Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I haven't read this whole thread, but my kids are both in middle school at Capital City PCS and we have been happy with it so far (last year and this year). They have had open seats for 5th grade for the last several years, too, so it has not been hard to get in for MS. CCPCS is not discussed on DCUM as a "desirable" school, but we have found that the administration has their sh*t together, the teachers are great, there is good social and emotional support and special education services, and there are lots of extracurricular activities and a good sense of community. I think it doesn't get much love or attention on DCUM in part b/c the student body is fairly high poverty and there aren't that many white kids, and also b/c families were upset that the school stayed closed for longer than other places during the pandemic.

DP. thank you for sharing. We had not looked at this school before just based on test scores. Can you speak to the extracurriculars and the academic offerings?

Re CCPCS: For extracurriculars in middle school there were a bunch of offerings: school play (Wonka Jr.), soccer, running, studio art, volleyball, improv, chess, cheerleading, a mentoring program, I think others I can't remember.

Academically, their model is EL Learning (which originally stood for Expeditionary Learning and I don't know why they changed it)--they learn in units about a specific topic, and have student-led projects and field trips based on that topic. They seem to differentiate pretty well in middle school, and I know in high school there are AP classes and a lot of focus on college applications.

Re standardized test scores, I feel like there is such a direct correspondence between that and family income that it's not totally fair to judge a school based on scores alone. I wish there was some meaningful and accessible measure of whether a school's test scores are higher or lower than what you would expect given the socioeconomic status of the student body, b/c that would get closer to being meaningful. Also, CCPCS had higher test scores pre-pandemic, I think there has been a lot of student body turnover and also just learning loss nation-wide which impacted their scores for the last few years. Admittedly, if we get to high school and I feel like my kid is one of the only ones in her grade who's well above grade level, we would probably look for a different school, but that's a lot of "ifs" so I'm not worrying about it now.

Consider 16th St Heights OP! Lots of square feet and outdoor space. Many families with young kids, majority at West with some at Deal feeders or charters through the lottery.

Anonymous wrote:I haven't read this whole thread, but my kids are both in middle school at Capital City PCS and we have been happy with it so far (last year and this year). They have had open seats for 5th grade for the last several years, too, so it has not been hard to get in for MS. CCPCS is not discussed on DCUM as a "desirable" school, but we have found that the administration has their sh*t together, the teachers are great, there is good social and emotional support and special education services, and there are lots of extracurricular activities and a good sense of community. I think it doesn't get much love or attention on DCUM in part b/c the student body is fairly high poverty and there aren't that many white kids, and also b/c families were upset that the school stayed closed for longer than other places during the pandemic.

DP. thank you for sharing. We had not looked at this school before just based on test scores. Can you speak to the extracurriculars and the academic offerings?

I haven't read this whole thread, but my kids are both in middle school at Capital City PCS and we have been happy with it so far (last year and this year). They have had open seats for 5th grade for the last several years, too, so it has not been hard to get in for MS. CCPCS is not discussed on DCUM as a "desirable" school, but we have found that the administration has their sh*t together, the teachers are great, there is good social and emotional support and special education services, and there are lots of extracurricular activities and a good sense of community. I think it doesn't get much love or attention on DCUM in part b/c the student body is fairly high poverty and there aren't that many white kids, and also b/c families were upset that the school stayed closed for longer than other places during the pandemic.

Op, should read this thread too: https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1164175.page

Anonymous wrote:OP here:

Our budget is $1M. That 12th St house we were close to putting an offer on but we think it went well above asking.

This is the house we saw was about to be listed (check the history) but never did.

https://www.redfin.com/DC/Washington/1247-Underwood-St-NW-20012/home/10036348

Hi OP - we live east of Georgia in Whittier district and will be listing our house in the spring. 4br/4ba SFH right around your price range. We’ve been so happy here with little kids for he last ten years. Great neighborhood. I’d definitely look at something on this side of Piney Branch.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP again.

Ugh. Talked to my husband and sort of changed everything based on what I keep hearing about MS/HS.

Why can’t EOTP get that figured out?

We could still try and lottery every year while at Brightwood (or Takoma, Whittier), into DCB or try for Latin 5th grade.

Talk about a risk. We wanted to stay in DC but this one came online today:

https://redf.in/sMl1Ph

None of these schools are good enough and you will have to play the lottery every year which will be very stressful. Just try to move to a place where you will feel comfortable with the quality of the schools and you won’t have to worry about that.

There are six pages of replies that suggest otherwise. Whether they're good enough schools for you or OP are up to you to decide, but plenty of people are happy at those elementaries and Wells for middle school. Then there are plenty of options outside of Coolidge for high school. If OP is going to stress and second guess herself every year, then yes, she should move to MCPS or WOTP. But not all of us are stressing and lotterying every year.

