Anonymous
Post 05/21/2019 15:50     Subject: Best Cap Hill elementary to middle?
Anonymous wrote:Here's how I'd sort Cap Hill by-right schools, your mileage may vary:

*** Elementary Schools ***

YES
(1) Brent
(2) Maury
(3) Peabody (preK-3 to K)
(4) Ludlow-Taylor
(5) Watkins (1st to 5th)
(6) JO Wilson
(7) Payne
(8) Miner

*** Middle Schools ***

YES
(1) Stuart Hobson
(2) Jefferson
(3) Eliot-Hine

*** High School **

YES - until she gets into Walls, then NO
(1) Eastern

Your kid'll be fine.



Fixed it for you.
Anonymous
Post 05/21/2019 14:57     Subject: Re:Best Cap Hill elementary to middle?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Ludlow Taylor to Stuart Hobson without question. (Most elementary schools are good, but most middles have a long way to go.)


Maybe. We have several friends bailing on LT in the upper grades due to lack of challenge. If your kid is just a toddler, the school's demographics may have changed enough by the upper grades for you to be happy with the experience.


Interesting...we are IB for LT/SH and my upper ele kid doesn't attend because when he started, LT wasn't what it is now, not by a long shot. We have many neighbors who have kids PS-1st who are there and extremely happy. And we also have many friends who plan on sending their kids to SH next year and are excited about it. We are in a charter that goes through middle so haven't looked as closely as some others may have, but I know SH is getting a lot of positive buzz both for their honors programming and their arts. I suspect LT's upper ele is still largely OOB but that it will change over the next few years and the younger crowd moves up.

Agree with PP that if you can stomach lottery or a move for middle that Brent certainly has the best reputation on the hill. We have friends at Watkins who feel their child is quite behind due to lack of rigor and structure.


That might have been true 5 - 10 years ago, but not any more. It's a great school, but I don't think anyone would say it's the "best" school anymore. Which can only be a good thing!

If I had the choice to move anywhere on the Hill and my kid was just 3-4, I'd pick the house first and school second, out of any of the good options we are lucky enough to have now, and worry about middle school later. If my kid was older and MS were closer in time I would focus more on middle school and look for something zoned for Stuart Hobson.


As a long-time Brent parent, I would agree with the above statement. My youngest is having a fine experience, but it is no where close to what the experience my oldest child had. I have always hated this one upmanship that happens on the Hill. You are so right it is a great thing that there are so many good choices for parents on the Hill. Why do we have to tear down the choices of others to make ourselves feel better?
Anonymous
Post 05/21/2019 14:46     Subject: Best Cap Hill elementary to middle?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:We are renting and looking at buying. Have a toddler. What is the ideal elementary to middle school trajectory? Looks like Maury, Brent, Watkins are good? Payne? And are there any middle schools I should want to be in zone for, ideally?

Disregard all the useless details you're getting (who cares which school has a principal selection process going now for your purposes 10 years from now?!). Even test scores (applying to grades 3-5) are very relative from where you stand. While it may make sense to factor preferences regarding preschool and elementary school into your home search in Capitol Hill, DC's school choice model and rapidly changing landscape really do not ask of you to prioritize your options in this way. Access to your work, shopping, parks, and transportation may matter more. So safely value those highly, proceed accordingly, and then figure out how school may fit in. As you've probably come to understand, Capitol Hill is a wide-ranging notion that could have you look as far south as Southwest (including Amidon-Bowen) and as far north as Shaw with its own elementary school options, with strewn in between a whole host of good charter options.

A level-headed approach to renting/buying (especially if you buy) a home is your best guarantee that you will be content and happy with the size, location, and layout of your house, family (and school!) over the next 10+ years. If you start compromising on those factors just to, say, find yourself near one of the super-coveted options, chances are you'll be unhappy because the rooms are too small, the stairs too old, the kitchen too cramped just about when all of those factors you were trying to take into account start to actually matter.

A realtor boosting for DCPS would say this, but it's an outlying position.

Go to school playgrounds at 3:15 when school is dismissed and your spidey senses will guide you. One thing I've experienced raising kids in a changing city like DC is that while things may be getting better, for my kids the timeline for change is frequently too long to wait. Don't want to waste a year floundering - this is not a dress rehearsal, it's the one and only performance. Doesn't mean things have to be perfect, but in my opinion school is too important to chance it.


