I think NE DC is both blessed and cursed by the number of good charters nearby. OTOH, most of the good charters nearby are doable commutes. OTOH, it's been a disaster for the local in boundary schools which are only just starting to gentrify in the lower grades, if at all. This dynamic really only applies in the area between Shaw and the Hill.

Op, are you on the Eckington and Brookland parents lists? Lots of good school info there.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Something that's great about NE is that's where so many desirable charters are located. So you actually have a lot of options without a horrible commute.

I live in NE too, and while I know a few families who left DC I know many more pleasantly surprised by where they ended up for PK3 and also lots who were not super excited by first school but lotteried into top choices in PK4, K and even 1st.

OP here- this may be a stupid question and probably one I can answer through googling, but if folks get into the best charter for PK3, do they leave for PK4 and those spots open up? In other words, why should I expect spots to open up for PK4 - wouldnt PK4 be full because people get into PK3?

Another concern of mine is that even if my daughter gets into a good elementary school, will we really want to separate her from her friends to go to a different middle or high school? It just seems like a lot of uncertainty through all of the schooling years. I am sorry for the pessimism and really appreciate the replies so far, as hearing from other people helps ease my mind on this!

One reason is WOTP schools don't have PK3. So some kids will go to a charter or EOTP DCPS in PK3 and then move to their IB WOTP elementary.

Yes, this is us. The DCPS we attend for Pre-K3, however, is not one OP would try to lottery into for PK4.

We couldn't take the uncertainty beyond Pre-K, that's why we stretched to buy a small fixer upper WOTP. I sometimes wonder what it would have been like to get a nice renovated rowhouse for less money and hope for luck in the school lottery, but considering how it went for us this year, I'm glad we didn't take the risk. That said, I think the school we got into is totally fine for Pre-K (although apparently the gentrifiers in the neighborhood don't really think so yet), and I'm just grateful we got in somewhere. I don't know anything about Noyes, but am under the impression that for Pre-K, most DCPS are at least acceptable.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Something that's great about NE is that's where so many desirable charters are located. So you actually have a lot of options without a horrible commute.

I live in NE too, and while I know a few families who left DC I know many more pleasantly surprised by where they ended up for PK3 and also lots who were not super excited by first school but lotteried into top choices in PK4, K and even 1st.

OP here- this may be a stupid question and probably one I can answer through googling, but if folks get into the best charter for PK3, do they leave for PK4 and those spots open up? In other words, why should I expect spots to open up for PK4 - wouldnt PK4 be full because people get into PK3?

Another concern of mine is that even if my daughter gets into a good elementary school, will we really want to separate her from her friends to go to a different middle or high school? It just seems like a lot of uncertainty through all of the schooling years. I am sorry for the pessimism and really appreciate the replies so far, as hearing from other people helps ease my mind on this!

One reason is WOTP schools don't have PK3. So some kids will go to a charter or EOTP DCPS in PK3 and then move to their IB WOTP elementary.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I love the people who are like, 'oh, you'll be fine!' Listen - I live in NE and we lost the charter lottery many, many times. Ended up at Tyler for two years, which was a NIGHTMARE. Now homeschooling for a year while we prepare for a move to MoCo.

It's very unusual to strike out this badly. Everyone I know got into somewhere acceptable by K.

OP, I know it sucks to pay for private preschool, but that's what people in lots of other places have to do. I wouldn't pull up and leave a home and neighborhood you like over just one or two years of private. Start saving now if you're that concerned.

NP here and I've had similar lottery luck as the first poster.

We are another family that has played the lottery and struck out every time. Now in K that is barely acceptable, and will be moving to burbs this coming summer.

If I was zoned for Noyes I would try to lottery for Burroughs, Langdon, Bethune. You're in a good location with lots of schools relatively close. It's likely that you will find a perfectly acceptable place for early elementary that is close to home.

However, it takes patience and flexibility to play the lottery. I know plenty of people who changed schools two and three times before landing at their dream school, and you are right that things will start all over again in fifth grade. Not everyone wants to live with that much uncertainty.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just a warning: getting into a good charter doesn't mean you can simply rest easy; you may still have to re-evaluate from time to time. My friend is at a HRCS that they were thrilled with the first couple of years. However, this family recently decided to pull their kids out, as the school was no longer meeting their needs academically. They'll be in private this fall.

This is us. We are at one of those with the super long wait lists. Now that we are in the older grades, we are seeing that we might leave. And the neighborhood schools in DC are horrific.

VA here we come.

Not the ones WOTP.

Neither are a few EOTP or on the Hill, judging by test scores (although test scores don't always tell the whole story).

Not sure how the PP can make that sweeping claim w/o firsthand knowledge of these schools??

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just a warning: getting into a good charter doesn't mean you can simply rest easy; you may still have to re-evaluate from time to time. My friend is at a HRCS that they were thrilled with the first couple of years. However, this family recently decided to pull their kids out, as the school was no longer meeting their needs academically. They'll be in private this fall.

This is us. We are at one of those with the super long wait lists. Now that we are in the older grades, we are seeing that we might leave. And the neighborhood schools in DC are horrific.

VA here we come.

Not the ones WOTP.

Why not move IB to a school you want.Stay there for a few years, then ask to stay and move back into your home. We moved but could stay in our Nw school.

Anonymous wrote:Just a warning: getting into a good charter doesn't mean you can simply rest easy; you may still have to re-evaluate from time to time. My friend is at a HRCS that they were thrilled with the first couple of years. However, this family recently decided to pull their kids out, as the school was no longer meeting their needs academically. They'll be in private this fall.

This is us. We are at one of those with the super long wait lists. Now that we are in the older grades, we are seeing that we might leave. And the neighborhood schools in DC are horrific.

VA here we come.

Just a warning: getting into a good charter doesn't mean you can simply rest easy; you may still have to re-evaluate from time to time. My friend is at a HRCS that they were thrilled with the first couple of years. However, this family recently decided to pull their kids out, as the school was no longer meeting their needs academically. They'll be in private this fall.

Anonymous wrote:We moved to Arlington. At least there's the relief of good schools the whole way through graduation. (And the services are a thousand times better than DC.)

This or McLean or bethesda, should have just done that to begin with dc is not ready for families that wasn't a high quality public education, even the charters suck compared to McLean and bethesda.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I love the people who are like, 'oh, you'll be fine!' Listen - I live in NE and we lost the charter lottery many, many times. Ended up at Tyler for two years, which was a NIGHTMARE. Now homeschooling for a year while we prepare for a move to MoCo.

It's very unusual to strike out this badly. Everyone I know got into somewhere acceptable by K.

OP, I know it sucks to pay for private preschool, but that's what people in lots of other places have to do. I wouldn't pull up and leave a home and neighborhood you like over just one or two years of private. Start saving now if you're that concerned.

Ah, yes, 'everyone you know'. So it's all fine! No worries! You can't possibly lose!!

gah.

What do you think "unusual" means?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I love the people who are like, 'oh, you'll be fine!' Listen - I live in NE and we lost the charter lottery many, many times. Ended up at Tyler for two years, which was a NIGHTMARE. Now homeschooling for a year while we prepare for a move to MoCo.

It's very unusual to strike out this badly. Everyone I know got into somewhere acceptable by K.

OP, I know it sucks to pay for private preschool, but that's what people in lots of other places have to do. I wouldn't pull up and leave a home and neighborhood you like over just one or two years of private. Start saving now if you're that concerned.

Ah, yes, 'everyone you know'. So it's all fine! No worries! You can't possibly lose!!

gah.