We worked with a consultant (not EV) and found her helpful. Can you save money and do everything with the info on the internet? Totally. But it takes a lot of time, and there are a million rabbit holes. We were pretty well-informed, but the consultant helped us by talking through our priorities and offering suggestions for schools that met them that we might not otherwise have considered. We were trying to save ourselves some time in the money v. time tradeoff. In the end we got a terrible lottery number, but the consultant had also put a private school on our radar that ended up being a good fit and we're still there now. It wasn't a waste, but you can't expect the consultant to have a magic answer. In the end it is still a lottery.

Back when we did the lottery my consultant was HOURS on DCUM, and I started without even knowing there was free PK3 when we moved to DC when my kid was 1.

We got into IT but turned it down for the neighborhood school (which was a great decision!) and moved by 2nd to MCPS for broader opportunities, like so many do. Worked for us!

Anonymous wrote:I know others have stated JO Wilson is a guarantee but you may wish to add Wheatley and miner below it. Never hurts to have safeties.

Miner isn't a safety. If OP doesn't get JO Wilson, she'll have an absolutely terrible lottery number.

I know others have stated JO Wilson is a guarantee but you may wish to add Wheatley and miner below it. Never hurts to have safeties.

Anonymous wrote:We found EV to be helpful in talking through private school options. FWIW, her kids are teenagers (or older?) and I believe are in private schools. She mentioned to us that she was pretty disconnected from DCPS and charter schools at this point.

The lottery is what it is….she can’t really provide much insight.

She might be great with private schools but she gave me straight up wrong information. I regret hiring her.

From this thread, TR sounds awful:
https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1108405.page

OP, we did PK at JOW and I cannot speak highly enough of their ECE teachers. Some incredible gems there, I highly, highly recommend that program.

FWIW, we got a spot off the waitlist at Ludlow for K. Ludlow is much stronger for upper grades and a better environment if you value having plenty of kids at grade level. We like it a lot.

I have gotten very mixed reviews on TR. People seem to like it fine for ECE but grow increasingly dissatisfied as they go up in grade. People were also very unhappy with how they handled Covid, though everyone struggled with Covid. We got a spot at TR 4th for K and would have gone had we not gotten into Ludlow. A lot of people IB for JOW wind up at TR 4th so you’d have a lot of neighborhood families.

Both SWS and CHMS have their devotees, but it’s a total crapshoot getting in. I will say the waitlist for CHMS can move lightening fast and I think they expect quick responses to waitlist offers, so if you put them on your lottery list, for sure go to an open house and get a good sense of whether it’s a fit BEFORE you get an offer. Their new facility looks amazing, and it’s nice they go through 8th.

I do think your a lock for JOW for PK as an IB family.

this is easy actually. its PreK3, you dont have a car so you need to walk or take the bus. with a child that age, you really ideally want the shortest commute possible - in-bound hopefully walkable dcps all the way

Because JOW is headed for swing space, it will probably be easier to get in rather than harder. All IB kids will get in, literally no doubt in my mind. That's great, actually. Because it means you don't have to worry about safeties at all. Any school you prefer? List it. L-T or Brent impossible? So what if you don't have 12 you'd prefer, just list them. Calculus totally different if you need safeties...

I'm 9:45 PP - all this to say OP that if you put JO, you will almost surely get it. The way the lottery works is that you aren't waitlisted for any school ranked lower on your list once you make a match. Put the schools in the order that you truly want them. Anything you rank lower than JO you won't be WLed for because you almost surely will get JO.

There! We saved the the EV $. Go out and buy a bottle of wine

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Anonymous wrote:OP here! Thank you all for your replies- this helped me a lot! So… since everyone is offering to use the group in lieu of the consultant, may I go ahead and do a quick survey? I’m just wondering about my list of schools. It’s pretty small because I’m restricting it based on commute. Our IB school is JO Wilson and on my list for pk-3 is Two Rivers, SWS, Ludlow-Taylor, Capitol Hill Montessori, JO Wilson and Peabody. We don’t have a car, we walk everywhere, and I don’t think I don’t want to go further east than SWS. Unless that’s a big mistake. Any other schools I’m missing that I should add to the list? Thanks again!

You have zero chance at Ludlow-Taylor and Peabody. JO Wilson is likely since you're IB, but it's not a sure thing. Two Rivers and SWS are unlikely, CHML somewhat likely. So this lisit is probably going to result in CHML or JO Wilson, but there's a chance you could end up with nothing at all. If that bothers you, perhaps consider Appletree Lincoln Park, Wheatley, Browne, or Langley. Look into short bus rides.

This person is the poster child for why you need to take DCUM with a grain of salt. In the history of JO they have never rejected IB PS3...NEVER. Ignore them.

There's a first time for everything. Last year in the initial lottery, 9 no-preference IB PK3s matched, and 29 were waitlisted. They made 22 offers by October. I would think that means all IB kids got in, but it's not a sure thing. If OP wants to be sure of a match (especially if she wants to be sure of one in the summer rather than waiting until fall), best to add a few more.

No. Not what happened. Not what the public data says. The 9 kids with "no preference" on the lottery data are precisely that NO PREFERENCE. This means not IB. Same for the 5 sibling attending and 2 sibling offered. None of those were IB. Year before that 25 kids who were not IB got in on lottery day.

But thanks for proving my point that OP needs to consider all info on DCUM dubious at best. People like you who don't have a clue what they are talking about chime in with nonsense!

