Sligo Middle School thoughts

[Anonymous]

Me and my husband are looking to buy a house in the woodside neighborhood of Silver Spring. And are happy with the elementary assignment of Woodllin, are concerned with the middle school assignment of Silgo Middle, as I have nothing but bad things about this school. Our child is only two years old and is far from middle school, so things could obviously change in nine years, particularly with how much Silver Spring has change over the last few years.

But I just wanted to get some parent's thoughts on Sligo Middle and its current state and hopes for improvement. Also, from what I understand, Woodlin just changed from feeding to Silver Spring International to Sligo this school year. So any insight on that - or if I am just mistaken - would be appreciated

Thanks, LAURA

[Anonymous]

My husband and I.

Geez, you have a long way to go.

[Anonymous]

Who knows if you will even be in the Woodlin boundaries when your child starts, let alone whether you will feed into Sligo. There is a new elementary school being built that opens in 2012 and a boundary study won't be done till 2011. It is going to pull from Woodlin and Oakland Terrace. No word on what middle school it will feed into.

FWIW, I know people who are completely fine with Sligo middle. The only criticism I've heard is re: weakness in science but I don't know if that problem is particular to Sligo or not.

[Anonymous]

http://www.greatschools.net/school/parentReviews.page?id=1006&state=MD&sortBy=dd&pager.offset=4

We considered moving to Woodside and changed our minds because of the reputation of the middle and high schools. We talked to families living in North Woodside (near the Woodlin ES), and found that none were happy with Sligo MS, but most thought it was "just OK". Parents with younger children moving into the area for the friendly neighborhood and good ES plan on deciding later whether to move to another MS or stay with Sligo. Or go private, but I understood not many had that option...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Me and my husband are looking to buy a house in the woodside neighborhood of Silver Spring. And are happy with the elementary assignment of Woodllin, are concerned with the middle school assignment of Silgo Middle, as I have nothing but bad things about this school. Our child is only two years old and is far from middle school, so things could obviously change in nine years, particularly with how much Silver Spring has change over the last few years.

But I just wanted to get some parent's thoughts on Sligo Middle and its current state and hopes for improvement. Also, from what I understand, Woodlin just changed from feeding to Silver Spring International to Sligo this school year. So any insight on that - or if I am just mistaken - would be appreciated

Thanks, LAURA

We live in the Sligo MS district, but our child does not attend Sligo MS but instead is in a magnet program. We didn't look much at Sligo but anecdotally we understand that it is "ok." No one seems all that enthusiastic about it.

Woodlin has never fed to SSIMS, to my knowledge; it has always fed to Sligo.

You might get good feedback on local listservs.

[Anonymous]

Do you know of any local listservs? All I know of is the A Parent in Silver Spring blog, but it does not mention much about schools

[Anonymous]

There is a yahoo listserv for Silver Spring Moms.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ssmoms_2003/

[Anonymous]

I've been following the DCUrbanmom boards for a while re: downcounty schools. I don't think that they reflect the feelings of people who actually live in these neighborhoods (particularly Woodlin and Oakland Terrace). Talk to your potential neighbors. Hang out at the local parks and meet parents, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've been following the DCUrbanmom boards for a while re: downcounty schools. I don't think that they reflect the feelings of people who actually live in these neighborhoods (particularly Woodlin and Oakland Terrace). Talk to your potential neighbors. Hang out at the local parks and meet parents, etc.

13:38 here. Did you read my post? We live in the Sligo MS district. Our kids are in downcounty schools.

[Anonymous]

12:14 here. 16:21 was maybe trying to express that posters on DCUM are a tad more picky than the average general population living inside the Beltway. I know I certainly am

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been following the DCUrbanmom boards for a while re: downcounty schools. I don't think that they reflect the feelings of people who actually live in these neighborhoods (particularly Woodlin and Oakland Terrace). Talk to your potential neighbors. Hang out at the local parks and meet parents, etc.

13:38 here. Did you read my post? We live in the Sligo MS district. Our kids are in downcounty schools.

Actually, I wasn't really referring to your post (I did read it) or to any other on this thread. I was referring in general to the DCUrbanmom forums and comments about downcounty consortium schools. You said that you have anecdotally heard that Sligo is ok. That is what my friends with kids there say too. I have also anedotally heard that although there is some variation, none of the middle schools in the county are that great. On other threads on DCURbanmoms, there is a definite sense that if you live in the downcounty consortium your kids will be doomed to an inferior education and perhaps an unsafe educational environment. The truth is that if you talk to the people who live in these neighborhoods they (1) can't afford/don't want to live in Bethesda/Potomac, etc. and like where they live and (2) are fine with the middle school. A lot of people I speak to appreciate the diversity. No one is jumping up with joy about Sligo, but I hear the same from people in wealthier parts of the county too re: middle schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been following the DCUrbanmom boards for a while re: downcounty schools. I don't think that they reflect the feelings of people who actually live in these neighborhoods (particularly Woodlin and Oakland Terrace). Talk to your potential neighbors. Hang out at the local parks and meet parents, etc.

13:38 here. Did you read my post? We live in the Sligo MS district. Our kids are in downcounty schools.

Actually, I wasn't really referring to your post (I did read it) or to any other on this thread. I was referring in general to the DCUrbanmom forums and comments about downcounty consortium schools. You said that you have anecdotally heard that Sligo is ok. That is what my friends with kids there say too. I have also anedotally heard that although there is some variation, none of the middle schools in the county are that great. On other threads on DCURbanmoms, there is a definite sense that if you live in the downcounty consortium your kids will be doomed to an inferior education and perhaps an unsafe educational environment. The truth is that if you talk to the people who live in these neighborhoods they (1) can't afford/don't want to live in Bethesda/Potomac, etc. and like where they live and (2) are fine with the middle school. A lot of people I speak to appreciate the diversity. No one is jumping up with joy about Sligo, but I hear the same from people in wealthier parts of the county too re: middle schools.

13:38 here again. My apologies; I must have misunderstood.

I agree with you that here at DCUM, there's a definite sense that if you live in the downcounty consortium your kids will be doomed to an inferior education and perhaps an unsafe educational environment. On the other hand, given that, I scratch my head when I look around at my upper-middle class neighbors and their high-achieving children (most of whom thrive in local schools and go on to competitive colleges). They and my husband and we are doing very well here in Silver Spring, are satisfied with our kids' education, like the area (which is WAY more convenient to downtown DC than Bethesda is), and by and large have few complaints.

Definitely a dichotomy there.

[Anonymous]

Having gone to a high school that was definitely as bad as some of the bad DC high schools I completely understand when parents worry....if your kid had to go to my high school or one like it, you should worry, whether you are in DCUM or not....my high school had teachers getting caught with drugs etc. A few years after I graduated the Brinks truck was held up during lunch hour....all kinds of dangerous stuff.

[Anonymous]

I live in a neighborhood that feeds into Sligo MS. I know a couple kids who go there, and they are doing well. They seem to be nice, well-adjusted, smart kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Having gone to a high school that was definitely as bad as some of the bad DC high schools I completely understand when parents worry....if your kid had to go to my high school or one like it, you should worry, whether you are in DCUM or not....my high school had teachers getting caught with drugs etc. A few years after I graduated the Brinks truck was held up during lunch hour....all kinds of dangerous stuff.

What school was that?