Anonymous wrote:Even if a condo WOTP seems cheaper (and there are some, especially in Glover Park and near Van Ness, that have pretty low purchase prices) the condo fees are huge. Someone approved for a low mortgage or who hasn't saved a big down payment might be able to qualify more easily for those, but I don't know how they'll come up with an extra $800+ each month for the fees.

PP who couldn't afford anything other than Upper NW is full of crap and we all know it. She might not have been able to afford anything else *in a neighborhood she liked better* but that's not the same thing.

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Anonymous wrote:I'm in ward 3. Since there are no inbound schools for prek 3, I figure I'd have a better shot at Charter schools.
How do you rank:
Creative Minds International
AppleTree PCS- Columbia Heights
E.L. Haynes
Elsie Whitlow Stokes Community Freedom
Washington Yu Ying
Breakthrough Montessori
Meridian Public Charter School

Is there any point in applying to DCPS (see below) out of bounds?
Hyde-Addison Elementary School
H.D. Cooke Elementary School
Marie Reed Elementary School
Powell Elementary School
Ross Elementary School
School Without Walls @ Francis-Stevens


If your goal is to pull your kid for PK4 or K and send to your IB, I would not go with the bilingual schools. You get all the hardship of a miserable commute and what is often a tough adjustment to the new language without any ultimate benefit of fluency.

Also, I'll say this - if you're the Ward 3 family that's trying to use my Ward 1 and 4 schools to park your kids through to K and aren't interested in the school community, find somewhere else. Too much work already trying to build community without families who are intentionally transient.

You’ll get into Appletree and you won’t piss people off by parking your kid there for only 1-2 years.

I'm sorry. All DC residents have equal rights to enter the lottery and put down choices that reflect their family situation. That means that Ward 3 families can lottery in for PK3 (and increasingly PK4 since those are being crowded out of overpacked schools) and then bail. You might not like it, but that is life. Ward 3 folks would love to have PK3 and to have enough PK4 slots. And no we are not all rich enough that sending our children to private school for 2 more years is a trivial choice.

+1. And people outside of Ward 3 have the right to apply for OOB slots at Wilson feeder schools and stay.

It goes both ways folks.

I am PP and I fully agree!!

Dude, you moved into Upper Upper for the privileges, and then want what I get because most of my neighbors are poor. Awesome.

Not sure what Dude did, but I moved from Columbia Heights to Upper Upper because the only home I could afford to buy was in Upper Upper. And you,PP, you bought and stayed in Lower Lower because you wanted your home to appreciate.

Unless you inherited a family home or your relatives would only help you with a downpayment if you bought in a specific neighborhood, there is no way that can be true. You could somehow buy a house in upper NW but not in Woodridge or Hillcrest or Congress Heights or Brookland or Hill East?

The PP said "home." You assume a SF house. Could well be an apartment or duplex.

You cannot honestly believe that the cheapest condo, apartment, duplex, yurt, whatever in DC is in upper NW. There are 2br condos EOTR for under $75,000. I get that there are lots of reasons why someone might choose Cathedral Heights over Congress Heights. The market certainly reflects that. But it is just not factual to say that someone can only afford to live in Upper NW. That's like saying the only food I can afford is steak.

Why would I move away from Nw? I might as well move to Virginia or MD. It was the cheapest condo in NW. Looked at all zips there.

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Anonymous wrote:I'm in ward 3. Since there are no inbound schools for prek 3, I figure I'd have a better shot at Charter schools.
How do you rank:
Creative Minds International
AppleTree PCS- Columbia Heights
E.L. Haynes
Elsie Whitlow Stokes Community Freedom
Washington Yu Ying
Breakthrough Montessori
Meridian Public Charter School

Is there any point in applying to DCPS (see below) out of bounds?
Hyde-Addison Elementary School
H.D. Cooke Elementary School
Marie Reed Elementary School
Powell Elementary School
Ross Elementary School
School Without Walls @ Francis-Stevens


If your goal is to pull your kid for PK4 or K and send to your IB, I would not go with the bilingual schools. You get all the hardship of a miserable commute and what is often a tough adjustment to the new language without any ultimate benefit of fluency.

Also, I'll say this - if you're the Ward 3 family that's trying to use my Ward 1 and 4 schools to park your kids through to K and aren't interested in the school community, find somewhere else. Too much work already trying to build community without families who are intentionally transient.

You’ll get into Appletree and you won’t piss people off by parking your kid there for only 1-2 years.

