Garrison vs Langley?

[Anonymous]

We were matched at Langley for PK but are high on the wait list for Garrison. I have seen some comments about Langley but not much about Garrison? Can anyone share their experiences with Garrison? While Langley is our IB, commute isn't an issue because of where I work. The Langley building looks nice but I feel it isn't totally fair to compare since Garrison was under construction when we toured. The Garrison principal said he's working on improving aftercare at the school. Any thoughts about this from current parents? Thanks!

[Anonymous]

I toured Garrison and the principal really impressed me. Can't provide the parent perspective, but I liked the principal's honesty. I know that the Langley boosters love to tout the principal, but I didn't really get a sense that she had a plan for the school. We were matched with a different school, but I would take another look at Garrison if I were in your shoes. But then again, principals do come and go. But at least the coffee bar is across the street!

[Anonymous]

Hi OP! I am a Langley mom, we had a great PK3 experience and continuing for PK4.

Re aftercare, Langley offers Springboard and regular DCPS, and we are working to emphaisze outdoor play. Langley has two gyms so aftercare is always physically active regardless of the weather. We are working to bring in Flex to offer enrichments as well. You might want to check whether Garrison has aftercare for late admits. At Langley there is beforecare and aftercare for all, through Springboard.

Personally, we did not look at Garrison brcause it isn't convenient for us, so I don't know much about it. But Langley has been a good experience because DC's teacher is excellent. The PK4 teachers are both very strong as well. We have a good number of families staying for PK4 and the incoming class seems strong-- at the recent playdate there were 10+ new families represented. Any questions, please ask!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I toured Garrison and the principal really impressed me. Can't provide the parent perspective, but I liked the principal's honesty. I know that the Langley boosters love to tout the principal, but I didn't really get a sense that she had a plan for the school. We were matched with a different school, but I would take another look at Garrison if I were in your shoes. But then again, principals do come and go. But at least the coffee bar is across the street!

The Langley principal does have a plan, it is STEM, socioemotional learning, and outdoor play (in a nutshell). She presented it at the April PTA meeting. This is her first year at Langley (she was an AP at Watkins) and I am very pleased with her. She is highly responsive and great with budget issues.

[Anonymous]

My tour of Langley was quite lackluster and she left us with the 5th graders after a very terse presentation. It didn't leave a great impression. Glad that she was more responsive to the PTA. I wasn't sold on the school, but clearly it works for others in the neighborhood..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I toured Garrison and the principal really impressed me. Can't provide the parent perspective, but I liked the principal's honesty. I know that the Langley boosters love to tout the principal, but I didn't really get a sense that she had a plan for the school. We were matched with a different school, but I would take another look at Garrison if I were in your shoes. But then again, principals do come and go. But at least the coffee bar is across the street!

The Langley principal does have a plan, it is STEM, socioemotional learning, and outdoor play (in a nutshell). She presented it at the April PTA meeting. This is her first year at Langley (she was an AP at Watkins) and I am very pleased with her. She is highly responsive and great with budget issues.

Can anyone explain what socioemotional learning is? I hear that term used a lot in DCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I toured Garrison and the principal really impressed me. Can't provide the parent perspective, but I liked the principal's honesty. I know that the Langley boosters love to tout the principal, but I didn't really get a sense that she had a plan for the school. We were matched with a different school, but I would take another look at Garrison if I were in your shoes. But then again, principals do come and go. But at least the coffee bar is across the street!

The Langley principal does have a plan, it is STEM, socioemotional learning, and outdoor play (in a nutshell). She presented it at the April PTA meeting. This is her first year at Langley (she was an AP at Watkins) and I am very pleased with her. She is highly responsive and great with budget issues.

Can anyone explain what socioemotional learning is? I hear that term used a lot in DCPS.

It's what kids get out of Daniel Tiger empathy, self-regulation, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I toured Garrison and the principal really impressed me. Can't provide the parent perspective, but I liked the principal's honesty. I know that the Langley boosters love to tout the principal, but I didn't really get a sense that she had a plan for the school. We were matched with a different school, but I would take another look at Garrison if I were in your shoes. But then again, principals do come and go. But at least the coffee bar is across the street!

