Winston Churchill vs. Walt Whitman -- Move to Montgomery soon and need to choose which school

[Anonymous]

We're moving to Montgomery county soon because of job changes. I'll be working in Bethesda downtown and DH will be in Rockville. We're considering buying a house either in Bethesda (Whitman) or Potomac (Churchill). Two kids (12 and 14). Would appreciate insight about differences between these two schools (from academic, social, course selections, sports, diversity, etc.). We are half Asian/half white family. Thank you!

[Anonymous]

They're very, very similar, but Churchill is more diverse.

[Anonymous]

Whitman is 63% White, 14% Asian.
Churchill is 54% White, 31% Asian.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Whitman is 63% White, 14% Asian.
Churchill is 54% White, 31% Asian.

Sorry, typo. Churchill is 44% White, 31% Asian.

[Anonymous]

One difference is that Churchill has 2 feeder middle schools: Hoover and Cabin John, while Whitman has just Pyle.

[Anonymous]

Look at the housing choices. See which suits you better.

[Anonymous]

We found the home buying process difficult. Limited inventory, homes had multiple offers, etc. I’d probably look at homes in both school areas, cast a wider net.

[Anonymous]

DD's good friend from an activity who is half white half Asian and loves Churchill. From how she describes it the school has a very California feel in terms of the diversity of the Asian-American student population - both those good at academics and slackers, stars on the sports teams and those who are not very athletic, "popular" kids and those who are struggling more socially, etc. The high numbers mean that there's less stereotyping or a niche that students might be put into. At Whitman DD feels more that assumptions are made about Asian-American students both by students and teachers. A number of the football players and kids in other sports teams are Asian at Churchill. You don't see that at Whitman.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Whitman is 63% White, 14% Asian.
Churchill is 54% White, 31% Asian.

this is really surprising. i'd expect the other way around

[Anonymous]

Thanks everyone! Very helpful info. Do both school offer strong STEM program? What about art? DD is very into art/language art/social studies and the DS is more interested in STEM.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One difference is that Churchill has 2 feeder middle schools: Hoover and Cabin John, while Whitman has just Pyle.

Does that mean Pyle is much bigger than Hoover and Cabin John in terms of number of students?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One difference is that Churchill has 2 feeder middle schools: Hoover and Cabin John, while Whitman has just Pyle.

Does that mean Pyle is much bigger than Hoover and Cabin John in terms of number of students?

You can look it up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks everyone! Very helpful info. Do both school offer strong STEM program? What about art? DD is very into art/language art/social studies and the DS is more interested in STEM.

Montgomery County offers a standard curriculum except for the magnet and special programs. Neither school has those, except for the special ed program at Whitman. Both will be equally strong in STEM and art.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One difference is that Churchill has 2 feeder middle schools: Hoover and Cabin John, while Whitman has just Pyle.

Does that mean Pyle is much bigger than Hoover and Cabin John in terms of number of students?

Pyle is the largest middle school in MCPS.

You might want to check the schools at a glance stats on the MCPS website for the specifics of the various schools.

https://ww2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/sharedaccountability/glance/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Whitman is 63% White, 14% Asian.
Churchill is 54% White, 31% Asian.

What I've noticed is Asian population is increasing in Bethesda. 10 years ago, Whitman's Asian students are only 5-6%. Not sure about changes over the years in Potomac.