New to MCPS...had a few questions

[Anonymous]

Would appreciate insight into the following:

- Looks like there's no universal pre-K. How do you get a pre-K spot and how hard is to get one?
- When do you apply for the "Centers for Enriched Studies" for elementary school? I think I saw one that starts in 3rd grade and another that starts in 4th. Are these test-based or lottery based and how selective are they? Is it the same system for middle school?
- How common is rezoning or new schools opening up? Looking at where to buy a house and wondering if it makes sense to focus on the elementary school or the high school (kids are under 4 right now).

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

No free preschool except for kids with special needs who test in through Child Find. I’d focus on HS. The enrichment programs are all by application.

[Anonymous]

I’m not really aware of any MCPS prek spots? Most people either use daycare or a private pre-k.

The CES program is for grades 4 and 5 so the application process is in grade 3. I don’t recall if there’s a way to join in grade 5 but it would be rare if even possible. It’s a lottery of “qualified” students (which I expect is many more than they have room for).

Rezoning is not very common but they are building two new high schools so that will prompt some changes at least at the HS level

[Anonymous]

Middle school and HS magnets are application plus test-based

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m not really aware of any MCPS prek spots? Most people either use daycare or a private pre-k.

The CES program is for grades 4 and 5 so the application process is in grade 3. I don’t recall if there’s a way to join in grade 5 but it would be rare if even possible. It’s a lottery of “qualified” students (which I expect is many more than they have room for).

Rezoning is not very common but they are building two new high schools so that will prompt some changes at least at the HS level

Thx. What are the new high schools called?

[Anonymous]

Welcome!

Montgomery County is a huge, diverse county with 26 (soon to be 28) high schools and 209 total schools. To the first order, you can get a fantastic education in every school. Don't just go by school ratings - many schools have a wide range of SES in the school. A mix of high SES and FARMS/ELLs can bring down average scores. At the elementary level, there is extra funding towards high needs schools, so they have lower class sizes in K-2 compared to ES in wealthier neighborhoods. There are usually boundary changes when new schools are opened. There are 2 new high schools that will open in the next 5 years, and that will definitely shift articulation patterns. No one knows how yet, so don't try to buy based on high school. Especially because things can change a lot in 10 years.
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/

For your purposes, you should start by choosing a neighborhood that suites your commuting needs and fits your budget. Do you want access to metro? How close - walking? Do you want more urban, suburban, or rural? Do you want a newer home or an older home? There is a lot of newer construction up-county (Gaithersburg, Montgomery Village, Germantown, Clarksburg, Poolesville) and you can get newer, bigger homes for the same price as in downcounty areas. Newer neighborhoods likely have a lot more younger families with younger children. Look for things like summer swim teams, local sporting leagues, etc. that your kids may become involved in. If you are in the area, I would do some driving around and just look at the schools and neighborhoods to get a feel of the region.

Pre-K is designed for low income students. https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/dtecps/earlychildhood/prek/ If that is not you, there are a variety of full-day care programs around. Personally, I'm a fan of Montessori schools.

The Centers for Enriched Studies uses universal screening in 3rd grade, for students to begin in 4th grade. Currently it is a combination of existing data, some cohort analysis (if there are many kids at your ES, they can be served at the ES), and lottery. There are lots of threads here about it. Many, many opinions...
There are also several two-way ES language immersion programs to consider. Students are taught in both languages through ES and then in MS begin taking HS language courses.
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/specialprograms/elementary/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m not really aware of any MCPS prek spots? Most people either use daycare or a private pre-k.

The CES program is for grades 4 and 5 so the application process is in grade 3. I don’t recall if there’s a way to join in grade 5 but it would be rare if even possible. It’s a lottery of “qualified” students (which I expect is many more than they have room for).

Rezoning is not very common but they are building two new high schools so that will prompt some changes at least at the HS level

Thx. What are the new high schools called?

DP. The new high schools are Woodward, scheduled to open in 2026, and Crown, in 2027.

You can find updates about their construction and other current capital projects here:

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/facilities/construction/project/projects.aspx

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m not really aware of any MCPS prek spots? Most people either use daycare or a private pre-k.

The CES program is for grades 4 and 5 so the application process is in grade 3. I don’t recall if there’s a way to join in grade 5 but it would be rare if even possible. It’s a lottery of “qualified” students (which I expect is many more than they have room for).

Rezoning is not very common but they are building two new high schools so that will prompt some changes at least at the HS level

Thx. What are the new high schools called?

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/facilities/construction/project/projects.aspx
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/facilities/construction/project/woodwardhs.aspx
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/facilities/construction/project/crownhs.aspx

Long answer PP here. I was hoping to be the first reply, but ...

Crown HS is next to the Downtown Crown development in mid-county. Based on it's location, it will draw from a mix of close-by, higher SES homes west of 270, and slightly farther lower SES east of 270 (relieving some overcrowding at Gaithersburg HS and Richard Montgomery HS).