The Langley principal does have a plan, it is STEM, socioemotional learning, and outdoor play (in a nutshell). She presented it at the April PTA meeting. This is her first year at Langley (she was an AP at Watkins) and I am very pleased with her. She is highly responsive and great with budget issues.

Can anyone explain what socioemotional learning is? I hear that term used a lot in DCPS.

It's learning social skills and self-regulation. Basically to control yourself and get along with others, and eventually to work as a team and manage social relationships as we all need to do in our adult lives. Self-regulation is the skill that helps us stay calm, persevere, maintain a good attitude, not get stage fright when presenting-- basically a high level of self control way beyond not smacking each other. It's supposed to help all the kids focus, stay on task, reduce conflict and bullying, etc. This is a focus of most play based preschool programs and some schools have even more.. For example, Langley is partnering with Playworks, which gives us a recess coach to help all the kids be physically active and work on their social skills (like debating whether the ball was in or out of bounds) in a more intentional way. I think it's going to be great.

[Anonymous]

OP, we live in Bloomingdale and toured both schools. We know people in each PK3 classroom at Langley who endorsed their teacher, and do not know people at Garrison, so that was one reason. Ultimately we decided that while Garrison may be slighly different in various ways, it was not significantly better in any way that justified the commute. It would have been great to be at Langley with several friends and share pickup and half day duties. Also it's much easier to be an involved parent if the school is close by. Ultimately we matched elsewhere, so my research was for naught. Hope it helps you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, we live in Bloomingdale and toured both schools. We know people in each PK3 classroom at Langley who endorsed their teacher, and do not know people at Garrison, so that was one reason. Ultimately we decided that while Garrison may be slighly different in various ways, it was not significantly better in any way that justified the commute. It would have been great to be at Langley with several friends and share pickup and half day duties. Also it's much easier to be an involved parent if the school is close by. Ultimately we matched elsewhere, so my research was for naught. Hope it helps you.

Thank you - very helpful. May I ask if you matched at another DCPS or HRC? If DCPS is there a specific reason you chose it over your neighborhood school?

Thank you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, we live in Bloomingdale and toured both schools. We know people in each PK3 classroom at Langley who endorsed their teacher, and do not know people at Garrison, so that was one reason. Ultimately we decided that while Garrison may be slighly different in various ways, it was not significantly better in any way that justified the commute. It would have been great to be at Langley with several friends and share pickup and half day duties. Also it's much easier to be an involved parent if the school is close by. Ultimately we matched elsewhere, so my research was for naught. Hope it helps you.

Thank you - very helpful. May I ask if you matched at another DCPS or HRC? If DCPS is there a specific reason you chose it over your neighborhood school?

Thank you.

We matched at Mundo, so... Really, other than Seaton, no neighborhood school that we could get into OOB, was worth the logistical problems it would have created.

I would have happily enrolled in Langley or Seaton (Seaton being so close to the G8 and Shaw metro), and I am 100% certain that Langley, Seaton, Garrison, and Cleveland have the potential to be much better than they are today, and to be true neighborhood schools that most people are happy to attend. It is an uphill battle and DCPS itself is both friend and foe, but it is obvious to me after living here for a while that progress is happening. If Bloomingdale/Eckington came together and demanded better for its school like other neighborhoods do every year, it would work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, we live in Bloomingdale and toured both schools. We know people in each PK3 classroom at Langley who endorsed their teacher, and do not know people at Garrison, so that was one reason. Ultimately we decided that while Garrison may be slighly different in various ways, it was not significantly better in any way that justified the commute. It would have been great to be at Langley with several friends and share pickup and half day duties. Also it's much easier to be an involved parent if the school is close by. Ultimately we matched elsewhere, so my research was for naught. Hope it helps you.

Thank you - very helpful. May I ask if you matched at another DCPS or HRC? If DCPS is there a specific reason you chose it over your neighborhood school?

Thank you.

