One of my rules for the lottery is that my kids need to be able to get to school on their own two feet -- walk, bike, or doable and easy metro/bus commute. We drive them when it is raining, but have never felt like the car is required.

I think people who have a daily car commute end up hating it.

Even with a car, I found a similar commute to a charter absolutely soul crushing. There will be traffic/road/construction/emergency issues beyond your control that add lots of time to your commute and feel like they subtract years from your life. Going across town--in either direction--just SUCKS. A bus commute just adds more to the issues beyond your control. I realize this works out for lots of people, but for me, raising kids in DC and getting them the education I thought they deserved (my kids are run-of-the-mill above-average students that abound in the DMV, no extra needs for support or enrichment) in the end was just exhausting. Chasing the lottery, keeping up with the ever-rotating issues at two different charters, driving all over the city for dropoff/pickup plus activities--it was not for me. When we moved to Montgomery County (my eyes are open - every district has its issues), it was a game changer. My kids thrived with a stable group of peers (who lived nearby), the freaking JOY of putting them on the yellow school bus was an enormous weight lifted, their middle-of-the-pack elementary & middle schools offered 10x more than anywhere we'd been in DC, and the commute for DH and I (both hybrid), was not radically worse.
I know this is not what you asked for, but I see an exhausting future for your family of 5 trying to make this work year after year, finding a place that works for all the kids, has a decent middle school, is a reasonable commute, etc. There are alternatives to living in DC. I wish you the best.

What's your reason for not having a car? With three kids, it makes a lot of sense to get a car and drive them to school. Make sure you clarify how many days a week DH will drive them to school. And what happens if his job situation changes and suddenly (oops!) he is unavailable.

Have you considered moving closer? Also, what if one kid gets in but the other(s) don't?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op, we are in adams Morgan and looking at ITDS too but it seems impossible with the commute. We have a car but I prefer not to drive it as looking for street parking back at adams Morgan can easily add 20 min.

It's true that commuting to ITDS by metro isn't the easiest, but it can be done.

If you take the red line then over the pedestrian bridge to the Bryant St food hall, it's okay. Still pretty far though.

Anonymous wrote:Op, we are in adams Morgan and looking at ITDS too but it seems impossible with the commute. We have a car but I prefer not to drive it as looking for street parking back at adams Morgan can easily add 20 min.

It's true that commuting to ITDS by metro isn't the easiest, but it can be done.

Op, we are in adams Morgan and looking at ITDS too but it seems impossible with the commute. We have a car but I prefer not to drive it as looking for street parking back at adams Morgan can easily add 20 min.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://enrolldcps.dc.gov/node/61

Don't fight with your DH about a school you won't get into regardless. If this is for PK3, eyes wide open about your chances at Ross and Garrison.

This is for K and 1st. Assuming we're willing to move schools in October (we are) and that one pulls the other in, we've got an 80+ percent chance each at Garrison and John Lewis, and a 50+ percent chance at ITDS, based on my calculations.

Throwing this out here now, but if one kid does get off the waitlist and the other doesn’t, call the principal. I know some principals are willing to add a sibling when they otherwise wouldn’t. But they don’t know where the sibling is on the list so just call and let them know.

100%. Our principal just filled a PK3 spot practically mid-year (family moved), which they never do… because they knew it was a sibling and promised the family back in August they’d fill it as soon as possible. Other grades have less strict class limits, so more likely to happen right away.

He should do the commute everyday for a week before the lottery. Then he can decide if he still wants to do that for years.

Go to the school that is logistically easiest for your life. Truly. The minor differences in academics will pale in comparison to it being easy to get to/from and be (hopefully) close to friends.

ITDS is not worth the commute. The end.

Make him do the commute. Now, while the weather sucks. Make him walk up the hill with the kids in the dark! MAKE HIM! Suffering is the only way he will learn.

To me, the solution for this is so simple. Rank it first, and if you actually get it, then buy a car. I would not discount a solid middle school pathway, but that’s me.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://enrolldcps.dc.gov/node/61

Don't fight with your DH about a school you won't get into regardless. If this is for PK3, eyes wide open about your chances at Ross and Garrison.

This is for K and 1st. Assuming we're willing to move schools in October (we are) and that one pulls the other in, we've got an 80+ percent chance each at Garrison and John Lewis, and a 50+ percent chance at ITDS, based on my calculations.

I have a feeling you will actually love Garrison or John Lewis (just something about this post and others you have posted, and families I know at that school). You may have a middle school situation on your hands but you can deal with that later.

this is easy. underestimating the commute for a popular school option is a classic lottery mistake. dont do it unless you would if you got a spot seriously consider getting a car. even as egalitarian parents, you might not have exactly the same work/commute complications.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://enrolldcps.dc.gov/node/61

Don't fight with your DH about a school you won't get into regardless. If this is for PK3, eyes wide open about your chances at Ross and Garrison.

This is for K and 1st. Assuming we're willing to move schools in October (we are) and that one pulls the other in, we've got an 80+ percent chance each at Garrison and John Lewis, and a 50+ percent chance at ITDS, based on my calculations.

Throwing this out here now, but if one kid does get off the waitlist and the other doesn’t, call the principal. I know some principals are willing to add a sibling when they otherwise wouldn’t. But they don’t know where the sibling is on the list so just call and let them know.