Middle and High school for Cap Hill?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I lived in CH when I had my first child, but we moved by the time she was one. I have to say, there is a kind of cult mentality to CH parents and I was drinking the kool aid for a long time. Take for example the MOTH listserv, which people treat like it's the best thing ever, but isn't any different than my other neighborhood parent lists.

We've since moved IB to Deal, and it's SOOOOOO nice to not have to worry. And the WOTP parents are WAY less neurotic than CH parents. I think the bother about middle and high schools for CH parents is self-inflicted, IMHO. I think these are high achieving, smart parents who can't afford or don't want to leave WOTP, and want to hustle for their kids.

In the meantime, I'm enjoying my kids' school, not worried about middle and high, and loving that I dropped out of the hustle - I spend my time and money on them in other fun ways.

I moved WOTP from NYC when we first moved down to DC. I found the people to be unfriendly, and the neighborhood felt like a suburb. I heard all about the schools (and nice little racist comments about how they're mostly white). I toured my inbounds school and Deal. I found them to be highly unimpressive. If I'm going to live in a ugly suburb full of rude racists I might as well move to Virginia. Furthermore, I would not be bragging about Deal.

We ended up buying a house on the Hill and getting into a nearby DCI feeder that we love. We can swing private tuition if we feel DCI is too far for our three kids, and I am so happy I am not in NW. We have an amazing life here.

One mor point- I'm on a bunch of the NW DC listservs and none of them hold a candle to MOTH. I don't think MOTH is amazing, but have you been on the Cleveland Park Liserv lately? All they do is argue and complain- which is what they do in real life too btw. Sorry to sound mean but you couldn't pay me to move back. I just love the Hill!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a mixed bag. I know Hill folks who attend Walls, McKinley, Duke, DeMatha (in MD), Gonzaga, Latin and Basis.

NCS - $38,850
St. Anselm's -$25,000
Georgetown Visitation - $27,400
St. John's - $20,750
Sidwell - $37,750
St. Alban's - $40,480

For convenience I've appended the list above with the 2015 tuition numbers. Please keep in mind that these don't include books or other fees at some of these schools. The way people here throw around the term "go private" or suggest that it's that easy amuses me. If you have enough disposable income to send your kid to these schools for 7 years (and to pay the tuition increases that will come annually) then you are in a 30+% federal tax bracket and paying almost 9% to DC. So do the math on this. To pay for tuition that costs only 25k a year you need to find $40,000 pretax W2 dollars just laying around (and that's for the tuitions that are only 25k. Some people can find that kind of money. But to throw that around like a legitimate and accessible option is absurd. But because high income earners make a lot they can probably find that amount. But at a lower tax rate and lower income levels where the heck are you going to find that money? And at what cost? If you saved half of that ($12,500) a year into a 529 account starting in 6th grade you'd have college more than paid for. If you are already maxed out in your 529 and college is paid for then no problem. But if your kid is going to graduate with a hundred grand (or more) in student debt because you spent all your money on private schools then you have to ask yourself if staying in an area without viable schools is the responsible thing to do.

P.S. You still have to apply and get accepted to those schools, yet another barrier to entry.
P.P.S And that's assuming only one kid. I see lots and lots of families on the Hill with 2 or 3.

OP here. This is REALLY helpful perspective, along with the other posts noting the scope of different options. It was what I had guessed but wasn't sure--we have friends on the Hill encouraging us to move there but in no way shape or form could we afford doing private middle or high, and it has just felt like they were minimizing the issue of what would happen in those years amid all of their "the Hill is GREAT for kids" spiels!

It is a great place for kids, as you can see with the ridiculous number of families with young kids walking around. If you don't yet have kids, or have only very young kids, it's worth looking at in the sense that a lot can change by the time your child reaches middle school. Of course, if you have the money to buy in NW, then buy there as you have more of a guaranteed bet over there than on the Hill.

Um if you don't have the money to buy in NW then you don't have the money to buy on the Hill either. The Hill is more expensive unless you're talking about Hill East/RFK area.

[Anonymous]

The area around Brent is crazy expensive, more expensive than a lot of NW.

[Anonymous]

DCPS is about education and not worried one iota about real estate. So for Cap Hill to think that dollars demand more attention is laughable. How utterly insulting to inquire about a separate school that's public based on income. Who gives an organ about Cap Hill families, honestly y'all need stop smoking the legal weed in your 600k and up homes. Lost all sense of reality...instead of the stroller brigade...I dubbed ye "the stroller-rollers."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:several of us have chosen DCI and are so glad!

That's going to be a heck of a commute once they move to Walter Reed.

