Anonymous
Post 09/24/2024 14:49     Subject: Please help me understand Bancroft's programs

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:PS: (I'm the PP) I personally would LOVE to have my kid at O-A for middle school over Hardy (our current feeder) or Deal, mainly due to the size (O-A is 750-ish for all 10 grades, Deal is over 1300 for the three grades, Hardy 600ish - off the top of my head). There will probably be some haters here (there always are) that think O-A middle isn't as good, but I disagree that there's a given child's experience would be much different at any of the three, and O-A's size and the immersion would be great for us... Alas my child is in 2nd so that ship has sailed.


Thank you, PP. I imagine that ship will sail for me, too, but we'll see

If I could ask - if O-A has its own middle and then feeds into J-R, do the O-A kids just stop immersion and take Spanish as a foreign language or maybe start a new one? Have you seen/heard how that transition goes for O-A kids?


There's no immersion at JR. O-A kids go all over, not just to JR, so their experiences vary. You are so unlikely to get into O-A that I wouldn't spend a lot of time worrying about how your kid would adjust 10 years from now. Even if you move in-bounds in a few years they will try to steer you to the monolingual alternative school. Sorry to be harsh about it. If you apply to every JR and MacArthur feeder every year you probably will get in eventually. Just think about whether it's worth it to you to drive to Shepherd or Key or Hyde-Addison for 3-5 years and then to figure out the commute for grades 6-12.


I'm not worrying, I'm just asking, because the other PP sounded conversational and I'm curious. I have no doubt we aren't getting into anything, at least not for a few years, and I'm going to try the various feeder commutes.


We drive from Ward 4 to a Hardy feeder and it’s really not bad. Not as convenient as a neighborhood school, but 20-25 minutes depending on the time of day. Google maps is very accurate, so just check that at your commute times. We split it between two parents and it’s sort of nice to have designated time to do homework and catch up on the day.

If you’re happy with your IB for a while, then it can’t hurt to lottery until you get lucky or run out of patience. Keep your expectations in check and lottery for every school you’d be happy with the entire feeder pattern for. You’ll probably get lucky eventually, especially if you are wiling to take an early elementary seat at Hyde Addison. Which is a hike, but everyone says it’s worth it.


Can confirm. We started driving from SWDC to H-A this year and so far it’s been worth it. Feel free to ask me again at the end of the year, but my child is so much happier since we switched despite the commute. I do the morning and it’s 40 minutes round trip (I WFH - I’m back at my home office desk by 8:45-9:00 am). We are having some nice chats, traffic light dance parties, and starting some fun kid podcasts. My husband does pickup and he’s gotten some snarled traffic for sure downtown but he is also getting some nice one on one chats, or he will put a podcast on and kiddo is doing worksheets and her own music in headphones in the backseat. I think the downtime on the way home has actually made for a nicer evening routine. I didn’t expect that and thought we’d all be tired and stressed more than before, but so far it’s been great.

We didn’t plan to switch this early (or ideally at all) as Kindergarten was great at our IB. But had a really bad teacher last year and unresponsive admin that made us feel pushed out. I wish we would’ve switched sooner and I love the peace of mind of Hardy as our middle school feeder. Feeling good about MacArthur as well, though maybe we will try for Walls.


Thank you, PPs. I'm glad you had lottery success and the commutes aren't bad!

I have a slight preference for J-R feeders so I'm listing those first, then Hardy feeders. As I understand it, if I get a "great" number, I'm more likely to get one of my first choices.

But if I get a "bad" number, does listing the J-R feeders make it less likely to get a Hardy/MacArthur feeder? It doesn't seem like it, but I obviously am new to this.

The one exception might be a school like Bancroft- if they really don't ever take anyone (and it seems like they don't), then that does seem like a waste of a space. So I think I'm taking it off my list.

Thank you everyone for your help and insights.


If you get into a school, you will not be added to the waitlists for the schools below it (though you can add yourself to the bottom of the waitlist post-lottery). So you just need to rank in order of preference. Chances are you will be waitlisted everywhere you are planning to list. Take 15 minutes to watch the videos at https://www.myschooldc.org/resources/my-school-dc-videos and you will understand the lottery a lot better. Presumably you did the lottery for PK, so maybe just watch the one about the algorithm since that seems to be what's confusing you.