I'm sorry. All DC residents have equal rights to enter the lottery and put down choices that reflect their family situation. That means that Ward 3 families can lottery in for PK3 (and increasingly PK4 since those are being crowded out of overpacked schools) and then bail. You might not like it, but that is life. Ward 3 folks would love to have PK3 and to have enough PK4 slots. And no we are not all rich enough that sending our children to private school for 2 more years is a trivial choice.

+1. And people outside of Ward 3 have the right to apply for OOB slots at Wilson feeder schools and stay.

It goes both ways folks.

I am PP and I fully agree!!

Dude, you moved into Upper Upper for the privileges, and then want what I get because most of my neighbors are poor. Awesome.

Not sure what Dude did, but I moved from Columbia Heights to Upper Upper because the only home I could afford to buy was in Upper Upper. And you,PP, you bought and stayed in Lower Lower because you wanted your home to appreciate.

Unless you inherited a family home or your relatives would only help you with a downpayment if you bought in a specific neighborhood, there is no way that can be true. You could somehow buy a house in upper NW but not in Woodridge or Hillcrest or Congress Heights or Brookland or Hill East?

The PP said "home." You assume a SF house. Could well be an apartment or duplex.

You cannot honestly believe that the cheapest condo, apartment, duplex, yurt, whatever in DC is in upper NW. There are 2br condos EOTR for under $75,000. I get that there are lots of reasons why someone might choose Cathedral Heights over Congress Heights. The market certainly reflects that. But it is just not factual to say that someone can only afford to live in Upper NW. That's like saying the only food I can afford is steak.

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Anonymous wrote:Swami, can use your help ranking for PK3. Any schools we left off?

Shepherd
DC Bilingual
CMI
EL Haynes
Breakthrough Montessori
Powell
Capital City
Center City (BW)
Takoma
Center City (PW)
Bridges
Whittier (IB) - Considering leaving this off

PP you are in my neighborhood and don't leave Whittier off. I'm so sad you would even say that. It's a great school for ECE and you can't beat the commute. At least go to an open house.

I'm the PP who is considering leaving Whittier off. I'm sad about it too. I really wanted to like Whittier but then I went to the PTA meeting where they showcased the ECE curriculum and I was really disappointed. It seemed like a total mess. Left that meeting bummed and disheartened.

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Anonymous wrote:I'm in ward 3. Since there are no inbound schools for prek 3, I figure I'd have a better shot at Charter schools.
How do you rank:
Creative Minds International
AppleTree PCS- Columbia Heights
E.L. Haynes
Elsie Whitlow Stokes Community Freedom
Washington Yu Ying
Breakthrough Montessori
Meridian Public Charter School

Is there any point in applying to DCPS (see below) out of bounds?
Hyde-Addison Elementary School
H.D. Cooke Elementary School
Marie Reed Elementary School
Powell Elementary School
Ross Elementary School
School Without Walls @ Francis-Stevens


If your goal is to pull your kid for PK4 or K and send to your IB, I would not go with the bilingual schools. You get all the hardship of a miserable commute and what is often a tough adjustment to the new language without any ultimate benefit of fluency.

Also, I'll say this - if you're the Ward 3 family that's trying to use my Ward 1 and 4 schools to park your kids through to K and aren't interested in the school community, find somewhere else. Too much work already trying to build community without families who are intentionally transient.

You’ll get into Appletree and you won’t piss people off by parking your kid there for only 1-2 years.

I'm sorry. All DC residents have equal rights to enter the lottery and put down choices that reflect their family situation. That means that Ward 3 families can lottery in for PK3 (and increasingly PK4 since those are being crowded out of overpacked schools) and then bail. You might not like it, but that is life. Ward 3 folks would love to have PK3 and to have enough PK4 slots. And no we are not all rich enough that sending our children to private school for 2 more years is a trivial choice.

+1. And people outside of Ward 3 have the right to apply for OOB slots at Wilson feeder schools and stay.

It goes both ways folks.

I am PP and I fully agree!!

Dude, you moved into Upper Upper for the privileges, and then want what I get because most of my neighbors are poor. Awesome.

Not sure what Dude did, but I moved from Columbia Heights to Upper Upper because the only home I could afford to buy was in Upper Upper. And you,PP, you bought and stayed in Lower Lower because you wanted your home to appreciate.

Unless you inherited a family home or your relatives would only help you with a downpayment if you bought in a specific neighborhood, there is no way that can be true. You could somehow buy a house in upper NW but not in Woodridge or Hillcrest or Congress Heights or Brookland or Hill East?

The PP said "home." You assume a SF house. Could well be an apartment or duplex.

Anonymous wrote:Swami, will you please register on dcum so that we can know when it is you posting? And can you please start a new swami thread that isn't filled with all these arguments, and maybe explain in the first post what you do? Thank you!