Walter Reed is 5-6 blocks from Takoma metro. Commute can't be any longer than the Hill families that commute to Hardy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Word salad? But guess what? Cap Hill is a non-factor when it comes catering to such a small group of people. Chomp on this...Ward 6 schools are among the largest with populated schools. If they lose Cap Hill all 10 square blocks...not one school would suffer...not a nary bit...in a rapper's phrase IDGAF!!!

Nam bibendum venenatis magna. Curabitur tristique magna sed orci mattis porttitor!!! Nunc hendrerit arcu nec diam dapibus, at fermentum ligula viverra. Curabitur sit amet metus id tortor dictum congue id nec tellus. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora TORQUENT PER CONUBIA NOSTRA, per inceptos himenaeos. Fusce ut vulputate justo.

Uckfaga ouyaga ootaga

[Anonymous]

Potomac Garden Housing Project families that reside within the Capitol Hill boundaries, where do you send your kids? If one is to believe that all Cap Hill kids avoid their neighborhood schools for better schools...where do the project kids attend school? I think DCPS stands for Disregard Cap Parents Stupidity who are of elitism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DCPS is about education and not worried one iota about real estate. So for Cap Hill to think that dollars demand more attention is laughable. How utterly insulting to inquire about a separate school that's public based on income. Who gives an organ about Cap Hill families, honestly y'all need stop smoking the legal weed in your 600k and up homes. Lost all sense of reality...instead of the stroller brigade...I dubbed ye "the stroller-rollers."

My house costs upwards of 2 million thanks. I think you're looking at Rosedale for 600K houses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DCPS is about education and not worried one iota about real estate. So for Cap Hill to think that dollars demand more attention is laughable. How utterly insulting to inquire about a separate school that's public based on income. Who gives an organ about Cap Hill families, honestly y'all need stop smoking the legal weed in your 600k and up homes. Lost all sense of reality...instead of the stroller brigade...I dubbed ye "the stroller-rollers."

Is this the word salad eastern high school booster who hates Capitol Hill?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Potomac Garden Housing Project families that reside within the Capitol Hill boundaries, where do you send your kids? If one is to believe that all Cap Hill kids avoid their neighborhood schools for better schools...where do the project kids attend school? I think DCPS stands for Disregard Cap Parents Stupidity who are of elitism.

Potomac Garden is IB for Tyler, Jefferson (changed, used to be Eliot-Hine until this year) and Eastern. Likely why you don't hear anyone trying to prop up Tyler.

P.S. You are an illiterate fool.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DCPS is about education and not worried one iota about real estate. So for Cap Hill to think that dollars demand more attention is laughable. How utterly insulting to inquire about a separate school that's public based on income. Who gives an organ about Cap Hill families, honestly y'all need stop smoking the legal weed in your 600k and up homes. Lost all sense of reality...instead of the stroller brigade...I dubbed ye "the stroller-rollers."

DCPS is about education? Ah, no. DCPS is about catering to the LCD and ignoring those who want to succeed. DCPS just needs to go out of business.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My two kids and the kids of MANY of my friends--

Peabody to Watkins to Stuart-Hobson to Walls. And now many going on to great SLACs or universities. Some go from Stuart to privates.

We are long time DC and Hill residents, so the whole racial and OOB obsessiveness was never really a factor.

We judged the schools by what we knew and saw in the teachers and in our own kids.

They were happy and did well. We feel very lucky!

Yeah, but did you ever walk the hallways and observe recess and cafeteria? Did you ever talk to your kids about what they see and experience. Did you notice behavioral changes in your kids and any antisocial tendencies. Did you give a f^ck?

Wow. You are an ass. Are you really accusing the PP of being a neglectful and uncaring parent for sending her/his kids to the neighborhood schools, despite their having successfully matriculated to "great SLACs or universities" as s/he said? Are kids who go from Stuart Hobson to Walls somehow affixed with horns so that you were able to pick out their "behavioral changes" and "antisocial tendencies" when they were at Walls among other kids?

Not an ass, but asking that people don't live in intentional ignorance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DCPS is about education and not worried one iota about real estate. So for Cap Hill to think that dollars demand more attention is laughable. How utterly insulting to inquire about a separate school that's public based on income. Who gives an organ about Cap Hill families, honestly y'all need stop smoking the legal weed in your 600k and up homes. Lost all sense of reality...instead of the stroller brigade...I dubbed ye "the stroller-rollers."

Where can I find a $600,000 rowhouse on the Hill? 2008?

[Anonymous]

Um if you don't have the money to buy in NW then you don't have the money to buy on the Hill either. The Hill is more expensive unless you're talking about Hill East

First, ditch the Ummm.. You probably have vocal fry too, so you should also cut that out too. Next up, the historic Hill isn't more expensive than the best/equivalent neighborhoods with good schools in NW. Maybe per square foot.

[Anonymous]

Ooh fun WOTP and Cap Hill arguing over who has the most expensive house!! So much fun!