Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:HD Cooke - have friends who are happy with the preschool

Appletree Columbia Heights

Thomson or Cleveland might be worth a slot, if you have them to spare.

Where do you work? You could also put down Capital Hill Montessori at Logan, if one parent works on or near the Hill/Union Station

Thomson's open house wasn't great. The kids basically have recess in a parking garage and for a 3 year old the whole point of life is to play outside. We're going to the Cleveland open house next week. Appletree is out per my comment above. We work in Dupont and Chinatown so the hill unfortunately doesn't work.

But thanks very much, will look into HD Cooke further!

You understand that this is very common for city schools. Playgrounds on the roof top, crossing major roads to the public playground etc.
If you live in DuPont, and not willing to go off of a small range you do not have many options.

FYI - I do not think Cooke is a Safety. I think your best shot is SWW FS since the IB zone is pretty small (WRT residential living with children)

NP here. So do you think SWW FS is worth a spot on the list as a safety if you aren't IB?

Where is your child now? keeping them in daycare is a perfectly good backup option versus sending them to a school you don't really like that is geographically inconventient. The fact is that "free" PK is massively less convenient than a daycare that is always open. Also, if the school has bad aftercare, you might end up having to hire an after school babysitter who is just as expensive as daycare.

If you have a kid who is less than totally resiliant and cheerful, daycare can also just be a more appropriate environment. DCPS PK3s are not daycare (designed to keep kids happy and content) - they are school, with assessments, structured classes, benchmarking, tons of transitions, teachers without great understanding of 3 year olds. And most daycares will prep your kid for kindergarten just fine.

Anonymous wrote:Sacred Heart school is $6k a year, on Park and 16th.

If the OP isn't going to go public in columbia heights, then why pay $$ for the same area?

Anonymous wrote:We are IB for Ross, too, and the PK3 lottery was very stressful (we went through it a few years ago). If I were you, I would put down lots of nearby options, ranked it order of comfort and convenience. You may not get in anywhere until summer, but if your lottery numbers are really bad, you can sign up for the JCC.

Yeah, I am not trying to take free preschool for granted, but it is stressful! I don't work full-time so paying for full-time care is not an option for us right now. I'm looking into part-time private options too, but so far they are all ridiculously expensive. I would be interested in a coop, but I think my 3 year old will be too old for them by fall.

Sacred Heart school is $6k a year, on Park and 16th.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:IF you are concerned about your child's safety in Columbia Heights during school hours, you aren't ready to educate your kid in DC.

Agree you should keep the child with the nanny and ready your house for sale.

Hey, uh, did you read that my child was actually present in the park there while shots were fired? Yeah, if risking death what it takes to educate your kids in DC then I'll start reading up on home schooling.

When I came to DC I lived in Georgetown. And my friend told me I had to be really careful because someone had been mugged there recently and it was a dangerous area. I was very nervous about living in Georgetown for a while.

Crime does happen and it's scary and awful. But it also happens in decent neighborhoods. I don't think that Apple Tree is in an especially sketchy area. Sorry you had a bad experience.

Absolutely, and muggings and break-ins and all kinds of things happen in my neighborhood too, but not what happened in that park. The day somebody walks into Stead park with a gun is the day I move out of the city. Apparently a crew operates right near 14th and Girard so that's why I'm leery of the location.

We are IB for Ross, too, and the PK3 lottery was very stressful (we went through it a few years ago). If I were you, I would put down lots of nearby options, ranked it order of comfort and convenience. You may not get in anywhere until summer, but if your lottery numbers are really bad, you can sign up for the JCC.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:IF you are concerned about your child's safety in Columbia Heights during school hours, you aren't ready to educate your kid in DC.

Agree you should keep the child with the nanny and ready your house for sale.

Hey, uh, did you read that my child was actually present in the park there while shots were fired? Yeah, if risking death what it takes to educate your kids in DC then I'll start reading up on home schooling.

When I came to DC I lived in Georgetown. And my friend told me I had to be really careful because someone had been mugged there recently and it was a dangerous area. I was very nervous about living in Georgetown for a while.

Crime does happen and it's scary and awful. But it also happens in decent neighborhoods. I don't think that Apple Tree is in an especially sketchy area. Sorry you had a bad experience.

Anonymous wrote:You know that 2 years ago a child walked out of Cooke and no one noticed. That is structural safety and control processes that were missing from the school. You are OK selecting that but not Apple Tree?

That was more than 2 years ago, and under a different administration.

Anonymous wrote:HD Cooke - have friends who are happy with the preschool

Appletree Columbia Heights

Thomson or Cleveland might be worth a slot, if you have them to spare.

Where do you work? You could also put down Capital Hill Montessori at Logan, if one parent works on or near the Hill/Union Station

Cooke only took people with no preference last year for PK4, not PK3, so no longer a safety.

OP, why won't you consider Garrison? It seems fine for PK3.
Meridian is right near you. Appletree is accessible by bus. Bridges will have more spots next year because of the move.
The question is how much you need a spot. Personally I would prefer Garrison to Meridian, Appletree, and Bridges hands down (and would prefer Cooke to all of them - prefer the Creative Curriculum to totm). But you may very well say no to all of them and resign yourself to paying for private for another 1-2 years. Nothing wrong with that at all.

HD Cooke has a relatively new principal who seems good. I would definitely check it out!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:HD Cooke - have friends who are happy with the preschool

Appletree Columbia Heights

Thomson or Cleveland might be worth a slot, if you have them to spare.

Where do you work? You could also put down Capital Hill Montessori at Logan, if one parent works on or near the Hill/Union Station

Thomson's open house wasn't great. The kids basically have recess in a parking garage and for a 3 year old the whole point of life is to play outside. We're going to the Cleveland open house next week. Appletree is out per my comment above. We work in Dupont and Chinatown so the hill unfortunately doesn't work.

But thanks very much, will look into HD Cooke further!

You understand that this is very common for city schools. Playgrounds on the roof top, crossing major roads to the public playground etc.
If you live in DuPont, and not willing to go off of a small range you do not have many options.

FYI - I do not think Cooke is a Safety. I think your best shot is SWW FS since the IB zone is pretty small (WRT residential living with children)

None of the other schools I've looked at have a parking garage for a playground. I have been to 7 open houses. Thanks for the input that you don't know of any options. It's not that I wouldn't be *willing* to go farther, it's that given our budget and work constraints, I can't.

Anonymous wrote:You know that 2 years ago a child walked out of Cooke and no one noticed. That is structural safety and control processes that were missing from the school. You are OK selecting that but not Apple Tree?

I did not know that, no. What's with the attitude?

You know that 2 years ago a child walked out of Cooke and no one noticed. That is structural safety and control processes that were missing from the school. You are OK selecting that but not Apple Tree?

Anonymous wrote:HD Cooke - have friends who are happy with the preschool

Appletree Columbia Heights

Thomson or Cleveland might be worth a slot, if you have them to spare.

Where do you work? You could also put down Capital Hill Montessori at Logan, if one parent works on or near the Hill/Union Station

CHM@L is not a safety school. It's a terrible school, but people want it for some reason.