I believe some parents are "settling" for a 2nd or 3rd choice for dual-language school. For instance my neighbor would prefer Oyster, but has settled for Powell and appears happy. Everyone can't get into LAMB or MV.

Anonymous wrote:What do families do for middle school? Cardozo isn't good....

+100. Any changes with the new boundaries?

Anonymous wrote:So far, I am hearing a lot of positive things about Cleveland, so why isn't it more popular? Why is it all about Oyster?

Go to the DCPS website, and compare what it says about the academic results in both schools. It is like two different universes.

And, it is not all about Oyster. You also have LAMB, MV, Marie Reed, and more.

Anonymous wrote:So far, I am hearing a lot of positive things about Cleveland, so why isn't it more popular? Why is it all about Oyster?

I think you're just listening to the oyster crazies. I personally would never send my child to Oyster. I was not impressed by them on my tour, and it was the only place I heard a teacher yell at a student. No thanks. Cleveland is really hard to get in already, so I think the secret is out.

Anonymous wrote:We are about to start pk at Cleveland and no wont be sending kids to Cardozo. We will either do private, look at charters (lots of time for some new ones to come up) or move. But as I see it, pk to 5 buys us 8 years in the city we wouldn't have had if we moved to the burbs in anticipation of a better school feeder system. I'll take 7 years of compromise (6 through 12) over 15 years (pk through 12) any day.

+1 Our plan for middle school is either a charter or private. I don't see Cardoza being an option, even 6 years down the line.

We are about to start pk at Cleveland and no wont be sending kids to Cardozo. We will either do private, look at charters (lots of time for some new ones to come up) or move. But as I see it, pk to 5 buys us 8 years in the city we wouldn't have had if we moved to the burbs in anticipation of a better school feeder system. I'll take 7 years of compromise (6 through 12) over 15 years (pk through 12) any day.

What do families do for middle school? Cardozo isn't good....

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So far, I am hearing a lot of positive things about Cleveland, so why isn't it more popular? Why is it all about Oyster?

PP poster with a DC at Cleveland here. So far, I think it has just been under the radar. I think the school is very similar to Eaton and Hearst 4-5 years ago (DS attends Eaton now). Both schools had good test scores and were hardly mentioned in the threads, probably due to their high black populations. FWIW I choose Eaton for DC1 over Hearst beceause, at the time the, Eaton's dems were quite reflective of DC (not so much the case now), while Hearst was 99% black. IMO it is unfortunate that Eaton's student population is changing so drastically, the diverse popultation really supported the "World Cultures" theme of the school.

As an aside, the Principal Feltman at Cleveland is great. While I haven't had to many extended interactions with her, I see her everyday actively engaging the kids as they are arriving and being dismissed. I've seen her recieve impromptu hugs from the older students and talking with the little ones. It is also very moving to see that the school make such great efforts to ensure that all the students are fed and are able to take part in school field trips and extracurricular activities, whether the families can afford it or not.

i've only met her once. i have a waitllist number too high to likely get in but was impressed w/her attentiveness and engaging w/the kids and staff as i waited in the lobby. one little boy had just missed breakfast and she took the time to make sure he got some yogurt on the fly. i'm from rural so. md and grew up in a great public school system. this school in the middle of the city gave me a familiar small town feel.

Anonymous wrote:So far, I am hearing a lot of positive things about Cleveland, so why isn't it more popular? Why is it all about Oyster?

PP poster with a DC at Cleveland here. So far, I think it has just been under the radar. I think the school is very similar to Eaton and Hearst 4-5 years ago (DS attends Eaton now). Both schools had good test scores and were hardly mentioned in the threads, probably due to their high black populations. FWIW I choose Eaton for DC1 over Hearst beceause, at the time the, Eaton's dems were quite reflective of DC (not so much the case now), while Hearst was 99% black. IMO it is unfortunate that Eaton's student population is changing so drastically, the diverse popultation really supported the "World Cultures" theme of the school.

As an aside, the Principal Feltman at Cleveland is great. While I haven't had to many extended interactions with her, I see her everyday actively engaging the kids as they are arriving and being dismissed. I've seen her recieve impromptu hugs from the older students and talking with the little ones. It is also very moving to see that the school make such great efforts to ensure that all the students are fed and are able to take part in school field trips and extracurricular activities, whether the families can afford it or not.

So far, I am hearing a lot of positive things about Cleveland, so why isn't it more popular? Why is it all about Oyster?

There are student clubs for afterschool, including step, cultural dance, newspaper, jewelry making, cheer, art, video production, etc. plus a regional championship basketball team. My daughter is in k. We love it. Younger sib joining this fall. This school is just great. Dont be scared by the demographics. The children are warm, respectful and eager to learn. My daughter is mixed race. She fits in very well with her friends. I will say the academics at Cleveland are impressive. She is doing work well above her friends at upper nw public and privates.

How is the principal?

Are there extracurriculars? What are they?

Anonymous wrote:To the post with the IEP and impulse issues... Can you say more? My child has same and current school isn't doing well with it. Can you tell me how Cleveland treats your child and what they do in the classroom to set him up for success?

Though there are about 17 kids in his class, they do a lot of small group activities. Routine is also very important for him, and the classroom routine is very structured (i.e. while the learning and "play" themes change, the transition routine stays the same from day to day). He is allowed "breaks" when he just can't self-regulate. During these times he is allowed to do some other activity that maintains his focus, like shape/color sorting, bead stringing, practicing cutting with scissors. His teachers do not regard his behavior as bad or disruptive, they simply redirect him and try to regain his focus.

This doesn't mean that he does not have to follow rules and is excused from activities that require attention and concentration, but his teachers make an effort to give him extra time for transitioning and completing his assignments, less assignments and repetitive direction. They are also addressing some of the social implications of his self-regulatory issues by having him do arts/crafts and creative play with kids that are not in his class.

When he attended Preschool, he had both OT and SLP once/week (private). His IEP is for OT 1 hr/month, SLP 1 hr/month (outside of classroom), so we thought we would have to supplement with private . However, at Cleveland, he usually gets SLP 1/week and OT at least 3X/month so there is no need to do private and we save both time and money.

To the post with the IEP and impulse issues... Can you say more? My child has same and current school isn't doing well with it. Can you tell me how Cleveland treats your child and what they do in the classroom to set him up for success?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thought Cleveland didn't offer before care?

pp here. I do not know where you got that info, but I know I drop my kid off at 7:45 am most days.

From DCPS. But I concede they've been known to be unreliable.