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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]PS: (I'm the PP) I personally would LOVE to have my kid at O-A for middle school over Hardy (our current feeder) or Deal, mainly due to the size (O-A is 750-ish for all 10 grades, Deal is over 1300 for the three grades, Hardy 600ish - off the top of my head). There will probably be some haters here (there always are) that think O-A middle isn't as good, but I disagree that there's a given child's experience would be much different at any of the three, and O-A's size and the immersion would be great for us... Alas my child is in 2nd so that ship has sailed.  [/quote]

Thank you, PP.  I imagine that ship will sail for me, too, but we'll see  :lol:

If I could ask - if O-A has its own middle and then feeds into J-R, do the O-A kids just stop immersion and take Spanish as a foreign language or maybe start a new one?  Have you seen/heard how that transition goes for O-A kids?[/quote]

There's no immersion at JR. O-A kids go all over, not just to JR, so their experiences vary. You are so unlikely to get into O-A that I wouldn't spend a lot of time worrying about how your kid would adjust 10 years from now. Even if you move in-bounds in a few years they will try to steer you to the monolingual alternative school. Sorry to be harsh about it. If you apply to every JR  and MacArthur feeder every year you probably will get in eventually. Just think about whether it's worth it to you to drive to Shepherd or Key or Hyde-Addison for 3-5 years and then to figure out the commute for grades 6-12. [/quote]

I'm not worrying, I'm just asking, because the other PP sounded conversational and I'm curious.  I have no doubt we aren't getting into anything, at least not for a few years, and I'm going to try the various feeder commutes. [/quote]

We drive from Ward 4 to a Hardy feeder and it’s really not bad. Not as convenient as a neighborhood school, but 20-25 minutes depending on the time of day. Google maps is very accurate, so just check that at your commute times. We split it between two parents and it’s sort of nice to have designated time to do homework and catch up on the day.

If you’re happy with your IB for a while, then it can’t hurt to lottery until you get lucky or run out of patience. Keep your expectations in check and lottery for every school you’d be happy with the entire feeder pattern for. You’ll probably get lucky eventually, especially if you are wiling to take an early elementary seat at Hyde Addison. Which is a hike, but everyone says it’s worth it. [/quote]

Can confirm. We started driving from SWDC to H-A this year and so far it’s been worth it. Feel free to ask me again at the end of the year, but my child is so much happier since we switched despite the commute. I do the morning and it’s 40 minutes round trip (I WFH - I’m back at my home office desk by 8:45-9:00 am). We are having some nice chats, traffic light dance parties, and starting some fun kid podcasts. My husband does pickup and he’s gotten some snarled traffic for sure downtown but he is also getting some nice one on one chats, or he will put a podcast on and kiddo is doing worksheets and her own music in headphones in the backseat. I think the downtime on the way home has actually made for a nicer evening routine. I didn’t expect that and thought we’d all be tired and stressed more than before, but so far it’s been great.

We didn’t plan to switch this early (or ideally at all) as Kindergarten was great at our IB. But had a really bad teacher last year and unresponsive admin that made us feel pushed out. I wish we would’ve switched sooner and I love the peace of mind of Hardy as our middle school feeder. Feeling good about MacArthur as well, though maybe we will try for Walls. [/quote]

Thank you, PPs.  I'm glad you had lottery success and the commutes aren't bad!

I have a slight preference for J-R feeders so I'm listing those first, then Hardy feeders.  As I understand it, if I get a "great" number, I'm more likely to get one of my first choices.

But if I get a "bad" number, does listing the J-R feeders make it less likely to get a Hardy/MacArthur feeder?  It doesn't seem like it, but I obviously am new to this.

The one exception might be a school like Bancroft- if they really don't ever take anyone (and it seems like they don't), then that does seem like a waste of a space.  So I think I'm taking it off my list.

Thank you everyone for your help and insights. [/quote]

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