Reply to Brent v Maury v Capitol Hill Day for 26-27

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I’m the OP and wanted to add some more detail on our wish list. Our top priorities are strong academics and a short, manageable commute, since we don't want to be either spending lots of time commuting to work or having our son be on a bus for a big portion of each day. We like the feel of a community school, and would like families to live within the area around the school generally. A nice facility and playground are also really great to have. We likely don’t need extensive after-school programming, as we’ll have a nanny to help with pickup.
We’re very happy with our current public school in NYC and are hoping to find something comparable. Our current school is in a safe neighborhood, has nice facilities, strong academic outcomes (around 88% proficiency in reading and math), and lots of extras like dance and specialized gardening and language classes. The student body is roughly 60% white and 10% are on free/reduced lunch; I’m sharing that only to give context for the environment we’re coming from, not as a target necessarily. We are comfortable and happy with diverse environments. [/quote]

I’d temper expectations given your very limited stay. Coming in for 1st grade already puts you a bit behind in the friends groups for any of those Hill schools you listed. With a one-year timeline, most families will be perfectly nice at pickup but aren’t going to go out of their way to build strong relationships with you or your kid. I’m not saying it to be negative, it’s just a reality of Capitol Hill and its transience. You don’t want to put in effort with someone you know is on the clock — We’ve been in Hill elementary schools for a long time and have seen a lot of appointees etc. come and go. You invite the kid to full-class parties but you’re not having one-on-one hang outs with people who are here short-term. IMHO, in that respect re: established cliques, Maury will absolutely be the hardest nut to crack for a rising 1st. LT easier but still a very strong cohort coming up from K, though they took a few 1st grade kids from the lottery this year. Brent not worth it for one year because of the bus. (FWIW we are at one of those schools.)

It’s not as highly rated as the others right now, but an interesting option could be Watkins because it starts at 1st (Peabody is its PK-K feeder) so everyone is “new” in 1st. We aren’t there, but we know families there who are very happy and we also know others that weren’t and lotteried out. Just depends.

As others have said, almost anywhere on the Hill ECE is very good, education-wise. So yes, go for convenient location since you’re short term.

Look for local weekend activities like soccer where you might hang with others his age outside of school, and outside of their friend groups, to strengthen connections.

You could also try to not broadcast that you’re a one and done — might be better for your kid’s sake. [/quote]

Oh Lordy. I guess you are the Hill parent who is social climbing from PK3. OP don’t listen to this - the Hill is friendly and you will not have a scarlet letter just because you are here for one year. There are parents like PP but they are rare. [/quote]

TBH I wouldn’t brush all of the above off. My kid switched Hill schools in first. It’s not easy if you know no one at all. It was worth it in the long-term for us, and luckily we did know other families, but it took longer than expected to make new friends despite putting in effort in all the right places. I’d describe my kid as OP did hers, too. People at our school, which is mentioned in this thread, are friendly, but pointing out that there are established groups by 1st is totally fair.

And Maury is a great school but if you don’t acknowledge it can be a little cliquey, that’s really not fair to OP. You’ve got moms that went through PACE groups together so have been in contact daily about kids and life for six+ years by 1st. (And that’s wonderful for them!)

I do think OP’s family will have a totally fine year regardless of where they enroll given the places they’re looking, but while it could have been written a lot more nicely, there’s definitely truth in this post.[/quote]

I mean, 90% of the parents at the school are there for the kids and don’t care about “relationships with other families.” You and PP are the self-selecting 10% who have an expectation that your kid’s school will be your own social life. The rest of us just go along with the flow, have play dates with the kids our kids get along with, and if we click with another parent along the line and become friends, great! [/quote]

I’m giving some of this grace because I should have been more specific that it took my kid (not me) longer than expected to make new friends. We’re very close with our (adult) friends on our immediate block. I have (adult) friends locally from pre-kids. We’re fine. We do want our kid to have friends in their class, for obvious reasons. And they made them and kept them, but it took longer when transferring for 1st than it did for the same kid in PK and K. There’s absolutely no harm in acknowledging that. And I honestly assume that would be the case anywhere where the entry years are the same as DCPS. [/quote]

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