School residency cheaters investigated

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:+1

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another thing I'd like to point out: maybe it's the statehood thing that gives people in this area such a chip on their shoulder about the borders? But coming from New York City? You know, we'd JOKE about Staten Island, (an actual part of New York City), or New Jersey, or Long Island, Connecticut; but we would never go on such personal crusades against them. I'm sure there are residency cheaters there too--I knew a ton of people in Brooklyn (Note: I DID NOT DO THIS) who rented apartments to get their kids into 321 or 29; or who sublet apartments and used the addresses, used their parent's addresses, etc. I suppose they all are dirty cheating rule-breakers, but I never really gave a damn. I assumed that life was hard enough, short enough, and some things were not my business.

People here seem to spend so much time and energy whining about what they don't have, what other people have, and how unfair it all is. It makes this a really oppressive place to be. I'm considering moving us into Silver Spring, even if it would disrupt my children and their school where they are happy, simply because I am wondering if maybe people there are not quite so miserable and horrible? Thoughts? Is there anywhere in the DMV that isn't full of people shrieking about the people who live five blocks away over a border who are in some way, bad? You guys make Philadelphians look friendly.

Mr. Rogers is from Pittsburgh. I recommend moving there.

I would love to. Trust me, our entire family is poised to decamp from this hellhole if at all possible as soon as we can. Even the things that are relatively positive here are tainted with this aura of classism and entitlement and... all the whining. I am so tired of all the whining. We get it. You want stuff that you don't have. Why don't you have the stuff? Wah. Someone else has the stuff. Maybe they didn't work hard. Wah. Wah. Don't they know you went to Princeton?

Leave already. Mortgage rates remain at historic lows. The only cities more expensive are San Francisco and New York. Somebody wants your crappy house, and nobody wants you - so just go.

Girl, don't go away mad; girl, just go away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been in the neighborhood long enough (15 years) to know that there are boatloads of lovely people on the Hill, a great many generous and easy-going parents of toddlers and school-age kids with a big vision for humanity. The entitled crowd, including the type of parent hell bent on busting boundary cheaters and PC County address cheaters seeking a good ECE education for their kids, is comprised mainly by relatively recent arrivals, families who came and bought property within the last five years or so. The old timers learned to roll with the punches somewhere along the way. If they'd hadn't, they'd have left.

I've been here 15 years too (ok fine 14). Maybe it is different when they are taking your kid's spot. It is easy to be easy going when it doesn't directly effect you.

How in the hell can you know who "took" your kid's spot? You were #1 on a WL and you know an address cheater personally who got off the WL ahead of you? The spots they give away aren't numbered; in case where DCPS is auctioning off 28 PreK3 spots you can't find out who got took #28, that's not how it works. I know plenty of people on Cap Hill (self included) who were shut out of their ECE program in-boundary for a year or two, parents who know neighborhood address cheaters, and MD address cheaters for that matter, who have never bitched. They cheerfully got on with things elsewhere for PreK3 and sometimes PreK4, too. You play the hand you're dealt.

Easy there...

You are right, the spots aren't numbered 1-28. Therefore if any of those 28 kids was from a cheating family, they would be taking a spot from a kid on the WL.

Yes we had a low number and didn't get in. Yes we "played our hand," and everyone is fine. Still does not make it right for cheaters to cheat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another thing I'd like to point out: maybe it's the statehood thing that gives people in this area such a chip on their shoulder about the borders? But coming from New York City? You know, we'd JOKE about Staten Island, (an actual part of New York City), or New Jersey, or Long Island, Connecticut; but we would never go on such personal crusades against them. I'm sure there are residency cheaters there too--I knew a ton of people in Brooklyn (Note: I DID NOT DO THIS) who rented apartments to get their kids into 321 or 29; or who sublet apartments and used the addresses, used their parent's addresses, etc. I suppose they all are dirty cheating rule-breakers, but I never really gave a damn. I assumed that life was hard enough, short enough, and some things were not my business.

People here seem to spend so much time and energy whining about what they don't have, what other people have, and how unfair it all is. It makes this a really oppressive place to be. I'm considering moving us into Silver Spring, even if it would disrupt my children and their school where they are happy, simply because I am wondering if maybe people there are not quite so miserable and horrible? Thoughts? Is there anywhere in the DMV that isn't full of people shrieking about the people who live five blocks away over a border who are in some way, bad? You guys make Philadelphians look friendly.

Mr. Rogers is from Pittsburgh. I recommend moving there.

