This is so exasperating. Jefferson's desperately needed modernizations were just postponed for the SECOND time. And the timing would have been really good for a more appealing and effective school facility - Amidon's improvements and investments are making, in my observation, for a couple cohorts of kids who are better prepared than in the past being within a few years of Jefferson. Behind them, arethe increasing number of neighborhoods kids thinking about staying because they've had good preK experiences and are optimistic about the changes at Amidon. Since Jefferson already has a stronger rep than Amidon, families that have stuck with and found the reconstituted Amidon a real option would have been very willing to try Jefferson.

Anonymous wrote:I wonder if everyone who applies will get into Basis for 5th again this year. As long as this keeps happening, Brent doesn't have a middle school problem. My oldest is at Latin, and from what I hear, Brent kids are doing great at both Latin and Basis!

And yet another poster makes my point for me. No one is saying Brent kids aren't doing well. If course, so are other kids but let's set that aside for a moment. What happens when more ES kids across the city stay after K? And then through 5? And then want to stay in the city? That's happening now. MS demand is going up. IB Brent us going to have a problem if there is no natural feeder option.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Property values will remain just fine in the Brent District even with no viable MS feed. If anything, they will continue to rise as development progresses south of the Freeway (e.g., Whole Foods, etc.) i haven't seen any suppression of prices of homes IB for schools like LT at which high-SES families have eschewed except for PK. I mean, seriously, take a look at prices for homes IB for Tyler or Payne. Location, location, location.

That's hilarious. Are you aware that a Whole Foods is going to open 2 blocks north of LT? You know, right down the street from the new Giant. And the other new massive mixed use. And have you looked at the IB numbers for LT for 1st? or 2nd? Brent is a great school and a great neighborhood. But are you aware there are other neighborhoods that are on an upswing? I do agree that the real estate will always be available...all those Brent families need to sell after 5th grade!

??? No Brent parent will ever need to sell. Brent is the feeder for Latin and Basis. Brent will take all of the seats thru sibling preference. It's the other Hill schools who have to worry about the lack of MS option.

I just checked the myschooldc website and you should call them. It doesn't list "Brent Families" under Lottery preferences. Neither does Latin! Just sibling. So that means that the people who have kids there won't have to sell, but your neighbors are calling realtors as I type. Unless sibling has a different meaning IB for Brent. Does it? Please illuminate the meaning in that rarified air.

You're making my argument for me. As a Brent booster/apologist the best defense for the atrocious feeder situation is...families that already have kids in a charter won't be harmed. I guess their's no "I" in Brent. I wouldn't know because neither my kids nor I were educated at Brent.

How long have you lived here? You seem out of touch. No, Brent is not a literal feeder to Latin or Basis. No, Brent families are not calling their realtors, unless it is to make a mint off of their million dollar houses.

I get that Capitol Hill is expensive all over, and I can understand why you might have a Brent chip on your shoulder if you bought an expensive house in bounds for a school like Ludlow-Taylor without realizing that all schools on the Hill are not yet on equal footing.

When I moved to the hill Brent wasn't even a option. I agree perspective is important. But you're like many of the people who are new to the hill (I.e. after 1988) you don't have any. Things change here...quickly. You show your ignorance by expressing in public that Brent has long been the school it is now. Or that your perspective of other hill schools is valid forever. But the newbie gentrifiers are ever so cute.

I wonder if everyone who applies will get into Basis for 5th again this year. As long as this keeps happening, Brent doesn't have a middle school problem. My oldest is at Latin, and from what I hear, Brent kids are doing great at both Latin and Basis!

The bottom line: you can't force Capitol Hill families to attend any schools. You can't try to limit choice (i.e. Stop Washington Global from opening, fight Two Rivers etc.) in the hopes that families will then accept the feeder pattern.

