Is the School Lottery System Transparent??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, this is a condo in your price range. Zoned for Raymond EC, which has ok test scores: https://www.redfin.com/DC/Washington/3619-14th-St-NW-20010/unit-1/home/82099072

This looks nice. Is it a safe area? I don't like the bars on the windows.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How is Petworth?

There are houses zoned for Barnard walking distance from Petworth Metro or walking distance from Fort Totten metro in your price range. Barnard would probably be your back-up as you attempt to lottery elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, this is a condo in your price range. Zoned for Raymond EC, which has ok test scores: https://www.redfin.com/DC/Washington/3619-14th-St-NW-20010/unit-1/home/82099072

This looks nice. Is it a safe area? I don't like the bars on the windows.

Move to burke already. There are bars on windows in georgetown.

[Anonymous]

There are 1000sf+ 2-bedroom condos in your price range in Wilson-feeding schools but they have very high fees, may not include in-unit laundry or parking, and often ban pets. See 4740 Connecticut Ave. NW #208 as an example.

If you are set on DC, I would look in the Takoma elementary school district (Takoma DC, not Takoma Park MD). There is stuff there in your price range (see 809 Floral Place NW), it's close to the metro, and if you find a place north of the metro and happen to lottery in to Shepherd Elementary, you're in the best-scoring feeder pattern in the District: Deal and Wilson.

Honestly, as much as you want to buy, you might want to rent for a year and see where you get in to next year's lottery. That will either lead you to buying/renting in a neighborhood whose school you like (even if it's smaller or more expensive than you wanted) or allow you to find a cheaper place closer to the school. Or you'll find a place in the suburbs.

[Anonymous]

On the off chance you are not a troll, OP.

1. The only way to ensure your kid has a guaranteed elementary-middle-high school path to good schools is move to upper NW. You will not be able to buy a house or a condo there for the amount you want to spend.
2. There are areas (Brent and Maury on the Hill, Ross in Dupont, etc.) that have good elementary schools but no good middle/high schools. You cannot afford a house there either for your price.
3. You can lottery into a good school but it's far from guaranteed and if you are risk averse, not for you.
4. Houses in suburbs that are close in, metro accessible and have good public schools, either in Montgomery County or Northern Virginia, are also outside your price range.

To sum up - either take the risk and play the lottery, be OK with sending your kid to a less than awesome IB school, or move to an outer suburb. Or you can rent, but rents in Upper NW/NoVa/MoCo aren't cheap and may or may not be within your budget. These are the sum of your choices. All the complaining will not make it any different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I love how some people are wearing the lottery system as a badge of pride. You must be one of the people who got into a good school or didn't have your boundary changed from a rising school to an absolute POS.

Our boundary changed and we went from Powell (rising and then some) to Raymond (POS). It sucks.

Burroughs to Noyes

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, this is a condo in your price range. Zoned for Raymond EC, which has ok test scores: https://www.redfin.com/DC/Washington/3619-14th-St-NW-20010/unit-1/home/82099072

This looks nice. Is it a safe area? I don't like the bars on the windows.

omg. OP, you cannot afford a house that does not have bars on the windows.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

1. The only way to ensure your kid has a guaranteed elementary-middle-high school path to good schools is move to upper NW. You will not be able to buy a house or a condo there for the amount you want to spend.
2. There are areas (Brent and Maury on the Hill, Ross in Dupont, etc.) that have good elementary schools but no good middle/high schools. You cannot afford a house there either for your price.
3. You can lottery into a good school but it's far from guaranteed and if you are risk averse, not for you.
4. Houses in suburbs that are close in, metro accessible and have good public schools, either in Montgomery County or Northern Virginia, are also outside your price range.

To sum up - either take the risk and play the lottery, be OK with sending your kid to a less than awesome IB school, or move to an outer suburb. Or you can rent, but rents in Upper NW/NoVa/MoCo aren't cheap and may or may not be within your budget. These are the sum of your choices. All the complaining will not make it any different.

Agree with all of this 100%.
Will add that even good schools might not be in neighborhoods you find satisfactory if you are extremely concerned about neighborhood crime, or if you don't like litter, catcalling, sidewalk loitering, or houses with bars on their windows. This is not to say that living in DC is some sort of war zone. But things like package theft, car breakins/tire slashings, little kids who curse/throw stuff at passers-by happen in DC even in many neighborhoods where houses sell for over $750k and there's a nice new grocery store and people are excited about the elementary school. If that is not tolerable to you, then you really need to either find the money to move to upper NW or move further out until you find a place you like and can afford. Howard County might be one place to look.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, this is a condo in your price range. Zoned for Raymond EC, which has ok test scores: https://www.redfin.com/DC/Washington/3619-14th-St-NW-20010/unit-1/home/82099072

This looks nice. Is it a safe area? I don't like the bars on the windows.

Raymond test scores are not OK.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, this is a condo in your price range. Zoned for Raymond EC, which has ok test scores: https://www.redfin.com/DC/Washington/3619-14th-St-NW-20010/unit-1/home/82099072

This looks nice. Is it a safe area? I don't like the bars on the windows.

Move to burke already. There are bars on windows in georgetown.

I've never lived somewhere with bars on the windows. Sorry if that bothers you.