Right, OP is almost guaranteed a seat at Hyde Addison, but possibly as a waitlist offer instead of an initial match. You can rearrange your list before you accept an offer from the waitlist, so that school is lowest and you stay on other waitlists even if you accept the offer.
Anonymous
Post 09/24/2024 14:38     Subject: Please help me understand Bancroft's programs

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:PS: (I'm the PP) I personally would LOVE to have my kid at O-A for middle school over Hardy (our current feeder) or Deal, mainly due to the size (O-A is 750-ish for all 10 grades, Deal is over 1300 for the three grades, Hardy 600ish - off the top of my head). There will probably be some haters here (there always are) that think O-A middle isn't as good, but I disagree that there's a given child's experience would be much different at any of the three, and O-A's size and the immersion would be great for us... Alas my child is in 2nd so that ship has sailed.


Thank you, PP. I imagine that ship will sail for me, too, but we'll see

If I could ask - if O-A has its own middle and then feeds into J-R, do the O-A kids just stop immersion and take Spanish as a foreign language or maybe start a new one? Have you seen/heard how that transition goes for O-A kids?


There's no immersion at JR. O-A kids go all over, not just to JR, so their experiences vary. You are so unlikely to get into O-A that I wouldn't spend a lot of time worrying about how your kid would adjust 10 years from now. Even if you move in-bounds in a few years they will try to steer you to the monolingual alternative school. Sorry to be harsh about it. If you apply to every JR and MacArthur feeder every year you probably will get in eventually. Just think about whether it's worth it to you to drive to Shepherd or Key or Hyde-Addison for 3-5 years and then to figure out the commute for grades 6-12.


I'm not worrying, I'm just asking, because the other PP sounded conversational and I'm curious. I have no doubt we aren't getting into anything, at least not for a few years, and I'm going to try the various feeder commutes.


We drive from Ward 4 to a Hardy feeder and it’s really not bad. Not as convenient as a neighborhood school, but 20-25 minutes depending on the time of day. Google maps is very accurate, so just check that at your commute times. We split it between two parents and it’s sort of nice to have designated time to do homework and catch up on the day.

If you’re happy with your IB for a while, then it can’t hurt to lottery until you get lucky or run out of patience. Keep your expectations in check and lottery for every school you’d be happy with the entire feeder pattern for. You’ll probably get lucky eventually, especially if you are wiling to take an early elementary seat at Hyde Addison. Which is a hike, but everyone says it’s worth it.


Can confirm. We started driving from SWDC to H-A this year and so far it’s been worth it. Feel free to ask me again at the end of the year, but my child is so much happier since we switched despite the commute. I do the morning and it’s 40 minutes round trip (I WFH - I’m back at my home office desk by 8:45-9:00 am). We are having some nice chats, traffic light dance parties, and starting some fun kid podcasts. My husband does pickup and he’s gotten some snarled traffic for sure downtown but he is also getting some nice one on one chats, or he will put a podcast on and kiddo is doing worksheets and her own music in headphones in the backseat. I think the downtime on the way home has actually made for a nicer evening routine. I didn’t expect that and thought we’d all be tired and stressed more than before, but so far it’s been great.

We didn’t plan to switch this early (or ideally at all) as Kindergarten was great at our IB. But had a really bad teacher last year and unresponsive admin that made us feel pushed out. I wish we would’ve switched sooner and I love the peace of mind of Hardy as our middle school feeder. Feeling good about MacArthur as well, though maybe we will try for Walls.


Thank you, PPs. I'm glad you had lottery success and the commutes aren't bad!

I have a slight preference for J-R feeders so I'm listing those first, then Hardy feeders. As I understand it, if I get a "great" number, I'm more likely to get one of my first choices.

But if I get a "bad" number, does listing the J-R feeders make it less likely to get a Hardy/MacArthur feeder? It doesn't seem like it, but I obviously am new to this.

The one exception might be a school like Bancroft- if they really don't ever take anyone (and it seems like they don't), then that does seem like a waste of a space. So I think I'm taking it off my list.

