Thank you. Living close to classmates is important to us and one of the things we like most about where we live now. We will likely rank Peabody in our PK4 lottery because we ultimately just need a spot for a year, but may prioritize moving to L-T, Maury, Brent, or Payne IB areas as opposed to Watkins/Peabody for that reason. Curious - why is Payne not a "top three" like L-T, Maury and Brent? Is it just historically more socioeconomically diverse and/or test score driven? I'll definitely check out the DC Bold Schools website!

Anonymous wrote:

abarem123 wrote:OP here - thanks this is all super helpful. If I'm understanding the replies correctly, it sounds like we will very likely get a PK4 spot *somewhere* within a mile or so of where we would live (on the Hill). It doesn't have to be a PK spot at the IB elementary school - I am just most concerned about odds to get a spot at a school period. I'm hopeful from reading the comments that we'd land a spot somewhere (Miner, Appletree, JO Wilson, Peabody, etc.).

I agree with posters stating that we should move IB for where we'd like to be long-term. Are there any big differences between the elementary schools on the Hill? e.g., why would I want L-T vs. Maury vs. Brent vs. other options? Would the ohttps://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/forums/show/32.pagedds for getting my younger child a PK3 spot at L-T (inbound) be better than Maury (inbound)?

OP one question to consider is if aftercare is essential for you. For some of these schools, if you get in during the summer, aftercare will already be full at some schools. Others are able to scale up as necessary. If that's a deal breaker, it's worth researching which of your desired schools fall into which of those buckets.

Thank you, very good point. We would need aftercare. How does one go about researching which schools have better aftercare options for a summer move-in/enrollment vs. others?

Anonymous wrote:Unrelated to your question really but as a former Hoboken resident, welcome! The street parking is much easier here though can still be a little bit tricky near schools, churches, and commercial areas. The food is a definite downgrade from Hoboken and NYC but still expensive. But Capitol Hill is great and a good bet if you are trying to find a similar feel. It is calmer and sleepier, especially on certain blocks, but still similar. And as another poster said, the family bike culture is amazing.

Thank you! Amazing to find another former Hoboken. Do you live in the Hill too?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good lord. You should live on the Hill. And do exactly what you’re proposing - Marc train to fort Meade station. The elementary schools are great and it is charming and walkable. It is absolutely fantastic for young families, and you’re good to middle school.

+1
This is a perfect solution, and I bet you’ll end up liking it more than Hoboken

That is the hope!

OP here - yes, I know it won't be Hoboken. There are things about Hoboken that we're ready to move on from - e.g., it sounds like we'll get a bit more space for our $$ in CH, a little less hustle/bustle, etc. Those are net positives.

We just really do not want a suburban lifestyle yet. We are not ready to settle into a full detached house with a big front and back yard that we need to maintain, and the requirement to drive everywhere (grocery, parks, school, etc.). Maybe some day but not yet. These factors - plus the plethora of young, seemingly like-minded families, is what is driving us to look at CH. For the record, my husband (the Ft Meade commuter) is just as stubborn about these requirements as I am, if not more, and understands the trade-offs in terms of commute.

We won't be buying - just a lease, likely for one year only as we get our bearings. I hear those of you saying the commute via Union Station would be alot. Just curious - if this were your commute, would you rather drive via 295 or is that worse? Thanks in advance.

Anonymous wrote:

abarem123 wrote:OP here - thanks this is all super helpful. If I'm understanding the replies correctly, it sounds like we will very likely get a PK4 spot *somewhere* within a mile or so of where we would live (on the Hill). It doesn't have to be a PK spot at the IB elementary school - I am just most concerned about odds to get a spot at a school period. I'm hopeful from reading the comments that we'd land a spot somewhere (Miner, Appletree, JO Wilson, Peabody, etc.).

I agree with posters stating that we should move IB for where we'd like to be long-term. Are there any big differences between the elementary schools on the Hill? e.g., why would I want L-T vs. Maury vs. Brent vs. other options? Would the odds for getting my younger child a PK3 spot at L-T (inbound) be better than Maury (inbound)?

