Parents of 2-year-old in DC - what should we be doing NOW to prepare for the PK3 lottery?

[Anonymous]

I want to start gathering information to figure out how to rank schools for my 2-year-old for PK3 for next fall, and I'm looking for advice of where to begin. We are currently renting in NW and are hoping to either buy closer to whatever school she gets into if we can afford it and it makes sense for our family, or stay in our rental, which we love. Our neighborhood school would be West.

Last year, we went to EdFest and I looked at the school data to get a sense of what schools we'd be interested in and have a shot at getting into. We can't afford to live WOTP, so it's looking like charters or EOTP in boundary schools in neighborhoods like Brightwood, Petworth, Brookland, Woodridge, or Takoma. I have since forgotten most of that info (I have a newborn too) so will need to start fresh with the latest data anyway.

What are the first 3 steps you'd recommend we take to get started on this fall to prepare for the lottery?

[Anonymous]

Attend EdFest. Pick out a neighborhood. Start talking to folks about schools.

I'll also note that your IB DCPS will be determined by your current address as of lottery date (March 1ish). Are you happy with that option? Moving is great if you get into a charter, but most DCPS options, even EOTP, will be shut out to OOB students.

[Anonymous]

Consider what is important to you: commute? Montessori? Immersion? Some other factor?

Those are hugely important for helping decide on options.

[Anonymous]

Now is when you start researching options and attending open houses of schools you feel fairly certain you want on your list. Have some options that are long shots and some that are more likely you will be admitted to.

[Anonymous]

First of all, chill out. This isn't that complicated. But I do understand that your free time is limited so you need to start early in order to get all the research done.

My main advice would be to speak positively about your IB because there's a very good chance you will attend. Don't be one of those fools who talks down their IB and then has to turn on a dime when they strike out in the lottery.

[Anonymous]

Go walk by West at drop off / dismissal. Talk to your neighbors at the farmers market. See if people are generally happy. Find a family who has a 2nd grader there. Find out how long they have been enrolled - what their plans are for 3rd and above (ask them if they entered the lottery this last year? - why or why not)

[Anonymous]

You should read this:

https://www.washingtonian.com/2014/03/24/how-not-to-get-your-kid-into-kindergarten/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Attend EdFest. Pick out a neighborhood. Start talking to folks about schools.

I'll also note that your IB DCPS will be determined by your current address as of lottery date (March 1ish). Are you happy with that option? Moving is great if you get into a charter, but most DCPS options, even EOTP, will be shut out to OOB students.

True, but that's for the free PS/PK. Lots of schools get discounted after that like the toy aisle at Walmart on the day after Christmas. If you're IB, you're guaranteed for K, and it's also a lot easier to get in anywhere else. We're all playing the same game. See the post above about "How NOT to get your kid into Kindergarten." See the thread about the suburbs. See any thread about bitter neighborhood schoolers who resent nearby charters. Until people land in a great school, they all keep trading up.

[Anonymous]

I would go to some open houses this year, as your schedule allows and take good notes. that way you may not have to go to as many next year or at least you will know what to look out for (for ex: you may have thought one school seemed like it didn't do a good job of dealing with X issue, the next year you can go back and see if the school has changed the way it handles X).

I found the pre-k 4 year in the lottery much less stressful than the prek3 year and I think that is because I didn't have to go to as many open houses, since I had gone to so many the year before.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would go to some open houses this year, as your schedule allows and take good notes. that way you may not have to go to as many next year or at least you will know what to look out for (for ex: you may have thought one school seemed like it didn't do a good job of dealing with X issue, the next year you can go back and see if the school has changed the way it handles X).

I found the pre-k 4 year in the lottery much less stressful than the prek3 year and I think that is because I didn't have to go to as many open houses, since I had gone to so many the year before.

So you continued to play the lottery even after a year of prek3?

[Anonymous]

Not the PP, because t I know exactly two people who didn't lottery after the first year. Most people continue to try to keep their options open for the first couple years at the very least.

[Anonymous]

If you're interested in certainty over chance (seems like it from your post), then you'll want to research your schools now, buy IB for one that you like, then chill out come lottery time.

If you are comfortable with the school, neighborhood, and range of home prices around West, I think that's a safe bet compared to some of the other places like Woodridge. Brookland may be worth a look too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would go to some open houses this year, as your schedule allows and take good notes. that way you may not have to go to as many next year or at least you will know what to look out for (for ex: you may have thought one school seemed like it didn't do a good job of dealing with X issue, the next year you can go back and see if the school has changed the way it handles X).

I found the pre-k 4 year in the lottery much less stressful than the prek3 year and I think that is because I didn't have to go to as many open houses, since I had gone to so many the year before.

So you continued to play the lottery even after a year of prek3?

A lot of people play the lottery for several years in a row. In our case, we didn't get in anywhere we liked for pre-k3 so stayed at a private preschool. we then got into our top choice for prek-4.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks for the tips so far. Our lease is not up until after the lottery, so we would not be able to move to another IB school zone before them and wouldn't want to.

Is the best way to find out about open houses to look on each school's website? There are so many schools and I have limited leave because I had to use it all for maternity leave again... How many open houses should I try to go to? Does each school have a few open houses throughout the year?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for the tips so far. Our lease is not up until after the lottery, so we would not be able to move to another IB school zone before them and wouldn't want to.

Is the best way to find out about open houses to look on each school's website? There are so many schools and I have limited leave because I had to use it all for maternity leave again... How many open houses should I try to go to? Does each school have a few open houses throughout the year?

DCPS will post a complete list at some point

Here is last year's for perspective: http://dcps.dc.gov/openhouse