I would love to. Trust me, our entire family is poised to decamp from this hellhole if at all possible as soon as we can. Even the things that are relatively positive here are tainted with this aura of classism and entitlement and... all the whining. I am so tired of all the whining. We get it. You want stuff that you don't have. Why don't you have the stuff? Wah. Someone else has the stuff. Maybe they didn't work hard. Wah. Wah. Don't they know you went to Princeton?

Love it!!

It's more like, "I don't want to live in DC, but want my kids in DC schools. So, I'll just cheat and put the burden on DC taxpayers. No problem. So long as I'm looking out for my own kids because, really, it's all about me and my family. Nobody else matters. And nobody can complain because I'm doing it for my kids (and I've figured out those are the magic words to transform me from a thief to a saint). Not like I could actually move, pay DC taxes or, God forbid, work to change my own state. Much easier just to take from others. And to criticize them as I laugh at them. And if DC taxpayers are pussed that I'm stealing from them, well they are just big babies for noticing. Don't they have better things to do than speak when they are being systemically screwed? After all, DC is overflowing with excess cash, more than it knows what to do with, and Bahiahch does it really cost to educate an extra child (well, an extra few hundred children, but it's so invasive and insensitive to think of actual numbers when assessing his much you're being screwed). More like it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Try going into DC DMV and telling them that because of "cultural differences" and "informal arrangements" there are no "docs." How do you think that's going to work out?

I didn't think so.

So don't make the argument when it comes to the DC public and charter schools.

I know we've moved on but want to circle back here because I think it demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding. Driving is not a legally protected right. Education is. As a result, housing insecure families are able to use whatever documents they have access to, which includes informal letters, to access that education. For the school system to require a level of documentation equivalent to the DMV of a family that is housing insecure, or has custody issues, would almost certainly bring a lawsuit.

not to mention the fact that you actually CAN get a DC ID using informal methods, like an affidavit from a DC resident or social worker attesting that you live in DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been in the neighborhood long enough (15 years) to know that there are boatloads of lovely people on the Hill, a great many generous and easy-going parents of toddlers and school-age kids with a big vision for humanity. The entitled crowd, including the type of parent hell bent on busting boundary cheaters and PC County address cheaters seeking a good ECE education for their kids, is comprised mainly by relatively recent arrivals, families who came and bought property within the last five years or so. The old timers learned to roll with the punches somewhere along the way. If they'd hadn't, they'd have left.

I've been here 15 years too (ok fine 14). Maybe it is different when they are taking your kid's spot. It is easy to be easy going when it doesn't directly effect you.

How in the hell can you know who "took" your kid's spot? You were #1 on a WL and you know an address cheater personally who got off the WL ahead of you? The spots they give away aren't numbered; in case where DCPS is auctioning off 28 PreK3 spots you can't find out who got took #28, that's not how it works. I know plenty of people on Cap Hill (self included) who were shut out of their ECE program in-boundary for a year or two, parents who know neighborhood address cheaters, and MD address cheaters for that matter, who have never bitched. They cheerfully got on with things elsewhere for PreK3 and sometimes PreK4, too. You play the hand you're dealt.

If you are number 1 through about 10 at our old HRCS, a MDer took your spot. These families have been there since the first kids in the family got in and the school's administration basically looked the other way. These kids have siblings and sometimes young nieces and nephews who, right now, are getting a great education while you are paying for daycare or at another school.

This is real, ten or so DC families are losing out.

So maybe if you don't have a little kid right now or you're happily in another school you can "roll with the punches" or whatever, but make no mistake, someone else is being harmed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been in the neighborhood long enough (15 years) to know that there are boatloads of lovely people on the Hill, a great many generous and easy-going parents of toddlers and school-age kids with a big vision for humanity. The entitled crowd, including the type of parent hell bent on busting boundary cheaters and PC County address cheaters seeking a good ECE education for their kids, is comprised mainly by relatively recent arrivals, families who came and bought property within the last five years or so. The old timers learned to roll with the punches somewhere along the way. If they'd hadn't, they'd have left.

I've been here 15 years too (ok fine 14). Maybe it is different when they are taking your kid's spot. It is easy to be easy going when it doesn't directly effect you.

