I understand all the arguments regarding MD tags and residency - caregivers, not switching etc. Plus I understand that this isn't a Bethune-only issue. BUT the article clearly states that Bethune had 18 cases last year and was the WORST offender in the city. This is cold, hard fact!

The MD tags are a concern. The parent behavior is even more so. I've learned some new insults and explicatives from what's yelled out of those car windows!

I would not assume MD tags mean MD residency. There is so much movement back and forth between MD & DC that a lot of people get lazy and decide not to change their tags/driver's license until they have to (because they buy a new car, or they are up for renewal).

The MD tags things is hardly a Bethune-only issue. Many schools report this, and while there may be some cheaters, it's actually so common for DC residents to have out-of-state tags that OSSE won't even investigate residency fraud based on vehicle tags alone. Not stating that's good or bad, and not making judgement of people who move to DC and don't change over their tags because they don't typically park on the street, but that's how it is. I do judge those truly committing residency fraud. IT IS WRONG!

To learn more about residency verification, investigation, reporting, etc.

http://osse.dc.gov/service/enrollment-and-residency

http://www.dcpcsb.org/blog/why-parents-should-be-aware-residency-fraud

This is at best a little naive. The Ward Five HeartBeat covered the amount of non-residents at Bethune in detail. It is the worst offender in the city! See the article at http://www.ward5heartbeat.org/news/local-public-schools-found-to-have-non-d-c-residents-enrolled/

The Principal doesn't even seem very concerned!

I live nearby and if you're being honest with yourself and the people on this board, you must admit that DC plates are the exception to the MD plate rule. Go, count, and then come on back and let us know. I even saw a VA plate today - there's a new one!

Anonymous wrote:Look pp, you're probably a lovely person trying to make this situation work for yourself and I appreciate that you're calmly trying to combat negativity on the part of the school, but, seriously? That many kids are being dropped off by "family" that lives in MD?

PP here. I'm not sure what "that many" is to you. I can only speak on what I see at pickup/drop off which is the occasional MD plate at a school with over 300 students...makes perfect sense to me for reasons stated above. However, this is my snapshot as I do not live right across the street from the school.

Look pp, you're probably a lovely person trying to make this situation work for yourself and I appreciate that you're calmly trying to combat negativity on the part of the school, but, seriously? That many kids are being dropped off by "family" that lives in MD?

Current Bethune PK3 parent here. I am sorry to hear about the lottery confusion and do hope the administration sorts it out soon. It does reflect some administrative challenges that the school has but the principal and admin are very responsive to parents concerns which has lead to improvements. The principal is outstanding with a clear vision for the school's future and he is also very forthcoming about its strengths and weaknesses. However, I agree there is still room to grow but in the grand scheme of things, these shortcomings have not overshadowed my child's great school year there. We have had a wonderful experience with our PK3 teachers who provide a nurturing, engaging, and safe learning environment for our son. We have watched him grow exponentially both emotionally and intellectually and he is one of the youngest in the class. He truly enjoys school and the theme-based approach has really helped content stick. I agree with the previous poster that learning starts at home and Bethune has built upon the foundation we (two very involved doctorate degree holding parents) have provided. There is an active and effective PTO although mostly made up of early childhood parents.

Regarding parental behavior, I would argue that the rudeness and disrespect described above is likely a rarity or outlier as all of the parents I have interacted with at school during school programs and other activities, drop-off and pick-up, and field trips (they take about 1 per month) have been very pleasant and seem to all have the same goal of providing a solid education for their child. The school also hosts workshops for parents throughout the year to help engage and supplement learning at home. Regarding MD plates, is it possible that other family members from MD could be dropping kids off? People from this area often have family members that help out and I don't think we can assume that if you see a MD plate, the kid does not live in DC. Enrollment forms with proof of DC residence must be completed, as with any other public school, in order to enroll. Prior to the school year beginning, the teachers come out to your home and while I think this is great for the child (and parents) and teacher to get acquainted, I suspect it is also to assess the child's home environment and verify addresses.

Overall, I think Bethune is a great option and I'm glad I took a chance on it.

Has anyone actually heard directly from the school about the lottery? They said we'd receive emails this week, be we allegedly have a slot (according to the lottery list) and have not heard a thing from the school directly. It's been a bit difficult to get through to anyone with knowledge.

Bethune's PK4 this year was oversubscribed, and that was due to an extra (yet unsustainable long-term) class being added to PK3 when those kids started. They lucked out with smaller classes in PK3, and then most of those kids returned for PK4 and were split into fewer, larger classes.

Aside, I pulled out this link because I was curious to confirm that PK3 wait lists tend to be longer than PK4 wait lists at most schools, which makes sense. https://data.dcpcsb.org/Waitlists-Spaces-Available/Wait-Lists-and-Available-Seats-SY2014-15-/29u8-mtmd

Anonymous wrote:I'm curious about this assessment too. I actually thought my kid's PK3 experience there was better than PK4. Personalities of teachers and classmates matters a lot.

Absolutely true - I shouldn't have made a blanket statement about the PS3 group. There have been a few families we've spoken with this year who had difficulty with their PS3 experience, but that's true of a few families at any school. I think it's telling that there are so few PK4 waitlist names when the PS4 program was so oversubscribed this year, though. Curious but not surprising to me.

I'm curious about this assessment too. I actually thought my kid's PK3 experience there was better than PK4. Personalities of teachers and classmates matters a lot.

Could you explain that a little more? What makes the PK4 classes awesome and the PK3 classes not? Are there just better teachers in PK4? What is lacking in the PK3 classes?

Anonymous wrote:Still only 1 kid on the PK4 waitlist...seems like a good backup option for families near Brookland.

Definitely. The PK4 classes are awesome. The PS3 classes are not, which may be why there's space in the next grade up!