Op - exact same position as you. Toddler entering next year and #2 due in March. I haven't found any schools (that I am interested in) that do open houses until after EdFest (12/8). They all seem to start in December and peak in Jan.

some schools accept very few, if any, kids who aren't inbounds and/or who aren't siblings of current students. don't bother applying to those schools, or at least don't get your hopes up with them. also, be lucky. a lot of this just boils down to whether you got a good lottery number. if you have a good number, you will have good options. if you get a bad number, you won't.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One more recommendation: there has been a school fair in Brookland the last several years. It's worth going to. It's all parent-run and there are parents there from all the local schools and charters in Ward 5. Will probably be in the winter sometime at Menkiti. Informal mixer type setup. You can get a little more personal views on schools there.

Similarly, OP, you aren't very far from the Hill, so the MOTH school fair on Saturday, Nov. 3 from 2-5 pm at Capitol Hill Day School may also be worth your time.

ummm since when is Riggs Park not far from the Hill?

Anonymous wrote:One more recommendation: there has been a school fair in Brookland the last several years. It's worth going to. It's all parent-run and there are parents there from all the local schools and charters in Ward 5. Will probably be in the winter sometime at Menkiti. Informal mixer type setup. You can get a little more personal views on schools there.

Similarly, OP, you aren't very far from the Hill, so the MOTH school fair on Saturday, Nov. 3 from 2-5 pm at Capitol Hill Day School may also be worth your time.

Anonymous wrote:We used the maps to narrow by distance, then visited and did a lot of data crunching (probably a waste of time).

We only ruled out one school because of being such a long shot, PK3, Mundo Verde. Otherwise we didn't have more than 12 we wanted to list anyway. We did rule out our IB without visiting. We live near you but different IB. But, we had other sure bet DCPS listed as safeties (Burroughs, one other).

I recommend going to the open houses. Sometimes you must sign up on their websites and they are limited capacity.

Note, LAMB has a separate lottery as does Bethune. We entered both of these.

For 19-20 MV plan son opening a new campus. They do grow significantly in K vs Pk3 or Pk4, but this year will offer more chances for a Pk3 and Pk4 slot.

One more recommendation: there has been a school fair in Brookland the last several years. It's worth going to. It's all parent-run and there are parents there from all the local schools and charters in Ward 5. Will probably be in the winter sometime at Menkiti. Informal mixer type setup. You can get a little more personal views on schools there.

We used the maps to narrow by distance, then visited and did a lot of data crunching (probably a waste of time).

We only ruled out one school because of being such a long shot, PK3, Mundo Verde. Otherwise we didn't have more than 12 we wanted to list anyway. We did rule out our IB without visiting. We live near you but different IB. But, we had other sure bet DCPS listed as safeties (Burroughs, one other).

I recommend going to the open houses. Sometimes you must sign up on their websites and they are limited capacity.

Note, LAMB has a separate lottery as does Bethune. We entered both of these.

PP is right. For charters, you can’t tell how many PK3 slots go to siblings. But for dual-language DCPS, the data cited above will tell you. We live close to two dual-language DCPSes but are not inbound, and looking at the data helped me decide whether it was worth listing. (For Bruce Monroe and Powell, it was not worth it. All slots go to IB sibling or IB, so we left them off our list.)

Anonymous wrote:Not OP, but in the same position. Are there any schools that we should not even bother putting on our PK3 list because all the spots go to siblings? My DH and I are particularly interested in having our kid learn a second language, but I don't want to bother putting all the immersion charters at the top of our PK3 list if 0 or 1 kids who are not sibling-preference will get in. Is there a way to find that historical data on the schools, or does anyone know and can provide insight?

The only immersion school where every slot goes to siblings for preschool is Oyster Adams English-dominant. But they don't have Pk3 anyway.

You can find the historical wait list data here https://public.tableau.com/profile/aaron2446#!/vizhome/MSDCSeatsandWaitlistOfferData/MSDCPublicDisplay but for charters it won't show how many spaces were taken by siblings (that data isn't released but schools will sometimes tell you how many siblings they anticipate during open houses).

But seats available varies year to year; schools open new classes or locations and more people will get in that year than in the past.

So the advice to "rank in order of your true preference" is really true. For all you know, you will be the first one picked and will get your top choice. It happens to someone every year.

Not OP, but in the same position. Are there any schools that we should not even bother putting on our PK3 list because all the spots go to siblings? My DH and I are particularly interested in having our kid learn a second language, but I don't want to bother putting all the immersion charters at the top of our PK3 list if 0 or 1 kids who are not sibling-preference will get in. Is there a way to find that historical data on the schools, or does anyone know and can provide insight?

I looked at a map and plotted on it all the schools within a reasonable commute (we had a fairly expansive definition of "reasonable"). Then I searched this forum and our neighborhood facebook groups/listserves for info on those schools. Then I went to open houses and/or Ed Fest tables of the schools that seemed acceptable (we had a fairly expansive definition of "acceptable"). Then I ordered them based on preference and made sure I had at a few schools on the list where I figured my child was likely to get a spot, based on the historical data on the myschooldc website. We've jumped schools every year to "trade up" but each school has been a positive experience. Keep in mind that for PK3 and PK4, you don't need advanced curriculum, differential education (unless your child has special needs), or high test scores. You need kind, child-loving, patient teachers who are prepared and supported to meet the needs of their kids and a curriculum that allows lots of playtime.

Anonymous wrote:OP here again, thanks ALL. Your responses have really helped me get my mind around how to proceed and next steps! Still happy to hear and other tips or Rex’s as well.

I'll add that you can call the My School DC hotline if you have questions. I had a confusing sibling situation that they helped me sort out and they were generally knowledgeable about the various DC government resources.

OP here again, thanks ALL. Your responses have really helped me get my mind around how to proceed and next steps! Still happy to hear and other tips or Rex’s as well.

*tours this fall* not *yours this fall* I meant above

Anonymous wrote:In general you can't just walk into schools and have them show you around--there are security protocols to keep strangers out, and it's distracting to the staff and students. Check the school's website, twitter, or facebook pages as well as local listservs and the myschooldc website for open house dates. If you can't find out from that, email the principal or the PTA if there is one.

This is right. But I will say if you’re trying to get a head start, Stokes is having yours this fall also. My daughter’s experience there so far has been great and I’m blown away by how much French she’s learned in only a month. I’m sure it’s going to be the same now that she’s on the Spanish track. And I know everyone says Stokes is a long shot but just remember someone has to get in and be lucky enough to get these slots. My daughter was #10 for the Spanish waitlist, and everyone on this message board said she’d never get in with even that number, and here we are. So don’t be discouraged. Just so as much research as possible and be strategic about how you pick and rank your schools. Everything will work out the way it is supposed to.