Also for any elected official in Ward 6 to attempt to limit charters reveals they are only representing a small segment of Ward 6.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Property values will remain just fine in the Brent District even with no viable MS feed. If anything, they will continue to rise as development progresses south of the Freeway (e.g., Whole Foods, etc.) i haven't seen any suppression of prices of homes IB for schools like LT at which high-SES families have eschewed except for PK. I mean, seriously, take a look at prices for homes IB for Tyler or Payne. Location, location, location.

That's hilarious. Are you aware that a Whole Foods is going to open 2 blocks north of LT? You know, right down the street from the new Giant. And the other new massive mixed use. And have you looked at the IB numbers for LT for 1st? or 2nd? Brent is a great school and a great neighborhood. But are you aware there are other neighborhoods that are on an upswing? I do agree that the real estate will always be available...all those Brent families need to sell after 5th grade!

??? No Brent parent will ever need to sell. Brent is the feeder for Latin and Basis. Brent will take all of the seats thru sibling preference. It's the other Hill schools who have to worry about the lack of MS option.

I just checked the myschooldc website and you should call them. It doesn't list "Brent Families" under Lottery preferences. Neither does Latin! Just sibling. So that means that the people who have kids there won't have to sell, but your neighbors are calling realtors as I type. Unless sibling has a different meaning IB for Brent. Does it? Please illuminate the meaning in that rarified air.

You're making my argument for me. As a Brent booster/apologist the best defense for the atrocious feeder situation is...families that already have kids in a charter won't be harmed. I guess their's no "I" in Brent. I wouldn't know because neither my kids nor I were educated at Brent.

How long have you lived here? You seem out of touch. No, Brent is not a literal feeder to Latin or Basis. No, Brent families are not calling their realtors, unless it is to make a mint off of their million dollar houses.

I get that Capitol Hill is expensive all over, and I can understand why you might have a Brent chip on your shoulder if you bought an expensive house in bounds for a school like Ludlow-Taylor without realizing that all schools on the Hill are not yet on equal footing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Property values will remain just fine in the Brent District even with no viable MS feed. If anything, they will continue to rise as development progresses south of the Freeway (e.g., Whole Foods, etc.) i haven't seen any suppression of prices of homes IB for schools like LT at which high-SES families have eschewed except for PK. I mean, seriously, take a look at prices for homes IB for Tyler or Payne. Location, location, location.

That's hilarious. Are you aware that a Whole Foods is going to open 2 blocks north of LT? You know, right down the street from the new Giant. And the other new massive mixed use. And have you looked at the IB numbers for LT for 1st? or 2nd? Brent is a great school and a great neighborhood. But are you aware there are other neighborhoods that are on an upswing? I do agree that the real estate will always be available...all those Brent families need to sell after 5th grade!

??? No Brent parent will ever need to sell. Brent is the feeder for Latin and Basis. Brent will take all of the seats thru sibling preference. It's the other Hill schools who have to worry about the lack of MS option.

I just checked the myschooldc website and you should call them. It doesn't list "Brent Families" under Lottery preferences. Neither does Latin! Just sibling. So that means that the people who have kids there won't have to sell, but your neighbors are calling realtors as I type. Unless sibling has a different meaning IB for Brent. Does it? Please illuminate the meaning in that rarified air.

You're making my argument for me. As a Brent booster/apologist the best defense for the atrocious feeder situation is...families that already have kids in a charter won't be harmed. I guess their's no "I" in Brent. I wouldn't know because neither my kids nor I were educated at Brent.

Don't forget Washington Global opening just north of Jefferson. It is a middle school charter with promising plans and promising people in charge. If Capitol Hill 6th graders start there en masse it will be a game changer, just like basis was. Trick is not to let the CHPSPO people try to scuttle the plans......like they did when 2 rivers opened many years ago. Truth is, DCPS couldnt care less about the annoying families on Capitol Hill except as fodder for their lame middle schools. A well-run chaRter is just what they need

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Anonymous wrote:People have to band together to go to Watkins first in the case of SH. Having a divide between Peabody and Watkins makes a lot of people stop.

