school visits for pre-K

[Anonymous]

We are in Ward 4 and are considering Ward 4 and 5 charter and traditional public schools for pre-K 3.

We have a list of schools that we want to consider (based on online research and EDFest) but the open house times are very very difficult with our work schedules. We are settling on visiting less than half of our what's on our list right now.

I'm wondering how many schools others visit, how you make visits work, and how important you feel it is to see the school/talk to teachers and school leaders (the latter seems like it would be really important but of course these people change).

On one hand, I figure (a) it's highly unlikely we get in a school other than our IB and (b) it's pre-K not college. On the other hand, a pre-K spot might (if it works out) be a path forward and a way to stay in DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are in Ward 4 and are considering Ward 4 and 5 charter and traditional public schools for pre-K 3.

We have a list of schools that we want to consider (based on online research and EDFest) but the open house times are very very difficult with our work schedules. We are settling on visiting less than half of our what's on our list right now.

I'm wondering how many schools others visit, how you make visits work, and how important you feel it is to see the school/talk to teachers and school leaders (the latter seems like it would be really important but of course these people change).

On one hand, I figure (a) it's highly unlikely we get in a school other than our IB and (b) it's pre-K not college. On the other hand, a pre-K spot might (if it works out) be a path forward and a way to stay in DC.

Just do the best you can.

[Anonymous]

And if you have a neighborhood listserv or other way to connect to parents in your neighborhood, feel free to post there asking any questions or if you'd like to connect with parents from a particular school (maybe those that you're unable to visit) - many would be more than happy to talk with you.

[Anonymous]

I went to zero open houses and then just went to the info session on the school my kid got into. We've been there three years and are as happy as could be.

[Anonymous]

We prioritized what was important to us. For instance, we really liked Montessori, so we went to the Montessori open houses. We then just talked to neighbors and the like about the others and ranked based on what we knew.

We actually matched at a school that we hadn't visited, so we did a visit during April before accepting our spot.

[Anonymous]

It's quite possible you will get in nowhere. So don't stress about the open houses.

[Anonymous]

We didn't go to any open houses. Our rankings were based on what we found online, personal preferences, commute, and recommendations we heard from friends/coworkers/daycare parents, etc.

Once we got into a school, we toured and were perfectly happy. It is a great elementary school. Part of me is glad that we never saw the other schools... so we don't really know what we are missing.

[Anonymous]

I think it depends on your list. There are a lot of schools that are universally liked in open houses, and if people have issues with them, the issues tend to be related to their specific kid.

I would definitely prioritize visiting your IB school, since as you say, it's likely that you'll end up there, and in my experience, it's better to feel good about that than simply resigned to it. I would also prioritize visiting any school whose physical space you're iffy about - this would include charters that are in buildings that are not typical school locations.

[Anonymous]

What's the IB school and the list? Some Ward 4 schools have pretty active PTAs that can help if you can't make it to an open house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What's the IB school and the list? Some Ward 4 schools have pretty active PTAs that can help if you can't make it to an open house.

Whittier is IB. In terms of traditional public schools we also are considering adding Shepherd Park, Takoma, and West to our list (though OOB spots seem unlikely for any of these).

Then, I think our charter list is pretty typical (e.g., we really like what we know about Mundo Verde) though varied in terms of educational approach (Montessori and more traditional academic focus, like City Center).

[Anonymous]

honestly, I think it's more important to make sure you're comfortable with the commutes than going to the open houses. I don't know where you are in Ward 4, but if you're in Petworth and considering Shepherd (which you will almost definitely not get into anyway), that's a 15 minute commute up, and then could add a good 20+ minutes in morning traffic just to get BACK to PETWORTH. I've done this commute a few times, and I can't imagine doing it daily for multiple years.

The same goes for schools in Brookland or other parts of NE, or even CMI. I'm confident that these are great schools, and I respect parents who can make that work. But adding an hour or more to my daily commute time (total), just isn't something I can do when there are other easier options that are just as good.

[Anonymous]

West is a reach. I know an in-bound kid with a sibling preference who didn't get in last year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:West is a reach. I know an in-bound kid with a sibling preference who didn't get in last year.

No way. I call BS. An IB kid WITH sibling preference not getting into West? There are only a handful of schools that are that crazy (Brent a couple years ago, for instance) and there's no way West is one of those schools. Maybe you mistyped.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:West is a reach. I know an in-bound kid with a sibling preference who didn't get in last year.

For PK3? Did they not list it in the first round? That doesn't sound right.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:West is a reach. I know an in-bound kid with a sibling preference who didn't get in last year.

No way. I call BS. An IB kid WITH sibling preference not getting into West? There are only a handful of schools that are that crazy (Brent a couple years ago, for instance) and there's no way West is one of those schools. Maybe you mistyped.

It could have happened for PK4. The boundaries expanded, which made a number of OOB families now IB, but there were still only a few spots that opened up for PK4.