How in the hell can you know who "took" your kid's spot? You were #1 on a WL and you know an address cheater personally who got off the WL ahead of you? The spots they give away aren't numbered; in case where DCPS is auctioning off 28 PreK3 spots you can't find out who got took #28, that's not how it works. I know plenty of people on Cap Hill (self included) who were shut out of their ECE program in-boundary for a year or two, parents who know neighborhood address cheaters, and MD address cheaters for that matter, who have never bitched. They cheerfully got on with things elsewhere for PreK3 and sometimes PreK4, too. You play the hand you're dealt.

Easy there...

You are right, the spots aren't numbered 1-28. Therefore if any of those 28 kids was from a cheating family, they would be taking a spot from a kid on the WL.

Yes we had a low number and didn't get in. Yes we "played our hand," and everyone is fine. Still does not make it right for cheaters to cheat.

A great deal is not right in this picture, first and foremost that PG County not offering universal free PreK, or nearly enough Preschool spots to serve low-income families. In second place, I nominate DCPS for blithely allowing scores of elementary schools to continue to fail, with disastrous proficiency pass rates in the mix. Cheaters are just as likely to end up on the WL as to get in. You can note the immorality of cheaters cheating, or you can celebrate your singular access to non means-tested preschool and prek in every area of this great city but Upper NW. To my knowledge, no other American city offers this. You have Tommy Well's tireless advocacy to thank for the opportunity. I don't know a single family outside Upper NW who has been shut out at every preschool or prek within two miles of their house by the start of school in ten years of paying close attention to lottery results.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been in the neighborhood long enough (15 years) to know that there are boatloads of lovely people on the Hill, a great many generous and easy-going parents of toddlers and school-age kids with a big vision for humanity. The entitled crowd, including the type of parent hell bent on busting boundary cheaters and PC County address cheaters seeking a good ECE education for their kids, is comprised mainly by relatively recent arrivals, families who came and bought property within the last five years or so. The old timers learned to roll with the punches somewhere along the way. If they'd hadn't, they'd have left.

I've been here 15 years too (ok fine 14). Maybe it is different when they are taking your kid's spot. It is easy to be easy going when it doesn't directly effect you.

How in the hell can you know who "took" your kid's spot? You were #1 on a WL and you know an address cheater personally who got off the WL ahead of you? The spots they give away aren't numbered; in case where DCPS is auctioning off 28 PreK3 spots you can't find out who got took #28, that's not how it works. I know plenty of people on Cap Hill (self included) who were shut out of their ECE program in-boundary for a year or two, parents who know neighborhood address cheaters, and MD address cheaters for that matter, who have never bitched. They cheerfully got on with things elsewhere for PreK3 and sometimes PreK4, too. You play the hand you're dealt.

Easy there...

You are right, the spots aren't numbered 1-28. Therefore if any of those 28 kids was from a cheating family, they would be taking a spot from a kid on the WL.

Yes we had a low number and didn't get in. Yes we "played our hand," and everyone is fine. Still does not make it right for cheaters to cheat.

A great deal is not right in this picture, first and foremost that PG County not offering universal free PreK, or nearly enough Preschool spots to serve low-income families. In second place, I nominate DCPS for blithely allowing scores of elementary schools to continue to fail, with disastrous proficiency pass rates in the mix. Cheaters are just as likely to end up on the WL as to get in. You can note the immorality of cheaters cheating, or you can celebrate your singular access to non means-tested preschool and prek in every area of this great city but Upper NW. To my knowledge, no other American city offers this. You have Tommy Well's tireless advocacy to thank for the opportunity. I don't know a single family outside Upper NW who has been shut out at every preschool or prek within two miles of their house by the start of school in ten years of paying close attention to lottery results.

Come to the Hill where you can throw a rock and hit five families that have been shut out of ECE.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When whites left the city in the 50s and 60s, did they keep political power from their new perches in MoCo and NoVa?

No because most of them weren't working in DC government. Whereas a huge percentage of DC government workers live in PGC. If it was up to me, we would adopt the NYC system of allowing City workers to live wherever they want, but making them pay DC taxes. Of course this would start another round of cheating, but as long as we could ALSO adopt NYC's take-no-prisoners tax auditors, we'd be in great shape!

Maybe this could help further gentrify some parts of DC?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been in the neighborhood long enough (15 years) to know that there are boatloads of lovely people on the Hill, a great many generous and easy-going parents of toddlers and school-age kids with a big vision for humanity. The entitled crowd, including the type of parent hell bent on busting boundary cheaters and PC County address cheaters seeking a good ECE education for their kids, is comprised mainly by relatively recent arrivals, families who came and bought property within the last five years or so. The old timers learned to roll with the punches somewhere along the way. If they'd hadn't, they'd have left.

