Mundo Verde (P St) vs. Burroughs
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Anonymous
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So...at the risk of being attacked with rotten (internet) vegetables, I'm curious what the hive mind would decide if they were faced with this query:
PK4 at Mundo Verde P Street or J. Burroughs elementary in Brookland. I know, I know, we LITERALLY won the lottery, and I'm grateful. At first I was really excited, but things at MV have kind of been a sh*t show over the last year. The principle quit, the teachers voted to form a union and the administration was pretty hostile to the teachers (which was stupid - they voted, the law is clear - recognize the union and start negotiating). The school building at P street is actually not that impressive (they don't have a proper playground beyond some sand play area for the Casita), and it is practically adjacent to an open air drug market. We're also concerned that MV students aren't performing well at DCI. Sure, they are 4 stars, but the population at MV is pretty advantaged, so they are probably going to test well even if instruction isn't great. Another issue is MV after care is $500/month, which will strain our budget because of an unexpected family financial challenge. The commute is OK-ish to MV, it's on my way to work, but parking at drop-off is going to be a nightmare. We live in Brookland and are zoned for Burroughs and have a spot there we can claim. Should we take it? Stick with MV and hope for the best? Or go to Burroughs. Burroughs PROs: super close - we can walk there. Very good PK3/4 play space at Burroughs, PK4 teachers are very experienced, credentialed teachers - some of whom even live in the neighborhood. Neighborhood around Burroughs is calm, no addicts passing out on the playground. Burroughs seems well resourced - they have a dedicated music room and teacher, science room, art room, etc. Burroughs CONs: probably won't get a spot in after-care at this point in the year, upper grades are small, not diverse, and struggling academically. Burroughs is zoned for Brookland Middle School then Dunbar (not a path we're interested in). What would you do? If you are on the list for MV, would you take it or stick with a struggling, but rising, neighborhood school? |
Anonymous
| Where are you now? |
Anonymous
A private preschool for PK3, that we can no longer afford. |
Anonymous
| What are your real top choice schools? If MV is not among your top 5, pass it up. |
Anonymous
MV *was* in our top 5 until all the rest of this stuff came out. Our top choices are Stokes French or Spanish, which seems very unlikely. We really like the language immersion model. |
Anonymous
We got offers at Stokes for first grade. It does happen. Would you commute to Stokes EE? I know some people in your area who do. Maybe give Inspired Teaching a second look. It is much easier to get in for K, not for Pk4. |
Anonymous
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Hi Neighbor!
Personally, I'd go with MV for the long-term option(s) that may come with it. Whether that be a transfer to the other campus and/or DCI for middle school, but Spanish instruction is also important to our family (we're at another DCI feeder). True, there are good things to be said about the early grades at Burroughs, and I want to support the neighborhood schools, but 2nd and 3rd grades will happen before you know it and the school isn't like to have changed all that much between now and then. You can always go back to Burroughs (even mid-year), but you can't go the other way. And a block north of Burroughs is not the tranquil park we'd all like it to be with shootings there every year. |
Anonymous
| I saw something on my neighborhood listserv this weekend, that Stokes EE still had space available for PK4. Not particularly convenient location-wise, but perhaps worth calling and seeing if there are, in fact, open seats. |
Anonymous
| MV no brainer. Get started with immersion now. If you dislike it, lottery later for other immersion schools. Burroughs does not offer much past early grades. |
Anonymous
| You only get once chance at MV. Take it. You can leave if you hate it, but you'll never get the chance again. Burroughs will always be there. |
Anonymous
Agree. If language immersion is important to you, start it now and keep trying to lottery for Stokes or DC Bilingual next year. It gets easier to get in at the higher grades. |
Anonymous
Oh come on. MV P makes a ton of K offers and a bunch for 1st grade too. Maybe it isn't very likely but I would say 1 in 3 chance of getting in for K. |
Anonymous
| Check with Burroughs to confirm the availability of aftercare; I believe Mindbloom offers Spanish there a few times a week and there may be additional options. If they have no spaces, go with MV. |
Anonymous
That’s overstating it. My kid got a pretty good draw for K and has not gotten in. There was much more movement last year for some reason. We will see what happens as school starts but it’s not looking good for us. |
Anonymous
Every year is different, but this year with all the drama as well as the new campus offering so many seats, I think it could be as good or better. I do see that last year they made 48 offers by June but this year only 8, wonder what that's about. Last year 35 offers went out in the August-October period. My number took a nosedive in late August and kept right on dropping until Count Day. |