Critique my list! (or give thoughts)

[Anonymous]

NP here. We are a ward 4 family zoned for Truesdell. We are putting DCB, Haynes, Creative Minds, John Lewis at top of list but I don’t know what else/how to rank the rest of our spots. Spanish is a priority, but not excited about LAMB and it being Montessori for later elementary years. I guess we’ll put stokes on there, but not excited about commute. The tests scores look abysmal nearly across the board. Would love some thoughts. If you’re not inbound for dcps, do you not even bother putting them in the list? Some look like they take no oob kids if you don’t have any priority category, is that right? Feeling disheartened by this board and my kid is only 3!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP here. We are a ward 4 family zoned for Truesdell. We are putting DCB, Haynes, Creative Minds, John Lewis at top of list but I don’t know what else/how to rank the rest of our spots. Spanish is a priority, but not excited about LAMB and it being Montessori for later elementary years. I guess we’ll put stokes on there, but not excited about commute. The tests scores look abysmal nearly across the board. Would love some thoughts. If you’re not inbound for dcps, do you not even bother putting them in the list? Some look like they take no oob kids if you don’t have any priority category, is that right? Feeling disheartened by this board and my kid is only 3!

Do Bethune for the Spanish for pre-K, then by kindergarten you’ll either have DCB/LAMB/Stokes, or you can choose between Lewis, Powell, Bruce Monroe, Takoma, etc. All have a very solid high SES population that is active and forms a peer group. I wouldn’t list CMI unless you are okay with those test scores.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think LAMB is pretty much still a guarantee for DCI because it hasn't expanded.

DCB may not be a guarantee for DCI, but I would seriously consider if you prefer Spanish or Chinese as far as immersion. Although if your currently at Sela, you probably have a good idea at how your kid does with a new language.

We were in bound at Lewis but opted for a charter, but the school is beautiful and I think parents are happy there. We re-added it to our list post lottery and still got an offer by mid-summer, although did have IB preference. Either way, I bet you get in.

LAMB is going to begin limited backfilling in elementary, so I don’t think the “effective” guarantee is as certain anymore. Still much better than other schools, but they won’t have planned attrition matching DCI seats like they do now. I would not do DCB over Powell if I could walk to Powell and had to do Riggs Rd to DCB every day. The reputation for weak academics really shows in the surprisingly low PARCC scores. I know more than one average to slightly above average DCB elementary student that seems to know less than I would expect for their grade and background. They just seem to care more about community and socio-emotional than academics. Powell doesn’t really wow me either, but DCB really underwhelms if you have a bright kid and aren’t super COVID cautious anymore.

I've never heard that DCB has a reputation for weak academics before. No school's PARCC scores look particularly impressive to me. Is the reputation just word of mouth from people you know and kids who know less than what you expect?

[Anonymous]

No No NOOOOOOO!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think LAMB is pretty much still a guarantee for DCI because it hasn't expanded.

DCB may not be a guarantee for DCI, but I would seriously consider if you prefer Spanish or Chinese as far as immersion. Although if your currently at Sela, you probably have a good idea at how your kid does with a new language.

We were in bound at Lewis but opted for a charter, but the school is beautiful and I think parents are happy there. We re-added it to our list post lottery and still got an offer by mid-summer, although did have IB preference. Either way, I bet you get in.

LAMB is going to begin limited backfilling in elementary, so I don’t think the “effective” guarantee is as certain anymore. Still much better than other schools, but they won’t have planned attrition matching DCI seats like they do now. I would not do DCB over Powell if I could walk to Powell and had to do Riggs Rd to DCB every day. The reputation for weak academics really shows in the surprisingly low PARCC scores. I know more than one average to slightly above average DCB elementary student that seems to know less than I would expect for their grade and background. They just seem to care more about community and socio-emotional than academics. Powell doesn’t really wow me either, but DCB really underwhelms if you have a bright kid and aren’t super COVID cautious anymore.

