Reply to Struck Out in DC school lottery....Tell/Sell me in your non-W School Cluster

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP, are you sure you want to give up on DC?  What are your kids' schools?

If you want a big house AND want your kids surrounded only by other high-SES kids, seems the prospects aren't great in MD at your budget, unless you move almost out to WV.  Not sure it would be worth it, vs. just buying a condo in DC or close-in Silver Spring.[/quote]

DH and I are definitely sure we want to leave DC. We may expand our search to Howard County. We want continuity for our children and the lottery is stressful despite the hard face people put on in DC. We have figured out that we’d rather not gamble with our children’s futures. We are also tired of the cramped space in the city. [/quote]

DP. But I would think hard about long commutes and space versus time with family. I also think that your attitude on DC schools is more negative than it need be. Classes in DC are generally smaller than Montgomery County and most middle schools are smaller too. This PP asked where you are IB now - you could consider different options including staying in DC.[/quote]

OP here, we are on H street NE. Class sizes are 22-24 so generally not as small as people assume. DCPS and some charters only offer and guarantee small pre-k and maybe kinder classes. While DC does offer free pre-k, those slots are limited and not very School has pre-k 3. DD1 and DD2 struck out at good charters and DCPS for pre-k. We were offered a spot but not in a school that DH and I felt comfortable sending DDs. Our eldest DD is in a decent charter school now but it’s not generally challenging enough and I am sick of the lottery business. [/quote]

I'm sorry to beat a dead horse but 22-24 is in upper grades, not ECE (PK3-5), and that is smaller than most Montgomery County ES classes. If your older DD enrolls in your IB (Ludlow-Taylor or JO Wilson?) your younger would be pulled to the top in the IB siblings list. Maybe you are further out but the middle school for both of these ES is Stuart-Hobson that has honors, is small and has a museum magnet component. I'll leave you alone now. :wink: [/quote]

I hate to burst your bubble but ECE is early childhood education, which generally means Pk-kindergarten. Also, OP only needs to read the DC threads about the over crowding happening at West of the Park schools with class sizes of 22, 24 and 26. If it’s happenjng at those schools then surely logic can infer its happening all over DC. If the OP is not happy in DC why try to force someone make it work? Some people enjoy their time in the city and have fond memories but want to move on. OP is ready to move on. [/quote]

DP, but the grass may not be greener at her price range.  There is no guarantee that the new school will be challenging enough, and though OP hasn't indicated where the commutes are, they may likely also have to contend with long commutes that are only getting longer every year, given increasing development.

If I were in her shoes, I'd focus on adjusting my expectations for a large SFH and low-FARMs schools, and look closer in.  Personally, if I had her budget, I'd look in the Forest Glen area, based on what I've heard from parents who have kids at Oakland Terrace/Flora Singer.  She could also consult the DC public schools board for lottery strategies--no guarantee, but there is often a lot of helpful advice about what type of lottery list to put together to increase the chance of lotterying into a decent school.  For example, OP may have listed only schools that are hard to lottery into, or missed some that are up and coming.[/quote]

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