Brent vs JKLM

[Anonymous]

Back to our regularly scheduled program.

OP, is there anything specific you would like to know about Brent so that you are able to come to your own conclusions?

Off the top of my head, the following might be relevant:

Brent is a responsive classroom school

Brent uses Investigations as the math curriculum

Brent uses a reader's and writer's workshop model for ELA

Brent has a great librarian who coordinates with the nearby SE Library

A number of teachers and staff have children at Brent

A vast majority of Brent teachers are rated highly effective

IIRC K and 1st Grade each get recess twice a day.

K eats lunch in their classrooms

The PTA sponsors free supervised before care from 8:00 AM.

[Anonymous]

NP here. We faced this decision five years ago, so things may have changed.

I come from a European capital, and really liked the Hill where I thought I'd feel most at home. At the same time, though, I am not used to street crime at all (not an issue in my home city), and the "block-by-block" safety level on the Hill that our agent mentioned made me uncomfortable. Furthermore, my husband, who had spent 10 years in Dupont, thought the Hill was too isolated from NW where our friends live. Finally, there was the issue of public schools beyond elementary, as we are not rich enough to afford private.

We might have bought on Hill if we hadn't found a house in upper NW first, but in hindsight, I'm really glad we are in an area where we'll never have to play the charter lottery.

[Anonymous]

You may want to bear in mind that OP is not asking about "Hill" schools in general, or even living on the "Hill," which can mean different things to different people. She is asking specifically about K at Brent next year, which necessitates that she live IB. Anecdotes and views about living on the "Hill," particularly those dating from five years ago, no matter how interesting, aren't probably not all that helpful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You may want to bear in mind that OP is not asking about "Hill" schools in general, or even living on the "Hill," which can mean different things to different people. She is asking specifically about K at Brent next year, which necessitates that she live IB. Anecdotes and views about living on the "Hill," particularly those dating from five years ago, no matter how interesting, aren't probably not all that helpful.

Then OP is asking an impossible question. Nobody is doing to be able to give a perspective of current Brent and current JKLM scenarios. Of a Brent parent chimes in, they are going to have a bias, same with JKLM. If I were OP I would find the posts of those that have BTDT and why they made the choice they did helpful.

[Anonymous]

Perspective from parent of child in Bremt or recently in Brent = very helpful. Same for parent of child in JKLM or recently in JKLM. Someone opining about Brent or the current situation within the Brent attendance zone who has never had a child enrolled in Brent or even one who left Brent five years ago = probably not all that helpful.

We don't have roving gangs targeting nannies with strollers or armed home invasions. While there are certainly random crimes of opportunity such as stolen bikes and thefts from vehicles, not to mention the occasional street robbery or assault, as with most truly URBAN environments, we benefit from the visible presence and rapid response of multiple law enforcement agencies, including MPD, US Capitol Police, Metro Police, and a fair number of round-the-clock security details for some who serve in the executive and legislative branches. If you want to try to fool yourself that you are living in complete safety then Capitol Hill may not be your first choice. This is also true of many other neighborhoods in DC.

[Anonymous]

I would not choose Brent simply for the lack of middle and high school options. Sounds like a nice option if you were only in the city for 5 years. If I were buying for long term, I would opt for JLMH or Shepherd. Maybe Oyster if I were interested in Spanish. Good luck with your choice.

[Anonymous]

One really nice thing about the Brent area is that you can easily walk or bike to the mall and thus your kid's education will be enhanced in that way. It can be hard to drive and park on the mall, especially during cool events, like the national book fair. If you are the kind of parent who will take advantage of these features you should factor it in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One really nice thing about the Brent area is that you can easily walk or bike to the mall and thus your kid's education will be enhanced in that way. It can be hard to drive and park on the mall, especially during cool events, like the national book fair. If you are the kind of parent who will take advantage of these features you should factor it in.

Good point. But you could also metro to mall and have same experience. As great as some of the perks are at Brent, I can't see how anyone thinks they outweigh long term educational stability.

