Anonymous
Post 02/23/2021 15:47     Subject: Re:Help with pk3 ranking please
Anonymous wrote:I'm in the same situation as the OP, entering PK3 in the fall and in bounds for Garrison. We honestly think it's our #1, so our lottery list is more about backup plans if we get a terrible number and don't get in. We own our place and value neighborhood school/walkability/sane commute so will likely be Garrison for K. Our strategy is Garrison, then a bunch of total flyers just in case it turns out the pandemic has totally upended past lottery trends, then the charters where we're actually likely to end up if the lottery is normal but we get a bad number. Interested in feedback, particularly around what I'm missing or other possibilities to round out the list.

1. Garrison
2. Marie Reed English dominant (not happening, but you miss the shots you don't take)
3. Seaton
4. Thomson
5. Appletree Columbia Heights (realistically where we end up if we whiff on Garrison)
6. Meridian PCS
7. KIPP Grow
8. Tubman


If you do not get into Garrison on the initial lottery draw you will likely get into either Appletree or Meridian and if you don't match at Appletree you will likely get in off the waitlist at some point. You have zero chance of getting into Marie Reed (they have in bounds kids waitlisted every year well into October). Seaton and Thompson you are not going to get into OOB if your number is not good enough to get you into Garrison IB.
Anonymous
Post 02/23/2021 15:33     Subject: Re:Help with pk3 ranking please
I'm in the same situation as the OP, entering PK3 in the fall and in bounds for Garrison. We honestly think it's our #1, so our lottery list is more about backup plans if we get a terrible number and don't get in. We own our place and value neighborhood school/walkability/sane commute so will likely be Garrison for K. Our strategy is Garrison, then a bunch of total flyers just in case it turns out the pandemic has totally upended past lottery trends, then the charters where we're actually likely to end up if the lottery is normal but we get a bad number. Interested in feedback, particularly around what I'm missing or other possibilities to round out the list.

1. Garrison
2. Marie Reed English dominant (not happening, but you miss the shots you don't take)
3. Seaton
4. Thomson
5. Appletree Columbia Heights (realistically where we end up if we whiff on Garrison)
6. Meridian PCS
7. KIPP Grow
8. Tubman
Anonymous
Post 02/23/2021 14:59     Subject: Help with pk3 ranking please
Anonymous wrote:Garrison has a preference for families that will stay for upper grades, said a friend who got to their open house, but they were not sure how it works. Or could be something they said they like.


That is not an actual preference in the system.

When I was doing PTA for our school (not Garrison) I definitely made more of an effort to cultivate families who might stay for a while. If people's house was on the market or they talked a lot about moving, they were not my priority to recruit. But I found it very hard to predict who would actually stay.
Anonymous
Post 02/23/2021 14:54     Subject: Re:Help with pk3 ranking please
Garrison may have a preference as in they may prefer families to stay for upper grades, but there's no lottery preference for any schools (DCPS or DCPCS) other than boundary/language for dual-language/siblings (and the first two don't apply to PCS). Anything you may have been told otherwise is wrong.
Anonymous
Post 02/23/2021 14:07     Subject: Help with pk3 ranking please
Garrison has a preference for families that will stay for upper grades, said a friend who got to their open house, but they were not sure how it works. Or could be something they said they like.
Anonymous
Post 02/23/2021 13:22     Subject: Help with pk3 ranking please
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Here's our list:

1. Sela
2. Shepherd
3. Takoma (IB)
4. ECE Citywide at Military Road




If that's your true preference then it's fine, but (1) zero likelihood your number gets you into Shepherd OOB but not Sela, and (3) pretty sure TEC is still early action for IB, and if so, no reason to list anything below it as you're guaranteed a spot (though perhaps it has lost its early action designation, in which case you will almost certainly still get a spot). The result of this list though is a spot at Sela (again, fine if that's your true preference).


We are a Hebrew-speaking family, so Sela is our first choice.


Seems like a good list then. If you want another safer school I'd add Height, but I think your odds are great of getting Sela. I cannot imagine the circumstances where you get into Shepherd or even get waitlisted there but as long as you have less than 12 schools you want to list there's no harm in listing it.
Anonymous
Post 02/23/2021 13:00     Subject: Help with pk3 ranking please
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Here's our list:

1. Sela
2. Shepherd
3. Takoma (IB)
4. ECE Citywide at Military Road




If that's your true preference then it's fine, but (1) zero likelihood your number gets you into Shepherd OOB but not Sela, and (3) pretty sure TEC is still early action for IB, and if so, no reason to list anything below it as you're guaranteed a spot (though perhaps it has lost its early action designation, in which case you will almost certainly still get a spot). The result of this list though is a spot at Sela (again, fine if that's your true preference).


We are a Hebrew-speaking family, so Sela is our first choice.
Anonymous
Post 02/23/2021 12:59     Subject: Re:Help with pk3 ranking please
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:OP here, thanks everybody for the quick replies!
I would love to do dual language but wasn't impressed with Mundo Verde, Stokes and Lamb's open houses so I don't want to put them before Garrison. We are hoping to stay near the area we are in now and would like to be able to walk to school.
Anyone has any DCPS or charter schools recommendations to add underneath Garrison that we might have a shot at? Thanks so much!