Why use your "spidey sense" and creep around playgrounds when there is actual data on how kids score and grow?
Anonymous
Post 05/21/2019 14:10     Subject: Best Cap Hill elementary to middle?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Here's how I'd sort Cap Hill by-right schools, your mileage may vary:

*** Elementary Schools ***

YES
(1) Brent
(2) Maury
(3) Peabody (preK-3 to K)

MAYBE
(4) Ludlow-Taylor
(5) Watkins (1st to 5th)

NO
(6) JO Wilson
(7) Payne
(8) Miner


*** Middle Schools ***

YES
(1) Stuart Hobson

MAYBE
(2) Jefferson

NO
(3) Eliot-Hine

*** High School **

NO
(1) Eastern


This seems to be entirely race and/or SES based.


There are two reasons why that might be:
1) People unfairly judge schools based on the background of the children attending.
2) People fairly judge schools based on what's actually happening: are the kids learning, are they safe and happy, is there an overall positive vibe to the school? Richer parents have more choice, by choosing where to live (within or outside of the Hill/DC), choosing to go private, or by going to charter (because they are on average more knowledgeable and flexible about transport, though poorer parents go charter as well). Therefore, when a school is doing well, richer parents will use their choice and drive up the share of white/high SES kids in that school.

If you think #1 applies, then the reason schools increase their high SES share is just because a few rich parents send their kids to a school, then others figure it's OK, and things cascade.

If you think #2 applies. then the reason schools increase their high SES share is just because a few rich parents send their kids to a school, they like it and stay and other parents hear good things and come and stay too.

Both obviously matter, but after nearly a decade in various Hill schools, I think #2 is the more important story.

Anonymous
Post 05/21/2019 14:04     Subject: Re:Best Cap Hill elementary to middle?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:If I'd listened to you ten years ago lady, we'd be long gone from the Hill. We scraped together every dollar we had to by in-boundary for Brent.

My advice for OP is the opposite. Stand outside your schools of interest and drop-off and get a feel for the scene, to help you decide what you can live with. Even drop in on PTA meetings if you have the time. easily done and lots to learn. Search for real estate by school boundaries.

Some of us who've been on the Hill for a long time have seen dear friends bail for the burbs because they bought on the wrong side of a street. They thought they'd bought IB for in-boundary for Maury when they'd actually bought for Payne or Miner. The result was years of braving bad school commutes up to Inspired Teaching, Stokes or wherever. Not worth it. Live with the creaky stairs.

Totally agree that one should first focus on a school that works and then find a house that you can make work.


+100. YES.
Anonymous
Post 05/21/2019 14:03     Subject: Best Cap Hill elementary to middle?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Here's how I'd sort Cap Hill by-right schools, your mileage may vary:

*** Elementary Schools ***

YES
(1) Brent
(2) Maury
(3) Peabody (preK-3 to K)

MAYBE
(4) Ludlow-Taylor
(5) Watkins (1st to 5th)

NO
(6) JO Wilson
(7) Payne
(8) Miner


*** Middle Schools ***

YES
(1) Stuart Hobson

MAYBE
(2) Jefferson

NO
(3) Eliot-Hine

*** High School **

NO
(1) Eastern


This seems to be entirely race and/or SES based.


Pretty much. Same with the advice to stand outside at 3:15 - many schools have kids that will be in aftercare, but I guess it helps to check out the SAHP crews.


What good does this kind or race baiting do us? I've seen heavily white schools in this town with chaotic pick-up scenes and dirty playgrounds and heavily minority ones that were the opposite. Pays to keep an open mind now and again.
Anonymous
Post 05/21/2019 14:01     Subject: Re:Best Cap Hill elementary to middle?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:If I'd listened to you ten years ago lady, we'd be long gone from the Hill. We scraped together every dollar we had to by in-boundary for Brent.

My advice for OP is the opposite. Stand outside your schools of interest and drop-off and get a feel for the scene, to help you decide what you can live with. Even drop in on PTA meetings if you have the time. easily done and lots to learn. Search for real estate by school boundaries.

