New Hampshire Estates and Oak View elementary schools in Silver Spring - anyone with information?

[Anonymous]

These are the elementary schools our child will attend if we go with the public school system in Silver Spring (montgomery county). They have disappointing test scores, high FARM rates etc. On the other hand, many parents in the neighborhood bend over backwards to say that it's necessary to look beyond the numbers, that the teachers are great, and that every child has the opportunity for a great education at these schools. I would be interested in hearing from anyone out there who has experience with these elementary schools and any insight they have to offer.

[Anonymous]

bump.... grateful for any insight....

[Anonymous]

We were slated for those schools as well, but I just couldn't get over the abandoned shopping carts, broken bottles, graffiti and free medical clinic for non-students in the school. Also, the Principal did not know anything about the aftercare program and said it was being switched.

For several months I collected articles of the carjackings and random crime within a few blocks of the school and it was filling a folder.

I feel bad that I am not helping the situation, but I was just not comfortable.

[Anonymous]

No - this is what I'm looking for (honesty - whether bad or good). thank you.

[Anonymous]

I have a close relative who teaches at New Hampshire Estates. She is a great teacher, smart and creative and has a Masters is effective with my own kids (better than I sometimes ...). Patient. She tells me she's not alone, so from this I conclude that NHE has some good teachers.

Here is her insight, 2nd-hand: 87% of her students each year come to school unready to learn. A handful of those are flat-out unWILLIing to learn, whereas the others might be but don't have good home prep. Only 2 or 3 parents of all the kids give a crap about their children's school life. They can't be reached, they avoid phone calls, they're unresponsive if they are contacted.

The kids, with a notable exception of about 2 each year, are disruptive, loud, improperly fed (candy, cookies for breakfast), hyper and, rarely, aggressive. They run away on field trips and ignore demands to come back.

My relative laments that she spends 50% of her time managing behavior and the other 50% is spent on pre-test prep.

I've posted on DCUM before about her experience, although I don't think I've said the school's name. Was it my child, I would emphatically NOT enroll her in this school.

[Anonymous]

OP here - if we don't send DC to the public elementary schools, is there an obvious choice of private school in the area????

[Anonymous]

Maybe St. Bernadette's at Four Corners would be an option for you.

[Anonymous]

You should also try and get into the immersion magnets.

[Anonymous]

I would look at Grace Episcopal Day School. They are still accepting applications for Fall.

[Anonymous]

And there's always homeschooling!