Anonymous wrote:People I know don't blink think twice saying - if lottery does not work out we will use y parent's address which is IB for Deal.

Anonymous wrote:Cost of living is a lot more even these days. Costs about same to live in Petworth and Brookland than WOTP especially if you consider the additional cost of an empty apartment. I don't get it.

Anonymous wrote:Be careful trying to game the system. Our charter asked for fresh residency documents *right before* count day. No way to fake a lease or change a utility bill in time and a handful of non-DC residents were rooted out that way. I wish all schools did random checks like that.

Anonymous wrote:Just from chatter at the local park, it seems lots of people are doing "creative" strategies for establishing in-boundary status to the highly sought after elementary school near us. Just a couple examples: a kid from my son's preschool had moved into a house OOB a couple years ago but *somehow* got into PK at this school even though 10 in-bound kids are still on the lottery. Another family we know through friends kept their old 1 bedroom in bounds, and bought a larger place out of bounds where they actually sleep. Another woman at the park proudly proclaimed they got into PK from out of bounds - an impossibility.

All the moralizers can keep off this thread - those who think these arrangement are by their nature immoral. Because i've read all the DC statutes and regs on this subject, "residence" isn't defined, and some of these types of creative strategies may technically satisfy the requirements for "residency". I think at worst, if brought to the school's attention, it could result in a protracted regulatory battle which the parents would ultimately win. So let's assume that these creative strategies will not result in the people being kicked out of the school. That said, i'm not sure they are the kinds of arrangements you want to bring to people's attention.

From talking to people, i'm guessing there are a TON of people in good schools in DC using equally creative strategies. Lots of people who use this site.

So honest question to those people (or who are friends with those people): How much do your friends, classmates and their parents know about these strategies? How do you respond to people's questions about where you live? What about playdates? How much "looking down" is there at keeping, say, an unoccupied 1-bedroom apartment in bounds? Are people doing it so frequently that it's not that big a deal? Or does everyone still play very hush-hush about it? Remember - we aren't talking here about outright residency fraud: fake addresses, borrowing a friend's address, renting a place for a month to get a lease. We are talking about situations that are passable but not sure how much you want to bring to others' attention. I'm asking because we don't want to move out of our house but are open to doing something like this in a year when son is PK-3 eligible.

Again - moralizers keep off this thread. I'm just looking for real anecdotal info.

Anonymous wrote:Just from chatter at the local park, it seems lots of people are doing "creative" strategies for establishing in-boundary status to the highly sought after elementary school near us. Just a couple examples: a kid from my son's preschool had moved into a house OOB a couple years ago but *somehow* got into PK at this school even though 10 in-bound kids are still on the lottery. Another family we know through friends kept their old 1 bedroom in bounds, and bought a larger place out of bounds where they actually sleep. Another woman at the park proudly proclaimed they got into PK from out of bounds - an impossibility.

All the moralizers can keep off this thread - those who think these arrangement are by their nature immoral. Because i've read all the DC statutes and regs on this subject, "residence" isn't defined, and some of these types of creative strategies may technically satisfy the requirements for "residency". I think at worst, if brought to the school's attention, it could result in a protracted regulatory battle which the parents would ultimately win. So let's assume that these creative strategies will not result in the people being kicked out of the school. That said, i'm not sure they are the kinds of arrangements you want to bring to people's attention.

From talking to people, i'm guessing there are a TON of people in good schools in DC using equally creative strategies. Lots of people who use this site.

So honest question to those people (or who are friends with those people): How much do your friends, classmates and their parents know about these strategies? How do you respond to people's questions about where you live? What about playdates? How much "looking down" is there at keeping, say, an unoccupied 1-bedroom apartment in bounds? Are people doing it so frequently that it's not that big a deal? Or does everyone still play very hush-hush about it? Remember - we aren't talking here about outright residency fraud: fake addresses, borrowing a friend's address, renting a place for a month to get a lease. We are talking about situations that are passable but not sure how much you want to bring to others' attention. I'm asking because we don't want to move out of our house but are open to doing something like this in a year when son is PK-3 eligible.

Again - moralizers keep off this thread. I'm just looking for real anecdotal info.