Reply to Feedback on Eaton Elementary School in Cleveland Park, NW

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP---back to the question at hand.  For many years Eaton was the OOB school of choice for Mt. Pleasant families who were not enamored with Bancroft, which historically (as in for the past 20 years) has been a Title I bilingual school focused on meeting the needs of immigrant ESL children.  Eaton was also popular with DC politicos.  Because the catchment area is small, and the housing stock consists of the apartments/co-ops of Connecticut Avenue and the Victorian mansions of Cleveland Park, there were not a sufficient number of IB kids to fill the school.

In my experience, the OOB parents at Eaton are in general as highly educated [b](though perhaps not as wealthy[/b]) as the IB parent population and every bit as invested in their children's education.  My fellow parents have included foreign diplomats, journalists, economists, Hill staffers/lobbyists, university professors, museum educators, as well as the typical DC lawyer types.

[/quote]

We live in a tiny house in the Hearst boundary and I guarantee that quite a few of the [b]OOB families make more money than us and live in more expensive houses than we [/b]do.[/quote]

Until the past 5 years or so, this wouldn't have been the case.

-- lived in dc long enough to remember when mt. Pleasant, petworth and "14th st heights" we're where you bought drugs and went to parties in group homes full of Hill staffers who couldn't afford the Hill or AU park group homes [/quote]

Sure, but that is not relevant now.  The point is that there is not this big divide between IB and OOB based on wealth.  For the most part, IB Hearst families live in duplexes, smaller single family homes, and McLean Gardens.  [b]There are many OOB families that choose Hearst from all parts of the city who are in the same HHI bracket as the IB families, if not higher. They just choose to live somewhere else.  There are also families in lower brackets, but all of these families intermingle at school.  No one pays attention to or cares how much money anyone has.[/b][/quote]

I have a number of friends at Eaton.  The above description applies to both schools.  Hearst and Eaton are VERY similar in make up.  (Hearst simply lagged behind Eaton in scores because of growing pains caused by its shift from an early childhood center to a PK-5.)

Historically, they both have had high OOB populations however, a good portion of the OOBs kids have come from educated, middle-high income homes (black and white).

These days the OOBs populations at Hearst and Eaton are not necessarily black (as many on DCUM seem to believe).  As a matter of fact, I would argue that a good 40% of Hearst's OOB kids are white from Mt. Pleasant, Crestwood and 16th St Heights.  And yes, many are just as educated and perhaps make more money than their IB counterparts. But--seriously--no one gives a crap about that stuff or where people live.  It just doesn't come up.

These schools are thriving communities within communities.  If you don't get that, then you just don't get that, and you probably should stay far, far away from Hearst and Eaton.

[b]On the flip side, if you would like to be a part of a thriving "community" with super cool black and white families (neither school has much of a spanish population) that are bound together by mutual respect and commitment to their children as well as the school itself, then Hearst and Eaton are arguably your best options.[/b][/quote]
I would definitely throw Shepherd Elementary in there as well. Great, diverse community. Super friendly. Very good (and getting even better!) test scores. Warm, welcoming neighborhood.[/quote]

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