I've been here 15 years too (ok fine 14). Maybe it is different when they are taking your kid's spot. It is easy to be easy going when it doesn't directly effect you.

How in the hell can you know who "took" your kid's spot? You were #1 on a WL and you know an address cheater personally who got off the WL ahead of you? The spots they give away aren't numbered; in case where DCPS is auctioning off 28 PreK3 spots you can't find out who got took #28, that's not how it works. I know plenty of people on Cap Hill (self included) who were shut out of their ECE program in-boundary for a year or two, parents who know neighborhood address cheaters, and MD address cheaters for that matter, who have never bitched. They cheerfully got on with things elsewhere for PreK3 and sometimes PreK4, too. You play the hand you're dealt.

Easy there...

You are right, the spots aren't numbered 1-28. Therefore if any of those 28 kids was from a cheating family, they would be taking a spot from a kid on the WL.

Yes we had a low number and didn't get in. Yes we "played our hand," and everyone is fine. Still does not make it right for cheaters to cheat.

A great deal is not right in this picture, first and foremost that PG County not offering universal free PreK, or nearly enough Preschool spots to serve low-income families. In second place, I nominate DCPS for blithely allowing scores of elementary schools to continue to fail, with disastrous proficiency pass rates in the mix. Cheaters are just as likely to end up on the WL as to get in. You can note the immorality of cheaters cheating, or you can celebrate your singular access to non means-tested preschool and prek in every area of this great city but Upper NW. To my knowledge, no other American city offers this. You have Tommy Well's tireless advocacy to thank for the opportunity. I don't know a single family outside Upper NW who has been shut out at every preschool or prek within two miles of their house by the start of school in ten years of paying close attention to lottery results.

Come to the Hill where you can throw a rock and hit five families that have been shut out of ECE.

I do not know of a single person to actually get in their inbound ECE from Brent or Maury for PK3. Most people found a less coveted ECE program (Ludlow-Taylor, Van Ness, Payne, Miner) and were happy to get that. This year there are waitlists for Miner, Ludlow, Payne, Van Ness, Maury, BRent, Peabody, etc etc.

NYC is offering free, universal PK4.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been in the neighborhood long enough (15 years) to know that there are boatloads of lovely people on the Hill, a great many generous and easy-going parents of toddlers and school-age kids with a big vision for humanity. The entitled crowd, including the type of parent hell bent on busting boundary cheaters and PC County address cheaters seeking a good ECE education for their kids, is comprised mainly by relatively recent arrivals, families who came and bought property within the last five years or so. The old timers learned to roll with the punches somewhere along the way. If they'd hadn't, they'd have left.

I've been here 15 years too (ok fine 14). Maybe it is different when they are taking your kid's spot. It is easy to be easy going when it doesn't directly effect you.

How in the hell can you know who "took" your kid's spot? You were #1 on a WL and you know an address cheater personally who got off the WL ahead of you? The spots they give away aren't numbered; in case where DCPS is auctioning off 28 PreK3 spots you can't find out who got took #28, that's not how it works. I know plenty of people on Cap Hill (self included) who were shut out of their ECE program in-boundary for a year or two, parents who know neighborhood address cheaters, and MD address cheaters for that matter, who have never bitched. They cheerfully got on with things elsewhere for PreK3 and sometimes PreK4, too. You play the hand you're dealt.

Easy there...

You are right, the spots aren't numbered 1-28. Therefore if any of those 28 kids was from a cheating family, they would be taking a spot from a kid on the WL.

Yes we had a low number and didn't get in. Yes we "played our hand," and everyone is fine. Still does not make it right for cheaters to cheat.

Honestly, I'm one of those people who used to not care. Until this story broke, I thought it was all a joke. My children are at an HRCS, and we were unaffected. The only evidence I ever saw was the elderly couple down the street whose children use their address to attend the local DCPS. (I felt sorry for all of them because there's no way we would use that school. It's not over-subscribed.). This story has highlighted a different perspective.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Try going into DC DMV and telling them that because of "cultural differences" and "informal arrangements" there are no "docs." How do you think that's going to work out?

I didn't think so.

So don't make the argument when it comes to the DC public and charter schools.

I know we've moved on but want to circle back here because I think it demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding. Driving is not a legally protected right. Education is. As a result, housing insecure families are able to use whatever documents they have access to, which includes informal letters, to access that education. For the school system to require a level of documentation equivalent to the DMV of a family that is housing insecure, or has custody issues, would almost certainly bring a lawsuit.

