Lafayette Elementary vs Private School

[Anonymous]

We have an older child who is in a private school and will be looking this fall for a Kindergarten spot for 2010-11 for our four year old. Because of sibling preference and the assumption (negative) I am told many Admissions Directors will make if we apply to a school other than the one where DC#1 is enrolled, it may well come done to a choice between our older child's private and Lafayette.

I am not in love with DC#1's private. Although I think it is a good fit for that child, there are some things that really bug me about it, particularly in the area of diversity.

I am not trying to start a flame war about public vs private. I do have some questions about Lafayette that I hope people will answer honestly so I can start thinking about this decision.

How diverse is Lafayette? What about in terms of LGBT families?

How are the other families and parents? There have been some very entitled posts on the neighborhood listserv lately about missed trash pick ups and things like that, so I don't want to assume we would necessarily find nicer or more down to earth parents unless people can tell me that's true. Of course, I don't know if the listserv people have kids who attend Lafayette, but it draws from the neighborhood.

Will my kid be at a disadvantage (academically or socially) for not having attended pre-K? (We turned down the spot off the waitlist because we had already enrolled DC2 elsewhere).

What kind of communications are there from the school and the teachers in class? What kind of clarity do you have on the curriculum?

What are other pros or cons of Lafayette that I should consider?

TIA.

[Anonymous]

I can't speak to Lafayette, but I would encourage you to tell admissions staff that you do not think dc #1's school is a good fit for #2. It 1) makes you look like an informed, involved parent, and 2) shows them you would seriously consider a spot at their school. I think most places assume you'd opt to have two kids in one place if possible, so eliminate that worry for them up front.

[Anonymous]

My kids attended for pre-k and K at Lafayette. I don't think there is anything to worry about. Many kids skip pre-k and K. Lafayette is somewhat diverse (check dcps website for perecentages) and i know of at least one LBGT family but i would guess there are more. I don't think of the parents being very entitled. (The local listserv has alot of old biddies on it with nothing better to do but complain and comment on everything.) Somewhat liberal and pro-Obama if that's a problem! Its not a conformist group for sure.

There is good communication. Most of the teachers are very good and good about reaching out to parents about what is going. It is DCPS so there is some ridiculous procedures and decisions. But the principal is good at deflecting most of them.

You should take the tour in the fall. That will help quite a bit.

[Anonymous]

We live in the Lafayette neighborhood, though our oldest won't start there until Fall 2010. I couldn't agree more w/ the previous poster that the neighborhood list-serv is most "old biddies on it with nothing better to do but complain and comment on everything"--so true! I don't think it's a fair reflection of the community. All of our neighbors are great (as were our neighbors in our old house, which was also in Lafayette district). Parents and former students speak very highly of Lafayette and most students seem to go onto fancy high schools and colleges, for what that's worth. A friend whose daughter went to Lafayette and then Sidwell told me that there were 8 other Lafayette students who started at Sidwell with her daughter and all of them did well there. Another neighbor's kids went to Lafayette and then Maret. Lafayette is slightly more diverse than the neighborhood, because it attracts a fair amount of OOB kids.

[Anonymous]

Are there really OOB spots at Lafayette? Maybe for the older grades?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are there really OOB spots at Lafayette? Maybe for the older grades?

Yes, 3rd, 4th, and 5th are all big transition years to various private schools in the area. Very few if any OOB slots at Lafayette below 3rd any year. (The transition is even more exaggerated at Murch, FWIW.)