Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live on the Hill. My kid is in 4th grade at another Hill school. I know many families who tried Watkins, and most of them stayed through 4th and even onto 5th. Many of them are happy and tell me their kids have had excellent teachers. I feel like Watkins is more of a known entity through the upper grades.

I hear a lot of teachers at Watkins are leaving, up to a third this year alone; we'll see the end numbers later. My spouse tells me Watkins is a non-starter because there are a lot of behavioral problems. We have neighbors who are moving to MoCo and pulling their rising 3rd grader out of there because at least some of the classes aren't challenging; they're taking their rising first-grader with them so no more play dates for us. I'm not aware of really any meaningful percentage of IBs who stay past second grade at Watkins. My street is becoming very silent from the lack of youngsters.

I've lived on the Hill for more than a decade, and many families come and go once DCs face the ES-MS transition. Our family and others have kids in WL and Basis and plan to stay, but decided to skip SH. That said, I know lots of IB Watkins families who've chosen other schools through the lottery. We're IB to another ES and we're very happy, but it still goes to SH, so DC will follow sib to Basis. As for your own, decision it depends on how comfortable you feel with the atmosphere. Walk through the school on a non-tour day and observe the classes. Check out the common areas, including bathrooms, specials classrooms, cafeteria and library, and feel free to use a critical eye. I've heard many options about LT and Watkins over the years, but higher SES families have been choosing other schools for a few years now. Check MOTH and talk to your neighbors, but if it were my DC, I'd choose LT! Good luck.

^^ Neighborhood buy-in is very important and telling about the quality of a school. I'm the PP, but that's a fact of life.

Anonymous wrote:^. Yeah, that's the point... It feels like those are the only two possibilities. What percentage IB wold you say your class is right now?

Because, you know, only IB kids are smart and only IB parents are involved and worth getting to know...you wouldn't want to be exposed to any OOB cooties.

Why don't you ask if the kids and parents from the class are bright and nice in general? Why make the distinction between IB and OOB at all?

Just a follow-up -- I should also be clear that the school's response made it clear to me that they didn't consider hitting to be in any way routine. My daughter was unfazed by the hitting because, in a completely unrelated incident on the same day that didn't involve any misbehavior or neglect on anyone's part, she had a bloody nose all over her white shirt, and that loomed MUCH larger in her mind.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The K class does not have a lot of in boundary kids, in part because there was sort of a mass exodus after PS3. But I also agree that there have been plenty of opportunities for families to move to other schools the past couple of years - if they haven't yet done it, not sure why they would now.

Any discipline problems with the K class? Kids acting out, behavioral issues, hitting, bullying, picking on each other, etc.? I don't think Mr. Thomas would tolerate that if he knew of it, but I'm just wondering if there's anything under the radar. I'm always worried about safety, in any school.

Would you call it a positive and nurturing learning environment? Are your kids excelling?

20:40 here -- my kid is doing very well in K. I've said elsewhere, the K teachers are very good at differentiation & meeting the needs of students coming in at a wide range of reading levels. My daughter started the year struggling to read and very discouraged (pressure she put on herself, not from us); she's now reading well ahead of grade level and feels very confident.

There are a couple kids who act out sometimes, but nothing I wouldn't expect from a room full of 6-year-olds, and in my experience the school handles it promptly. For example, a classmate hit my daughter, and at pick up that day Mr. Thomas told us what happened and how the school was handling it. (They took it more seriously than my daughter did, she was completely unfazed.) Some kids are better at listening than others, but even the worst offenders are sweet kids, with involved parents -- they just haven't fully developed their impulse control, which IMHO is par for the course at 6.

Also, I went back and checked the pk3 class list, and of 13 kids in my daughter's class that first year, 7 or 8 (there's one I'm not sure about) are still at LT. The five I know for sure are gone all left right after pk3; I don't think they ever had any intention of staying at LT. Those of us from her class who stayed for pk4 are all still around. I'm not sure which families are IB or not, but to me, retention is retention, whether it's IB or OOB.

Anonymous wrote:The K class does not have a lot of in boundary kids, in part because there was sort of a mass exodus after PS3. But I also agree that there have been plenty of opportunities for families to move to other schools the past couple of years - if they haven't yet done it, not sure why they would now.

Any discipline problems with the K class? Kids acting out, behavioral issues, hitting, bullying, picking on each other, etc.? I don't think Mr. Thomas would tolerate that if he knew of it, but I'm just wondering if there's anything under the radar. I'm always worried about safety, in any school.

Would you call it a positive and nurturing learning environment? Are your kids excelling?

The K class does not have a lot of in boundary kids, in part because there was sort of a mass exodus after PS3. But I also agree that there have been plenty of opportunities for families to move to other schools the past couple of years - if they haven't yet done it, not sure why they would now.

Sorry, two years *ago*

Anonymous wrote:^. Yeah, that's the point... It feels like those are the only two possibilities. What percentage IB wold you say your class is right now?

I have no idea. I only know home addresses for a few kids, and I'm not sure exactly where the boundaries lie anyhow.

Of the 15 kids in my daughter's pk3 class, I'd say half are still at LT? (That's based on me sitting here reconstructing from memory who was in her class two years & where they are now.)There were several kids who left after pk3 -- my guess is those families never planned to stick around -- and a handful more who left after pk4, but it seems like the ones who've stayed through K are all in it for the long haul.

^. Yeah, that's the point... It feels like those are the only two possibilities. What percentage IB wold you say your class is right now?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nope, no one is bailing. Please join the listserv today and come to our family night on Friday. And welcome!

NO ONE is bailing? Is that because there are already a minimal amount of IB kids in K or are you inflating this?

Because those are the only two possibilities?

I'm not the PP, but another K parent. I haven't polled every other K parent, but the ones my husband & I have talked to are staying put (as we are) -- there's certainly no mass exodus happening.

Anonymous wrote:Nope, no one is bailing. Please join the listserv today and come to our family night on Friday. And welcome!

NO ONE is bailing? Is that because there are already a minimal amount of IB kids in K or are you inflating this?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you on moth? If so just search for LT for very recent thread on joining and on Friday event (which is at H St restaurant). For some reason I am paranoid about posting details on dcum, but maybe that's crazy?

Yes, I'm on MOTH. I'll check there, and thanks!

Here is information from the LTES listserv about the event on Friday;

A friendly reminder about Family Night at Red Rocks (1348 H St NE) THIS FRIDAY at 5:30pm. Of course, we would love to welcome new/incoming families so please pass along the invite.

Anonymous wrote:Are you on moth? If so just search for LT for very recent thread on joining and on Friday event (which is at H St restaurant). For some reason I am paranoid about posting details on dcum, but maybe that's crazy?

Yes, I'm on MOTH. I'll check there, and thanks!

Are you on moth? If so just search for LT for very recent thread on joining and on Friday event (which is at H St restaurant). For some reason I am paranoid about posting details on dcum, but maybe that's crazy?