Are two different school drop-offs possible?

[Anonymous]

Preface: I'm brand new to DC and this lottery system.
Based on WL numbers my pk4 child will not get into our IB older child's school. So I'm now preparing for two school drop-offs. Based on our WL #s one school will be in NW and one in NE. I'm doubtful this is even possible. It seems all schools start at the same time for elementary. We can't find any private preschool options in DC in our budget right now. Will the pk4 school frown on us arriving 10 minutes late each day? (I'm pretty sure I know the answer to that.) I'm just curious if others have been able to make two drop-offs work at the normal school start time? Otherwise it looks like we may be homeschooling...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Preface: I'm brand new to DC and this lottery system.
Based on WL numbers my pk4 child will not get into our IB older child's school. So I'm now preparing for two school drop-offs. Based on our WL #s one school will be in NW and one in NE. I'm doubtful this is even possible. It seems all schools start at the same time for elementary. We can't find any private preschool options in DC in our budget right now. Will the pk4 school frown on us arriving 10 minutes late each day? (I'm pretty sure I know the answer to that.) I'm just curious if others have been able to make two drop-offs work at the normal school start time? Otherwise it looks like we may be homeschooling...

If you enroll one child in beforecare, you could drop off that kid at 8 or whenever it is that beforecare starts, then take the other one.

[Anonymous]

Many schools have before care you can pay for - which may give you more flexibility.

Another option would be finding a family to carpool with to share dropoffs to one school or another.

What are the schools in questions OP?

[Anonymous]

I am assuming your older child is in the NW school. Most get IB pre-k students in. I think Janney is the only that hasn't been able to clear their IB list in recent years.

But it would help if you told schools. We did a NW/NE split but it requires two parents. One couldn't do it since the drive from NW to NE can take a lot of time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am assuming your older child is in the NW school. Most get IB pre-k students in. I think Janney is the only that hasn't been able to clear their IB list in recent years.

But it would help if you told schools. We did a NW/NE split but it requires two parents. One couldn't do it since the drive from NW to NE can take a lot of time.

IB student is at Stoddert. No chance of getting off pk4 waitlist despite sibling preference. Only 20 spots in pk4 and I don't expect it to move.

[Anonymous]

I did it, but the schools had different start times (not all schools are the same). The schools were also both in the same quadrant of the city.

Before care could also be an option.

[Anonymous]

We do a 2 school drop off but it's only doable because our youngest is at Appletree CH so it's just barely over the park and kids can be dropped off at 8am. What we do is drop the little one off first and then drive back to our WOTP ES for the 8:40am start time. Timing is really tight so unless one kid is in beforecare, I can't see going from NW to NE with both schools starting at the same time. Have you considered a charter like AT that is closer to Stoddert?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We do a 2 school drop off but it's only doable because our youngest is at Appletree CH so it's just barely over the park and kids can be dropped off at 8am. What we do is drop the little one off first and then drive back to our WOTP ES for the 8:40am start time. Timing is really tight so unless one kid is in beforecare, I can't see going from NW to NE with both schools starting at the same time. Have you considered a charter like AT that is closer to Stoddert?

Yes, we're on WLs for 20 schools, including two AT. The only schools I think we have any chance at are in NE. But I will look at the start times to see if they differ at all. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We do a 2 school drop off but it's only doable because our youngest is at Appletree CH so it's just barely over the park and kids can be dropped off at 8am. What we do is drop the little one off first and then drive back to our WOTP ES for the 8:40am start time. Timing is really tight so unless one kid is in beforecare, I can't see going from NW to NE with both schools starting at the same time. Have you considered a charter like AT that is closer to Stoddert?

Yes, we're on WLs for 20 schools, including two AT. The only schools I think we have any chance at are in NE. But I will look at the start times to see if they differ at all. Thanks!

