OP here - thank you all for these genuine, kind and helpful replies!

MacFarland 15 years until what? Demographic change? It’s a new school.

We are IB parents at BM. If you are English dominant there is a good chance you WONT get in for preschool. BM does a 60/40 split in favor of OOB Spanish over IB English. Our kid loves the school and has been there for years but we are looking for an exit strategy. All of the UMC
tend to move on by 1st or 2nd. How important is Spanish to you or a good middle school? McFarland May take 15 years to turn around as a middle school. The atmosphere at bM is very nurturing but definitely an attitude of being against any change especially if it’s percieved as “changing”the school.

We moved specifically for TPES. There is no comparison.

Bruce Monroe 100%. There are too many problems in MCPS right now. Takoma Park also has additional taxes on top of MoCo which will be going up. DC is a better appreciation bet than TP too. TPES is not really any better than Bruce Monroe. Lots of hype but super large classes and everyone planning on CES or private. There is so much angst about whether their kids are getting enough attention with all the low performers in the school that I wonder sometimes if any kids get attention.

TPES parent here with two kids: I don't know the other school you are referring to but we love TPES. Yes, there are many classes per grade but it's only K-2 and class sizes are small. My 2nd grader has 18 kids in his class this year. You can get enriched math in 1st and 2nd grade. The teaching and admin staff are amazing. And since it's K-2 - it's just a really nuturing place filled with teachers dedicated to early elem education. We love it.

BMPV probably won't be able to cater to you, Takoma maybe.

The schools are very different sizes. Do you want to be able to know most of the kids in your kid's grade? Bruce-Monroe will give you that. TPES is huge (many classses per grade).

Do you want the resources of a much much larger school system (problems too)? Takoma Park will give you that.

Do you want the *chance* to get your kid in a more progressive setting? Move to Bruce-Monroe area but enter public school lottery for DCPS and/or DC or public charter schools with different types of programs.

Where do you want to live? Does one house or the other change whether you have the option to walk to work or walk kid to school? Do you love your neighbors or have all the neighbors you liked moved away already? Do you already spend lots of time in Takoma Park?

Do you want Spanish or not?
How do you feel about not getting into Pk3 at Bruce-Monroe?

Long story short, we have the opportunity to move to be in district at Takoma Park Elementary versus staying in Petworth/Park View at Bruce-Monroe. Our DC is not even in school yet, so we're trying to understand how these two schools may fare over the next 5-10 years. Is it possible to even compare them? Both seem to have amazing parent reviews. In general, it's safe to assume we're the stereotype of parents deciding between these two areas: young, progressive, value creativity in the classroom and caring teachers (I'd send to some crunchy Waldorf / Montessorri or a fancy school if we could but we can't). We don't want to choose neighborhoods based on taking a bet that we'll beat the odds at a lottery, but also aren't worried about high school yet as so much could change in our lives before then. What would you do?