Where will the Obama girls go to school?

Chelsea Clinton went to Sidwell Friends, a private Quaker school. So did Archibald Roosevelt and Tricia and Julie Nixon. And Joe Biden's granddaughters are at the school right now. Will Michelle and Barack send their daughters Malia and Sasha there as well once they get settled in the White House?

In Barack's press conference last week he said that Michelle is starting to research schools and will make a decision soon. According to a recent article in the Washington Post, many Washingtonians expect them to seriously consider Sidwell as well as other fancy privates such as Georgetown Day School, Maret, and National Cathedral School (Al Gore's girls went here). After all, Sasha and Malia are currently attending the private University of Chicago Laboratory Schools. All of these schools get rave reviews on GreatSchools.net: Sidwell and Georgetown won top honors from parent reviewers with five-star ratings, while Maret and Cathedral still shined with four stars.

But what about public school?

Barack certainly talked about improving public education in his campaign speeches. According to the District of Columbia Public Schools boundary map, a family living at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue would be assigned to the Francis-Stevens Educational Center, a K-8 in Foggy Bottom. That's only a mile from the White House front steps. And there's precedent: Jimmy Carter's daughter, Amy, went to Stevens Elementary School before it merged with Francis Middle School to become a K-8.

But D.C. has an out-of-boundary lottery system that allows parents to consider schools not in their neighborhood. Ladeidre Bridgewater, who works in the school district's communications department, says the Obamas might consider Oyster-Adams Bilingual School or Murch, which are two well-regarded public schools. "It would be up to the mother to pick the school that she thought her children would most benefit from," Bridgewater says. "I hope that the chancellor wouldn't make them go through the lottery system to get into the school of their choice."

Do you think the Obamas should send Sasha and Malia to a public school? Or should they go to the school that's the best fit for their girls?

Comments

[Pilar Roman]

The Obama girls should go to the school that best matches their learning styles and academic inclination as well as provides a rigorous education experience. Mostly likely a private school in DC.