Thank you everyone for your help and insights.


You get a master lottery number and each school runs a own separate, internal lottery based on your master number. So ranking a school at the top or bottom of your list does not change your odds, as long as you know that if you take an offer at a higher ranked school, you get automatically dropped from waitlists at any lower ranked schools. So as others have said, rank based on true preference and don't worry about wasting space (it won't help, but doesn't hurt) unless you have more than 12 schools on your list. J-R has 6 feeder elementaries and Mac has 5, so as many as you want based on true preference and fill in with any charters or other DCPS schools you may be interested in.
Anonymous
Post 09/24/2024 14:28     Subject: Please help me understand Bancroft's programs

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:PS: (I'm the PP) I personally would LOVE to have my kid at O-A for middle school over Hardy (our current feeder) or Deal, mainly due to the size (O-A is 750-ish for all 10 grades, Deal is over 1300 for the three grades, Hardy 600ish - off the top of my head). There will probably be some haters here (there always are) that think O-A middle isn't as good, but I disagree that there's a given child's experience would be much different at any of the three, and O-A's size and the immersion would be great for us... Alas my child is in 2nd so that ship has sailed.


Thank you, PP. I imagine that ship will sail for me, too, but we'll see

If I could ask - if O-A has its own middle and then feeds into J-R, do the O-A kids just stop immersion and take Spanish as a foreign language or maybe start a new one? Have you seen/heard how that transition goes for O-A kids?


There's no immersion at JR. O-A kids go all over, not just to JR, so their experiences vary. You are so unlikely to get into O-A that I wouldn't spend a lot of time worrying about how your kid would adjust 10 years from now. Even if you move in-bounds in a few years they will try to steer you to the monolingual alternative school. Sorry to be harsh about it. If you apply to every JR and MacArthur feeder every year you probably will get in eventually. Just think about whether it's worth it to you to drive to Shepherd or Key or Hyde-Addison for 3-5 years and then to figure out the commute for grades 6-12.


I'm not worrying, I'm just asking, because the other PP sounded conversational and I'm curious. I have no doubt we aren't getting into anything, at least not for a few years, and I'm going to try the various feeder commutes.


We drive from Ward 4 to a Hardy feeder and it’s really not bad. Not as convenient as a neighborhood school, but 20-25 minutes depending on the time of day. Google maps is very accurate, so just check that at your commute times. We split it between two parents and it’s sort of nice to have designated time to do homework and catch up on the day.

If you’re happy with your IB for a while, then it can’t hurt to lottery until you get lucky or run out of patience. Keep your expectations in check and lottery for every school you’d be happy with the entire feeder pattern for. You’ll probably get lucky eventually, especially if you are wiling to take an early elementary seat at Hyde Addison. Which is a hike, but everyone says it’s worth it.


Can confirm. We started driving from SWDC to H-A this year and so far it’s been worth it. Feel free to ask me again at the end of the year, but my child is so much happier since we switched despite the commute. I do the morning and it’s 40 minutes round trip (I WFH - I’m back at my home office desk by 8:45-9:00 am). We are having some nice chats, traffic light dance parties, and starting some fun kid podcasts. My husband does pickup and he’s gotten some snarled traffic for sure downtown but he is also getting some nice one on one chats, or he will put a podcast on and kiddo is doing worksheets and her own music in headphones in the backseat. I think the downtime on the way home has actually made for a nicer evening routine. I didn’t expect that and thought we’d all be tired and stressed more than before, but so far it’s been great.

We didn’t plan to switch this early (or ideally at all) as Kindergarten was great at our IB. But had a really bad teacher last year and unresponsive admin that made us feel pushed out. I wish we would’ve switched sooner and I love the peace of mind of Hardy as our middle school feeder. Feeling good about MacArthur as well, though maybe we will try for Walls.


Thank you, PPs. I'm glad you had lottery success and the commutes aren't bad!

I have a slight preference for J-R feeders so I'm listing those first, then Hardy feeders. As I understand it, if I get a "great" number, I'm more likely to get one of my first choices.

