Upper NW DC or Takoma Park schools?
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Anonymous
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We are looking to move from NE dc, in part to get a bit more space, but largely to get a more established school and feeder for my elementary age kids. We haven’t found a part of Bethesda that really gets us going, but we like parts of upper NW and Takoma park MD, but I’m finding it hard to really dig in to compare the schools meaningfully. Does anyone have a sense of how the schools match if we are zoned for Murch (or nearby)/Deal/Jackson Reed vs Takoma Park Elementary, Piney Branch, TPMS, and Blair. FWIW, my kids smart and slightly above grade average, but odds are they are just average smart kids, not like, geniuses. One kid is a bit sensitive/anxious so I’m hoping to avoid a pressure cooker situation. We value places where there will be diversity, and the opportunity to challenge themselves academically, with a cohort of smart kids who care about schools and families who will make sure the school and administrators don’t drop the ball when issues arise.
So, what do you think, which would you choose??? |
Anonymous
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I think the schools are better in NW DC, Blair can be chaotic according to friends in MD. Walls and Latin would be other HS options in DC. Friends from the Hill moved to TP MD and then ended up sending the kids to private, so I'd investigate, visit, etc.
Murch has a great community vibe and it's a walkable area near Rock Creek Park and the zoom. Good luck with your move, OP. |
Anonymous
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The Takoma Park schools are quite nice, including TPMS. Pretty diverse, both racially and economically, but lots to love about them. Agree with the PP that Blair can be chaotic, but you’re a long way away from that, and being in the DCC will give you other options if you need them.
My Blair-zoned kid chose Einstein for the IB program, and it’s been a much better fit for them. But they’re pretty sure they’d have been fine at Blair, because there are so many options for classes and extracurriculars. |
Anonymous
| As someone who teaches in an upper NW school, I chose to live in Takoma Park. |
Anonymous
| If you pick Takoma Park, you have access to more HS than just Blair. Two of my three kids chose Blair. One chose Northwood. |
Anonymous
I agree with this. Lots of benefits of being in the TP schools, including a local CES at Piney Branch and the local magnet programs at TPMS and Blair. No guarantee your kids will get a spot, but if they do, it will be nice not to have to switch schools. |
Anonymous
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Takoma Park schools are recognized for their diverse student body and racial and socioeconomic diversity. While this may result in lower test averages compared to more segregated areas, these schools still provide the best educational opportunities available in Montgomery County.
TPES stands out for hosting the county's only elementary school magnet program, which includes enriched and accelerated math courses. Additionally, TPES is a focus school with smaller class sizes than other schools. For instance, their kindergarten class previously had only 16 students during DC's tenure. PBES, on the other hand, offers an exceptional local CES program that provides an outstanding learning experience for students. With only 1-2 classes per grade and around 200 students in each grade, there is ample space for 15%-25% of the students to participate. However, the program remains competitive, and even students who score highly on the CogAT can be waitlisted due to the lottery system. TPMS is the home of the highly-regarded MS STEM magnet program, providing selected students with enriched math, science, and computer science courses. With only 100 seats available, it's a highly competitive program. However, an additional 25 seats are set aside for in-boundary students. About a third of the TPMS magnet students end up at Blair SMSC STEM magnet. The TPMS math team is also a highly regarded EC. Students compete at the highest levels often in high-school contests. Many of these opportunities aren't available at other schools. Blair High School, which serves the Takoma Park area. The TPMS magnet does a fantastic job preparing students for the Blair STEM magnet. Nevertheless, (any) students who meet the prerequisites can take advanced magnet classes in 11th and 12th grades, such as Cell Biology, Complex Analysis, Linear Algebra, or AI Programming. Interestingly, white students at Blair had the highest average SAT score of any MCPS school, averaging 1326. Some claim this was due to the magnet, which seems unlikely since it's primarily Asian. Blair remains a fine school with numerous opportunities for academic enrichment. People often remark that it's very well organized and run. |
Anonymous
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Op here—wow this is all great info, thank you!! I noticed one of the PPs mentioned that you have a lot of High school options. Sorry for the basic question, but does that mean there is a lottery for oB students, or how would you wind up in Einstein (or whichever) if you were IB for Blair and it wasn’t a good fit for whatever reason? (It sounds great from the above but who knows what will happen!)
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Anonymous
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Murch, Deal and JR also have a lot of diversity.
OP, I'd suggest visiting schools in both areas. If you can afford either, both offer great educations and a good quality of life. |
Anonymous
So although the home school for TKPK is Blair, TKPK is in the DCC area which means you can opt to attend programs at the other DCC HS like the IB programs at Kennedy or Einstein, or Wheaton Engineering, etc. Some programs like Blair SMSC or RMIB or Einsteins VAC are countywide. The DCC stands for Down County Consortium. The MCPS website probably has more information about special programs. In general though you can simply choose to attend one of the other HSs there are some limitations like space. I think opting to attend a school other than Blair may be easier since Blair is the most popular choice but each school has its own unique programs that have specific appeal. |
Anonymous
It's not at simple as just choosing to attend another school. Eighth graders at DCC middle schools are asked to rank the five high schools in order of preference. If you rank your home school #1, you are guaranteed a spot there. If you rank another school #1 and your home school #2, you are guaranteed either your first choice or your home school. Beyond that there are no guarantees. |
Anonymous
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OP, you may wish to cross post in the DC school forum.
Good luck with your move! |
Anonymous
| Also, there is a huge question mark about all of the DCC school boundaries in 2026 and beyond. We won't know the new boundaries until 2025. See the other thread about Woodward for some info and a lot of speculation about that. |
Anonymous
No idea if Woodward would be part of the DCC but if I had to bet, it would be yes. The only schools adjacent to this are WJ and BCC which are also fine schools so not really all that concerned about change. |
Anonymous
Right, but if you are in bounds for Blair, you pretty much always get your first choice if you want a non Blair school, since Blair is both popular and overcrowded |