I had two kids go through DCPS elementary that was weak academically (in my opinion, of course). The first child was one of the youngest in the class, and benefited from not being pushed too hard academically. We did read together (child was very behind in literacy), but generally just waited for more maturity. The gamble seems to have paid off, child is doing better in middle school, but is not one of those kids grades above level.

Second child was on the older side, and mature, school was too easy, but they had socioemotional difficulties, and so not being anxious about school work gave them time to read on their own and learn how to socialize, etc. Middle school years have been rough, but not for academic reasons.

In retrospect I'd say, if the school is a good environment, a good second home, if the kids are not learning things that are wrong/negative, I think that's good enough. I didn't supplement in the sense of sending kids to more school after school, but made sure we were reading, going to museums, and encouraged them to do the online math through accounts offered through the school.

Of course, I don't know whether the kids would have done better if we'd moved, and both kids are at charters that have both middle and high school, so we're off the hook for worrying about the transition. We did always have the option to move in our back pocket, but no one lobbied for it, everyone wanted to stay.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our liberal take is let it run out until it’s socially intolerable for your kid or there’s nothing they can learn at their school.

If we wanted segregation or higher rigor those things go together and are available to us but we choose not to take them until nothing is working.

This has served us through high school. We sympathize with those who have changed schools and ache for those who are going to have kids become underprepared adults.

Curious what kinds of schools you've sent your kids to.

We are at a Title 1 on the east side that has an ok middle school and terrible high school feed. We do not want segregation but we are getting it anyway just not in the way we expected -- if we stay then next year our older kid will be one of 3 non-black kids in the grade. We love the teachers and have found great families at the school and feel the academics are actually really solid even if the school itself has low test scores overall (we've found there is a cohort of kids on or above grade level in every class and the teachers so far have done a *great* job meeting these kids needs -- we really do not wind up having to supplement much at all though I feel that shifting for our older kid).

We feel like it's past time for us to move but got very unlucky in the lottery this past year so we're giving it another year. But what we're finding is that all our alternative options actually involve more integrated schools at least racially -- all the charters and other DCPS schools (and suburban schools if we wind up having to move) have very diverse racial demographics and still have substantial at-risk percentages though nowhere near as high as we have at our current school. I feel like if we stay we will wind up in a super segregated school population but just as super outliers.

Here's what I did:

Try both kids each year for ITDS. Failing that, try at Latin for 5th, both locations. Failing that, try for 6th at DCI and Stuart-Hobson. Then either stay put through 8th and apply to Walls and Banneker, or stay at Latin, or move to Jackson-Reed or Montgomery County somewhere. For you it might be different depending on age of child and where you live/commute, and what kind of school you like (BASIS? Sojourner Truth?). Anyway, try to make a little flowchart of options you would genuinely be at peace with. We can help you do it, if you say what schools you like.

DP. Have a similar plan with slightly different schools (looks like mostly a geography thing). Only thing I can't really come to terms with is what happens if we luck out at middle school? Do we move IB for a middle school option that works, still within the general vicinity of where we live/work/have community, or do we move somewhere with a high school path but less desirable commute and neighborhood/start over with relationships? Obviously I don't want to be in a position where we're moving for middle school and then again for high school (especially factoring in the impact on a younger sibling), but I also don't want to spend extra years living somewhere that is otherwise not great for our family unless we really have to.

PP here, as it happened we landed at ITDS. For high school, if we have to, I'd be inclined to rent IB for Jackson Reed, maybe a condo and skip all the hassles of home ownership! It's very walkable in some areas.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our liberal take is let it run out until it’s socially intolerable for your kid or there’s nothing they can learn at their school.

If we wanted segregation or higher rigor those things go together and are available to us but we choose not to take them until nothing is working.

This has served us through high school. We sympathize with those who have changed schools and ache for those who are going to have kids become underprepared adults.

Curious what kinds of schools you've sent your kids to.

We are at a Title 1 on the east side that has an ok middle school and terrible high school feed. We do not want segregation but we are getting it anyway just not in the way we expected -- if we stay then next year our older kid will be one of 3 non-black kids in the grade. We love the teachers and have found great families at the school and feel the academics are actually really solid even if the school itself has low test scores overall (we've found there is a cohort of kids on or above grade level in every class and the teachers so far have done a *great* job meeting these kids needs -- we really do not wind up having to supplement much at all though I feel that shifting for our older kid).

