Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a Bloomingdale resident about to enter the lottery, this has been one of the most helpful DCUM threads ever for me, so thank you!!

I have an update to the question: of the four schools we're discussing, would your ranking change for older grades? For example, I am well aware of how great Langley has been doing in the ECE area. It's my zoned school and probably my current first choice. But if your goal is to stay through 5th grade, would you opt elsewhere?

TIA!

The tricky thing with this question (which we are asking ourselves too!) is there are so many unknowns!! Seaton is better in the upper grades now, that we know. But I suspect that in 5 years' time, Langley may be as good as Seaton. I also hear that Seaton may undergo some renovation, which would make it less appealing, and McKinley may improve over the next 7 years, which would make Langley more appealing (as the PP said). Sigh. I think our plan is to try out Langley, and stick as long as it works for us, and hope that is through 5th grade. And once we get there, if that hope was misplaced, count on the fact that at least for now, it looks like we can lottery to the charters or other DCPS around here.

Yeah it's hard, it feels like predicting the future. I know we probably COULD lottery out easily in the upper grades but I hate putting DD in a school knowing there's a good chance that in 2nd grade we're going to randomly yank her out of it, you know? I wonder if we could avoid a lot of future heartache by prioritizing this now.

It's honestly impossible for me to imagine staying EOTP for middle school but that is 8+ years in the future so I guess anything could happen! At this point I'm just hoping we can stick around through 5th grade without schools pushing us out. I really like our house and neighborhood and want to do whatever we can to make it work for us as long as possible.

Anonymous wrote:I went to the open house at Langley this morning and I must say I was really impressed by the principal and the school's approach to discipline and parent engagement. It's a bit of a hike for me, but I'm strongly considering it for PreK 3.

Glad you liked it! Big building = room for all!

I went to the open house at Langley this morning and I must say I was really impressed by the principal and the school's approach to discipline and parent engagement. It's a bit of a hike for me, but I'm strongly considering it for PreK 3.

Anonymous wrote:As a Bloomingdale resident about to enter the lottery, this has been one of the most helpful DCUM threads ever for me, so thank you!!

I have an update to the question: of the four schools we're discussing, would your ranking change for older grades? For example, I am well aware of how great Langley has been doing in the ECE area. It's my zoned school and probably my current first choice. But if your goal is to stay through 5th grade, would you opt elsewhere?

TIA!

The tricky thing with this question (which we are asking ourselves too!) is there are so many unknowns!! Seaton is better in the upper grades now, that we know. But I suspect that in 5 years' time, Langley may be as good as Seaton. I also hear that Seaton may undergo some renovation, which would make it less appealing, and McKinley may improve over the next 7 years, which would make Langley more appealing (as the PP said). Sigh. I think our plan is to try out Langley, and stick as long as it works for us, and hope that is through 5th grade. And once we get there, if that hope was misplaced, count on the fact that at least for now, it looks like we can lottery to the charters or other DCPS around here.

Anonymous wrote:As a Bloomingdale resident about to enter the lottery, this has been one of the most helpful DCUM threads ever for me, so thank you!!

I have an update to the question: of the four schools we're discussing, would your ranking change for older grades? For example, I am well aware of how great Langley has been doing in the ECE area. It's my zoned school and probably my current first choice. But if your goal is to stay through 5th grade, would you opt elsewhere?

TIA!

TBH, if I were enrolling an older kid right now, I would choose Seaton. I would happily enroll a 3rd grader in Seaton today, or even a 4th or 5th grader. But Langley and Garrison are both doing well and it is hard to say how they will be if you have a preschooler now. I would not rule either of them out for becoming as good as Seaton in 5 years time.

The thing about Seaton and Garrison amd Cleveland is, I would not send a kid to Cardozo for middle. I would have to lottery and would be more happy with McKinley Middle than Cardozo. Right now I would not send a kid to McKinley Middle but I really think it is on the up, and over time that effect may show in Langley's retention in the upper grades. Of course, as an IB you would have the right to McKinley Middle regardless of your elementary school choice. But a good middle school improves recruitment and retention in upper elementary grades.

I will also say that you will likely have the option of a HRCS if you keep lotterying. Mundo and Inspirer Teaching both add a lot of kids for K. So no need to assume where you go is where you would stay.

As a Bloomingdale resident about to enter the lottery, this has been one of the most helpful DCUM threads ever for me, so thank you!!

I have an update to the question: of the four schools we're discussing, would your ranking change for older grades? For example, I am well aware of how great Langley has been doing in the ECE area. It's my zoned school and probably my current first choice. But if your goal is to stay through 5th grade, would you opt elsewhere?

TIA!

Anonymous wrote:The thing about those four schools is that, other than Cleveland Spanish, if you don't get in for Pk3 you will get in for pk4 or K at the laterst. So, no big deal.

I’m not sure how much longer that will be true given waitlist numbers this past year. But I agree there is a strong shot by K for most of these.

Anonymous wrote:NP here. So, imagine you were walking distance to Langley, Cleveland, Garrison, and Seaton. How would you rank those schools?

