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[quote=Anonymous]We are currently pre-k at Bridges.  Happy, not over the moon, but good enough.  Such that we will only lottery next year for one charter we think might be a better fit long term.  We get special ed services, so some of my views of them are colored by that, but having been in a DCPS, I'm positive the other kids in my kids class are getting a better deal than they were at our specific DCPS.  That said, I think some of the color we get from the special ed side extends to the all general ed experience as well - most of our dealings are with the regular classroom teacher and so what shes done for our kid extends to the sort of thing shes doing for all her kids.  I've been impressed with how knowledgeable she's been about a range of needs in what is a diverse (needs wise) class.  I ultimately like the pre-k 3/4 mix, I think it provides stronger models for younger kids, independence/the ability to lead for older kids, and makes things run more smoothly than they might in a brand new Pre K 3 class.  There seems to be ongoing problem solving and adjustment - not of true "problems" but just we're tweaking our schedule this way because I want the kids to get more practice doing X, and a fair amount of small group/individualized attention, so I don't think kids who are advanced are lacking.  I wish it were more play based, but I don't think there are any DC pre-k 3 programs that really are, or if there are, very few, in the way I mean.  Frankly, I think our old daycare skewed even more academic than Bridges by the 4 year old year.  There's plenty of play, most of the centers are "play", but it's not my ideal program.  They seem to consistently get outside, for an hour, which is key, to me anyway.  I assume things will be even easier next year at the new site. I'm not crazy about the facilities but that should also be a non-issue next year.  Staff has been open and accessible and the school as a whole has seemed more accessible and open and much more developmentally appropriate than our prior program (which seemed to institute elementary school expectations on 3 year olds and their parents).  I don't know that I feel like it's a long term option - it's really hard to judge that, since I haven't seen the upper grades, but I get the sense that there's a focus on data and ongoing assessment (like quarterly, which is standard, I don't think it's out of the realm of what other schools do) that may take a turn towards a little more test prep focused than I'd like even before the testing grades.  I don't think that differs from many/most other schools in DC, and I think we'll need to leave DC or look private to really move away from it.  (I do appreciate the data focus, as someone with a kid with special needs - you'd like to catch things before there is a problem, you want to have a sense of where you're starting, it helps you decide to change course if something isn't working, but it can go overboard)  But again, that's perhaps not a fair assessment as we haven't fully explored what the upper grades look like.  I imagine, like most places, it could come down to teacher luck of the draw - we've only had ours and I'm not in tune enough to know if there are people who are really unhappy with theirs.  I've not really had dealings with the administration, so I can't comment on that, no idea what happened last year.  One note that aftercare seems to continue to be a struggle.  I get the sense it's much better on the whole than last year (from what I read here), but still inconsistent, and we've had to complain a few times, and then it's improved, and then slipped. It's a real weakness, and while they (school and vendor contacts) seem to care, I'm not sure whether, given they continued with the same vendor, it'll be permanently fixed.  But I've heard lots of mixed things about lots of aftercares (particularly DCPS run ones) so can't judge relative to others whether ours is more problematic.  I have found the parent community to be great.  Overall, I think it's not perfect, but a solid option based on our experience, but we can only speak to our individual experience.[/quote]

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