Anonymous wrote:New to this - so dumb question - we're moving to an apartment in VanNess/UDC - it doesn't look like there are any PK3 schools near there.

Are we then OOB for everything?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Pretty sure Wilson and miner also only take IB kids at this point for pre-K. DC makes this super easy. Just look at the website that people have sent around. If it says only kids IB get in and you aren’t IB… don’t add it to your list. It’s amazing to me how many lists I see on here where someone has put Brent, Maury, Lt, VN, etc it makes no sense. There’s plenty of other schools to put on your list and DC has an easy list of them to look through.

Fixed your formatting because I wanted to reply to this. Looking at the data for waitlists, Miner had a 10 person waitlist on results day and has made 10 offers, for PK3. So it's a great option for a Maury family that wants a decent public PK with a very short commute. It's actually surprising more people don't opt for it -- I have no idea why someone would prefer Appletree over Miner. I toured both when we were doing the PK3 lottery a few years ago and honestly preferred Miner.

J.O. Wilson is less likely but the waitlist often moves quickly late in the summer. They have had 14 offers on a waitlist of 24 already this year. Entirely feasible you could get in OOB if the waitlist cuts your way in terms of number of siblings and where else people get in. It's another one that I'm surprised people on the Hill don't aim for more frequently, especially if they are IB for schools like L-T and Maury, because it's right there, has a good PK program, and is a much easier to get into.

I hear Hill parents who are IB for L-T, Brent, Maury, and Peabody fretting over PK lottery and I honestly don't get it. It's weird entitlement. You are guaranteed slots at those schools for K! You don't have to stress about getting into a decent elementary, playing the charter roulette, contemplating long school commutes for years and years. You get that PK is just, like, supervised playtime, right? Your kid is going to go do morning circle, some reading/writing/numbers stuff, free play, and a few specials like foreign language and PE. It's pretty much the same curriculum everywhere. You could send your kid to PK at basically any DCPS or charter and then attend your IB for elementary, and you will be in a better situation than 90% of families in DC.

I have heard people say the bolded before and don't understand why wanting a PK3 spot at your IB school is entitlement. People do not think that they are entitled to a spot- they just want to go there. There are reasons beyond curriculum that people want to go to specific schools. I wanted an IB spot for PK because the school was in walking distance, I wanted my kids to start making friends with kids that they would be going to school with and to start getting to know the school community. I never felt entitled to a spot so calling it that is simply not accurate.

+1. Yeah, I think it's a mis-interpretation of what we're asking. ("We" meaning IB for a Maury-type school with no sibling preference, so not getting in for PK3, which is my situation as well.) I'm not doing the crazy, "OMG what PK3 is the BEST for my SPECIAL child to get into the Ivy Leagues?" routine, and I don't see many people doing that. Most people do understand that it's "just, like, supervised playtime, bro" once they start to think about it. I don't think I'm "entitled" to anything. I do understand that I'm guaranteed a great school at K, which is a blessing. I'm grateful for that. But like OP and several PPs I'm just trying to figure out what, if anything, I can do to try to make PK3 as convenient as possible (i.e. close to my house or work) through the lottery system.

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Anonymous wrote:You will get Apple tree or nothing. Likely nothing. You have literally zero chance at most of those schools. Even if your lottery number were the best in the city, in-boundary kids and siblings would get all the spots before you.

Agree with PP. It's worth putting Maury on your list since you're IB even though chances are slim without a sibling. But you're simply not going to get into Peabody, Brent and Ludlow. Where do you work? What about other charters nearby? Two Rivers, Center City? Depending on where you work, Stevens Early Learning Center could be an option too.

I work in Arlington.

Maybe you could manage Stevens ELC, or Amidon-Bowen?

I would not recommend either. Not have tons of high risk students

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You will get Apple tree or nothing. Likely nothing. You have literally zero chance at most of those schools. Even if your lottery number were the best in the city, in-boundary kids and siblings would get all the spots before you.

Agree with PP. It's worth putting Maury on your list since you're IB even though chances are slim without a sibling. But you're simply not going to get into Peabody, Brent and Ludlow. Where do you work? What about other charters nearby? Two Rivers, Center City? Depending on where you work, Stevens Early Learning Center could be an option too.

I work in Arlington.

Maybe you could manage Stevens ELC, or Amidon-Bowen?

I would not recommend either. Not have tons of high risk students

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You will get Apple tree or nothing. Likely nothing. You have literally zero chance at most of those schools. Even if your lottery number were the best in the city, in-boundary kids and siblings would get all the spots before you.

Agree with PP. It's worth putting Maury on your list since you're IB even though chances are slim without a sibling. But you're simply not going to get into Peabody, Brent and Ludlow. Where do you work? What about other charters nearby? Two Rivers, Center City? Depending on where you work, Stevens Early Learning Center could be an option too.

I work in Arlington.

Maybe you could manage Stevens ELC, or Amidon-Bowen?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Pretty sure Wilson and miner also only take IB kids at this point for pre-K. DC makes this super easy. Just look at the website that people have sent around. If it says only kids IB get in and you aren’t IB… don’t add it to your list. It’s amazing to me how many lists I see on here where someone has put Brent, Maury, Lt, VN, etc it makes no sense. There’s plenty of other schools to put on your list and DC has an easy list of them to look through.

Fixed your formatting because I wanted to reply to this. Looking at the data for waitlists, Miner had a 10 person waitlist on results day and has made 10 offers, for PK3. So it's a great option for a Maury family that wants a decent public PK with a very short commute. It's actually surprising more people don't opt for it -- I have no idea why someone would prefer Appletree over Miner. I toured both when we were doing the PK3 lottery a few years ago and honestly preferred Miner.

