22:42: Very happy West parent here. Wonderful principal, great ps teachers and aftercare teachers for my current 3 year old.

I would recommend Francis Stevens. My son is in his second year and really enjoying the experience. My other son is slated to start next fall. Like your child, he's got a late October birthday. Please feel free to contact us at francisstevenspta@gmail.com for more information, events, and open houses. We've got two more (one in January and one in February).

Best of luck in your searches!

Anonymous wrote:Why isn't Sela doing pre-K3? Why doesn't YY have pre-K3? Seems like a no-brainer.

Because they hate kids and hate the people of DC

Most of the families in Takoma that don't get a pre-K3 slot enroll in TEC and transfer our for pre-K4. You have LAMB, Bridges, Cap City close by, but they are all over-subscribed. Sela has been advertising a lot in Ward 4, since they are opening in Takoma next Fall.

Anonymous wrote:Whatever you do, don't enroll in West. We mistakenly sent our 3yo there and our child was mistreated. The teacher, supported by the principal, called security to have our child removed from class by security because of messing up a puzzle. The after-care was poorly supervised and chaotic.

And when was this? Why bash it when there's a new PS3 teacher and a fairly new principal this year.

Whatever you do, don't enroll in West. We mistakenly sent our 3yo there and our child was mistreated. The teacher, supported by the principal, called security to have our child removed from class by security because of messing up a puzzle. The after-care was poorly supervised and chaotic.

I'd check out Takoma. I have a friend with a child there. She seems pleased overall. She and I both worked together (in the field of education) so we have an idea of what we want in a school. Of course, if you arrive at a school and have a few good parents to work with, it can make all the difference!

Check out DC Prep.
We live near Powell and the test scores scared me off. I would say this is a school with a ton of potential (check out the city playground across the street! Location is great too, just down the street from Bridges and the Petworth metro station) but what may be holding the scores down is that it is an escuela amistosa, an immigrant friendly school, so they are working with more of an ESL model.

Barnard's drop off is 8 am, aftercare goes until 6:15 (or 6:30?) They have Spanish specials (i.e. funding for a Spanish teacher, my DD gets Spanish 3X a week, normally it's 1X) but not immersion.
I would shoot for Lamb and Stokes in NE, study up on the admission process because I think Lamb requires a tour by prosepctive parents? and Stokes has this thing where you camp out to get a better position on the wait list after the lottery and there are a ton of siblings so you may be out of luck anyway. We never got off the waitlist at Lamb 3 years ago, we were 300+.
Bridges, AppleTree, EL Haynes should be on your list to visit.
I wanted to like Bancroft and got off the waitlist but went for Barnard instead. Bancroft's test scores are pretty low. They get a mixed review on this board but some parents are behind it 100% and they have a relationship with the WH (kitchen garden trips for upper grades)
Marie Reed in Adams Morgan is underappreciated on this board but they do Spanish dual language and have good teachers. It's just that the student body appears to be primarily lower middle class, not a ton of hipster parents Adams Morgan or Kalorama kids like you might think from the location.
Oyster has a ridiculous waitlist and starts in PK-4, I think you will be out of luck if you are not in-boundary.

Why isn't Sela doing pre-K3? Why doesn't YY have pre-K3? Seems like a no-brainer.

KMcFarlane wrote:

Hello-

My husband and I just moved back to the DC. We live in the Petworth/Manor Park/Takoma area (we are not zoned for Bernard). DC seemed to be the midpoint between our two jobs. Plus we really like the city. We are ready to plant roots in the DC Metro. My husband works in old town Alexandria, VA. I work in Potomac, MD. (we both have a 30min commute) from our current location. We both work from 8am-4:30pm.

We also have a three year old who will need to go to Pre-K 3 next year. We are open to both DCPS and DC Charter schools as long as they are top performing.

I would love if the school could have a few of these:
•Before and After Care (I will likely drop off at 7:30am) (My husband wil pick up no later tha 6pm)
•Immersion (preferable Spanish)
•BONUS: Feeds into a good middle school


When do we apply to the lottery? What schools are you applying for Pre-K3?

Thanks so much for your help.
Kari

LAMB is not your best bet. It's a great school, yes, but good luck getting in there. Ditto Barnard and EL Haynes. If you don't already have a sibling these schools your chances of getting off the waitlist are nil unless you get a really high number.

We live in northern Brightwood on the border of Takoma DC and tried for Barnard. It was our first choice. We got a decent spot at Cap City but didn't get called up. Takoma EC was just renovated and I have heard some good reviews from parents. We ended up at a downtown charter (not gonna say which cause I've already revealed too much).

Good luck. It's just really effing hard no matter how you look at it.

Anonymous wrote:In DCPS, Powell and Bancroft both have preschool programs that offer dual-language

what's up with Powell?

Another vote for Bridges. Parent satisfaction is at 100%. I only hear positive things on this board, and that is saying a lot. They take an individualized approach and meet each child where they are at - IEP or not. Our 3yo has been there for several months, and we are thrilled that this school is not only close to home, but FREE. Amazing.

Not immersion, but we love Bridges. (In Petworth, 1250 Taylor Street NW)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Takoma Education Center is not top performing, but folks seem to like the preS 3 program. The neighborhood 3 yos have all left by the 3rd grade testing year.

so, I'd put Takoma on your OOB choice. Also West has a good rep. Brightwood has a lot of spanish families, so though not immersion, child would hear a lot of spanish from classmates.

Not so, the kids speak English while they are on the playground.

We love it. Really love it.

But aftercare doesn't seem as awesome (just an observer) and I don't think they offer before-care; I'd go the nanny route. Spanish is pretty prevalent, and they have Spanish class for PS. But they mainly do speak english, PP!