Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just jumping in to say that when I was in high school I took a bus 1.5 hours to get to high school. Sometimes I took the activity bus and it was even longer once you counted the time waiting at the Hardee's where I was dropped off. It wasn't ideal but it wasn't the worst. And sometimes you can carpool later once you find out who from your neighborhood goes there.

Is it a commuting nightmare? Of course. But it's not impossible like some on this thread are implying.

NP and were you commuting that long to go to a fantastic school? Or a competitive test in program? Or an arts and music application program? Because 1.5 hours for those opportunities is one thing. MacArthur is an okay high school. I would never commute that long to go there.

This. No way is my kid doing a 3 hour minimum RT daily commute to a top private even, let alone a poorly performing school like MA.

OP should just send her high schooler to the close by IB school or another one nearby. ROI is totally not worth it.

Anonymous wrote:Hillcrest to MacArthur non-rush hour is 22 minutes. Even if you double that it is not an hour.

It’s across town, 9.5 miles and even if you are taking the highway, 50 to 395 is bad in rush hour and then even worst is 395 across town in rush hour and then around the mall to then upper NW.

So you are dealing with 3 major areas of rush hour commute above. It is going to be more than double the time. Accident and you are screwed.

Is there even student parking at the school? I doubt it. So then you have to find parking and not get ticketed daily.

Yea, it’s definitely going to be an hour plus of high stress commute twice daily.

Everything will be fine and dandy for a 16 year old just learning to drive to do. No problem.

Anonymous wrote:Just jumping in to say that when I was in high school I took a bus 1.5 hours to get to high school. Sometimes I took the activity bus and it was even longer once you counted the time waiting at the Hardee's where I was dropped off. It wasn't ideal but it wasn't the worst. And sometimes you can carpool later once you find out who from your neighborhood goes there.

Is it a commuting nightmare? Of course. But it's not impossible like some on this thread are implying.

One long bus trip is inherently not the same thing as this commute. Making a bus-to-bus transfer between two infrequent routes is no joke. Miss a transfer and you're standing outside for 20 minutes in the blistering heat, freezing cold, thunderstorm, etc. while worrying about how late you're going to get to school.

Hillcrest to MacArthur non-rush hour is 22 minutes. Even if you double that it is not an hour.

Anonymous wrote:Just jumping in to say that when I was in high school I took a bus 1.5 hours to get to high school. Sometimes I took the activity bus and it was even longer once you counted the time waiting at the Hardee's where I was dropped off. It wasn't ideal but it wasn't the worst. And sometimes you can carpool later once you find out who from your neighborhood goes there.

Is it a commuting nightmare? Of course. But it's not impossible like some on this thread are implying.

NP and were you commuting that long to go to a fantastic school? Or a competitive test in program? Or an arts and music application program? Because 1.5 hours for those opportunities is one thing. MacArthur is an okay high school. I would never commute that long to go there.

Just jumping in to say that when I was in high school I took a bus 1.5 hours to get to high school. Sometimes I took the activity bus and it was even longer once you counted the time waiting at the Hardee's where I was dropped off. It wasn't ideal but it wasn't the worst. And sometimes you can carpool later once you find out who from your neighborhood goes there.

Is it a commuting nightmare? Of course. But it's not impossible like some on this thread are implying.

I live nearby and my kids go to Lee EE. I couldn’t imagine them being in a non-Montessori setting and it’s right down the street. I’ve been happy with the majority of what they’ve experienced there, and because I’m familiar with other schools, I wouldn’t choose to go anywhere else. The way you described your kids, I think Montessori would be a great fit.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People think Mccarthur is a good school bc its adjacent to several wealthy neighborhoods. It's a title 1 school - few or none of the parents who live in those neighborhoods would ever send their kids to the school as it is currently constituted. Im talking about the parents who own $2+ million sfh in those adjacent neighborhoods - not parents renting apartments around the corner or across the street from the school.

I own a $2 million plus house zoned for MacArthur and my child attends, as do others in our neighborhood. You have no idea what you are talking about.

+1

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:10th grader drives herself as soon as that becomes possible is a solid solution. The drive isnt too bad if its not round trip. Still move thr 4th grader closer if possible.

I would never let a 16 year old drive all the way across town dealing with getting thru rush hour traffic and back twice a day. This is not as easy as it sounds. There is the parking issue, investing una car and maintenance and sky high insurance. Then the higher risk of accidents on top of that

Also even with driving, I don’t see how it is going to take less than an hour. You are going from Hillcrest all the way to upper NW during rush hour.

Anonymous wrote:People think Mccarthur is a good school bc its adjacent to several wealthy neighborhoods. It's a title 1 school - few or none of the parents who live in those neighborhoods would ever send their kids to the school as it is currently constituted. Im talking about the parents who own $2+ million sfh in those adjacent neighborhoods - not parents renting apartments around the corner or across the street from the school.

I own a $2 million plus house zoned for MacArthur and my child attends, as do others in our neighborhood. You have no idea what you are talking about.

Anonymous wrote:So many Debbie Downers in this thread!!

OP— pick the schools in which you think your kids will thrive. Hillcrest is a great neighborhood where folks are used to commuting. You will most likely find people with whom you can carpool, because people in that neighborhood are generous and used to helping each other out. My best recommendation is to get off if DCUM (if you haven’t already) and get to know your neighborhood. You’ll see how it will all work out.

I'm in Hillcrest. Older child attended Thurgood Marshall in Anacostia. It was a great school for their needs. One bus. Graduated during the pandemic. Younger child just finished a full run in the Capitol Hill Cluster Schools (Peabody, Watkins, SH) and is now headed to Banneker. The commute was fine, especially because I basically passed all three CHCS schools on my way to work. There are a lot of families with younger children in the neighborhood. There are listservs outside of DCUM where you might be able to connect with them and see what your options might be. Good luck.

Anonymous wrote:If you are interested in Truth, I'd sent your 4th grader to Lee East End (hidden gem) and call Truth. Very likely your 9th grader will get in off waitlist by count down, and there's a highly used and free school run shuttle from the Ft Totten metro so they can commute themselves.

That still sounds like a v long commute for the HSer - bus to metro to shuttle.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The negative responses here are way too much. Pipe down if you don’t have anything productive to say, people.

My one (productive) quibble with the above advice about Thomson is that the drive to MacArthur is easier on the highway than cutting across downtown. I would prioritize schools for your younger near the highway.

This is tough love so other people know to come to us sooner. It is painful that OP created this dilemma for herself by simply very poorly understanding the lottery, IB and housing options. We could have set her up!

+1. She prioritized space over her kids school. She listed schools in the lottery that she knew was not anywhere close to where she decided to live. Now at the last hour, she realizes it js not an easy commute when she could have easily known that before buying and committing to Hillcrest and now she is scrambling last minute for any options.

Her current predicament was avoidable numerous times in this whole process.

OP here… this isn’t true at all… my location of where I planned to live shifted at the last minute due to my oldest needing to come home based on health issues, as well as none of my initial preferred neighborhoods working out. Had I been in brookland my youngest would be close at stokes and my oldest could metro to McA or I could take her. Either way one would have been in neighborhood.

Did I come on here asking for thoughts becuase I realized none of my waitlists were moving yes… am I also less familiar with the dcps options in my new digs also yes.

I do appreciate what has been said with a helpful tone.

You realize there is no metro stop near MacArthur?

I currently see many 3-4 bedroom houses for rent on the Hill and even a few in Glover Park.

It seems like you were fixated on buying a house and this is what you ended up with.