Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are at a JKLM and will go private for middle school. We're perfectly happy so far at our DCPS but I have heard that the real difference between public and private in the later elementary school years is the focus on writing, which you don't get to the same degree in public. If the difference was in math, I would know how to supplement, but are there ways to supplement the writing?

What is a JKLM?

Janney
Key
Lafayette
Mann/Murch

Anonymous wrote:We are at a JKLM and will go private for middle school. We're perfectly happy so far at our DCPS but I have heard that the real difference between public and private in the later elementary school years is the focus on writing, which you don't get to the same degree in public. If the difference was in math, I would know how to supplement, but are there ways to supplement the writing?

What is a JKLM?

The few parents have mentioned going private, but it's because their child wasn't doing as well as they could. The ones whose children are doing well, are talking about going to Hardy.
It seem it's more about the particular child or family, rather than Mann school.
It's a lovely school, but may not be a good fit.
It's a great fit for us, but so was Stoddert.

We are at a JKLM and will go private for middle school. We're perfectly happy so far at our DCPS but I have heard that the real difference between public and private in the later elementary school years is the focus on writing, which you don't get to the same degree in public. If the difference was in math, I would know how to supplement, but are there ways to supplement the writing?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would say that compared with Janney/Murch/Lafayette, a far smaller percentage of neighborhood kids go to Mann. This matters only because the neighborhood factor is one of the massive plusses of DCPS public schools. When kids can spill out of their houses into their friends' backyards, you walk down the block and know everyone, and the school is the community meeting point for the neighborhood.

It's not to say that kids at Mann don't have neighborhood friends, but just that there's a real magic that happens when you have a community experience like a neighborhood elementary school everyone attends.

Sure. THats true. But the plus side is that the school isn't overcrowded and theres the two neighborhoods it draws from are so small that there are plenty of community.

That's not the issue- it's because so many kids in the catchment zone attend private school. And class sizes will fluctuate greatly based on the cohort.

Anonymous wrote:I would say that compared with Janney/Murch/Lafayette, a far smaller percentage of neighborhood kids go to Mann. This matters only because the neighborhood factor is one of the massive plusses of DCPS public schools. When kids can spill out of their houses into their friends' backyards, you walk down the block and know everyone, and the school is the community meeting point for the neighborhood.

It's not to say that kids at Mann don't have neighborhood friends, but just that there's a real magic that happens when you have a community experience like a neighborhood elementary school everyone attends.

Sure. THats true. But the plus side is that the school isn't overcrowded and theres the two neighborhoods it draws from are so small that there are plenty of community.

Anonymous wrote:Mann is public school. Don't forget that....I know plenty of families at Mann and they are supplementing with enrichment, kimono and tutoring. There are a few kids who do go on to private and do just fine.

Supplementing is also true at many privates.

I would say that compared with Janney/Murch/Lafayette, a far smaller percentage of neighborhood kids go to Mann. This matters only because the neighborhood factor is one of the massive plusses of DCPS public schools. When kids can spill out of their houses into their friends' backyards, you walk down the block and know everyone, and the school is the community meeting point for the neighborhood.

It's not to say that kids at Mann don't have neighborhood friends, but just that there's a real magic that happens when you have a community experience like a neighborhood elementary school everyone attends.

Mann is public school. Don't forget that....I know plenty of families at Mann and they are supplementing with enrichment, kimono and tutoring. There are a few kids who do go on to private and do just fine.

Anonymous wrote:
Also, a previous poster made a comment about disruptive students in the learning environment. I find this to be interesting. At the private school, we had major disruptions- but the check(s) cleared so the family stayed.

Agree with this! As a parent with a middle schooler in a NW private and another in the early years at Mann, I have definitely seen disruptive behavior tolerated to an almost bizarre degree at the private. As long as the disruptor family is full pay, they will let quite a lot slide so I think that is not really a good point of comparison. I can also say that Mann is way more rigorous academically than the private at this early stage. We personally know at least 5 kids who finished Mann and then easily made the switch to my older child's private school for middle school. Of course, I am sure a lot depends on the year, etc., and I don't know about other schools, but the flow from Mann to private DC middle schools seems fairly well-traveled.

Also a small note for those who think you need to move in-bounds for Mann: not so! The lottery worked well for us and about 1/3 of the kids in our class are OOB as well so definitely don't count that out as an option.

Anonymous wrote:I have worked in both settings. A local DC (big 3) private and Mann.
The teaching & learning at Mann runs circles around the private school where I worked. However, the sheer number of kids, even for a small public school, is a shock when compared to privates. 3 classes of 25 kids feels and looks a lot bigger than 3 classes of 15.
Also, a previous poster made a comment about disruptive students in the learning environment. I find this to be interesting. At the private school we had major disruptions- but the check(s) cleared so the family stayed.

Current Mann parent… your class size numbers are a little out of date. A few years after the pandemic I don’t think a single class has over 20 kids.

Save the money - Mann is one of the best elementary educations you can get in this area. Your kids will be prepared and highly competitive for the next step wherever that may be!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just remember OP- as great as Mann may be, you’re still dealing with the DCPS curriculum.

Which aspects do you have issues with specifically?

I have two former mann students who are both in private now - one of them in a Big 3 school. My older one was incredibly well prepared and actually was ahead of their peers in math in particular. My younger child - who was there during the pandemic and definitely suffered through that - had some catching up to do for writing but also was way ahead in math. Every year there are kids who leave for privates including the most competitive ones. Particularly in the PK-3 grades its absolutely equivalent to any of the privates and not a bad way to save 250k.

Anonymous wrote:Just remember OP- as great as Mann may be, you’re still dealing with the DCPS curriculum.

Which aspects do you have issues with specifically?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just remember OP- as great as Mann may be, you’re still dealing with the DCPS curriculum.

This is false. Mann parent here. The school has large (complete?) latitude in adapting its curriculum. Teachers are explicit and will say at back to school night that they draw from aspects of various curricula including DCPS and other sources. I suggest touring the school- you can ask specific questions if you are curious.

It is an amazing school- my kids love it and are excited to go each morning. Most teachers have been there for many years and are really impressive (and kind) people. The PTA is fantastic and organizes lots of activities that not only raise money for things like the gardening and mindfulness programs but also foster a sense of community. Highly recommend!

+1 Also true of other DCPS elementary schools too.

I have had two kids at Mann and it’s a wonderful school. My oldest went to private school for middle and there was no “transition” to speak of more than just going to middle school. He was well prepared. I have no doubt my younger will be too. If you are at a K-12 school you do need to think about giving up that guaranteed path and applying again if you don’t want to stick with Hardy/MacArthur. I’ve seen lots of kids admitted to top privates from Mann over the years we’ve been there but of course there are no guarantees and it feels really competitive. But otherwise it’s great school and saving that money for other uses every year (especially with multiple kids) can be worthwhile.