But if I get a "bad" number, does listing the J-R feeders make it less likely to get a Hardy/MacArthur feeder? It doesn't seem like it, but I obviously am new to this.

The one exception might be a school like Bancroft- if they really don't ever take anyone (and it seems like they don't), then that does seem like a waste of a space. So I think I'm taking it off my list.

Thank you everyone for your help and insights.


If you get into a school, you will not be added to the waitlists for the schools below it (though you can add yourself to the bottom of the waitlist post-lottery). So you just need to rank in order of preference. Chances are you will be waitlisted everywhere you are planning to list. Take 15 minutes to watch the videos at https://www.myschooldc.org/resources/my-school-dc-videos and you will understand the lottery a lot better. Presumably you did the lottery for PK, so maybe just watch the one about the algorithm since that seems to be what's confusing you.
Anonymous
Post 09/24/2024 13:39     Subject: Please help me understand Bancroft's programs

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:PS: (I'm the PP) I personally would LOVE to have my kid at O-A for middle school over Hardy (our current feeder) or Deal, mainly due to the size (O-A is 750-ish for all 10 grades, Deal is over 1300 for the three grades, Hardy 600ish - off the top of my head). There will probably be some haters here (there always are) that think O-A middle isn't as good, but I disagree that there's a given child's experience would be much different at any of the three, and O-A's size and the immersion would be great for us... Alas my child is in 2nd so that ship has sailed.


Thank you, PP. I imagine that ship will sail for me, too, but we'll see

If I could ask - if O-A has its own middle and then feeds into J-R, do the O-A kids just stop immersion and take Spanish as a foreign language or maybe start a new one? Have you seen/heard how that transition goes for O-A kids?


There's no immersion at JR. O-A kids go all over, not just to JR, so their experiences vary. You are so unlikely to get into O-A that I wouldn't spend a lot of time worrying about how your kid would adjust 10 years from now. Even if you move in-bounds in a few years they will try to steer you to the monolingual alternative school. Sorry to be harsh about it. If you apply to every JR and MacArthur feeder every year you probably will get in eventually. Just think about whether it's worth it to you to drive to Shepherd or Key or Hyde-Addison for 3-5 years and then to figure out the commute for grades 6-12.


I'm not worrying, I'm just asking, because the other PP sounded conversational and I'm curious. I have no doubt we aren't getting into anything, at least not for a few years, and I'm going to try the various feeder commutes.


We drive from Ward 4 to a Hardy feeder and it’s really not bad. Not as convenient as a neighborhood school, but 20-25 minutes depending on the time of day. Google maps is very accurate, so just check that at your commute times. We split it between two parents and it’s sort of nice to have designated time to do homework and catch up on the day.

If you’re happy with your IB for a while, then it can’t hurt to lottery until you get lucky or run out of patience. Keep your expectations in check and lottery for every school you’d be happy with the entire feeder pattern for. You’ll probably get lucky eventually, especially if you are wiling to take an early elementary seat at Hyde Addison. Which is a hike, but everyone says it’s worth it.


Can confirm. We started driving from SWDC to H-A this year and so far it’s been worth it. Feel free to ask me again at the end of the year, but my child is so much happier since we switched despite the commute. I do the morning and it’s 40 minutes round trip (I WFH - I’m back at my home office desk by 8:45-9:00 am). We are having some nice chats, traffic light dance parties, and starting some fun kid podcasts. My husband does pickup and he’s gotten some snarled traffic for sure downtown but he is also getting some nice one on one chats, or he will put a podcast on and kiddo is doing worksheets and her own music in headphones in the backseat. I think the downtime on the way home has actually made for a nicer evening routine. I didn’t expect that and thought we’d all be tired and stressed more than before, but so far it’s been great.

We didn’t plan to switch this early (or ideally at all) as Kindergarten was great at our IB. But had a really bad teacher last year and unresponsive admin that made us feel pushed out. I wish we would’ve switched sooner and I love the peace of mind of Hardy as our middle school feeder. Feeling good about MacArthur as well, though maybe we will try for Walls.


Thank you, PPs. I'm glad you had lottery success and the commutes aren't bad!