I've never heard that DCB has a reputation for weak academics before. No school's PARCC scores look particularly impressive to me. Is the reputation just word of mouth from people you know and kids who know less than what you expect?

DCB has a reputation for weak academics and weak Spanish, but parents still
Love it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP here. We are a ward 4 family zoned for Truesdell. We are putting DCB, Haynes, Creative Minds, John Lewis at top of list but I don’t know what else/how to rank the rest of our spots. Spanish is a priority, but not excited about LAMB and it being Montessori for later elementary years. I guess we’ll put stokes on there, but not excited about commute. The tests scores look abysmal nearly across the board. Would love some thoughts. If you’re not inbound for dcps, do you not even bother putting them in the list? Some look like they take no oob kids if you don’t have any priority category, is that right? Feeling disheartened by this board and my kid is only 3!

You can see here where your neighbors go to school. This may help with your list.


https://dme.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dme/page_content/attachments/SY2122_Public%20School%20Enrollments%20per%20DCPS%20Boundary_0.xlsx

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP here. We are a ward 4 family zoned for Truesdell. We are putting DCB, Haynes, Creative Minds, John Lewis at top of list but I don’t know what else/how to rank the rest of our spots. Spanish is a priority, but not excited about LAMB and it being Montessori for later elementary years. I guess we’ll put stokes on there, but not excited about commute. The tests scores look abysmal nearly across the board. Would love some thoughts. If you’re not inbound for dcps, do you not even bother putting them in the list? Some look like they take no oob kids if you don’t have any priority category, is that right? Feeling disheartened by this board and my kid is only 3!

Do Bethune for the Spanish for pre-K, then by kindergarten you’ll either have DCB/LAMB/Stokes, or you can choose between Lewis, Powell, Bruce Monroe, Takoma, etc. All have a very solid high SES population that is active and forms a peer group. I wouldn’t list CMI unless you are okay with those test scores.

What does “form a peer group” mean?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Keep in mind that the Spanish DCI feeder schools now have a preference, not a guarantee. You may be of the opinion that a 60% chance is better than nothing, or you may not want to put all of your eggs in that year’s lottery results basket and want something with an actual guarantee locked in by mid-upper elementary. I wouldn’t want to deal with that scramble in sixth grade (especially since you wouldn’t have Latin and Basis as options anymore), but YMMV.

I’m guessing you’re somewhere like Sela and are lotterying primarily for the middle school. We’re in the same boat and are only lotterying for Hardy/Deal feeders. If we’re happy at our school now and only want to have to move once, then we’re just not interested in gambling on a preference. But again, YMMV.

If I were you, I would list Shepherd first, then the rest of the JR feeders in order of commute and preference. Some are very overcrowded and have very different vibes from others. You have a zero percent shot at Bancroft and probably a few others, but if you have the spots, then can’t hurt. Then Yu Ying and LAMB (because it has the best odds out of the Spanish feeders), then the rest IF you are comfortable with the preference/guarantee situation.

OP, list the Spanish immersion high with the feed to DCI than ones with no middle school feed. It’s 60% if every kid is going to go to DCI which they don’t so your chances are higher as some move out of the area, move out of DC, etc…. This especially if you don’t want to move out of the city.

I would estimate more like 70-80% chance for DCI. Compare that with your IB school if MacFarland, it’s 0% in my book. That is a huge difference and then you won’t have to stress out every year worrying about middle school because the years go by fast. In addition you get the benefits or your kid knowing Spanish. Then you see how things shake out with the lottery for 6th with a very good chance for DCI. Your kid won’t even remember your current school 6-8 months into starting the new school.

BTW if you are happy where you live, the commute to WOTP can be a big hassle for school and then going back with rush hour trying to get downtown. Not something to take lightly.

lol, speaking like someone that had good lottery luck early. After striking out for years in a row, it would be the opposite of stress relieving to wait until sixth for a one-time roll of the dice. You’ll probably win, but if you don’t then you’re really and truly out of luck. “Sorry Larla you don’t get to go to middle school with all of your friends, instead we’re going to pack up and move to Maryland in the next three months.” Particularly not for mediocre academic quality at the elementary and middle/high school levels. No thank you!