That's non-sense! Stuart-Hobson is an excellent school (I've got kids there and can attest to that) but for Hilleast and areas around Maury and Tyler etc. Eliot-Hine is not only more convenient but also has more to offer in the mid-term and most certainly in the long run. Stuart-Hobson is not meant to grow much beyond 400. And it's neither Maury nor Brent's job to shore up Watkins. Watkins will have to (and can) take care of that.

Don't blamer the poster. The parents of Brent and Peabody and Maury don't realize there are other schools on the Hill. Of course, when the newly modernized SH is done and is being fed by up and coming feeders of JO, LT and P/W they might notice. Do the Brent parents really think their kids can carry their Jefferson all by themselves?

They are not going to Jefferson, failing some scheme that somehow sends all of the high SES kids on the Hill to the same MS.

I'm confused by the cadre of Brent posters. On one hand there seems to be a unanimous position that they will not send their kids to Jefferson. And there's this chip on the shoulder that they were shut out of SH. And yet at the same time they take shots at SH. Which is why I can't help but conclude that there's this subconscious view that SH isn't good enough, but it would be if only Brent parents were there. Unless of course the first angry Brent poster was right and Brent now feeds into Basis and Latin . Problem for Brent is this: it is a great school, clearly the best on the Hill. But it's topped out and there's nowhere for the kids to go in MS because so many Brent parents refuse to consider Jefferson, and if they won't consider the feeder MS then how does it get better or increase the IB %? So as other schools come up (Ludlow, JO) and SH is an option with millions spent on modernization, how long can Brent be THE school? And what happens to your property values when that happens?

By your logic, property values across the Hill should be falling because Eastern is such a shitty school. Obviously that is not the case. So I guess well hold off selling our home even though our kiddos have nowhere to go for middle school (?). Yes, we won't consider Jefferson. Have your ever toured the school? We have. And while they are doing admirably in terms of remediation and more intensive interventions so that a majority of kids are at least proficient by the end of 8th Grade, i think it safe to say that most parents across the City are looking for a bit more from a middle school experience. Frankly, even if we were to lower our expectations, a handful of Brent students are going to be able to flip Jefferson. From what I have been hearing, the school is struggling to maintain enrollment numbers, which is troubling imsofar as 63 percent are OOB. When combined with the decline in enrollmentin and resulting loss in funding, the newly announced decision to defer of the oft-cited promise of modernization is classic DCPS. I just hope the families about to move into the Navy Yard and Warerfront developments as they come online will realize that their investments would be far more prudent if made IB for LT or JO Wilson.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Property values will remain just fine in the Brent District even with no viable MS feed. If anything, they will continue to rise as development progresses south of the Freeway (e.g., Whole Foods, etc.) i haven't seen any suppression of prices of homes IB for schools like LT at which high-SES families have eschewed except for PK. I mean, seriously, take a look at prices for homes IB for Tyler or Payne. Location, location, location.

That's hilarious. Are you aware that a Whole Foods is going to open 2 blocks north of LT? You know, right down the street from the new Giant. And the other new massive mixed use. And have you looked at the IB numbers for LT for 1st? or 2nd? Brent is a great school and a great neighborhood. But are you aware there are other neighborhoods that are on an upswing? I do agree that the real estate will always be available...all those Brent families need to sell after 5th grade!

??? No Brent parent will ever need to sell. Brent is the feeder for Latin and Basis. Brent will take all of the seats thru sibling preference. It's the other Hill schools who have to worry about the lack of MS option.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Property values will remain just fine in the Brent District even with no viable MS feed. If anything, they will continue to rise as development progresses south of the Freeway (e.g., Whole Foods, etc.) i haven't seen any suppression of prices of homes IB for schools like LT at which high-SES families have eschewed except for PK. I mean, seriously, take a look at prices for homes IB for Tyler or Payne. Location, location, location.