We feel like it's past time for us to move but got very unlucky in the lottery this past year so we're giving it another year. But what we're finding is that all our alternative options actually involve more integrated schools at least racially -- all the charters and other DCPS schools (and suburban schools if we wind up having to move) have very diverse racial demographics and still have substantial at-risk percentages though nowhere near as high as we have at our current school. I feel like if we stay we will wind up in a super segregated school population but just as super outliers.

Here's what I did:

Try both kids each year for ITDS. Failing that, try at Latin for 5th, both locations. Failing that, try for 6th at DCI and Stuart-Hobson. Then either stay put through 8th and apply to Walls and Banneker, or stay at Latin, or move to Jackson-Reed or Montgomery County somewhere. For you it might be different depending on age of child and where you live/commute, and what kind of school you like (BASIS? Sojourner Truth?). Anyway, try to make a little flowchart of options you would genuinely be at peace with. We can help you do it, if you say what schools you like.

DP. Have a similar plan with slightly different schools (looks like mostly a geography thing). Only thing I can't really come to terms with is what happens if we luck out at middle school? Do we move IB for a middle school option that works, still within the general vicinity of where we live/work/have community, or do we move somewhere with a high school path but less desirable commute and neighborhood/start over with relationships? Obviously I don't want to be in a position where we're moving for middle school and then again for high school (especially factoring in the impact on a younger sibling), but I also don't want to spend extra years living somewhere that is otherwise not great for our family unless we really have to.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our liberal take is let it run out until it’s socially intolerable for your kid or there’s nothing they can learn at their school.

If we wanted segregation or higher rigor those things go together and are available to us but we choose not to take them until nothing is working.

This has served us through high school. We sympathize with those who have changed schools and ache for those who are going to have kids become underprepared adults.

Curious what kinds of schools you've sent your kids to.

We are at a Title 1 on the east side that has an ok middle school and terrible high school feed. We do not want segregation but we are getting it anyway just not in the way we expected -- if we stay then next year our older kid will be one of 3 non-black kids in the grade. We love the teachers and have found great families at the school and feel the academics are actually really solid even if the school itself has low test scores overall (we've found there is a cohort of kids on or above grade level in every class and the teachers so far have done a *great* job meeting these kids needs -- we really do not wind up having to supplement much at all though I feel that shifting for our older kid).

We feel like it's past time for us to move but got very unlucky in the lottery this past year so we're giving it another year. But what we're finding is that all our alternative options actually involve more integrated schools at least racially -- all the charters and other DCPS schools (and suburban schools if we wind up having to move) have very diverse racial demographics and still have substantial at-risk percentages though nowhere near as high as we have at our current school. I feel like if we stay we will wind up in a super segregated school population but just as super outliers.

Yeah, I laugh but worry we're so rare as to out ourselves if we explain who we are. We are in Ward 4 and middle school turned out to have teachers who care, teach well (a couple gems and a couple loser teachers too, which I expect is a widespread problem) and kids who got along with ours. Socially, our kids both fit in and do not in our communities depending on your lens because of their/our identities. In Middle School, the math differentiation was very helpful. For high school, we considered everything and were quite positive about the very specific programs at the local comprehensive high school, but it was hard to see our kids with kids who are very behind in every subject, hardly show up to school, and disruption being a social norm.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You're not missing anything. The "good on paper" schools aren't the only ones with where good teaching and admin and positive school culture can happen! Just make a plan for MS if that's what's worrying you.

OP. I guess I'm mostly worried about all the "turns out my kid wasn't learning much of anything/was desperately behind/we had to hire tutors" posts I see here from parents who sent their upper elementary students to similar-sounding schools. How do you get a sense of whether that's happening/will happen for your kid?

I think it depends on your kid and the teachers they get in elementary. My son who ended up at BASIS was pushed very well by teachers up until 4th grade, when he had a terrible math teacher. I feel like it was a lost year, he really didn't learn anything new, math wise, and when I realized he wasn't learning any science, I bought a ton of books to catch him up. He also hardly learned to write in elementary, compared to what other kids learned at some other DCPS schools. He rose to the occasion at BASIS and is on par with the top kids, though he needed to learn how to work much, much harder. I wouldn't have waited longer than 5th or 6th grade to move him to a place with more challenge.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lottery to Basis or Latin 2nd Street. If you fail for 5th, move.

I would also lottery for better DCPS feeders that 4th grade year, just to add some more options. We just lived this and my kid got two interesting offers (good middle charter and a decent DCPS middle feeder).

