Just keep playing the lottery and eventually it will work out...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is no one concerned about the impact on their kids moving schools so often? I remember changing schools in first grade and third and it was very tough both times. I did it again in ninth and it was also very hard. I’m sure some kids can manage better than others, but I feel like some parents are just changing schools because they are getting in a dream school without thinking of how hard it is to make new friends. Obviously, if your kid is miserable at a school, that’s a totally different story. I’d also be concerned about being in a school knowing there’s zero chance to stay in it with that friend group past a certain point. Just seems really tough on kids emotionally.

OP here (surprised to see this pop up on recent topics). Yes I am concerned, which is partially why the lottery is stressful. I’d prefer to move DC once, but then that raises the question of whether you hold out for your top choice school. I will say, I think it’s much more normal for DC kids to have classmates come and go, and to move themselves, because of the lottery system. Especially if you’re not at a top choice charter, people leave constantly. I know people move their kids multiple times, but its something I’d rather not do if at all possible.

+1. It's less than ideal, yes, but it's more normal here. Where we live (lower Ward 5), there are a multitude of schools and my child will already have friends at any school we choose and they won't be the only new kid. And I think changing schools is much less of a big deal when you're not moving house as well. We had the strategy of hanging in at our IB until we got an offer at our top choice, so we made only one switch (for 1st) and are planning to be there through 8th. I do think some people move too often, trading up incrementally rather than holding out for a top choice.

It's entirely normal for children to go to a preschool and then to a different institution for elementary school. Changing in PK4 or 1st rather than K is just a different flavor of that.

Myself, I switched for 1st, 6th, and 9th, and it was hard but not really that big a deal-- and in some ways a healthy challenge.

Yes, the bouncing around from one PK to top choice elementary is no different then just not starting until elementary like you would most anywhere else. My oldest barely remembers where she went to PK3 before she switched to our top choice elementary.

[Anonymous]

It is one of the things that’s nice about actually starting out at a high demand charter, nobody leaves. Of course now kid is in a new class new teachers and mostly unfamiliar other students in a virtual classroom. Almost may as well be a new school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is one of the things that’s nice about actually starting out at a high demand charter, nobody leaves. Of course now kid is in a new class new teachers and mostly unfamiliar other students in a virtual classroom. Almost may as well be a new school.

Friends of ours were saying how they’d hate to move their new second grader this late since he has established friends at school. They’re at DCB. Took a lot not to roll my eyes and tell him at other schools kids are coming and going every year, so staying put wouldn’t guarantee established friends.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is no one concerned about the impact on their kids moving schools so often? I remember changing schools in first grade and third and it was very tough both times. I did it again in ninth and it was also very hard. I’m sure some kids can manage better than others, but I feel like some parents are just changing schools because they are getting in a dream school without thinking of how hard it is to make new friends. Obviously, if your kid is miserable at a school, that’s a totally different story. I’d also be concerned about being in a school knowing there’s zero chance to stay in it with that friend group past a certain point. Just seems really tough on kids emotionally.

OP here (surprised to see this pop up on recent topics). Yes I am concerned, which is partially why the lottery is stressful. I’d prefer to move DC once, but then that raises the question of whether you hold out for your top choice school. I will say, I think it’s much more normal for DC kids to have classmates come and go, and to move themselves, because of the lottery system. Especially if you’re not at a top choice charter, people leave constantly. I know people move their kids multiple times, but its something I’d rather not do if at all possible.

+1. It's less than ideal, yes, but it's more normal here. Where we live (lower Ward 5), there are a multitude of schools and my child will already have friends at any school we choose and they won't be the only new kid. And I think changing schools is much less of a big deal when you're not moving house as well. We had the strategy of hanging in at our IB until we got an offer at our top choice, so we made only one switch (for 1st) and are planning to be there through 8th. I do think some people move too often, trading up incrementally rather than holding out for a top choice.

It's entirely normal for children to go to a preschool and then to a different institution for elementary school. Changing in PK4 or 1st rather than K is just a different flavor of that.

Myself, I switched for 1st, 6th, and 9th, and it was hard but not really that big a deal-- and in some ways a healthy challenge.

