Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's not unusual for Capitol Hill families who stay after elementary to go with affordable parochial middle schools in DC and Arlington. That's been true for decades.

We're not Catholic but we're fine with a good parochial middle school in Arlington enrolling many non Catholics that runs us 11K/year. We carpool with 2 other Hill families. Everybody in the car pool is hoping that our children will test into Walls or Banneker eventually.

There is no longer testing into Walls and Banneker. It’s GPA then interview for Walls.

Yes and your chances of getting in are likely going to be much lower not even going to a public/charter school in DC for middle.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Personally, I am a big fan of being somewhere for ES where there is a guaranteed acceptable path through HS. (We did the Hill for the older - many years ago- and NW for the younger 2 and I wish we would have moved to NW sooner than we did). Especially if private school is not in the plans/budget. But even in NW, the band breaks up. Kids peel off for privates. So I really don't think there is anywhere in DC where you can get that experience that you would get in a small town where everyone goes through the same schools together. People just leave for different reasons in different parts of the city. And really like PPs have said, it is ok. Perhaps less traumatic to a kid here than elsewhere because it is so much the norm. (And prepares them well for future changes where they have to make new friends such as college). Agree that the friendships made in ES remain strong even if kids are at different schools, as long as their houses are still relatively geographically convenient.

But if you're on the Hill and move, generally you're gone forever. People move to MoCo, NOVA, NW ... those friendships don't stay. If you don't care, you don't care. But it's a pretty big deal when you're facing it.

Well for those of us EOTP, we already go to Ward 3 and MoCo for activities and outings. It’s not all or nothing for many of us.

you do? That’s weird…

Says someone clearly not from Ward 4. I’ll let the neighbors know you think we’re weird.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's not unusual for Capitol Hill families who stay after elementary to go with affordable parochial middle schools in DC and Arlington. That's been true for decades.

We're not Catholic but we're fine with a good parochial middle school in Arlington enrolling many non Catholics that runs us 11K/year. We carpool with 2 other Hill families. Everybody in the car pool is hoping that our children will test into Walls or Banneker eventually.

There is no longer testing into Walls and Banneker. It’s GPA then interview for Walls.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Personally, I am a big fan of being somewhere for ES where there is a guaranteed acceptable path through HS. (We did the Hill for the older - many years ago- and NW for the younger 2 and I wish we would have moved to NW sooner than we did). Especially if private school is not in the plans/budget. But even in NW, the band breaks up. Kids peel off for privates. So I really don't think there is anywhere in DC where you can get that experience that you would get in a small town where everyone goes through the same schools together. People just leave for different reasons in different parts of the city. And really like PPs have said, it is ok. Perhaps less traumatic to a kid here than elsewhere because it is so much the norm. (And prepares them well for future changes where they have to make new friends such as college). Agree that the friendships made in ES remain strong even if kids are at different schools, as long as their houses are still relatively geographically convenient.

But if you're on the Hill and move, generally you're gone forever. People move to MoCo, NOVA, NW ... those friendships don't stay. If you don't care, you don't care. But it's a pretty big deal when you're facing it.

Well for those of us EOTP, we already go to Ward 3 and MoCo for activities and outings. It’s not all or nothing for many of us.

you do? That’s weird…

Anonymous wrote:It's not unusual for Capitol Hill families who stay after elementary to go with affordable parochial middle schools in DC and Arlington. That's been true for decades.

We're not Catholic but we're fine with a good parochial middle school in Arlington enrolling many non Catholics that runs us 11K/year. We carpool with 2 other Hill families. Everybody in the car pool is hoping that our children will test into Walls or Banneker eventually.