While less than ideal at the car seat age of 4, you might luck into some sort of carpool too, given the scarcity of IB spots at Stoddert (we for example at IB at Stoddert too, without sibling preference, so know we never had a prayer, and but for special ed transportation would be driving to NE charter). I know Stoddert's before and aftercare can be tough to get into though, which may complicate things (I think aftercare may be harder than before care) - but that also means likely a number of other families who either find before care alternatives or might take on your older kid if you needed to leave earlier. Stoddert, if I recall, starts, reasonably late (8:45?) though I don't know how early a drop off you can do, and thus might force you to do what a PP mentioned - drive to the NE school and then back again - which seems crazy to me, but I guess it depends on where you need to end up after drop offs. There are also a fair number of AU students who *might* be interested in a getting the older child off to school gig (I say might because that seems like a tough time, early morning, to snag a student, we did have luck for afterschool hours though). I don't envy your dilemma though (with #2 on the way, we're looking at ways to avoid a 2 location drop off/pick up, though at least with daycare would have far more flexibility than school start times).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We do a 2 school drop off but it's only doable because our youngest is at Appletree CH so it's just barely over the park and kids can be dropped off at 8am. What we do is drop the little one off first and then drive back to our WOTP ES for the 8:40am start time. Timing is really tight so unless one kid is in beforecare, I can't see going from NW to NE with both schools starting at the same time. Have you considered a charter like AT that is closer to Stoddert?

Yes, we're on WLs for 20 schools, including two AT. The only schools I think we have any chance at are in NE. But I will look at the start times to see if they differ at all. Thanks!

AT's wait list usually goes in pretty deep every year.

You will have to do beforecare at Stoddert.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We do a 2 school drop off but it's only doable because our youngest is at Appletree CH so it's just barely over the park and kids can be dropped off at 8am. What we do is drop the little one off first and then drive back to our WOTP ES for the 8:40am start time. Timing is really tight so unless one kid is in beforecare, I can't see going from NW to NE with both schools starting at the same time. Have you considered a charter like AT that is closer to Stoddert?

Yes, we're on WLs for 20 schools, including two AT. The only schools I think we have any chance at are in NE. But I will look at the start times to see if they differ at all. Thanks!

AT's wait list usually goes in pretty deep every year.

You will have to do beforecare at Stoddert.

We did AT Columbia Heights and a WOTP school for one year. Depending on where you work can be hard but is doable. AT-CH does usually go deep into its waitlist for PK3, but not sure about PK4. Could believe that you get some movement there too.

[Anonymous]

My child does before care at one school, which starts at 7:45, which allows time for second kid to get to school by 8:45. The second kid's school has before care that starts at 8 am.

[Anonymous]

Done it - it is stressful.

Question for you - is free PreK worth the time to drove from WOTP to NE?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Done it - it is stressful.

Question for you - is free PreK worth the time to drove from WOTP to NE?

Unfortunately, from every other preschool I've looked into, including many here listed as affordable privates, free PreK is the only way my kid is going to preschool. We moved here from out of state where preschool costs aren't anywhere what they are here. So I'll look into the cost of before care for my oldest and see if that's an option at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We do a 2 school drop off but it's only doable because our youngest is at Appletree CH so it's just barely over the park and kids can be dropped off at 8am. What we do is drop the little one off first and then drive back to our WOTP ES for the 8:40am start time. Timing is really tight so unless one kid is in beforecare, I can't see going from NW to NE with both schools starting at the same time. Have you considered a charter like AT that is closer to Stoddert?

Yes, we're on WLs for 20 schools, including two AT. The only schools I think we have any chance at are in NE. But I will look at the start times to see if they differ at all. Thanks!

AT's wait list usually goes in pretty deep every year.

You will have to do beforecare at Stoddert.

We did AT Columbia Heights and a WOTP school for one year. Depending on where you work can be hard but is doable. AT-CH does usually go deep into its waitlist for PK3, but not sure about PK4. Could believe that you get some movement there too.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed!