Anonymous wrote:

abarem123 wrote:OP here - thanks this is all super helpful. If I'm understanding the replies correctly, it sounds like we will very likely get a PK4 spot *somewhere* within a mile or so of where we would live (on the Hill). It doesn't have to be a PK spot at the IB elementary school - I am just most concerned about odds to get a spot at a school period. I'm hopeful from reading the comments that we'd land a spot somewhere (Miner, Appletree, JO Wilson, Peabody, etc.).

I agree with posters stating that we should move IB for where we'd like to be long-term. Are there any big differences between the elementary schools on the Hill? e.g., why would I want L-T vs. Maury vs. Brent vs. other options? Would the odds for getting my younger child a PK3 spot at L-T (inbound) be better than Maury (inbound)?

PP again - Yes you'll be able to get a spot somewhere for PK4 within a mile, and if you're willing to wait out the lottery, you may get more than one offer by October. (Movement tends to stop on Oct. 5, which is called Count Day - basically the school will get funding for every child in a seat that day. So they have motivation to have as many slots filled as possible that day, but not really after.) DC does ECE very well, so some schools that don't rank highly for upper elementary have great PK programs - Miner comes to mind. Just make sure to rank your schools in order of ACTUAL preference. You don't get assigned a waitlist number for anything AFTER a school you get into. So you want to put the lower hanging fruit at the bottom. (Example: If you put AppleTree Oklahoma first because you know it's easier to get into, and then you actually do get in on lottery day, you wouldn't even get put on the waitlist at all for LT and others if they're below it.)

Thank you - yes, I understand that about the waitlist preference. It actually behooves us even more than others to list the most competitive/highest preferences up top, as we actually would prefer to not get matched on the lottery day but instead over the summer/closer to the summer when we would have proof of residency. So, an ideal situation for us is no match at all but near the top of the waitlists at a few good/close schools.

That is reassuring to hear about ECE. Is curriculum the same at all programs?

The PP’s above point about different parts of the neighborhood being different for public transportation and overall vibe is important. Parts of the Maury and LT zones are far from metro. When you get far out in the Maury zone, it is very sleepy and you are pretty far from any commercial corridors.

abarem123 wrote:OP here - thanks this is all super helpful. If I'm understanding the replies correctly, it sounds like we will very likely get a PK4 spot *somewhere* within a mile or so of where we would live (on the Hill). It doesn't have to be a PK spot at the IB elementary school - I am just most concerned about odds to get a spot at a school period. I'm hopeful from reading the comments that we'd land a spot somewhere (Miner, Appletree, JO Wilson, Peabody, etc.).

I agree with posters stating that we should move IB for where we'd like to be long-term. Are there any big differences between the elementary schools on the Hill? e.g., why would I want L-T vs. Maury vs. Brent vs. other options? Would the odds for getting my younger child a PK3 spot at L-T (inbound) be better than Maury (inbound)?

PP again - Yes you'll be able to get a spot somewhere for PK4 within a mile, and if you're willing to wait out the lottery, you may get more than one offer by October. (Movement tends to stop on Oct. 5, which is called Count Day - basically the school will get funding for every child in a seat that day. So they have motivation to have as many slots filled as possible that day, but not really after.) DC does ECE very well, so some schools that don't rank highly for upper elementary have great PK programs - Miner comes to mind. Just make sure to rank your schools in order of ACTUAL preference. You don't get assigned a waitlist number for anything AFTER a school you get into. So you want to put the lower hanging fruit at the bottom. (Example: If you put AppleTree Oklahoma first because you know it's easier to get into, and then you actually do get in on lottery day, you wouldn't even get put on the waitlist at all for LT and others if they're below it.)

abarem123 wrote:OP here - thanks this is all super helpful. If I'm understanding the replies correctly, it sounds like we will very likely get a PK4 spot *somewhere* within a mile or so of where we would live (on the Hill). It doesn't have to be a PK spot at the IB elementary school - I am just most concerned about odds to get a spot at a school period. I'm hopeful from reading the comments that we'd land a spot somewhere (Miner, Appletree, JO Wilson, Peabody, etc.).

I agree with posters stating that we should move IB for where we'd like to be long-term. Are there any big differences between the elementary schools on the Hill? e.g., why would I want L-T vs. Maury vs. Brent vs. other options? Would the odds for getting my younger child a PK3 spot at L-T (inbound) be better than Maury (inbound)?

