Baltimore County Schools--relocating, need advice

[Anonymous]

We are relocating from DC to Baltimore County for my husband's job (in the Owings Mills area). From what I can read, the public schools in the Lutherville-Timonium area seem to be well rated. Do others have direct experience or other advice on where to consider? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

[Anonymous]

OP here--just wondering if people are silent because they don't have experience with Baltimore County Schools or because the schools are so bad that they cannot recommend them. I would be most appreciative for feedback. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here--just wondering if people are silent because they don't have experience with Baltimore County Schools or because the schools are so bad that they cannot recommend them. I would be most appreciative for feedback. Thanks!

I think that it is the former rather than the latter.

[Anonymous]

I don't think there's a lot of Baltimore County participation on this site. I used to work in Owings Mills but we live in Howard County, which would definitely be an option for you. (It's nice because you can avoid the beltway/highway and just use backroads). Look at Ellicott City/Woodstock/Marriottsville listings which are in the northerm section of HoCo.. I don't know much about Lutherville/Timonium, but I haven't heard bad things. And there are plenty of private schools there too

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here--just wondering if people are silent because they don't have experience with Baltimore County Schools or because the schools are so bad that they cannot recommend them. I would be most appreciative for feedback. Thanks!

The schools are actually good but the majority of people on DCUM don't have experience with Baltimore County Public schools to offer feedbacks

[Anonymous]

I live in Baltimore County! I can't offer much help though because my oldest is in K, so it's been all virtual. The virtual school is fine... probably the same as anywhere else. I hear great things about our elementary school (we are in Catonsville, so totally the opposite end of the county from Timonium) but most people, when they move out of the city and into the county with their young kids "for the schools" move to Towson.

I hear a lot of complaints about BCPS from local moms groups... but you hear complaints about the school system no matter where you are, I think. I have no point of comparison. For example I myself went to Fairfax county public schools, and they were great and prepared me for an Ivy education. But here, you see lots of complaints. So who really knows.

[Anonymous]

OP here-Thank you very much to all of the PP's. I appreciate the insight!

[Anonymous]

How about Eldersburg/Sykesville?

[Anonymous]

I live in Baltimore County! I can't offer much help though because my oldest is in K, so it's been all virtual. The virtual school is fine... probably the same as anywhere else. I hear great things about our elementary school (we are in Catonsville, so totally the opposite end of the county from Timonium) but most people, when they move out of the city and into the county with their young kids "for the schools" move to Towson.

I hear a lot of complaints about BCPS from local moms groups... but you hear complaints about the school system no matter where you are, I think. I have no point of comparison. For example I myself went to Fairfax county public schools, and they were great and prepared me for an Ivy education. But here, you see lots of complaints. So who really knows.

OP- We are now looking at Catonsville as a potential option. Do people use the high school in Catonsville or do people opt for private. Many of the properties are very charming--we like the look of it. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

I live in Timonium. We are zoned for Pinewood ES, Ridgley MS, and Dulaney HS. She transferred to a Catholic school for MS and now HS. I think the schools are fine for average students. She coasted through ES and wasn't really challenged so she became pretty lazy. I switched her to Catholic school for more rigor. The word "rigor" is used in public school but it doesn't really describe the curriculum IMO. It's easy to get an A if your child is reasonably bright. Her ES was a nice school but it wasn't much of a challenge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How about Eldersburg/Sykesville?[/quote/]

NP here-I'm from Baltimore County and my parents still live there, but have lived in Eldersburg for over 20 years. All 3 of my sons have been educated in CC public schools, with my youngest graduating in 2022. While the schools were fantastic early on, I would not move here now. The BOE has gotten increasingly partisan, has no respect for teachers, and is unresponsive to parents. There has never been any plan for building schools or coordination with the County to mitigate school overcrowding. There are at least 3 100+ family home communities that are expected to be built (the County zoning and planning departments RARELY deny building requests) in the area, but our schools are already near, at, or over capacity. Teachers have been consistently underpaid for years, so we're now known as the teacher training ground because young teachers come here, teach for a few years, and then move on to one of the surrounding counties that pay significantly more.

The schools in South Carroll are still good because of the teachers who truly care and very strong parental involvement, but I wouldn't bet on that continuing for 20 more years. It's really a shame.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I live in Baltimore County! I can't offer much help though because my oldest is in K, so it's been all virtual. The virtual school is fine... probably the same as anywhere else. I hear great things about our elementary school (we are in Catonsville, so totally the opposite end of the county from Timonium) but most people, when they move out of the city and into the county with their young kids "for the schools" move to Towson.

I hear a lot of complaints about BCPS from local moms groups... but you hear complaints about the school system no matter where you are, I think. I have no point of comparison. For example I myself went to Fairfax county public schools, and they were great and prepared me for an Ivy education. But here, you see lots of complaints. So who really knows.

OP- We are now looking at Catonsville as a potential option. Do people use the high school in Catonsville or do people opt for private. Many of the properties are very charming--we like the look of it. Thanks!

I work at a federal agency near Catonsville. Most people I know live there until they have children and then move to Howard County for the schools.

[Anonymous]

I used to teach in Catonsville public schools. Middle and High were very good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I live in Baltimore County! I can't offer much help though because my oldest is in K, so it's been all virtual. The virtual school is fine... probably the same as anywhere else. I hear great things about our elementary school (we are in Catonsville, so totally the opposite end of the county from Timonium) but most people, when they move out of the city and into the county with their young kids "for the schools" move to Towson.

I hear a lot of complaints about BCPS from local moms groups... but you hear complaints about the school system no matter where you are, I think. I have no point of comparison. For example I myself went to Fairfax county public schools, and they were great and prepared me for an Ivy education. But here, you see lots of complaints. So who really knows.

OP- We are now looking at Catonsville as a potential option. Do people use the high school in Catonsville or do people opt for private. Many of the properties are very charming--we like the look of it. Thanks!

We live in HoCo now but almost moved to Catonsville, plenty of people use Catonsville middle and high. Your kid will get a solid education there, and the COL in Catonsville is wonderful and would likely allow you to take advantage of some of the great Baltimore prep schools if you ended up wanting a more "elite" education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I hear a lot of complaints about BCPS from local moms groups... but you hear complaints about the school system no matter where you are, I think. I have no point of comparison. For example I myself went to Fairfax county public schools, and they were great and prepared me for an Ivy education. But here, you see lots of complaints. So who really knows.

Yeah, I would caution anyone not to take mom groups too seriously. They can be great resources for selling/listing things but all too often are filled with people just looking for anything to bitch about.

Just look at the MoCo threads on this site for proof. The close-in schools there are wonderful, but you'll find endless people saying "LOL the schools here are a joke" or "we moved here for the schools and wish we didn't." Though don't suggest that Howard County has the best schools in the state or they'll REALLY lose their shit

Good luck, OP! I really like Catonsville for all-around living.