Starting Fourth Grade at DCPS

[Anonymous]

Can someone who was here last year walk me through it? What should we be doing: tour at Basis, Washington Latin, and our locally zoned middle school? Lottery in the winter? Are there other schools we should be looking at? We are at Brent, so our local school is Jefferson, and we may have proximity to Stuart-Hobson. (Does proximity count for much on the lottery?)

Thanks in advance!

[Anonymous]

I think you've got the basics. Tour at Latin and Basis, with the understanding that Latin is truly a lottery (about 1 in 10 chance of getting in) and there are also kids who did not get in to Basis last year (I think 70-80 still on the waitlist). I don't think Stuart Hobson let in any out of bounds kids this year (and that would include proximity preference). You might want to also take a look at Two Rivers for 5th grade/middle school. And, there are a (very) few Brent kids who have gone on to Jefferson and seem to be happy/doing well there. My kid is at Basis now and enjoying it, for the most part.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think you've got the basics. Tour at Latin and Basis, with the understanding that Latin is truly a lottery (about 1 in 10 chance of getting in) and there are also kids who did not get in to Basis last year (I think 70-80 still on the waitlist). I don't think Stuart Hobson let in any out of bounds kids this year (and that would include proximity preference). You might want to also take a look at Two Rivers for 5th grade/middle school. And, there are a (very) few Brent kids who have gone on to Jefferson and seem to be happy/doing well there. My kid is at Basis now and enjoying it, for the most part.

Thanks so much for your response! Do people have better luck with Two Rivers in fifth versus sixth grade?

I am actually wondering if it would make sense for my kid to go to Basis for 5th and then Jefferson for 6th, if she decides Basis isn't for her. I feel like it would give her a better transition year. Or maybe she'll prefer to stay. In general, how much of the decision was yours versus your child's?

[Anonymous]

MySchoolDC (DCPS) does not have a proximity preference for middle school. The preference is only applicable to elementary school.

SH did not offer 1 seat in the lottery last year.

They only real chance you have for Latin/Basis is for 5th grade (lottery in 4th). SH and Jefferson don't start until 6th grade.

[Anonymous]

Brent kids go to Inspired Teaching sometimes. If the commute works for you...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you've got the basics. Tour at Latin and Basis, with the understanding that Latin is truly a lottery (about 1 in 10 chance of getting in) and there are also kids who did not get in to Basis last year (I think 70-80 still on the waitlist). I don't think Stuart Hobson let in any out of bounds kids this year (and that would include proximity preference). You might want to also take a look at Two Rivers for 5th grade/middle school. And, there are a (very) few Brent kids who have gone on to Jefferson and seem to be happy/doing well there. My kid is at Basis now and enjoying it, for the most part.

Thanks so much for your response! Do people have better luck with Two Rivers in fifth versus sixth grade?

I am actually wondering if it would make sense for my kid to go to Basis for 5th and then Jefferson for 6th, if she decides Basis isn't for her. I feel like it would give her a better transition year. Or maybe she'll prefer to stay. In general, how much of the decision was yours versus your child's?

Fifth Grade is somewhat of an "entry year" at Two Rivers - so there is a decent shot of getting in. My child was offered a slot there, but we turned it down because we wanted Basis instead (and I thought we would get off the waitlist - and indeed we were offered a slot at Basis a week or so later). My child would have preferred to stay at Brent for 5th grade . . . . but was not given that option, given that it is pretty much 5th grade or forget it for the charter schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you've got the basics. Tour at Latin and Basis, with the understanding that Latin is truly a lottery (about 1 in 10 chance of getting in) and there are also kids who did not get in to Basis last year (I think 70-80 still on the waitlist). I don't think Stuart Hobson let in any out of bounds kids this year (and that would include proximity preference). You might want to also take a look at Two Rivers for 5th grade/middle school. And, there are a (very) few Brent kids who have gone on to Jefferson and seem to be happy/doing well there. My kid is at Basis now and enjoying it, for the most part.

Thanks so much for your response! Do people have better luck with Two Rivers in fifth versus sixth grade?

I am actually wondering if it would make sense for my kid to go to Basis for 5th and then Jefferson for 6th, if she decides Basis isn't for her. I feel like it would give her a better transition year. Or maybe she'll prefer to stay. In general, how much of the decision was yours versus your child's?

I wouldn't do that. First of all, you can't bank on a BASIS spot - this year, BASIS took around 2/3 of those who put their name in the lottery by the second week of school. Next year, that number may fall as low as half. More Brent parents are shut out of BASIS with every passing lottery year.

If you prefer Jefferson to BASIS, I wouldn't apply to BASIS and I wouldn't mess her up socially by removing her from the Jefferson Academy bound after 4th grade. Very few families are unhappy at BASIS in 5th - if the misery kicks in, that happens a year or two later. I'd let her do 5th grade with the Jefferson-bound at Brent. It's a good year for kids who can manage the social transition (with 3/4 of the K-4th grade cohort gone). As you may know, there are currently 3 full-time 5th grade teachers for two dozen Brent 5th graders.

We didn't visit anywhere, before lottery results came out - didn't see the point. But prepare to be shocked come March if you're unlucky - we know half a dozen former Brent 4th families who got in nowhere in the DC public system among the schools they put in (generally Wash Latin, BASIS, Two Rivers, Hardy and Stuart Hobson) for both 5th and 6th grades.

If you're not OK with Jefferson Academy, like the majority of parents of Brent 4th graders, you might to develop a Plan B outside DC public, e.g. move to a certain burb or send the child to a private you can afford. Some Brent parents go with St Peter School on the Hill, or parochial schools in Arlington and NW, or Friends Community (Quaker) School, all charging in the teens for middle school (vs. 30K plus for tony privates).

