Reply to Capitol Hill families - If you moved to NW or burbs for school, do you have any regrets?

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Reply to "Capitol Hill families - If you moved to NW or burbs for school, do you have any regrets?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I'm tired of hearing 4th grade parents we've come up through Brent with expressing shock and dismay (and more shock and dismay) that they're way down on the BASIS and Latins waiting lists.

If you don't like being around CH parents who planned ahead for middle school, who made Plan B, for goodness sakes, move.  Find your own kind elsewhere.[/quote]

Well I guarantee the feeling is mutual. None of your fellow Brent 4th grade parents enjoy listening to you expound upon what a genius you are for having a MS plan that doesn't rely on charters, either. Especially if that genius plan involves "buying a house 15 years ago" or "being rich" or "simply not caring about the quality of my kids' schools."

Maybe you're the one who needs to go "find your own kind" and by that I mean: smug a$$holes. [/quote]

I went ahead and reported the "go find your own kind" post, because it sounded every type of -ist to me.
[/quote]
Meaning that you're desperately seeking -ists, particularly fantasists who go into the 5th grade charter lottery convinced that they'll win at the Latins or BASIS.  You needn't look so hard for them: they abound on CH.  [/quote]

Huh?[/quote]

NP, here but I've also met numerous CH parents who make the assumption they will get into Basis/Latin/Latin Cooper--even during MS (after the 5th grade entry year). I have NO clue on what they base this assumption, it's completely meritless. [/quote]

Do they actually assume they'll get in, or do they hope they'll get in and plan to move if they don't, and then when they don't get in, they are disappointed about moving?

It sounds like you and the other PP are just mad about having neighbors or fellow school families ever talk about difficulties with the MS/HS path, because you have sorted it out and know exactly what you are doing. Great for you. But it's quite common for people on the Hill to not have a firm plan for MS, because not everyone plans their life 10 years in advance.

People move to the Hill and like it. They have kids and they like it even more, because CH is a great place to have a baby/toddler/preschooler. Then if they are IB for a good elementary (there are several) or luck into a decent charter (there are several), they stick around. At that point they know the deal with MS, but they figure maybe they'll get lucky with the lottery, or maybe they'll get more comfortable with the MS feed. And they don't just look at BASIS or Latin -- they look at ITS, the might see if they can get into a DCI feeder, they might consider TR's middle school option (until more recently it felt way more viable) or if they love Montessori, CHMS.

And if all that falls through, they move. And they are often sad about this. But apparently if they express this sadness or any frustration about the situation, they invoke your ire and judgment. Even though this is extremely common on CH and pretty much everyone knows multiple families who have been through it.

[b]One day something will not work out the way you plan, and I hope people offer you zero empathy as well because you won't deserve it.[/b][/quote]

Perhaps it's because I grew up in poverty and trauma, I never expect empathy from others. And I always have Plan B, Plan C, etc. We knew we wanted to stay on the Hill so planned accordingly to ensure we weren't reliant on a nefarious lottery and the woeful other MS and HS options. Given the precarious nature of MS and HS on the Hill, to do otherwise is foolish. [/quote]

Congrats. I grew up with abusive parents and my DH grew up lower middle class. We're both from very rural areas. We didn't know everything about everything when we moved here and experienced steep learning curves regarding pretty much everything. We have made mistakes and wrong turns. We're human. I still manage to be a pretty empathetic person (in fact I think my background makes me extra empathetic because I know what it is for someone to look like they have it all together but to be struggling a lot) and to understand that no one can plan perfectly and sometimes $hit happens. I think walking around smugly believing that you've figured it all out and that everyone who doesn't do it like you is foolish is asking for trouble.

Regardless, you can't control what other people do, and for as long as you live on the Hill, there will be families who hope against hope that MS/HS will work out and who will be disappointed when the lottery doesn't break their way. You can learn to deal with it or keep on complaining about it, but it's not going to change anytime soon.[/quote]

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