I have a slight preference for J-R feeders so I'm listing those first, then Hardy feeders. As I understand it, if I get a "great" number, I'm more likely to get one of my first choices.

But if I get a "bad" number, does listing the J-R feeders make it less likely to get a Hardy/MacArthur feeder? It doesn't seem like it, but I obviously am new to this.

The one exception might be a school like Bancroft- if they really don't ever take anyone (and it seems like they don't), then that does seem like a waste of a space. So I think I'm taking it off my list.

Thank you everyone for your help and insights.
Anonymous
Post 09/24/2024 11:23     Subject: Please help me understand Bancroft's programs

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:PS: (I'm the PP) I personally would LOVE to have my kid at O-A for middle school over Hardy (our current feeder) or Deal, mainly due to the size (O-A is 750-ish for all 10 grades, Deal is over 1300 for the three grades, Hardy 600ish - off the top of my head). There will probably be some haters here (there always are) that think O-A middle isn't as good, but I disagree that there's a given child's experience would be much different at any of the three, and O-A's size and the immersion would be great for us... Alas my child is in 2nd so that ship has sailed.


Thank you, PP. I imagine that ship will sail for me, too, but we'll see

If I could ask - if O-A has its own middle and then feeds into J-R, do the O-A kids just stop immersion and take Spanish as a foreign language or maybe start a new one? Have you seen/heard how that transition goes for O-A kids?


There's no immersion at JR. O-A kids go all over, not just to JR, so their experiences vary. You are so unlikely to get into O-A that I wouldn't spend a lot of time worrying about how your kid would adjust 10 years from now. Even if you move in-bounds in a few years they will try to steer you to the monolingual alternative school. Sorry to be harsh about it. If you apply to every JR and MacArthur feeder every year you probably will get in eventually. Just think about whether it's worth it to you to drive to Shepherd or Key or Hyde-Addison for 3-5 years and then to figure out the commute for grades 6-12.


I'm not worrying, I'm just asking, because the other PP sounded conversational and I'm curious. I have no doubt we aren't getting into anything, at least not for a few years, and I'm going to try the various feeder commutes.


We drive from Ward 4 to a Hardy feeder and it’s really not bad. Not as convenient as a neighborhood school, but 20-25 minutes depending on the time of day. Google maps is very accurate, so just check that at your commute times. We split it between two parents and it’s sort of nice to have designated time to do homework and catch up on the day.

If you’re happy with your IB for a while, then it can’t hurt to lottery until you get lucky or run out of patience. Keep your expectations in check and lottery for every school you’d be happy with the entire feeder pattern for. You’ll probably get lucky eventually, especially if you are wiling to take an early elementary seat at Hyde Addison. Which is a hike, but everyone says it’s worth it.


Can confirm. We started driving from SWDC to H-A this year and so far it’s been worth it. Feel free to ask me again at the end of the year, but my child is so much happier since we switched despite the commute. I do the morning and it’s 40 minutes round trip (I WFH - I’m back at my home office desk by 8:45-9:00 am). We are having some nice chats, traffic light dance parties, and starting some fun kid podcasts. My husband does pickup and he’s gotten some snarled traffic for sure downtown but he is also getting some nice one on one chats, or he will put a podcast on and kiddo is doing worksheets and her own music in headphones in the backseat. I think the downtime on the way home has actually made for a nicer evening routine. I didn’t expect that and thought we’d all be tired and stressed more than before, but so far it’s been great.

We didn’t plan to switch this early (or ideally at all) as Kindergarten was great at our IB. But had a really bad teacher last year and unresponsive admin that made us feel pushed out. I wish we would’ve switched sooner and I love the peace of mind of Hardy as our middle school feeder. Feeling good about MacArthur as well, though maybe we will try for Walls.
Anonymous
Post 09/23/2024 22:07     Subject: Please help me understand Bancroft's programs

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:PS: (I'm the PP) I personally would LOVE to have my kid at O-A for middle school over Hardy (our current feeder) or Deal, mainly due to the size (O-A is 750-ish for all 10 grades, Deal is over 1300 for the three grades, Hardy 600ish - off the top of my head). There will probably be some haters here (there always are) that think O-A middle isn't as good, but I disagree that there's a given child's experience would be much different at any of the three, and O-A's size and the immersion would be great for us... Alas my child is in 2nd so that ship has sailed.