Yes, the bouncing around from one PK to top choice elementary is no different then just not starting until elementary like you would most anywhere else. My oldest barely remembers where she went to PK3 before she switched to our top choice elementary.

OP here — yeah, I don’t really think changing prior to K is really a big deal since kids are still pretty young and aren’t forming attachments as strongly. I think I would start to feel differently after 1st based on my own experience, though. I do see some parents jumping around a lot. It may not be the norm, but I wouldn’t say it’s atypical. I even think it’s pretty common for parents to say they love a school but don’t plan to stay “through upper elementary.” Well, how much do you really love the school then? And your going to change to another school to potentially do it again in middle and then again in high school? It just seems pretty disruptive to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes! We just got into SWS after 5 years of trying ...

So you’re signing your kid up for basically just DL and the trailers? This seems like a weird call unless your current situation is terrible.

Yes, but the yoga/Pilates mommy meetings will return before the kids are out of trailers. Plus, all the white kids!. So there's that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is no one concerned about the impact on their kids moving schools so often? I remember changing schools in first grade and third and it was very tough both times. I did it again in ninth and it was also very hard. I’m sure some kids can manage better than others, but I feel like some parents are just changing schools because they are getting in a dream school without thinking of how hard it is to make new friends. Obviously, if your kid is miserable at a school, that’s a totally different story. I’d also be concerned about being in a school knowing there’s zero chance to stay in it with that friend group past a certain point. Just seems really tough on kids emotionally.

OP here (surprised to see this pop up on recent topics). Yes I am concerned, which is partially why the lottery is stressful. I’d prefer to move DC once, but then that raises the question of whether you hold out for your top choice school. I will say, I think it’s much more normal for DC kids to have classmates come and go, and to move themselves, because of the lottery system. Especially if you’re not at a top choice charter, people leave constantly. I know people move their kids multiple times, but its something I’d rather not do if at all possible.

+1. It's less than ideal, yes, but it's more normal here. Where we live (lower Ward 5), there are a multitude of schools and my child will already have friends at any school we choose and they won't be the only new kid. And I think changing schools is much less of a big deal when you're not moving house as well. We had the strategy of hanging in at our IB until we got an offer at our top choice, so we made only one switch (for 1st) and are planning to be there through 8th. I do think some people move too often, trading up incrementally rather than holding out for a top choice.

It's entirely normal for children to go to a preschool and then to a different institution for elementary school. Changing in PK4 or 1st rather than K is just a different flavor of that.

Myself, I switched for 1st, 6th, and 9th, and it was hard but not really that big a deal-- and in some ways a healthy challenge.

Yes, the bouncing around from one PK to top choice elementary is no different then just not starting until elementary like you would most anywhere else. My oldest barely remembers where she went to PK3 before she switched to our top choice elementary.

OP here — yeah, I don’t really think changing prior to K is really a big deal since kids are still pretty young and aren’t forming attachments as strongly. I think I would start to feel differently after 1st based on my own experience, though. I do see some parents jumping around a lot. It may not be the norm, but I wouldn’t say it’s atypical. I even think it’s pretty common for parents to say they love a school but don’t plan to stay “through upper elementary.” Well, how much do you really love the school then? And your going to change to another school to potentially do it again in middle and then again in high school? It just seems pretty disruptive to me.

Actual OP here (I think you meant original PP on this chain?) - mine is PK4 and I totally agree that movement in PK and K is no big deal. I don't have an elementary student yet, so not sure when that changes. However, the overwhelming percentage of DC kids switch schools for middle and high school, unless you're in a Wilson feeder. So the entire student body would be starting fresh at Latin, Basis, or even DCI to a degree. I would guess it would be harder to move from DC to a Maryland middle school where everyone continues from their elementary feeder, but even so, lower MoCo has a school choice system for middle and high (or maybe just high?), so I think a transient student body is more normal there too.