It was a very very stressful process (knowing that our IB middle was not an option) but it worked out in the end.

Agree. DCI feeders are an option if you want more foreign language focus (Spanish, French, or Chinese). But the academics are less strong.

Can anyone speak to the experience of transferring to a DCI feeder in late elementary if you have a kid who is overall very bright with some language exposure (Spanish as a special every year since PK) but nothing even close to resembling immersion?

We would never have considered this before but we've struck out on the lottery three years running and therefore are in the unexpected position of looking for alternatives for 3rd or 4th grade that have better middle school and high school feeds. I understand the immersion programs are no longer teaching core subjects in the immersion language by late elementary so maybe it wouldn't be as big of an adjustment as coming over in 1st or 2nd? I truly have no idea.

I also worry about the academics in any school we can get a spot at in 3rd or 4th. That means people are leaving despite the middle school feed right?

I think it really just depends how much you're willing to trade off in exchange for DCI access. And how much supplementing you're willing to do. If you're willing to make it a whole-family priority for YEARS, then go for it. It really depends on how you think your kid will cope.

The DCI feeders vary widely in quality. I will say people move away for all kinds of reasons, including that their child is struggling with the language, so the mere possibility of getting a spot isn't itself a red flag. But if you see really significant attrition like at Mundo Verde P St, then yes that's a problem. You can look at the OSSE enrollment spreadsheets to trace a cohort survival rate over time.

You also need to be very, very clear on your DCI status-- will it be a right or merely a preference for your child's year? Because if it's only a preference, then a lot of the class will be siblings and get matched, and the remaining spots will go to non-siblings and access might be like 50%, hard to predict. If you don't get a DCI spot it's because you have a bad lottery number, and then what will you do?

I think it would be reasonable to put DCI feeders on your 5th grade lottery list after Latin (and BASIS if you like BASIS). You could also look at Stuart-Hobson feeders and Deal and Hardy feeders-- often times it's not too hard to get an upper grades spot at one of those.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lottery to Basis or Latin 2nd Street. If you fail for 5th, move.

I would also lottery for better DCPS feeders that 4th grade year, just to add some more options. We just lived this and my kid got two interesting offers (good middle charter and a decent DCPS middle feeder).

It was a very very stressful process (knowing that our IB middle was not an option) but it worked out in the end.

Agree. DCI feeders are an option if you want more foreign language focus (Spanish, French, or Chinese). But the academics are less strong.

Can anyone speak to the experience of transferring to a DCI feeder in late elementary if you have a kid who is overall very bright with some language exposure (Spanish as a special every year since PK) but nothing even close to resembling immersion?

We would never have considered this before but we've struck out on the lottery three years running and therefore are in the unexpected position of looking for alternatives for 3rd or 4th grade that have better middle school and high school feeds. I understand the immersion programs are no longer teaching core subjects in the immersion language by late elementary so maybe it wouldn't be as big of an adjustment as coming over in 1st or 2nd? I truly have no idea.

I also worry about the academics in any school we can get a spot at in 3rd or 4th. That means people are leaving despite the middle school feed right?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our liberal take is let it run out until it’s socially intolerable for your kid or there’s nothing they can learn at their school.

If we wanted segregation or higher rigor those things go together and are available to us but we choose not to take them until nothing is working.

This has served us through high school. We sympathize with those who have changed schools and ache for those who are going to have kids become underprepared adults.

Curious what kinds of schools you've sent your kids to.

We are at a Title 1 on the east side that has an ok middle school and terrible high school feed. We do not want segregation but we are getting it anyway just not in the way we expected -- if we stay then next year our older kid will be one of 3 non-black kids in the grade. We love the teachers and have found great families at the school and feel the academics are actually really solid even if the school itself has low test scores overall (we've found there is a cohort of kids on or above grade level in every class and the teachers so far have done a *great* job meeting these kids needs -- we really do not wind up having to supplement much at all though I feel that shifting for our older kid).

We feel like it's past time for us to move but got very unlucky in the lottery this past year so we're giving it another year. But what we're finding is that all our alternative options actually involve more integrated schools at least racially -- all the charters and other DCPS schools (and suburban schools if we wind up having to move) have very diverse racial demographics and still have substantial at-risk percentages though nowhere near as high as we have at our current school. I feel like if we stay we will wind up in a super segregated school population but just as super outliers.

