Public Elementary Schools In NW

[Anonymous]

Putting out one final call here for input/help suggestions. We are planning on public schools and about to begin the process of purchasing a home in NW DC. We would like to have our daughter (currently 3 1/2) in public school through grade 6 and have developed a short list that includes:

Janey
Horace Mann
Oyster

Knowing the world is fluid and things are subject to change are we missing a school that folks feel good about up through grade 6? Any significant negatives on these top three? Input suggestions would be great. THANK YOU!!!

[Anonymous]

Key, Lafayette, Stoddert, Murch are all well-liked too.

[Anonymous]

Thanks so much. We have heard Murch gets iffy after 3rd grade?!

[Anonymous]

It's actually Oyster that gets iffy after 3rd grade now. I have no clue why Murch would be iffy after 3rd- everyone I know with kids there love it. Oyster now has 2 locations: a prek-3 and a 4-6 (will be through 8th grade eventually). Prek-3 is wonderful, a new building, inthe nieghborhood. 4-6 is in Adams Morgan with the new boundaries and is supposed to be awful. I have visited the prek-3 site, but not the older building yet. We plan on sending our daughter through 3rd and then seeing what happens. We'll begin this year in kinder at Oyster.

Mann has the highest scores in the city (the only school to score in the 90s on both math and reading last year), is a grogeous neighborhood.

Janney has a metro, nice neighborhood, but is overcrowded. Janney has a very active PTA as well.

As far as neighborhoods and location go, Woodley Park is hands-down the winner. You can walk to DuPont, Adams Morgan, Cleveland Park, the Cathedral area. There's a metro (red line). It;s so much closer to everything.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for taking the time to respond--I appreciate it!!!

[Anonymous]

Horace Mann is a beautiful school with an energetic principal. The problem is that pre-K is a lottery, and I understand there were a lot of in boundary pre-K applicants this year.

[Anonymous]

Housing in the Mann neighborhood is a lot more expensive than in other neighborhoods - it is next to impossible to find anything for less than 1M, and that would be fixer-upper unless you spend about 1.3M. The school district is moving on modernizing and expanding Janney, although that won't be done until the end of 2010 at the earliest. Oh, and don't forget Key in the Palisades - that gets rave reviews from parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Housing in the Mann neighborhood is a lot more expensive than in other neighborhoods - it is next to impossible to find anything for less than 1M, and that would be fixer-upper unless you spend about 1.3M. The school district is moving on modernizing and expanding Janney, although that won't be done until the end of 2010 at the earliest. Oh, and don't forget Key in the Palisades - that gets rave reviews from parents.

Janney is still slated for 2013. The people opposed to any sort of public private partnership for the Library site are floating this new date.

[Anonymous]

Is there a website for Mann? I can't find anything with google. Thanks for your help.

[Anonymous]

I've never heard that Murch gets iffy after 3rd grade. However, not all in-boundary kids get in for preK, unlike most of the others. But if you haven't entered the in-boundary lotteries by now you're probably out of luck for next year anyway, at any of these schools (if that's what you were planning). For k you'll be fine though.

[Anonymous]

yes horace mann is the "best" in the city score wise. it is run like a private school. lots of parent involvement and fundraising. it is in wesley heights which is a VERY affluent community. houses start at 1 million that is for a small 2-3 bedroom. 4 bedrooms are much more. however it is a BEAUTIFUL neighborhood and very "residential" while still being close to georgetown, downtown, etc....other good publics are key and janney

[Anonymous]

Last time I checked, Hyde Elementary in Georgetown had "magnet" programs in the lower grades so it is possible to get in out of boundaries without having to be lucky in the lottery. That was a few years ago so I don't know if that is true now.

My daughter went to Hyde. Fantastic teachers in 1, 3, and don't miss Ms. Zucker (formerly Ms. Kimmel) in 5th grade! Excellent teacher! 2nd grade was okay but that teacher is now gone. 4th grade was not great but that teacher is also gone. Small school where everyone knows everyone else and there's one class per grade. Feeds into Hardy.

[Anonymous]

I have been following this discussion. We'll be moving to DC in July this year, and my son would be qualified for pre-K. Is pre-K offered in public schools in DC? it isn't in Los angeles. also it looks like Horace Mann is the best, in regards to Children's hospital DC, how much of a drive would it be from Wesley heights? Thank you.

[Anonymous]

Depending on time of day, you can commute from Wesley Heights to Childrens Hospital in 20 - 40 minutes.
(40 minutes - is when you get stuck behind the school bus and the construction has you down to 1 lane)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is there a website for Mann? I can't find anything with google. Thanks for your help.

www.horacemanndc.org

All DC schools - public, charter, and private

http://dcschoolsearch.dc.gov/schools/school_listing.asp?school_type=31