Move to DC for free pK3

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Moving for 2 years of "free" daycare doesn't make much sense at all - what happens when the kids are in Kindergarten and above? What happens if the only school you can get into is 50% homeless kids? (Not that that can't be a good setting - just that it's not the same as daycare.) What if your kid doesn't do well in the much more structured DCPS setting? What if aftercare just sticks your kid in front of the TV for hours? What if the only decent school you lottery into adds 2 hrs to your day in commute time?

And more importantly, what if you get into NO decent school at all? There are many parents who don't get into any PK3 program at all. I seriously, seriously doubt you're going to be willing to move your family to say Petworth and then drive your kid to Anacostia where there is room for your preschooler.

This response is a bit ridiculous!

Do you even understand the DC schools and lottery?

I'm not the PP, but I understand the lottery just fine. Did the "many" parents who didn't get into any PK3 program list their in-bounds Petworth school? Powell and Barnard might be tricky, but Raymond traditionally accepts everyone. I actually don't know anyone who got shut out last year, because everyone put their in-bounds school on the list somewhere, in addition to every popular charter and dream DCPS.

That might be true for Raymond this year but what about for the (nonexistant) second kid? What if in the end Raymond is a bad fit? What if you don't want to send your kid to Raymond past K? What if you can't find an apartment zoned for Raymond? and etc.

At the end of the day, moving to DC with a small child puts you basically in the same position of the rest of us in trying to deal with the pk lottery - that is, hoping for the best and preparing for the worst with a backup plan of paying for daycare another year. So the concept of "moving to DC for free daycare" is basically laughable unless you have additional reasons to move.

[Anonymous]

If you move in bounds for Garisson you should be able to get in and it is great for preschool. Also aftercare is free. Seaton is also wonderful with free aftercare. So far I think all in bounds kids get in. Biggest problem will be an affordable rental in that area.

[Anonymous]

We sent our DD to free DC pk and it was worth what we paid for it, we're now moving to MD to go to private school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Moving for 2 years of "free" daycare doesn't make much sense at all - what happens when the kids are in Kindergarten and above? What happens if the only school you can get into is 50% homeless kids? (Not that that can't be a good setting - just that it's not the same as daycare.) What if your kid doesn't do well in the much more structured DCPS setting? What if aftercare just sticks your kid in front of the TV for hours? What if the only decent school you lottery into adds 2 hrs to your day in commute time?

And more importantly, what if you get into NO decent school at all? There are many parents who don't get into any PK3 program at all. I seriously, seriously doubt you're going to be willing to move your family to say Petworth and then drive your kid to Anacostia where there is room for your preschooler.

Classic DC classist attitude. Seems like you're one of the few who thinks it doesn't make "sense"...guess you don't care about almost 60k of income!

Where are you getting 60 thousand from? Daycare for 3 year olds is more like $1200/month. Aftercare and school lunch are around $400/month. You add in summer camps, winter and spring break camps, and days off, and you're probably saving no more than $8000/year. Which is great, but not 60k, and not necessarily worth uprooting your life for. Not to mention that you might strike out in the lottery.

Where are you getting these figures?? There are many schools where aftercare is free, and I pack my kid's lunch everyday. I'm not paying anywhere close to $400/month for aftercare and school lunch. Winter/Spring break are family vacation time, and days off are covered by parents' PTO. Compared to daycare, the amount I'm saving is staggering.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Moving for 2 years of "free" daycare doesn't make much sense at all - what happens when the kids are in Kindergarten and above? What happens if the only school you can get into is 50% homeless kids? (Not that that can't be a good setting - just that it's not the same as daycare.) What if your kid doesn't do well in the much more structured DCPS setting? What if aftercare just sticks your kid in front of the TV for hours? What if the only decent school you lottery into adds 2 hrs to your day in commute time?

And more importantly, what if you get into NO decent school at all? There are many parents who don't get into any PK3 program at all. I seriously, seriously doubt you're going to be willing to move your family to say Petworth and then drive your kid to Anacostia where there is room for your preschooler.

This response is a bit ridiculous!

Do you even understand the DC schools and lottery?