Haha. I wouldn't put so much weight on open houses during a pandemic. All of these are really great language schools you would be lucky to have a spot at (MV, Stokes, and LAMB).


And PK3 is your best shot to get a slot at most of these dual language schools (unless they are in an expansion year- DC Bilingual might be next year).


We are at LAMB and have no idea what the "open house" looked like this year, but happy to answer questions if you have them. Would agree with PP that I wouldn't put too much stock in open houses as a general matter (true in the best of time and especially true now). There are plenty of reasons not to choose these schools, but for me, "meh open house" wouldn't be one of them.
Anonymous
Post 02/23/2021 12:57     Subject: Help with pk3 ranking please
Anonymous wrote:Here's our list:

1. Sela
2. Shepherd
3. Takoma (IB)
4. ECE Citywide at Military Road




If that's your true preference then it's fine, but (1) zero likelihood your number gets you into Shepherd OOB but not Sela, and (3) pretty sure TEC is still early action for IB, and if so, no reason to list anything below it as you're guaranteed a spot (though perhaps it has lost its early action designation, in which case you will almost certainly still get a spot). The result of this list though is a spot at Sela (again, fine if that's your true preference).
Anonymous
Post 02/23/2021 12:18     Subject: Help with pk3 ranking please
Anonymous wrote:If you're planning to move don't put garrison so high on your list. If you get in and you are in bound and you move out of bounds you may not be able to stay. Put a school you may want to stay at higher on your list. Also if you are in charter or out of bounds school, and you move, you have more freedom to live in a place irrespective of schools.

Also all the virtual open houses we went to were meh or terrible. Based off of friends who attend those schools, we are rating them higher than the virtual open house would suggest. MV was particularly terrible at the virtual open house but I don't think that is reflective of the school being terrible (though there are other reasons you may not like it).


There is zero chance Garrison would put them out for moving OOB. The upper grades have tons of OOB kids.
Anonymous
Post 02/23/2021 12:11     Subject: Re:Help with pk3 ranking please
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:OP here, thanks everybody for the quick replies!
I would love to do dual language but wasn't impressed with Mundo Verde, Stokes and Lamb's open houses so I don't want to put them before Garrison. We are hoping to stay near the area we are in now and would like to be able to walk to school.
Anyone has any DCPS or charter schools recommendations to add underneath Garrison that we might have a shot at? Thanks so much!


Haha. I wouldn't put so much weight on open houses during a pandemic. All of these are really great language schools you would be lucky to have a spot at (MV, Stokes, and LAMB).


And PK3 is your best shot to get a slot at most of these dual language schools (unless they are in an expansion year- DC Bilingual might be next year).
Anonymous
Post 02/23/2021 12:05     Subject: Help with pk3 ranking please
Anonymous wrote:If you're planning to move don't put garrison so high on your list. If you get in and you are in bound and you move out of bounds you may not be able to stay. Put a school you may want to stay at higher on your list. Also if you are in charter or out of bounds school, and you move, you have more freedom to live in a place irrespective of schools.

Also all the virtual open houses we went to were meh or terrible. Based off of friends who attend those schools, we are rating them higher than the virtual open house would suggest. MV was particularly terrible at the virtual open house but I don't think that is reflective of the school being terrible (though there are other reasons you may not like it).


This - you should also consider that you probably won't end up buying near where you rent, because of the very high costs of those neighborhoods and the very small amount of space you get to raise a family there. Most people if they don't already own do move out of that Garrison cachement (unless you're really into urban living and have lots of money - or have just one child). As your kids get older you see the drawbacks.



Anonymous
Post 02/23/2021 12:02     Subject: Re:Help with pk3 ranking please
Anonymous wrote:OP here, thanks everybody for the quick replies!
I would love to do dual language but wasn't impressed with Mundo Verde, Stokes and Lamb's open houses so I don't want to put them before Garrison. We are hoping to stay near the area we are in now and would like to be able to walk to school.
Anyone has any DCPS or charter schools recommendations to add underneath Garrison that we might have a shot at? Thanks so much!


Haha. I wouldn't put so much weight on open houses during a pandemic. All of these are really great language schools you would be lucky to have a spot at (MV, Stokes, and LAMB).
Anonymous
Post 02/23/2021 11:59     Subject: Help with pk3 ranking please
Here's our list:

1. Sela
2. Shepherd
3. Takoma (IB)
4. ECE Citywide at Military Road


Anonymous
Post 02/23/2021 11:58     Subject: Help with pk3 ranking please
If you're planning to move don't put garrison so high on your list. If you get in and you are in bound and you move out of bounds you may not be able to stay. Put a school you may want to stay at higher on your list. Also if you are in charter or out of bounds school, and you move, you have more freedom to live in a place irrespective of schools.

Also all the virtual open houses we went to were meh or terrible. Based off of friends who attend those schools, we are rating them higher than the virtual open house would suggest. MV was particularly terrible at the virtual open house but I don't think that is reflective of the school being terrible (though there are other reasons you may not like it).