Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Payne has a fairly high population of homeless kids, being so close to DC General. That's where Relisha Rudd was attending when she went missing.

So in the other threads about the locations for the new shelters there are comments about most of the kids in the DC General family shelter being under 2. Does anyone here know how many attend Payne?

There are homeless children at Payne but it's not primarily because of DC General. DC encourages homeless families to remain in their schools if doing so provides stability or a support network at the school. DC also provides transportation. The location of the shelters, which are intended to be short term for families, should not be a major factor. The sad truth is that there are substantial numbers of homeless and housing unstable families in DC (doubling up with friends and relatives, domestic abuse, etc).

I was wondering about that. Sometimes it seems like people are implying that Payne can't make the jump until the shelter is closed but it doesn't sound like the two are really tied together.

Hopefully they get a strong leader in the Principal search and Payne takes off. It seems like some of the other hill schools around turned quickly once the time came.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Payne has a fairly high population of homeless kids, being so close to DC General. That's where Relisha Rudd was attending when she went missing.

So in the other threads about the locations for the new shelters there are comments about most of the kids in the DC General family shelter being under 2. Does anyone here know how many attend Payne?

There are homeless children at Payne but it's not primarily because of DC General. DC encourages homeless families to remain in their schools if doing so provides stability or a support network at the school. DC also provides transportation. The location of the shelters, which are intended to be short term for families, should not be a major factor. The sad truth is that there are substantial numbers of homeless and housing unstable families in DC (doubling up with friends and relatives, domestic abuse, etc).

Anonymous wrote:Not a Payne family but live nearby on the Hill. We are 25 on the waitlist for PK4 and will seriously consider it if we get in! Based on what I hear from Payne families I meet, if I lived IB for Payne I would definitely enroll and take it one year at a time.

As far as real estate goes, I can sympathize that it seems like a gamble. But if you don't even have kids yet, I think it's not a crazy thing to do. That area of the Hill is really going like gangbusters (especially once Safeway lot is redeveloped) and even if you have to move you're going to be OK given that you have at least 5 years for your property to appreciate if you decide that you can't do Payne for K. But this is a very personal question having to do with your appetite for risk and your own resources.

I want to highlight this. While I really want Payne (and really all DCPS schools to succeed), there is no guarantee and even less of a one for a school that is on the upswing. I'd think hard about how you'll feel about re-establishing roots if it turns out that Payne does not continue to be a good fit for your family or if you find yourself not happy with your MS options and wanting to move. If your family is one that easily settles into a community and makes friends, then moving in a few years may be less of a concern for you. But know that it seems easier to make family friends when your kids are younger.

Not a Payne family but live nearby on the Hill. We are 25 on the waitlist for PK4 and will seriously consider it if we get in! Based on what I hear from Payne families I meet, if I lived IB for Payne I would definitely enroll and take it one year at a time.

As far as real estate goes, I can sympathize that it seems like a gamble. But if you don't even have kids yet, I think it's not a crazy thing to do. That area of the Hill is really going like gangbusters (especially once Safeway lot is redeveloped) and even if you have to move you're going to be OK given that you have at least 5 years for your property to appreciate if you decide that you can't do Payne for K. But this is a very personal question having to do with your appetite for risk and your own resources.

My child also goes to Payne (we live IB), and we have been very happy. As the previous poster mentioned, the modernization was just completed, so the building is beautiful, and there will be a new playground built this summer. We love the teachers, who bring a lot of experience and love for the kids. I have enjoyed getting to know the teachers and school staff, the atmosphere in the school is always extremely positive. We do not know of anybody who is leaving the school this year, and we did not enter the lottery this spring. There are a lot of engaged and involved families that are working together with the staff on issues such as the renovation, principal selection process, and other programs and projects.

My child goes to Payne and I live inbound. Yes 5 years ago there was some drama on the PTA. This is old news. Things have changed and the PTA is growing slowly but confidently. Its not Brent or Maury yet but there are a lot of involved parents who want good things for the school. There is not a lot of neighborhood kids in the upper grades but prek kids are staying longer and longer. I do not know of one PK3 kid who is not coming back for PK4. There are currently over 10 inbound PK3 kids on the waitlist for next year. Change happens slowly and generally starts with the younger grades. Payne has had an interim principal this year and will be getting a permanent new principal next year. It also has an amazing new building. I would not hesitate to recommend Payne to anyone.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would look into Miner over Payne

Really?