[Anonymous]

For the early elementary grades, if you want smaller class sizes, I recommend looking at what MCPS calls "Focus schools." There is a list of them on page 3 here:

https://gis.mcpsmd.org/cipmasterpdfs/CIP24_Chapter3.pdf

The non-bolded schools on the list will have medium-level FARMS rates; the bolded schools will have the highest-level FARMS rates and therefore receive Title I funding. Elementary schools not on this list will have the lowest FARMS rates and generally the largest class sizes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Welcome!

Montgomery County is a huge, diverse county with 26 (soon to be 28) high schools and 209 total schools. To the first order, you can get a fantastic education in every school. Don't just go by school ratings - many schools have a wide range of SES in the school. A mix of high SES and FARMS/ELLs can bring down average scores. At the elementary level, there is extra funding towards high needs schools, so they have lower class sizes in K-2 compared to ES in wealthier neighborhoods. There are usually boundary changes when new schools are opened. There are 2 new high schools that will open in the next 5 years, and that will definitely shift articulation patterns. No one knows how yet, so don't try to buy based on high school. Especially because things can change a lot in 10 years.
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/

For your purposes, you should start by choosing a neighborhood that suites your commuting needs and fits your budget. Do you want access to metro? How close - walking? Do you want more urban, suburban, or rural? Do you want a newer home or an older home? There is a lot of newer construction up-county (Gaithersburg, Montgomery Village, Germantown, Clarksburg, Poolesville) and you can get newer, bigger homes for the same price as in downcounty areas. Newer neighborhoods likely have a lot more younger families with younger children. Look for things like summer swim teams, local sporting leagues, etc. that your kids may become involved in. If you are in the area, I would do some driving around and just look at the schools and neighborhoods to get a feel of the region.

Pre-K is designed for low income students. https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/dtecps/earlychildhood/prek/ If that is not you, there are a variety of full-day care programs around. Personally, I'm a fan of Montessori schools.

The Centers for Enriched Studies uses universal screening in 3rd grade, for students to begin in 4th grade. Currently it is a combination of existing data, some cohort analysis (if there are many kids at your ES, they can be served at the ES), and lottery. There are lots of threads here about it. Many, many opinions...
There are also several two-way ES language immersion programs to consider. Students are taught in both languages through ES and then in MS begin taking HS language courses.
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/specialprograms/elementary/

Thank you for the comprehensive response

[Anonymous]

I will second the long responder to say that there are many more similarities than differences for MCPS schools, especially when you consider the perspective of how your student will do (vs how the “average” student at the school does) so I would find a place to live and let schools be secondary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I will second the long responder to say that there are many more similarities than differences for MCPS schools, especially when you consider the perspective of how your student will do (vs how the “average” student at the school does) so I would find a place to live and let schools be secondary.

DP. I think this is bad advice. I would pick the schools you're satisfied with, then decide which school zone meets your work needs. There is a huge difference between schools in terms of dropout rates, serious incidents, and academics. Use this link to identify the schools you're assigned to:

https://gis.mcpsmd.org/SchoolAssignmentTool2/AddressInput.xhtml

Next, Google the school profile. An Elementary or Middle School attendance rate < 95% is a warning sign. I would also check the High School stats for meeting University of Maryland entrance standards (i.e. % of students that are "college ready") and the dropout rate.

Yes, there is a bit of a risk selecting a school. I believe the current MC board of education (with the exception of the three new board members replacing the incumbents this year, so they haven't built up a solid track record yet) is very "activist" (promotes "equity" over "equality"). Unless your home purchase is both close to the school and not subject to a boundary change, there are no guarantees what will happen in the future, so I would carefully monitor any board-recommended boundary change recommendations.

But there is a silver lining. This year three out of the four incumbents were voted out of office. The only returning incumbent was the board president, and it was a close race, so this will likely be her last term. The hope is that two years from now, the others will be removed as well. This should make dramatic boundary changes far less likely.

[Anonymous]

No, there were two incumbents reelected: Wolff and Silvestre. There will be two new board members in a few weeks: Yang and Rivera Oven, both of whom were endorsed by MCEA. I wouldn't expect any significant changes from this board.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Would appreciate insight into the following:

- Looks like there's no universal pre-K. How do you get a pre-K spot and how hard is to get one?
- When do you apply for the "Centers for Enriched Studies" for elementary school? I think I saw one that starts in 3rd grade and another that starts in 4th. Are these test-based or lottery based and how selective are they? Is it the same system for middle school?
- How common is rezoning or new schools opening up? Looking at where to buy a house and wondering if it makes sense to focus on the elementary school or the high school (kids are under 4 right now).

Thanks!

Definitely focus on the elementary school if your kids are under 4. No one on DCUM can predict what the high school zones will be by the time your kids get there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I will second the long responder to say that there are many more similarities than differences for MCPS schools, especially when you consider the perspective of how your student will do (vs how the “average” student at the school does) so I would find a place to live and let schools be secondary.

As a teacher in a challenging school, this is a laughable comment.