Reply to Does it actually matter which school you send your kid to?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]2 things matter regarding schools

1.  The number one factor in school success is the parents/home environment.  Points to the poster commenting that having a shorter commute pays dividends

2.  The second thing that matters is having a highly motivated cohort.  Now, since this is DCUM I'm assuming the kid in question is top 10%.  Usually, most schools have at least a collection of high performing students.  Now unfortunately in DC, this is not the case.  The majority of middle and high schools in DC are terrible.  There are only 3-5 good middle schools in DC which requires either living in the most expensive parts of the city are getting lucky through a charter.  For high school the selective high schools are an option but again middle school is a big problem.

Based on this I would leave DCPS after 4th grade unless you had a path to one of the 3-5 decent middle school options.

[/quote]

OP has a one year old.  The middle school landscape could change sognificantly by then.

OP, the school is only one part of your life.  A long commute will make it very hard to do other things like an instrument, a sport, any special activity that you may choose, especially if you can't afford a lot of household help.  And with your child so young and your preference for downtown, it seems silly to make sacrifices for a middle or high school so far in the future.  [/quote]

Well the middle school landscape did not change for 20 years in Capitol Hill where the overwhelming majority are UMC and concentrated in 1 neighborhood so I would not hold your breath OP.  This is especially true when it’s clear from the actions of those in DCPS that their goal is to close the achievement gap and bring up the bottom while neglecting and not meeting the needs of the higher performing students. You can’t rely on a hopeful what if in the future for something so important as your child’s education.

Move where you want EOTP but know that if you don’t get into a charter, most likely be prepared to go private or move.  Depending on what IB school that is, it might even be earlier than 4th. Depending on the school, some even see a big exodus of middle class families as early as K or 1st. [/quote]

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