Some of us who've been on the Hill for a long time have seen dear friends bail for the burbs because they bought on the wrong side of a street. They thought they'd bought IB for in-boundary for Maury when they'd actually bought for Payne or Miner. The result was years of braving bad school commutes up to Inspired Teaching, Stokes or wherever. Not worth it. Live with the creaky stairs.



We are not at stokes but I’d take that over any Capitol Hill school.


Not buying it. Stokes isn't better than Brent or Maury. Even it were, who wants to commute half an hour to a school through evil traffic on North Capitol if there's a good school within a few blocks of home.
Anonymous
Post 05/21/2019 14:01     Subject: Best Cap Hill elementary to middle?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Here's how I'd sort Cap Hill by-right schools, your mileage may vary:

*** Elementary Schools ***

YES
(1) Brent
(2) Maury
(3) Peabody (preK-3 to K)

MAYBE
(4) Ludlow-Taylor
(5) Watkins (1st to 5th)

NO
(6) JO Wilson
(7) Payne
(8) Miner


*** Middle Schools ***

YES
(1) Stuart Hobson

MAYBE
(2) Jefferson

NO
(3) Eliot-Hine

*** High School **

NO
(1) Eastern


This seems to be entirely race and/or SES based.


Pretty much. Same with the advice to stand outside at 3:15 - many schools have kids that will be in aftercare, but I guess it helps to check out the SAHP crews.
Anonymous
Post 05/21/2019 13:45     Subject: Best Cap Hill elementary to middle?
Anonymous wrote:Here's how I'd sort Cap Hill by-right schools, your mileage may vary:

*** Elementary Schools ***

YES
(1) Brent
(2) Maury
(3) Peabody (preK-3 to K)

MAYBE
(4) Ludlow-Taylor
(5) Watkins (1st to 5th)

NO
(6) JO Wilson
(7) Payne
(8) Miner


*** Middle Schools ***

YES
(1) Stuart Hobson

MAYBE
(2) Jefferson

NO
(3) Eliot-Hine

*** High School **

NO
(1) Eastern


This seems to be entirely race and/or SES based.
Anonymous
Post 05/21/2019 13:38     Subject: Best Cap Hill elementary to middle?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:We are renting and looking at buying. Have a toddler. What is the ideal elementary to middle school trajectory? Looks like Maury, Brent, Watkins are good? Payne? And are there any middle schools I should want to be in zone for, ideally?

Disregard all the useless details you're getting (who cares which school has a principal selection process going now for your purposes 10 years from now?!). Even test scores (applying to grades 3-5) are very relative from where you stand. While it may make sense to factor preferences regarding preschool and elementary school into your home search in Capitol Hill, DC's school choice model and rapidly changing landscape really do not ask of you to prioritize your options in this way. Access to your work, shopping, parks, and transportation may matter more. So safely value those highly, proceed accordingly, and then figure out how school may fit in. As you've probably come to understand, Capitol Hill is a wide-ranging notion that could have you look as far south as Southwest (including Amidon-Bowen) and as far north as Shaw with its own elementary school options, with strewn in between a whole host of good charter options.

A level-headed approach to renting/buying (especially if you buy) a home is your best guarantee that you will be content and happy with the size, location, and layout of your house, family (and school!) over the next 10+ years. If you start compromising on those factors just to, say, find yourself near one of the super-coveted options, chances are you'll be unhappy because the rooms are too small, the stairs too old, the kitchen too cramped just about when all of those factors you were trying to take into account start to actually matter.

A realtor boosting for DCPS would say this, but it's an outlying position.

Go to school playgrounds at 3:15 when school is dismissed and your spidey senses will guide you. One thing I've experienced raising kids in a changing city like DC is that while things may be getting better, for my kids the timeline for change is frequently too long to wait. Don't want to waste a year floundering - this is not a dress rehearsal, it's the one and only performance. Doesn't mean things have to be perfect, but in my opinion school is too important to chance it.
Anonymous
Post 05/21/2019 13:25     Subject: Re:Best Cap Hill elementary to middle?
Anonymous wrote:If I'd listened to you ten years ago lady, we'd be long gone from the Hill. We scraped together every dollar we had to by in-boundary for Brent.

My advice for OP is the opposite. Stand outside your schools of interest and drop-off and get a feel for the scene, to help you decide what you can live with. Even drop in on PTA meetings if you have the time. easily done and lots to learn. Search for real estate by school boundaries.

