Anonymous
Post 04/26/2013 12:23     Subject: PG school options?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I am zoned for Caesar Chavez and sadly, I think I might have to move. Chavez is underenrolled and I am not sure if I could successfully petition for an OB school when my local really needs kids.

I too love my little house and there are younger families moving to the neighborhood but I don't think the change will happen fast enough. The cost of Friends Community School is daunting and the catholic schools really don't appeal to me.

Has anyone been successful with OB applications when you are zoned for underenrolled schools? I applied and was admitted to a great private school but the 30K tuition without FA is not an option.


$30k tuition? Most of the private schools in the area run approx. $15k - $17k a year, including Friends..


Yes, the privates close in to the Cesar Chavez zoning are less than 30k, but many of the privates in DC or MoCo, not so much. GDS, Sandy Springs Friends, Holton, NCS/STA, Landon, Sidwell, Green Acres, CHDS, Lowell... We live in PG, not zoned for Chavez but we're clearly not far from where PP lives. Our DC goes to one of the privates I listed and we know kids in our neighborhood (loosely defined - PG towns nearish to the University of Maryland) at all of these schools. Pretty sure all of them are over 30K a year.
Anonymous
Post 04/26/2013 12:19     Subject: PG school options?
meant he went to public school in the '80s and '90s -- not just high school.
Anonymous
Post 04/26/2013 12:18     Subject: PG school options?
Anonymous wrote:Thanks OP for the question and for the positive words about PG. Interestingly, my wife and I experienced black on white racism here in PG when we moved here in 87, and through my kids school years. Tried the public school route and found it lacking on several fronts. We were pleased with sending both kids to Riverdale Baptist for their years in school. While we are not connected to what they are doing now, it is far better than what will be found in the public school realm, even in the Mitchellville area where we are. My daughter graduated top of the class and is in her third year of herself being a high school teacher. Hope you get some good direction from those who have some current experience in good schools. Thumbs up!


I think a lot has changed since the '80s and '90s. While I don't doubt your experience, we're living in a very different era now. I think it would be useful to hear from people who have had their kids in PG county public schools in the last 5 years, especially with regard to the question of black on white racism.

I read an interesting account from a white student who graduated last year from a PG County school (on a different website). The topic was black on white racism/violence. There was someone who said he went to a public high school in PG in the '80s and '90s and experienced a lot of black on white racism. The recent student said, however, that she didn't experience any racism. She said that there were fights every now and again in her school, but usually that was only within a certain crowd (that she didn't associate with).

It's an interesting question, and I think it is part of what people fear in moving to the area (it is the fear anyone has when they are a minority). I would be curious to hear from anyone with recent experiences to share.

There was a pretty controversial thread on the very same topic with respect to DC schools.
Anonymous
Post 04/26/2013 12:17     Subject: PG school options?

$30k tuition? Most of the private schools in the area run approx. $15k - $17k a year, including Friends..


The $30K in tuition and aftercare is for a DC private. Friends is more like $22K with aftercare and fees, which comes to $2,200 per month. Friends is far from cheap.
Anonymous
Post 04/26/2013 12:10     Subject: PG school options?
Thanks OP for the question and for the positive words about PG. Interestingly, my wife and I experienced black on white racism here in PG when we moved here in 87, and through my kids school years. Tried the public school route and found it lacking on several fronts. We were pleased with sending both kids to Riverdale Baptist for their years in school. While we are not connected to what they are doing now, it is far better than what will be found in the public school realm, even in the Mitchellville area where we are. My daughter graduated top of the class and is in her third year of herself being a high school teacher. Hope you get some good direction from those who have some current experience in good schools. Thumbs up!
Anonymous
Post 04/26/2013 11:52     Subject: PG school options?
Sorry for the typos, trying to do this on my phone lol.
Anonymous
Post 04/26/2013 11:50     Subject: PG school options?
The deadline doe out of boundary transfers has closed. Typically they list the schools with space and then you send I the application specifying the school you are interested in. I put in a request for this year but I won't hear anything until May.
Anonymous
Post 04/26/2013 11:43     Subject: PG school options?
Anonymous wrote:I am zoned for Caesar Chavez and sadly, I think I might have to move. Chavez is underenrolled and I am not sure if I could successfully petition for an OB school when my local really needs kids.

