Rising Junior Kindergartener… how to choose a school?!?!!?

Submitted by markedsneakyinsect t3_zggnky in CambridgeMA

Hello friends!!

We have a 4 year old that will start JK in the fall. School lottery is next month. We’ve been on a couple of tours so far but I think it’s going to be hard to choose. Our neighborhood schools are graham and parks and Peabody (which is significantly closer)… we were able to tour G&P and it seemed good. In person tours of Peabody are after school hours so I don’t think I’ll get much out of it. We have another little one that is 18 months so it feels like we are “deciding both of their futures”… but I also feel like for us all choices are basically good.

I would love to hear some experiences from the community. Do you have a kid in school? How has your experience been? Especially at Peabody and G&P… what do you like / dislike about the school that your kid(s) are at?

Thank you!

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kigaltan t1_izgtcgt wrote

Peabody and G&P are among the best public schools in the city. If your choice is between those two, you can't go wrong.

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tmrrgn t1_izh35ib wrote

Those are great schools. Also put Baldwin on your list of preferred places. The school bus system works so well that walking distance doesn’t really matter.

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markedsneakyinsect OP t1_izh7yzt wrote

We have neighbors that go to Baldwin so that is also a good shout.

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BuckyWunderlick007 t1_izmaqhs wrote

Baldwin is the most challenging school to get a placement without proximity. Take a close look at the numbers. It may not be worth burning a lottery spot on.

I was underwhelmed by G&P when we toured it, but many regard it as the best elementary school in the city. I thought Peabody was great, but it was a bit far and the hours didn’t work so l well for our family. If it was walkable for us, it would have been a no brainer.

Having 2 years of kindergarten may be the best thing about CPS.

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MDR_25 t1_izj6lel wrote

My kids all went to the same CPD elementary and had vastly different experiences based on the teacher as well as the kids in their respective cohort. So it is a leap of faith...your kid's experience is even less in your control than it appears!

All CPD elementaries are good, especially the ones in your proximity. So I'd just go with the one that is easiest to get to, especially if one is walkable. Walking your young elementary kid to school is a great start to the day, and when they're older, they can get back & forth on their own. Both are surprisingly wonderful quality-of-life perks.

Also getting one of your 3 picks is far from a sure thing, so have a sense of your backups. When we didn't get a top choice, we were given 48 hours to pick from one of 3 other schools that we knew nothing about. That was super stressful. You don't need to preemptively tour them, but at least have an idea of where they all are and what makes each school distinct.

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markedsneakyinsect OP t1_izjd1r2 wrote

That is so stressful that you didn’t get one of your top three. Did you have lottery bonuses for them? Peabody is in walking distance for us which would be so massive, even though bussing exists. It’s just so nice to not waste hours a day in transportation.

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MDR_25 t1_izjgwl3 wrote

Yes, for our oldest, we had proximity preference for our first choice and ended up not getting any of our top 3. It happens. He ended up all the way across town, which was a massive inconvenience, especially because we didn't want to subject a 5 year old to a 45+ minute bus ride. Other than that, he had a fine experience. (In a lot of ways, that school turned out to be a better environment for him, and we've always wondered if we should have left him there. So no matter how much research you do, you really won't ever be sure.)

He was high on the waitlist and he moved to our 1st choice early in his 2nd year. Waitlist slots always open up, because families (esp in West Cambridge) frequently leave CPS at mid-elementary age, either because 1) they feel like they need a bigger house and move to the 'burbs, or 2) they are rich and move their kids to private school to keep them away from the poors. :(

OP, I know this feels really stressful, because I've lived through it. But, again, all the CPS elementaries are good environments for learning and social development, so try not to sweat it too much.

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technicolourful t1_izh3q4j wrote

Cynic here: what makes you think you’ll get your first choice?

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markedsneakyinsect OP t1_izjgmtp wrote

85% got their first choice in last lottery. 94% got one of their top 3. https://www.cpsd.us/cms/one.aspx?portalId=3042869&pageId=3478220

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adtechperson t1_izjq8rl wrote

https://cdn5-ss5.sharpschool.com/UserFiles/Servers/Server_3042785/File/departments/administration/frc/JKK_Lottery_Projections_2023.pdf

From this data, you would be pretty much assured of getting into Peabody if you make that your first choice (since they are expecting at least four spots for people without any bonus points). You are not assured of getting into G&P.

They project 19 spots for people with proximity bonus at G&P, and in the previous year there were 32 folks with proximity bonus that applied.

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markedsneakyinsect OP t1_izjufct wrote

Yep, I saw those projections… i took them with a grain of salt since i didn’t see them say how their projections compared to reality last year. Thank you for digging them out!!

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Admirable_Day_36 t1_izh7auq wrote

Proximity helps a lot in the lottery.

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technicolourful t1_izh8dp9 wrote

Real talk: it’s not guaranteed, because Cambridge also weights income. Do you need aftercare? Which school has better aftercare placement rates?

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jdm42 t1_izh9kpu wrote

Peabody has been great for our kid who’s been there since K. All the teachers have been wonderful, and the new administration has been a welcome change.

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jorMEEPdan t1_izjg7zw wrote

I worked briefly at G&P and would be delighted to send my son there if it was closer to our apartment!

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MeekLocator t1_izkb0le wrote

I recommend going with close, so that your kid's friends tend to be nearby too.

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charlottespider t1_izoltm7 wrote

All the elementary schools are great! The middle schools are the problem.

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markedsneakyinsect OP t1_izoo85t wrote

Which one is worse?? Hoping to go to rauc since that is closest. What don’t you like about the middle schools?

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KeysToHistory1979 t1_j0ofbbm wrote

My children are at King Open because of the bilingual education (Portuguese / English). I have heard wonderful things about G&P but also heard that it is very competitive.

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markedsneakyinsect OP t1_j0puqb4 wrote

How do you like the king open? Did your kids test in? We love the idea of bilingual elementary school but our wee one isn’t strong enough in Spanish to pass, we imagine

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KeysToHistory1979 t1_j0pw8mo wrote

They did not test in. They start the kids in Junior K or K, depending on how your child falls. It is bilingual immersion, so no child has to test—they learn the language through the immersion.

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