Some of us who've been on the Hill for a long time have seen dear friends bail for the burbs because they bought on the wrong side of a street. They thought they'd bought IB for in-boundary for Maury when they'd actually bought for Payne or Miner. The result was years of braving bad school commutes up to Inspired Teaching, Stokes or wherever. Not worth it. Live with the creaky stairs.

Totally agree that one should first focus on a school that works and then find a house that you can make work.
Anonymous
Post 05/21/2019 13:24     Subject: Re:Best Cap Hill elementary to middle?
Anonymous wrote:If I'd listened to you ten years ago lady, we'd be long gone from the Hill. We scraped together every dollar we had to by in-boundary for Brent.

My advice for OP is the opposite. Stand outside your schools of interest and drop-off and get a feel for the scene, to help you decide what you can live with. Even drop in on PTA meetings if you have the time. easily done and lots to learn. Search for real estate by school boundaries.

Some of us who've been on the Hill for a long time have seen dear friends bail for the burbs because they bought on the wrong side of a street. They thought they'd bought IB for in-boundary for Maury when they'd actually bought for Payne or Miner. The result was years of braving bad school commutes up to Inspired Teaching, Stokes or wherever. Not worth it. Live with the creaky stairs.



We are not at stokes but I’d take that over any Capitol Hill school.
Anonymous
Post 05/21/2019 13:09     Subject: Re:Best Cap Hill elementary to middle?
If I'd listened to you ten years ago lady, we'd be long gone from the Hill. We scraped together every dollar we had to by in-boundary for Brent.

My advice for OP is the opposite. Stand outside your schools of interest and drop-off and get a feel for the scene, to help you decide what you can live with. Even drop in on PTA meetings if you have the time. easily done and lots to learn. Search for real estate by school boundaries.

Some of us who've been on the Hill for a long time have seen dear friends bail for the burbs because they bought on the wrong side of a street. They thought they'd bought IB for in-boundary for Maury when they'd actually bought for Payne or Miner. The result was years of braving bad school commutes up to Inspired Teaching, Stokes or wherever. Not worth it. Live with the creaky stairs.

Anonymous
Post 05/21/2019 12:18     Subject: Best Cap Hill elementary to middle?
Anonymous wrote:We are renting and looking at buying. Have a toddler. What is the ideal elementary to middle school trajectory? Looks like Maury, Brent, Watkins are good? Payne? And are there any middle schools I should want to be in zone for, ideally?


Disregard all the useless details you're getting (who cares which school has a principal selection process going now for your purposes 10 years from now?!). Even test scores (applying to grades 3-5) are very relative from where you stand. While it may make sense to factor preferences regarding preschool and elementary school into your home search in Capitol Hill, DC's school choice model and rapidly changing landscape really do not ask of you to prioritize your options in this way. Access to your work, shopping, parks, and transportation may matter more. So safely value those highly, proceed accordingly, and then figure out how school may fit in. As you've probably come to understand, Capitol Hill is a wide-ranging notion that could have you look as far south as Southwest (including Amidon-Bowen) and as far north as Shaw with its own elementary school options, with strewn in between a whole host of good charter options.

A level-headed approach to renting/buying (especially if you buy) a home is your best guarantee that you will be content and happy with the size, location, and layout of your house, family (and school!) over the next 10+ years. If you start compromising on those factors just to, say, find yourself near one of the super-coveted options, chances are you'll be unhappy because the rooms are too small, the stairs too old, the kitchen too cramped just about when all of those factors you were trying to take into account start to actually matter.
Anonymous
Post 05/21/2019 12:18     Subject: Best Cap Hill elementary to middle?
Here's how I'd sort Cap Hill by-right schools, your mileage may vary:

*** Elementary Schools ***

YES
(1) Brent
(2) Maury
(3) Peabody (preK-3 to K)
(4) Ludlow-Taylor
(5) Watkins (1st to 5th)
(6) JO Wilson
(7) Payne
(8) Miner

*** Middle Schools ***

YES
(1) Stuart Hobson
(2) Jefferson
(3) Eliot-Hine

*** High School **

YES
(1) Eastern

Your kid'll be fine.