Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is OP. I really think the only way to have a chance at a decent DCPS is to list 12 up-and-coming schools and hope for the best. Not sure if I can identify 12 that show enough promise to make it on my list. It's a gamble in that there is no guarantee that the school I get matched to will ever get over that hump, but its no more of a gamble than trying to lottery for a highly sought after school.

I know this is way back from page 1, but it seems important to dispel this idea that you should only list "safety" or "up and coming" schools in your 12 choices next year. That is a really bad idea, for 2 reasons I can think of:

1) The way the common lottery works now, each applicant gets assigned one random lottery number. If you get a great number, there is an excellent chance of you getting into one of the upper schools on your list. Even most of the most popular charters this year (and maybe a few popular DCPS's?) had a few (or some, several) openings in the early grades. So those who ranked them high and got great random lottery numbers got in.

2) You never know which schools will have an "unusual" application season. When we toured schools for the '12-'13 school year, our #2 school we loved was Mundo Verde. We were mostly shut out for '12-'13 but applied again for '13-'14. Got into our #1 choice, horrible # at MV. Now think about this year: because of MV's change in locations, as we move into K, this would have been our year to get in! Every family we know who applied to MV for K for this upcoming year got in (that's 5 families). Obviously there's still a waiting list and not everyone got in, but the odds were so much better than the 1st 2 years we looked. Didn't Bridges also expand spots in one or more grades for the upcoming year?

Who knows which schools will change locales for '15-'16 school year? Isn't Creative Minds moving for that year? Shining Stars may or may not find a space now they like, so may move again? That's why this board is such a gift - you keep track of both "up and coming schools" and school changes, and then you put at least the top 2 schools that you actually like the best based on whatever info you've gathered. You can then have 10 up and coming schools... 8 up and coming and 2 "last resort" schools... whatever combo works for you.

But the last 2 years make it seem like a really bad idea to not use at least 2 spots for schools you really really would be excited to go to (if there are 2!).

Good luck next year everyone!

We applied to MV for K and got a WL # above 100. EVERYONE we know with a kindergartener applied to MV (even though most were happy where they were but would have moved only for MV) - that's at least a dozen people. I know ONE person who got their kid in for K. So, your friends are not representative.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is OP. I really think the only way to have a chance at a decent DCPS is to list 12 up-and-coming schools and hope for the best. Not sure if I can identify 12 that show enough promise to make it on my list. It's a gamble in that there is no guarantee that the school I get matched to will ever get over that hump, but its no more of a gamble than trying to lottery for a highly sought after school.

I know this is way back from page 1, but it seems important to dispel this idea that you should only list "safety" or "up and coming" schools in your 12 choices next year. That is a really bad idea, for 2 reasons I can think of:

1) The way the common lottery works now, each applicant gets assigned one random lottery number. If you get a great number, there is an excellent chance of you getting into one of the upper schools on your list. Even most of the most popular charters this year (and maybe a few popular DCPS's?) had a few (or some, several) openings in the early grades. So those who ranked them high and got great random lottery numbers got in.

2) You never know which schools will have an "unusual" application season. When we toured schools for the '12-'13 school year, our #2 school we loved was Mundo Verde. We were mostly shut out for '12-'13 but applied again for '13-'14. Got into our #1 choice, horrible # at MV. Now think about this year: because of MV's change in locations, as we move into K, this would have been our year to get in! Every family we know who applied to MV for K for this upcoming year got in (that's 5 families). Obviously there's still a waiting list and not everyone got in, but the odds were so much better than the 1st 2 years we looked. Didn't Bridges also expand spots in one or more grades for the upcoming year?

Who knows which schools will change locales for '15-'16 school year? Isn't Creative Minds moving for that year? Shining Stars may or may not find a space now they like, so may move again? That's why this board is such a gift - you keep track of both "up and coming schools" and school changes, and then you put at least the top 2 schools that you actually like the best based on whatever info you've gathered. You can then have 10 up and coming schools... 8 up and coming and 2 "last resort" schools... whatever combo works for you.

But the last 2 years make it seem like a really bad idea to not use at least 2 spots for schools you really really would be excited to go to (if there are 2!).

Good luck next year everyone!

We applied to MV for K and got a WL # above 100. EVERYONE we know with a kindergartener applied to MV (even though most were happy where they were but would have moved only for MV) - that's at least a dozen people. I know ONE person who got their kid in for K. So, your friends are not representative.

Fair enough point. My point is that that is 5+ more families that I know got in this year compared to last year. Pretty sure a call to MV will confirm my point: there were a LOT more slots and people who turned down the offer of a slot compared to last year.

Anonymous wrote:It seems fairly ridiculous to say that Sela beats anything else in wards 5, 4, 1 & 2. I hope most people realize that but I'll point it out just in case, since when I first started browsing this site I might have believed a statement like that.

Anonymous wrote:Going to a park or baseball game is nice. Capitol Hill offers some good amenities as well--DC Youth orchestra, CHAW, some sports teams. But there are other things many families with older kids (let's say age 10+) would like that the neighborhood isn't going to offer, at least not at an affordable price. For example, a lot of parents would prefer to separate opposite-sex siblings, so a 2br apartment would be tough. It can be hard to have a pet when buildings don't allow them. Some kids will probably stay--and some in-bounds families will go to Jefferson and on to Eastern. But will there be enough in-bounds kids to fill 2 classes at each grade level from PK3-5? At least for the next few years, I can't imagine there will be 40+ families who

a) live in the Van Ness boundary
b) have a rising 5th grader
c) do not enter the lottery, or enter it and fail to get into BASIS, Latin, another charter, or a school that feeds into Hardy or Deal
d) decide to stay in the neighborhood

There will be some. But not enough to fill--or even come close to filling--two classes per grade, which is what DCPS plans to offer at Van Ness.
It seems much more likely that there will be several dozen out of bounds families who see Van Ness as pulling them into a better middle/high school feeder pattern without too onerous a commute.

A lot of this could have been avoided had the DME abolished the rule that getting into an elementary school OOB guarantees you a right to attend its middle and high school feeders. People might stay at Van Ness through 5th grade if they had a shot at an OOB slot at Hardy or Deal for 6th. Somehow forcing BASIS, Latin, and other middle schools to start at 6th grade would also help, but I think that ship has sailed.

Anonymous wrote:It seems fairly ridiculous to say that Sela beats anything else in wards 5, 4, 1 & 2. I hope most people realize that but I'll point it out just in case, since when I first started browsing this site I might have believed a statement like that.

Anonymous wrote:Check out West, 1338 Farragut St NW

while the pre-k spots are becoming more desirable and there is typically a waitlist, there is a lot of movement and those who really want to go there generally end up there.

I am a current West parent and would be happy to talk to you further about it...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Check out West, 1338 Farragut St NW

while the pre-k spots are becoming more desirable and there is typically a waitlist, there is a lot of movement and those who really want to go there generally end up there.

I am a current West parent and would be happy to talk to you further about it...

Hi West Parent (and neightbor)! Not the OP, but we're zoned for West and will be doing the lottery for Pre-k this year too. We are also considering Powell, and then maybe a few charters. Tell me about the 3 year olds at West! I really love the idea of sticking to the schools in our neighborhood, and that our kid will have school friends close by.