It's hard for me to try to see the school situation through my DC's eyes, and not mine as someone who grew up in a smaller suburb that had very few people moving in or out. For the most part, the people you went to high school with were the same people you went to elementary school with. That is good and bad, depending on your social situation. But I look at my 4 year old and remember that it is TOTALLY normal for her to go to a different school from her BFF two blocks down the street. So maybe, probably moving schools in elementary would be more normal for her too. I don't know, and barring a crystal ball, there's no way to know. Ultimately, it feels like it's worth playing the lottery another year or two. After that we'll have to see if it feels right to stick it out with an elementary that doesn't have a middle school feeder knowing how hard the middle school lottery is, or move in early elementary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is no one concerned about the impact on their kids moving schools so often? I remember changing schools in first grade and third and it was very tough both times. I did it again in ninth and it was also very hard. I’m sure some kids can manage better than others, but I feel like some parents are just changing schools because they are getting in a dream school without thinking of how hard it is to make new friends. Obviously, if your kid is miserable at a school, that’s a totally different story. I’d also be concerned about being in a school knowing there’s zero chance to stay in it with that friend group past a certain point. Just seems really tough on kids emotionally.

OP here (surprised to see this pop up on recent topics). Yes I am concerned, which is partially why the lottery is stressful. I’d prefer to move DC once, but then that raises the question of whether you hold out for your top choice school. I will say, I think it’s much more normal for DC kids to have classmates come and go, and to move themselves, because of the lottery system. Especially if you’re not at a top choice charter, people leave constantly. I know people move their kids multiple times, but its something I’d rather not do if at all possible.

+1. It's less than ideal, yes, but it's more normal here. Where we live (lower Ward 5), there are a multitude of schools and my child will already have friends at any school we choose and they won't be the only new kid. And I think changing schools is much less of a big deal when you're not moving house as well. We had the strategy of hanging in at our IB until we got an offer at our top choice, so we made only one switch (for 1st) and are planning to be there through 8th. I do think some people move too often, trading up incrementally rather than holding out for a top choice.

It's entirely normal for children to go to a preschool and then to a different institution for elementary school. Changing in PK4 or 1st rather than K is just a different flavor of that.

Myself, I switched for 1st, 6th, and 9th, and it was hard but not really that big a deal-- and in some ways a healthy challenge.

Yes, the bouncing around from one PK to top choice elementary is no different then just not starting until elementary like you would most anywhere else. My oldest barely remembers where she went to PK3 before she switched to our top choice elementary.

OP here — yeah, I don’t really think changing prior to K is really a big deal since kids are still pretty young and aren’t forming attachments as strongly. I think I would start to feel differently after 1st based on my own experience, though. I do see some parents jumping around a lot. It may not be the norm, but I wouldn’t say it’s atypical. I even think it’s pretty common for parents to say they love a school but don’t plan to stay “through upper elementary.” Well, how much do you really love the school then? And your going to change to another school to potentially do it again in middle and then again in high school? It just seems pretty disruptive to me.

I loved our school. I loved it in an emotional way even though I knew it wouldn't work out long-term. I have a lot of good memories associated with it, and it 1000% met our needs for preschool and K. We are at a school now that meets our DC's needs academically in a way that the first school didn't, but I just don't feel the same attachment. Love is irrational!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is one of the things that’s nice about actually starting out at a high demand charter, nobody leaves. Of course now kid is in a new class new teachers and mostly unfamiliar other students in a virtual classroom. Almost may as well be a new school.

Friends of ours were saying how they’d hate to move their new second grader this late since he has established friends at school. They’re at DCB. Took a lot not to roll my eyes and tell him at other schools kids are coming and going every year, so staying put wouldn’t guarantee established friends.

We are at a so-called HRCS and there's definitely turnover in every year. Not as much as at our IB, but definitely it's noticeable and some close friends have left for various reasons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is one of the things that’s nice about actually starting out at a high demand charter, nobody leaves. Of course now kid is in a new class new teachers and mostly unfamiliar other students in a virtual classroom. Almost may as well be a new school.

Friends of ours were saying how they’d hate to move their new second grader this late since he has established friends at school. They’re at DCB. Took a lot not to roll my eyes and tell him at other schools kids are coming and going every year, so staying put wouldn’t guarantee established friends.

