Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would personally choose Powell over Bridges. I visited both. Powell is definitely on an upward trend. The students are calm and orderly and you can tell from the work on the walls that they are learning a lot. Bridges seems to have great staff and a very nurturing environment for the kids. I just couldn't get over the terrible space they are in. The classroom I visited was small, cramped and had no windows. I couldn't bring myself to apply there for that reason. Once they move into a permanent space I think it will be a great option.

I completely agree with this after visiting both schools.

incoming Bridges pk3 parent here.

did the PPs visit Bridge's Sharpe campus? the OP was asking about K and to my knowledge, all Bridges K students are at Sharpe, not the smaller facility on Taylor. and to be clear, at the smaller facility where the pk3 and 4 kids are, there is one classroom with no windows but i didn't find the classrooms small at all. my DC is coming from another, highly regarded preschool and his classroom at Bridges will be much bigger than what he is in now.

Anonymous wrote:OP, I will try to be helpful. We have our child at Bridges and think it is a great school and we have no plans to leave. The staff are fantastic, thoughtful and smart and know what they are doing. And, staff is extremely accessible so we are able to get informal updates and have informal communications that would be more challenging to do in a larger school environment. We are high-SES and it does not bother us in the least bit that it is a Title I school and we do not see that this has been a detriment to our child's learning at all. Our child is thriving so far and we appreciate and believe in the focus on literacy development. The approach and feel of the school is not "fancy" at all, but if you spend any time at the school you will see that they spend their money on all of the right things. Of course we wish that Bridges had a permanent location and hold out hope that this will happen within the next year. Our ideal would be for Bridges to be able to get the Sharpe Building, but who knows if that will happen. As for Powell - we do not have first-hand knowledge of the school but know that some of our neighbors attend and seem optimistic.

We are also at a title I bilingual school and I want to echo this in bold. I think people really overstate the "risk" that comes from your child attending ES with kids who don't all read at grade level. It's definitely more of an issue for MS and HS where behavioral choices and peer examples become important, but I just don't see any negative impact at ES.

I also think this distinction between bilingual by design vs by default is over-emphasized. It is true that some DCPS bilingual schools became bilingual because of the neighborhood population. But some of them then responded by providing high quality bilingual instruction. They made the transition, which was difficult and controversial in some cases, and really embraced the bilingual model.

So I think you need to dive deep into your neighborhood bilingual DCPS and see what you think of the program. Talk to a lot of teachers and parents and the principal. These days you are basically shut out of any bilingual DCPS that is not your IB, so there is no reason to research all the bilingual DCPSs unless you are thinking about moving neighborhoods. For most people it's really a choice between your local bilingual school if you have the option, or the charters.

Anonymous wrote:

Beware of "Bilingual by default, not by design." It's the reason Powell, Bruce Monroe, Marie Reed, etc. have such poor academic scores. You're taking the bait to bring up the stats for schools with high FARMS, high ESL, low scores.

Schools with legitimately high performance for Spanish Immersion: LAMB, Oyster, Cleveland, Stokes, and probably Mundo Verde.

Be very, very, very cautious about the rest. Just designating a Spanish Immersion program doesn't make it a worthwhile learning experience. Visit Bruce Monroe if you don't believe.

I'm a parent at Powell and I'm so tired of people saying it's bilingual by default. have you gone and seen instruction, talked to the teachers and leadership, and families? I sat down with the head of DCPS bilingual instruction and talked through different programs available at DCPS dual language schools, and looking at Powell specifically, I don't understand how anyone who knows what's going on can say it's bilingual by default. Reading 3rd grade leveled books in kindergarten, in both English and Spanish, doesn't seem "bilingual by default." Purposefully hiring bilingual teachers at every grade so kids don't have to shuffle back and forth between their English and Spanish instructors (and possibly repeat or skip content in the process) doesn't seem "bilingual by default." Serving a high-FARM, high-ELL population is what Powell has been doing, but it doesn't mean that they aren't purposefully providing high quality instruction in both languages.

I'm under no illusion that Powell is a top-performing, well-established school in the city, but I do see my kid thriving there and lots of other kids as well, no matter their backgrounds. FWIW, Powell is "Rising" under ESEA, and was one of the top 12 schools in the city showing growth on DC-CAS scores last year.

OP, I wish you luck wherever you land!

Anonymous wrote:I would personally choose Powell over Bridges. I visited both. Powell is definitely on an upward trend. The students are calm and orderly and you can tell from the work on the walls that they are learning a lot. Bridges seems to have great staff and a very nurturing environment for the kids. I just couldn't get over the terrible space they are in. The classroom I visited was small, cramped and had no windows. I couldn't bring myself to apply there for that reason. Once they move into a permanent space I think it will be a great option.

I completely agree with this after visiting both schools.

I would personally choose Powell over Bridges. I visited both. Powell is definitely on an upward trend. The students are calm and orderly and you can tell from the work on the walls that they are learning a lot. Bridges seems to have great staff and a very nurturing environment for the kids. I just couldn't get over the terrible space they are in. The classroom I visited was small, cramped and had no windows. I couldn't bring myself to apply there for that reason. Once they move into a permanent space I think it will be a great option.

