One of the best preschool teachers from the JCC went to Thompson a few years ago. She is amazing! If the school still has her and other great teachers, go for it! Our kids are at Cleveland and thrive in a DCPS dual language program at a diverse school - international, race, socioeconomics.

Anonymous wrote:I'd heard many nice things about Thomson, but had some concerns after attending an open house. Go see for yourself, I'd say.

Could you be more vague?

LMG: you're concerned that most of the kids who go there are not middle class?

I'd heard many nice things about Thomson, but had some concerns after attending an open house. Go see for yourself, I'd say.

Anonymous wrote:I realize this thread is old, but am wondering about this school. Any general comments? I have a four year old. If I move in boundary, do you still have to lottery in to prek?

Yes. Even IB you must lottery for PreK.

I realize this thread is old, but am wondering about this school. Any general comments? I have a four year old. If I move in boundary, do you still have to lottery in to prek?

Thanks so much for your reply; it's especially helpful to hear about the use of the available space.

Are there any parents of first-graders and above? I know at some schools(like our IB), there's a huge difference in the PK grades vs. the rest of the school. I called to ask about an open house and was told to wait until after enrollments are due on May 2.

We are a current pre-k family and plan on keeping our two children there for the next several years. I've been really impressed with the teachers in 1st-5th grades and teacher retention has been great the past few years. The school has a family feel with very strong individualized instruction and also a lot of fun class projects.

My active kids don't have a problem with the indoor play spaces. I like that they can have recess when it rains and snows. There is limited large playground equipment, but pre-k has access to the bikes and trikes. In the upper grades, they rotate use of all the play-spaces, so there is a variety of what they do in each space. Sometimes classes are in the gym and serious pick-up games are played.

I don't know the details about the reward/rising/developing categories. Thomson's DC-CAS scores were good in comparison to other similar schools, but the scores went down with the new PARC tests much like other schools.

Come and visit!

Any more input on Thomson, especially for grades 1 and up? How's the lack of outdoor space for the particularly active kids? How is it a Reward school, when their scores don't seem much better than some of the Rising schools? We're planning on visiting but would also appreciate any insight from current families. Thanks.

We haven't experienced any bullying issues at Thomson and the recess period is well supervised.