PP here - a lot of the Hill schools are great. Even those that don't get a lot of love here punch way above their weight and are fantastic public schools where kids can thrive. Rankings wise you'll typically see people go Maury, Brent (though there's one year left on the bus), LT for a top three, and people will rearrange based on several different personal factors.

I'd ask first and foremost if location is important to you. Capitol Hill looks small on a map versus Hoboken but it's an extra 15+ minutes on a driving commute downtown some days if you live in the far part of the Maury zone versus the most NE part of Brent. Do you need to be walkable to a Metro/Hill offices? LT and Brent have that, not all of the Maury does (you'd want to be close to Eastern Market if you do intend to Metro regularly). Need quick exit out 295 or desire something a little further out from the Capitol itself? Maury is likely better for your family. All three have great parks and pocket parks/playgrounds walkable. One note, depending on where you're looking at in Maury's zone, there's about to be a multi-year construction project on the RFK site for a new NFL stadium, and I expect that will be quite disruptive at times. Brent is going to be highly sought after when the building reopens in 2026. If you didn't want to do the bus, you could do AppleTree, Peabody, etc. for a year. But for your rental dollar, you'll probably get more space and more updated housing stock in the other two.

Sibling preference should pull your PK3 kid in at any of the three (though Maury is getting pretty tight). How long are you planning to stay in DC? The 5th grade and feeder school conversation comes into play fast. I'm a parent for a high achiever at one of those aforementioned top three and honestly think he'd be doing great at any of them - but logistics matter for us and our work / commutes so we planned accordingly.

OP here - thanks this is all super helpful. If I'm understanding the replies correctly, it sounds like we will very likely get a PK4 spot *somewhere* within a mile or so of where we would live (on the Hill). It doesn't have to be a PK spot at the IB elementary school - I am just most concerned about odds to get a spot at a school period. I'm hopeful from reading the comments that we'd land a spot somewhere (Miner, Appletree, JO Wilson, Peabody, etc.).

I agree with posters stating that we should move IB for where we'd like to be long-term. Are there any big differences between the elementary schools on the Hill? e.g., why would I want L-T vs. Maury vs. Brent vs. other options? Would the odds for getting my younger child a PK3 spot at L-T (inbound) be better than Maury (inbound)?

If you are willing to have your kids get on a bus for SY 26-27 and then be done with the bus once the school reopens, consider Brent. It used to be that only siblings of current students had a shot at the PK lottery but people turned the school down a bunch last year, so my understanding is there was more movement. But the bus may be an issue for younger kids.

I agree with the above posters that you should move to whichever of Maury or LT you prefer. If you like them equally, then you do have a chance of getting into LT over the summer for PK4 (whereas there is no chance with Maury) so that could sway your decision.

OP— pre-k 4 can be a tough year to get into school but it’s only one year. I agree with posters saying to look ahead (particularly how sibling preference will work for your younger kid). Kindergarten is a guarantee and then your older kid will likely “pull in” your younger kid to preschool through the sibling preference. I’d say to shoot for the school/neighborhood you desire longer term (which could be LT, Maury, whatever) and then worry about pre-k 4.

Personal anecdote— we are in boundary at Maury and never got off the preschool waitlist. We went to an AppleTree charter school and had a truly great experience. There are two AppleTrees that are very convenient to the Maury catchment, so there were lots of kids who went on with my kid to kindergarten.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your chance of getting into Ludlow over the summer in-boundary off the waitlist is pretty good. That’s because based on this year’s data, all in-boundary kids got an immediate match in the lottery, so once you become in-boundary, if they make any waitlist offer at that point, it will go to you. You have no chance of getting into Maury using this strategy because lots of in-boundary kids get shut out in PK4.

So I would move to L-T boundary and then also rank Peabody, Appletree, Miner. Peabody lets lots of out of boundary kids in for PK4, so you have a decent chance of getting into Peabody even without in-boundary preference. Miner has a nice new PK-only building and lets everyone in for PK4.

Thank you, super helpful! From what I’ve read, L-T is also great for elementary, right? Maybe not as coveted as Maury though? We will probably sign a one or two year lease but would love to start building our school community asap. My younger child would enter PK3 when older one is entering first so thinking about that too.