OP, I will try to be helpful. We have our child at Bridges and think it is a great school and we have no plans to leave. The staff are fantastic, thoughtful and smart and know what they are doing. And, staff is extremely accessible so we are able to get informal updates and have informal communications that would be more challenging to do in a larger school environment. We are high-SES and it does not bother us in the least bit that it is a Title I school and we do not see that this has been a detriment to our child's learning at all. Our child is thriving so far and we appreciate and believe in the focus on literacy development. The approach and feel of the school is not "fancy" at all, but if you spend any time at the school you will see that they spend their money on all of the right things. Of course we wish that Bridges had a permanent location and hold out hope that this will happen within the next year. Our ideal would be for Bridges to be able to get the Sharpe Building, but who knows if that will happen. As for Powell - we do not have first-hand knowledge of the school but know that some of our neighbors attend and seem optimistic.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:so, because you are from NYC that means you have money for private school? is that what you meant?

We bought based on commute not schools. Never considered DCPS at all - all you ever hear outside DC is how awful the public schools are here. However, we got lucky and send our DC to a DCI feeder.

Makes total sense that you'd choose your school based on the opinion of people outside of DC. I mean, why listen to the people who have actual experience and knowledge on the subject.

Do you make other decisions that way? Ask your lawyer for medical advice, or your pediatrician to help you write your will?

^^hey manhattan poster dissing on DCPS. welcome to DC, sounds like we are really lucky to have you, but that you will never get over that you used to live in a different city.

Anonymous wrote:so, because you are from NYC that means you have money for private school? is that what you meant?

We bought based on commute not schools. Never considered DCPS at all - all you ever hear outside DC is how awful the public schools are here. However, we got lucky and send our DC to a DCI feeder.

OP, you can't get real info from people who have never had children at either school. Why don't you contact the PTA presidents at these schools and get answers from people with first-hand knowledge.

so, because you are from NYC that means you have money for private school? is that what you meant?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Powell gets neighborhood "buy in" kind of love. "We're all in this together!" [/b]Like a few dozen other DCPSs in neighborhoods which are considerably more gentrified, you'll find this starts to peter out very, very fast starting at Kindergarten. [b][By winter break in 1st grade you are going to be very stressed because you've been left behind by your more aspirational or upwardly mobile neighbors.

Bridges seems to get endless streams of love here, which is interesting for a school which doesn't seem to have a permanent home. The school must be wonderful considering how shaky the facilities are. Probably go visit each, and do so with a jaundiced eye.

This is what we fear. If we are left behind, no biggie we will just go private for middle as planned.

Do you have $45,000 a year x 3 (middle) or x 7 (ms+HS) ready to "go private" ?


Because that's what it will cost you in 5 years, based on urgent private school tuition and the certain. 4% increase every single year.

I'm always amazed on these dcps threads how cavalier posters are about just "going private" if things aren't going swimmingly. Especially considering that the posters almost always live in lower cost, emerging neighborhoods to begin with (hence the inquiries about "eh" local schools). If you have so much money that $140,000 - $280,000 cash after taxes is really truly no biggie ... why the curious housing choice in the first place? Why not spend a little more for the house in the better neighborhood in the first place?

We are from NYC - Manhattan and like an urban setting and have a 5 minute commute by car or a 15 minute walk to work.

^^^ NP.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Powell gets neighborhood "buy in" kind of love. "We're all in this together!" [/b]Like a few dozen other DCPSs in neighborhoods which are considerably more gentrified, you'll find this starts to peter out very, very fast starting at Kindergarten. [b][By winter break in 1st grade you are going to be very stressed because you've been left behind by your more aspirational or upwardly mobile neighbors.

Bridges seems to get endless streams of love here, which is interesting for a school which doesn't seem to have a permanent home. The school must be wonderful considering how shaky the facilities are. Probably go visit each, and do so with a jaundiced eye.

This is what we fear. If we are left behind, no biggie we will just go private for middle as planned.

Do you have $45,000 a year x 3 (middle) or x 7 (ms+HS) ready to "go private" ?


Because that's what it will cost you in 5 years, based on urgent private school tuition and the certain. 4% increase every single year.

I'm always amazed on these dcps threads how cavalier posters are about just "going private" if things aren't going swimmingly. Especially considering that the posters almost always live in lower cost, emerging neighborhoods to begin with (hence the inquiries about "eh" local schools). If you have so much money that $140,000 - $280,000 cash after taxes is really truly no biggie ... why the curious housing choice in the first place? Why not spend a little more for the house in the better neighborhood in the first place?

We are from NYC - Manhattan and like an urban setting and have a 5 minute commute by car or a 15 minute walk to work.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is Powell K dual language? If so I would do that.

Beware of "Bilingual by default, not by design." It's the reason Powell, Bruce Monroe, Marie Reed, etc. have such poor academic scores. You're taking the bait to bring up the stats for schools with high FARMS, high ESL, low scores.

Schools with legitimately high performance for Spanish Immersion: LAMB, Oyster, Cleveland, Stokes, and probably Mundo Verde.

Be very, very, very cautious about the rest. Just designating a Spanish Immersion program doesn't make it a worthwhile learning experience. Visit Bruce Monroe if you don't believe.

We're in-bounds for Bruce Monroe and were considering sending DD there instead of continuing with daycare. From the neighborhood buzz, I thought Bruce Monroe was a good school. PP, what did you mean about "visit Bruce Monroe if you don't believe." Can you be specific?

Anonymous wrote:Is Cleveland really on the high-achieving list?

It's ranked as "rising" (2nd highest tier in DCPS). 68% are proficient in math and 72% in reading. It is probably one of the better-performing elementary schools EOTP. For reference, Brent has 80% of kids proficient in math and 77% in reading. But Brent has 11% FARMS and Cleveland is 99% FARMS.