Moving (suddenly!) to DC/Columbia Heights, what great (or good) PK3 can we get into mid July?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree you should try DCPS schools. You can call and they will tell you where you would have a shot.

Agree with adding Hope. Also know someone who went to Shining Star Montessori this year. Check that out as well.

Third this recommendation. There are always ALWAYS DCPS schools with pre-school/pre-K openings. Granted, they're not going to be in your top 6 (or top 10) DCPS choices, but it's only pre-school and next year you'll be better prepared. There are a lot of families that use DCPS for the free pre-school/pre-K before choosing better schools (private, charter, or better DCPS) that they like. (It's a dirty little secret, but it's true.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Re Monroe: once you establish that it's your in-boundary ("neighborhood") school, you'll move to the top of the wait list. (No guarantees until K.) You'll then get in as soon as wait lists start to move in August, if not earlier. You definitely should do that, even as you continue to explore other possibilities.

I thought the waitlist order was set and if you missed the lottery window they added you to the end of it - even if you were inbounds. The only way you could jump now is if you have a sibling enrolled.

Is my understanding incorrect?

You are correct, you have to go in lottery to get neighborhood preference.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, have you contacted any DCPS schools yet? All the ones you list are charter schools. DCPS you could try include:

Garrison
West
Powell
Marie Reed
Francis-Stevens
Tubman

Hi, yes we've now applied to several of those now. I have real hope about one of them (loved the school and met the Principal who was awesome), and we are next on the waiting list at another (just missed the last open slot by one day!). So we're considering those for sure.

Still need to talk to Kipp and Hope - first thing on the agenda on Monday.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree you should try DCPS schools. You can call and they will tell you where you would have a shot.

Agree with adding Hope. Also know someone who went to Shining Star Montessori this year. Check that out as well.

Thanks, we put in for Shining Stars as well. What was your friend's experience last year?

[Anonymous]

OP you sound you're on the ball. You will be just fine. I wouldn't be surprised if by the end of summer you get 3 or 4 options. Way to be an advocate!

[Anonymous]

OP, try Amazing Life Games - it's a co-op preschool not far from Columbia Heights. Don't know what the prices are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP you sound you're on the ball. You will be just fine. I wouldn't be surprised if by the end of summer you get 3 or 4 options. Way to be an advocate!

Thank you, I appreciate that and really hope it's true! The stress makes you forget that things will likely turn out ok. But I guess the stress also keeps me on my toes!

Re: Amazing Life Games, thanks for the rec, from what I saw on prices it looks like it's out of our price range. Same with another Coop that was mentioned early in the thread, unfortunately.

Always appreciate the continued advice... you guys rule!

[Anonymous]

So for those suggesting we check out Hope, is Hope = Ferrebee Hope Elementary? And if so, I know you guys have said "Don't freak out that 50% 3rd grade results means their pre-school isn't adequate or even good", but Hope is the only school I've looked at so far that gets a 1 on Great Schools and it looks like it's got the lowest % proficiency for 3rd 4th and 5th grades that I've seen.

Anyone here have kids at Hope or know about it to tell me how the preschool is and what's going on in the upper grades? As always your info is so appreciated, thank you!

[Anonymous]

OP, don't overlook H.D. Cooke, it's a DCPS in Adams Morgan and it seems like preschool there is pretty great. No idea what their waiting list is like, but we had a child there for K and we had a pretty good experience. Also, I don't think anyone's mentioned this yet, but if you go out of town this summer for vacation or some other travel - don't forget to check messages - this is really important because as schools move through their lists, they may only give you 24 or 48 hours to respond. It may seem harsh, but when they have a list of 100 names (or more) to get through they want to be fair to as many families as possible. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, don't overlook H.D. Cooke, it's a DCPS in Adams Morgan and it seems like preschool there is pretty great. No idea what their waiting list is like, but we had a child there for K and we had a pretty good experience. Also, I don't think anyone's mentioned this yet, but if you go out of town this summer for vacation or some other travel - don't forget to check messages - this is really important because as schools move through their lists, they may only give you 24 or 48 hours to respond. It may seem harsh, but when they have a list of 100 names (or more) to get through they want to be fair to as many families as possible. Good luck!

2nd this. I know a family that lost a nice pre-school slot because they were on vacation and didn't check in on their messages.

[Anonymous]

Hopefully you are rich and can afford private cause dcps including charters suck

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hopefully you are rich and can afford private cause dcps including charters suck

Wrong.

Hopefully you'll switch to milk instead of pee in your cornflakes, 'cause you're not only ill-informed, you're also a bitch.

[Anonymous]

OP, I was thinking if Imagine Hope Community Charter. I knew a few folks who went there for preschool. I thought they had a campus in NW but I think I was wrong--both were in NE.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So for those suggesting we check out Hope, is Hope = Ferrebee Hope Elementary? And if so, I know you guys have said "Don't freak out that 50% 3rd grade results means their pre-school isn't adequate or even good", but Hope is the only school I've looked at so far that gets a 1 on Great Schools and it looks like it's got the lowest % proficiency for 3rd 4th and 5th grades that I've seen.

Anyone here have kids at Hope or know about it to tell me how the preschool is and what's going on in the upper grades? As always your info is so appreciated, thank you!

http://www.greatschools.org/washington-dc/washington/Imagine-Hope-Community-Charter-School/

[Anonymous]

Ferebee-Hope is in SE. Not recommended for you in Columbia Heights.