Anonymous wrote:DC DPR co-ops might meet your need. They are mostly 2-3 year olds, but meet for 2-3 hours each morning M-F.

OP, some of the PK3 and PK4 schedule is just the constraint of a day. Lunch and nap takes 2.5-3 hours hours of the 6.5 hour day. If your kid's school has daily "specials" (which parents aggressively advocate for), that is another 30-60 minutes. That leaves 3 hours remaining. Recess is typically 30-60 minutes, which leaves about 2-2.5 hours for snack, bathroom breaks, and center/lesson time. Think about how long it takes to get a group of 15 three-year-olds to do anything (snack, lunch, bathroom, walking to or from recess) PLUS the school's need to schedule/balance which age groups (PK3-5th grade is 8 years of age span) are on the playground at any given time.

My kids go to a school where the littles have one scheduled morning recess of about 30 minutes. They are frequently outside for additional parts of the day for lessons, and sometimes the non-nappers get additional outdoor time in the afternoon. Aftercare typically does 1+ hours outside as well. They get more time outside than they did when I was home with them. But yeah, it's only 30 scheduled minutes of recess per day.

Wow. Your school sounds like they are trying to offer a bit more than out local dcps. But then we struggle to get parent support and there is no PTO.

Anonymous wrote:It is fine for ECE. But people leave after that, because they can. Once sibling preference kicks in, and some schools are a little easier to get into if you are older, chances are people are going to get a better option. It doesn't necessarily mean they've had a bad experience. But the high-SES group shrinks, and the achievement gap grows.

Thank you

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You have started too many threads. Pick one and stick to it

+1. OP, you seem a bit frantic and disoriented. The truth is, none of your realistic options are the ones that higher SES parents would choose all the way through elementary. All are fine for PK and maybe lower elementary though.

+1

Another PP. Thank you for putting this nicely. I wanted to say the same thing, but was struggling to find the right words. Clearly, OP is overwhelmed. Clearly, OP doesn't realize that she can have other bites at the lottery apple next year. Go with the school that works for you now. You don't have a lot of great options to choose from, but none of them are terrible schools for ECE. There is no way you are getting into the HRCS this year. Don't sweat it. Play again next year and stop creating multiple threads.

Unlike many folks here I don't want to bounce my kid around to different schools. We want to enroll with the intent to stay for the long term. We are not the SES parents trying to jump to the next best school. We just want to learn about what might be the best long term option. And I will stop posting when I get information I am seeking on the different schools we are looking into.

Anonymous wrote:OP, I mean this nicely. But there is no need to keep starting threads. There is no one with experience at Burroughs, Heights, Truesdell, Raymond, and Bunker Hill, or whatever else schools you're asking about.

All of these schools are going to be similar. They'll be fine for ECE, and you can play the lottery again.

So I'd look at commute, logistics, and which SN staff you like the best.

No one answered the question in regards to Raymond. IF you don't want to be helpful move on the the next one. This is supposed to be a from to get information...

Anonymous wrote:Hopefully your child will not turn out to have any learning disabilities or need special ed services. They haven't yet figured that out.

Oh, my. We had put them on our list we liked Montessori & some other things about the school & location. But our little needs speech & some special education services. I would very much like to learn more about their services level or issues with providing services. We are still wait listed but if our child won't get the help needed there is no reason stay on the list!

Anonymous wrote:

mcjd79 wrote:Interested to hear about folks experiences at Burroughs. It seems like a reasonably good school with a good Stem program and other activities. Do you find the school to be friendly and a warm positive place for younger kids? How is it as kids move up? How are there special education teachers? Is the before & after care run well? We see it as a possibility to stay in the long run and are wondering if others are staying out of choice.

This question pops up every year about Burroughs. The current PreK is great. The Kindergarten teachers are rigorous and tough, not your warm and fuzzy type. Not too parent friendly but your child will come out of Kindergarten miles ahead of other Kindergarteners at popular charters. It depends on what you want academics or social activities.

At a recent fundraiser, I learned the Kindergarten and 4th grade teachers won recent a Teacher of the Year awards. So that is a plus, and I heard 90% of the teaching staff have masters degrees.

Not bad for your local DCPS but the diversity remains an issue. Solid literacy and math instruction, recognized teachers, increasing test scores and STEM still aren't good enough for some people.

Makes you wonder why????

Current Parent

I would prefer a school with a bit more diversity but, our IB school is only slightly more diverse. Our daughter would be in the majority at either school, though our family type would probably be in the minority (probably true of most schools.) Do you find most parents & staff are welcoming & friendly to different types of families? (adoptive, lgbt community/families)

It is a concern if the school overall isn't willing to work & communicate with families. Do they not encourage parent to be directly involved with he school & their child's education? Have you had communication issues with the school?

I would like a warm and welcoming environment for prk for sure. After prk I think a mix of warm, enthusiastic, approachable, creative, emphatic, fun, inclusive, respectful (for everyone), instilling strong work ethics, encouraging putting in effort, not taking excuses or handing out trophy to everyone for just showing up is setting kids up for better success in the long term. Does the school offer this?

I am also wondering how the specialist are speech and special education teachers? As well as clubs and after care?