I too love my little house and there are younger families moving to the neighborhood but I don't think the change will happen fast enough. The cost of Friends Community School is daunting and the catholic schools really don't appeal to me.

Has anyone been successful with OB applications when you are zoned for underenrolled schools? I applied and was admitted to a great private school but the 30K tuition without FA is not an option.


$30k tuition? Most of the private schools in the area run approx. $15k - $17k a year, including Friends..
Anonymous
Post 04/26/2013 11:36     Subject: PG school options?
I am zoned for Caesar Chavez and sadly, I think I might have to move. Chavez is underenrolled and I am not sure if I could successfully petition for an OB school when my local really needs kids.

I too love my little house and there are younger families moving to the neighborhood but I don't think the change will happen fast enough. The cost of Friends Community School is daunting and the catholic schools really don't appeal to me.

Has anyone been successful with OB applications when you are zoned for underenrolled schools? I applied and was admitted to a great private school but the 30K tuition without FA is not an option.
Anonymous
Post 04/26/2013 10:52     Subject: PG school options?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I am ok with us moving to PG But I would love to know where I should be looking


It sounds crass to put it this way, but the safest course educationally speaking is to follow the gentrification.

The Post had a front page article last summer about the influx of white families to PG (according to recent Census data), and the authors pinpointed the Hyattsville area. The white households are primarily upper-middle class and there are also highly educated AA and Asian families moving to places like Arts District Hyattsville. This is having a very positive effect on Hyattsville Elementary.

University Park, just north of Hyattsville, has long had a stable and affluent population, which results in University Park Elementary being a stellar performer, even by MOCO standards.

And if for whatever reason you end up not happy in the local PS, there are excellent private options in St. Jerome Academy and Friends Community School, and DeMatha and Seton high schools are also close by. St. Jerome in particular is a bargain among private schools and has a substantial non-Catholic enrollment.


No. You do not need to "follow the gentrification." There are plenty of majority AA areas in PG that are very affluent and nice. I'm not even black and I found this post a little bit offensive, like you need to follow the white people to find a livable place. No wonder PG has such a stigma, if this is the way people think.


I think that is why PG has the stigma. You would be amazed at the things people said to me when I told them I bought a house in PG. Frankly, I've been shocked at how racist people are. And I'm talking about progressive types! I'm progressive/liberal, and so most of my friends are, and the things they have said are, frankly, disgusting. It's actually been the worst part of moving to PG. I love my neighborhood. I love my neighbors. But the PG-shaming and not-so-subtle racism that I've experienced from what I thought were open-minded, progressive, non-racist friends has made me sick in the stomach at times. Beyond that, I've had white professionals say out and out racist things when I told them I moved to PG. Needless to say, I won't be spending my money on their services again. But it bothers me that people think it's okay to say the things they've said! And I would add, that the professionals who have said horrible things, I suspect, don't even know much about PG.




Anonymous
Post 04/26/2013 10:04     Subject: PG school options?
Can anyone specifically speak to the impact of the Arts District on Hyattsville Elementary? Any parents here?
Not generalizations or test scores, because quite frankly I've seen both.
Anonymous
Post 04/26/2013 09:53     Subject: PG school options?
Anonymous wrote:PP @ 9:36 -- gentrification = white people? White people = gentrification?


9:33 is the one that suggested to follow the white families.9:36 was just responding to it.
Anonymous
Post 04/26/2013 09:52     Subject: PG school options?
Anonymous wrote:PP @ 9:36 -- gentrification = white people? White people = gentrification?


If you read the quoted post, that was the gist of it. The only parts of PG worth looking at, apparently, are the parts that "affluent" white people and Asian people are moving to- never mind that much of PG is already affluent.
Anonymous
Post 04/26/2013 09:48     Subject: PG school options?
www.schooldigger.com ranks the schools in a particular area by test scores. In terms of elementary, a lot of the higher ranked ones are in Bowie including Tulip Grove, Heather Hills (TAG designated center), glenarden woods (TAG center), Whitehall elementary. the biggest issue will be to find a place where you are comfortable with the middle and high schools as well if you plan to do zoned schools throughout. School digger also ranks those. There are also lottery options and some very good catholic privates for high school as well.
Anonymous
Post 04/26/2013 09:37     Subject: PG school options?
PP @ 9:36 -- gentrification = white people? White people = gentrification?