Any open spots in 4th grade? Looking at all possibilities

[Anonymous]

Asking for a friend whose daughter is having a really hard time in her current school - bullying is a major factor, and it has turned violent. Looking for anything that might be open. All suggestions welcome, thanks.

[Anonymous]

Check out this list of short waitlists: https://www.myschooldc.org/available-spaces-grade

[Anonymous]

Have the friend call the DC Ombudsman. Here is a link:
https://sboe.dc.gov/page/office-ombudsman-public-education

If the child is in DCPS, DC should provide placement in another school.

[Anonymous]

Or rent an apartment in-bounds for a school they like. They can move back home six months later....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Or rent an apartment in-bounds for a school they like. They can move back home six months later....

in all seriousness - they do not even need to be there for 6 months.

I know a family that rented IB for Janney for 3 months. During that time they enrolled their oldest child in the school. 2 years later, the younger sibling was enrolled.

[Anonymous]

I just scanned the list of schools with short wait lists - call Takoma Educational Campus.

It has a nice arts program and the school is getting a lot of community traction.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have the friend call the DC Ombudsman. Here is a link:
https://sboe.dc.gov/page/office-ombudsman-public-education

If the child is in DCPS, DC should provide placement in another school.

Seriously, do this. Years ago I knew somebody who got a placement at a desired school (officially w/o spots) due to bullying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have the friend call the DC Ombudsman. Here is a link:
https://sboe.dc.gov/page/office-ombudsman-public-education

If the child is in DCPS, DC should provide placement in another school.

Seriously, do this. Years ago I knew somebody who got a placement at a desired school (officially w/o spots) due to bullying.

OP here. I will tell my friend to do this. One issue - the current school is a charter school, so I'm not sure how it would play out - any insight? The in-boundary school is quite bad and there are a lot of behavioral problems as well.

Thanks so much for the advice about the short waitlist list - my friend is going to call a number of schools from there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have the friend call the DC Ombudsman. Here is a link:
https://sboe.dc.gov/page/office-ombudsman-public-education

If the child is in DCPS, DC should provide placement in another school.

Seriously, do this. Years ago I knew somebody who got a placement at a desired school (officially w/o spots) due to bullying.

OP here. I will tell my friend to do this. One issue - the current school is a charter school, so I'm not sure how it would play out - any insight? The in-boundary school is quite bad and there are a lot of behavioral problems as well.

Thanks so much for the advice about the short waitlist list - my friend is going to call a number of schools from there.

You can’t get moved to a desired DCPS school (as opposed to your boundary school) if you are now in a charter. The OSSE ombudsman officecoild help get a better response from the charter but your friend may feel things are too far gone.

She should move to the IB DCPS school which can’t be worse than the situation you describe.

[Anonymous]

Is your friend considering home schooling -- could use an online home school curriculum so they aren't starting from scratch. I'd pull the kid now and do that while they are figuring out what to do. All you need to do is provide OSSE a form.

Homeschooling wouldn't have to be permanent. Your friend could use the rest of this year to regroup, do research on 5th grade lottery options, prepare to move to a neighborhood with a more desirable inbound school.

That's what my sister (doesn't lve in DC) did on the advice of her child's therapist when her DC was experiencing bullying and the school was unable to unwilling to address it effectively.

At any rate, the child needs counseling, to help deal with what has happened to them, and to learn how to better handle bullying in the future. Hopefully she is getting it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Or rent an apartment in-bounds for a school they like. They can move back home six months later....

in all seriousness - they do not even need to be there for 6 months.

I know a family that rented IB for Janney for 3 months. During that time they enrolled their oldest child in the school. 2 years later, the younger sibling was enrolled.

Yep, if it was due to a house remodel I know the family too.

[Anonymous]

Thomson and seaton

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Or rent an apartment in-bounds for a school they like. They can move back home six months later....

in all seriousness - they do not even need to be there for 6 months.

I know a family that rented IB for Janney for 3 months. During that time they enrolled their oldest child in the school. 2 years later, the younger sibling was enrolled.

Yep, if it was due to a house remodel I know the family too.

yep, they are infamous.
They rented for 3 months while their 1.5 million dollar house across the park was renovated.
They enrolled a 1st grader and lived in the neighborhood for 2 months. Kid stayed at Janney until graduation 4 years later. Enrolled the second child 2 years later and 6 years later child is about to graduate.
Sum total of time spent living in AU park? 2 months. Years at Janney? 11

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Or rent an apartment in-bounds for a school they like. They can move back home six months later....

in all seriousness - they do not even need to be there for 6 months.

I know a family that rented IB for Janney for 3 months. During that time they enrolled their oldest child in the school. 2 years later, the younger sibling was enrolled.

Yep, if it was due to a house remodel I know the family too.

yep, they are infamous.
They rented for 3 months while their 1.5 million dollar house across the park was renovated.
They enrolled a 1st grader and lived in the neighborhood for 2 months. Kid stayed at Janney until graduation 4 years later. Enrolled the second child 2 years later and 6 years later child is about to graduate.
Sum total of time spent living in AU park? 2 months. Years at Janney? 11

Well, at least they (presumably) paid DC taxes and probably had the principal's approval. That's far less annoying than people coming in from MD, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is your friend considering home schooling -- could use an online home school curriculum so they aren't starting from scratch. I'd pull the kid now and do that while they are figuring out what to do. All you need to do is provide OSSE a form.

Homeschooling wouldn't have to be permanent. Your friend could use the rest of this year to regroup, do research on 5th grade lottery options, prepare to move to a neighborhood with a more desirable inbound school.

That's what my sister (doesn't lve in DC) did on the advice of her child's therapist when her DC was experiencing bullying and the school was unable to unwilling to address it effectively.

At any rate, the child needs counseling, to help deal with what has happened to them, and to learn how to better handle bullying in the future. Hopefully she is getting it.

NP: FYI homeschooling would not work for me due to my temperament and skill set, but I know there is a homeschool cooperative where instruction is actually lead by a paid person, and I think it's 3- 4 days/week. I believe it's in NW (EOTP) because several friends of mine who live in Brightwood/Takoma/SP were thinking about it for their kids. I hope your friend's kid finds a more positive place soon, or more support at their current school.