You know that they can play the lottery in 5th too, right? They have even more options than you.

DCI has been discussed to death already, but not everyone is enamored enough with DCI to justify 6-8 years of inconvenience and sacrifice at the elementary level. If it’s a good enough school for your family, then that’s great.

Op or anyone should take anything said here with a grain of salt. Therefore, the fact that DCI has been discussed to death here should mean nothing to Op or anyone else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP here. We are a ward 4 family zoned for Truesdell. We are putting DCB, Haynes, Creative Minds, John Lewis at top of list but I don’t know what else/how to rank the rest of our spots. Spanish is a priority, but not excited about LAMB and it being Montessori for later elementary years. I guess we’ll put stokes on there, but not excited about commute. The tests scores look abysmal nearly across the board. Would love some thoughts. If you’re not inbound for dcps, do you not even bother putting them in the list? Some look like they take no oob kids if you don’t have any priority category, is that right? Feeling disheartened by this board and my kid is only 3!

Do Bethune for the Spanish for pre-K, then by kindergarten you’ll either have DCB/LAMB/Stokes, or you can choose between Lewis, Powell, Bruce Monroe, Takoma, etc. All have a very solid high SES population that is active and forms a peer group. I wouldn’t list CMI unless you are okay with those test scores.

None of these schools feed into a good middle school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP here. We are a ward 4 family zoned for Truesdell. We are putting DCB, Haynes, Creative Minds, John Lewis at top of list but I don’t know what else/how to rank the rest of our spots. Spanish is a priority, but not excited about LAMB and it being Montessori for later elementary years. I guess we’ll put stokes on there, but not excited about commute. The tests scores look abysmal nearly across the board. Would love some thoughts. If you’re not inbound for dcps, do you not even bother putting them in the list? Some look like they take no oob kids if you don’t have any priority category, is that right? Feeling disheartened by this board and my kid is only 3!

Do Bethune for the Spanish for pre-K, then by kindergarten you’ll either have DCB/LAMB/Stokes, or you can choose between Lewis, Powell, Bruce Monroe, Takoma, etc. All have a very solid high SES population that is active and forms a peer group. I wouldn’t list CMI unless you are okay with those test scores.

None of these schools feed into a good middle school.

I know…so what do you suggest I do then?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP here. We are a ward 4 family zoned for Truesdell. We are putting DCB, Haynes, Creative Minds, John Lewis at top of list but I don’t know what else/how to rank the rest of our spots. Spanish is a priority, but not excited about LAMB and it being Montessori for later elementary years. I guess we’ll put stokes on there, but not excited about commute. The tests scores look abysmal nearly across the board. Would love some thoughts. If you’re not inbound for dcps, do you not even bother putting them in the list? Some look like they take no oob kids if you don’t have any priority category, is that right? Feeling disheartened by this board and my kid is only 3!

Do Bethune for the Spanish for pre-K, then by kindergarten you’ll either have DCB/LAMB/Stokes, or you can choose between Lewis, Powell, Bruce Monroe, Takoma, etc. All have a very solid high SES population that is active and forms a peer group. I wouldn’t list CMI unless you are okay with those test scores.

None of these schools feed into a good middle school.

I know…so what do you suggest I do then?

Not PP, but temper your expectations. It's just very unlikely that the PK3 lottery is going to get anyone guaranteed access to a good middle school. But 1st grade and up, it's much much easier to lottery into Deal and Hardy feeders, plus you have the option of trying for Latin in 5th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP here. We are a ward 4 family zoned for Truesdell. We are putting DCB, Haynes, Creative Minds, John Lewis at top of list but I don’t know what else/how to rank the rest of our spots. Spanish is a priority, but not excited about LAMB and it being Montessori for later elementary years. I guess we’ll put stokes on there, but not excited about commute. The tests scores look abysmal nearly across the board. Would love some thoughts. If you’re not inbound for dcps, do you not even bother putting them in the list? Some look like they take no oob kids if you don’t have any priority category, is that right? Feeling disheartened by this board and my kid is only 3!

