kids to private schools would cost. Maybe families with only children send their kids at a lower income. We bought in a Wilson/Deal feeder pattern. We do have a nice house and a great life, I am not complaining or crying poor, just noting that it takes a very high income (or family money) to afford private schools in DC.

This. Our HHI is about the same and there's no way we could afford to pay for independent schools for our 3 kids in DC unless we moved into a very cheap home, abandoned goals to save for college and retirement, eliminated our vacation budget, etc. At ~$48K per kid per year by the time you add in all the fees (sometimes more for high school), that's $144K per year. We've been lucky with some real estate transactions and we're comfortable and not crying poor either. But upper class means you can afford private schools along with the nice home in a nice neighborhood, vacations, etc. and we're clearly upper middle class in DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Come on, there really aren't "wealthy" AA families in DC public schools. Some UMC, but fewer proportionate to their numbers than other races (and for good reason).

The same as there aren’t any real wealthy white people in DCPS. But if you mean ~$400-500k income, there are many AA that are in public schools.

Compared to % of whites in category above and overall % AA in the city with income above, its small. And I would bet all of them are in public schools that feed into Wilson.

My point is that most white folks >500k are also private. Wilson and Deal are predominantly $200-300, maybe $350k earners. The true wealthy are in private regardless of race.

And compared to the rest of the city and the DMV, a family of 4 with $200-350K annual HHI is also in the upper-income tier (aka wealthy). https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/09/06/are-you-in-the-american-middle-class/

Our HHI is 360K, we would have to make about $200K more to pay the 100K in tuition that sending our kids to private schools would cost. Maybe families with only children send their kids at a lower income. We bought in a Wilson/Deal feeder pattern. We do have a nice house and a great life, I am not complaining or crying poor, just noting that it takes a very high income (or family money) to afford private schools in DC.

Our HHI is $365K and we're paying for one kid in a "Big3" school next fall. Our other two will continue in DCPS. Our bill for next year for the private with all "fees" just topped $49K when the school added in the final fee (tuition insurance) last week. It's crazy. It's not like we have a pain-free $49K hanging around our budget each year on pre-tax $365K--which is a really good--I'd say "upper middle class or upper class" income. (Certainly it's our choice to pay this for school---but I'm here to say that it's CRAZY and no insignificant thing to do even on a decent income).

This. Our HHI is about the same and there's no way we could afford to pay for independent schools for our 3 kids in DC unless we moved into a very cheap home, abandoned goals to save for college and retirement, eliminated our vacation budget, etc. At ~$48K per kid per year by the time you add in all the fees (sometimes more for high school), that's $144K per year. We've been lucky with some real estate transactions and we're comfortable and not crying poor either. But upper class means you can afford private schools along with the nice home in a nice neighborhood, vacations, etc. and we're clearly upper middle class in DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Come on, there really aren't "wealthy" AA families in DC public schools. Some UMC, but fewer proportionate to their numbers than other races (and for good reason).

The same as there aren’t any real wealthy white people in DCPS. But if you mean ~$400-500k income, there are many AA that are in public schools.

Compared to % of whites in category above and overall % AA in the city with income above, its small. And I would bet all of them are in public schools that feed into Wilson.

My point is that most white folks >500k are also private. Wilson and Deal are predominantly $200-300, maybe $350k earners. The true wealthy are in private regardless of race.

And compared to the rest of the city and the DMV, a family of 4 with $200-350K annual HHI is also in the upper-income tier (aka wealthy). https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/09/06/are-you-in-the-american-middle-class/

Our HHI is 360K, we would have to make about $200K more to pay the 100K in tuition that sending our kids to private schools would cost. Maybe families with only children send their kids at a lower income. We bought in a Wilson/Deal feeder pattern. We do have a nice house and a great life, I am not complaining or crying poor, just noting that it takes a very high income (or family money) to afford private schools in DC.

This. Our HHI is about the same and there's no way we could afford to pay for independent schools for our 3 kids in DC unless we moved into a very cheap home, abandoned goals to save for college and retirement, eliminated our vacation budget, etc. At ~$48K per kid per year by the time you add in all the fees (sometimes more for high school), that's $144K per year. We've been lucky with some real estate transactions and we're comfortable and not crying poor either. But upper class means you can afford private schools along with the nice home in a nice neighborhood, vacations, etc. and we're clearly upper middle class in DC.

