Rockville schools
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Anonymous
| Hi everyone. Can you rank for me what you think are the best Rockville clusters? Best meaning not great schools rankings but in terms of whichever ones have great/involved commumities, safe areas, decent class sizes, reputations for having good teachers etc? So many neighborhoods and schools to choose from and Id like to hear from those who live there, work there or know people who live/work there. Thanks! |
Anonymous
Wow...so lets look at clusters with a significant (though not necessarily majority) population WITHIN the Rockville City limits AND are in the city of Rockville: Rockville High School Richard Montgomery High School Thomas Wootton High School There are also other high schools that pull from Rockville City limits, but the school is not in the city limits: Gaithersburg High School Walter Johnson High School For the sake of this discussion, I won't get too much into Walter Johnson or Gaithersburg, because both barely pull from Rockville City limits and NEITHER is within the city limits; however, you may want to consider them, as they are vicinity schools. Back to the original 3.... Rockville High School: There is only 1 middle school--Wood--and 5 elementary schools. Overall, the cluster has a small-town feel. High School population is very small, and they all went to middle school with each other. The demographics are generally middle class and well diverse. This is a very representative population of Montgomery County averages. Some of said that there are recent changes in the negative--partly due to new principle who came from a Potomac middle school and doesn't know so well how to deal with the different demographics from that school. Education is pretty solid still though, and housing is affordable. AP classes are offered--as is an opt-in, limited IB program. Richard Montgomery High School: There is only 1 middle school--Julius West--and 4 elementary schools. A 5th elementary school is being built to open fall 2018. Similarly to Rockville, the students all go to the same middle school, but this is a BIG cluster, so not the same small-town feel to it. All the elementary schools are WAY overcrowded except 1. The opening of the new elementary school will put the region at its capacity again though. Richard Montgomery has the first county IB program. All students actually begin participating in it from 6th grade in middle school. This is something to look into. Academics are strong and the program is hard--especially after 10th grade. College Gardens ES requires children to start an IB program in kindergarten. There are numerous AP offerings in the high school. Overall, the demographics of this school are equally mixed as Rockville, but with a greater spread of SES. That is, the average of the school fits the average of Montgomery County very well, but there are more richer demographics and poorer ones here than in Rockville. Thomas Wootton High School: There are 2 middle schools--Frost and Cabin John--but only Frost feeds everybody into Wottoon. Students from Cabin John split--some go to Wootton and others go to Churchill. There are 6 elementary schools The high school and middle schools operate at about capacity. The elementary schools are often significantly below capacity. There are considerations to merge students from other clusters into this one to increase elementary capacity in this cluster and reduce it in others--other Rockville schools are unaffected by this currently. The school has high academic standards and performance. Some may say this increases pressure. Demographics are generally biracial--Asian and White--not diverse. There is also generally high SES for facilities that attend the schools in the cluster--much more disposable income and very few FARMs. AP classes are offered and generally pretty good. There is a lot of competition though among students. |
Anonymous
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Im the PP btw, so I feel I should also say that i live in the RM cluster and chose to live there for its benefits. We specifically chose against the Wootton cluster for lack of diversity and realistic demographics.
I can't speak about the elementary schools so much in other clusters, but RM's elementary schools generally have very involved parents. Each has a different personality though. |
Anonymous
We're in the Rockville HS cluster and I think that's pretty accurate. And, nice of the PP to give such a detailed breakdown. We couldn't afford a house in the Richard Montgomery cluster, so we're in Rockville. Only in MS, but if you have a choice (and can afford it), I'd go with the RM cluster over Rockville HS. |
Anonymous
| We're in Wootton cluster. We are extremely happy. It is acgually quite diverse but not as diverse as RM or Rockville. I was worried about a pressure cooker environment but my DD is very happy - academically challenged but not stressed. |
Anonymous
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We are in the RM cluster. The IB program is complicated. It is a very competitive test in magnet for 9th and 10th grade. For 11th grade, neighborhood kids can apply if interested with a much higher acceptance rate. My kids had no interest after being in that program since College Gardens. They are plenty challenged with AP offerings and can take individual IB classes as well.