Anonymous wrote:there is another option/answer: stay and go to the in-bound middle school. not everybody rejects that option. neighborhoods gentrify long before and far ahead of schools. but it won’t happen is probably wrong.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Personally, I am a big fan of being somewhere for ES where there is a guaranteed acceptable path through HS. (We did the Hill for the older - many years ago- and NW for the younger 2 and I wish we would have moved to NW sooner than we did). Especially if private school is not in the plans/budget. But even in NW, the band breaks up. Kids peel off for privates. So I really don't think there is anywhere in DC where you can get that experience that you would get in a small town where everyone goes through the same schools together. People just leave for different reasons in different parts of the city. And really like PPs have said, it is ok. Perhaps less traumatic to a kid here than elsewhere because it is so much the norm. (And prepares them well for future changes where they have to make new friends such as college). Agree that the friendships made in ES remain strong even if kids are at different schools, as long as their houses are still relatively geographically convenient.

But if you're on the Hill and move, generally you're gone forever. People move to MoCo, NOVA, NW ... those friendships don't stay. If you don't care, you don't care. But it's a pretty big deal when you're facing it.

Well for those of us EOTP, we already go to Ward 3 and MoCo for activities and outings. It’s not all or nothing for many of us.

Anonymous wrote:It's not unusual for Capitol Hill families who stay after elementary to go with affordable parochial middle schools in DC and Arlington. That's been true for decades.

We're not Catholic but we're fine with a good parochial middle school in Arlington enrolling many non Catholics that runs us 11K/year. We carpool with 2 other Hill families. Everybody in the car pool is hoping that our children will test into Walls or Banneker eventually.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nonsense that your kid will be with "much higher performing peers all the way thru elementary" if you move from DC to a suburban school rather than EotP, other than perhaps in the case of super-duper test-in GT programs in MoCo and Fairfax for 4th and 5th grades (very hard to crack). Total BS where Brent, Maury, SWS and even Ludlow Taylor, Tyler Spanish Immersion and Watkins are concerned. My kids have not been short on seriously high-performing peers in DCPS EotP all the way through elementary, UMC kids who do math two grade levels ahead and read all the Harry Potter books in 2nd or 3rd grade.

We looked at public elementary schools in MoCo and Northern VA where at-risk percentages were higher, sometimes a lot higher, than at our DCPS ES EotP. In these suburban schools, we saw classes where a single teacher taught as many as 30 kids. We've never had more than around 23 students in any DCPS ES class for our kids, generally with two teachers in the room at least half the day. Just not worth moving to the burbs for ES anymore.

Ok ... but your kids will get older, and they will have to go to MS, and all your "high performing peers" in elementary school will go to Basis, Latin, or move to NW or MoCo.

NP but I don’t think MoCo schools have the same shine they used to for DCPS parents. The schools just aren’t that impressive, it’s the SES of those schools that makes them still have the reputation they have.

Get back to me when the alternative is your IB MS with the majority of kids score 1s and 2s on PARCC! Then we'll see what kind of shine MoCo has.

I don't deny that staying in your "wonderful Title I EOTP elementary" is appealing; we certainly did it. But I'm now exactly in the situation you are brushing off as NBD and I'm here to tell you that it actually is a big deal. I'm not sure if I would have changed our decisions, but it is a really big deal to have to move when your kid is in MS.

This. If you think it was hard not getting a seat at an elementary school you wanted in the lottery, it will be much harder for middle school. The most competitive seats in the lottery are middle school.

And each year, it’s gets more and more competitive so if you kid is in the early grades, you can expect the competition for seats to double or triple what it will be today.

Many more people will be in PP position above. That is a fact.

I know middle school is competitive in the lottery but nothing compares to PK3 Spanish immersion competition.

The stakes are MUCH lower.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Personally, I am a big fan of being somewhere for ES where there is a guaranteed acceptable path through HS. (We did the Hill for the older - many years ago- and NW for the younger 2 and I wish we would have moved to NW sooner than we did). Especially if private school is not in the plans/budget. But even in NW, the band breaks up. Kids peel off for privates. So I really don't think there is anywhere in DC where you can get that experience that you would get in a small town where everyone goes through the same schools together. People just leave for different reasons in different parts of the city. And really like PPs have said, it is ok. Perhaps less traumatic to a kid here than elsewhere because it is so much the norm. (And prepares them well for future changes where they have to make new friends such as college). Agree that the friendships made in ES remain strong even if kids are at different schools, as long as their houses are still relatively geographically convenient.