It's too bad to hear these negative opinions about Payne...love this part of the hill.

Definitely. Miner has a better PTA, teachers that are supportive of that PTA (key) and some glimmers of progress. Payne doesn't sadly; though, of course, it has IB demographics, so sudden change is always possible.

It sure looks like things will be interesting the next couple years all over the hill at the lower elementary level. There seem to be very few slots available at the schools that have been preferred out of bounds options over the past five years so the pressure is on several schools like Payne to make a jump forward.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would look into Miner over Payne

Really?

It's too bad to hear these negative opinions about Payne...love this part of the hill.

Definitely. Miner has a better PTA, teachers that are supportive of that PTA (key) and some glimmers of progress. Payne doesn't sadly; though, of course, it has IB demographics, so sudden change is always possible.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not a current Payne family, but we have several neighbors with younger kids who are very involved in the school. There are many more IB kids in the lowest grades, and there is certainly a push for them to stay. I would talk to the PTA folks before rejecting the school out of hand.

You know, in-boundary parents have been saying this for a good five years now. The newly constituted 2011-2013 PTA, parents of around 15 high SES kids in PreK3, knocked itself out until a bunch of previously uninvolved teachers turned up at an election meeting 18 months in and voted out the whole (racially diverse) gentrifier leadership. The principal did nothing. Not one of PreK3 kids made it even to K. Now a new group of in-boundary early childhood parents is plugging away to improve this failing school. It's a Sisyphian task of course. Unless you're only planing on using Payne for PreK3, PreK4 and maybe K, good luck to you.

Sounds like what happened at LT awhile ago. LT got over it and is now doing pretty OK, from what I hear.

Thank you all for the replies. It's unfortunate to hear about the recent PTA frustrations/oustings. Have been renting in hill east for the past 8 yrs (currently in Payne boundary). Buying here sounds like it might be a challenge after preK though.

Anonymous wrote:Not a current Payne family, but we have several neighbors with younger kids who are very involved in the school. There are many more IB kids in the lowest grades, and there is certainly a push for them to stay. I would talk to the PTA folks before rejecting the school out of hand.

You know, in-boundary parents have been saying this for a good five years now. The newly constituted 2011-2013 PTA, parents of around 15 high SES kids in PreK3, knocked itself out until a bunch of previously uninvolved teachers turned up at an election meeting 18 months in and voted out the whole (racially diverse) gentrifier leadership. The principal did nothing. Not one of PreK3 kids made it even to K. Now a new group of in-boundary early childhood parents is plugging away to improve this failing school. It's a Sisyphian task of course. Unless you're only planing on using Payne for PreK3, PreK4 and maybe K, good luck to you.

Is it improving? No, the pain is still there -- and may be for years.

Anonymous wrote:Not a current Payne family, but we have several neighbors with younger kids who are very involved in the school. There are many more IB kids in the lowest grades, and there is certainly a push for them to stay. I would talk to the PTA folks before rejecting the school out of hand.

But OP isn't just rejecting the school out of hand, she's considering buying IB with children. OP, this is a bad idea if you do not have the means to move again in short order or pay for private school.

Not a current Payne family, but we have several neighbors with younger kids who are very involved in the school. There are many more IB kids in the lowest grades, and there is certainly a push for them to stay. I would talk to the PTA folks before rejecting the school out of hand.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Payne has a fairly high population of homeless kids, being so close to DC General. That's where Relisha Rudd was attending when she went missing.

So in the other threads about the locations for the new shelters there are comments about most of the kids in the DC General family shelter being under 2. Does anyone here know how many attend Payne?

LTGTFY:

http://opendatadc.org/dataset/activity/homeless-students-by-school-for-dcps-and-dc-pcs

It looks like what you googled for me are SY2012-13 stats.

I don't know if the shelter makeup was the same back then but Paynes percentage homeless is in the same ballpark as many other similarly performing schools so it seems unfair to correlate it with the shelter without more/current info.