Roots PCS vs Thomson ES

Roots PCS and Thomson ES rank among Washington, D.C.'s top five elementary schools out of 240, but Roots PCS holds the edge: an overall rating of 9.4/10 versus Thomson ES's 8.9/10 — a 0.5-point gap — placing Roots PCS at #2 in the district and Thomson ES at #5. Both schools perform at an exceptional level, but that gap is meaningful when choosing between two schools separated by only 3.8 miles.

On academics, the two schools are nearly identical — Thomson ES scores 8.8/10 versus Roots PCS's 8.7/10, a difference of just 0.1 points. Growth is where Roots PCS pulls ahead decisively: a perfect 10.0/10 growth score compared to Thomson ES's 9.5/10. That 0.5-point growth delta means students at Roots PCS are consistently outpacing academic expectations at a higher rate than their peers at Thomson ES, regardless of where they start.

The enrollment difference between these two schools is substantial. Roots PCS serves 80 students while Thomson ES enrolls 253 — more than three times as many. Despite that smaller headcount, Thomson ES achieves a tighter student-teacher ratio of 8.7:1 versus Roots PCS's 10.0:1, meaning Thomson ES families get more individualized adult attention per child even in a larger building. Both schools cover grades PK through 05, so families with children across early elementary are served equally well by either option on grade span alone.

Structurally, Roots PCS operates as a charter school while Thomson ES is a traditional DC Public Schools campus. Enrollment processes differ: Roots PCS requires a lottery application, while Thomson ES follows DCPS boundary and out-of-boundary transfer rules. The intimate scale at Roots PCS — 80 students across six grade levels — creates a community where every child is likely known by name across the building, a dynamic that is harder to replicate at Thomson ES's larger enrollment.