How are the elementary schools in Silver Spring and Takoma area?

Anonymous
We're considering a move to the Takoma/ Silver Spring area. What are the elementary and middle schools like over there? Which schools are the best?
Anonymous
I live in SS and my kids are in the French Immersion program at Sligo Creek ES. I don't know what the regular program is like there - the reviews are mixed. I will say I have a hearty dislike for the principal.

Woodlin ES gets consistently great reviews from parents. It is probably, based on test scores and parent reviews, the best elementary school in SS/TP.

On the down side, it feeds to Sligo Middle School, however, which gets very mediocre reviews. I think some Woodlin parents opt for magnets, or private for middle school.

We had child in the magnet at Takoma Park MS, which we loved. My friends whose children are in the regular program there likewise love it.

I've heard good things about Silver Spring Int'l MS, which has improved dramatically in the past several years. It houses both the continuation of the French Immersion program as well as an IB program, and the principal is reputedly great.
Anonymous
I hear very good things about Oaklawn Terrace, but it is so overcrowded that I think they are sending the K students to a middle school for a year until they build a new school.

I also hear good things about Rock Creek Forest, on Grubb rd. (except the facilities need a rehab).
Anonymous
Oakland Terrace is great. There is a new school being built which will take half of the OTES students. It's true that incoming Ks will go to a sattelite for the next two years so if you have a child who will be affected that is something to think about. I also have friends who are happy with Forest Knolls.
Anonymous
Highland View (different from highland) is a great option. It is a small school with active parent involvement. It feeds into Silver Spring International MS and then Northwood HS.
Anonymous
Rock Creek Forest is actually a Chevy Chase school. It draws from a few SS areas, mostly apartment buildings in the immediate area.
Anonymous
DC is at SSIMS (not in the language immersion programs) and we have been pleased overall, especially with the IB framework that informs the entire curriculum. Vicky Parcan is great. Classes have been challenging and based on critical thinking. I can't think of a class DC has had that has been dominated by busywork. Rather, simulations, projects, experiments, creative writing. Because SSIMS is located in the old Blair HS buliding, there are some pluses and minuses for middle schoolers: the school is HUGE and students travel up and down three floors to get to their classes (doesn't seem to bother DC); science labs and FACS rooms are fully equipped, there are separate gyms for different activities, etc. making more complex teaching possible than in some middle schools. Because SSIMS is only 10 or 12 years old, not too many people seem to know about it. A hidden gem.
Anonymous
I'm in the non-French portion of Sligo Creek Elementary. Agree w/the French parent on the principal. I, too, have an extreme dislike of the principal as do most of the parents I know.

I've felt the teaching has been hit and miss (some great teachers, some mediocre ones). There are way too many videos and movies and too much stock put into testing (but isn't that the case anywhere, sigh?)

I've visited and have friends at Takoma Park Elementary, which, by all accounts, is terrific. I was very impressed with the teaching that I saw there.

I'm glad to hear the good reviews of SSIMS, as that's where Sligo Creek Elem. feeds into.
Anonymous
One of our kids did the G&T magnet at Takoma Park ES. I believe TP kids have an advantage in the entrance process for the TPES magnet, in the sense that if they pass the test they can bypass the lottery that out-of-boundary kids have to go through. Our kid did it some years ago now, so this may be old info. In any case, parents from both the magnet and non-magnet parts of TPES universally loved the school. TPES ends at 2nd grade, though.

For 3rd-5th grades all the kids move over to Piney Branch ES, including the magnet kids. Piney Branch has received more mixed reviews, and a few years ago it was on the cusp with NCLB tests. PBES did have a very active, committed parent body, though, which helped. I'd check for more recent opinions than mine on Piney Branch ES.

For middle school, kids who live in TP have a slight advantage for entrance to the math & science magnet at TPMS. My kid loves the magnet. It may be hard to project the future, and know whether your toddler has a love for science and math. But even if you decide against the magnet because your kid has different interests, I also hear great things from non-magnet families.

Although Rock Creek Forest is not in SS or TP, some SS and TP kids go there through the Spanish program, which you can enter through a lottery. If you get in, your SS/TP kid continues on to the IB middle years program at Westland (I may be wrong about the MS name) and from there to BCC high school which has an IB program. The Rock Creek lottery is a tough one, however, with way more applicants than slots.

Then there's the whole down-county consortium thing for MS and HS, and other area magnets. But that's way beyond your immediate needs for elementary school, plus there are lots of DCUM threads on these.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:One of our kids did the G&T magnet at Takoma Park ES. I believe TP kids have an advantage in the entrance process for the TPES magnet, in the sense that if they pass the test they can bypass the lottery that out-of-boundary kids have to go through. Our kid did it some years ago now, so this may be old info. In any case, parents from both the magnet and non-magnet parts of TPES universally loved the school. TPES ends at 2nd grade, though.

For 3rd-5th grades all the kids move over to Piney Branch ES, including the magnet kids. Piney Branch has received more mixed reviews, and a few years ago it was on the cusp with NCLB tests. PBES did have a very active, committed parent body, though, which helped. I'd check for more recent opinions than mine on Piney Branch ES.

For middle school, kids who live in TP have a slight advantage for entrance to the math & science magnet at TPMS. My kid loves the magnet. It may be hard to project the future, and know whether your toddler has a love for science and math. But even if you decide against the magnet because your kid has different interests, I also hear great things from non-magnet families.

Although Rock Creek Forest is not in SS or TP, some SS and TP kids go there through the Spanish program, which you can enter through a lottery. If you get in, your SS/TP kid continues on to the IB middle years program at Westland (I may be wrong about the MS name) and from there to BCC high school which has an IB program. The Rock Creek lottery is a tough one, however, with way more applicants than slots.

Then there's the whole down-county consortium thing for MS and HS, and other area magnets. But that's way beyond your immediate needs for elementary school, plus there are lots of DCUM threads on these.


There is no lottery for the TPMS magnet. Children are admitted competitively based on test scores, applications, grades, and teacher references.
Anonymous
10:06 here again. See, a few weeks ago I posted that kids enter TPES based on test results alone. Then somebody jumped all over me for not being aware of some sort of "pool" which non-TP kids entered.

DC entered TPES a few years ago. So I'm waiting for somebody who's there now to set us all straight.
Anonymous
PP here again -- somebody whose kid is there now.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:PP here again -- somebody whose kid is there now.


19:54 here and my child is in the TPMS magnet.

Here is the information:

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/takomaparkms/administration/magnet/intro.shtml

Admission requirements:

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/takomaparkms/administration/magnet/application.shtml

The program used to admit 100 children and I believe the number is now 125. Your child has a slight advantage if you live in the TPMS district, in that a certain number of slots are reserved for qualified applicants from that demographic.

There is no lottery. It is not lottery-based for admission e.g. the way language immersion magnets are.
Anonymous
PP here; I was mistaken - there are 100 children selected each year, based on test scores, grades, recommendations, as per the second link above.
Anonymous
This happens a lot: Two or more posters here are confusing TPES with TPMS. The first is Takoma Park Elementary School; the second is Takoma Park Middle School. Both have magnet programs, and both draw from much of the county. There have been many threads on this; you may want to search the archives.
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