Thank you, PP. I imagine that ship will sail for me, too, but we'll see

If I could ask - if O-A has its own middle and then feeds into J-R, do the O-A kids just stop immersion and take Spanish as a foreign language or maybe start a new one? Have you seen/heard how that transition goes for O-A kids?


There's no immersion at JR. O-A kids go all over, not just to JR, so their experiences vary. You are so unlikely to get into O-A that I wouldn't spend a lot of time worrying about how your kid would adjust 10 years from now. Even if you move in-bounds in a few years they will try to steer you to the monolingual alternative school. Sorry to be harsh about it. If you apply to every JR and MacArthur feeder every year you probably will get in eventually. Just think about whether it's worth it to you to drive to Shepherd or Key or Hyde-Addison for 3-5 years and then to figure out the commute for grades 6-12.


I'm not worrying, I'm just asking, because the other PP sounded conversational and I'm curious. I have no doubt we aren't getting into anything, at least not for a few years, and I'm going to try the various feeder commutes.


We drive from Ward 4 to a Hardy feeder and it’s really not bad. Not as convenient as a neighborhood school, but 20-25 minutes depending on the time of day. Google maps is very accurate, so just check that at your commute times. We split it between two parents and it’s sort of nice to have designated time to do homework and catch up on the day.

If you’re happy with your IB for a while, then it can’t hurt to lottery until you get lucky or run out of patience. Keep your expectations in check and lottery for every school you’d be happy with the entire feeder pattern for. You’ll probably get lucky eventually, especially if you are wiling to take an early elementary seat at Hyde Addison. Which is a hike, but everyone says it’s worth it.
Anonymous
Post 09/23/2024 17:55     Subject: Please help me understand Bancroft's programs

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:PS: (I'm the PP) I personally would LOVE to have my kid at O-A for middle school over Hardy (our current feeder) or Deal, mainly due to the size (O-A is 750-ish for all 10 grades, Deal is over 1300 for the three grades, Hardy 600ish - off the top of my head). There will probably be some haters here (there always are) that think O-A middle isn't as good, but I disagree that there's a given child's experience would be much different at any of the three, and O-A's size and the immersion would be great for us... Alas my child is in 2nd so that ship has sailed.


Thank you, PP. I imagine that ship will sail for me, too, but we'll see

If I could ask - if O-A has its own middle and then feeds into J-R, do the O-A kids just stop immersion and take Spanish as a foreign language or maybe start a new one? Have you seen/heard how that transition goes for O-A kids?


There's no immersion at JR. O-A kids go all over, not just to JR, so their experiences vary. You are so unlikely to get into O-A that I wouldn't spend a lot of time worrying about how your kid would adjust 10 years from now. Even if you move in-bounds in a few years they will try to steer you to the monolingual alternative school. Sorry to be harsh about it. If you apply to every JR and MacArthur feeder every year you probably will get in eventually. Just think about whether it's worth it to you to drive to Shepherd or Key or Hyde-Addison for 3-5 years and then to figure out the commute for grades 6-12.


I'm not worrying, I'm just asking, because the other PP sounded conversational and I'm curious. I have no doubt we aren't getting into anything, at least not for a few years, and I'm going to try the various feeder commutes.
Anonymous
Post 09/23/2024 17:41     Subject: Please help me understand Bancroft's programs

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:PS: (I'm the PP) I personally would LOVE to have my kid at O-A for middle school over Hardy (our current feeder) or Deal, mainly due to the size (O-A is 750-ish for all 10 grades, Deal is over 1300 for the three grades, Hardy 600ish - off the top of my head). There will probably be some haters here (there always are) that think O-A middle isn't as good, but I disagree that there's a given child's experience would be much different at any of the three, and O-A's size and the immersion would be great for us... Alas my child is in 2nd so that ship has sailed.


Thank you, PP. I imagine that ship will sail for me, too, but we'll see

If I could ask - if O-A has its own middle and then feeds into J-R, do the O-A kids just stop immersion and take Spanish as a foreign language or maybe start a new one? Have you seen/heard how that transition goes for O-A kids?


