Who has kids and lives in DC? Where do you send them? (middle school, income)

[JEB77]

Originally Posted by chicagotodc

An interesting discussion. I live in the Janney district and intend to send my kids to public school up until middle school and then will look for alternative options. It is my understanding that Janney is perfectly fine and the real issues only show up after that. We shall see.

I admit I'm a little concerned about it - I balk at the idea of spending $30,000 to send my kid to a private like Sidwell. My income, while certainly good, I think is probably a little below average for the neighborhood im in (a lot of world bankers, etc) - and there's no way I can afford $30K post tax year after year. I suppose anything can be done, but it would be quite a stretch. At the same time, I absolutely love where I live and I have no intention whatsoever of moving to VA or MD unless there's truly no other option.

We considered Mclean, Arlington, etc when we moved here based on recommendations that they had good schools, but I found McLean to be a suicidally depressing collection of cul-de-sacs and Arlington a grossly overpriced juicy-pants infested planned community. Neither came close to having the charm and feel of NW DC. Forget Fairfax, Burke, Annandale, Falls Church etc -- those really felt like deep suburbia.

I may well eat those words one day, but if my income can keep pace and give me choices, my choice is to stay in DC. For all the hate that gets flung around on the site, I actually love the city.

You obviously didn't make much of an effort to scout out McLean or Arlington, but then there's no need to, if you found a neighborhood you like in DC. Of course, the Janney district is, for the most part, not much different from Arlington or Bethesda, except that there are more 80-somethings, and fewer 20-somethings.

On the other hand, it's also telling that other posters are counting on the likes of newcomers like you to do the hard work that somehow is going to transform DC's schools. Not quite getting that vibe, so you may need to start saving for that private school tuition.

[DCforever]

Originally Posted by chicagotodc

An interesting discussion. I live in the Janney district and intend to send my kids to public school up until middle school and then will look for alternative options. It is my understanding that Janney is perfectly fine and the real issues only show up after that. We shall see.

I admit I'm a little concerned about it - I balk at the idea of spending $30,000 to send my kid to a private like Sidwell. My income, while certainly good, I think is probably a little below average for the neighborhood im in (a lot of world bankers, etc) - and there's no way I can afford $30K post tax year after year. I suppose anything can be done, but it would be quite a stretch. At the same time, I absolutely love where I live and I have no intention whatsoever of moving to VA or MD unless there's truly no other option.

We considered Mclean, Arlington, etc when we moved here based on recommendations that they had good schools, but I found McLean to be a suicidally depressing collection of cul-de-sacs and Arlington a grossly overpriced juicy-pants infested planned community. Neither came close to having the charm and feel of NW DC. Forget Fairfax, Burke, Annandale, Falls Church etc -- those really felt like deep suburbia.

I may well eat those words one day, but if my income can keep pace and give me choices, my choice is to stay in DC. For all the hate that gets flung around on the site, I actually love the city.

Aren't you in the Deal district? You hear nothing but good things about Deal.

I agree with your assessment of the suburbs. I've gotten "lost" on the Rockville Pike. Every block looks the same and sometime you can't figure out where you are.

[JEB77]

Originally Posted by DCforever

Aren't you in the Deal district? You hear nothing but good things about Deal.

I agree with your assessment of the suburbs. I've gotten "lost" on the Rockville Pike. Every block looks the same and sometime you can't figure out where you are.

It's widely understood that some city-dwellers are incredibly parochial - the whole "why would I ever need to leave the city/cross the bridge/get on a highway" shtick can be amusing in the right hands.

Of course, that attitude probably makes more sense in a place like Manhattan than in AU Park or Logan Circle. When someone from a DC neighborhood makes that claim, they come across as directionally challenged, not discerning.

[BajanYankee]

Originally Posted by JEB77

It's widely understood that some city-dwellers are incredibly parochial - the whole "why would I ever need to leave the city/cross the bridge/get on a highway" shtick can be amusing in the right hands.

And incredibly elitist.

"Why don't all people purchase hybrid vehicles and eat organic fruits and vegetables like me? And wouldn't you rather be able to take your kids for strolls in Central Park and then head to the Museum of Natural History afterwards right before grabbing a light healthy brunch at Tavern on the Green? Why don't more people choose to live this way? I sure wish everyone else was as progressive as me!"

[chicagotodc]

Originally Posted by JEB77

You obviously didn't make much of an effort to scout out McLean or Arlington, but then there's no need to, if you found a neighborhood you like in DC. Of course, the Janney district is, for the most part, not much different from Arlington or Bethesda, except that there are more 80-somethings, and fewer 20-somethings.

On the other hand, it's also telling that other posters are counting on the likes of newcomers like you to do the hard work that somehow is going to transform DC's schools. Not quite getting that vibe, so you may need to start saving for that private school tuition.

