We sent all our kids to private in 6th grade from MOCO. Once our oldest got in, younger sibling went to the same school (single gender). Other DC (opposite gender) went to a different school. We only applied to one school for each child and were prepared to go public if they didn't get into the private school.
9th grade is very competitive. I do not think we could have waited until 9th and had the same result.

If you love your public elementary, it might be worth trying it until about second grade. But if you think your family would want a highly competitive school, it would be worth it to start trying in 3rd (because you then also often have 4th, 6th, and 7th as re-apply options). I know several families at our Big3 school who had to try several times to get all their kids in.

Dose of realism here — DC attended a top K-8 that several of you think you’ll be able to pretty easily “use” beginning in 6th, reasoning that you heard there’s some annual exodus of middle schoolers. Do not count on a bounty of open spots that you can “use.”

In the entire time the kids were at our k-8, there were never more than 3 attrition spots in a given year, and frequently only 2. There was real competition for those openings from parents of every rising 6th grader in an abysmal Hill MS, plus lots of families who weren’t enthusiastic about Hardy, Wells amd even Deal (too big).

The same is going to be true at the other actually good independent K-8s. There isn’t _actually_ a regional opening up of MS spots at independents because the schools they want to switch TO are ultra competitive.

It’s not a “lid for every pot” scenario in my recent experience, where everyone shuffles around to new schools and there are spots for everyone coming and going. In fact, a lot of K-8 rising 6th graders remain stuck in their existing schools and do not create openings in the way DCUM imagines.

OP you should apply broadly for 6th and as backup use some of the top k-8s. Parents at those have the same fears you do and begin applying out earlier, so you will definitely find openings for 6th-8th there and will then have the advantage of applying from a private w/ their exmissions team helping you for 9th. That said, 9th is incredibly hard to get into a good school. My kids are at a k-12 that adds about 10 spots in 6th

Also some of the traditional k-8 have attrition before 6, so they are looking to add kids. Not ideal as you have to apply for HS, but they then help you for those HS spots. We have several friends who have done this with Norwood, WES and St Pats.

We had no issues applying for 7th. We only applied to 3 schools; got into 2 and waitlisted at 1. Two of the schools expanded in 7th. In hindsight, we should have applied to more. It’s doable to apply to 5-6 schools, just be realistic in where you apply. Have a range of competitiveness you apply to. Don’t just apply to the so called Big 3/5. Our daughter got a solid education at our public k-5. We gave the middle a try; and it didn’t work for our kid. And we saved 300k.

No, it's not simple unless you have a kid with excellent grades AND income such that you wouldn't miss the money.

The middle class leaves DC for MoCo or NoVa and their good public schools, and the poors can only afford DCPS.

That's all.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some people are active in their church and move their kid to their parish school after elementary school.

Some apply out after 3rd to schools that start / have expansion in 4th.

I do not know anyone who had realistic expectations who got "shut-out"

That's good to hear. I think our expectations are realistic although I don't want to send my kids to a religious school - will that eliminate a lot of the options?

I don't really care about getting into the "best" school, I just want a middle and high school option for my kids that is safe and academically challenging.

One of the PPs here. Oh, you'll be fine then. There are a large number of private schools in our area and 9th grade is a big entry year. As long as you have realistic expectations, you'll find a spot for sure.

Thank you! What about 6th grade? We don't really have a good middle school option either. In fact, I'd say I'm much more worried about middle school than I am high school, given that there are public magnet options for HS at least.

Sixth grade is often an expansion year so it's a good time to apply. It's going to be competitive but if you apply broadly and not just to the "Big 3", and your DC has good grades and doesn't have red flags in their file, you should get in somewhere.

What people call a decent or even good public elementary school would be unacceptable to others.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some people are active in their church and move their kid to their parish school after elementary school.

Some apply out after 3rd to schools that start / have expansion in 4th.

I do not know anyone who had realistic expectations who got "shut-out"

That's good to hear. I think our expectations are realistic although I don't want to send my kids to a religious school - will that eliminate a lot of the options?

I don't really care about getting into the "best" school, I just want a middle and high school option for my kids that is safe and academically challenging.

One of the PPs here. Oh, you'll be fine then. There are a large number of private schools in our area and 9th grade is a big entry year. As long as you have realistic expectations, you'll find a spot for sure.

Thank you! What about 6th grade? We don't really have a good middle school option either. In fact, I'd say I'm much more worried about middle school than I am high school, given that there are public magnet options for HS at least.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some people are active in their church and move their kid to their parish school after elementary school.

Some apply out after 3rd to schools that start / have expansion in 4th.

I do not know anyone who had realistic expectations who got "shut-out"

That's good to hear. I think our expectations are realistic although I don't want to send my kids to a religious school - will that eliminate a lot of the options?

I don't really care about getting into the "best" school, I just want a middle and high school option for my kids that is safe and academically challenging.

One of the PPs here. Oh, you'll be fine then. There are a large number of private schools in our area and 9th grade is a big entry year. As long as you have realistic expectations, you'll find a spot for sure.

Anonymous wrote:Hi,
I live in a part of DC with decent elementary schools but bad middle and high schools. Something I hear casually said among the other parents at our elementary school is that they might "just go private" for middle or high school.

Is it really that straightforward? Are there just tons of private schools with openings in 6th grade? I think my fear is that we count on that and then end up not getting in anywhere. And what kind of criteria do they use to admit kids? Is it based on the kid's academic / extracurricular performance? Do siblings get in automatically?

I guess I just need a complete primer on privates. Thank you for any info and for taking pity on a total novice.

It depends on your definition of private school. If you hope for Sidwell, GDS, Maret, and the Cathedral Schools, you may be out of luck by middle school and certainly high school. However, other private schools and parochial are not as competitive. But yes, anyone saying that you should just go to Sidwell for 9th is full of it. You have to be highly connected, an amazing athlete, or a spectacular academic candidate. Siblings get an edge but it's not automatic anymore.

Anonymous wrote:Some people are active in their church and move their kid to their parish school after elementary school.

Some apply out after 3rd to schools that start / have expansion in 4th.

I do not know anyone who had realistic expectations who got "shut-out"

That's good to hear. I think our expectations are realistic although I don't want to send my kids to a religious school - will that eliminate a lot of the options?

I don't really care about getting into the "best" school, I just want a middle and high school option for my kids that is safe and academically challenging.

Some people are active in their church and move their kid to their parish school after elementary school.

Some apply out after 3rd to schools that start / have expansion in 4th.

I do not know anyone who had realistic expectations who got "shut-out"

Hi,
I live in a part of DC with decent elementary schools but bad middle and high schools. Something I hear casually said among the other parents at our elementary school is that they might "just go private" for middle or high school.

Is it really that straightforward? Are there just tons of private schools with openings in 6th grade? I think my fear is that we count on that and then end up not getting in anywhere. And what kind of criteria do they use to admit kids? Is it based on the kid's academic / extracurricular performance? Do siblings get in automatically?

I guess I just need a complete primer on privates. Thank you for any info and for taking pity on a total novice.