Takoma Education Campus

[Anonymous]

Does anybody have children going to this school? I saw that it was rated 5/10 which is concerning but it has an arts focus which is a plus. Any information you could share would be much appreciated.
Thank you

[Anonymous]

5/10 is pretty good for DCPS but Greatschools is a rather unhelpful website.

[Anonymous]

It is a Title 1 school, which a high percentage of non- native English speakers. It also hosts a specialized autism program so keep those things in mind when considering the Star reports/PARCC scores.

The arts focus is a real thing; you see many kids toting instruments on their way to school in the morning.

Neighborhood families of all descriptions and income levels attend for preschool and K. The school has even had a WL for ECE in the last couple years but will be adding more classes now that Wells MS is opening.

I think the feeder pattern remains a challenge. The new MS is going to be gorgeous, but it feeds to Coolidge which has not been a great school. That said, Coolidge is being reconfigured and very different than in the past.

The DCYOP Saturday program will be at Takoma starting this year, which the school community is really excited about. It will hopefully boost the school's own music program.

[Anonymous]

“I think the feeder pattern remains a challenge.”
^ ^^Does this mean that, Takoma education campus will stop at 5th grade next year?

Other than the musical instruments, does anyone know how else art is infused in their daily program? Does anyone have any information on upper elementary?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:5/10 is pretty good for DCPS but Greatschools is a rather unhelpful website.

+1. If 5 is concerning, you will not be happy here long-term.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
“I think the feeder pattern remains a challenge.”
^ ^^Does this mean that, Takoma education campus will stop at 5th grade next year?

Other than the musical instruments, does anyone know how else art is infused in their daily program? Does anyone have any information on upper elementary?

Yes. It is converting to a Pk3-5 and Wells MS will have 6-8.

For SY19-20 Takoma will have Pk-3 to 5th, plus 7th and 8th. Wells will just have 6th.

For SY20-21 Takoma will have Pk3 to 5th and 8th. Wells will have 6th and 7th.

SY21-22 Takoma will just have Pk3-5. Wells will have 6-8.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
“I think the feeder pattern remains a challenge.”
^ ^^Does this mean that, Takoma education campus will stop at 5th grade next year?

Other than the musical instruments, does anyone know how else art is infused in their daily program? Does anyone have any information on upper elementary?

I suggest you call the school and ask them to put you in touch with the PTO president. You could also join and post on the Takoma neighborhood listserv and get more current information from current parents. https://takomadc.groups.io/g/TakomaDC

[Anonymous]

My daughter is registered for Takoma starting this fall, so we haven't been yet, but one thing that impressed me was that it's one of the very few DCPS schools that offer dance instruction as a special. That is another part of the arts integration in addition to music.

[Anonymous]

I would check out the star report cards on Takoma EC. unless you're in-bounds there's not much to recommend it.
https://dcschoolreportcard.org/schools/1-0324

There are better schools in the area that are easy to lottery into, i.e. Whittier
https://dcschoolreportcard.org/schools/1-0338

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would check out the star report cards on Takoma EC. unless you're in-bounds there's not much to recommend it.
https://dcschoolreportcard.org/schools/1-0324

There are better schools in the area that are easy to lottery into, i.e. Whittier
https://dcschoolreportcard.org/schools/1-0338

I don’t think it’s fair to say Whittier is a better school than Takoma. Different schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would check out the star report cards on Takoma EC. unless you're in-bounds there's not much to recommend it.
https://dcschoolreportcard.org/schools/1-0324

There are better schools in the area that are easy to lottery into, i.e. Whittier
https://dcschoolreportcard.org/schools/1-0338

I don’t think it’s fair to say Whittier is a better school than Takoma. Different schools.

I’m a happy IB Whittier parent and would send my kid to Takoma if we were IB there. They both have great features and some challenges. I don’t think Takoma’s star rating is an accurate reflection of the experience or education. (I know the evaluation at Whittier was flawed too, to our detriment, so I take all of the ratings with a big grain of salt.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would check out the star report cards on Takoma EC. unless you're in-bounds there's not much to recommend it.
https://dcschoolreportcard.org/schools/1-0324

There are better schools in the area that are easy to lottery into, i.e. Whittier
https://dcschoolreportcard.org/schools/1-0338

I don’t think it’s fair to say Whittier is a better school than Takoma. Different schools.

I’m a happy IB Whittier parent and would send my kid to Takoma if we were IB there. They both have great features and some challenges. I don’t think Takoma’s star rating is an accurate reflection of the experience or education. (I know the evaluation at Whittier was flawed too, to our detriment, so I take all of the ratings with a big grain of salt.)

I agree with this.