Do Bethune for the Spanish for pre-K, then by kindergarten you’ll either have DCB/LAMB/Stokes, or you can choose between Lewis, Powell, Bruce Monroe, Takoma, etc. All have a very solid high SES population that is active and forms a peer group. I wouldn’t list CMI unless you are okay with those test scores.

None of these schools feed into a good middle school.

I know…so what do you suggest I do then?

You don’t worry about middle school in pre-K. It’s really not as doom and gloom as DCUM makes it out to be. Many, many parents find that their middle school feed doesn’t work for their kids by the time they know what kind of kid and student they’ll be. You can lottery into a DCI feeder or Hardy/Deal feeder in mid to upper elementary pretty easily, particularly if you’re willing to commute across town for a year or two. Or your child may really need a smaller environment, gifted or special ed programming, or any number of other things. Any of those elementary schools will be good for elementary, while your enjoy the short commute, neighborhood school, and figure out what your kid(s) really need. And worst comes to worst, you can always start Chinese in sixth at DCI.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP here. We are a ward 4 family zoned for Truesdell. We are putting DCB, Haynes, Creative Minds, John Lewis at top of list but I don’t know what else/how to rank the rest of our spots. Spanish is a priority, but not excited about LAMB and it being Montessori for later elementary years. I guess we’ll put stokes on there, but not excited about commute. The tests scores look abysmal nearly across the board. Would love some thoughts. If you’re not inbound for dcps, do you not even bother putting them in the list? Some look like they take no oob kids if you don’t have any priority category, is that right? Feeling disheartened by this board and my kid is only 3!

Do Bethune for the Spanish for pre-K, then by kindergarten you’ll either have DCB/LAMB/Stokes, or you can choose between Lewis, Powell, Bruce Monroe, Takoma, etc. All have a very solid high SES population that is active and forms a peer group. I wouldn’t list CMI unless you are okay with those test scores.

None of these schools feed into a good middle school.

I know…so what do you suggest I do then?

Not PP, but temper your expectations. It's just very unlikely that the PK3 lottery is going to get anyone guaranteed access to a good middle school. But 1st grade and up, it's much much easier to lottery into Deal and Hardy feeders, plus you have the option of trying for Latin in 5th.

Deal and Hardy have major issues and good luck with that commute from elementary in for 8-10 years. Honestly, I would just move to burbs in elementary if you struck out to good school pyramid. Good schools, buses to school, bigger place, etc..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP here. We are a ward 4 family zoned for Truesdell. We are putting DCB, Haynes, Creative Minds, John Lewis at top of list but I don’t know what else/how to rank the rest of our spots. Spanish is a priority, but not excited about LAMB and it being Montessori for later elementary years. I guess we’ll put stokes on there, but not excited about commute. The tests scores look abysmal nearly across the board. Would love some thoughts. If you’re not inbound for dcps, do you not even bother putting them in the list? Some look like they take no oob kids if you don’t have any priority category, is that right? Feeling disheartened by this board and my kid is only 3!

Do Bethune for the Spanish for pre-K, then by kindergarten you’ll either have DCB/LAMB/Stokes, or you can choose between Lewis, Powell, Bruce Monroe, Takoma, etc. All have a very solid high SES population that is active and forms a peer group. I wouldn’t list CMI unless you are okay with those test scores.

None of these schools feed into a good middle school.

I know…so what do you suggest I do then?

You don’t worry about middle school in pre-K. It’s really not as doom and gloom as DCUM makes it out to be. Many, many parents find that their middle school feed doesn’t work for their kids by the time they know what kind of kid and student they’ll be. You can lottery into a DCI feeder or Hardy/Deal feeder in mid to upper elementary pretty easily, particularly if you’re willing to commute across town for a year or two. Or your child may really need a smaller environment, gifted or special ed programming, or any number of other things. Any of those elementary schools will be good for elementary, while your enjoy the short commute, neighborhood school, and figure out what your kid(s) really need. And worst comes to worst, you can always start Chinese in sixth at DCI.

