Lottery opening - will you share your list?

[Anonymous]

Just a plug to all that DCPS neighborhood schools are investing a lot in ECE. Of course you want to start at a place you mean to stay, but we thought we were in a safety (it was 8th on our geographically circumscribed list), and have been really pleased over the last year and a half with the teaching, the parent community, the joy our kid takes in learning.

The woes aren't over, but we're very happy for now. So if you think you can't handle your neighborhood school, it's worth a visit before lottery day.

And good luck. I know how nerve-wracking this is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For PK3:

Mundo Verde
YuYing
Stokes
DC Bilingual
Creative Minds
Two Rivers @ 4th
Lee
Bridges
Inspired Teaching
Marie Reed - Spanish (In Bounds)
+ LAMB

Another list that is almost completely charter. We got into a DCPS OOB pre-common lottery but are DCPS's that hard to get into these days? There are a ton with much more convenient (to downtown) locations than LAMB, CMI, etc. Is it just that they market better?

Convenient to downtown for who? You have no idea where other people live.

And enough with the marketing crap. That argument presupposes that not only are all people participating in the lottery this year sheep and/or morons, but all of us that are at Charters are too stupid to assess the quality of the education our kids receive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here, not a troll post - I'm just curious. I am applying to PK3 but I'm all over the place and hope to be able to edit rankings and things as I attend open houses. Right now I have things in this order:

Creative Minds International PCS
Mundo Verde Bilingual PCS
Inspired Teaching Demonstration PCS
Washington Yu Ying PCS
Oyster-Adams Bilingual School (Oyster)
AppleTree Early Learning PCS – Columbia Heights
Two Rivers PCS at 4th Street
Bridges PCS
School-Within-School
Lee Montessori PCS
Marie Reed Dual Language

It looks like 3000 other people submitted their rankings already? Sheesh.

Hi, OP. I find little consistency of your rankings showing how much you care aboute dual language vs. non-dual language, your list really reads like a
charter popularity contest.

We went through that wringer a couple of times - and actually got into one of the HRCS on our 'final' try in 1st last year only to be disappointed and return to our IB DCPS which, though it doesn't try to hard to sell itself, has a solid community and not a ton of turnover. All that to say, look for a safety school and our visit your IB DCPS, even though it's may not market itself as well and the HRCS.

And unless you have a boundary preference, you can forget about Oyster.

OP here. I appreciate the feedback and am working to tweak the list with input from others. I only have 11 right now and obviously Oyster is going to have to drop off. I actually do value dual language quite a bit but realistically think our chances our slim anywhere, so if I can't have School A, B, or C I might have to settle for a non-dual language school which has other things to offer. CMI seemed to have an international focus, smaller classes, and a very engaged parent community so I put that first but might actually want to drop it down below some of the immersion. And I am IB for Tubman so I should probably list it somewhere as a safety. I am not sure on the commutes from my house but I would be willing to drive 2.5 miles even if it is out of the way for my kid's education.

This is our first child and the school environment here has a lot of different options, so I am honestly not sure what teaching style would work best for my kid... my DH thinks Lee might actually be a good fit, but we don't know anyone who has children who went through a full Montessori education so we don't know too much about it.

OP, veteran lottery enterer and Columbia Heights neighbor.

Please actually try to do the commutes to each of the schools on your list. Do it at rush hour. Do exactly what you would do on a normal Tuesday. Traffic in this city is miserable, unpredictable except in its awfulness, and often counter-intuitive. My DD went to summer camp with the YMCA which was located at ITS this summer, and I will tell you that the commute to and from camp, particularly when I needed to get to and from my office downtown, was dealbreakingly bad. Depending on where you live in Columbia Heights, it can and will take you 30-40 minutes to get to Marie Reed, much less up to Bridges (moving to Ft. Totten) and back.

You have plenty of time to do the actual test drives. Every year, people say, "I'm willing to drive 2.5 miles out of my way for my kid's education" and every year, people switch schools because the commute is unsustainable.