We are at a so-called HRCS and there's definitely turnover in every year. Not as much as at our IB, but definitely it's noticeable and some close friends have left for various reasons.

You live in Washington DC. This is a transient city. In addition to turnover an average city may see we have lots of government employees who move into and out of DC on a regular basis. My kid's school roster has been incredibly stable but in the last 4 or 5 years alone in their grade alone we have lost kids to: State Department relos out of country, DOJ lawyer relos in US, DOJ relos out of country, Coast Guard relos, Army relos, FBI relos, just to name a few. This is type of transiency is unique to DC. My point is simply that the fact that kids may leave a school is neither an indictment of the school's future nor something to be entirely written off. But simply chiming in to say that you have had some kids leave your school at your HRCS or DCPS school without providing numbers, percentages or some kind of context doesn't actually communicate anything useful.

[Anonymous]

We have struck out 4 years in a row. Not even close, other than getting into our 6th choice of DCPS PK3, we have never had a waitlist lower than 40.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have struck out 4 years in a row. Not even close, other than getting into our 6th choice of DCPS PK3, we have never had a waitlist lower than 40.

Let us help you with your strategy!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have struck out 4 years in a row. Not even close, other than getting into our 6th choice of DCPS PK3, we have never had a waitlist lower than 40.

Let us help you with your strategy!

Strategy: List the schools in the true order you want to attend and include your IB somewhere on that list (in its true position).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have struck out 4 years in a row. Not even close, other than getting into our 6th choice of DCPS PK3, we have never had a waitlist lower than 40.

Let us help you with your strategy!

Strategy: List the schools in the true order you want to attend and include your IB somewhere on that list (in its true position).

This! There is no strategy to be deployed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is one of the things that’s nice about actually starting out at a high demand charter, nobody leaves. Of course now kid is in a new class new teachers and mostly unfamiliar other students in a virtual classroom. Almost may as well be a new school.

Friends of ours were saying how they’d hate to move their new second grader this late since he has established friends at school. They’re at DCB. Took a lot not to roll my eyes and tell him at other schools kids are coming and going every year, so staying put wouldn’t guarantee established friends.

We are at a so-called HRCS and there's definitely turnover in every year. Not as much as at our IB, but definitely it's noticeable and some close friends have left for various reasons.

You live in Washington DC. This is a transient city. In addition to turnover an average city may see we have lots of government employees who move into and out of DC on a regular basis. My kid's school roster has been incredibly stable but in the last 4 or 5 years alone in their grade alone we have lost kids to: State Department relos out of country, DOJ lawyer relos in US, DOJ relos out of country, Coast Guard relos, Army relos, FBI relos, just to name a few. This is type of transiency is unique to DC. My point is simply that the fact that kids may leave a school is neither an indictment of the school's future nor something to be entirely written off. But simply chiming in to say that you have had some kids leave your school at your HRCS or DCPS school without providing numbers, percentages or some kind of context doesn't actually communicate anything useful.

The published retention rate of students does not include kids who leave dc school system (not sure about private). If only counts if they move to another charter or dcps school (again not sure about private). A school with a 95% retention rate lost 5% to other dcps or charter schools. They likely lost students to moves, even suburb moves. Those don't count in that 5%. It's a useful number for this reason.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids are in middle school now. Here in Brookland, everyone I know who wanted to stay in DC schools found a place that they like by first or second grade. Yes, there some horse trading in the early years for a few families, but we have so many options in the area. When my kids were little, people were using L-T as a placeholder until they lotteried for something better or their kids were old enough to start YY in PK4. Ironically the families we know who left for the Virginia suburbs left SWS, ITS and YY, so they were hardly lottery losers. One family we know lotteried into Stokes but opted to move WOTP. A few families left CMI for ITS, a bunch more left various DCI feeders for Latin and Basis. It helps to have multiple kids.

Good luck. It's not for the faint of heart, but there are many good options.

Why would someone leave CMI for ITS? I thought they were pretty similar to each other.

They are quite different in terms of morale, test scores, teacher retention, student retention. Are there more measures than that? If you think they are the same, you haven't looked closely.