do you know a lot of people who are leaving DCPS next year?

[Anonymous]

I just realized that I do. My kids are currently in 5th and 8th so they're at natural transition points but almost all their friends are leaving.

My daughter is in 5th at a JKLM; out of 6 friends 5 are leaving: 3 private, 2 Catholic.
Of note, all 5 have an older sibling who is/was at Deal but the parents are choosing a different course this year.

My son is in 8th and only has 1 friend out of 12 who is going to Wilson/Walls (which one is pending Walls admissions).
6 are going to Catholic high schools (not all of these kids ares Catholic), 4 to Maryland privates, 2 to DC privates.

It's kind of striking to me that almost everyone I know is bailing. My rising high schooler is going to private,
my rising 6th grader is headed to Deal.

[Anonymous]

Yes

[Anonymous]

Not one

[Anonymous]

No but I don't live in upper NW so this doesn't surprise me. I don't know anyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No but I don't live in upper NW so this doesn't surprise me. I don't know anyone.

Same. I feel like this is both more common in UNW families (many of whom moved there for the schools and viewed it as the only viable public option in DC) and also that those families are more likely to be freaked out by what has happened during Covid. Also, folks who can afford the homes in that area are more able to find a way to afford private.

I live in NE where it is more common for people to commit to public for K-12 and to assume they will need to get creative with charters at the MS and HS level. Also, in my conversations with other parents, my impression is that they are more likely to move out of DC than to switch to private. Again, just less money available for a private option but also there is just a culture of commitment to public education. Most people I know went to public schools themselves. There's a belief that it can be resolved.

That said, those beliefs have been heavily tested and I certainly here more people discussing make a leap to Maryland or Virginia explicitly for the schools.

[Anonymous]

I live in Upper NW and only know of one family who is leaving. They are moving away though. The pandemic has been tough on everyone but I guess some deal with it differently.

[Anonymous]

I know people who say they're planning to leave DCPS next year, but this is the story every year. Here Capitol Hill, it's not uncommon for families to rock in for elementary school before moving on without ever having intended to stay. They don't necessarily move to the burbs, or Upper NW, or go private. Some move to a different part of the country, or relocate abroad (Foreign Service, World Bank families etc). I don't see a big exodus of families from schools in the works around here, but there will clearly be a bigger drop than usual.

[Anonymous]

Why is it so striking when you yourself are bailing? I’m not judging you but your oldest child is going to private. Why wouldn’t peers’ families make the same choices as you?

[Anonymous]

I’m pondering it.

[Anonymous]

I know several people who are leaving the city of already have, and therefore leaving dcps. I don’t know anyone who is changing to private, but some who are changing schools via lottery when they didn’t plan on that before.

This is in NE

[Anonymous]

No, not one. All middle and high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, not one. All middle and high school.

OP here. This is interesting. I don't hang in a high end crowd at all but it seems to be leaving despite sending one or two previous kids through DCPS through middle and high school. In most cases the families will be receiving aid for private or really stretching to make it work.

[Anonymous]

We know several families who already bailed for private schools (including a lot going to Catholic schools), temporarily or permanently moved to a part of the country with open schools, moved back to their home countries where school is open, and put their kids in pods. If it wasn't for pods, the exodus would be higher, but pods kids are still technically enrolled in their public school even though they outsourced the public school teacher's job.

We're starting to look into moving to a different part of the country that has schools open, and we'll make a final decision in May/June if DCPS hasn't committed 100% open for full-time school at that point. We're lucky enough to be able to move even without first securing jobs. Most people can't do that. For us, we just lost faith in WTU/teachers, administrators, corrupt WTU-endorsed politicians, and a weak mayor who's too afraid of WTU to reopen. We also see how our WOTP schools are part of a very broken DCPS system that's tied to issues with voting habits of the very poor and corrupt politicians, resulting in a very dysfunctional and largely poorly performing school system.

[Anonymous]

All but one of my sons’ friends are leaving for private next year. Off the top of my head, I can think of 10 kids from our upper NW ES.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We know several families who already bailed for private schools (including a lot going to Catholic schools), temporarily or permanently moved to a part of the country with open schools, moved back to their home countries where school is open, and put their kids in pods. If it wasn't for pods, the exodus would be higher, but pods kids are still technically enrolled in their public school even though they outsourced the public school teacher's job.

We're starting to look into moving to a different part of the country that has schools open, and we'll make a final decision in May/June if DCPS hasn't committed 100% open for full-time school at that point. We're lucky enough to be able to move even without first securing jobs. Most people can't do that. For us, we just lost faith in WTU/teachers, administrators, corrupt WTU-endorsed politicians, and a weak mayor who's too afraid of WTU to reopen. We also see how our WOTP schools are part of a very broken DCPS system that's tied to issues with voting habits of the very poor and corrupt politicians, resulting in a very dysfunctional and largely poorly performing school system.

We are also looking at moving away, job dependent. Even if schools open full time next fall, this disillusionment you speak of is a main driver. That and disillusionment that this city can even function with such incredible inequality and intense racial animosity. I don't want my kids growing up here anymore.

Another factor is the understanding that my kids don't matter in this school system, at all, or to their school. So much energy must be focused on underperforming and at risk kids that they will be increasingly ignored especially as teachers struggle to close this huge increased learning gap the pandemic is creating. Even now they are just coasting and hardly learning, but it's not important because they're white and not at risk. We will be required to do so much more for them even after the pandemic.