Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would probably stay put for another year, OP. A ten minute commute for a school you like is a good set-up. It seemed like some of the HRCS's had unexpected openings in September in a few of the early elementary grades this year and I wonder if that trend will continue.

We're in a neighborhood DCPS as OOB and this is what we decided to do too. We also have some things in the upper grades that seem potentially exciting, so we made the decision not to switch DC until the school stops being a good fit or it's time to make a firm decision about middle school. Honestly, it's a relief to not only not worry about the lottery, but also to give DC the time to see what kind of student they'll become. Maybe ITS will be a great fit for middle. Maybe DCI or Truth. Maybe a suburban school district. But know that there WILL be seats available later and the longer you wait, the more you'll be able to know what middle/high path is best for your particular student.

OP here. Thanks so much for this feedback. I think this is where we are leaning as well. It's hard to know what the right choice is. I'm the sort of person who doesn't like putting off decisions. It's hard for me to say "Ok, we're happy now, we'll wait and see" if I know there is an inflection point coming at some point. I also feel weird guilt about the idea that our exit from the school seems inevitable, and we're yet another white family who leaves their DCPS before middle. But I guess there's no reason to think we are special.

There’s definitely FOMO when other people in your situation are moving to secure feeder rights. But we live in a unique area for schools - unless you’re moving to MCPS or FCPS, there are a lot of very academically similar, but socially and “soft factors” different lottery options for middle school in DC. It really doesn’t make sense to me to lock your kindergartener into a pathway when you know you can get a seat at those feeders later. And don’t feel guilty about leaving DCPS. Every middle class family in DC for the past few generations has looked into alternate options for their children. It’s not a white people thing, and it’s not a new gentrifier thing. If your elementary is good, then stay. But if your middle isn’t, then don’t feel obligated to try to make it work.

I am a firm believer of staying at a school as long as it works for you! I got a lot of FOMO and feeling like I was missing the boat when I saw a lot of families in our school leaving for Basis and Latin but my kid did not want to leave and is still having a good experience.
We are starting to feel the nerves about HS but feel confident that something will shake loose and work out.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would probably stay put for another year, OP. A ten minute commute for a school you like is a good set-up. It seemed like some of the HRCS's had unexpected openings in September in a few of the early elementary grades this year and I wonder if that trend will continue.

We're in a neighborhood DCPS as OOB and this is what we decided to do too. We also have some things in the upper grades that seem potentially exciting, so we made the decision not to switch DC until the school stops being a good fit or it's time to make a firm decision about middle school. Honestly, it's a relief to not only not worry about the lottery, but also to give DC the time to see what kind of student they'll become. Maybe ITS will be a great fit for middle. Maybe DCI or Truth. Maybe a suburban school district. But know that there WILL be seats available later and the longer you wait, the more you'll be able to know what middle/high path is best for your particular student.

OP here. Thanks so much for this feedback. I think this is where we are leaning as well. It's hard to know what the right choice is. I'm the sort of person who doesn't like putting off decisions. It's hard for me to say "Ok, we're happy now, we'll wait and see" if I know there is an inflection point coming at some point. I also feel weird guilt about the idea that our exit from the school seems inevitable, and we're yet another white family who leaves their DCPS before middle. But I guess there's no reason to think we are special.

Anonymous wrote:I would probably stay put for another year, OP. A ten minute commute for a school you like is a good set-up. It seemed like some of the HRCS's had unexpected openings in September in a few of the early elementary grades this year and I wonder if that trend will continue.

We're in a neighborhood DCPS as OOB and this is what we decided to do too. We also have some things in the upper grades that seem potentially exciting, so we made the decision not to switch DC until the school stops being a good fit or it's time to make a firm decision about middle school. Honestly, it's a relief to not only not worry about the lottery, but also to give DC the time to see what kind of student they'll become. Maybe ITS will be a great fit for middle. Maybe DCI or Truth. Maybe a suburban school district. But know that there WILL be seats available later and the longer you wait, the more you'll be able to know what middle/high path is best for your particular student.

I would probably stay put for another year, OP. A ten minute commute for a school you like is a good set-up. It seemed like some of the HRCS's had unexpected openings in September in a few of the early elementary grades this year and I wonder if that trend will continue.