J.O. Wilson is less likely but the waitlist often moves quickly late in the summer. They have had 14 offers on a waitlist of 24 already this year. Entirely feasible you could get in OOB if the waitlist cuts your way in terms of number of siblings and where else people get in. It's another one that I'm surprised people on the Hill don't aim for more frequently, especially if they are IB for schools like L-T and Maury, because it's right there, has a good PK program, and is a much easier to get into.

I hear Hill parents who are IB for L-T, Brent, Maury, and Peabody fretting over PK lottery and I honestly don't get it. It's weird entitlement. You are guaranteed slots at those schools for K! You don't have to stress about getting into a decent elementary, playing the charter roulette, contemplating long school commutes for years and years. You get that PK is just, like, supervised playtime, right? Your kid is going to go do morning circle, some reading/writing/numbers stuff, free play, and a few specials like foreign language and PE. It's pretty much the same curriculum everywhere. You could send your kid to PK at basically any DCPS or charter and then attend your IB for elementary, and you will be in a better situation than 90% of families in DC.

I have heard people say the bolded before and don't understand why wanting a PK3 spot at your IB school is entitlement. People do not think that they are entitled to a spot- they just want to go there. There are reasons beyond curriculum that people want to go to specific schools. I wanted an IB spot for PK because the school was in walking distance, I wanted my kids to start making friends with kids that they would be going to school with and to start getting to know the school community. I never felt entitled to a spot so calling it that is simply not accurate.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Pretty sure Wilson and miner also only take IB kids at this point for pre-K. DC makes this super easy. Just look at the website that people have sent around. If it says only kids IB get in and you aren’t IB… don’t add it to your list. It’s amazing to me how many lists I see on here where someone has put Brent, Maury, Lt, VN, etc it makes no sense. There’s plenty of other schools to put on your list and DC has an easy list of them to look through.

Fixed your formatting because I wanted to reply to this. Looking at the data for waitlists, Miner had a 10 person waitlist on results day and has made 10 offers, for PK3. So it's a great option for a Maury family that wants a decent public PK with a very short commute. It's actually surprising more people don't opt for it -- I have no idea why someone would prefer Appletree over Miner. I toured both when we were doing the PK3 lottery a few years ago and honestly preferred Miner.

J.O. Wilson is less likely but the waitlist often moves quickly late in the summer. They have had 14 offers on a waitlist of 24 already this year. Entirely feasible you could get in OOB if the waitlist cuts your way in terms of number of siblings and where else people get in. It's another one that I'm surprised people on the Hill don't aim for more frequently, especially if they are IB for schools like L-T and Maury, because it's right there, has a good PK program, and is a much easier to get into.

I hear Hill parents who are IB for L-T, Brent, Maury, and Peabody fretting over PK lottery and I honestly don't get it. It's weird entitlement. You are guaranteed slots at those schools for K! You don't have to stress about getting into a decent elementary, playing the charter roulette, contemplating long school commutes for years and years. You get that PK is just, like, supervised playtime, right? Your kid is going to go do morning circle, some reading/writing/numbers stuff, free play, and a few specials like foreign language and PE. It's pretty much the same curriculum everywhere. You could send your kid to PK at basically any DCPS or charter and then attend your IB for elementary, and you will be in a better situation than 90% of families in DC.

Anonymous wrote:
Pretty sure Wilson and miner also only take IB kids at this point for pre-K. DC makes this super easy. Just look at the website that people have sent around. If it says only kids IB get in and you aren’t IB… don’t add it to your list. It’s amazing to me how many lists I see on here where someone has put Brent, Maury, Lt, VN, etc it makes no sense. There’s plenty of other schools to put on your list and DC has an easy list of them to look through.

Anonymous wrote:OP, an extremely relevant question is how important public PK is for you, and whether you would be willing to pay for daycare/private PK if you don't get into one of your preferred schools (which, with your current list, is a real possibility).

Also, if you are IB for Maury, you can go there at K regardless. Is that okay with you or are you trying to lottery into a PK and then stay at that school longterm? Maury is a great school, though some people don't like the MS feed.

I can't answer that stuff for you, but I would consider the following schools, all of which would be perfectly good for PK (the first 3 would be fine beyond PK, TBH, though you would probably still prefer Maury at that point):

J.O. Wilson
Two Rivers (both campuses)
Capital Hill Montessori
Miner
Wheatley

Pretty sure Wilson and miner also only take IB kids at this point for pre-K. DC makes this super easy. Just look at the website that people have sent around. If it says only kids IB get in and you aren’t IB… don’t add it to your list. It’s amazing to me how many lists I see on here where someone has put Brent, Maury, Lt, VN, etc it makes no sense. There’s plenty of other schools to put on your list and DC has an easy list of them to look through.

If you have some flexibility on commute, these would also be viable options:

Stokes East End (Spanish and French programs)
Van Ness
Langley

Again, if you just need a program to get you through PK until you can have your guaranteed slot at Maury for K, you might be willing to do an annoying commute for a couple years. It's just PK. You are in a great situation because you are IB for a good elementary school. You just need a PK, and pretty much all the PKs in DCPS are fine. A lot of people are in a different situation (where their IB is not good and they are trying to lottery into a school for the longterm) and it's much more stressful.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You will get Apple tree or nothing. Likely nothing. You have literally zero chance at most of those schools. Even if your lottery number were the best in the city, in-boundary kids and siblings would get all the spots before you.

My friend got into Brent with lotto. Not true