That's hilarious. Are you aware that a Whole Foods is going to open 2 blocks north of LT? You know, right down the street from the new Giant. And the other new massive mixed use. And have you looked at the IB numbers for LT for 1st? or 2nd? Brent is a great school and a great neighborhood. But are you aware there are other neighborhoods that are on an upswing? I do agree that the real estate will always be available...all those Brent families need to sell after 5th grade!

I guess LT is so popular no one goes there anymore. (Apologies to Yogi Berra)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People have to band together to go to Watkins first in the case of SH. Having a divide between Peabody and Watkins makes a lot of people stop.

That's non-sense! Stuart-Hobson is an excellent school (I've got kids there and can attest to that) but for Hilleast and areas around Maury and Tyler etc. Eliot-Hine is not only more convenient but also has more to offer in the mid-term and most certainly in the long run. Stuart-Hobson is not meant to grow much beyond 400. And it's neither Maury nor Brent's job to shore up Watkins. Watkins will have to (and can) take care of that.

Don't blamer the poster. The parents of Brent and Peabody and Maury don't realize there are other schools on the Hill. Of course, when the newly modernized SH is done and is being fed by up and coming feeders of JO, LT and P/W they might notice. Do the Brent parents really think their kids can carry their Jefferson all by themselves?

They are not going to Jefferson, failing some scheme that somehow sends all of the high SES kids on the Hill to the same MS.

I'm confused by the cadre of Brent posters. On one hand there seems to be a unanimous position that they will not send their kids to Jefferson. And there's this chip on the shoulder that they were shut out of SH. And yet at the same time they take shots at SH. Which is why I can't help but conclude that there's this subconscious view that SH isn't good enough, but it would be if only Brent parents were there. Unless of course the first angry Brent poster was right and Brent now feeds into Basis and Latin . Problem for Brent is this: it is a great school, clearly the best on the Hill. But it's topped out and there's nowhere for the kids to go in MS because so many Brent parents refuse to consider Jefferson, and if they won't consider the feeder MS then how does it get better or increase the IB %? So as other schools come up (Ludlow, JO) and SH is an option with millions spent on modernization, how long can Brent be THE school? And what happens to your property values when that happens?

Hahahaha. This is hilarious. Get back to us in a decade. If Ludlow-Taylor, J.O.Wilson, and Stuart Hobson are great by then, trust that Brent and its middle school options will have improved too.

Anonymous wrote:Property values will remain just fine in the Brent District even with no viable MS feed. If anything, they will continue to rise as development progresses south of the Freeway (e.g., Whole Foods, etc.) i haven't seen any suppression of prices of homes IB for schools like LT at which high-SES families have eschewed except for PK. I mean, seriously, take a look at prices for homes IB for Tyler or Payne. Location, location, location.

That's hilarious. Are you aware that a Whole Foods is going to open 2 blocks north of LT? You know, right down the street from the new Giant. And the other new massive mixed use. And have you looked at the IB numbers for LT for 1st? or 2nd? Brent is a great school and a great neighborhood. But are you aware there are other neighborhoods that are on an upswing? I do agree that the real estate will always be available...all those Brent families need to sell after 5th grade!

In bounds for Brent is fantastic real estate even if the school sucks. Being that close to the Congress, metro, restaraunts, etc. is valuable in itself. Other schools getting better won't make it drop. If anything it'll increase it further. A great neighborhood school in fantastic location surrounded by other good schools is a win-win for everyone.

And I do NOT live in-bounds for Brent.

Property values will remain just fine in the Brent District even with no viable MS feed. If anything, they will continue to rise as development progresses south of the Freeway (e.g., Whole Foods, etc.) i haven't seen any suppression of prices of homes IB for schools like LT at which high-SES families have eschewed except for PK. I mean, seriously, take a look at prices for homes IB for Tyler or Payne. Location, location, location.