schools

geep · Joined: 14 Dec 2006 Posts: 49

I'm looking for a good resource to turn to for researching school options for my young daughter. Has anyone on the list had any experiences with the local schools, good or bad, worth mentioning? Just trying to figure out where to start looking. Are there any local blogs geared for parents looking for good choices in schools?

geep · Joined: 14 Dec 2006 Posts: 49

Come on guys & gals... I know someone on this board has kids, right? What did you do about researching the area schools?

bogfrog · Posted: Mon Nov 05, 2007 12:15 pm Post subject:

The Post magazine had some insights this weekend about parents' experience sending their children to public vs private schools. Specific schools were Bethesda-Chevy Chase, Garrett Park, and Green Acres, thus not exactly in our neighborhood.

My cousin taught at the junior high and high school level in Frederick County, and told me that neighborhood change (i.e. yuppies spilling over from MoCo into rural Frederick) makes for serious problems in schools.

GforGood · Joined: 11 Jul 2006 Posts: 606

If I recall corretly, there have been earlier threads about this here too, so you may find something using the search function on the forum. Or it may have been on the Prince of Petworth blog too...

I hear some of the charter schools are "good" (don't know what the standard/comparison is though), and apparently so are some of the catholic schools. Of course, you should also give the public schools fair consideration...

hugo · Joined: 31 May 2007 Posts: 6 Location: Columbia Heights

my daughter is only 9 months, but my wife is a teacher and we've already pretty much decided that the public schools here aren't an option, at least, as of now. We were both educated in public schools (me in NYC public schools all the way through HS) so I would love if it were a good option but as I have to keep reminding myself, DCPS is not NYC public schools, the schools here are awful for the most part. at least, according to my wife, who teaches in SE. Some of the charter schools are supposed to be good (that one on top of the CVS and the other one, I think Capital City Charter School) but if that doesn't work out we will be selling our place at whatever loss we have to take and moving out to Montgomery County or some nonsense. Just our opinion, though.

Mr. T · Joined: 03 Feb 2006 Posts: 902

I've heard the same thing about Capital City and the charter school above CVS. Are there any good private schools nearby?

geep · Joined: 14 Dec 2006 Posts: 49

I did some research today during my lunch hour on private schools. On the list I found, the cheapest was $18K per year. I think our house will be going up for sale before we're ready for school.

bogfrog · Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 2:29 pm Post subject:

Again, my cousin who lived in Montgomery County and taught in Frederick said she would never send her child to a public school. It seems that a lot of families move to MoCo looking for a free lunch, but those public schools are not all they're cracked up to be.

I had a college classmate who graduated from Sidwell Friends, where she received a terrific education and was very happy. I assume there are (private) school buses that can take kids to just about any school in any neighborhood, as in NYC.

GforGood · Joined: 11 Jul 2006 Posts: 606

Geep, ouch.. then again, how much are you paying for daycare per month now?

jennrgolden · Joined: 15 Mar 2007 Posts: 170 Location: 17th and Newton

geep · Joined: 14 Dec 2006 Posts: 49

I keep hearing the same story over & over again. Young couple moves to DC, have a baby, and then move to the burbs. It is a sad situation.

We split part time daycare with another family, so our childcare costs are reasonable.

I'll add that the 18K figure was from 8 am to noon...

jennrgolden · Joined: 15 Mar 2007 Posts: 170 Location: 17th and Newton

I'm encouraged by some of the day cares in the area...but find (like others have said) that "the good ones" are very very pricey! Since I'm staying at home with my little guy until he starts school, it's not going to become a real problem until he starts kindergarten - however I do want to acclimate him to the environment by starting him in a preschool at least 2 to 3 days a week around the age of 3 or 4... but just hearing about ridiculous waiting lists and costs are making me think we'll have to do something drastic sooner than we anticipated.

For the record... my husband and I did not just recently move to the city we both have lived in the city before we even met each other and remained in the city after marrying (we've been in the city roughly 10 years). It hurts my heart to consider leaving!
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- Jenn

steveg202 · Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 3:20 pm Post subject:

Capital City Public Charter School is pretty decent as we have a daughter there. Then there are several charter and public schools you can get on a wait list for. We have our other daughter attend Oyster Bilingual and we are VERY happy. It is where Rhee's kids go. Also just a few blocks away is a catholic private school for about $7K (name escapes me now, just off 14th street) that we liked.

Choices are improving with school clean-up and new charter options opening yearly. Priviate schools are VERY expensive. I agree with a prev poster that if you care about quality education and don't get lucky in the lottery, moving to the suberbs is likely your best option. Had we not gotten our daughter into one of these options we would have moved.

Hope this helps..

Mr. D · Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 3:57 pm Post subject:

It's a sad situation, and one that may ultimately determine whether DC ever manages to sustain its economic growth. I, too, would never consider sending a child to DCPS. As long as professionals with children feel compelled to move to MD or VA in order to provide opportunities for their children, DC will remain a backwater.

Mr. T · Joined: 03 Feb 2006 Posts: 902