I'll play too (putting aside commute):

1-Langley: best social emotional program (if my PK'er were less of a beast I would swap the first and second place rankings), super energetic community, 100% access to aftercare, people seem to like it

2-Seaton: best test scores; super diverse; aftercare is super inexpensive

3-Garrison: best facilities; exciting principal; seems like aftercare could be a scramble.

4-Cleveland: Only dual language program, but super hard to get into it--I wish they would expand it. (Sorry I don't know as much about their English program!)

The thing about those four schools is that, other than Cleveland Spanish, if you don't get in for Pk3 you will get in for pk4 or K at the laterst. So, no big deal.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm the PP. One of the PPs is right, i'm not really walking distance to all four schools. Langley is my IB, but I live equidistant between it and Cleveland, and could bike by Seaton or Garrison on the way to work. So, all could be convenient-ish. Thanks so much for your takes and ratings on the neighborhood schools--its really helpful when trying to make heads or tales of the local options!

I think we might be neighbors! I'm also IB for Langley but exactly equidistant to Langley and Cleveland (and Langley is the wrong direction :-/). Langley seems like the better of the two but it's hard to justify going a mile in the opposite direction of my commute.

I'm not very optimistic about the lottery anyway though so I'm guessing we won't have a lot of say in the matter. I'm still 1 year away from PK3 though, not going through it this year. Good luck!

I think it just depends on personal preference. I would suggest you moderate your expectations for OOB lottery admissions. Langley is deligtful so really no need to sweat this. Best wishes for a happy year ik your slightly east of 2nd street abode!

Anonymous wrote:I'm the PP. One of the PPs is right, i'm not really walking distance to all four schools. Langley is my IB, but I live equidistant between it and Cleveland, and could bike by Seaton or Garrison on the way to work. So, all could be convenient-ish. Thanks so much for your takes and ratings on the neighborhood schools--its really helpful when trying to make heads or tales of the local options!

I think we might be neighbors! I'm also IB for Langley but exactly equidistant to Langley and Cleveland (and Langley is the wrong direction :-/). Langley seems like the better of the two but it's hard to justify going a mile in the opposite direction of my commute.

I'm not very optimistic about the lottery anyway though so I'm guessing we won't have a lot of say in the matter. I'm still 1 year away from PK3 though, not going through it this year. Good luck!

I'm the PP. One of the PPs is right, i'm not really walking distance to all four schools. Langley is my IB, but I live equidistant between it and Cleveland, and could bike by Seaton or Garrison on the way to work. So, all could be convenient-ish. Thanks so much for your takes and ratings on the neighborhood schools--its really helpful when trying to make heads or tales of the local options!

If you are IB for Garrison, I would seriously consider giving it a closer look. It has a wonderful neighborhood feel, an outstanding new principal who is attracting lots of great teachers, and a rapidly growing group of involved parents that are really committed to improving the school. The new facilities can’t be beat and if they have also adopted Conscious Discipline, if that is something that appealed to you about Langley.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP here. So, imagine you were walking distance to Langley, Cleveland, Garrison, and Seaton. How would you rank those schools?

I'll play!

1) Seaton! Good principal, nice enough facility, academically the strongest of the group. If I were choosing for a child in K or older, this would be the only one I would list.
2) Langley-- can't believe how it has transformed in the past few years. The new principal and some relentless parents have really turned things around. Love you guys! Academically of course, the scores are distressing, but for PK3 I hear good things.
3) Garrison because the new principal seems good and I love the idea of a music program. Great playground and I so appreciate them having it open on the weekend. But academically there's a way to go.
4) Cleveland due to the issues that happened last year and the PTA tension. I believe they will get it together but unless you can get into Spanish as an IB (which isn't even very likely given the number of siblings in front of you), there's not much to be really excited about. I'm sure it's fine for preschool and K though.

Not to derail, but what happened last year??

There were a couple incidents, one of a preschooler being picked up by the wrong person (who then brought the kid back) and another of an incident with a teacher and an older student and the police were called. And the PTA kind of fell apart and I'm not really sure why. But I don't think that means you shouldn't go there, assuming the staff in question are no longer working there.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP here. So, imagine you were walking distance to Langley, Cleveland, Garrison, and Seaton. How would you rank those schools?

I'll play!

1) Seaton! Good principal, nice enough facility, academically the strongest of the group. If I were choosing for a child in K or older, this would be the only one I would list.
2) Langley-- can't believe how it has transformed in the past few years. The new principal and some relentless parents have really turned things around. Love you guys! Academically of course, the scores are distressing, but for PK3 I hear good things.
3) Garrison because the new principal seems good and I love the idea of a music program. Great playground and I so appreciate them having it open on the weekend. But academically there's a way to go.
4) Cleveland due to the issues that happened last year and the PTA tension. I believe they will get it together but unless you can get into Spanish as an IB (which isn't even very likely given the number of siblings in front of you), there's not much to be really excited about. I'm sure it's fine for preschool and K though.

Not to derail, but what happened last year??