First of all there is no way you should lottery into any DCI feeder in upper elementary if your kid doesn’t know the language. They are not going to learn a lot of subjects taught in the language. They are going to fall behind, get frustrated, resent you for doing toys. Why would you do that to your kid? BTW there are really few of these spots anyway and not what DCUM likes you to believe.

2nd of all, by then the DCI Chinese track will be ultra competitive because many more kids from YY will likely have track to DCI as school gets better and better so not as many spots. If there are few spots if any, it will be ultra competitive as so many families are competing for it.

Lately, if the Deal/Hardy feeders are crowded, or are getting more crowded they will be taking in less OOB kids or none at all.

You cannot count on what PP above says at all. Look at middle school feeds when considering your list.

You may not know what your kid needs in middle school but you want to have as many options as you can. Take into the middle school feed when considering your list OP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP here. We are a ward 4 family zoned for Truesdell. We are putting DCB, Haynes, Creative Minds, John Lewis at top of list but I don’t know what else/how to rank the rest of our spots. Spanish is a priority, but not excited about LAMB and it being Montessori for later elementary years. I guess we’ll put stokes on there, but not excited about commute. The tests scores look abysmal nearly across the board. Would love some thoughts. If you’re not inbound for dcps, do you not even bother putting them in the list? Some look like they take no oob kids if you don’t have any priority category, is that right? Feeling disheartened by this board and my kid is only 3!

Do Bethune for the Spanish for pre-K, then by kindergarten you’ll either have DCB/LAMB/Stokes, or you can choose between Lewis, Powell, Bruce Monroe, Takoma, etc. All have a very solid high SES population that is active and forms a peer group. I wouldn’t list CMI unless you are okay with those test scores.

None of these schools feed into a good middle school.

I know…so what do you suggest I do then?

You don’t worry about middle school in pre-K. It’s really not as doom and gloom as DCUM makes it out to be. Many, many parents find that their middle school feed doesn’t work for their kids by the time they know what kind of kid and student they’ll be. You can lottery into a DCI feeder or Hardy/Deal feeder in mid to upper elementary pretty easily, particularly if you’re willing to commute across town for a year or two. Or your child may really need a smaller environment, gifted or special ed programming, or any number of other things. Any of those elementary schools will be good for elementary, while your enjoy the short commute, neighborhood school, and figure out what your kid(s) really need. And worst comes to worst, you can always start Chinese in sixth at DCI.

First of all there is no way you should lottery into any DCI feeder in upper elementary if your kid doesn’t know the language. They are not going to learn a lot of subjects taught in the language. They are going to fall behind, get frustrated, resent you for doing toys. Why would you do that to your kid? BTW there are really few of these spots anyway and not what DCUM likes you to believe.

2nd of all, by then the DCI Chinese track will be ultra competitive because many more kids from YY will likely have track to DCI as school gets better and better so not as many spots. If there are few spots if any, it will be ultra competitive as so many families are competing for it.

Lately, if the Deal/Hardy feeders are crowded, or are getting more crowded they will be taking in less OOB kids or none at all.

You cannot count on what PP above says at all. Look at middle school feeds when considering your list.

You may not know what your kid needs in middle school but you want to have as many options as you can. Take into the middle school feed when considering your list OP

So much speculation in this reply. I be this PP is at a DCI feeder and has no experience with the DCPS lottery for elementary. Foxhall and H-A will have spots, and you can do immersion at a DCPS elementary and easily switch to a DCI feeder. Mundo Verde will have pretty much guaranteed seats in upper elementary for the foreseeable future. DCB also goes far into upper elementary waitlists pretty consistently.

I personally would not pick somewhere like MV and have a very unstable elementary experience for the purpose of leaving a future option open. Or a lack of advanced differentiation at DCB (if your child needs that, not all are 2+ years above grade level, obviously). Etc etc. But clearly others disagree, so YMMV.