You are right. I'm the PP who wrote that and I'm so embarrassed! I will say this could be the first year all IB kids don't match in the initial lottery but surely they will all get in eventually. Unless JO reduces their PK3 enrollment, which I see no sign of.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here! Thank you all for your replies- this helped me a lot! So… since everyone is offering to use the group in lieu of the consultant, may I go ahead and do a quick survey? I’m just wondering about my list of schools. It’s pretty small because I’m restricting it based on commute. Our IB school is JO Wilson and on my list for pk-3 is Two Rivers, SWS, Ludlow-Taylor, Capitol Hill Montessori, JO Wilson and Peabody. We don’t have a car, we walk everywhere, and I don’t think I don’t want to go further east than SWS. Unless that’s a big mistake. Any other schools I’m missing that I should add to the list? Thanks again!

You have zero chance at Ludlow-Taylor and Peabody. JO Wilson is likely since you're IB, but it's not a sure thing. Two Rivers and SWS are unlikely, CHML somewhat likely. So this lisit is probably going to result in CHML or JO Wilson, but there's a chance you could end up with nothing at all. If that bothers you, perhaps consider Appletree Lincoln Park, Wheatley, Browne, or Langley. Look into short bus rides.

This person is the poster child for why you need to take DCUM with a grain of salt. In the history of JO they have never rejected IB PS3...NEVER. Ignore them.

There's a first time for everything. Last year in the initial lottery, 9 no-preference IB PK3s matched, and 29 were waitlisted. They made 22 offers by October. I would think that means all IB kids got in, but it's not a sure thing. If OP wants to be sure of a match (especially if she wants to be sure of one in the summer rather than waiting until fall), best to add a few more.

No. Not what happened. Not what the public data says. The 9 kids with "no preference" on the lottery data are precisely that NO PREFERENCE. This means not IB. Same for the 5 sibling attending and 2 sibling offered. None of those were IB. Year before that 25 kids who were not IB got in on lottery day.

But thanks for proving my point that OP needs to consider all info on DCUM dubious at best. People like you who don't have a clue what they are talking about chime in with nonsense!

Anonymous wrote:If you're IB from JO, you'll get in (although as PP said, there's a first time for everything). Our close friends had an awesome experience there with prek3 and prek4. LT and Peabody are a no for prek3 because some inbound kids don't get in (and you'd be behind them on the lis). SWS is tough if you're not a sibling, you'd need the best lottery # in the city (but put it! Someone gets that number). Two Rivers tough, but not impossible, Capitol Hill Montessori slightly better. You should put on Apple Tree Lincoln Park and then, if you defintely need a spot, put on Miner, they will take out of bounds kids and if you're willing to drive, the Apple Tree that's farther east (I know you said you didn't want to, but balance the commute with definitely needing a slot). Prek3 is hard and then sometimes, depending on the year there are other options. Friend got OOB into Ludlow for Prek4 and another into Brent. It does happen.

NP - this is all good advice, but I want to emphasize the part above. Someone gets into these schools, so don't let the low probability dissuade you. Adding JO (as your IB) and an Apple Tree are also good ideas, but it's still worth it to list schools that you want even if the odds are low. Someone gets a good number.

(DCPS schools are different because even if you are OOB with the best number in the city, you are still behind every single IB kid.)

If you're IB from JO, you'll get in (although as PP said, there's a first time for everything). Our close friends had an awesome experience there with prek3 and prek4. LT and Peabody are a no for prek3 because some inbound kids don't get in (and you'd be behind them on the lis). SWS is tough if you're not a sibling, you'd need the best lottery # in the city (but put it! Someone gets that number). Two Rivers tough, but not impossible, Capitol Hill Montessori slightly better. You should put on Apple Tree Lincoln Park and then, if you defintely need a spot, put on Miner, they will take out of bounds kids and if you're willing to drive, the Apple Tree that's farther east (I know you said you didn't want to, but balance the commute with definitely needing a slot). Prek3 is hard and then sometimes, depending on the year there are other options. Friend got OOB into Ludlow for Prek4 and another into Brent. It does happen.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here! Thank you all for your replies- this helped me a lot! So… since everyone is offering to use the group in lieu of the consultant, may I go ahead and do a quick survey? I’m just wondering about my list of schools. It’s pretty small because I’m restricting it based on commute. Our IB school is JO Wilson and on my list for pk-3 is Two Rivers, SWS, Ludlow-Taylor, Capitol Hill Montessori, JO Wilson and Peabody. We don’t have a car, we walk everywhere, and I don’t think I don’t want to go further east than SWS. Unless that’s a big mistake. Any other schools I’m missing that I should add to the list? Thanks again!

You have zero chance at Ludlow-Taylor and Peabody. JO Wilson is likely since you're IB, but it's not a sure thing. Two Rivers and SWS are unlikely, CHML somewhat likely. So this lisit is probably going to result in CHML or JO Wilson, but there's a chance you could end up with nothing at all. If that bothers you, perhaps consider Appletree Lincoln Park, Wheatley, Browne, or Langley. Look into short bus rides.

This person is the poster child for why you need to take DCUM with a grain of salt. In the history of JO they have never rejected IB PS3...NEVER. Ignore them.

There's a first time for everything. Last year in the initial lottery, 9 no-preference IB PK3s matched, and 29 were waitlisted. They made 22 offers by October. I would think that means all IB kids got in, but it's not a sure thing. If OP wants to be sure of a match (especially if she wants to be sure of one in the summer rather than waiting until fall), best to add a few more.