Anonymous wrote:To go back to OP's question, a 10 minute walk is a really great school commute I'd hate to give up, especially years away from when I'd be worrying about MS and HS.

I actually know a lot of families at ITS who live that close to ITS and found it appealing for that reason. For some families the walk to ITS is actually closer than the walk to their IB ES (and definitely IB MS) because ITS is in a building formerly occupied by a DCPS elementary that was closed (bad decision imho). NOw DC Prep would also be as convenient, but a lot of people aren't drawn by both DC Prep and ITS, because they seem so different..

I dunno, I think the Shaed/ITS building isn't that great, aside from being right near a rec center, and it's surrounded by a lot of nonresidential space. There's tons of space left in Langley and some in Noyes, and McKinley and Brookland Middle schools have space too. And they could re-open Emery and Wash Met. So I don't think DCPS will actually wish they had the Shaed building back for many decades to come.

Anonymous wrote:To go back to OP's question, a 10 minute walk is a really great school commute I'd hate to give up, especially years away from when I'd be worrying about MS and HS.

I actually know a lot of families at ITS who live that close to ITS and found it appealing for that reason. For some families the walk to ITS is actually closer than the walk to their IB ES (and definitely IB MS) because ITS is in a building formerly occupied by a DCPS elementary that was closed (bad decision imho). NOw DC Prep would also be as convenient, but a lot of people aren't drawn by both DC Prep and ITS, because they seem so different..

ITS feels like a small, nice school in a comfortable-but-not-wealthy suburb. If you want a "regular school" without special programming or any major issues, this is about as close as you get in DC. Some people highly value the progressive politics and the peer group of upper middle class AA children. Other people just want a reasonably well-performing school near their house. It's not really that hard to get into, because it isn't really so great that people drive super far for it, so there are lots of children who live nearby and we really like that about it.

Anonymous wrote:To go back to OP's question, a 10 minute walk is a really great school commute I'd hate to give up, especially years away from when I'd be worrying about MS and HS.

I actually know a lot of families at ITS who live that close to ITS and found it appealing for that reason. For some families the walk to ITS is actually closer than the walk to their IB ES (and definitely IB MS) because ITS is in a building formerly occupied by a DCPS elementary that was closed (bad decision imho). NOw DC Prep would also be as convenient, but a lot of people aren't drawn by both DC Prep and ITS, because they seem so different..

The traffic on that little street by DC Prep is a nightmare and it'll only get worse when Latin opens there.

We made the leap to a charter in kindergarten for same reasons you describe. There’s no correct decision on this. No regrets overall but I still miss the DCPS. I wanted to have a comfortable track for MS.

To go back to OP's question, a 10 minute walk is a really great school commute I'd hate to give up, especially years away from when I'd be worrying about MS and HS.

I actually know a lot of families at ITS who live that close to ITS and found it appealing for that reason. For some families the walk to ITS is actually closer than the walk to their IB ES (and definitely IB MS) because ITS is in a building formerly occupied by a DCPS elementary that was closed (bad decision imho). NOw DC Prep would also be as convenient, but a lot of people aren't drawn by both DC Prep and ITS, because they seem so different..

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Anonymous wrote:Can you give an example of the woke stuff at ITS?

They're often talking and talking and talking about equity using all the modern terminology, but their actions just don't match up. Like today-- three half days more than what was already scheduled, and the school is paying so that families enrolled in YMCA aftercare can have free care. But everyone who's not enrolled in the aftercare (which costs way more than DCPS aftercare!) is just SOL and gets no help. They treat parents like everyone has a flexible job or SAHP, basically. And that's not equity. Soooo many of the families say all the woke stuff, but really they're at ITS to avoid the high-poverty, high-trauma environment of Ward 5 DCPS, and they know it. So it's really awkward.

Pretty much every liberal parent who is not sending their kid to their IB school (and staying in that feeder through HS) is living with this dissonance (myself included).

Yep, me too. At ITS there's no target language or educational philosophy to use as a fig leaf, so it's really kind of awkward. I did give our IB a real try so I don't feel too bad about it, but I'm happy to see the at-risk preference happening and hope that the school and parents will live up to their rhetoric.

What would it have taken to get you to stay in your IB school?