I'm not the PP, but I understand the lottery just fine. Did the "many" parents who didn't get into any PK3 program list their in-bounds Petworth school? Powell and Barnard might be tricky, but Raymond traditionally accepts everyone. I actually don't know anyone who got shut out last year, because everyone put their in-bounds school on the list somewhere, in addition to every popular charter and dream DCPS.

That might be true for Raymond this year but what about for the (nonexistant) second kid? What if in the end Raymond is a bad fit? What if you don't want to send your kid to Raymond past K? What if you can't find an apartment zoned for Raymond? and etc.

At the end of the day, moving to DC with a small child puts you basically in the same position of the rest of us in trying to deal with the pk lottery - that is, hoping for the best and preparing for the worst with a backup plan of paying for daycare another year. So the concept of "moving to DC for free daycare" is basically laughable unless you have additional reasons to move.

This is ridiculous. First, OP is renting, not buying, so its easier to pick up and move districts if necessary. Second, there are still plenty of schools where you can get in IB and stay past K if you aren't narrow minded the way DCUM is. If you listen to this board, it's like Brent and Maury are the only DCPS schools outside of WTOP that are acceptable past K, which is completely untrue and laughable.

[Anonymous]

You'll get in somewhere, but having missed the lottery it undoubtedly won't be the school of your choice. You may destroy the commute you already know, in favor of the devil you don't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We did it, best decision for us. Last year we didn't apply until Round 2 of the lottery, and didn't think we would have good options - indeed only got into a charter that we didn't know much about - had to drive there, which wasn't ideal, but it wasn't too far, and it was fine, and free. Aftercare there was only $90/month too. We would have stayed but DC got off the wait-list at our inbound DCPS excellent (and walking distance) school by late September, and now life is great. We walk to school and work, DC loves school and is learning so much. We loved his $$$ MD daycare too, but this is "real" school - they have art, music, PE, Spanish, performances in the auditorium, field trips to the museums and the zoo....love DCPS PK!! Aftercare is a more at this school but its about $300. We are saving much more going this route. On days off that we can't stay home, DC goes over to a friend's house or a nanny share and we return the favor when needed.

Please share which school you guys are at?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Moving for 2 years of "free" daycare doesn't make much sense at all - what happens when the kids are in Kindergarten and above? What happens if the only school you can get into is 50% homeless kids? (Not that that can't be a good setting - just that it's not the same as daycare.) What if your kid doesn't do well in the much more structured DCPS setting? What if aftercare just sticks your kid in front of the TV for hours? What if the only decent school you lottery into adds 2 hrs to your day in commute time?

And more importantly, what if you get into NO decent school at all? There are many parents who don't get into any PK3 program at all. I seriously, seriously doubt you're going to be willing to move your family to say Petworth and then drive your kid to Anacostia where there is room for your preschooler.

Classic DC classist attitude. Seems like you're one of the few who thinks it doesn't make "sense"...guess you don't care about almost 60k of income!

Where are you getting 60 thousand from? Daycare for 3 year olds is more like $1200/month. Aftercare and school lunch are around $400/month. You add in summer camps, winter and spring break camps, and days off, and you're probably saving no more than $8000/year. Which is great, but not 60k, and not necessarily worth uprooting your life for. Not to mention that you might strike out in the lottery.

Where are you getting these figures?? There are many schools where aftercare is free, and I pack my kid's lunch everyday. I'm not paying anywhere close to $400/month for aftercare and school lunch. Winter/Spring break are family vacation time, and days off are covered by parents' PTO. Compared to daycare, the amount I'm saving is staggering.

Yes, there are schools where aftercare is free, but making that a requirement makes OP's job even more difficult: she is going to move to DC and somehow miraculously get a spot in a PK3 option that 1) is baseline acceptable in terms of safety and education; 2) has free aftercare; 3) is a feasible commute from where she lives and 4) is STILL a feasible commute once the older child has to decamp for a different elementary (or, alternatively, is a place where the kids could go through 5th grade). This combination of factors is quite simply a unicorn.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Moving for 2 years of "free" daycare doesn't make much sense at all - what happens when the kids are in Kindergarten and above? What happens if the only school you can get into is 50% homeless kids? (Not that that can't be a good setting - just that it's not the same as daycare.) What if your kid doesn't do well in the much more structured DCPS setting? What if aftercare just sticks your kid in front of the TV for hours? What if the only decent school you lottery into adds 2 hrs to your day in commute time?