[Anonymous]

The National Book Fair has relocated to the Convention Center. I have heard lots of good reasons to attend Brent, but avoiding parking hassles for events on the National Mall is . . . well . . . an interesting one. I'll just leave it at that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The National Book Fair has relocated to the Convention Center. I have heard lots of good reasons to attend Brent, but avoiding parking hassles for events on the National Mall is . . . well . . . an interesting one. I'll just leave it at that.

very true.

[Anonymous]

One really nice thing about the Brent area is that you can easily walk or bike to the mall and thus your kid's education will be enhanced in that way. It can be hard to drive and park on the mall, especially during cool events, like the national book fair. If you are the kind of parent who will take advantage of these features you should factor it in.

When I was a kid, growing up in upper northwest, and we wanted to go do something in the mall we would just take the metro. We spent many, many weekends at museums, monuments, I went to inaugurations, we saw fireworks in the mall on the 4th of July. It's not exactly inaccessible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You may want to bear in mind that OP is not asking about "Hill" schools in general, or even living on the "Hill," which can mean different things to different people. She is asking specifically about K at Brent next year, which necessitates that she live IB. Anecdotes and views about living on the "Hill," particularly those dating from five years ago, no matter how interesting, aren't probably not all that helpful.

While OP's title asks about "Brent vs. JKLM", her initial post inquires more generally about living in those areas as a young family (the function of her title seems be to indicate that she would only consider those areas of the Hill that are IB for Brent), and doesn't seem to be solely about school quality. It is therefore very much to the point to mention considerations of the long-term school situation, crime statistics, and general infrastructure of the area, as well as its connectedness to other areas of the city, particularly since she seems to be new to DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

One really nice thing about the Brent area is that you can easily walk or bike to the mall and thus your kid's education will be enhanced in that way. It can be hard to drive and park on the mall, especially during cool events, like the national book fair. If you are the kind of parent who will take advantage of these features you should factor it in.

When I was a kid, growing up in upper northwest, and we wanted to go do something in the mall we would just take the metro. We spent many, many weekends at museums, monuments, I went to inaugurations, we saw fireworks in the mall on the 4th of July. It's not exactly inaccessible.

We live in AU Park, about a 10-15 min walk to the metro. I love the area and find it very walkable with excellent infrastructure, but it does take me almost an hour by metro to the museums on the mall, depending on the train schedule. I imagine it's quicker to get there by bike from Capitol Hill. Just saying.

That said, both the long term school predictability and the crime situation would make me prefer living in upper NW. I also prefer a SFH over a row house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

One really nice thing about the Brent area is that you can easily walk or bike to the mall and thus your kid's education will be enhanced in that way. It can be hard to drive and park on the mall, especially during cool events, like the national book fair. If you are the kind of parent who will take advantage of these features you should factor it in.

When I was a kid, growing up in upper northwest, and we wanted to go do something in the mall we would just take the metro. We spent many, many weekends at museums, monuments, I went to inaugurations, we saw fireworks in the mall on the 4th of July. It's not exactly inaccessible.

We live in AU Park, about a 10-15 min walk to the metro. I love the area and find it very walkable with excellent infrastructure, but it does take me almost an hour by metro to the museums on the mall, depending on the train schedule. I imagine it's quicker to get there by bike from Capitol Hill. Just saying.

That said, both the long term school predictability and the crime situation would make me prefer living in upper NW. I also prefer a SFH over a row house.

For the record a rowhouse is a SFR (well most are, some are 2-family). The term should be detached or attached SFR.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One really nice thing about the Brent area is that you can easily walk or bike to the mall and thus your kid's education will be enhanced in that way. It can be hard to drive and park on the mall, especially during cool events, like the national book fair. If you are the kind of parent who will take advantage of these features you should factor it in.

Good point. But you could also metro to mall and have same experience. As great as some of the perks are at Brent, I can't see how anyone thinks they outweigh long term educational stability.

Long term PUBLIC educational stability, you mean. There is not a good public middle school or high school but let's not act like Brent students don't have educational stability.There are charter and private options that many people prefer over Deal and Wilson.