JFK IB or BCC?
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Anonymous
| DC was invited to attend the John F. Kennedy Regional IB Diploma Program. Home school is Bethesda-Chevy Chase HS. Is it worth the extra commute time to get the JFK IB degree? Trying to get a sense of whether JFK IB is a better education for a bright kid than BCC, and also whether colleges will view the degree from JFK IB more favorably than BCC for admissions purposes. DC would presumably pursue various AP or IB opportunities at BCC if they don’t go to JFK. Would appreciate objective views on how to evaluate the choice here. |
Anonymous
| Listen to what was said about Kennedy in last night's operating budget public hearing and then decide. |
Anonymous
Can provide a link or more context? |
Anonymous
|
BCC, no question.
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Anonymous
| How different is the travel time? Will your child be able to do a sport or other activity at Kennedy if they can not make the bus? I think both are great options so I would chose on logistics. |
Anonymous
|
Thursday’s safety incidents highlight wider security issues at school, PTA leader says
https://bethesdamagazine.com/2025/01/24/gun-medical-emergency-lockdown-kennedy-high/ While the incidents are concerning, Ribeiro said they are symptoms of a wider issue. “These incidents are the culmination of what I have been complaining and advocating about for years,” Ribeiro said. “[There] has been a security problem at the school.” |
Anonymous
| Our inbounds is also B-CC, and from our perspective, Kennedy is not strong enough to warrant the commute, given that B-CC already has the IB diploma option. The only IB school we would consider over B-CC is RMIB, and revenue then, our kid would need to be really motivated for it to make the commuting time worth it. |
Anonymous
| Who is current Kennedy HS Principal? |
Anonymous
|
The biggest benefit to a magnet IB program is that they can offer magnet pre-IB classes in 9th and 10th. This can be really helpful for kids who weren’t in a MS humanities magnet, or had similarly robust preparation in MS.
Otherwise, it can be tough for some kids to get up to speed with the research and writing skills—not to mention time management skills—required for the IBDP. It’s doable, but there’s a steeper learning curve junior year if their preparation has mostly been MCPS honors-for-all |
Anonymous
|
My kid had a tough time deciding between Kennedy and Einstein, given the commutes were roughly equal for us.
The arts at Einstein were ultimately the tiebreaker, but if they’d been commuting from B-CC, there wouldn’t have been a question. |
Anonymous
| No way. Lack of commute is SO important in the morning for high schoolers rolling out of bed. And BCC is a great school. |
Anonymous
| Do not give up BCC for JFK's IB program, especially since BCC still has an IBDP program. Kennedy's Regional IB program is emerging and struggling. Don't fall for the marketing. |
Anonymous
We are in boundary for BCC, and didn’t even bother applying to RMIB due to the commute - especially since going out Rockville Pike at Rush hour is a nightmare (although DC could have taken metro). DC took AP NSL freshman year and AP Lang and APUSh sophomore year then IB English and IB History. Since DC already did a substantial paper (IDRP) at Eastern Magnet, so did not feel it necessary to do again at BCC IB. College outcome was still excellent. Some kids prefer more choice than IB offers. |
Anonymous
| Surprised this is even a questions. BCC’s IB program is great. |
Anonymous
| Kennedy is a very rough school. Makes no sense. |