Roots PCS vs Hearst ES

Roots PCS and Hearst ES rank first and second among all elementary schools in Washington, District of Columbia, separated by a razor-thin margin: Roots PCS earns a 9.4/10 overall rating for the #2 position among 240 DC schools, while Hearst ES earns a 9.3/10 for #3. The 0.1-point gap at this altitude reflects two schools operating near the ceiling of what DC elementary education offers — but the paths each school takes to that summit differ meaningfully.

Academically, Hearst ES holds a clear edge, scoring 9.7/10 versus Roots PCS's 8.7/10 — a full point higher in academic achievement. Roots PCS counters with a perfect 10.0/10 growth score against Hearst ES's 9.7/10, a gap that signals Roots is consistently accelerating students above expected trajectories. The growth advantage at Roots PCS is especially relevant for families whose children may be entering below grade level or who want evidence that a school is actively moving the needle rather than simply reflecting the incoming student profile.

The two schools are structurally quite different. Roots PCS enrolls just 80 students — a micro-school by any measure — compared to Hearst ES's 337. That scale difference shows up directly in class sizes: Roots PCS runs a 10.0:1 student-teacher ratio versus Hearst ES's 11.6:1. Roots is a charter school, meaning enrollment is open-application regardless of home address. Hearst ES is a traditional DC public school with a neighborhood attendance boundary, and its larger enrollment reflects the full breadth of a conventional school community.

Both schools cover the same grade span, PK through 5th grade, and sit 3.5 miles apart in the District. The enrollment contrast — 80 versus 337 students — likely shapes every dimension of daily school life, from the pace of the hallways to how individually a teacher can track each student. For families weighing intimacy against institutional depth, that 257-student difference is arguably more consequential than the 0.1 overall rating gap separating them.