Anonymous wrote:feel free to start volunteering now for HD Cooke's PTA. Get an understanding of the biggest gap that the school has and help fill it.

JKLM are this way b/c they have parent's who volunteer an incredible amount of hours OR $ to fill the gap. I know they have lice check parents- I am not kidding you - when there was an outbreak. How great that this burden was removed from the school administration so that they could focus on teaching.

I am sure the school would love someone to update bulletin boards - create a newsletter - cut things for the PreK teacher etc.

Give it a rest. JKLMs are the way they are because they are very high SES, less than 5% FARMS, and have always been all-white or mostly-white schools. The haven't had to overcome anything. It's pretty easy to be a good school under those circumstances. In fact it's pretty damn difficult not to be.

Anonymous wrote:PP, I have lived in Upper NW my whole life...Murch and Eaton were never "unthinkable". Hearst, maybe, but not Murch and Eaton.

Per http://profiles.dcps.dc.gov/ and the 2011-12 demographics - Murch had only 56% in-boundary kids; Eaton 32%. That's kids from PK up through fifth grade. So in the recent past, these schools couldn't fill up with just the in-boundary kids. But with the most recent lottery results, Murch only had in-boundary kids accepted, and Eaton had in-boundary + a few out-of-boundary w/ sibling kids accepted. So it seems to me that the PP was right - the in-boundary stats show that Murch and Eaton have trended from the "unthinkable" into the "thinkable" camp, at least among the in-boundary parents of means who previously would have sent their kids to private school or moved to the suburbs.

Will the trend continue into the east-of-the-park schools, as a rising tide lifts all boats? I don't think so. The Wilson HS boundary line is our version of the Berlin Wall, and if you're east of the park you think you're in East Germany. Except thankfully we have the charter-land option. Well, if you're lucky to be admitted, plus you have the means to drive your kids across town.

PP, I have lived in Upper NW my whole life...Murch and Eaton were never "unthinkable". Hearst, maybe, but not Murch and Eaton.

I continue to hold out hope that things will change as more parents get invested and there will be more choices at the public school levels. Ross used to be unthinkable, now it is routine. Same with Eaton and Murch and Hearst. Brent was built by committed parents who invested. Even Bancroft is now coveted. Yes, demographics are trickier at Cooke, Marie Reed, Tubman, Walker-Jones and SWW at Francis, but none of these schools were even on anyone's radar five years ago. So I think that the rising tide is indeed raising all boats, even if some are still being drowned in the process (or swamped)

Stokes and Yu Ying prioriize their waitlists by time received. Start camping out 2 days before they start accepting applications.

Taking 2 days off from work is a lot cheaper than moving.

OP, it is depressing! I am in my second year of lotterying, and it is difficult to hear people rave about their charters and know that you have almost no chance of getting in. Not to say that there aren't other routes to go and other good programs, but it is a real bummer how competitive things are.

I think the focus is on pk3 because that's the easiest time to get into a charter or oob at public school. So to say that Cooke and other mediocre at best schools have good pk programs is beside the point -- op and others are probably stuck there for ES if they don't get in somewhere else at pk3, unless they move after ok is done. A lot of people stay in DC through pk and then move (either within the city or elsewhere) for k, when they have a guaranteed spot at a good school.

DC education has become the quintessential example of "relative deprivation". DC - public and charter - have many good to excellent options for PS3 and PK4 (and not only that!), not to mention that this is one of the very few states in the entire US that even offer publicly funded early childhood education. Sure, you can move to the suburbs, but you'll wait another two years (K) until there are even any spots to be had. Sound better? And when you do, you'll have about 1 (one) choice. Seriously, get your act together, stop with the whining, and get involved if this still doesn't cut it!

Anonymous wrote:feel free to start volunteering now for HD Cooke's PTA. Get an understanding of the biggest gap that the school has and help fill it.

JKLM are this way b/c they have parent's who volunteer an incredible amount of hours OR $ to fill the gap. I know they have lice check parents- I am not kidding you - when there was an outbreak. How great that this burden was removed from the school administration so that they could focus on teaching.

I am sure the school would love someone to update bulletin boards - create a newsletter - cut things for the PreK teacher etc.

all well and good, but do recall that the demographics of JKLM are very different from hd Cooke.

The thing is, you probably will be ok for PS3. It's what happens at 2nd, 3rd or 4th grades that people seem to freak out about. But there really do seem to be enough good or great PS & PK slots to go around for those who want them.

feel free to start volunteering now for HD Cooke's PTA. Get an understanding of the biggest gap that the school has and help fill it.

JKLM are this way b/c they have parent's who volunteer an incredible amount of hours OR $ to fill the gap. I know they have lice check parents- I am not kidding you - when there was an outbreak. How great that this burden was removed from the school administration so that they could focus on teaching.

I am sure the school would love someone to update bulletin boards - create a newsletter - cut things for the PreK teacher etc.

Anonymous wrote:
Really though, things will be different in two years. There will be more momentum in a number of DCPS schools, or a slew of new charters will open that year. No need to stress over the inevitable/uncontrollable. If it turns out you have to move, so be it, but note that I don't think VA or MD offer free PS at this point...

Afraid I'm going to have to disagree. The demand for good seats is only going to increase due to demographics. From 2001-2005 there were approx. 5000 kids born in DC every year. From 2006 - 2010 the number was 6000+.

Last week the head of the office of planning told the council that 18,000 kids had been born to residents of DC in 2011 and 2012.

^ sorry, NON sibling spots

Prediction: People are literally camping out for days and have 8 family members hitting "enter" online in order to submit applications at YY in two years for the three sibling spots that will be available.

Really though, things will be different in two years. There will be more momentum in a number of DCPS schools, or a slew of new charters will open that year. No need to stress over the inevitable/uncontrollable. If it turns out you have to move, so be it, but note that I don't think VA or MD offer free PS at this point...

Good luck!

I am not applying this year to PS, but I'm trying to learn more so I can be prepared next year when I start the lottery process. I am in-boundary for a school that does not have a good reputation (HD Cooke--they lost a four-year-old, for goodness sake!). I had kind of just assumed we'd go the charter route--and had thought that since we are applying for PK3 we would be okay. But reading these postings where people say that even if you luck out an have a single-digit waitlist number, you aren't likely to get a spot is really depressing. I anticipate either eventually moving in-boundary for a better school (even if that's in the 'burbs, which I never thought I would say before I had kids) or getting in line for the YY lottery at 3 a.m. in 2 years.