Does anyone know how the DC rules compare to Fairfax, Arl, Moco, PG etc?

It's hard to say because the official rules are different than the rules for a family that claims to have no fixed address, or to have a complicated custody situation. So you can look at the "rules" for DC or MoCo or Arlington, but that's not going to tell you how they would deal with a someone who walked in the door and said "Hey, here are my residence documents for this neighborhood and I have a letter here from my child's biological mother that says she is ceding custody to me while she's in rehab."

I can't speak for fancy public schools, but I can't imagine any public school with a passing familiarity with low income communities turning such a family away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been in the neighborhood long enough (15 years) to know that there are boatloads of lovely people on the Hill, a great many generous and easy-going parents of toddlers and school-age kids with a big vision for humanity. The entitled crowd, including the type of parent hell bent on busting boundary cheaters and PC County address cheaters seeking a good ECE education for their kids, is comprised mainly by relatively recent arrivals, families who came and bought property within the last five years or so. The old timers learned to roll with the punches somewhere along the way. If they'd hadn't, they'd have left.

I've been here 15 years too (ok fine 14). Maybe it is different when they are taking your kid's spot. It is easy to be easy going when it doesn't directly effect you.

How in the hell can you know who "took" your kid's spot? You were #1 on a WL and you know an address cheater personally who got off the WL ahead of you? The spots they give away aren't numbered; in case where DCPS is auctioning off 28 PreK3 spots you can't find out who got took #28, that's not how it works. I know plenty of people on Cap Hill (self included) who were shut out of their ECE program in-boundary for a year or two, parents who know neighborhood address cheaters, and MD address cheaters for that matter, who have never bitched. They cheerfully got on with things elsewhere for PreK3 and sometimes PreK4, too. You play the hand you're dealt.

Easy there...

You are right, the spots aren't numbered 1-28. Therefore if any of those 28 kids was from a cheating family, they would be taking a spot from a kid on the WL.

Yes we had a low number and didn't get in. Yes we "played our hand," and everyone is fine. Still does not make it right for cheaters to cheat.

Honestly, I'm one of those people who used to not care. Until this story broke, I thought it was all a joke. My children are at an HRCS, and we were unaffected. The only evidence I ever saw was the elderly couple down the street whose children use their address to attend the local DCPS. (I felt sorry for all of them because there's no way we would use that school. It's not over-subscribed.). This story has highlighted a different perspective.

We are another family to get in their top-choice HRCS where I do not know of a single family from Maryland (they're very rigorous when you register). However, I drive past Stuart-Hobson and I can't help but marvel at the Maryland plate after Maryland plate. I totally understand the reasons for it - nanny, grandma, failure to re-register. However, after the first ten cars you have to wonder. And I also know of dozens of people who were shut out of ECE. It's not fair.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been in the neighborhood long enough (15 years) to know that there are boatloads of lovely people on the Hill, a great many generous and easy-going parents of toddlers and school-age kids with a big vision for humanity. The entitled crowd, including the type of parent hell bent on busting boundary cheaters and PC County address cheaters seeking a good ECE education for their kids, is comprised mainly by relatively recent arrivals, families who came and bought property within the last five years or so. The old timers learned to roll with the punches somewhere along the way. If they'd hadn't, they'd have left.

I've been here 15 years too (ok fine 14). Maybe it is different when they are taking your kid's spot. It is easy to be easy going when it doesn't directly effect you.

How in the hell can you know who "took" your kid's spot? You were #1 on a WL and you know an address cheater personally who got off the WL ahead of you? The spots they give away aren't numbered; in case where DCPS is auctioning off 28 PreK3 spots you can't find out who got took #28, that's not how it works. I know plenty of people on Cap Hill (self included) who were shut out of their ECE program in-boundary for a year or two, parents who know neighborhood address cheaters, and MD address cheaters for that matter, who have never bitched. They cheerfully got on with things elsewhere for PreK3 and sometimes PreK4, too. You play the hand you're dealt.

Easy there...

You are right, the spots aren't numbered 1-28. Therefore if any of those 28 kids was from a cheating family, they would be taking a spot from a kid on the WL.

Yes we had a low number and didn't get in. Yes we "played our hand," and everyone is fine. Still does not make it right for cheaters to cheat.