Our HHI is $365K and we're paying for one kid in a "Big3" school next fall. Our other two will continue in DCPS. Our bill for next year for the private with all "fees" just topped $49K when the school added in the final fee (tuition insurance) last week. It's crazy. It's not like we have a pain-free $49K hanging around our budget each year on pre-tax $365K--which is a really good--I'd say "upper middle class or upper class" income. (Certainly it's our choice to pay this for school---but I'm here to say that it's CRAZY and no insignificant thing to do even on a decent income).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Come on, there really aren't "wealthy" AA families in DC public schools. Some UMC, but fewer proportionate to their numbers than other races (and for good reason).

The same as there aren’t any real wealthy white people in DCPS. But if you mean ~$400-500k income, there are many AA that are in public schools.

Compared to % of whites in category above and overall % AA in the city with income above, its small. And I would bet all of them are in public schools that feed into Wilson.

My point is that most white folks >500k are also private. Wilson and Deal are predominantly $200-300, maybe $350k earners. The true wealthy are in private regardless of race.

And compared to the rest of the city and the DMV, a family of 4 with $200-350K annual HHI is also in the upper-income tier (aka wealthy). https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/09/06/are-you-in-the-american-middle-class/

Our HHI is 360K, we would have to make about $200K more to pay the 100K in tuition that sending our kids to private schools would cost. Maybe families with only children send their kids at a lower income. We bought in a Wilson/Deal feeder pattern. We do have a nice house and a great life, I am not complaining or crying poor, just noting that it takes a very high income (or family money) to afford private schools in DC.

This is definitely true—we have around the same income and recently moved our only from a Deal feeder to private, although not one of the super expensive ones. There is definitely a higher proportion of families with onlies here, many of whom are likely in the $200-350K HHI range (AFAICT based on professions like journalists, etc.).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Come on, there really aren't "wealthy" AA families in DC public schools. Some UMC, but fewer proportionate to their numbers than other races (and for good reason).

The same as there aren’t any real wealthy white people in DCPS. But if you mean ~$400-500k income, there are many AA that are in public schools.

Compared to % of whites in category above and overall % AA in the city with income above, its small. And I would bet all of them are in public schools that feed into Wilson.

My point is that most white folks >500k are also private. Wilson and Deal are predominantly $200-300, maybe $350k earners. The true wealthy are in private regardless of race.

And compared to the rest of the city and the DMV, a family of 4 with $200-350K annual HHI is also in the upper-income tier (aka wealthy). https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/09/06/are-you-in-the-american-middle-class/

Our HHI is 360K, we would have to make about $200K more to pay the 100K in tuition that sending our kids to private schools would cost. Maybe families with only children send their kids at a lower income. We bought in a Wilson/Deal feeder pattern. We do have a nice house and a great life, I am not complaining or crying poor, just noting that it takes a very high income (or family money) to afford private schools in DC.

This. Our HHI is about the same and there's no way we could afford to pay for independent schools for our 3 kids in DC unless we moved into a very cheap home, abandoned goals to save for college and retirement, eliminated our vacation budget, etc. At ~$48K per kid per year by the time you add in all the fees (sometimes more for high school), that's $144K per year. We've been lucky with some real estate transactions and we're comfortable and not crying poor either. But upper class means you can afford private schools along with the nice home in a nice neighborhood, vacations, etc. and we're clearly upper middle class in DC.

Our HHI is $365K and we're paying for one kid in a "Big3" school next fall. Our other two will continue in DCPS. Our bill for next year for the private with all "fees" just topped $49K when the school added in the final fee (tuition insurance) last week. It's crazy. It's not like we have a pain-free $49K hanging around our budget each year on pre-tax $365K--which is a really good--I'd say "upper middle class or upper class" income. (Certainly it's our choice to pay this for school---but I'm here to say that it's CRAZY and no insignificant thing to do even on a decent income).

PP you're responding to here. I hear you - it's insane and you haven't even touched on aftercare or extracurriculars. The one thing I see a little differently is that your/our HHI is UMC, not UC, for DC. $360K might be a different story in Nebraska but we likely wouldn't have the same salaries there.

[Anonymous]

I am the first one that stated our income and inability to pay for private. My point was not to lay out my budget or try to find a way to afford private, I was responding to a PP that indicated many families living in the Deal/Wilson boundary at the 350-500K HHI were all going private. We are not. Right now DCPS is working for our family and we can afford to live where we want and how we want and save for the things that are important to us. It is not perfect. I am sending my second to Deal next year.

