I also think you have to look at the schools outside of the IB/Magnet. Community, kids, school safety, PTA, support, tests scores overall. They all do interact. |
I've looked at the At A Glance stats for RM and WJ. I think last year, WJ had more incidences of cops being called and arrests, FWIW. I don't think overall test scores would impact a kid in IB. |
IB At A Glance Link below.
http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/schools/rmhs/ib/2013-14%20IB_Insert.pdf |
^ Thanks. It's helpful. Crazy kids. |
They're different programs. IBDP is similar to a mini liberal arts program. The focus is balanced, unlike the focus at a math/science magnet. However, having said that, the kids who graduate with a DP diploma do very well in college b/c they've learned about time management. Furthermore, they do well in the math and sciences, too. I think it's unfair to compare two different programs, especially when you haven't been trained in IB. |
hmmm .. how about Blair magnet program? totally test-in. |
You simply have NO idea. The kids that attend RM, lost of them from highly demanding Julius West Middle that has IB program for all attending students, that are from CGES that is also all IB students so how do you think they do at the Richard Montgomery school, weather they get into the IB high school level or not those are supers strong students from residential areas where people flock from Bethesda and ChCH because homes are slightly less expensive and the commute is almost the same. Look at the income and the education of the population that feeds into the RM, exactly the same as Bethesda. So is the ethnic profile of the population. Some people do not realize how Montgomery County changed within the last 20 years and they apply their racial profiling thinking that they know something. |
My husband and I both attended the Richard Montgomery IB program and graduated in the second year of the program. We both feel that we had excellent educations and also plenty of time for socializing. I ended up with a physics degree and he studied computer science. We both hope to see our daughter test in after eighth grade. Time management is definitely a necessary component of succeeding in the program. Personally, I danced continuously throughout high school for 4 to 6 days a week and still maintained a high grade point average. My husband does not recall being overwhelmed by the demands even though he did less well overall. As for the science component. I do agree there is more of an emphasis on history and humanities, but the science was engaging and sparked my interest. I certainly don't remember being segmented in a hallway, in fact, looking back I can't even remember which of my friends were in the program and which were not. I sang every semester and that was a mixed group. I did find college easy but I don't think that meant I was burdened in high school. I remember having time for everything I wanted to do.
The only time I got overwhelmed was at the end of senior year when I took both the AP exams and the IB exams at the same time. I remember walking in to take the AP European history exam just a week after taking the IB version and just walked out of the room. I couldn't take it anymore. But no one judged me for that, it was just too much for me. |
Richard Montgomery cluster-
Average income 120K, average house prices 650K, but single family are more like 800K to 1M. Average education: Masters Hmm.. and you are wondering why so many people from Bethesda and ChCh flee there for bigger homes and more air and grass while having the same commute time? |
These numbers seem highly inaccurate to me. |
I thought the IB program at that school is county wide, and as such does not have 'feeder' schools. Kids from Julius West are zoned into that high school, but have to apply to get into the program like all county students |
It is a county wide magnet but about 25 spots go to JW kids each year. Also once at RM, 11th graders can join the magnet if interested. |
DP.. average sfh in RM cluster seems high, I agree. But, there are sections of RM cluster where the average cost is about $800K, like Fallsgrove area. I would say $650K average is about right, but there are two pretty distinct housing stock in this cluster. On one hand you have Fallsgrove and Horizon Hill which is pretty pricey. Then you have the smaller homes near Beall and older parts near Town Center where older homes go for around $550k. The newer or really big homes in that area can go upwards to $1mil. So, it's really spread out. |
I am the PP who mentioned that the numbers seem inaccurate. I live in one of those $800k houses in RM district (not falls grove). I know the area very well. My home is above average price for RM district. Average may be $650k if you removed all the houses in Twinbrook. However, there are a LOT of homes there, and virtually all are in the $300k-$550k range. That really balances out the SFHs in pricier neighborhoods: Falls Grove, Horizon Hill, Rose Hill, Rose Hill Farms, Park Potomac, and larger tear downs in downtown. I would say the median SFH price is probably closer to $550k. And average house price overall is much more likely $450k or something, considering how many condos, townhouse, etc., there are. Also, remember that an average household income of $120k doesn't support an average house price of $650k. The person who posted that is insane. |