There's no immersion at JR. O-A kids go all over, not just to JR, so their experiences vary. You are so unlikely to get into O-A that I wouldn't spend a lot of time worrying about how your kid would adjust 10 years from now. Even if you move in-bounds in a few years they will try to steer you to the monolingual alternative school. Sorry to be harsh about it. If you apply to every JR and MacArthur feeder every year you probably will get in eventually. Just think about whether it's worth it to you to drive to Shepherd or Key or Hyde-Addison for 3-5 years and then to figure out the commute for grades 6-12.
Anonymous
Post 09/23/2024 17:25     Subject: Please help me understand Bancroft's programs

Anonymous wrote:PS: (I'm the PP) I personally would LOVE to have my kid at O-A for middle school over Hardy (our current feeder) or Deal, mainly due to the size (O-A is 750-ish for all 10 grades, Deal is over 1300 for the three grades, Hardy 600ish - off the top of my head). There will probably be some haters here (there always are) that think O-A middle isn't as good, but I disagree that there's a given child's experience would be much different at any of the three, and O-A's size and the immersion would be great for us... Alas my child is in 2nd so that ship has sailed.


Thank you, PP. I imagine that ship will sail for me, too, but we'll see

If I could ask - if O-A has its own middle and then feeds into J-R, do the O-A kids just stop immersion and take Spanish as a foreign language or maybe start a new one? Have you seen/heard how that transition goes for O-A kids?
Anonymous
Post 09/23/2024 14:29     Subject: Please help me understand Bancroft's programs

PS: (I'm the PP) I personally would LOVE to have my kid at O-A for middle school over Hardy (our current feeder) or Deal, mainly due to the size (O-A is 750-ish for all 10 grades, Deal is over 1300 for the three grades, Hardy 600ish - off the top of my head). There will probably be some haters here (there always are) that think O-A middle isn't as good, but I disagree that there's a given child's experience would be much different at any of the three, and O-A's size and the immersion would be great for us... Alas my child is in 2nd so that ship has sailed.
Anonymous
Post 09/23/2024 14:25     Subject: Please help me understand Bancroft's programs

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:But also think of what will happen in the likely scenario where you don't get into any of those schools.


+1. Poke around with this tool and get an understanding of how few offers are ever made for K at these schools. I would ignore the COVID shutdown years (people left for private schools and some schools filled those seats with OOB students) and also look at the chart at the bottom that specifies how many offers went to kids with a preference. Then if you don't feel great about your odds, find some back ups that you would be happy at. Maybe Powell or Bruce Monroe if you want Spanish immersion? John Lewis or Whittier for non-immersion? Charters? Good luck, it's tough out there.

https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/aaron2446/viz/MSDCSeatsandWaitlistOfferData_draft/MSDCPublicDisplay


Thank you, PP! I started poking around and it is discouraging. I want to get into a Deal feeder, and O-A is closest to us, and my kid would benefit from immersion, so I'd figure Id's start there. I know thousands of parents/kids have the same wish list, but I guess that's why it's a lottery.

Thankfully, our IB school is good for now, but my kid's friends are already leaving. That is my biggest hesitation in staying much longer is having her friend group leave every year.


I noticed the "want to get into a Deal feeder" in this last comment, OP. You saw the info above where O-A is PK3-8th Grade, right? That means it has it's own immersion middle school. It is unqiue in that it is a Jackson-Reed feeder, but NOT a Deal feeder. You would not be able to do 5th grade at O-A then have a right to go to Deal. You'd have to stay for O-A middle, or I remember something about kids could go to Stevens in Foggy Bottom (which is also a PK3-8th but not Spanish immersion) but I believe that's only if you are in bounds and don't want the immersion. You could also try to lottery to Basis or Latin, etc. But going to O-A will not get you to Deal.

Thank you, PP. This is OP. I appreciate it. I mean a J-R feeder. This is also why I'm doing the lottery this year- to try and learn these nuances.