The main thing is a cohort of kids performing above grade level in upper elementary and especially in the feeder middle school. I just didn't want my kid to be working alone or on a computer so much of the time, and they weren't able to provide an age-appropriate grouping in other classrooms because the higher-grade kids weren't performing on grade level.
I also wanted a much higher level of organization in general. ITS has its flaws but is generally organized and runs smoothly, the IB school really struggled with basics like communication. Cultural things like being consistent about outdoor play (even when it's "cold"), not feeing the kids so much sugar, too much TV. And there were significant behavior issues, not that ITS is completely free of them but it isn't as bad. Preschool parents are sometimes more tolerant or oblivious to behaviors if their child doesn't tell them about what happens, but an upper elementary kid will tell you exactly who punched who.

I hope that the at-risk preference at ITS will bring more economic diversity to ITS and that ITS will still be able to maintain high academic performance and differentiate effectively. I have a lot of hope for our IB as it has made good strides lately, but it didn't happen in time for my DC's academic needs. I'm very fond of the IB school and donate and advocate for it, I don't think I'll ever love ITS as much as I loved the IB.

I have no idea if we're at your IB, likely not, but I'll just say that I would probably be less than patient with those issues as well. Ours has too much sugar and we haven't hit upper elementary yet, but they go outside until it hits 32 degrees, has almost too much communication (emails, school app, text messages, robo calls), no TV except once a week in aftercare, and no behavior issues that I've heard from any of the older kids I know or my, ahem, tattle tale first grader. If you don't mind me asking, what are the percent of 4s and 5s PARCC scores at your IB?

PARCC testing was suspended due to COVID, so I don't have up to date information for you. In the most recent year available, maybe 20-25% of the kids were on grade level in reading and less than 5% above. Math scores were worse. So that means my double-5-scoring kid would be working alone or with one other kid a lot of the time. When she began at the school she had peers who were on her level but over time they left. About 1/3 of the class was scoring a 1, which is really concerning. I could live with a lot of 3s but a lot of 1s means the teacher has to differentiate across a really wide range and it's very difficult to do well. It just isn't realistic. I did think the teachers were pretty good, it's just that the kids are so high-needs and so many kids come into the upper grades every year who are already way behind.

Our school's policy was also to go outside unless it was 32 degrees or lower, and the principal would tell you what you wanted to hear. But many days they didn't actually go-- it annoyed me so much that I started walking by on my lunch hour to check. The aftercare staff was minimum wage teenagers who saw no reason to take the kids out if they or the kids didn't happen to feel like it. There was always some different excuse, but the bottom line is the staff wasn't willing to do it and the principal wasn't willing to enforce it. I would ask yourself how sure you are that the 32 degrees policy is what's actually happening. The outdoor time thing is a cultural difference and the staff will get an earful from parents who oppose outdoor time as well as parents who support it. Diversity requires flexibility and compromise, but sometimes all these compromises add up to too much.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can you give an example of the woke stuff at ITS?

They're often talking and talking and talking about equity using all the modern terminology, but their actions just don't match up. Like today-- three half days more than what was already scheduled, and the school is paying so that families enrolled in YMCA aftercare can have free care. But everyone who's not enrolled in the aftercare (which costs way more than DCPS aftercare!) is just SOL and gets no help. They treat parents like everyone has a flexible job or SAHP, basically. And that's not equity. Soooo many of the families say all the woke stuff, but really they're at ITS to avoid the high-poverty, high-trauma environment of Ward 5 DCPS, and they know it. So it's really awkward.

Pretty much every liberal parent who is not sending their kid to their IB school (and staying in that feeder through HS) is living with this dissonance (myself included).

Yep, me too. At ITS there's no target language or educational philosophy to use as a fig leaf, so it's really kind of awkward. I did give our IB a real try so I don't feel too bad about it, but I'm happy to see the at-risk preference happening and hope that the school and parents will live up to their rhetoric.

What would it have taken to get you to stay in your IB school?

The main thing is a cohort of kids performing above grade level in upper elementary and especially in the feeder middle school. I just didn't want my kid to be working alone or on a computer so much of the time, and they weren't able to provide an age-appropriate grouping in other classrooms because the higher-grade kids weren't performing on grade level.
I also wanted a much higher level of organization in general. ITS has its flaws but is generally organized and runs smoothly, the IB school really struggled with basics like communication. Cultural things like being consistent about outdoor play (even when it's "cold"), not feeing the kids so much sugar, too much TV. And there were significant behavior issues, not that ITS is completely free of them but it isn't as bad. Preschool parents are sometimes more tolerant or oblivious to behaviors if their child doesn't tell them about what happens, but an upper elementary kid will tell you exactly who punched who.

