Twinbrook ES

[Anonymous]

We bought where we could afford a house in Montgomery County & now, as our DD nears elementary school age, I am beginning to wonder about our local school. Anyone have a child currently at Twinbrook or had a child there or know people whose kids went there & can provide some feedback? Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Sorry, no useful info, but wanted to say that I am in the same boat as you -- we bought in Twinbrook and I'm getting a little worried about the school now that my daughter is 4.5. We'll be at the kindergarten orientation on April 28, and I understand that will be an opportunity to meet the K teachers and the principal.

She has a September 17 birthday so we are applying for early entrance, but undecided about whether we will send her next year, even if she gets in.

[Anonymous]

My kids are at College Gardens which are in the same cluster (feed to Julius West/RMHS). Score wise Twinbrook is the weakest school in the cluster but probably also the most diverse. It is a Title I school which means it will have very small class sizes for K-2..literally half the kids that they have at CGES. Can't offer much more than that. These board are read many by Bethesda area parents so I thought I would give a little feeback on a Rockville school.

[Anonymous]

OP here...thanks. Will the poster whose daughter is going to Kindergarden next year post your thoughts after you attend the orientation please? thanks.

[Anonymous]

I'll be happy to.

[Anonymous]

OP here...did the PP go to the orientation? How was it?

[Anonymous]

Yes, I went to the orientation yesterday. We met the teachers, aides, and the school nurse, and the children did activities that seemed designed to assess their skills in a very low pressure way. The K teachers seemed very kind and attuned to the students (so young, though!), and answered our questions in a way that put at ease. We talked specifically about differentiated instruction, particularly in math and reading, and how they accommodate children who are working at lower or higher levels. It sounds as if kids come to the K with a wide level of abilities, and one of the teachers mentioned that she has several students reading at a second or third grade level. She also mentioned that they sometime go up a level in math concepts instruction, but I don't know whether or how they go beyond that if the child is working at more more advanced levels.

Sounds like class sizes are relatively small for MoCo, but not as small as I would have thought given the school's Title I status and the large proportion of English Language Learners. I was told the max per class is 19 children. Each classroom is staffed with one teacher, plus instructional aides who rotate between the classrooms. There is also a special ed teacher and two ESOL teachers who do plug-in and pull-out programs for kids who need those services.

The K classroom we saw was bright and cheerful and seemed to be well-equipped (but what do I know, all I remember from K is paste and acrylic paint). It had a small library, art supplies, games, two computers, children's art and writing projects on the walls. I have to say that K is not what I remember it to be; even considering how close it is to the end of the year, many of these children are writing much better than I would have guessed.

The orientation group was so diverse as to be almost comical, it reminded me of a Gap ad. So this was a nice plus, especially since we are a multiethnic family. As I said, though, there are many English Language Learners, and so I wonder what impact, if any, that has on on how the rest of the kids at the school are served.

There is no question that the test scores are weak compared to the rest of the cluster, but I don't think they are terrible. Reading and math proficiency seems to hover in the low to mid-80s for third graders. Given our visit, I think the bottom line is that we would feel fairly comfortable sending her here, if she gets in through early entrance (and does not get into any of the language immersion pgms, to which we have also applied!)

Hope that helps! If anyone else has had a child go through the school, would love your thoughts!

[Anonymous]

Found this thread from a search. Any further feedback on this school would be appreciated.

[Anonymous]

A friend is a teacher there and absolutely loves the children and families that she works with. She's been there a while and I think she feels like she is making a difference in their lives. I will say that I know that she doesn't like the principal (unless they have changed to a new one this year? DK) and feels that the principal is the biggest stumbling block to the school improving.

[Anonymous]

Another Twinbrooker getting into the conversation a little late. Just wanted to give a bit of clarification on the school. My daughter has been in the school for five years. The statements about the principal are correct. In general, she is a poor communicator and overly fixated on test scores to the exclusion of other important issues. However, last year parents made an uproar about the poor communication from the administration and several changes were made by MCPS, including a new vice principal. Since then, there have been several positive changes, including better discipline, which had been a huge problem previously ignored by the administration.

Most of the teachers do not like the principal, but the new vice principal is more popular. Despite issues with teacher retention, my daughter’s teachers have been wonderful, and she has been appropriately accelerated. The small class sizes make a big difference, as does the Title I money for the many specialists including reading, math, and science. Overall, I am glad we decided to stay at Twinbrook rather than move or pay for private school.