Which high School/district should I choose
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Anonymous
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Hello,
we are new to the area. just moved here currently in Anne Arundel County. My son will be in 8th grade for this school year. as I learned more about the school districts, I feel I may have made a mistake by living in AA county What I hope for high school 1. great teachers (a bad example would be his 5th grade ELA teacher, never correct their essays, skip quizzes etc.) 2. reasonably competitive, I don't want him to be too stressed, but he is that type of kids who would perform better if the peers are better... 3. reach his potential, get into a great college so for next year, should I try to move to Montgomery county or Fairfax county for public schools? if so, which high school should we go? (within a reasonable housing cost) obviously, we can't enter the magnet program or apply for TJ.. 1. are the high schools in these two counties really good and worth the change? (Whitman, Walter Johnson, Winston Churchill. BCC, Mclean high or Langley high etc...) 2. we could try to apply for IB or Stem in AA County...(not sure yet which one is better for him) 3. another kid also will be in 7th grade.... I just want to try my best to put him in a good setting for success...stressed a bit as I don't know which way would be the right direction... thank you. |
Anonymous
I know FCPS more than MCPS. I would not focus on trying to go to the "best" schools in these districts--the middle of the pack schools are very good, have an excellent peer group for academically oriented students, and are slightly less likely to shut you out of colleges if you don't perform at the peak. In a school like Langley, it's just very hard to be in the top 10% of your class when the student body is primarily high SE S, academically focused students because you are often in comparison with others at your school even if they don't officially rank. But in a school like West Springfield, Chantilly, Robinson, Woodson, Lake Braddock there will be plenty of very strong academically oriented students in all honors/AP/IB classes but not 80% of the school--more like 25-50% of students. The average SAT scores in these high schools are still around the 80% mark nationally for instance. If you're looking for good in-state colleges I think VA has an advantage over MD because there's more good schools with more variety. |
Anonymous
Agree things like GS rankings just compare an average, but the reality is very different. High-school students self-segregate into differentiated classes. A wealthy HS may have 6 sections of some AP where a less affluent one may have 2 or 3, but both teach the same subject. |
Anonymous
Yes, and when colleges look at the graduates from your school in a less affluent school being one of the 2-3 classes of AP Calc BC and getting a B+ is going to look better than being one of the 6 classes of it and getting a B+. |
Anonymous
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Your list is vague, and that's what 99% of people look for in schools. FCPS and MCPS are not that dissimilar, so you need to narrow your "wants" a bit more.
You don't want a stressful environment but you want like minded high achieving peers. Those two things generally go together, IMO. Kids who are high achieving set an environment that is competitive, not necessarily bad competitive, but competitive none the less. All HS around the DC area provide AP classes, but if you want more AP classes and peers who score high, but not uber competitive, then you want a cluster that doesn't have an extreme FARMs rate, and by that I mean > 30% or < 5%. All schools have good teachers and bad teachers. There are no schools that have only good teachers. IB schools can be good, but to get the IB diploma, it's stressful, which you seem to not want for your kid. I find parenting to be walking a fine line where you want to push a little, but not too much. The hard part is finding the happy medium. It is really kid dependent. I have two teens, and they are so different. I have to push one a bit more than the other in some things, but in other things, it's vice versa. |
Anonymous
I am wondering why you don't mention Howard (HCPS) which is next door to you? |
Anonymous
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I am wondering why you don't mention Howard (HCPS) which is next door to you? yes, I have considered Howard too. however it is just a little far from Bethesda. I am not sure if I should move from AA county to Howard or Fairfax or Montgomery... are schools in HCPS, FCPS, MCPS really that better than AA county? If my son ranks 10% in AA county top high schools, or get in the IB program, should I still move? |
Anonymous
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HoCo
Or Severna Park in AA |
Anonymous
| My two cents: if you are willing to tango with the children of immigrants who will cram school like crazy in order to place in the top ten percent of a graduating class than MCPS and/or FCPS is your cup of tea. I know Moco more than FCPS but the schools you mentioned are on the west side of the county and increasingly filled with stressed out overachievers. Parts of HoCo could also match this intensity. River hill or Glenelg. If I did it again likely would stay where you are and try to go Severna Park. Intense I’m sure but more well rounded (athletic) focus along with academic. |
Anonymous
| Why not give DCPS or PGCS a try? |
Anonymous
| Why not stay in IB, as long as the diploma rate there is reasonably high? That would be better than the vast majority of any school anywhere in DC area. |
Anonymous
Your characterization of immigrants seems really racist. |
Anonymous
You want to be in McLean or Langley High School pyramids in FCPS angling for TJ if your kids turn out to be candidates. These two schools offer the most advanced courses that publics offer in the area. I say this also because then your kids can leap to the great Virginia public universities which are going to only increase in popularity as the privates price themselves beyond $100K a year (they are at $83-$85 now, in case you don't know - and if you live in FCPS it's unlikely you will get any financial aid via FAFSA). |
Anonymous
It sounds like you think the grass is greener everywhere else, but you haven’t even given AA schools a chance. To answer your basic question, no the high schools in other counties aren’t just soooo much better that you should move again. Every county and every high school has a range of students, including high achievers in schools with low ratings. You can find a great place for your kids in AA, but you need to learn what the process is in the county. Let your kid go to 8th grade, make friends, and then go to HS with them. It will be fine. Also, I don’t know where you are at, but they just opened Crofton High School in 2020. Usually new schools are able to hire some of the best teachers, because those teachers want to help establish a new program. I know one awesome science teacher who switched from another county and he’s excited about the building and the principal’s goals for advanced programs. |
Anonymous
Meh. OP don't move for these 2 schools, not worth the move. Now if you think your kids may make it inton TJ, yes maybe. |