DC house hunting in quality school districts

[Anonymous]

I am a current parent at Eaton and although I am a working mom I am very active. As are an amazing amount of parents--I never will understand where a high percentage of OOB equals inactivity--if anything it is the opposite --folks at the school are truly interested in sending their kids to Eaton and are very active. It is not just a default school. That said the numbers have been changing and this year not one OOB (unless they have a sibling) got in from the lottery--the % of In Bounds is rising but as a parent I don't know if that is the key to a successful school. Eaton is great because of the active parents, great teachers, and great principal.

[Anonymous]

I agree with the Eaton parent. I am an in-boundary parent at Hearst and it has very involved parents and other family members. And it was like that before my family started there two years ago. Out of boundary does not equal uninvolved and unconcerned parents. We have an active school community. That community just happens to extend beyond the DCPS boundaries. And that's part of what we like about the school.

[Anonymous]

I think the issue for Eaton is related to test scores and an underlying sense at Deal that kids were not coming as well prepared. When I visited during an open house I was told that they had changed some of their teaching processes because kids could not do research well enough.

[Anonymous]

I apologize if my explanation of my understanding of why Eaton is not part of the "JKLM" phrase offended anyone. I was trying to say that this is historical perception, not the current state of affairs. I also think Stoddert and Hyde have great reputations, with Stoddert having the highest test scores in the city last year for what that is worth. I think the "JKLM" phrase however is a holdover from another time in the not too distant past where the JKLM schools did have more in boundary students, parent involvement, etc. and better reputations. I have friends who had experience with Eaton several years ago and were not happy (and moved to Arlington) and I have friends who have been very happy with Eaton, all of whom I respect for their judgment.

Also, a separate current issue is where the elementary schools feed into. There did not used to be much in the way of a good middle school options, but it seems like the two best (Deal and Hardy) have diverged with Deal improving and becoming more and more desirable and Hardy becoming known for its problems. JKLM (Murch) feed into Deal, Mann feeds into Hardy, but in reality privates, and Eaton, Hyde, and Stoddert feed into Hardy, so that is a consideration as well. Eaton used to feed into Deal, but that is being transitioned to Hardy (and I do not really understand what they did there because it sounds like some families can still choose Deal.)

Hearst, which feeds Deal, sounds like it is moving onto the up and coming list and some people are very happy there. I do not know anything more than that.

[Anonymous]

For what it is worth, I didn't think Langdon had been flagged for erasures. Scores have been high there for a long time -- I think because of the Montessori program personally. The immediate neighborhood isn't where I'd want to live though (and I live not too far away in Brookland).

[Anonymous]

Wow, That certainly hasn't been communicated to the parents at John Eaton. I think that parents, including of Cleveland Park students whose numbers have increased significantly at Easton in the past 4 years, would be very surprised and upset if Eaton is redistricted away from Deal to Hardy. In fact, moving Eaton away from Deal might reverse Eaton's upward trend.

"Eaton used to feed into Deal, but that is being transitioned to Hardy (and I do not really understand what they did there because it sounds like some families can still choose Deal.)"

[Anonymous]

I very well may have been wrong on what is happening with the Eaton feeder school pattern, I recall something confusing involving a change to Hardy that was discussed on an old DCUM thread. That said, both Deal and Hardy list Eaton as a feeder schools on the DCPS website, so I do not know whether that may depend on individual students addresses or what.

21 of 50 Eaton pk students accepted were OOB w/sibling. That means that only 29 in boundary pkers applied. Not saying it is not changing, but that is still a significant number of OOB.

I also do not attach a stigma to OOB, I support choice in DCPS, I was just trying to explain the source of the perception.

[Anonymous]

Here are old minutes from a 2009 Eaton HSA meeting explaining the DCPS proposal re Deal/Hardy transition to which Eaton objected. It is not clear what a final resolution, if any, has been adopted:

http://www.eatondc.org/documents/hsa_minutes_feb2009.pdf

[Anonymous]

Here are the feeder pattern changes for next year:

http://dpr.dc.gov/DCPS/Learn+About+Schools/School+Changes+for+SY+2011-2012#2

Eaton not mentioned.

[Anonymous]

As it is now Eaton can feed in to either Deal or Hardy. Most parents choose Deal but there are lots of families that choose Hardy because of their program. From my understanding as a current parent Eaton families can choose--it is a Ward 3 school and has a history of feeding to Deal since the beginning. Also now that Eaton is a world cultures school with Chinese being offered prek-5 it makes alot of sense to keep Deal as a feeder since Deal is an IB school that offers Chinese at the middle school level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For what it is worth, I didn't think Langdon had been flagged for erasures. Scores have been high there for a long time -- I think because of the Montessori program personally. The immediate neighborhood isn't where I'd want to live though (and I live not too far away in Brookland).

Langdon was flagged. there was a few articles in the Washington post along with Noyes.

[Anonymous]

20:12, Langdon is on the list for erasure issues. It's here:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2011-03-27-school-test-table_N.htm

You need to read the entire piece though to see the extent of the testing corruption in DC.

Let's just say over the last 2 years, Langdon cheated less. It' looks like there best test scores were in 2008, when they cheated more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I apologize if my explanation of my understanding of why Eaton is not part of the "JKLM" phrase offended anyone. I was trying to say that this is historical perception, not the current state of affairs. I also think Stoddert and Hyde have great reputations, with Stoddert having the highest test scores in the city last year for what that is worth. I think the "JKLM" phrase however is a holdover from another time in the not too distant past where the JKLM schools did have more in boundary students, parent involvement, etc. and better reputations. I have friends who had experience with Eaton several years ago and were not happy (and moved to Arlington) and I have friends who have been very happy with Eaton, all of whom I respect for their judgment.

Also, a separate current issue is where the elementary schools feed into. There did not used to be much in the way of a good middle school options, but it seems like the two best (Deal and Hardy) have diverged with Deal improving and becoming more and more desirable and Hardy becoming known for its problems. JKLM (Murch) feed into Deal, Mann feeds into Hardy, but in reality privates, and Eaton, Hyde, and Stoddert feed into Hardy, so that is a consideration as well. Eaton used to feed into Deal, but that is being transitioned to Hardy (and I do not really understand what they did there because it sounds like some families can still choose Deal.)

Hearst, which feeds Deal, sounds like it is moving onto the up and coming list and some people are very happy there. I do not know anything more than that.

the two best DCPS. Latin does have better scores and a more rigorous program than either one of them.

[Anonymous]

I agree that Latin offers a rigorous program (and has had good leadership, particularly after the Founding Headmaster/Rector departed). But, except for one year (5th grade overlaps), it is not an "alternative" to the elementary schools. It is an alternative to Deal and Hardy, and one that a number of kids who are eligible for those schools have chosen.

[Anonymous]

Anyone find it overwhelming that $600k still isn't enough money to get you into most "good" districts? My husband and I are both working professionals and our gross income was around $150K. With significant grad school loans and two kids in daycare right now - the idea of a $600K mortgage is a joke. I suppose with both kids in public school we'd have another $3-4K a month, but taking that savings and applying it to a mortgage is a bit frustrating. Okay, end of rant.