Anonymous wrote:We are IB for Shepherd, and plan to send our oldest there for kindergarten in the fall. We also happened to get matched with John Lewis -- the draw being the new building.

Any reason to consider JLES, or just stick with our (by all accounts very good) neighborhood school?

I would try Shepherd before you think about lotterying. Neighborhood school + good feeder = no brainer.

We are IB for Shepherd, and plan to send our oldest there for kindergarten in the fall. We also happened to get matched with John Lewis -- the draw being the new building.

Any reason to consider JLES, or just stick with our (by all accounts very good) neighborhood school?

Re: your question about extracurriculars. As a parent of Shepherd children, I've been very pleased with the extracurricular offerings. The music teacher puts on an annual spring musical (this year - Annie) where the cast is made up of 3rd - 5th graders. The school has a cheerleading team for 4th/5th graders. The team competes against other DCPS elementary schools. There used to be a basketball team as well, but I believe they are struggling to find a new coach. There is an International Bacculearate (IB) Ambassador program (I believe for 4th/5th graders). 4th/5th graders could take advantage of a day in ski school at Ski Liberty. Trips to Philly/NY planned.
The website has a more comprehensive list of after school clubs/activities under "School Life."

I've had at least one kid at Shepherd for 9 years now. Is the school perfect? No. Have my kids learned, made friends, felt safe, and generally enjoyed school? Yes. We live in-bounds, so have lots of neighborhood / school parent friends and have really found it to be an overall great community. Reach out to the PTO and hopefully they can put you in touch with some current parents who can talk to you about specifics!

I think your best bet is to check out the playground after school some nice afternoon and judge for yourself.

It’s not like some WOTP schools, because there are far fewer parents who don’t work full time. Parents are busy and kids are over-scheduled, like at other schools heavy on upper income families. But we found it welcoming.

How friendly is the current parent community?

We are in boundary and had kids there for 8 years. Wonderful school. Kids well prepared for Deal. And the French teacher is amazing. (The Spanish might be too we just never had kids take Spanish.)

Nice activities. Super diverse. We had several amazing teachers. A few were meh.

We have a 4th grader and have been generally satisfied with the academic experience, though there have definitely been some stellar teachers and some less so over the years. But all have been kind and responsive. Plenty of extracurriculars, including afterschool clubs, the annual school musical, cheer, etc. School community is warm; a growing number of families (though of course not all) live in the neighborhood, and it's nice to have friends nearby and to see familiar faces when we're walking to school or just out and about. Activities like the school's Fall Fest and the neighborhood Halloween celebration are good illustrations of that sense of community. There really doesn't seem to be (in our experience) a "typical" family at Shepherd -- there's a lot of diversity in every way, which is part of why we chose to send our child here.

Nope but considering buying there!

Is it your IB?

How is it? I hear good things, but not a lot of specifics. How are academics in upper elementary? Extracurricular options? Community of the school? What’s the typical family like? I’m hoping to hear both about the school itself and the general community and feel around it.