Anonymous wrote:You do get sibling preference across Watkins and Peabody but basically everyone in bounds for Peabody/Watkins gets in for PK3 so you don’t need sibling preference if you’re in-boundary. Whereas at Maury, you usually need sibling preference to get in to PK3 in-boundary.

Interesting. I know someone with an older child at Watkins OOB and a younger child in PK at a Hill elementary much less desirable than Peabody. I had assumed it was because the sibling preference didn't apply but I guess it was actually just a personal preference.

Anonymous wrote:Appletree is only PK. Peabody is part of a cluster with Watkins, so Peabody has PK3-K and Watkins has grades 1-5. Maury is the most coveted school on the Hill at this point, probably, but L-T has been surging in popularity and is pretty coveted too. Brent is the other most coveted school but they are in a swing space still next year in Columbia Heights. L-T currently has the best middle school feed of the three and Brent has the worst of the three.

If you would prefer Maury to L-T and you move to Maury boundary then you will have to go somewhere else for PK4. But then you would automatically get in for K. And your older child would pull your younger child in for PK due to sibling preference.

Payne is also on the rise; they were even named a Blue Ribbon school last year. And Chisolm just moved to 100% Spanish dual language, which might appeal to some.

Also a school's middle school feed can make an impact on upper grade retention/academics/social dynamics as people start leaving early to secure a "good" middle school option. In general I'd say people see Stuart-Hobson as most desirable, Eliot-Hine second and rapidly closing the gap with Stuart-Hobson, and Jefferson a distant third. But many won't seriously consider any of these schools and will decamp for suburbs, privates, or charters regardless.

You do get sibling preference across Watkins and Peabody but basically everyone in bounds for Peabody/Watkins gets in for PK3 so you don’t need sibling preference if you’re in-boundary. Whereas at Maury, you usually need sibling preference to get in to PK3 in-boundary.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ugh accidentally clicked submit. That last sentence was supposed to read:

It might not be worth getting your older child into the "desirable" neighborhood school for PK4.

Definitely makes sense and yes we’re considering the younger one too in this. Am I correct in understanding that Peabody and Appletree aren’t neighborhood schools the same way that L-T and Maury are? Because they are not full elementary schools?

Peabody (PK3-K) *is* a neighborhood school that feeds into Watkins (1-5). But I'm not sure how sibling preference works, if at all, if you have a rising 1st grader at Watkins and lottery for PK3 at Peabody.

You can see all the school boundaries here: https://opendata.dc.gov/datasets/DCGIS::school-attendance-zones-elementary/

And the school feeder patterns here: https://dcps.dc.gov/page/sy25-26-school-feeder-patterns

Appletree is only PK. Peabody is part of a cluster with Watkins, so Peabody has PK3-K and Watkins has grades 1-5. Maury is the most coveted school on the Hill at this point, probably, but L-T has been surging in popularity and is pretty coveted too. Brent is the other most coveted school but they are in a swing space still next year in Columbia Heights. L-T currently has the best middle school feed of the three and Brent has the worst of the three.

If you would prefer Maury to L-T and you move to Maury boundary then you will have to go somewhere else for PK4. But then you would automatically get in for K. And your older child would pull your younger child in for PK due to sibling preference.

Make sure to rank JO Wilson in the lottery. They will be moving into a brand new building next fall and it's an easy commute from either the L-T or Maury boundaries. My kid did PK there and we had a great experience. The new building looks will have a nice new playground for ECE too. Then to L-T or Maury for K.

Anonymous wrote:Ugh accidentally clicked submit. That last sentence was supposed to read:

It might not be worth getting your older child into the "desirable" neighborhood school for PK4.

Definitely makes sense and yes we’re considering the younger one too in this. Am I correct in understanding that Peabody and Appletree aren’t neighborhood schools the same way that L-T and Maury are? Because they are not full elementary schools?

Anonymous wrote:Your chance of getting into Ludlow over the summer in-boundary off the waitlist is pretty good. That’s because based on this year’s data, all in-boundary kids got an immediate match in the lottery, so once you become in-boundary, if they make any waitlist offer at that point, it will go to you. You have no chance of getting into Maury using this strategy because lots of in-boundary kids get shut out in PK4.

So I would move to L-T boundary and then also rank Peabody, Appletree, Miner. Peabody lets lots of out of boundary kids in for PK4, so you have a decent chance of getting into Peabody even without in-boundary preference. Miner has a nice new PK-only building and lets everyone in for PK4.

