Kingman Park Education Meeting Minutes

Kingman Park residents learn about their school options. Photo credit: Robert Coomber, 2014.

Thanks to all KP residents who came out to the Education Meeting! We had Zaneta Graves from DCPS and principals from Apple Tree PCS  at Oklahoma Ave and Elliot-Hine MS, as well as some tools from Nicole Coomber, Commissioner-Elect Bob Coomber’s wife and parent of a child at Miner ES. For those who were unable to attend, we took some meeting minutes and have some resources for you. We plan on continuing the conversation with the stakeholders who attended the meeting, so feel free to comment with your questions or your feedback on your child’s school and your experience with the process.

Education Meeting for Kingman Park Residents Meeting Minutes

Saturday, December 6th at 10:00AM-12:00PM

Introduction (10:00AM-10:10AM)

Bob Coomber, ANC-Elect for 7D01

• Introduction of guests
• DCPS vs. Charter vs. Private?
• New Boundaries

DCPS Access (10:10AM-10:30AM)

Zaneta Graves, DCPS Director, Strategic Enrollment Initiatives

12.6.14 Enroll In Your Neighborhood School – ANC 7D01

DC parents have three basic options for enrollment in DC public schools: In-boundary schools, feeder schools, and out-of-boundary schools.

1. In-boundary schools

• Find your in-boundary schools at EBIS; will be updated with new boundaries as of Dec. 15th
• Maury ES and Miner ES are the current in-boundary schools for Kingman Park, depending on where you live.
• For PK3 and PK4 enrollment:
  • All families must apply via the lottery for spots in PK3 and PK4; there is no “right to enroll” for these grades.
  • Children must be 3 by Sept. 30, 2014 for PK3 and 4 by Sept. 30 for PK4
  • Per a new proposal, there will be guaranteed access for in-bound families of Title I schools. This policy will be phased in with six schools for the 2014-15 and it is the hope of DCPS that new schools will be added each year. The schools for this year are: Amidon-Bowen ES, Burroughs ES, Bunker Hill ES, King ES, and Van Ness ES. None of these schools are in the Kingman Park neighborhood.
  • Student are encouraged to be potty trained by the time they start in PK, but teachers and schools will work with parents.
  • Families do not need to apply to the lottery at their in-bounds school for kindergarten, they only need to register.

2. Feeder Schools

• Every DC student has a right to attend the next school in their given feeder pattern
• For Maury, Miner, and Payne, the feeder school is Eliot-Hine MS
• For Eliot-Hine MS, the feeder school is Eastern HS
• If you have a different ES, you may have a different feeder middle school (Note: this is why schools with Deal MS and Wilson MS are very popular in the lottery,because enrollment tin these elementary schools guarantee spots at these schools).

3. Out-of-Boundary Schools

• If a DC student is interested in attending a school other than an in-boundary or feeder school, a My School DC application must be submitted.
• My School DC Lottery is a school-choice service provided to families interested in enrolling children in public schools within DC, including:
  • All DCPS PK3 and PK4 programs
  • DCPS out-of-boundary schools (K-12)
  • DCPS selective high schools (9-12)
  • Participating public charter schools (PK3-12)
• My School DC Lottery Timeline
  • Dec 15: School Year 2015-16 application available at MySchoolDC.org
  • March 2: PK3 – Grade 8 Application Deadline
  • March 27: Lottery results released
  • April 1: School Year 2015-16 enrollment begins
  • May 1: Deadline to Secure Lottery Seat

You may select up to 12 schools in order of preference for the Lottery. It is highly recommended that you rank them in order of preference; you will only receive one match, but will be waitlisted at any school ranked above that school in your list. For example, say this is your list of school choices:

1. Brent ES

2. Maury ES

3. Peabody ES

4. Apple Tree Public Charter School (OK Ave Campus)

5. Ludlow Taylor ES

6. Mundo Verde PCS

7. Miner ES

8. Tyler ES

If you are matched with Apple Tree PCS, you will be waitlisted at Brent ES, Maury ES, and Peabody ES but NOT at any of the schools below Apple Tree on your list.

It is recommended that you enroll at your match, even if you are high on the waitlist of another school. You will not be taken off the waitlist at other schools when you enroll at your match.

Lottery Decision Matrix (10:30AM-10:45AM)

Nicole Coomber, PhD in Education Policy and Leadership, Prof. at the University of MD

Please see the Blank Schools DC Decision Matrix we used to apply for schools for our son. Instructions of how to use the grid can be found on the first tab of the spreadsheet. You can research schools through MySchoolDC.org, GreatSchools.org, and the numerous open houses held by schools around the city. Talking with neighbors also helps! Reach out on the KPR Familes Facebook group or to us for more information or to be connected with parents who have attended different schools, including Miner ES, Ludlow Taylor ES, J.O. Wilson ES, Apple Tree, and Yu Ying.

 

Representatives from Local Schools and Public Charter Schools (10:45AM-11:10AM)

• Apple Tree PCS (5 minutes)
• Basis DC PCS (5 minutes)
• Eliot Hine Middle School (5 minutes)
• Maury Elemetary (5 minutes)
• Miner Elementary (5 minutes)

Discussion, Questions and Answers (11:10AM-12:00PM)