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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]That's good to hear! How is the community in general? We live on the Hill currently and have a 3 and 4 year old. Are there lots of young kids nearby? Is it easy enough to meet people and build community before starting at school in that area? [/quote]

Absolutely. It has a very engaged community, great administration, and solid teachers with very little turnover. Lots of opportunities outside of school to play sports or do scouts w/neighborhood friends. We went to Dorothy Hamm, not Swanson, after Glebe, and our child was very, very academically prepared. They still see their Swanson friends regularly. You should contact the PTA and ask to chat with someone.

As an adult having moved from the Hill, I like that I can walk to things like Starbucks, wine store, there's a bus a few doors down... It's also an easy walk into Ballston. [/quote]

We also had a student with a 504 plan and the teachers always respected it and worked with our child. There is pushback from the administration about dyslexia, and that's really the only negative thing I can think of there (but it's obv a big negative and I can absolutely see it being an issue). I don't entirely understand why the administration won't relent and just offer services to students who test early for dyslexia, and it is distressing. That said, APS across the board has a problem with teaching reading, whether the student has a disability or not. However, it's still head over heals better than what our student received at their DCPS elem school. I am taken aback by either the Principal or the AP saying that kids don't need meds, because they were personally very supportive of our child taking meds. But they can both be probably more informal and personal than what everyone is used to from school administrators.

You do need to sign off on not needing translation services... prior to the 504 meeting, but that's part of the form that isn't unique to Glebe. I assume those questions are asked to make sure everyone can access the meeting and any testing that may need done? There's also notations in everyone's Parentview as to whether your family does or does not need various services.

Glebe has an active group for Spanish speaking parents, a mutlicultural night, and a fiesta night at the end of the year, and the bilingual family specialist, Beronica, is a community legend. She used to and probably still does translate at every PTA meeting. When our youngest was at Glebe, the Principal announced how many different first languages were spoken by the students and it was a big number. That was prepandemic, but I don't believe that's changed much.

Separately, there is also a lot of push in (rather than passively being an available program) from Beronica, the PTA, the administration, and teachers to make sure that all students' financial needs are met, including Thanksgiving dinner delivery, a holiday gift drive, and a pantry. Many students and families receive free or reduced access to PTA events where there are entrance fees, and there are programs to allow students to access enrichment activities. However, there's not a great way for the school to track who may or may not qualify for services, so I can absolutely see someone proactively asking based upon stereotypes, and I can also see the flip side of feeling that that bias is hurtful. I was surprised when I learned that the schools don't automatically receive a list of students who may quality, and I am sorry that the previous poster was hurt by being asked. Again, can see where the discomfort may be.

The whole PTA auction thing is a myth. Those things are cyclical. It's not different from DCPS schools who fundraise via auction. It is adults in proximity to alcohol, so yes people do act accordingly. And yes the PTA raises a lot of money, but it also has a very robust calendar and services it offers.

Glebe does split middle schools: about half to Dorothy Hamm and about half to Swanson. Then those schools shake it up again to W&L or Yorktown for high school. That said, APS boundaries are ever changing, Dorothy Hamm and Swanson are both good middle schools, and by middle school the kids are biking to one another's houses, meeting at the parks, on their devices with one another so it's not a huge deal. But it is definitely a downside. We didn't find that part as disruptive as when our son was the only child on our block to attend our neighborhood DCPS, though. Here he has a community. It is disruptive, though, for sure.

Tight lots is a weird thing to care about, unless you're looking for a neighborhood of new builds, maybe? But it also sure seems like the developers can squeeze just about anything you want into those lots. You have multiple parks and sidewalks and bike paths over in Waycroft-Woodlawn, though. Mature trees and well landscaped yards. Deer frolic around. Kids ride bikes. It's very lovely. The downsides to me would be that a lot of the new development is ugly, Wash Blvd, George Mason, and Glebe are busy roads, and I'm thinking of a third one. I can't come up with it. Sorry. [/quote]

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