Thank you, super helpful! From what I’ve read, L-T is also great for elementary, right? Maybe not as coveted as Maury though? We will probably sign a one or two year lease but would love to start building our school community asap. My younger child would enter PK3 when older one is entering first so thinking about that too.

Ugh accidentally clicked submit. That last sentence was supposed to read:

It might not be worth getting your older child into the "desirable" neighborhood school for PK4.

PK on the Hill is very competitive. PK4 isn't quite as competitive as PK3 because most people who want a seat already got one in PK3 and class sizes generally increase in PK4 (max 16 students to max 20 students). Relatively speaking, there are more out of boundary offers for PK4 than PK3, but for most schools it's still a long shot.

Some things to consider:

-Some Hill elementaries schools are or will be in swing spaces next year as they renovate the schools. That can often mean students are getting bussed to buildings far away. I'd advise checking this before adding a school to your list.

-The Hill isn't that big, but it's big enough that if you end up at a school farther away from your home, you might lose a lot of the walkability and community that you're seeking.

-You might consider your second child in your strategy. Sibling preference gives you a much better chance at a PK3 seat for your second child at your in-boundary school, charters, or citywide schools, but it likely won't get you very far if your older child is at a neighborhood school out of boundary. Multiple school commutes are no fun; it might not be work

Your chance of getting into Ludlow over the summer in-boundary off the waitlist is pretty good. That’s because based on this year’s data, all in-boundary kids got an immediate match in the lottery, so once you become in-boundary, if they make any waitlist offer at that point, it will go to you. You have no chance of getting into Maury using this strategy because lots of in-boundary kids get shut out in PK4.

So I would move to L-T boundary and then also rank Peabody, Appletree, Miner. Peabody lets lots of out of boundary kids in for PK4, so you have a decent chance of getting into Peabody even without in-boundary preference. Miner has a nice new PK-only building and lets everyone in for PK4.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PreK4 is going to be tough but K will be fine. Your research is solid.

Is there any world where you will have a lease/location picked by March 1st when the lottery is due? Then you can use it as your 'in bounds' address and get in bounds preference or proximity preference. Still not a guarantee, but it would help your chances.

We definitely won’t have a signed lease by then. We’ll be in Hoboken until the end of May at earliest, but ideally end of June so my older child can finish PK3.

Anonymous wrote:PreK4 is going to be tough but K will be fine. Your research is solid.

Is there any world where you will have a lease/location picked by March 1st when the lottery is due? Then you can use it as your 'in bounds' address and get in bounds preference or proximity preference. Still not a guarantee, but it would help your chances.

PreK4 is going to be tough but K will be fine. Your research is solid.

Hi! We're moving to DC this summer with a then 4 year old and 1.5 year old. Coming from Hoboken NJ where we are blessed with free excellent public PK3 and PK4. My older child will have just finished PK3 when we move, and while we are still not entirely sure where we will live, we are currently leaning towards the Hill as I understand it to be most similar to what we love about Hoboken (walkability, community, lots of young families, urban).

I spoke with My School DC last week to inquire about how the PK4 lottery would work for us given we are moving in the summer. The representative was super helpful and recommended that we actually enter the lottery this winter and hope for waitlists at our top choices/most choices. It sounds like the perfect scenario is - waitlist everywhere and get in to a top choice (or any choice) over the summer when we can provide proof of residency. She said even if we get matched with a school towards the end of our list, we could decline (assuming we won't have proof of residency by May 1) and stay on the list for schools ranked above and hopefully clear them by the time school starts. We would be no worse off employing this strategy vs. waiting until we move to enter the waitlists.

That said - any ideas/suggestions on how to best play this especially since we don't have an "in boundary" school yet or a school that we want solely because of proximity to home? As stated, the plan as of now is to move to the Hill (ideally around alot of young families, playgrounds, etc.). However, I'm concerned that PK4 odds may be awful for us as most of the Hill pre-k schools start at PK3. Am I thinking about that right? Our odds for PK4 placement in the Hill may be awful? I've looked a bit at the waitlist results on My School DC and seems like the popular elementary schools (Maury, L-T) are shots in the dark but we may have a chance at Appletree Lincoln Park and/or Peabody. Thoughts?

Really trying to avoid paying for daycare times 2, and we aren't overly picky about PK4. Just want a loving environment where my child (and our family) can integrate into a new city and continue a great pre-k experience.