[Anonymous]

Burke, Centreville, Springfield all have townhouses in your price range. You have to go out of DC to about a 45 min-60 min commute downtown to get to your price point + good public schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

1. The only way to ensure your kid has a guaranteed elementary-middle-high school path to good schools is move to upper NW. You will not be able to buy a house or a condo there for the amount you want to spend.
2. There are areas (Brent and Maury on the Hill, Ross in Dupont, etc.) that have good elementary schools but no good middle/high schools. You cannot afford a house there either for your price.
3. You can lottery into a good school but it's far from guaranteed and if you are risk averse, not for you.
4. Houses in suburbs that are close in, metro accessible and have good public schools, either in Montgomery County or Northern Virginia, are also outside your price range.

To sum up - either take the risk and play the lottery, be OK with sending your kid to a less than awesome IB school, or move to an outer suburb. Or you can rent, but rents in Upper NW/NoVa/MoCo aren't cheap and may or may not be within your budget. These are the sum of your choices. All the complaining will not make it any different.

Agree with all of this 100%.
Will add that even good schools might not be in neighborhoods you find satisfactory if you are extremely concerned about neighborhood crime, or if you don't like litter, catcalling, sidewalk loitering, or houses with bars on their windows. This is not to say that living in DC is some sort of war zone. But things like package theft, car breakins/tire slashings, little kids who curse/throw stuff at passers-by happen in DC even in many neighborhoods where houses sell for over $750k and there's a nice new grocery store and people are excited about the elementary school. If that is not tolerable to you, then you really need to either find the money to move to upper NW or move further out until you find a place you like and can afford. Howard County might be one place to look.

This sounds kind of extreme. Where are these neighborhoods? In NE or SE?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

1. The only way to ensure your kid has a guaranteed elementary-middle-high school path to good schools is move to upper NW. You will not be able to buy a house or a condo there for the amount you want to spend.
2. There are areas (Brent and Maury on the Hill, Ross in Dupont, etc.) that have good elementary schools but no good middle/high schools. You cannot afford a house there either for your price.
3. You can lottery into a good school but it's far from guaranteed and if you are risk averse, not for you.
4. Houses in suburbs that are close in, metro accessible and have good public schools, either in Montgomery County or Northern Virginia, are also outside your price range.

To sum up - either take the risk and play the lottery, be OK with sending your kid to a less than awesome IB school, or move to an outer suburb. Or you can rent, but rents in Upper NW/NoVa/MoCo aren't cheap and may or may not be within your budget. These are the sum of your choices. All the complaining will not make it any different.

Agree with all of this 100%.
Will add that even good schools might not be in neighborhoods you find satisfactory if you are extremely concerned about neighborhood crime, or if you don't like litter, catcalling, sidewalk loitering, or houses with bars on their windows. This is not to say that living in DC is some sort of war zone. But things like package theft, car breakins/tire slashings, little kids who curse/throw stuff at passers-by happen in DC even in many neighborhoods where houses sell for over $750k and there's a nice new grocery store and people are excited about the elementary school. If that is not tolerable to you, then you really need to either find the money to move to upper NW or move further out until you find a place you like and can afford. Howard County might be one place to look.

Are there decent rentals in NW for $2300 - 2500/mo? In unit washer/dryer?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, this is a condo in your price range. Zoned for Raymond EC, which has ok test scores: https://www.redfin.com/DC/Washington/3619-14th-St-NW-20010/unit-1/home/82099072

This looks nice. Is it a safe area? I don't like the bars on the windows.

Move to burke already. There are bars on windows in georgetown.

I've never lived somewhere with bars on the windows. Sorry if that bothers you.

Then you don't know enough about urban living to be ready to buy a house. Seriously. What is so bad about renting for a year? You can pick your school, and it buys you a year to shop for a house and to play the charter lottery. And +1 about the trash, break-ins, catcalling, drunk people around, bad kid behavior, etc. etc. For me it is worth it to have an affordable house and walk to my office. But it sounds like it may not be a good fit for you. Bars on the windows are the least of it (and honestly don't even mean that much-- our house in Eckington didn't have bars, so we had them installed ourselves).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

1. The only way to ensure your kid has a guaranteed elementary-middle-high school path to good schools is move to upper NW. You will not be able to buy a house or a condo there for the amount you want to spend.
2. There are areas (Brent and Maury on the Hill, Ross in Dupont, etc.) that have good elementary schools but no good middle/high schools. You cannot afford a house there either for your price.
3. You can lottery into a good school but it's far from guaranteed and if you are risk averse, not for you.
4. Houses in suburbs that are close in, metro accessible and have good public schools, either in Montgomery County or Northern Virginia, are also outside your price range.

To sum up - either take the risk and play the lottery, be OK with sending your kid to a less than awesome IB school, or move to an outer suburb. Or you can rent, but rents in Upper NW/NoVa/MoCo aren't cheap and may or may not be within your budget. These are the sum of your choices. All the complaining will not make it any different.

Agree with all of this 100%.
Will add that even good schools might not be in neighborhoods you find satisfactory if you are extremely concerned about neighborhood crime, or if you don't like litter, catcalling, sidewalk loitering, or houses with bars on their windows. This is not to say that living in DC is some sort of war zone. But things like package theft, car breakins/tire slashings, little kids who curse/throw stuff at passers-by happen in DC even in many neighborhoods where houses sell for over $750k and there's a nice new grocery store and people are excited about the elementary school. If that is not tolerable to you, then you really need to either find the money to move to upper NW or move further out until you find a place you like and can afford. Howard County might be one place to look.

This sounds kind of extreme. Where are these neighborhoods? In NE or SE?

Yes - and also NW and SW. The quadrants are a starting point only. Gotta look at crime (major and petty) on a block by block basis.