Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would suggest Garrison and that you make your peace with a metro commute. It's really not that far. And I think Hearst elementary is near the red line.

You might also consider Silver Spring, MD. It's really not bad taking the red line to Union Station.

OMG what an insane post! Why would someone take on a commute that if they don't have to? Capitol Hill is a lovely place to live; being able to walk to work is worth its weight in gold; and all the DCPS elementary schools under discussion in this thread would be great options for 1st grade. And PP suggests living in Silver Spring (yuck) and commuting 40 minutes (assuming redline is running properly)??? What are you smoking??

Because they might not find anything they like in Ludlow-Taylor and Maury zones. Silver Spring to Senate office buildings is fine, I did it for years.

Anonymous wrote:I would suggest Garrison and that you make your peace with a metro commute. It's really not that far. And I think Hearst elementary is near the red line.

You might also consider Silver Spring, MD. It's really not bad taking the red line to Union Station.

OMG what an insane post! Why would someone take on a commute that if they don't have to? Capitol Hill is a lovely place to live; being able to walk to work is worth its weight in gold; and all the DCPS elementary schools under discussion in this thread would be great options for 1st grade. And PP suggests living in Silver Spring (yuck) and commuting 40 minutes (assuming redline is running properly)??? What are you smoking??

I would suggest Garrison and that you make your peace with a metro commute. It's really not that far. And I think Hearst elementary is near the red line.

You might also consider Silver Spring, MD. It's really not bad taking the red line to Union Station.

Anonymous wrote:Aw, Brent is such a lovely school. Too bad you’re moving while they are in the swing space.
I’d go with Maury to avoid commute.

I would not go with Van Ness if your child is in 1st and not Pre-K.

I’m sure Van Ness is just fine for 1st grade.

Would not bother with private.

Maury, yes. Would also look at Ludlow-Taylor which is closer to Hill offices and generally has more rental options than Maury. If not those two, my next preference would probably be Payne, followed by JO Wilson which is fine for 1st grade, well located, and will be in a brand new building next year.

Only other private is St Peter, which is NOT better than any of the DCPS schools listed.

Of the ones you list, I'd definitely do Maury. But you say you want to rent, and Maury is a pretty small catchment. So, I'd check out some of the others in case you don't find a suitable rental inbound for Maury--especially for just one year.

This is all super helpful - sounds like Maury is a good choice. Is there any other private worth considering? Seems like all the top rated ones are so far away - Georgetown Day, Washington International, etc. (even if we could get a spot, which of course, seems difficult).

Aw, Brent is such a lovely school. Too bad you’re moving while they are in the swing space.
I’d go with Maury to avoid commute.

I would not go with Van Ness if your child is in 1st and not Pre-K.

Anonymous wrote:Maury is great. Brent is fine too but not worth the busing. CHD is not worth the money. It’s pretty universally understood that all Hill DCPS (and even most DCPS) do a good job for early childhood education. So you’ll be fine with Maury, Peabody, Payne, Ludlow-Taylor, or Van Ness (Van Ness is walkable to the House side of the Hill).

None of the schools on the hill are worth bussing!

Anonymous wrote:Is he working on the House or Senate side? I would not do Brent either way. Van Ness, Maury, or Ludlow Taylor would be my suggestions; maybe JO Wilson if Senate side since the location is convenient and they will have a new building. If you will have a lease by May 1, you can also do the lottery for school within school.

Wouldn’t Peabody be the closest to the Senate offices?

Is he working on the House or Senate side? I would not do Brent either way. Van Ness, Maury, or Ludlow Taylor would be my suggestions; maybe JO Wilson if Senate side since the location is convenient and they will have a new building. If you will have a lease by May 1, you can also do the lottery for school within school.

Maury will be fine. CHDS isn't anything special so unless you're super wealthy and want to spend money on a middling private for some reason, go for Maury. And yes, Ludlow-Taylor is also good.

Maury is great. Brent is fine too but not worth the busing. CHD is not worth the money. It’s pretty universally understood that all Hill DCPS (and even most DCPS) do a good job for early childhood education. So you’ll be fine with Maury, Peabody, Payne, Ludlow-Taylor, or Van Ness (Van Ness is walkable to the House side of the Hill).

We’re relocating to DC for the 2026–27 school year from a strong public elementary school on the Upper East Side of NYC. Our son will be a rising first grader who is bright and outgoing and has so far loved school and thrived in his current public. We’ll only be in DC for one year because of my husband’s job on the Hill, so we want to live very close to limit commute time. (I'm working remotely.) We’ll be renting and have some flexibility about where to live and aren't very budget constrained.

We’re considering Brent vs. Maury for elementary school. I’ve heard that Brent is stronger academically, but right now Brent students are being bused to a temporary site in Shaw because the school is under renovation, which doesn’t seem ideal since we will only be in DC for one year.

Given that Brent won’t be in its permanent building during 2026–27, how would you weigh Brent vs. Maury for our situation? I've also heard that Capitol Hill Day is an option, but I'm having a hard time understanding if it is better than Brent or Maury.

Any specific recommendations on where we should target within the Capitol Hill neighborhood when we search for rental homes?

Thanks very much!