PP again - Yes you'll be able to get a spot somewhere for PK4 within a mile, and if you're willing to wait out the lottery, you may get more than one offer by October. (Movement tends to stop on Oct. 5, which is called Count Day - basically the school will get funding for every child in a seat that day. So they have motivation to have as many slots filled as possible that day, but not really after.) DC does ECE very well, so some schools that don't rank highly for upper elementary have great PK programs - Miner comes to mind. Just make sure to rank your schools in order of ACTUAL preference. You don't get assigned a waitlist number for anything AFTER a school you get into. So you want to put the lower hanging fruit at the bottom. (Example: If you put AppleTree Oklahoma first because you know it's easier to get into, and then you actually do get in on lottery day, you wouldn't even get put on the waitlist at all for LT and others if they're below it.)

Thank you - yes, I understand that about the waitlist preference. It actually behooves us even more than others to list the most competitive/highest preferences up top, as we actually would prefer to not get matched on the lottery day but instead over the summer/closer to the summer when we would have proof of residency. So, an ideal situation for us is no match at all but near the top of the waitlists at a few good/close schools.

That is reassuring to hear about ECE. Is curriculum the same at all programs?

Anonymous wrote:We really liked Thurgood Marshall but that was a long time ago. I know there are a bunch of small new daycares on the Hill since then - you should research those. The MOTH list will be a better resource.

Thank you - I looked into the MOTH list serv but can't join until we have an address. I'll see what I can find through normal research methods.

Hi - we're moving to the Hill this summer with two kids in tow (4 yo and 18 mo old at the time of move). I am in the midst of learning all about the public PK4 options for my older child, but also trying to understand options for our 18 mo old, who is currently in a small non-profit, tight-knit daycare where we live in Hoboken NJ. I would love to find a similar daycare - somewhere without a lot of turnover, and a loving environment where families tends to stay until pre-k. I'm usually skeptical of chains and corporate/PE owned daycares, and we don't need a lot of updates/modern "benefits" (like advertising baby yoga, etc.).

I reached out to Thurgood Marshall CDC already, and I have read about Jenkins Hill CDC too. Both of these seem like places we may like - if only for the fact that they're non-profit or not corporate-owned and seem smaller/tighter knit. But curious if I'm making false assumptions about these places and/or if there are other recommendations on the Hill or nearby. Thank you!

OP here - thanks this is all super helpful. If I'm understanding the replies correctly, it sounds like we will very likely get a PK4 spot *somewhere* within a mile or so of where we would live (on the Hill). It doesn't have to be a PK spot at the IB elementary school - I am just most concerned about odds to get a spot at a school period. I'm hopeful from reading the comments that we'd land a spot somewhere (Miner, Appletree, JO Wilson, Peabody, etc.).

I agree with posters stating that we should move IB for where we'd like to be long-term. Are there any big differences between the elementary schools on the Hill? e.g., why would I want L-T vs. Maury vs. Brent vs. other options? Would the odds for getting my younger child a PK3 spot at L-T (inbound) be better than Maury (inbound)?

Hi! We're moving to DC this summer with a then 4 year old and 1.5 year old. Coming from Hoboken NJ where we are blessed with free excellent public PK3 and PK4. My older child will have just finished PK3 when we move, and while we are still not entirely sure where we will live, we are currently leaning towards the Hill as I understand it to be most similar to what we love about Hoboken (walkability, community, lots of young families, urban).

I spoke with My School DC last week to inquire about how the PK4 lottery would work for us given we are moving in the summer. The representative was super helpful and recommended that we actually enter the lottery this winter and hope for waitlists at our top choices/most choices. It sounds like the perfect scenario is - waitlist everywhere and get in to a top choice (or any choice) over the summer when we can provide proof of residency. She said even if we get matched with a school towards the end of our list, we could decline (assuming we won't have proof of residency by May 1) and stay on the list for schools ranked above and hopefully clear them by the time school starts. We would be no worse off employing this strategy vs. waiting until we move to enter the waitlists.

That said - any ideas/suggestions on how to best play this especially since we don't have an "in boundary" school yet or a school that we want solely because of proximity to home? As stated, the plan as of now is to move to the Hill (ideally around alot of young families, playgrounds, etc.). However, I'm concerned that PK4 odds may be awful for us as most of the Hill pre-k schools start at PK3. Am I thinking about that right? Our odds for PK4 placement in the Hill may be awful? I've looked a bit at the waitlist results on My School DC and seems like the popular elementary schools (Maury, L-T) are shots in the dark but we may have a chance at Appletree Lincoln Park and/or Peabody. Thoughts?

Really trying to avoid paying for daycare times 2, and we aren't overly picky about PK4. Just want a loving environment where my child (and our family) can integrate into a new city and continue a great pre-k experience.