I know people love Rockville HS for it more intimate size and Wootton for the high test scores. |
Anonymous
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Great breakdown, PP. We're house-hunting and have the entire Rockville HS cluster as one of our desired spots. Our other spots are certain paths for ES-MS-HS.
And guys, no, Wootton is not diverse. Two races divided evenly making up 80% of the school, under 5% ESOL, exactly 5% FARMs, does not make the school racially or socioeconomically diverse. It's not all white, you can say that, but it is not diverse, and certainly not "actually quite diverse." |
Anonymous
Barnsley is one of the ES feeder schools to Rockville HS. It is ridiculously overcrowded. It's supposed to have a capacity of 400, but has something like 700 students right now. It's slated for an addition this summer, so that should help. However, it tends to attract LOTS of kids who don't live in boundary and use a friend/family member's address to attend the school, plus it has the HGC and the DHOH programs, which leads to LOTS of kids who do not live in boundary. Not a big deal, but OP was asking about 'community' feel. I also understand that College Gardens ES (in the RM cluster) also had some issues with parents using friends/family members addresses to have their kid attend College Gardens even though they do not live in bounds. |
Anonymous
What are your requirements for 'diversity'? Am asking because it would make a difference as to which schools you might be interested in. Are you looking for a 15% FARMS rate, or a 40% FARMS rate? If you are amenable to a much higher FARMS rate than 5%, then there are tons of options for that in MCPS. |
Anonymous
That was a great breakdown PP. We also live in the RM cluster. Chose this one over Wootton and Churchill. We chose RM for a few reasons: 1. diversity - race and SES. RM/JW has the closest even split of race you will find in MCPS (roughly: 25% Asian, 25% Hispanic, 30% White, 15% Black, 6% multi) 2. IB program - have no idea if kids will want to be in IB diploma program in HS, but the option is there if they want it. There are 25 spots for in cluster students. I also liked that CG/JW had the IB programs, too. I know it's not a huge deal, bt I like that they do attempt to interweave IB concepts into the curriculum, no matter how small. Also, I had one kid go to Barnsley for HGC. It is a huge school because of the programs they have there. We weren't very involved with the school since DC was only there for two years, but from the few times we did attend school functions, parents there seemed quite engaged. |
Anonymous
Diversity is relative. I define it by two comparisons: How representative the diversity is of the County as a whole and how dominant one diversity factor is. Richard Montgomery and Rockville are close to county overall in terms of racial breakdown and FARMs rate. They also do not have a overwhelmingly dominant race or races. Wootton, on the other hand, does not at all represent the county FARMs rates or overall racial breakdown. It also is dominated by two races: White and Asian. Thus, RM and Rockville are diverse, but Wootton is not. |
Anonymous
Diversity has a definition, and Wootton does not meet it. diversity would mean multiple socioeconomic categories, multiple racial groups. Not two races and 95% of students out of a major socioeconomic category. Similarly, a school that is 40% Latino, 40% AA, and 95% FARMS would also not be considered diverse. |
Anonymous
This is pretty much the reason why I'd say there is a lack of 'community feel' at Barnsley. Because of the HGC, some of the kids are only there for 2 years. Kids live out of boundary, and are less likely to come to school functions (as you said, you only attended school functions a 'few' times - rightfully so, since it's a hassle to come all the way back to the school if you live farther away!). And, the multiple programs - GT/LD and DHOH and HGC lead to it being a HUGE school. |
Anonymous
OP here- what a great breakdown! Thanks so much for taking the time PP and everyone else too! |
Anonymous
PP here. I get the sense that the home school families have a great sense of community. But yes, the HGC cohorts don't mingle much with the homeschool kids, hence the lack of community feel as a whole. |