A great deal is not right in this picture, first and foremost that PG County not offering universal free PreK, or nearly enough Preschool spots to serve low-income families. In second place, I nominate DCPS for blithely allowing scores of elementary schools to continue to fail, with disastrous proficiency pass rates in the mix. Cheaters are just as likely to end up on the WL as to get in. You can note the immorality of cheaters cheating, or you can celebrate your singular access to non means-tested preschool and prek in every area of this great city but Upper NW. To my knowledge, no other American city offers this. You have Tommy Well's tireless advocacy to thank for the opportunity. I don't know a single family outside Upper NW who has been shut out at every preschool or prek within two miles of their house by the start of school in ten years of paying close attention to lottery results.

Come to the Hill where you can throw a rock and hit five families that have been shut out of ECE.

+1. This is my family. And with nothing low enough to give us any hope. I think a big part of the issue is that everywhere is filling up and so there are more people than ever in this boat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Try going into DC DMV and telling them that because of "cultural differences" and "informal arrangements" there are no "docs." How do you think that's going to work out?

I didn't think so.

So don't make the argument when it comes to the DC public and charter schools.

I know we've moved on but want to circle back here because I think it demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding. Driving is not a legally protected right. Education is. As a result, housing insecure families are able to use whatever documents they have access to, which includes informal letters, to access that education. For the school system to require a level of documentation equivalent to the DMV of a family that is housing insecure, or has custody issues, would almost certainly bring a lawsuit.

Agreed. I mentioned the issue with homeless children and undocumented immigrants before. So a heightened level of proof on the front-end will not work. However, a heightened level of cross-check would work. For example, when it comes to wealthier people who have houses out of state, I think if their names are typed into a system and it shows that they have a MD/VA driver's license and filed their income or home taxes in other states, that is where the enforcement should come in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been in the neighborhood long enough (15 years) to know that there are boatloads of lovely people on the Hill, a great many generous and easy-going parents of toddlers and school-age kids with a big vision for humanity. The entitled crowd, including the type of parent hell bent on busting boundary cheaters and PC County address cheaters seeking a good ECE education for their kids, is comprised mainly by relatively recent arrivals, families who came and bought property within the last five years or so. The old timers learned to roll with the punches somewhere along the way. If they'd hadn't, they'd have left.

I've been here 15 years too (ok fine 14). Maybe it is different when they are taking your kid's spot. It is easy to be easy going when it doesn't directly effect you.

How in the hell can you know who "took" your kid's spot? You were #1 on a WL and you know an address cheater personally who got off the WL ahead of you? The spots they give away aren't numbered; in case where DCPS is auctioning off 28 PreK3 spots you can't find out who got took #28, that's not how it works. I know plenty of people on Cap Hill (self included) who were shut out of their ECE program in-boundary for a year or two, parents who know neighborhood address cheaters, and MD address cheaters for that matter, who have never bitched. They cheerfully got on with things elsewhere for PreK3 and sometimes PreK4, too. You play the hand you're dealt.

Easy there...

You are right, the spots aren't numbered 1-28. Therefore if any of those 28 kids was from a cheating family, they would be taking a spot from a kid on the WL.

Yes we had a low number and didn't get in. Yes we "played our hand," and everyone is fine. Still does not make it right for cheaters to cheat.

A great deal is not right in this picture, first and foremost that PG County not offering universal free PreK, or nearly enough Preschool spots to serve low-income families. In second place, I nominate DCPS for blithely allowing scores of elementary schools to continue to fail, with disastrous proficiency pass rates in the mix. Cheaters are just as likely to end up on the WL as to get in. You can note the immorality of cheaters cheating, or you can celebrate your singular access to non means-tested preschool and prek in every area of this great city but Upper NW. To my knowledge, no other American city offers this. You have Tommy Well's tireless advocacy to thank for the opportunity. I don't know a single family outside Upper NW who has been shut out at every preschool or prek within two miles of their house by the start of school in ten years of paying close attention to lottery results.

Come to the Hill where you can throw a rock and hit five families that have been shut out of ECE.

I do not know of a single person to actually get in their inbound ECE from Brent or Maury for PK3. Most people found a less coveted ECE program (Ludlow-Taylor, Van Ness, Payne, Miner) and were happy to get that. This year there are waitlists for Miner, Ludlow, Payne, Van Ness, Maury, BRent, Peabody, etc etc.

NYC is offering free, universal PK4.

So is DC, and has been doing so for a few years. You just don't like the school you've been offered. Guess what? That happens in NYC too. Newsflash: Demand for desirable schools > supply.