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How many years will that take? Most middle class to upper class kids are pulled from the public school before they hit middle school. There are a lot less Deal type middle schools out there. In order for school to change like that, there is going to need to be a flood of em coming in.
Again, to date, this is far more aspirational than grounded in fact. Not saying it won't or can't happen, but the types of "young affluent families" you describe tend to have busy lives and may or may not be quite as prepared to engage in the type of infrastructure and institution-building that is necessary to "solve the public school problem" as you imply. As a result, when they encounter impediments to their goals, private schools and/or the suburbs beckon. If you were talking about a community of graduate students or professors at Berkeley, that would be one thing. However, hard-driving lawyers, lobbyists and consultants tend to have high expectations and a sense of entitlement, yet less of the ideological drive to make some of those changes happen.
The issue for the District is finding the proverbial sweet spot for those who'd like to stay and raise families in a true urban environment. DC neighborhoods like Spring Valley and AU Park are essentially suburban in character; on the other hand, places like Columbia Heights are easier for 20-somethings to appreciate than for 40-something parents to relish. It's easy enough to navigate a stroller, if one really wanted to, on the streets of Logan Circle, but harder to embrace the idea of letting a 10-year-old walk unescorted around Shaw or Eckington with street-corner thugs, pockets of abandoned homes, etc. And, since DC has lower-density development, changes occur far more slowly than in a place like Tribeca in NYC.
10 years ago we would not have even had this conversation. Things can change quickly for individual schools. As far as your statement about Spring Valley and AU Park -- You sound like you come from Virginia. If it's not bland suburban, you won't find kids. LOL look around.
How many years will that take? Most middle class to upper class kids are pulled from the public school before they hit middle school. There are a lot less Deal type middle schools out there.
That's three. And only Hardy is any good and its in the middle of Georgetown. What about the other Middle schools in other "Middle Class" "Upper Middle Class" neighborhoods in DC?
First you say there's only one. Now you say there's only four. There are many upper middle class neighborhoods served by those four schools. As other neighborhoods become upper middle class with school age children, the schools serving them will improve. School quality is more about the students than anything else.
10 years ago we would not have even had this conversation. Things can change quickly for individual schools. As far as your statement about Spring Valley and AU Park -- You sound like you come from Virginia. If it's not bland suburban, you won't find kids. LOL look around.
We could have had the same conversation 10 years ago, although perhaps you were in middle school at the time. The issue is really whether we could have a different conversation 10 years from now.
and I agree it will take time but the demographics are changing rapidly in that ALOT more families are staying longer. For example, my wife and I moved to the U street area about 2 years ago. We had the first child ever in our condo development about a year ago. Since then, four other couples have had a kid in the condo building. Admittedly, one moved to the burbs but the others are staying for now.
The school system will be very different in 5 years and certainly in 10 years. It won't be perfect but alot more people will be considering the public schools rather than 30k per year for a private school.
We are certainly planning on staying and will be looking for a bigger place in the next few years.
We could have had the same conversation 10 years ago, although perhaps you were in middle school at the time. The issue is really whether we could have a different conversation 10 years from now.
No I had finished my graduate school work by then. How about you?
and I agree it will take time but the demographics are changing rapidly in that ALOT more families are staying longer. For example, my wife and I moved to the U street area about 2 years ago. We had the first child ever in our condo development about a year ago. Since then, four other couples have had a kid in the condo building. Admittedly, one moved to the burbs but the others are staying for now.
The school system will be very different in 5 years and certainly in 10 years. It won't be perfect but alot more people will be considering the public schools rather than 30k per year for a private school.
We are certainly planning on staying and will be looking for a bigger place in the next few years.
Not to quibble, but the example of your own personal situation only illustrates the key uncertainty, which is whether middle and upper-middle class parents in DC with children under the age of, say, 5 will really stay the course.
Historically, there have been quite a few people in your situation, and they haven't stayed, which is what's reflected in the latest Census data highlighting the decline in school-age children in DC. The school system won't be very different in 5 years because there are 10 new condos on U Street or Mass. Ave. full of singles, couples or even parents of infants who would like to have a nice school in the neighborhood four years later. It will only be different if large numbers of people in your situation don't churn.
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It's happening