Thank you everyone for being nice on this thread, I know I have a pie-in-the-sky lottery list! But I do know two people who have lotteried into WOTP elementaries, so why not try!
Anonymous
Post 09/23/2024 14:19     Subject: Please help me understand Bancroft's programs

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:But also think of what will happen in the likely scenario where you don't get into any of those schools.


+1. Poke around with this tool and get an understanding of how few offers are ever made for K at these schools. I would ignore the COVID shutdown years (people left for private schools and some schools filled those seats with OOB students) and also look at the chart at the bottom that specifies how many offers went to kids with a preference. Then if you don't feel great about your odds, find some back ups that you would be happy at. Maybe Powell or Bruce Monroe if you want Spanish immersion? John Lewis or Whittier for non-immersion? Charters? Good luck, it's tough out there.

https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/aaron2446/viz/MSDCSeatsandWaitlistOfferData_draft/MSDCPublicDisplay


Thank you, PP! I started poking around and it is discouraging. I want to get into a Deal feeder, and O-A is closest to us, and my kid would benefit from immersion, so I'd figure Id's start there. I know thousands of parents/kids have the same wish list, but I guess that's why it's a lottery.

Thankfully, our IB school is good for now, but my kid's friends are already leaving. That is my biggest hesitation in staying much longer is having her friend group leave every year.


I noticed the "want to get into a Deal feeder" in this last comment, OP. You saw the info above where O-A is PK3-8th Grade, right? That means it has it's own immersion middle school. It is unqiue in that it is a Jackson-Reed feeder, but NOT a Deal feeder. You would not be able to do 5th grade at O-A then have a right to go to Deal. You'd have to stay for O-A middle, or I remember something about kids could go to Stevens in Foggy Bottom (which is also a PK3-8th but not Spanish immersion) but I believe that's only if you are in bounds and don't want the immersion. You could also try to lottery to Basis or Latin, etc. But going to O-A will not get you to Deal.
Anonymous
Post 09/23/2024 13:23     Subject: Please help me understand Bancroft's programs

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:But also think of what will happen in the likely scenario where you don't get into any of those schools.


+1. Poke around with this tool and get an understanding of how few offers are ever made for K at these schools. I would ignore the COVID shutdown years (people left for private schools and some schools filled those seats with OOB students) and also look at the chart at the bottom that specifies how many offers went to kids with a preference. Then if you don't feel great about your odds, find some back ups that you would be happy at. Maybe Powell or Bruce Monroe if you want Spanish immersion? John Lewis or Whittier for non-immersion? Charters? Good luck, it's tough out there.

https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/aaron2446/viz/MSDCSeatsandWaitlistOfferData_draft/MSDCPublicDisplay


Thank you, PP! I started poking around and it is discouraging. I want to get into a Deal feeder, and O-A is closest to us, and my kid would benefit from immersion, so I'd figure Id's start there. I know thousands of parents/kids have the same wish list, but I guess that's why it's a lottery.

Thankfully, our IB school is good for now, but my kid's friends are already leaving. That is my biggest hesitation in staying much longer is having her friend group leave every year.
Anonymous
Post 09/23/2024 13:02     Subject: Please help me understand Bancroft's programs

Anonymous wrote:But also think of what will happen in the likely scenario where you don't get into any of those schools.


+1. Poke around with this tool and get an understanding of how few offers are ever made for K at these schools. I would ignore the COVID shutdown years (people left for private schools and some schools filled those seats with OOB students) and also look at the chart at the bottom that specifies how many offers went to kids with a preference. Then if you don't feel great about your odds, find some back ups that you would be happy at. Maybe Powell or Bruce Monroe if you want Spanish immersion? John Lewis or Whittier for non-immersion? Charters? Good luck, it's tough out there.

https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/aaron2446/viz/MSDCSeatsandWaitlistOfferData_draft/MSDCPublicDisplay
Anonymous
Post 09/22/2024 19:53     Subject: Re:Please help me understand Bancroft's programs

Anonymous wrote:I’m a Bancroft parent. You don’t have a chance of getting in for K. The school is very overcrowded. For the 25-26 school year the preK is going to be in a swing space and there are some medium term plans for an annex. It still may not be enough.


Swing space? Where? And where would the add or put an annex.

Former Bancroft Parent