Consider moving to MoCo instead, it's not that much farther. DC schools are a nightmare if you don't get in the lottery :-\ and then even if you do sometimes

But you could try for the second round lottery - what do you lose? nothing and use MoCo as a backup plan

for the OP: There is no way that you will lottery in to an immersion charter on the 2nd round. Even on the 1st these spots are the most sought after in the city. So, as PPs have advised, Oyster would be a good bet as an IB family. But you should also look at other DCPS immersion programs, although you will need to be comfortable with high levels of low income students and lower test scores. Powell Elementary is an excellent example of an immersion program that fits this profile, but also has a group of IB families who are highly educated and involved. They are slated for a major renovation and expansion starting this summer. The demographic at that school is shifting slowly toward a mix of low and higher income families, and from what I saw on a tour, the environment is clean, organized, the kids are on task, the Spanish is strong and the teachers and administration quite excellent, even in the upper grades. I imagine that a number of bilingual schools in DCPS fit this description, so keep your mind open.

Look on myschooldc.org (the lottery website) where you can search by school characteristics, and select for bilingual programs and other markers of interest to you.

Good luck!

Don't want to highjack the thread, but not sure what to think of the rumor that one could ask the principal, and be able to stay in the school(specially 2nd/3rd/4th/5th grade) after moving out of school boundary.
I own a condo and have been living IB for one of Wotp elementary schools. We just bought another condo 3 blocks away and are moving there, but it's IB for another school. We would like to keep him in his old school even though the new school is just as good if not better.

The OP said her child is in first grade.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:that is crazy! i had no idea you can just rent somewhere and then jet.

It's up to principal's discretion. So a family that moves in for a year and then leaves is less likely to get dispensation from the principal of an in-demand school to stay than a family that has live IB for a few years and become part of the community.

I agree that Oyster/Woodley is your best bet for dual-language.

my understanding is the Janney Principal told the family not to worry. They rented IB for 3 months - so when they enrolled they were able to show proof of residency. After you show proof, you do not need to provide evidence again.

If you look the part - you are good.

Wrong, you provide proof of residency every year. I am not sure what the conversation was, and the child may well be fine in Janney. But it is simply not accurate that proof of residency occurs once. It occurs once per year. I know this for a fact at Janney, I would assume the other schools follow the same rules.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:that is crazy! i had no idea you can just rent somewhere and then jet.

It's up to principal's discretion. So a family that moves in for a year and then leaves is less likely to get dispensation from the principal of an in-demand school to stay than a family that has live IB for a few years and become part of the community.

I agree that Oyster/Woodley is your best bet for dual-language.

my understanding is the Janney Principal told the family not to worry. They rented IB for 3 months - so when they enrolled they were able to show proof of residency. After you show proof, you do not need to provide evidence again.

If you look the part - you are good.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:then why wouldn't the whole city just rent for a year in K for oyster and be done with it?

because not everyone has the financial means to do it.

I know a family who was having renovations done this year so they rented IB for Janney for 3 months - they are set (at least for the oldest). Not sure how they plan to get the sibling in a few years from now.

Far more people have the means than are currently at Oyster. the 36k it would take to rent a 2 bedroom apt in the Oyster catchment for a year is much less than 20% down on a house in most parts of the city. I wouldn't count on keeping a spot if you move.

does anyone know of examples of people being turned down after one year?

Anonymous wrote:that is crazy! i had no idea you can just rent somewhere and then jet.

It's up to principal's discretion. So a family that moves in for a year and then leaves is less likely to get dispensation from the principal of an in-demand school to stay than a family that has live IB for a few years and become part of the community.

I agree that Oyster/Woodley is your best bet for dual-language.

that is crazy! i had no idea you can just rent somewhere and then jet.

Anonymous wrote:then why wouldn't the whole city just rent for a year in K for oyster and be done with it?

because not everyone has the financial means to do it.

I know a family who was having renovations done this year so they rented IB for Janney for 3 months - they are set (at least for the oldest). Not sure how they plan to get the sibling in a few years from now.

then why wouldn't the whole city just rent for a year in K for oyster and be done with it?

22:16, they are much better off just moving IB somewhere. Why lottery for education?

Live in Montgomery County or Arlington/Fairfax County and commute to DC. If you do want to live in DC move in time for the lotteries next year.

dsmoves wrote:Any advice on what to do now that I've found out we're moving to DC, not MoCo, about getting my son (entering 1st grade) into a good PS or Charter, preferable a dual language (Spanish-English) program? Call the schools and beg? Submit a round 2 app? HELP! Thanks in advance, DS.

don't feel bad. your chance of getting into a "good" charter for 1st that is dual language would be really small. There may be less than 10 spots across the city for 1st graders (without sibling preferance)

that leaves you with neighborhood schools. as a previous poster recommended Oyster is your best bet. There are some other dual language that are fine for PreK and possibly K, but I would not consider sending my child to .... Marie Reed, Powell, Cleveland ...