I can't stress this enough.

My school used to be in CH (so either MV or CMI) - 2 miles on some days could be over an hour.

When the school moved, I felt like a weight was lifted on my shoulders. Now, the school is so fantastic, I would have kept doing that soul crushing drive. But, know what you are getting into.

1 hour is an exaggeration unless you're talking about round trip or don't know DC traffic patterns. Yes DC traffic is bad but it's not that bad. I can walk 2 miles in 45 mins with a 4 year old. Currently, I drive from Brightwood to Brookland (5 miles) and it takes about 20 mins on average. Worst day is 35 minutes. I used to commute from near Cap Hill to Petworth and it took 25-30.

I've lived in DC for 30 years, I'm pretty sure I know traffic patterns. Comparing your 5 mile drive from Brightwood to Brookland to my trip down 16th to downtown shows you know nothing Jon Snow.

I live in Columbia Heights, my kid's school is 2 miles away in NE, and it never ever takes me more than 20 minutes to get there and even less to get back. Sometimes we drive her there, come home to drop the car off and then walk to the metro to go downtown and we are at work by 9.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Please actually try to do the commutes to each of the schools on your list. Do it at rush hour. Do exactly what you would do on a normal Tuesday. Traffic in this city is miserable, unpredictable except in its awfulness, and often counter-intuitive. My DD went to summer camp with the YMCA which was located at ITS this summer, and I will tell you that the commute to and from camp, particularly when I needed to get to and from my office downtown, was dealbreakingly bad. Depending on where you live in Columbia Heights, it can and will take you 30-40 minutes to get to Marie Reed, much less up to Bridges (moving to Ft. Totten) and back.

You have plenty of time to do the actual test drives. Every year, people say, "I'm willing to drive 2.5 miles out of my way for my kid's education" and every year, people switch schools because the commute is unsustainable.

I can't stress this enough.

My school used to be in CH (so either MV or CMI) - 2 miles on some days could be over an hour.

When the school moved, I felt like a weight was lifted on my shoulders. Now, the school is so fantastic, I would have kept doing that soul crushing drive. But, know what you are getting into.

1 hour is an exaggeration unless you're talking about round trip or don't know DC traffic patterns. Yes DC traffic is bad but it's not that bad. I can walk 2 miles in 45 mins with a 4 year old. Currently, I drive from Brightwood to Brookland (5 miles) and it takes about 20 mins on average. Worst day is 35 minutes. I used to commute from near Cap Hill to Petworth and it took 25-30.

I've lived in DC for 30 years, I'm pretty sure I know traffic patterns. Comparing your 5 mile drive from Brightwood to Brookland to my trip down 16th to downtown shows you know nothing Jon Snow.

I live in Columbia Heights, my kid's school is 2 miles away in NE, and it never ever takes me more than 20 minutes to get there and even less to get back. Sometimes we drive her there, come home to drop the car off and then walk to the metro to go downtown and we are at work by 9.

I also had a child in one of those schools, and it always took me at least 1.5 hours round trip, usually more. I took the S2, which takes about 15 minutes at some times, but over an hour if you are trying to make a 6pm cutoff. I took to running or biking to get there, as it was much faster most days (about 30 minutes one way usually), but that was only one way and only when the weather was cooperative, and it didn't work if I wasn't fit for some reason. My spouse did dropoff by car, and it took him an extra 45 minutes to hour and a half extra to drop off every single day, even though it would seem like it was sort of on his way to work.

I absolutely adore the school and would have kept doing it no matter what, but it is definitely a factor that people should consider. The routes need to be tested out during rush hour when work and school is in full force (no holidays or August testing).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here, not a troll post - I'm just curious. I am applying to PK3 but I'm all over the place and hope to be able to edit rankings and things as I attend open houses. Right now I have things in this order:

Creative Minds International PCS
Mundo Verde Bilingual PCS
Inspired Teaching Demonstration PCS
Washington Yu Ying PCS
Oyster-Adams Bilingual School (Oyster)
AppleTree Early Learning PCS – Columbia Heights
Two Rivers PCS at 4th Street
Bridges PCS
School-Within-School
Lee Montessori PCS
Marie Reed Dual Language

It looks like 3000 other people submitted their rankings already? Sheesh.