Except while correct that L-T cleared IB, that was done during the initial lottery, and they took just 3 total off the waitlist for PK4 last year - only one by August, the other two by October when you'd be settled elsewhere. So while you'd be at the top of the list or near it, there's zero guarantee you'd get in, especially since you're unlikely to be the only one coming IB over the summer. L-T moved its lists late this year as they had a summer IB boom the year prior and they ended up over-subscribed in some grades. Given increased neighborhood buy-in and that this year's PK3 is 100% IB, I'd expect it to be more competitive for PK4 next year, not less, especially if some IB got shut out for PK3 this year. I absolutely wouldn't prioritize L-T for a post-lottery move if you'd rather be IB for Maury long-term. I'd move there and as the prior poster said shoot for JO, Apple Tree LP, Peabody, Miner, etc. for PK4. It's one year. You'll find a lot of other IB Maury families in your PK4 class at any of those. If you prefer L-T long-term, which some families do for proximity to Hill offices, Union Station, etc., then it's worth rolling the dice on the summer WL.

As others said, don't discount Chisholm if Spanish immersion would be of interest to your family. Payne is also on the rise and has a strong local community and you can get a little more bang for your buck on some of those IB blocks with the size of houses. Though again, increased neighborhood buy-in means a summer move won't guarantee you a spot for PK4 anymore there.

I heard L-T didn't make many waitlist offers this year because they realized the construction of the addition would continue into the school year and they were worried about having sufficient capacity for students. The addition should be done soon and while it sounds like it won't expand capacity, it does seem likely that waitlist movement will return to something more like previous trends.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your chance of getting into Ludlow over the summer in-boundary off the waitlist is pretty good. That’s because based on this year’s data, all in-boundary kids got an immediate match in the lottery, so once you become in-boundary, if they make any waitlist offer at that point, it will go to you. You have no chance of getting into Maury using this strategy because lots of in-boundary kids get shut out in PK4.

So I would move to L-T boundary and then also rank Peabody, Appletree, Miner. Peabody lets lots of out of boundary kids in for PK4, so you have a decent chance of getting into Peabody even without in-boundary preference. Miner has a nice new PK-only building and lets everyone in for PK4.

Thank you, super helpful! From what I’ve read, L-T is also great for elementary, right? Maybe not as coveted as Maury though? We will probably sign a one or two year lease but would love to start building our school community asap. My younger child would enter PK3 when older one is entering first so thinking about that too.

"Coveted" doesn't always mean best for you. Consider what factors are most important to you and do your research. Socioeconomic and racial demographics vary wildly across elementary schools even just a couple of blocks apart. Test scores too. And since test scores are correlated with demographics, a school with really good test scores and 5% of students "at risk" might actually have worse teaching than the school with pretty good test scores and 25% of students "at risk".

DC Report Card is a good starting place for this sort of stuff. https://schoolreportcard.dc.gov/home

This literally makes no sense and doesn’t reflect this on the school report card

Each school report card includes test scores, attendance, and enrollment by race and economic status. It also has information on teacher qualifications and retention. I don't know why you wouldn't use it to get a better understanding of schools.

If you want to see directly how school test scores correlate with at risk status, look at the graph mapping proficiency vs at risk under How Are Schools Doing? here: https://www.empowerk12.org/data-dashboard-source/dc-parcc-dash Schools above the line have higher proficiency than expected for given demographics and schools below the line have lower proficiency than expected for given demographics.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your chance of getting into Ludlow over the summer in-boundary off the waitlist is pretty good. That’s because based on this year’s data, all in-boundary kids got an immediate match in the lottery, so once you become in-boundary, if they make any waitlist offer at that point, it will go to you. You have no chance of getting into Maury using this strategy because lots of in-boundary kids get shut out in PK4.

So I would move to L-T boundary and then also rank Peabody, Appletree, Miner. Peabody lets lots of out of boundary kids in for PK4, so you have a decent chance of getting into Peabody even without in-boundary preference. Miner has a nice new PK-only building and lets everyone in for PK4.

Thank you, super helpful! From what I’ve read, L-T is also great for elementary, right? Maybe not as coveted as Maury though? We will probably sign a one or two year lease but would love to start building our school community asap. My younger child would enter PK3 when older one is entering first so thinking about that too.