City politicians and ed leaders obviously have a lot to answer for in this grim game, but they don't answer for it.

[Anonymous]

(Based on living on the Hill)

In a nutshell-
1. Lottery (in 4th grade) for all of your choices for public charter schools (PCS) that start in 5th grade.
-Best entry point
-Most PCSs will not accept a significant (if any) number for 6th grade
-If you get a spot - take it. See #2

2. If you wait to lottery in 5th -your choices will be
A. Go to your IB (in your case Jefferson)
B. Go to Elliot-Hine
C. Go private.
D. Move for a desired IB

[Anonymous]

OP, you want to talk to Brent 4th grade families with kids at both Brent and a DC public middle/high school, as well as the 5th grade in-boundary families. Easy to do this at drop-off or pick-up.

You'll find that the 5th grade families--only 15 of 60 4th graders last year have returned--divide roughly into several groups.

Group 1 is comprised of hard-core Jefferson Academy UMC boosters who didn't apply anywhere else. Group 2 is the comprised of parents who won't touch Jefferson but got shut out at Wash Latin and BASIS for 5th grade. They're scrambling to make a new plan, knowing that they're very unlikely to crack Wash Latin or BASIS for 6th. Group 3 is comprised of low SES families who may not have applied in the lottery. Some of the parents went to Jefferson as kids and are fine with Jefferson Academy as is.

Good luck.

[Anonymous]

There are more Brent 4th graders from last year at BASIS this year than at Brent. This has been the case for 5 or 6 years. BASIS has basically become Brent's 5th grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you've got the basics. Tour at Latin and Basis, with the understanding that Latin is truly a lottery (about 1 in 10 chance of getting in) and there are also kids who did not get in to Basis last year (I think 70-80 still on the waitlist). I don't think Stuart Hobson let in any out of bounds kids this year (and that would include proximity preference). You might want to also take a look at Two Rivers for 5th grade/middle school. And, there are a (very) few Brent kids who have gone on to Jefferson and seem to be happy/doing well there. My kid is at Basis now and enjoying it, for the most part.

Thanks so much for your response! Do people have better luck with Two Rivers in fifth versus sixth grade?

I am actually wondering if it would make sense for my kid to go to Basis for 5th and then Jefferson for 6th, if she decides Basis isn't for her. I feel like it would give her a better transition year. Or maybe she'll prefer to stay. In general, how much of the decision was yours versus your child's?

OP, whatever you decide regarding how much weight to give to your child's opinion, please don't factor in whether or not her friends are going to a particular school. I've seen so many parents talk up our charter feeder MS/HS then play the lottery every year in hopes of going somewhere else. Just be prepared for kids not showing up there even if they talk a good game about wanting to go there. Then suddenly we heard oh, we're going to Latin/Basis/Private/Moving.

Also, friends generally change in middle school. Just pick the school that seems best for your kid. Everyone else will be doing the same.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, you want to talk to Brent 4th grade families with kids at both Brent and a DC public middle/high school, as well as the 5th grade in-boundary families. Easy to do this at drop-off or pick-up.

You'll find that the 5th grade families--only 15 of 60 4th graders last year have returned--divide roughly into several groups.

Group 1 is comprised of hard-core Jefferson Academy UMC boosters who didn't apply anywhere else. Group 2 is the comprised of parents who won't touch Jefferson but got shut out at Wash Latin and BASIS for 5th grade. They're scrambling to make a new plan, knowing that they're very unlikely to crack Wash Latin or BASIS for 6th. Group 3 is comprised of low SES families who may not have applied in the lottery. Some of the parents went to Jefferson as kids and are fine with Jefferson Academy as is.

Good luck.

At least that's what they're telling you

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are more Brent 4th graders from last year at BASIS this year than at Brent. This has been the case for 5 or 6 years. BASIS has basically become Brent's 5th grade.

How pervasive is this across the city for "good" elementary schools that don't have "good" middle school feeders? We're only in K, but plan to stay in DCPS through elementary, then move for middle if we don't win the lottery. (Want to move regardless, so wouldn't be a scramble.) Do all non-Wilson feeder DCPS clear out in 4th and 5th?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, you want to talk to Brent 4th grade families with kids at both Brent and a DC public middle/high school, as well as the 5th grade in-boundary families. Easy to do this at drop-off or pick-up.

You'll find that the 5th grade families--only 15 of 60 4th graders last year have returned--divide roughly into several groups.

Group 1 is comprised of hard-core Jefferson Academy UMC boosters who didn't apply anywhere else. Group 2 is the comprised of parents who won't touch Jefferson but got shut out at Wash Latin and BASIS for 5th grade. They're scrambling to make a new plan, knowing that they're very unlikely to crack Wash Latin or BASIS for 6th. Group 3 is comprised of low SES families who may not have applied in the lottery. Some of the parents went to Jefferson as kids and are fine with Jefferson Academy as is.

Good luck.

At least that's what they're telling you

+1. Some of the most strident 4th grade JA boosters last year took their marbles to...BASIS for 5th. It really is every family for itself in this crappy game.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are more Brent 4th graders from last year at BASIS this year than at Brent. This has been the case for 5 or 6 years. BASIS has basically become Brent's 5th grade.

How pervasive is this across the city for "good" elementary schools that don't have "good" middle school feeders? We're only in K, but plan to stay in DCPS through elementary, then move for middle if we don't win the lottery. (Want to move regardless, so wouldn't be a scramble.) Do all non-Wilson feeder DCPS clear out in 4th and 5th?

Not all. Eaton isn't clearing out, with more parents going to Hardy every year, not so many to BASIS, Latin etc. As a result, it's become very difficult to crack Hardy OOB. Same with Stuart Hobson as more Watkins and Ludlow-Tayler IB upper grades families stay in their feeder.