Tell us about Julius West Middle School
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Anonymous
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We are considering Julius West Middle School and a private school for our son, who qualifies for enrichment in ELA and math and who is athletic (he plays on a travel sports team). I am interested in any current or former JW parent's or student's thoughts on:
(1) JW's school culture -- how kind vs. rough/crowded is it and how many disruptions are there in classes? (2) ability of JW teachers to differentiate instruction and provide challenging coursework; and (3) safety -- do JW students feel safe using the bathrooms and more generally? |
Anonymous
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Former JWMS parent here.
It was ok precovid. Post covid, it was terrible. I don't know about now (my youngest is now in HS). Principal was always MIA. Kids could only use the bathroom during class time 3x per semester; other than math, and maybe the Global Humanities, there is really no differentiation. The school is huuuge. Probably the biggest or second biggest MS in the county. If your kid needs smaller class sizes and a less chaotic scene, stay private if you can, and do RMHS public. The HS has way more activities and differentiation (IBDP for example). |
Anonymous
Odd. MCPS is touting JW as one of its restorative justice success stories and citing it as a model for other MCPS schools. Is that a lie? |
Anonymous
I have a kid at RM. Agree with most of what this PP is saying. The bathroom situation is frustrating and annoying. English is a complete joke, with zero differentiation. |
Anonymous
DC just finished JW and is freshman at RMHS. He started JW virtually during COVID and it was his best year there in his personal opinion (he actually does very well with online eduction model). IMHO, the main good thing about JW is that almost the entire school goes to RMHS together, so HS is not that much of an adjustment. There are some fantastic teachers and we were fortunate to have some of them. Higher level math classes are fairly rigorous and differentiated. Science was a complete joke (granted, we did not luck out to have "good" science teachers). To answer your questions: 1) Not "kind" by any means, but what MS is? Especially for boys. Disruptions wholeheartedly depend on what type of class your DS is in. Higher level advanced classes would have less of issues. Personally, my DC never copmplained, but I have heard numerous complaints from other parents. 2) Depends on the teacher and class entirely. 3) MY DS never felt unsafe, HOWEVER he was offered pills and weed by classmates. I have also heard stories of bullying. Again, not first hand knowledge. Just to clarify, my DC is neurotypical, middle of the road kid. Not a a star or high achiever or people pleaser. His experience is of that kind of kid that completely flies under radar for admin, as in principal and vice principal for the grade level had zero clue who my son was. |
Anonymous
Sure, I mean, it's like FL and they way they had "low" covid numbers. You can fudge reporting to make the numbers look good. DC liked a handful of teachers, so I want to give credit where credit is due, but all in all, DC's 6th grade experience which was precovid was much better than their 8th grade experience post covid (7th was during covid). Maybe it was horrible because it was just after covid, so maybe a current JWMS parent has better and more accurate feedback. But even when my oldest was at JWMS, the Principal was always MIA even then, and the "differentiation" other than math, was a joke. |
Anonymous
| I think people's complaints with JW are no different than other MCPS middle schools. Middle schools is always a weak link. If your child will likely attend RM, I would be more inclined to send him to JW. If you are considering private HS, maybe just stick to private. |
Anonymous
| I would stick to private based on the size of it alone-- it is huge compared to most MCPS middles (saying this as an MCPS parent who actively avoided buying in that district bc of JW's size). |
Anonymous
Our child already has a 504 that allows bathroom use whenever needed. This hasn't been an issue for us. |
Anonymous
This is true across MCPS middle schools outside of the humanities magnets. They really need to go back to offering two levels because the “advanced” class that all middle students take is a joke for kids who are at or above grade level. |
Anonymous
Tell me more! What kind of a process is this? How can I get my DD a 504 to help her access the bathrooms as needed?? |
Anonymous
I always wonder what motivates people to make posts like this. Okay, so your child is one of a handful that this rule doesn't impact. Great? But how is that helpful to others? |
Anonymous
congratulations that your kid has a 504 such that they can use the bathroom whenever they want. We should all aim for 504s for our children. /s |
Anonymous
Not the PP, but how much does the 504 really help with the bathroom issues? Even if the kid can go to the bathroom whenever they want, aren't there still kids vaping/smoking weed/using pills in the bathrooms? I can see how it's helpful to be able to exempt yourself from the random rules about leaving class to use the bathroom. But, it doesn't actually make the bathrooms themselves a better place. |
Anonymous
The 504 was already in effect from elementary school. We didn't get it because of JW. He hasn't complained about anybody vaping in any bathrooms. He hasn't seen any weed use or pill sales in them either. |