Reply to Feeling sad about striking out for PK3 and Pk4, any advice on K strategy?

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Reply to "Feeling sad about striking out for PK3 and Pk4, any advice on K strategy?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Residents of Brookland are way too concerned with getting into charter schools. It's a mindset thing. And also because so many charters are sitting right there, so that early adopters of those never had to think too hard whether they are really worth the hype. Well, I'm here to tell you they are not. If you embrace your IB or near-IB option, you can make that work to your advantage, and to your child's, as another PP suggested. Stop looking at it as a loss/strike-out and see it as an opportunity, with upsides of being close, of getting some TLC, of teachers actually caring that you and your child are there and happy, of everyone knowing your child (because they care to and the schools aren't so big and transient), of dealing with level-headed parents rather than Type A wrecks on most days.[/quote]

Sorry but our IB is just not embraceable.  Over time it could get better, buy not fast enough for DD.  I wish I felt like work would improve it, but volunteering this year and last has been an eye-opening experience.  He needs are so great, the funding so inadequate, and the administration so underwhelming, that parents just aren't going to be able to get us there.  If it were as easy as you seem to think, DCPS would be very different.  And still, what about middle school, am I supposed to fix that too, in my copious free time?

Guess what-- several charters are closer to my house than any neighborhood school.  Dysfunctional, poorly performing neighborhood schools do not have a monopoly on TLC.  The aides at our school are, frankly, rather harsh to the kids, and it has been a huge battle just to get them to go outside and stop showing Disney movies on instructional time.  And I'll take Type A parents any day over the parents at our not-so-level-headed parents who mistreat their kids and feud with the principal.  What makes you think anyone cares that my family is there?  Get real.  The problems with DCPS could be fixed if DCPS were our partner in doing so, but sometimes it feels like we are outright adversaries.[/quote]

I think what the PP is saying is to look at EOTP public schools that are better than your IB. And several of the charter schools on your list have no or questionable middle schools, so just try to find a doable place through 5th. Put a mix of charter and decent eotp elementary schools (up and coming ones NOT like your IB). Also, immersion fro spanish is fine to start in 1st. I wouldn't do it beyond first unless you can support the language at home AND your child is excelling acaemically and can take a set back.  I 100% agree that charters aren't "all that." We tried to lottery out of our charter this year and into a decent EOTP school but got terrible numbers (we literally had to be last or very near).[/quote]

I actually did look at JO Wilson and chances seem very slim.  Will take another look at Burroughs and investigate Seaton and Cleveland. Still, it seems like most OOBs do not get in.[/quote]

There are no schools where 'most' OOB get in. DCPS is a neighborhood school system. Excess seats only made available in teh lottery.

For charters, it's more open. but still, it's a lottery. Either you get a good master number or you don't. There's nothing really to strategize about.[/quote]

Right... I guess I'm asking which schools I should strike from my list, and which easier to get into schools I should add to replace them.

My PK4 list was:
Mundo Verde 
YY 
Stokes French 
Stokes Spanish 
DC Bilingual 
Inspired 
CMI 
Two Rivers 
School Within School 
EL Haynes 
Lee 
Shining Stars

For K: 
Mundo Verde
STRIKE YY
Stokes French
Stokes Spanish
New Mundo, pending location?
New Stokes, pending location?  (May require two spots?)
DC Bilingual
Inspired Teaching
CMI
Two Rivers
Two Rivers Young
STRIKE School Within School
STRIKE EL Haynes
Lee
Shining Stars

Are any of these spots being wasted?[/quote]

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