And more importantly, what if you get into NO decent school at all? There are many parents who don't get into any PK3 program at all. I seriously, seriously doubt you're going to be willing to move your family to say Petworth and then drive your kid to Anacostia where there is room for your preschooler.

Classic DC classist attitude. Seems like you're one of the few who thinks it doesn't make "sense"...guess you don't care about almost 60k of income!

Where are you getting 60 thousand from? Daycare for 3 year olds is more like $1200/month. Aftercare and school lunch are around $400/month. You add in summer camps, winter and spring break camps, and days off, and you're probably saving no more than $8000/year. Which is great, but not 60k, and not necessarily worth uprooting your life for. Not to mention that you might strike out in the lottery.

Where are you getting these figures?? There are many schools where aftercare is free, and I pack my kid's lunch everyday. I'm not paying anywhere close to $400/month for aftercare and school lunch. Winter/Spring break are family vacation time, and days off are covered by parents' PTO. Compared to daycare, the amount I'm saving is staggering.

Sounds like you have a lot of PTO ... each parent would have to have four weeks to make that work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Moving for 2 years of "free" daycare doesn't make much sense at all - what happens when the kids are in Kindergarten and above? What happens if the only school you can get into is 50% homeless kids? (Not that that can't be a good setting - just that it's not the same as daycare.) What if your kid doesn't do well in the much more structured DCPS setting? What if aftercare just sticks your kid in front of the TV for hours? What if the only decent school you lottery into adds 2 hrs to your day in commute time?

And more importantly, what if you get into NO decent school at all? There are many parents who don't get into any PK3 program at all. I seriously, seriously doubt you're going to be willing to move your family to say Petworth and then drive your kid to Anacostia where there is room for your preschooler.

This response is a bit ridiculous!

Do you even understand the DC schools and lottery?

I'm not the PP, but I understand the lottery just fine. Did the "many" parents who didn't get into any PK3 program list their in-bounds Petworth school? Powell and Barnard might be tricky, but Raymond traditionally accepts everyone. I actually don't know anyone who got shut out last year, because everyone put their in-bounds school on the list somewhere, in addition to every popular charter and dream DCPS.

That might be true for Raymond this year but what about for the (nonexistant) second kid? What if in the end Raymond is a bad fit? What if you don't want to send your kid to Raymond past K? What if you can't find an apartment zoned for Raymond? and etc.

At the end of the day, moving to DC with a small child puts you basically in the same position of the rest of us in trying to deal with the pk lottery - that is, hoping for the best and preparing for the worst with a backup plan of paying for daycare another year. So the concept of "moving to DC for free daycare" is basically laughable unless you have additional reasons to move.

This is ridiculous. First, OP is renting, not buying, so its easier to pick up and move districts if necessary. Second, there are still plenty of schools where you can get in IB and stay past K if you aren't narrow minded the way DCUM is. If you listen to this board, it's like Brent and Maury are the only DCPS schools outside of WTOP that are acceptable past K, which is completely untrue and laughable.

So OP is going to rent an apartment, move to the District, HOPE that she lotteries in to the local PK3? Sorry, bad plan. The PK3s where she's going to get in are not going to be places that she's guaranteed to find acceptable after K. So that pretty much means moving here for 2 years with the plan to move again ... or undertake a difficult commute. Which is not a crazy plan IF you have other reasons to want to live in DC. But as the only reason, it's pretty dumb.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Moving for 2 years of "free" daycare doesn't make much sense at all - what happens when the kids are in Kindergarten and above? What happens if the only school you can get into is 50% homeless kids? (Not that that can't be a good setting - just that it's not the same as daycare.) What if your kid doesn't do well in the much more structured DCPS setting? What if aftercare just sticks your kid in front of the TV for hours? What if the only decent school you lottery into adds 2 hrs to your day in commute time?

And more importantly, what if you get into NO decent school at all? There are many parents who don't get into any PK3 program at all. I seriously, seriously doubt you're going to be willing to move your family to say Petworth and then drive your kid to Anacostia where there is room for your preschooler.