I hope that the at-risk preference at ITS will bring more economic diversity to ITS and that ITS will still be able to maintain high academic performance and differentiate effectively. I have a lot of hope for our IB as it has made good strides lately, but it didn't happen in time for my DC's academic needs. I'm very fond of the IB school and donate and advocate for it, I don't think I'll ever love ITS as much as I loved the IB.

I have no idea if we're at your IB, likely not, but I'll just say that I would probably be less than patient with those issues as well. Ours has too much sugar and we haven't hit upper elementary yet, but they go outside until it hits 32 degrees, has almost too much communication (emails, school app, text messages, robo calls), no TV except once a week in aftercare, and no behavior issues that I've heard from any of the older kids I know or my, ahem, tattle tale first grader. If you don't mind me asking, what are the percent of 4s and 5s PARCC scores at your IB?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can you give an example of the woke stuff at ITS?

They're often talking and talking and talking about equity using all the modern terminology, but their actions just don't match up. Like today-- three half days more than what was already scheduled, and the school is paying so that families enrolled in YMCA aftercare can have free care. But everyone who's not enrolled in the aftercare (which costs way more than DCPS aftercare!) is just SOL and gets no help. They treat parents like everyone has a flexible job or SAHP, basically. And that's not equity. Soooo many of the families say all the woke stuff, but really they're at ITS to avoid the high-poverty, high-trauma environment of Ward 5 DCPS, and they know it. So it's really awkward.

Pretty much every liberal parent who is not sending their kid to their IB school (and staying in that feeder through HS) is living with this dissonance (myself included).

Yep, me too. At ITS there's no target language or educational philosophy to use as a fig leaf, so it's really kind of awkward. I did give our IB a real try so I don't feel too bad about it, but I'm happy to see the at-risk preference happening and hope that the school and parents will live up to their rhetoric.

What would it have taken to get you to stay in your IB school?

The main thing is a cohort of kids performing above grade level in upper elementary and especially in the feeder middle school. I just didn't want my kid to be working alone or on a computer so much of the time, and they weren't able to provide an age-appropriate grouping in other classrooms because the higher-grade kids weren't performing on grade level.
I also wanted a much higher level of organization in general. ITS has its flaws but is generally organized and runs smoothly, the IB school really struggled with basics like communication. Cultural things like being consistent about outdoor play (even when it's "cold"), not feeing the kids so much sugar, too much TV. And there were significant behavior issues, not that ITS is completely free of them but it isn't as bad. Preschool parents are sometimes more tolerant or oblivious to behaviors if their child doesn't tell them about what happens, but an upper elementary kid will tell you exactly who punched who.

I hope that the at-risk preference at ITS will bring more economic diversity to ITS and that ITS will still be able to maintain high academic performance and differentiate effectively. I have a lot of hope for our IB as it has made good strides lately, but it didn't happen in time for my DC's academic needs. I'm very fond of the IB school and donate and advocate for it, I don't think I'll ever love ITS as much as I loved the IB.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can you give an example of the woke stuff at ITS?

They're often talking and talking and talking about equity using all the modern terminology, but their actions just don't match up. Like today-- three half days more than what was already scheduled, and the school is paying so that families enrolled in YMCA aftercare can have free care. But everyone who's not enrolled in the aftercare (which costs way more than DCPS aftercare!) is just SOL and gets no help. They treat parents like everyone has a flexible job or SAHP, basically. And that's not equity. Soooo many of the families say all the woke stuff, but really they're at ITS to avoid the high-poverty, high-trauma environment of Ward 5 DCPS, and they know it. So it's really awkward.

Pretty much every liberal parent who is not sending their kid to their IB school (and staying in that feeder through HS) is living with this dissonance (myself included).

Yep, me too. At ITS there's no target language or educational philosophy to use as a fig leaf, so it's really kind of awkward. I did give our IB a real try so I don't feel too bad about it, but I'm happy to see the at-risk preference happening and hope that the school and parents will live up to their rhetoric.

What would it have taken to get you to stay in your IB school?