I believe you, because a lot of parents do not care about academic achievement, but it seem that OP does.

The Chevy Chase house is pending now, perhaps OP made an offer.

What evidence do you have that a family that cares about academic achievement cannot have a kid properly being challenged in the honors classes at Wells? I’m not asking about test score averages.

After seen these post I was curious about the scores. They are terrible.

+1. Forget it. Just move to a good pyramid.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP again.

Ugh. Talked to my husband and sort of changed everything based on what I keep hearing about MS/HS.

Why can’t EOTP get that figured out?

We could still try and lottery every year while at Brightwood (or Takoma, Whittier), into DCB or try for Latin 5th grade.

Talk about a risk. We wanted to stay in DC but this one came online today:

https://redf.in/sMl1Ph

None of these schools are good enough and you will have to play the lottery every year which will be very stressful. Just try to move to a place where you will feel comfortable with the quality of the schools and you won’t have to worry about that.

There are six pages of replies that suggest otherwise. Whether they're good enough schools for you or OP are up to you to decide, but plenty of people are happy at those elementaries and Wells for middle school. Then there are plenty of options outside of Coolidge for high school. If OP is going to stress and second guess herself every year, then yes, she should move to MCPS or WOTP. But not all of us are stressing and lotterying every year.

I believe you, because a lot of parents do not care about academic achievement, but it seem that OP does.

The Chevy Chase house is pending now, perhaps OP made an offer.

What evidence do you have that a family that cares about academic achievement cannot have a kid properly being challenged in the honors classes at Wells? I’m not asking about test score averages.

After seen these post I was curious about the scores. They are terrible.

Seems like kind of a messy situation, but might be worth making a play for this one: https://www.redfin.com/DC/Washington/6201-Utah-Ave-NW-20015/home/9994526

Here's one in SP on Holly: https://www.redfin.com/DC/Washington/1431-Holly-St-NW-20012/home/10019493

OP here:

Our budget is $1M. That 12th St house we were close to putting an offer on but we think it went well above asking.

This is the house we saw was about to be listed (check the history) but never did.

https://www.redfin.com/DC/Washington/1247-Underwood-St-NW-20012/home/10036348

Anonymous wrote:OP here:

No we did not buy that house in Chevy Chase. We are still looking in DC.

we cannot afford WOTP for our needs. We can if we were willing to go smaller in size and no yard, etc.

I started this thread because houses in Brightwood are SFH with front, side, and backyards that really speak to us.

The one we thought would get listed (it was "coming soon") - never did. Maybe they had a change of heart.

If it's the one I was eyeing it did get listed just pending after 3 days.
https://redf.in/DYcdZj

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here:

No we did not buy that house in Chevy Chase. We are still looking in DC.

we cannot afford WOTP for our needs. We can if we were willing to go smaller in size and no yard, etc.

I started this thread because houses in Brightwood are SFH with front, side, and backyards that really speak to us.

The one we thought would get listed (it was "coming soon") - never did. Maybe they had a change of heart.

What is your budget? Can you afford Shepherd Park?

https://www.redfin.com/neighborhood/20108/DC/Washington-DC/Shepherd-Park

https://www.redfin.com/DC/Washington/1930-Tulip-St-NW-20012/home/10020867

I think that Tulip St house is over OP's budget, but that's a ton of house for that price! Older, but looks well maintained and perfectly liveable. Someone's either going to get a steal or it will go for way over listing.

Anonymous wrote:OP here:

No we did not buy that house in Chevy Chase. We are still looking in DC.

we cannot afford WOTP for our needs. We can if we were willing to go smaller in size and no yard, etc.

I started this thread because houses in Brightwood are SFH with front, side, and backyards that really speak to us.

The one we thought would get listed (it was "coming soon") - never did. Maybe they had a change of heart.

What is your budget? Can you afford Shepherd Park?

https://www.redfin.com/neighborhood/20108/DC/Washington-DC/Shepherd-Park

https://www.redfin.com/DC/Washington/1930-Tulip-St-NW-20012/home/10020867

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Np. Can someone explain what the negatives are to DCPS Brightwood elementary school? This thread comes across as it just doesn't have enough high SES kids, and that's the issue. Is that is, or is there something else?

Large school (700+ kids) and majority ELL students would be my guess. It’s also not terribly hard to get into surrounding DCPS schools, especially in the older grades.

It is also at the edge of the catchment area and across Military Road, which is a very busy street. I could see why someone living closer to Walter Reed might prefer Tacoma or Whitter (you do have to cross Georgia but Military is arguable busier than Georgia)