Stone Ridge MS
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Anonymous
| Considering applying DD for the Middle School. What are the academics like? How does it prepare for high school? Is it tough socially for new students to fit in? |
Anonymous
| What HS? Are you planning to stay at SR for HS or are you trying to upgrade to an elite school? |
Anonymous
| We are a new middle school family. We were pleasantly surprised at how quickly our daughter made friends. She loves it. The academics are much stronger than our previous parish school. The teachers are engaged and provide a lot of one on one attention. We hope to leave her there for high school. |
Anonymous
| If she is athletic she will have an easier time finding her group. That’s not to say that there aren’t non-sporty girls there because there are, but it’ll be a much easier transition. My non-sporty, admittedly nerdy DD struggled socially in MS at SR. Academics were solid and she was well prepared for HS. Upper school at SR was a much better experience for her socially as the class size almost doubled and there was a wider range of girls/interests. I don’t regret moving her to SR for MS because that was the best option at the time, but had we been at a k-8, we would have stayed until HS. |
Anonymous
I'm not a Stone Ridge parent, but I tutored a girl who was in the MS. Her work was rigorous, but it also seemed like the school recognized kids who struggled academically, but put in a lot of effort. Her family then moved out of state, and she attended the "premier" Catholic school for her area. She had a lot of the same books/content as she did the year prior at Stone Ridge. |
Anonymous
| Middle school is tricky. DD has been there since LS and those girls are having a harder time adjusting to the MS expectations. The new to SR girls seem to be better prepared in general. Feel like the LS for all of the good of the project work, hasn’t set them up with the basic skills in ELA and math. We’ve shared our concerns with the HOS about concerns before and she’s brushed it off. One notable issue is staffing. One LS teacher went on leave and a suitable coverage plan for a long term sub was never made. All that glitters isn’t gold. |
Anonymous
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We are a new MS family this year. Grade 5, and are having a wonderful year. DD has a group of friends that include sporty and non-sporty kids. The girls are nice and the teachers have been excellent. We’ve been impressed with the academics and the focus on helping the girls learn executive functioning/planning skills. If all goes well we will keep her there for HS but if she decides she wants something different she’ll be academically well prepared. I’m glad we made the switch when we did.
Depending on the grade you apply to, she may not be the only new kid which is really really helpful for a transition. |
Anonymous
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We are considering MS at SR for the future. We are pretty far away (Rockville outskirts) and had a previous experience with that making play dates and outside social gatherings challenging. Do you have any sense of where students commute from? We are well off but live well below our means in a decidedly MC neighborhood.
Also my DD is very very bright and we had previously been told that it would be difficult to find a private that would be enough of a challenge academically. We had been crossing our fingers for a magnet spot but it doesn’t look like that is going to work out (although she’s still in the wait pool, so it is still possible). Are the academics going to be more challenging than the advanced classes at a home MCPS middle school (not magnet)? |
Anonymous
| Is your kid in compacted math? If so, stay in MCPS. Magnet lottery pools move more than CES because of the transportation with HS do early |
Anonymous
| So far, so good for my kid. Teachers are caring and passionate and my daughter has a good group of friends. There’s been so many changes in faculty and staff over the years but I’m hoping things are going to be steady. The new MS head seems different from the previous one and that can be a good thing. They have a new assistant head that is well known in NY private school world for Science/STEM programming so she’s a great asset to elevate the current offerings. |
Anonymous
Yes compacted math and what used to be ELC but she is more interested in the humanities and we keep hearing there really isn’t anywhere that strong in the both the humanities and math outside the magnets (which have compacted math obviously). Class size and behavior is a consideration too but to pay the money and have my child be even less challenged academically would be frustrating. |
Anonymous
If your child really wants to be challenged in math, long term SR might not be able to support their growth. The highest offering is AP Calculus BC and if they want to go beyond that, they would have to do it through an outside virtual program.
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Anonymous
| DD is in 7th grade, was new in MS. We have been very happy with our decision. She made friends quickly. She is not super sporty, but has friends who are and many who aren't. I think most are able to find a core group of friends with shared interests. The teachers are caring and provide extra support for girls who struggle. The new Assistant HOS for curriculum is fantastic. I hope SR does whatever it takes to keep her around for a long time. |
Anonymous
I can also tell you my 8th grade son in a highly regarded K-8 and my 7th grade SR daughter have the same vocab book this year. |
Anonymous
| I recall the English program in the MS being very strong. |