Diversity in DC public schools

[Anonymous]

I am looking for a Kindergarten for my son and so far have looked at private schools because my impression is that they offer a better mix of diversity and academic challenge than the public schools. If I had my druthers I would send him to public school, but my impression is that the "good" public schools in upper NW DC are less diverse than the Sidwells, and GDSs and the other public schools are equally undiverse in the other direction with poor academics.

I am not leaving DC, but I feel uncomfortable putting my son in a situation where he is the only African American kid in the room all the time and even worse about putting him in a low performing environment. Am I way off base in my perception? Obviously I appreciate any thoughts.

[Anonymous]

Have you toured the DC Public Schools or checked the website to see the demographics for the schools you are considering?

If not, here is a link:
http://dcatlas.dcgis.dc.gov/schoolprofile/

However, if you are not inbounds for the (as you put it) "good" public schools in upper NW, chances of gaining a spot in the lottery are very slim.

Good luck

[Anonymous]

Have you visited John Eaton? Remember, K is tight at Sidwell, GDS et alia.

[Anonymous]

OP, have you looked at the School Chooser document? It's a publication which includes demographic data and test scores on every school in the city: public, charter, and private. You can download a copy here:

http://www.fightforchildren.org/Resources-Publications.html

The 2009 - 2010 edition is the most current. I looked up the stats at Hyde (page 53 of my copy). It's 39% AA, 13% Asian, 44% Caucasian, and 4% other. It's a good school in Ward 2 (Georgetown). It employs a higly regarded specialized reading/writing program from the Columbia Teacher's College. OOB parents apply direct to the school.

That's just one example, but you may find other gems in the book. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Try the charters. I am looking at my son's school picture and I did not realize how diverse it was until actually viewing the picture. He is PK at Washington Yu Ying. I love the school. The teachers provide weekly feedback. There are two assistant teachers in both the English and Chinese classes. My son is thriving. And, he is AA, if that makes a difference to you OP. Oh, and the school is applying for IB status. The only drawback, the school does not have a permanent location. Ah, but that is only a temporary condition. Please attend an open house for further information.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have you toured the DC Public Schools or checked the website to see the demographics for the schools you are considering?

If not, here is a link:
http://dcatlas.dcgis.dc.gov/schoolprofile/

However, if you are not inbounds for the (as you put it) "good" public schools in upper NW, chances of gaining a spot in the lottery are very slim.

Good luck

Slim to none are your chances are getting in if you are OOB. However, if you know the chancellor, you can get in. A law was created in April 2009 just so that the Chancellor could skip the OOB process and allow a family into a school without competition. Many appointees in this current administration have children at Oyster, and they do not live in Oyster community bounds.

[Anonymous]

The chancellor's daughters father live in-boundary. Stop spreading misinformation. As for many appointees at Oyster OOB, who besides Reinoso?

[Anonymous]

Hearst is a good school that is, especially in the older grades, majority AA. (It also is majority OOB.) Hyde is an excellent school with a substantial AA population; Eaton is a good school with a similar AA population. Murch is a very good school with a meaningful AA population, especially in the older grades. Ross is majority AA and apparently is rapidly improving. I think that covers the waterfront of NW DC schools that have both at least meaningful AA populations and at least good (or getting there) instruction. But someone else surely will tell you that I'm wrong. . . .

[Anonymous]

John Eaton Elementary School will be holding an open house on Wednesday, 1/20 from 9-11 for parents interested in finding out more about it.

I don't have the time. Eaton is very diverse. A have several AA friends who are thrilled with it.

[Anonymous]

Don't just reply on your impressions or what others say, take some time to visit some DC public schools and look at their stats, talk to principal, parents. In addition to the usual ones listed here, there are other DC schools worth considering both for diversity and academics. For example, look at Hearst. Good diversity, easier to get into OOB than some, expanding to 5th grade, new principal last year, good academics, very good test scores. Open house January 21. Think about giving DCPS a try for K. As a parent of middle and high school kids, making the school decisions just gets harder as they get older, but the options are improving in DCPS even for middle and high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The chancellor's daughters father live in-boundary. Stop spreading misinformation. As for many appointees at Oyster OOB, who besides Reinoso?

Let's just say that two individuals who are excepted services employees residing in Ward 6 have children in the K class. Oh and they are not spanish speaking, so that did not get in on that exception. And I am not spreading misinformation, just because you do not personally know about information does not mean it is not accurate information. It is simply information in which you have no knowledge.

[Anonymous]

There are several excellent charter schools with very diverse populations and great programs. And at charter schools you don't have to worry about the mess of DCPS. The problem is that the popular ones all have waiting lists, so it's important to apply as early as possible for their lotteries (lottery admission is random of course, but the waitlists can be prioritized by how early you applied!). Talk to each school directly. You probably won't get in mid-year, but you can give yourself an advantage for the application process the following year.

Check out:

Capital City
EL Haynes
Elsie Whitlow Stokes
L.A.M.B. (Latin American Montessori Bilingual)
Two Rivers
Washington Yu Ying

[Anonymous]

14:03 Two is hardly many. Two is barely several. I am sure given this administration that a number of folks bypassed the OOB process, starting with the mayor himself. As you probably know, his twins attend Lafayette. I don't get why you singled out Oyster.

[Anonymous]

I think the charter schoool idea is a good one. I think many AA boys in the DC publics are underserved and often the teachers have low expectations of them (even AA teachers). Good luck with your son.

[Anonymous]

Our kids went to Murch and it is a very diverse school, racially, internationally, and even socioeconomically. However, it's hard to get in out-of-boundary. Definitely look at Eaton and Hearst. In fact, other than Mann, ALL the DCPS elementary schools are pretty diverse, although some more than others. Definitely more than the private schools.