We really like the STEM program. We can a lot to help supplement reading, history, social science & some of the art at home & with the community resources the city offers I know there is a lot we can do build math & science skills as well. But finding a school with teachers that can really teach Math & Science well is very important. In both Charters & other PS schools it seems a lot of elementary school teachers don't have strong math skills & sometimes even a negative attitude towards math (always says how hard math is). And very often lack the understanding of how the foundations are used in advanced math & science. Which often leads to kids having negative attitudes and lack of a full understanding for the students too.

I can see why some families would leave Burroughs & our IB school if they got into a school that feeds into a better middle school or high school. Unfortunately right know it doesn't seem like the higher grade schools our neighborhood schools feed into are that great. But we are also 6-9 years out before hit middle school so perhaps there will be better or other options by then?

It seems that it would be likely to get a K or 1st grade + seat at Burroughs? (Still on their wait for prk3, but have a seat at BH currently)

We have a offer for Raymond for prk3 I have mixed feeling about the extended year program. I see how it can be a benefit for elementary and especially middle & high-school. No sure it is that helpful for prk other than less time in other summer camps ect for many families. It is a bit further than our other options but does have a bit more diversity than our IB school and seems to have a lot of extra programs and okay Parcc schores.
If you are in a extended year program how are you liking it? Do the kids have enough 'down time' too?
Do you find the school to be friendly and a warm positive place for younger kids? How is it as kids move up? How are there special education teachers? Is the before & after care run well? We see it as a possibility to stay in the long run and are wondering if others are staying out of choice.


15-16
PARCC Math
19% 36% 29% 16% 0%
PARCC ELA
23% 23% 32% 22% 0%

Level 1, Level 2, Level 3, Level 4, Level 5

Any insight into Raymond or Burroughs? We would like to find a school we will be comfortable with for elementary at least.

Interested to hear about folks experiences at Burroughs. It seems like a reasonably good school with a good Stem program and other activities. Do you find the school to be friendly and a warm positive place for younger kids? How is it as kids move up? How are there special education teachers? Is the before & after care run well? We see it as a possibility to stay in the long run and are wondering if others are staying out of choice.

Interested to hear feed back on Raymond Education Campus for Prk-8th grade? It is a extended year program how is that working for you? Do you find it to be a welcoming & friendly school? It is listed as "rising" do you find it to be good academically and improving?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am so surprised that my post elicited such hostile comments. I was not aware that parental involvement and school administration efficiency were controversial topics. Thank you for the helpful information about 990s and Guidestar. I also appreciate more information about the charter schools. We currently live in Brookland due to family obligations but are open to moving to another DC neighborhood if we do not match in the school lottery. We are definitely a family willing to donate $8k to the school every year and volunteer as necessary.

OP, the reason you're getting hostility is that in poor neighborhoods especially, parental involvement and fundraising are not the same thing. My child goes to a school with fairly high parental engagement. We have a PTO that does some stuff, including raise money, but the donations come in $15-$30 increments, for the most part. Occasionally, we get a big donation of $100+, but if you looked at our financials, what you'd see is a lot of little fundraisers to pay for specific events. I think we have <$1000 in the bank right now. But we have more parent volunteers than we need for every event we have. People show up to volunteer in their kids' classrooms, they show up to volunteer at events, and they'll give $10, $15, $20 because that's what they have to give.

I think that the best plan for you would be to visit your IB school and think about it with first hand information. Add the charters to your list, because they are mostly going to meet your criteria. Then if you are not placed somewhere that meets your approval, you can look into moving.

I would love to know what school you are at with such high parent involvement?

Anonymous wrote:My kid was #31 on the SWW HS WL and got an email saying he got a space by 7pm.

SWW?

Anonymous wrote:We are in PK3 at Truesdell right now, and will be returning for PK4. Our teachers have been great, and I am also very impressed with the principal. All the teachers and administrators we have met have been very welcoming. I wish there was more outdoor recess than the thirty minutes, but that is DCPS standard. I also wish the outdoor space was a bit nicer, but again, few schools have really good outdoor space. Overall, it's a perfectly good place at least for ECE. PP is right that it seems to be on par with other, more popular Title 1 schools (although it doesn't offer Spanish immersion like Powell does).

Do you know how the before or after care is and the costs for it?

Anonymous wrote:Yes you are out of luck for anything that is 70 or higher.

How do you have 2 offers extended simultaneously?

I am not sure. BH was extended last week, it is our IB school, we have until tomorrow to enroll. We just got a email about DH today. I didn't realize it was unusual for this to happen?

I will bite, what do you think?


11) Burroughs Elementary School #22

12) Raymond Education Campus #14

13) Dorothy I. Height Elementary School- Offer Extended (would currently drop us from Barnard & Truesdell?)

14) Barnard Elementary School #74

15) Truesdell Education Campus #21

16) Bunker Hill Elementary School - Offer Extended


Wait listed in 100's, possibly a slim chance?

6) Shining Stars Montessori Academy PCS: Waitlisted - #125

7) Bridges PCS: Waitlisted - #118

8) E.L. Haynes PCS - Elementary School: Waitlisted - #152

9) Two Rivers PCS at Young: Waitlisted - #163