Hi, OP. I find little consistency of your rankings showing how much you care aboute dual language vs. non-dual language, your list really reads like a
charter popularity contest.

We went through that wringer a couple of times - and actually got into one of the HRCS on our 'final' try in 1st last year only to be disappointed and return to our IB DCPS which, though it doesn't try to hard to sell itself, has a solid community and not a ton of turnover. All that to say, look for a safety school and our visit your IB DCPS, even though it's may not market itself as well and the HRCS.

And unless you have a boundary preference, you can forget about Oyster.

OP here. I appreciate the feedback and am working to tweak the list with input from others. I only have 11 right now and obviously Oyster is going to have to drop off. I actually do value dual language quite a bit but realistically think our chances our slim anywhere, so if I can't have School A, B, or C I might have to settle for a non-dual language school which has other things to offer. CMI seemed to have an international focus, smaller classes, and a very engaged parent community so I put that first but might actually want to drop it down below some of the immersion. And I am IB for Tubman so I should probably list it somewhere as a safety. I am not sure on the commutes from my house but I would be willing to drive 2.5 miles even if it is out of the way for my kid's education.

This is our first child and the school environment here has a lot of different options, so I am honestly not sure what teaching style would work best for my kid... my DH thinks Lee might actually be a good fit, but we don't know anyone who has children who went through a full Montessori education so we don't know too much about it.

OP, veteran lottery enterer and Columbia Heights neighbor.

Please actually try to do the commutes to each of the schools on your list. Do it at rush hour. Do exactly what you would do on a normal Tuesday. Traffic in this city is miserable, unpredictable except in its awfulness, and often counter-intuitive. My DD went to summer camp with the YMCA which was located at ITS this summer, and I will tell you that the commute to and from camp, particularly when I needed to get to and from my office downtown, was dealbreakingly bad. Depending on where you live in Columbia Heights, it can and will take you 30-40 minutes to get to Marie Reed, much less up to Bridges (moving to Ft. Totten) and back.

You have plenty of time to do the actual test drives. Every year, people say, "I'm willing to drive 2.5 miles out of my way for my kid's education" and every year, people switch schools because the commute is unsustainable.

I can't stress this enough.

My school used to be in CH (so either MV or CMI) - 2 miles on some days could be over an hour.

When the school moved, I felt like a weight was lifted on my shoulders. Now, the school is so fantastic, I would have kept doing that soul crushing drive. But, know what you are getting into.

1 hour is an exaggeration unless you're talking about round trip or don't know DC traffic patterns. Yes DC traffic is bad but it's not that bad. I can walk 2 miles in 45 mins with a 4 year old. Currently, I drive from Brightwood to Brookland (5 miles) and it takes about 20 mins on average. Worst day is 35 minutes. I used to commute from near Cap Hill to Petworth and it took 25-30.

I've lived in DC for 30 years, I'm pretty sure I know traffic patterns. Comparing your 5 mile drive from Brightwood to Brookland to my trip down 16th to downtown shows you know nothing Jon Snow.

I live in Columbia Heights, my kid's school is 2 miles away in NE, and it never ever takes me more than 20 minutes to get there and even less to get back. Sometimes we drive her there, come home to drop the car off and then walk to the metro to go downtown and we are at work by 9.

Come on. Going E-W on Irving, Kenyon/Columbia is a piece of cake compared to driving from Columbia Heights into downtown. That's why you're coming back home to drop off the car! If it was so easy/fast to drive, you'd be driving downtown from your school.

[Anonymous]

We are not entering the lottery. We will stay at EL Haynes for kindergarten, after two years of preschool/pre-k.

[Anonymous]

What happened to sharing your list?