Kindergarten Considerations

[Anonymous]

I have a rising PreK student, currently in a private daycare center, so I'm starting to think about kindergarten options. We're in Bowie and zoned for Kenilworth ES. I did a search of the boards and haven't seen anything recently about the school, good or bad. We moved here a few months ago, so I don't know many parents. She's learned a ton at her current school, and I don't want her to regress by being put in class and being forced to go over things that she's already covered. I've considered private schools, but after paying the equivalent of rent for the past 3 years, I'd like a break. Does anyone have any experience with Kenilworth? Any concerns?

[Anonymous]

No information on Kenilworth specifically but I would say that in my experience, the K curriculum in PGCPS is as strong as most private school K programs.
If your child gets to school and is reading or doing math at a high level, the school can pull them into the 1st or 2nd grade class for those subjects. That happened for my middle child.
Sometimes you need to make that request and sometimes they just do it automatically.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No information on Kenilworth specifically but I would say that in my experience, the K curriculum in PGCPS is as strong as most private school K programs.
If your child gets to school and is reading or doing math at a high level, the school can pull them into the 1st or 2nd grade class for those subjects. That happened for my middle child.
Sometimes you need to make that request and sometimes they just do it automatically.

I also would never pay private school tuition for K until I gave the public school a chance. Seems like a colossal waste of money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No information on Kenilworth specifically but I would say that in my experience, the K curriculum in PGCPS is as strong as most private school K programs.
If your child gets to school and is reading or doing math at a high level, the school can pull them into the 1st or 2nd grade class for those subjects. That happened for my middle child.
Sometimes you need to make that request and sometimes they just do it automatically.

I also would never pay private school tuition for K until I gave the public school a chance. Seems like a colossal waste of money.

I thought that until my 2nd child had such a horrific experience in K that we moved to a private and didn't look back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No information on Kenilworth specifically but I would say that in my experience, the K curriculum in PGCPS is as strong as most private school K programs.
If your child gets to school and is reading or doing math at a high level, the school can pull them into the 1st or 2nd grade class for those subjects. That happened for my middle child.
Sometimes you need to make that request and sometimes they just do it automatically.

I also would never pay private school tuition for K until I gave the public school a chance. Seems like a colossal waste of money.

I thought that until my 2nd child had such a horrific experience in K that we moved to a private and didn't look back.

Sorry you had that experience! My point was that a lot of people in PG assume that the schools won't work for them and just automatically go private. I know more people who had terrible experiences with K in private schools than who had negative K experiences in public.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No information on Kenilworth specifically but I would say that in my experience, the K curriculum in PGCPS is as strong as most private school K programs.
If your child gets to school and is reading or doing math at a high level, the school can pull them into the 1st or 2nd grade class for those subjects. That happened for my middle child.
Sometimes you need to make that request and sometimes they just do it automatically.

This is so good to know. I want to give the school a chance, even just to meet other neighborhood kids. So good to know that the K curriculum tends to be strong.

[Anonymous]

our son goes to Dora Kennedy french immersion, its K-8, and amazing!!!

[Anonymous]

I've heard great things about Dora Kennedy! Thanks

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No information on Kenilworth specifically but I would say that in my experience, the K curriculum in PGCPS is as strong as most private school K programs.
If your child gets to school and is reading or doing math at a high level, the school can pull them into the 1st or 2nd grade class for those subjects. That happened for my middle child.
Sometimes you need to make that request and sometimes they just do it automatically.

This is so good to know. I want to give the school a chance, even just to meet other neighborhood kids. So good to know that the K curriculum tends to be strong.

Not getting to know neighborhood kids can be a huge drawback to going to specialty programs. Because of all the busing, those kids have a really long day. K-8 schools already have a longer school day than K-5 schools. Then add an hour or more on the bus and it is really long for a 5-year-old.

And don't rely on Great School of MD Report Card ratings.
Best way to get a feel for the local school is to hang out outside the school at dismissal and speak to the parents who are picking up.

[Anonymous]

Elementary education in PG county is not the problem. There are mixed issues in middle schools and the majority of high schools are below average (there are a few exceptions around the county, but if you are in the system, you'll figure those out before your kids get to HS).

So, I would save your money so that you can look for private middle or high school as the situation warrants. You might have to reconsider earlier if your child has a bad experience at your local elementary, but that's less common. I know kids that go/went to Bond Mill ES, Vansville ES, Greenbelt ES, Rockledge ES and Whitehall ES. SO far, all have had great experiences. The kids who went to Vansville ES and Bond Mill ES, the parents decided not to send their kids to MLK Middle School, so they made alternative choices for their children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Elementary education in PG county is not the problem. There are mixed issues in middle schools and the majority of high schools are below average (there are a few exceptions around the county, but if you are in the system, you'll figure those out before your kids get to HS).

So, I would save your money so that you can look for private middle or high school as the situation warrants. You might have to reconsider earlier if your child has a bad experience at your local elementary, but that's less common. I know kids that go/went to Bond Mill ES, Vansville ES, Greenbelt ES, Rockledge ES and Whitehall ES. SO far, all have had great experiences. The kids who went to Vansville ES and Bond Mill ES, the parents decided not to send their kids to MLK Middle School, so they made alternative choices for their children.

100% agree. I know parents at Spellman, Mount Rainer, Greenbelt, Berwyn Heights, Tulip Grove, Bladensburg, Kingsford and the majority have been happy with elementary schools. I only know of handful of people who enrolled their kids in their in-bounds middle or high schools for the comprehensive program. If their kids didn't get into specialty programs, they went private.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all of the insight! I didn't want my child to start off at a deficit, so it's great knowing that the elementary schools tend to be ok, at least for the first few years. Appreciate everyone weighing in.

[Anonymous]

NP, but the main reason we’re considering private for kindergarten is admissions - I don’t have the impression we can count on easily switching to private in later es grades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No information on Kenilworth specifically but I would say that in my experience, the K curriculum in PGCPS is as strong as most private school K programs.
If your child gets to school and is reading or doing math at a high level, the school can pull them into the 1st or 2nd grade class for those subjects. That happened for my middle child.
Sometimes you need to make that request and sometimes they just do it automatically.

I also would never pay private school tuition for K until I gave the public school a chance. Seems like a colossal waste of money.

I thought that until my 2nd child had such a horrific experience in K that we moved to a private and didn't look back.

Are you me?

Our 3rd went private for K as a result.