Here's what I did:

Try both kids each year for ITDS. Failing that, try at Latin for 5th, both locations. Failing that, try for 6th at DCI and Stuart-Hobson. Then either stay put through 8th and apply to Walls and Banneker, or stay at Latin, or move to Jackson-Reed or Montgomery County somewhere. For you it might be different depending on age of child and where you live/commute, and what kind of school you like (BASIS? Sojourner Truth?). Anyway, try to make a little flowchart of options you would genuinely be at peace with. We can help you do it, if you say what schools you like.

Nobody can really tell you that. At our school (low performing Ward 5) the behaviors and academic performance of each grade cohort were really different.

Since you're feeling this way, that is a message that it's time you started lotterying just to keep your options open. You need to ask yourself very seriously what schools you prefer rather than moving, and how your child will fare in the selective high school process. And look at your finances and determine where you can afford to move and when. We went through that process and came out with a lot more clarity on our potential future paths.

Anonymous wrote:Our liberal take is let it run out until it’s socially intolerable for your kid or there’s nothing they can learn at their school.

If we wanted segregation or higher rigor those things go together and are available to us but we choose not to take them until nothing is working.

This has served us through high school. We sympathize with those who have changed schools and ache for those who are going to have kids become underprepared adults.

Curious what kinds of schools you've sent your kids to.

We are at a Title 1 on the east side that has an ok middle school and terrible high school feed. We do not want segregation but we are getting it anyway just not in the way we expected -- if we stay then next year our older kid will be one of 3 non-black kids in the grade. We love the teachers and have found great families at the school and feel the academics are actually really solid even if the school itself has low test scores overall (we've found there is a cohort of kids on or above grade level in every class and the teachers so far have done a *great* job meeting these kids needs -- we really do not wind up having to supplement much at all though I feel that shifting for our older kid).

We feel like it's past time for us to move but got very unlucky in the lottery this past year so we're giving it another year. But what we're finding is that all our alternative options actually involve more integrated schools at least racially -- all the charters and other DCPS schools (and suburban schools if we wind up having to move) have very diverse racial demographics and still have substantial at-risk percentages though nowhere near as high as we have at our current school. I feel like if we stay we will wind up in a super segregated school population but just as super outliers.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lottery to Basis or Latin 2nd Street. If you fail for 5th, move.

I would also lottery for better DCPS feeders that 4th grade year, just to add some more options. We just lived this and my kid got two interesting offers (good middle charter and a decent DCPS middle feeder).

It was a very very stressful process (knowing that our IB middle was not an option) but it worked out in the end.

This doesn't always work; it didn't for our family - and moving isn't as easy as it once was if you own a home or want to own one. So if the middle school is a non-starter, learn from my mistakes and start lotterying before 5th.

Our liberal take is let it run out until it’s socially intolerable for your kid or there’s nothing they can learn at their school.

If we wanted segregation or higher rigor those things go together and are available to us but we choose not to take them until nothing is working.

This has served us through high school. We sympathize with those who have changed schools and ache for those who are going to have kids become underprepared adults.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You're not missing anything. The "good on paper" schools aren't the only ones with where good teaching and admin and positive school culture can happen! Just make a plan for MS if that's what's worrying you.

OP. I guess I'm mostly worried about all the "turns out my kid wasn't learning much of anything/was desperately behind/we had to hire tutors" posts I see here from parents who sent their upper elementary students to similar-sounding schools. How do you get a sense of whether that's happening/will happen for your kid?

Well, how old is your kid? You can look at their standardized test scores and if the scores are below grade level then you have your answer.

Anonymous wrote:You're not missing anything. The "good on paper" schools aren't the only ones with where good teaching and admin and positive school culture can happen! Just make a plan for MS if that's what's worrying you.

OP. I guess I'm mostly worried about all the "turns out my kid wasn't learning much of anything/was desperately behind/we had to hire tutors" posts I see here from parents who sent their upper elementary students to similar-sounding schools. How do you get a sense of whether that's happening/will happen for your kid?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lottery to Basis or Latin 2nd Street. If you fail for 5th, move.

I would also lottery for better DCPS feeders that 4th grade year, just to add some more options. We just lived this and my kid got two interesting offers (good middle charter and a decent DCPS middle feeder).

It was a very very stressful process (knowing that our IB middle was not an option) but it worked out in the end.

Agree. DCI feeders are an option if you want more foreign language focus (Spanish, French, or Chinese). But the academics are less strong.