But if you're on the Hill and move, generally you're gone forever. People move to MoCo, NOVA, NW ... those friendships don't stay. If you don't care, you don't care. But it's a pretty big deal when you're facing it.

Anonymous wrote:Personally, I am a big fan of being somewhere for ES where there is a guaranteed acceptable path through HS. (We did the Hill for the older - many years ago- and NW for the younger 2 and I wish we would have moved to NW sooner than we did). Especially if private school is not in the plans/budget. But even in NW, the band breaks up. Kids peel off for privates. So I really don't think there is anywhere in DC where you can get that experience that you would get in a small town where everyone goes through the same schools together. People just leave for different reasons in different parts of the city. And really like PPs have said, it is ok. Perhaps less traumatic to a kid here than elsewhere because it is so much the norm. (And prepares them well for future changes where they have to make new friends such as college). Agree that the friendships made in ES remain strong even if kids are at different schools, as long as their houses are still relatively geographically convenient.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nonsense that your kid will be with "much higher performing peers all the way thru elementary" if you move from DC to a suburban school rather than EotP, other than perhaps in the case of super-duper test-in GT programs in MoCo and Fairfax for 4th and 5th grades (very hard to crack). Total BS where Brent, Maury, SWS and even Ludlow Taylor, Tyler Spanish Immersion and Watkins are concerned. My kids have not been short on seriously high-performing peers in DCPS EotP all the way through elementary, UMC kids who do math two grade levels ahead and read all the Harry Potter books in 2nd or 3rd grade.

We looked at public elementary schools in MoCo and Northern VA where at-risk percentages were higher, sometimes a lot higher, than at our DCPS ES EotP. In these suburban schools, we saw classes where a single teacher taught as many as 30 kids. We've never had more than around 23 students in any DCPS ES class for our kids, generally with two teachers in the room at least half the day. Just not worth moving to the burbs for ES anymore.

Ok ... but your kids will get older, and they will have to go to MS, and all your "high performing peers" in elementary school will go to Basis, Latin, or move to NW or MoCo.

NP but I don’t think MoCo schools have the same shine they used to for DCPS parents. The schools just aren’t that impressive, it’s the SES of those schools that makes them still have the reputation they have.

Get back to me when the alternative is your IB MS with the majority of kids score 1s and 2s on PARCC! Then we'll see what kind of shine MoCo has.

I don't deny that staying in your "wonderful Title I EOTP elementary" is appealing; we certainly did it. But I'm now exactly in the situation you are brushing off as NBD and I'm here to tell you that it actually is a big deal. I'm not sure if I would have changed our decisions, but it is a really big deal to have to move when your kid is in MS.

The thing about it, though, is that a lot of people move. It's not like if we had stayed at our IB, all of DD's friends would be there too. All of her friends were leaving. Some of them went with her to the new school. I'm not saying it's a small school, but I'd look at it as if you attended a school that didn't have a specific middle school feeder. You just have to accept that the band is breaking up.

Right. The point is - if you move to a neighborhood where the kids go to their IB MS and HS, then more of a chance of continuing friendships and less disruption.

Not convinced. Suburban neighborhoods are much more spread out than ours, Capitol Hill. It seems to me that one's chances of keeping in-boundary DCPS ES friendships going are good in a high-density area if you make the effort. My middle school students' ES friends mostly still live a short walk from us. Their DCPS pals may have scattered to the four breezes for middle school, but we still see their closest friends from PS3-5th grade regularly, e.g. at Girl Scout meetings, parks, our church, block parties etc. We take care of their families' pets and plants when people go on vacation. One day, I feel like we'll be glad that we stayed. When our kids are in their 20s our lively, walkable neighborhood will surely be more of a draw to them than some staid suburb would have been. Maybe our kids will actually bother to come home to see Mom and Dad.