We matched at Mundo, so... Really, other than Seaton, no neighborhood school that we could get into OOB, was worth the logistical problems it would have created.

I would have happily enrolled in Langley or Seaton (Seaton being so close to the G8 and Shaw metro), and I am 100% certain that Langley, Seaton, Garrison, and Cleveland have the potential to be much better than they are today, and to be true neighborhood schools that most people are happy to attend. It is an uphill battle and DCPS itself is both friend and foe, but it is obvious to me after living here for a while that progress is happening. If Bloomingdale/Eckington came together and demanded better for its school like other neighborhoods do every year, it would work.

Like what other neighborhoods?

DCPS does not seem to care whether mid-city families enroll their kids in neighborhood schools or go elsewhere. They seem to take a love it or leave it approach (not individual principals, but DCPS admin). See: Shaw Middle School sitting there rotting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, we live in Bloomingdale and toured both schools. We know people in each PK3 classroom at Langley who endorsed their teacher, and do not know people at Garrison, so that was one reason. Ultimately we decided that while Garrison may be slighly different in various ways, it was not significantly better in any way that justified the commute. It would have been great to be at Langley with several friends and share pickup and half day duties. Also it's much easier to be an involved parent if the school is close by. Ultimately we matched elsewhere, so my research was for naught. Hope it helps you.

Thank you - very helpful. May I ask if you matched at another DCPS or HRC? If DCPS is there a specific reason you chose it over your neighborhood school?

Thank you.

We matched at Mundo, so... Really, other than Seaton, no neighborhood school that we could get into OOB, was worth the logistical problems it would have created.

I would have happily enrolled in Langley or Seaton (Seaton being so close to the G8 and Shaw metro), and I am 100% certain that Langley, Seaton, Garrison, and Cleveland have the potential to be much better than they are today, and to be true neighborhood schools that most people are happy to attend. It is an uphill battle and DCPS itself is both friend and foe, but it is obvious to me after living here for a while that progress is happening. If Bloomingdale/Eckington came together and demanded better for its school like other neighborhoods do every year, it would work.

Like what other neighborhoods?

DCPS does not seem to care whether mid-city families enroll their kids in neighborhood schools or go elsewhere. They seem to take a love it or leave it approach (not individual principals, but DCPS admin). See: Shaw Middle School sitting there rotting.

I think my friends on the Hill got behind their schools way more effectively 10-15 years ago. Bloomingdalr and Eckington are fragmented among so many schools, it is hard to come together.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, we live in Bloomingdale and toured both schools. We know people in each PK3 classroom at Langley who endorsed their teacher, and do not know people at Garrison, so that was one reason. Ultimately we decided that while Garrison may be slighly different in various ways, it was not significantly better in any way that justified the commute. It would have been great to be at Langley with several friends and share pickup and half day duties. Also it's much easier to be an involved parent if the school is close by. Ultimately we matched elsewhere, so my research was for naught. Hope it helps you.

Thank you - very helpful. May I ask if you matched at another DCPS or HRC? If DCPS is there a specific reason you chose it over your neighborhood school?

Thank you.

We matched at Mundo, so... Really, other than Seaton, no neighborhood school that we could get into OOB, was worth the logistical problems it would have created.

I would have happily enrolled in Langley or Seaton (Seaton being so close to the G8 and Shaw metro), and I am 100% certain that Langley, Seaton, Garrison, and Cleveland have the potential to be much better than they are today, and to be true neighborhood schools that most people are happy to attend. It is an uphill battle and DCPS itself is both friend and foe, but it is obvious to me after living here for a while that progress is happening. If Bloomingdale/Eckington came together and demanded better for its school like other neighborhoods do every year, it would work.

Thanks for your perspective and congratulations on the match at Mundo! You must have gotten a great #. We looked but didn't apply because there was only one seat for PK3 without preference.

[Anonymous]

I think it is very unfair how downtown has made such inconsistent promises about the Garrison renovation. It has held back the momentum. Having said that, both are probably fine for preschool. I would pick whatever is most convenient or where you have the most friends, OP. You will not stay past 1st at either, so whatever.