KIPP Grow is just one block away from Friendship Armstrong. The commute to either school will take a long time.

Anonymous wrote:OP, if you aren't moving to DC until late August how are you able to prove residency in order to claim a lottery spot?

We signed a lease in DC but our kids are in summer camp in MD so we'll be moving as soon as school starts.

OP, if you aren't moving to DC until late August how are you able to prove residency in order to claim a lottery spot?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Longstanding rule of this forum, plus bad form as a new parent at a school (and a confirmed short-timer) to go in pushing for a particular teacher.

+1. Most places don't let you request teachers. They have to balance the classes by age, sex, race, and special needs, and it would be too hard to take requests on top of that.

My DD goes to Langley and I have been very pleased with all of the PK3 and PK4 teachers. If you get off the WL, definitely consider it-- very sweet little school and you are sure to have a good teacher

Raymond DEFINITELY lets you pick your teacher. I've done it every year. No other parent at that school does so they don't care and will definitely do it there. Don't listen to parents who don't go to Raymond and have no idea what that school is like. It's almost all Spanish-speaking kids/parents (my kids picked up Spanish words) and no one is requesting teachers so admin is happy to accommodate!

What????

I'm a Raymond parent. I'm pale white, very skinny, with white blond hair so I still out like a sore thumb and I'm in the principal's office a LOT so if you go to that school, you know me and come up and say hi!

My experience at Raymond has been wonderful! We will not stay for middle school because I'm not thrilled about academics but:

1. School is very responsive (I have mentioned that I would pull out my kids otherwise but I don't think that's the issue). I didn't like the amount of homework?, they accommodated me. I didn't like the extended year (we do camp), they accommodated me. My daughter needed extra tutoring?, they gave it to her for free one-on-one.

2. They do a LOT of special programs. They did an intensive spelling bee training. Free. Ballet. Free. Spanish. Free. At other schools, you pay. Also, lunch, breakfast, before and aftercare are FREE.

3. The teachers, principal, and even security have REAL experience. They have been there for a long time and are insanely good at their job. If you got a bad teacher, see number 1.

I cannot recommend this school enough. Just get out (Latin, Basis) at 5th grade when it seems like the kids become trouble and academics are a real issue.

Thanks for the forum rule clarification. I wasn't going to request a teacher. Just wanted to know if that teacher is indeed in his classroom but that's fine.

This is certainly new to me and I am already getting a lot of value from this wonderful community. We had no control over our relocation timing which happens to be quite late in the process. We will definitely be happy with whatever we end up with but will try to get the best from all available options. Raymond, Langley (if we get in) and KIPP Grow sound like good options.

We've also added him to several private daycares' waiting lists but so far nothing is opening up and if anything opens up it'll be in the $20-25k per year range.

OP, this is public school and not day care. From everything you posted here, you are going to be disappointed no matter where you end up this year. You will have a lot less say in how things go each day and you will not know as much about your child's experience as you would if you hired a nanny. The school will serve at least 8 grades if it's PK3-5 and the older grades are the ones where there are standardized tests and more serious behavioral issues and truancy reporting rules and other things that take up administration time.

You seem to have very high expectations that the school will spend a lot of time holding your hand. They know your address when you enroll. They know you're leaving by kindergarten and that you'll never affect their test scores or make a long-term commitment to the school.

If you want a very nurturing environment focused exclusively on toddlers, you will have to pay for it. The good news is there are lots of nanny shares and private day cares for 3 year olds, and a lot of them are easy to get into because other kids leave for public school. You might like Scrilli--it is in Brookland. I've heard good things about Commerce Kids and know they have space in their older classes. There are undoubtedly closer places to you too.

Anonymous wrote:Longstanding rule of this forum, plus bad form as a new parent at a school (and a confirmed short-timer) to go in pushing for a particular teacher.

+1. Most places don't let you request teachers. They have to balance the classes by age, sex, race, and special needs, and it would be too hard to take requests on top of that.

My DD goes to Langley and I have been very pleased with all of the PK3 and PK4 teachers. If you get off the WL, definitely consider it-- very sweet little school and you are sure to have a good teacher

Longstanding rule of this forum, plus bad form as a new parent at a school (and a confirmed short-timer) to go in pushing for a particular teacher.

What's not appropriate about sharing one's experience with a good teacher?!

We do this in every other facet of life (uber reviews, yelp reviews, google reviews, ratemyprofessors reviews, zocdoc reviews, contractor reviews, angie's list, etc). I did not ask for dirt on a bad teacher!

Anonymous wrote:Completely agree about the administration. I did see some questionable behavior from some teachers. However, our pre-k4 teacher was amazingly kind and sweet.

Your experience is the main reason why we're encouraged to send him there. You mentioned that the teacher is moving from PK4 to PK3. Do you mind sharing her name or initials so I can double check with the school if that's still the case?