I did actually, I went out in that direction nearly every weekend for six months looking for something I liked. I understand why you don't get that impression though, I admit I was being intentionally a little tongue in cheek excessive. Mclean and Arlington both have their relative pros and cons, for me, Mclean simply felt far too suburbia and Arlington felt very manufactured. Anything under $1M was pretty disappointing and in general, the Arlington area in particular felt grossly overvalued to me. Personal opinion, thats all. To each his own.

As to your other point re my doing the work, I'm happy to invest as much time as necessary to make my kids schooling a success - but I don't purport to think that a handful of parents who are willing to try to improve a program are going to suddenly change the DC public school system. I'm prepared to consider private school if I have to, and hopefully, by then, my income will help support it. There are a lot of other options besides Sidwell that don't come close to costing $30K.

[chicagotodc]

Originally Posted by BajanYankee

And incredibly elitist.

I was trying to be a little silly and over the top in my description. Mclaen and Arlington each have their relative strengths. Just not to my taste.

[BajanYankee]

Better yet, who has kids ages 7 through 18 and lives in the District?

[DCforever]

Originally Posted by chicagotodc

As to your other point re my doing the work, I'm happy to invest as much time as necessary to make my kids schooling a success - but I don't purport to think that a handful of parents who are willing to try to improve a program are going to suddenly change the DC public school system. I'm prepared to consider private school if I have to, and hopefully, by then, my income will help support it. There are a lot of other options besides Sidwell that don't come close to costing $30K.

A handful of parents can't change the DC school system, but they can make a difference at a single school.

[chicagotodc]

Originally Posted by DCforever

A handful of parents can't change the DC school system, but they can make a difference at a single school.

True, I should have been clearer -- part of what I consider problematic is the American fixation with memorization and regurgitation of fact. I had the rather unique opportunity of attending public, private, IB, GCSE and A-level programs when I was young and while the topic is a long one I could blather on about for hours, in short, I found the primary difference between the american based systems and the european influenced ones to revolve around critical thought vs memorization. The "american" history exam might ask "What year was Napoleon exiled?" or something to that affect. The "american" classes all had overly clear boundaries to what the tests can and cannot cover "chapters 1-5, chapter 7, but not chapter 6" things like that. Those influenced by European methods seemed much broader and focused less on your ability to recall a specific fact, date or detail and more on your ability to amalgamate whatever information you do know to craft a point of view. For instance, the GCSE or A-level exam might ask "Was Napoleon a military innovator?" You might elect to mention Napoleon's borrowing of certain prussian inventions and argue he didn't innovate, or you might note that he was the first to put much of those innovations to actual use, etc.. Those systems certainly had textbooks and "recommended reading" but the exams would be defined more by some broad boundaries: "European history from the early 12th century through present day" or something like that. Whether you utilized information from the assigned textbooks or not was not of consequence.

Again, the American school system didn't seem to have that same angle. Its true in other courses as well - an American physics exam would likely include questions materially similar to those in (again) "Chapters 5,6,7 and 9" (or whatever). The European exam would cover "Planetary motion, thermodynamics,...." and anything in that general area would be fair game. The American exam would ask something clearly covered - given X and given Y, solve for Z - where an identical problem with different numbers is somewhere in the textbook chapters assigned. Read the chapters, do the problems, you are fine. The European exam, by comparison, might have questions that require students to put together concepts in ways they hadn't ever seen: say, calculate the mass of some planet using something they learned from gas laws, and then incorporate that answer into equations for geostationary orbit to calculate something else. The distinctions are broader as well: The american system might, at best, ask you do some math on "sample" data from an experiment. An A-level physics exam would require a 3 hour exam including the design of an actual experiment in a lab environment, physically running the actual thing, noting the results and writing up your results and interpretations.

All of this probably sound elitist - and I dont mean it that way - just that in my view the IB / GCSE / A-level programs all seem to have a greater weight on critical thinking, which, imho, is "better" than the comparative focus towards memorization that seems to permeate American schooling. More generally, the point I'm trying to make is that these kinds of fundamentally different approaches to education aren't something you can change at a public school. They are required to adhere to certain curriculum, etc. Even if I like this approach, getting something even remotely similar into the US school system would require such a dramatic underlying shift in the predominant thought towards education that it can't be done. This is true of a DC school as much as a VA one or any other option. All of these are issues I feel are most acute at the high school level, so for now, Janney is fine.

[DCforever]

As an engineer, rather than a liberal arts major, I couldn't agree more about the American approach that equates memorization with learning. The benefit is that such graduates are often great at Trivial Pursuit. I don't notice a huge difference in philosophy though as one moves from public to private schools.