Clueless ab schools: Qs on out of boundary schools, Amidon ES/Jefferson MS & cheaper private altern

[Anonymous]

Since we’re new parents, we don’t know much about the school system since it’s a bit down the road. However, we’re trying to decide where to purchase a home (Navy Yard in DC or Virginia), so we are looking at how good/bad the DC public schools are. Although it would be closer to one of the Capitol Hill schools, I believe the Navy Yard location feeds into Amidon, Jefferson, and Dunbar/Eastern/Wilson (this is the weird part b/c we get 3 different choices for high schools when we enter the address onto the DCPS website).

Questions: How hard is it to get into schools (especially the Capitol Hill schools) if we are out of boundary and how are these other schools? We mostly hear about the “good” public schools in NW but nothing about these other public schools, esp. in SE. Or is it better to just suck it up and move to Virginia? How expensive are the smaller private schools (we’re not talking about the Sidwell Friends/Georgetown Prep which are out of our league; just wondering if there are cheaper alternatives)?

Any advice/information for the newbies would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Hi I would recommend moving into Capitol Hill across the freeway from the Navy Yard. I don't know anything about Amidon but I do know that there are a number of elementary schools on the upswing in Capitol Hill. I'm 3 or 4 blocks from the Navy Yard and I'm in-boundary for Tyler Elementary which has had an infusion of middle class families in the last couple of years and has both a traditional program and a Spanish immersion program. Can't speak to the upper grades but I have friends who are happy with the early elementary program.

Other elementary schools in Capitol Hill that I hear good things about are Brent, Peabody/Watkins, Ludlow-Taylor, and Maury. I don't know if it's only a couple of people but Maury parents on the neighborhood listserve seem extremely happy with it. Anyway, they're all worth researching further. DCPS may not be your cup of tea but it has worked well for some folks.

I think we are inboundary for Eliot-Hine MS but I don't know much about it. I wouldn't worry yet about high school but Eastern (my in-boundary school) is being shut down so it can be completely renovated. But DC also has a lot of magnet high schools so at that level you don't have to submit to the gods of the lottery -- your kid can apply to, say, 5 or 6 schools at this point.

At any rate, take a look at Capitol Hill. Check out neighborhoods on the 90s busline (runs up 8th St) or the Circulator line (runs up 8th to Penn and eastwards).

[Anonymous]

Good for you for starting early OP. When you add in charter schools, the range of choices gets even more complicated. You might want to start with the School Chooser document that covers public, private and charters with enrollment how tos and basic profiles for 100+ schools. It's put out by a nonprofit org. http://www.fightforchildren.org/pdf/SchoolChooser.pdf

In SE/Hill general area, two of the best charters are KIPP DC www.kippdc.org and DC Prep www.dcprep.org.

HTH

[Anonymous]

Not sure if you've checked out www.greatschoolsnet:

http://www.greatschools.net/school/parentReviews.page?id=96&state=DC

Amidon-Bowden scores a 3 out of 10 on their rating system (based on test scores) and averages 3 out of 5 on the two parent reviews.

As for private schools--a lesser-known one with which I'm familiar still has a tuition of $20,000 for the year...

[Anonymous]

PP here. Forgot about lotteries. DC out of boundary enrollment and all pre-k enrollment are run on a computerized lottery process. Each charter school has it's own enrollment policy and lottery process for waitlist spots. But don't let this dissuade you from DC! Capitol Hill is arguably (just an opinion) your best bet for choice of local school options and long term property value.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the information! Unfortuantely, moving across the highway isn't one of our options (we're looking at the EYA development - Capitol Quarters), but at least there seem to be some options.

[Anonymous]

Just north of Capitol Hill is Two Rivers Public Charter. It was started by some Capitol Hill parents and draws students from all over the city.

[Anonymous]

We live in SWDC, with kids in elementary and middle school. We have fared well in the DCPS/charter school lotteries, and have attended good schools on the Hill. I think the thing to keep in mind is that from here, you'll end up commuting to school, and you won't have the same experience of being a member of the school neighborhood community (think playdates on the other side of town, and criss-crossing the Capitol during rush hour). This would be easier if you got into one of the Hill schools in SE.
There is, however a growing community of families in SW, both at the waterfront and north of Safeway. We have a listserve similar to Moms on the Hill.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
There is, however a growing community of families in SW, both at the waterfront and north of Safeway. We have a listserve similar to Moms on the Hill.

NP here but also live in this neighborhood, can you say the name of the listserve?

[Anonymous]

Hello fellow Southwester!
It's a Yahoo group: SWDC_Families
I assume you could apply to the group with your SW address to gain access to the listserve.