Starter home with newborn (DC)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't but the compensating BS about buying somewhere bad and try for the lotteries. The schools are bad because of your neighbors who will in turn attend those schools, there are very, very few great neighborhoods that just so happen to be IB to horrible schools because they also draw from crappy areas (a few blocks away).

There are no brick walls in life and if you don't like the make up of the schools you will not like the make up of the neighborhood. You can try like capital hill to basically pretend they aren't there and price your coffee shops so they don't go but at the end of the day schools are merely a reflection of their environment and putting your blinders on and going charter is really kidding your self.

The high OOB enrollment numbers at numerous Hill schools contradict this statement. The schools are a reflection of being accessible from neighborhoods with worse neighborhood public school options

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have a look at the SW Waterfront. Pre-k is garanteed and people generally like it. Es is weaker but might look different by the time a newborn is older. Safeway, couple restaurants, nice playgrounds, metro, and the waterfront are nearby. And with the development, resale in 5 years seems solid. http://www.mcenearney.com/property/43465273/

Wilson is still the designated HS for SW?

No. It was, and kids from SW who go there get to stay (and if they have sibs that overlap with them, they can go too) but it's been redistricted to Eastern. Never take a real estate agent's word for school boundaries.

I think it's a good place to look for a starter home, but there are not a lot of HRCS nearby and the elementary school, while improving, may not be where OP would like by the time her kid is there. OP would likely end up moving again in 5 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bancroft test scores are terrible BTW

Right, but all it takes is a large cohort of gentrifiers kids reaching the testing grades for test scores to shoot up. Maury, on Cap Hill, realized gains of nearly 30 points in both reading and math last year, the final year the DC-CAS was given, when the cohort of high SES kids who started in preK3 finally reached 3rd grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bancroft test scores are terrible BTW

Right, but all it takes is a large cohort of gentrifiers kids reaching the testing grades for test scores to shoot up. Maury, on Cap Hill, realized gains of nearly 30 points in both reading and math last year, the final year the DC-CAS was given, when the cohort of high SES kids who started in preK3 finally reached 3rd grade.

+1 This is why I don't put a lot of weight on test scores.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, keep in mind that even once your child is in PK-3 or PK-4, you may not be able to save more money. We used PK-4 and ended up spending more on childcare that year (and since) than we did on daycare. There's aftercare (and potentially before care), camps (including late pickup @ 5:00-5:30) and "mini-camps" for the million days DCPS is closed for professional development or whatever (sometimes 1 day a week every week of the month).

So, like the other posters have said, plan to stay in this property for some time - trading up is hard. I'm with the earlier poster who recommended renting for another year or so, saving aggressively, and buying a place where you are comfortable staying for many years. Also, like other posters I'd highly recommend getting at least a 2 br.

Another thing is that the highest rated WOTP schools have fewer (or even no) before care or aftercare offerings - private offerings are easy to find but can be expensive. Many of the schools downtown/EOTP have free or very reduced cost care options and allow for a much earlier drop off.

There are a lot of variables...

I am not aware of any WOTP elementary schools without before and after care.
Seriously none, they all have it and at least at my children's school they will accommodate all families that want it.