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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I resisted this way of thinking for a while, but if you look at the data, UMC do as well in DCPS as they do anywhere. So it’s a bit of a myth. It all has to do with preferences. If you believe that a more homogeneously “high acheiving” school is what you want, that’s not DCPS mostly. If you like the suburbs, big outdoor spaces, also not DCPS. But for many of us, DCPS fits because we like the city, don’t want to live in the suburbs, and have found year by year that our kids are doing well. [/quote]

Are you zoned for JR or did you lottery into a charter?[/quote]

DCPS parent here and this is really the question. Of course an urban city school district doesn't have the same consistency in schools as a suburban school district. If you put Anacostia High School and it's student body in MCPS, the proficiency rates wouldn't magically sky rocket by virtue of being in MCPS instead of DCPS because it would still be a school full of extreme poverty, at-risk students. Which is why middle and upper class parents in every urban school district in the country don't put their high SES children in any high school, they stick to the "good" schools with demographics that match their own. In DC that's JR, MacArthur, selective high schools, and charters. Some DC schools should be better than they are (ahem, Capitol Hill), but they're not and it shouldn't come as a surprise to any families that live in those boundaries.

When we were deciding whether to stay in DC or move to the suburbs, we found that our suburban choices were either high SES "pressure cooker" suburban schools or schools with more SES diversity that were pretty comparable to the "good" DC schools. Yes, suburban schools may have more G&T and magnet options, but our kids aren't TJ material and we've seen enough kids lose the G&T lotteries in MCPS or return to their home schools after realizing the G&T programs aren't a good fit for them. We would not put our kids in "pressure cooker" schools for socio-emotional reasons, and just didn't see enough of a difference between the rest of the suburban schools to make it worth moving.

[b]I think it's a completely valid choice to choose suburban schools to avoid the DC school lottery. Particularly if you can't afford a $1m home and value a neighborhood school. It's also valid to get to middle school and not want to deal with a lottery and/or cross town commute every day. And yes, it's true that special ed in DCPS is abysmal and many, many families are forced to move out of the city to get their children the services they need. But if you have lottery luck, can afford to buy in the "good" school zones, or are willing to push the decision until middle school, there are plenty of schools in DC that are equal to (or even better than) plenty of schools in MCPS and FCPS.[/b][/quote]

that last paragraph....yeah if you are willing to deal with crap, don't have a child with sped needs, are rich, bank on winning a lottery, and are willing to do an hour+ commute for school each way per day, then some DCPS schools are comparable to MCPS or FCPS schools.

this is all supportive that MCPS and FCPS schools are better than DCPS.
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