This response is a bit ridiculous!

Do you even understand the DC schools and lottery?

I'm not the PP, but I understand the lottery just fine. Did the "many" parents who didn't get into any PK3 program list their in-bounds Petworth school? Powell and Barnard might be tricky, but Raymond traditionally accepts everyone. I actually don't know anyone who got shut out last year, because everyone put their in-bounds school on the list somewhere, in addition to every popular charter and dream DCPS.

That might be true for Raymond this year but what about for the (nonexistant) second kid? What if in the end Raymond is a bad fit? What if you don't want to send your kid to Raymond past K? What if you can't find an apartment zoned for Raymond? and etc.

At the end of the day, moving to DC with a small child puts you basically in the same position of the rest of us in trying to deal with the pk lottery - that is, hoping for the best and preparing for the worst with a backup plan of paying for daycare another year. So the concept of "moving to DC for free daycare" is basically laughable unless you have additional reasons to move.

This is ridiculous. First, OP is renting, not buying, so its easier to pick up and move districts if necessary. Second, there are still plenty of schools where you can get in IB and stay past K if you aren't narrow minded the way DCUM is. If you listen to this board, it's like Brent and Maury are the only DCPS schools outside of WTOP that are acceptable past K, which is completely untrue and laughable.

So OP is going to rent an apartment, move to the District, HOPE that she lotteries in to the local PK3? Sorry, bad plan. The PK3s where she's going to get in are not going to be places that she's guaranteed to find acceptable after K. So that pretty much means moving here for 2 years with the plan to move again ... or undertake a difficult commute. Which is not a crazy plan IF you have other reasons to want to live in DC. But as the only reason, it's pretty dumb.

Or OP could move to the Hill and send her kids to one of the Appletrees. If she puts down Appletree LP, Oklahoma Ave and SW down as safeties, the chances of her getting her kid into one of them is 100%.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Would or did you move to DC so that you could get free preschool? We live in NOVA and are thinking about doing this for our soon to be 3 year old. Is a spot guaranteed? We'd love to have #2, but can't afford 2 daycare payments, so this is looking really appealing to us.

I think it's an excellent idea to STAY in DC for the early childhood piece, when you are already there, and I always encourage our friends to consider doing this. You enter the lottery and probably your IB school is good for the early years, in many parts of the city.

I am not sure that it makes sense to move into DC when you already own a house (I assume?) in NOVA or MoCo and your kid is already 3. For one thing, the best schools have waiting lists for their PK3/4 and at some schools some IB parents get shut out until K. And the lottery is of course just a lottery, with no guarantees. If you are moving in at this stage you probably want to buy IB for Deal/Wilson which is expensive.

Unless... you just rent your house out and rent in DC for a few years, but seems a disruption just for a few years of childcare...

If you are renting now in NOVA I'd say yes, definitely do it, DC is more fun to hang out in anyway

good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Moving for 2 years of "free" daycare doesn't make much sense at all - what happens when the kids are in Kindergarten and above? What happens if the only school you can get into is 50% homeless kids? (Not that that can't be a good setting - just that it's not the same as daycare.) What if your kid doesn't do well in the much more structured DCPS setting? What if aftercare just sticks your kid in front of the TV for hours? What if the only decent school you lottery into adds 2 hrs to your day in commute time?

And more importantly, what if you get into NO decent school at all? There are many parents who don't get into any PK3 program at all. I seriously, seriously doubt you're going to be willing to move your family to say Petworth and then drive your kid to Anacostia where there is room for your preschooler.

This response is a bit ridiculous!

Do you even understand the DC schools and lottery?

I'm not the PP, but I understand the lottery just fine. Did the "many" parents who didn't get into any PK3 program list their in-bounds Petworth school? Powell and Barnard might be tricky, but Raymond traditionally accepts everyone. I actually don't know anyone who got shut out last year, because everyone put their in-bounds school on the list somewhere, in addition to every popular charter and dream DCPS.

That might be true for Raymond this year but what about for the (nonexistant) second kid? What if in the end Raymond is a bad fit? What if you don't want to send your kid to Raymond past K? What if you can't find an apartment zoned for Raymond? and etc.

