MCPS - Bethesda Elementary Schools

[Anonymous]

Hello all,

We are looking to return from overseas to the DC area and are specifically looking into Bethesda area elementary schools. Our daughter is starting Kindergarten. Would you be able to share your opinions, good, bad, same or any differences regarding Brannockburn, Garrett Park, Somerset Elementary, West Brook, Bethesda, Wood Acres. Also any comments regarding the area would be helpful. We are looking to rent first while we settle on buying.

THANK YOU ON ANY INSIGHTS!

J

[Anonymous]

All those are good schools. For me more important is the house/apartment itself--I'd want to be near a metro for commuting purposes and in a more urban area for quality of life purposes. Therefore, if in budget, I'd target being near downtown Bethesda (but I am willing to give up space to live in a denser area).

[Anonymous]

Bannockburn is a great school and a terrific neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

Garrett Park is not in bethesda is it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Garrett Park is not in bethesda is it?

No, it's in Garrett Park

[Anonymous]

Which is Kensington

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Which is Kensington

"Northeast Bethesda"

[Anonymous]

You really can’t go wrong, OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Which is Kensington

Garret Park is an incorporated town so it's Garrett Park

https://www.garrettparkmd.gov/about-our-town

Don't worry honey, maybe someday you too can live here.

[Anonymous]

Every single Bethesda elementary school is very good. If you have a choice of rentals I would suggest the smaller ones since they are less crowded. So no Wood Acres, no Bethesda or Westbrook. They are great schools but I'd just personally want a smaller school so I'd focus on Somerset and Bannockburn from your list. There are a few other small ones like Burning Tree.

[Anonymous]

Some Bethesda elementary boundaries changed recently, so check the addresses on this site to make sure you know the correct school now.

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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Every single Bethesda elementary school is very good. If you have a choice of rentals I would suggest the smaller ones since they are less crowded. So no Wood Acres, no Bethesda or Westbrook. They are great schools but I'd just personally want a smaller school so I'd focus on Somerset and Bannockburn from your list. There are a few other small ones like Burning Tree.

+1 Bethesda Elementary is incredibly overcrowded even with recent rezoning. My kids go there and as much as I love the neighborhood, I would not necessarily advise moving here if you could be just as happy in another neighborhood with a smaller school. (We were well established in this area even before kids and never thought of moving.) There are 30 kids in my younger child's kindergarten class. When my older child went through a few years ago, it was the same. 30 kindergarteners and one full time teacher, with occasional random aides, is not fair to anyone. I hear Somerset only has 15 or 16 per class. It's a huge difference.

[Anonymous]

When talking about overcrowding vs small schools, please realize that both large and small schools can have too many kids for the capacity of their building, which often means there are portable classrooms in use, and that large schools do not necessarily have smaller class sizes than small schools. MCPS staffs schools based on the number of enrolled students, so the more kids there are, the more teachers there are. But some principals are better at getting additional teachers added when enrollment goes up.

None of the elementary schools in Bethesda have reduced class sizes, which are limited to Focus and Title I schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When talking about overcrowding vs small schools, please realize that both large and small schools can have too many kids for the capacity of their building, which often means there are portable classrooms in use, and that large schools do not necessarily have smaller class sizes than small schools. MCPS staffs schools based on the number of enrolled students, so the more kids there are, the more teachers there are. But some principals are better at getting additional teachers added when enrollment goes up.

None of the elementary schools in Bethesda have reduced class sizes, which are limited to Focus and Title I schools.

Also, class sizes can vary from one year to the next, as the numbers can be just above or below the threshold for another teacher.

[Anonymous]

If you are looking to buy a home, Garrett Park may well be redistricted from Walter Johnson to the new High School or perhaps another school altogether. It will likely shake out reasonably well long - term, but may create a local minimum of house value which may hurt you if you need to sell / move