Except while correct that L-T cleared IB, that was done during the initial lottery, and they took just 3 total off the waitlist for PK4 last year - only one by August, the other two by October when you'd be settled elsewhere. So while you'd be at the top of the list or near it, there's zero guarantee you'd get in, especially since you're unlikely to be the only one coming IB over the summer. L-T moved its lists late this year as they had a summer IB boom the year prior and they ended up over-subscribed in some grades. Given increased neighborhood buy-in and that this year's PK3 is 100% IB, I'd expect it to be more competitive for PK4 next year, not less, especially if some IB got shut out for PK3 this year. I absolutely wouldn't prioritize L-T for a post-lottery move if you'd rather be IB for Maury long-term. I'd move there and as the prior poster said shoot for JO, Apple Tree LP, Peabody, Miner, etc. for PK4. It's one year. You'll find a lot of other IB Maury families in your PK4 class at any of those. If you prefer L-T long-term, which some families do for proximity to Hill offices, Union Station, etc., then it's worth rolling the dice on the summer WL.

As others said, don't discount Chisholm if Spanish immersion would be of interest to your family. Payne is also on the rise and has a strong local community and you can get a little more bang for your buck on some of those IB blocks with the size of houses. Though again, increased neighborhood buy-in means a summer move won't guarantee you a spot for PK4 anymore there.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your chance of getting into Ludlow over the summer in-boundary off the waitlist is pretty good. That’s because based on this year’s data, all in-boundary kids got an immediate match in the lottery, so once you become in-boundary, if they make any waitlist offer at that point, it will go to you. You have no chance of getting into Maury using this strategy because lots of in-boundary kids get shut out in PK4.

So I would move to L-T boundary and then also rank Peabody, Appletree, Miner. Peabody lets lots of out of boundary kids in for PK4, so you have a decent chance of getting into Peabody even without in-boundary preference. Miner has a nice new PK-only building and lets everyone in for PK4.

Thank you, super helpful! From what I’ve read, L-T is also great for elementary, right? Maybe not as coveted as Maury though? We will probably sign a one or two year lease but would love to start building our school community asap. My younger child would enter PK3 when older one is entering first so thinking about that too.

"Coveted" doesn't always mean best for you. Consider what factors are most important to you and do your research. Socioeconomic and racial demographics vary wildly across elementary schools even just a couple of blocks apart. Test scores too. And since test scores are correlated with demographics, a school with really good test scores and 5% of students "at risk" might actually have worse teaching than the school with pretty good test scores and 25% of students "at risk".

DC Report Card is a good starting place for this sort of stuff. https://schoolreportcard.dc.gov/home

This literally makes no sense and doesn’t reflect this on the school report card

LT has an amazing afterschool “enrichment” program (basically, clubs) that really isn’t fully replicated anywhere else on the Hill. We just started there because our old school was moving to swing space and I really didn’t appreciate how much easier it is to have your kid do all of their (excellent) ECs at school. Drama, dance, journalism (a real newspaper published a few times a year) and martial arts have been big hits for our family.

No that still makes sense. Almost all in-boundary kids get in for PK3 at Peabody, but not OOB siblings who are lower in the priority order. Per this year’s data, they wouldn’t get in until PK4.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your chance of getting into Ludlow over the summer in-boundary off the waitlist is pretty good. That’s because based on this year’s data, all in-boundary kids got an immediate match in the lottery, so once you become in-boundary, if they make any waitlist offer at that point, it will go to you. You have no chance of getting into Maury using this strategy because lots of in-boundary kids get shut out in PK4.

So I would move to L-T boundary and then also rank Peabody, Appletree, Miner. Peabody lets lots of out of boundary kids in for PK4, so you have a decent chance of getting into Peabody even without in-boundary preference. Miner has a nice new PK-only building and lets everyone in for PK4.

Thank you, super helpful! From what I’ve read, L-T is also great for elementary, right? Maybe not as coveted as Maury though? We will probably sign a one or two year lease but would love to start building our school community asap. My younger child would enter PK3 when older one is entering first so thinking about that too.

"Coveted" doesn't always mean best for you. Consider what factors are most important to you and do your research. Socioeconomic and racial demographics vary wildly across elementary schools even just a couple of blocks apart. Test scores too. And since test scores are correlated with demographics, a school with really good test scores and 5% of students "at risk" might actually have worse teaching than the school with pretty good test scores and 25% of students "at risk".

DC Report Card is a good starting place for this sort of stuff. https://schoolreportcard.dc.gov/home