At the end of the day, moving to DC with a small child puts you basically in the same position of the rest of us in trying to deal with the pk lottery - that is, hoping for the best and preparing for the worst with a backup plan of paying for daycare another year. So the concept of "moving to DC for free daycare" is basically laughable unless you have additional reasons to move.

This is ridiculous. First, OP is renting, not buying, so its easier to pick up and move districts if necessary. Second, there are still plenty of schools where you can get in IB and stay past K if you aren't narrow minded the way DCUM is. If you listen to this board, it's like Brent and Maury are the only DCPS schools outside of WTOP that are acceptable past K, which is completely untrue and laughable.

So OP is going to rent an apartment, move to the District, HOPE that she lotteries in to the local PK3? Sorry, bad plan. The PK3s where she's going to get in are not going to be places that she's guaranteed to find acceptable after K. So that pretty much means moving here for 2 years with the plan to move again ... or undertake a difficult commute. Which is not a crazy plan IF you have other reasons to want to live in DC. But as the only reason, it's pretty dumb.

Or OP could move to the Hill and send her kids to one of the Appletrees. If she puts down Appletree LP, Oklahoma Ave and SW down as safeties, the chances of her getting her kid into one of them is 100%.

Move to Navy Yard for guaranteed admission to Van Ness, which is newly remodeled. Good diversity in terms of SES and race.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Moving for 2 years of "free" daycare doesn't make much sense at all - what happens when the kids are in Kindergarten and above? What happens if the only school you can get into is 50% homeless kids? (Not that that can't be a good setting - just that it's not the same as daycare.) What if your kid doesn't do well in the much more structured DCPS setting? What if aftercare just sticks your kid in front of the TV for hours? What if the only decent school you lottery into adds 2 hrs to your day in commute time?

And more importantly, what if you get into NO decent school at all? There are many parents who don't get into any PK3 program at all. I seriously, seriously doubt you're going to be willing to move your family to say Petworth and then drive your kid to Anacostia where there is room for your preschooler.

This response is a bit ridiculous!

Do you even understand the DC schools and lottery?

I'm not the PP, but I understand the lottery just fine. Did the "many" parents who didn't get into any PK3 program list their in-bounds Petworth school? Powell and Barnard might be tricky, but Raymond traditionally accepts everyone. I actually don't know anyone who got shut out last year, because everyone put their in-bounds school on the list somewhere, in addition to every popular charter and dream DCPS.

That might be true for Raymond this year but what about for the (nonexistant) second kid? What if in the end Raymond is a bad fit? What if you don't want to send your kid to Raymond past K? What if you can't find an apartment zoned for Raymond? and etc.

At the end of the day, moving to DC with a small child puts you basically in the same position of the rest of us in trying to deal with the pk lottery - that is, hoping for the best and preparing for the worst with a backup plan of paying for daycare another year. So the concept of "moving to DC for free daycare" is basically laughable unless you have additional reasons to move.

This is ridiculous. First, OP is renting, not buying, so its easier to pick up and move districts if necessary. Second, there are still plenty of schools where you can get in IB and stay past K if you aren't narrow minded the way DCUM is. If you listen to this board, it's like Brent and Maury are the only DCPS schools outside of WTOP that are acceptable past K, which is completely untrue and laughable.

So OP is going to rent an apartment, move to the District, HOPE that she lotteries in to the local PK3? Sorry, bad plan. The PK3s where she's going to get in are not going to be places that she's guaranteed to find acceptable after K. So that pretty much means moving here for 2 years with the plan to move again ... or undertake a difficult commute. Which is not a crazy plan IF you have other reasons to want to live in DC. But as the only reason, it's pretty dumb.

Or OP could move to the Hill and send her kids to one of the Appletrees. If she puts down Appletree LP, Oklahoma Ave and SW down as safeties, the chances of her getting her kid into one of them is 100%.

Move to Navy Yard for guaranteed admission to Van Ness, which is newly remodeled. Good diversity in terms of SES and race.

http://www.myschooldc.org/faq/faqs/#post-lotto1

[Anonymous]

I posted a similar question in this forum in the last few months. Search the archives- might come up with a few other responses not covered here.