[Anonymous]

Maybe these self-describes UMC people don’t think they can afford the elite private’s, but the median household income in 2017 was $82K.

I think that is a sobering and worth keeping in mind. TBH someone who has a choice between Deal and DCI is pretty privileged comparatively speaking.

Citation: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/social-issues/household-incomes-bounce-back-in-the-district/2018/09/12/2e97ec82-b6e3-11e8-94eb-3bd52dfe917b_story.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe these self-describes UMC people don’t think they can afford the elite private’s, but the median household income in 2017 was $82K.

I think that is a sobering and worth keeping in mind. TBH someone who has a choice between Deal and DCI is pretty privileged comparatively speaking.

Citation: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/social-issues/household-incomes-bounce-back-in-the-district/2018/09/12/2e97ec82-b6e3-11e8-94eb-3bd52dfe917b_story.html

Absolutely. I'm the previous poster with the $365K income who self-described as "upper class". I work closely with the underprivileged of DC on a daily basis through my job. At my income I absolutely am upper class when compared to 95% of DC residents, whether or not I can afford $49K of tuition comfortably. Having the choice of Deal or DCI is also incredibly privileged when compared to the choices of thousands of DC residents.

[Anonymous]

DCI draws kids from every ward in the city. Literally. Privilege and HHI have nothing to do with who gets in to DCI. That's why the FARMS rate is ~52%. Deal on the other hand, has a FARMS rate of 12% . Now there's privilege at work!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Come on, there really aren't "wealthy" AA families in DC public schools. Some UMC, but fewer proportionate to their numbers than other races (and for good reason).

The same as there aren’t any real wealthy white people in DCPS. But if you mean ~$400-500k income, there are many AA that are in public schools.

Compared to % of whites in category above and overall % AA in the city with income above, its small. And I would bet all of them are in public schools that feed into Wilson.

My point is that most white folks >500k are also private. Wilson and Deal are predominantly $200-300, maybe $350k earners. The true wealthy are in private regardless of race.

And compared to the rest of the city and the DMV, a family of 4 with $200-350K annual HHI is also in the upper-income tier (aka wealthy). https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/09/06/are-you-in-the-american-middle-class/

Our HHI is 360K, we would have to make about $200K more to pay the 100K in tuition that sending our kids to private schools would cost. Maybe families with only children send their kids at a lower income. We bought in a Wilson/Deal feeder pattern. We do have a nice house and a great life, I am not complaining or crying poor, just noting that it takes a very high income (or family money) to afford private schools in DC.

This. Our HHI is about the same and there's no way we could afford to pay for independent schools for our 3 kids in DC unless we moved into a very cheap home, abandoned goals to save for college and retirement, eliminated our vacation budget, etc. At ~$48K per kid per year by the time you add in all the fees (sometimes more for high school), that's $144K per year. We've been lucky with some real estate transactions and we're comfortable and not crying poor either. But upper class means you can afford private schools along with the nice home in a nice neighborhood, vacations, etc. and we're clearly upper middle class in DC.

It wasn't always like this: my parents -- a SAHM and a journalist dad -- could afford to have their three kids in Big 3's (grades 7-12) and then PLACs , simultaneously. My wife and I both work and make ~$300k -- less than you, but not chump change -- and it would be impossible to have our two kids in privates at the same time. So we do HRCS -> Deal.

In other words, elite privates have gotten more elite as their prices have outpaced inflation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DCI draws kids from every ward in the city. Literally. Privilege and HHI have nothing to do with who gets in to DCI. That's why the FARMS rate is ~52%. Deal on the other hand, has a FARMS rate of 12% . Now there's privilege at work!

And to get to go to DCI, one must have lottery luck. So while many are not economically privileged, they are fortunate to be in a strong option. Also, we are talking about the OP, a parent who lives IB for Deal and because they lotteried into a feeder, has a choice between the 2 and is trying to decide. Very few have that luxury.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe these self-describes UMC people don’t think they can afford the elite private’s, but the median household income in 2017 was $82K.

I think that is a sobering and worth keeping in mind. TBH someone who has a choice between Deal and DCI is pretty privileged comparatively speaking.

Citation: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/social-issues/household-incomes-bounce-back-in-the-district/2018/09/12/2e97ec82-b6e3-11e8-94eb-3bd52dfe917b_story.html

Yeah and the median home price is $220k nationwide and national average daycare is $200-week. It’s all relative.