MoCo vs NW DC Schools

[Anonymous]

I was in this situation. Pre-pandemic we went to open houses at both the upper NW school and the W cluster school. I then had conversations with administrators at both schools and parents I knew. All while keeping in mind, our child’s individual academic strengths and weaknesses. In the end, moving was the right decision and have never looked back.

[Anonymous]

Grew up attending a W-cluster elementary and middle school in Montgomery County (and a magnet high school there), and my kids now go to an upper NW elementary in DCPS. Obviously, comparing school as a kid approximately 97 years ago to what I know about school as a parent now is sort of imprecise, but so far, I'd say I'm happier with their experience in D.C. than I was with my own in Montgomery County (and I liked school). I wouldn't necessarily assume just because one district is the suburbs and one is the city that the suburban one is better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd recommend you read the MoCo thread. DCPS certainly has it's issues. But MoCo is in chaos right now and has a lot of uncertainty. If your kid gets into the magnet program, MoCo is head and shoulders above anything DC offers. Just don't be one of the geniuses that spends $1.5M for a house in MoCo district and still ends up at a private school...

The DCUM version of MCPS being in chaos and actual chaos are two different things.

This is true....But I'm speaking from first hand knowledge. Lack of leadership in key areas is destroying the system.

I am an MCPS teacher (in a well-regarded MS that feeds into Churchill) and live in DC and am sending my son to DCPS (our in bound elementary) next year for K. MCPS has been a sinking ship for a while now...but it feels like the pace of the downfall is accelerating. Pyle is definitely overcrowded. My MS is huge, just like Deal is huge. I really don't think there's much difference between the educational outcomes but it is hard to say as I've only seen MCPS up close. In a year, I'll be able to make a better comparison, and in in 6 years, I'll be able to make a very accurate comparison. We love living in Upper NW DC!

[Anonymous]

I’ve heard that rules regarding pta funds (particularly if they can be used for staffing) are a big distinction

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd recommend you read the MoCo thread. DCPS certainly has it's issues. But MoCo is in chaos right now and has a lot of uncertainty. If your kid gets into the magnet program, MoCo is head and shoulders above anything DC offers. Just don't be one of the geniuses that spends $1.5M for a house in MoCo district and still ends up at a private school...

+1

I think you are thinking of boarding a ship (MCPS) whose best days are long, long past. We did W school, got the t-shirt and got the hell out of there (out of DMV.). Way, way to big, political and frankly mean.

[Anonymous]

A while ago now (way prepandemic) I visited both close-in MoCo public schools and DC public schools for elementary when we were thinking about where to live. I found the DC schools I visited to be significantly better than the MoCo schools. MoCo schools had huge class sizes, the head teachers didn't seem as good, the facilities were run down to the point of detracting from the educational experience (trailers with weird classroom configurations so some kids were really far from the teacher, or not adequately climate controlled), and the second teacher in the classroom was a graduate student rather than a more experienced teacher. It may be different by now, though. We are happy with the DC elementary we ended up with.

[Anonymous]

As a DC parent who recently moved to MoCo I have a few thoughts on this.

DC has an incredible early elementary experience-- all schools are great. With that said-- even in prek-4/K you can start to see the issues emerging. behavioral issues, staffing issues that make it hard to accommodate those issues vs other students that are more advanced.

My children only attended DC for prek and early education so I can't compare to moco in that respect.

However I spent the last few years comparing school data at the middle/high level, demographics, those are are considered homeless, graduation rates, SAT/ACT rates, YoY improvement, clubs, sports, options if you kid needs special resources whether its bc they're behind or excelling and for me it was a no brainer.

Those saying moco is in chaos, i think that is 100% a product of covid and those enrolled in DC schools are in a tizzy over the exact same thing, however moco is much much larger with more to take on. As it pertains to redistricting, alot of that has already been shared and has very minimal impact if you're buying the bethesda/cc area and in bound for a W school or BCC.

I think there is. ALOT more uncertainty in DC about schools, esp those buying in the SP neighborhoods bc its cheaper and a direct line to wilson but EOTP.

For my family it was the right choice but what's good for you might not be for me. It's funny though...I hav several friends that moved to SP and the like, and are securely in bound for wilson yet are constantly obsessed over whether its good enough, if it will remain their actual school, and i was just so exhausted by all of that already.

I didn't want to continue to obsess over schools anymore and moved knowing that regardless of whether my kids are reassigned the options are still wonderful and don't lose sleep over it- all depends on what is important to the family and what's best for your kiddo.

I love DC it's a great place to live, but in hindsight I wish we had moved earlier, we have a more peaceful life and certainly less stress thinking about crime, schools, and all the other things..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A while ago now (way prepandemic) I visited both close-in MoCo public schools and DC public schools for elementary when we were thinking about where to live. I found the DC schools I visited to be significantly better than the MoCo schools. MoCo schools had huge class sizes, the head teachers didn't seem as good, the facilities were run down to the point of detracting from the educational experience (trailers with weird classroom configurations so some kids were really far from the teacher, or not adequately climate controlled), and the second teacher in the classroom was a graduate student rather than a more experienced teacher. It may be different by now, though. We are happy with the DC elementary we ended up with.

Let us know how you feel in middle school and whether you're in bound for wilson....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A while ago now (way prepandemic) I visited both close-in MoCo public schools and DC public schools for elementary when we were thinking about where to live. I found the DC schools I visited to be significantly better than the MoCo schools. MoCo schools had huge class sizes, the head teachers didn't seem as good, the facilities were run down to the point of detracting from the educational experience (trailers with weird classroom configurations so some kids were really far from the teacher, or not adequately climate controlled), and the second teacher in the classroom was a graduate student rather than a more experienced teacher. It may be different by now, though. We are happy with the DC elementary we ended up with.

Let us know how you feel in middle school and whether you're in bound for wilson....

You know, I’ve been impressed with how thoughtful and respectful this conversation has been so far. What’s the value of this comment? Are you providing insight or experience for the OP? Clearly, the PP doesn’t have a kid in DCPS MS yet. Do you? Do you have insight and experience to share? Or are you just playing the cynical, “seen it all” role and being rude and dismissive of other people’s perspectives?

Be better.

[Anonymous]

I was less than impressed with MCPS and we were in the BCC cluster.

I feel that unless you have a super star academic child, your kid will get educated at the bare minimum.

For example - an on level 6th grade class in social studies and/or science would have assignments that are full in the blank because they give you sentence starters. I’m just not sure how that helps a child get ready for high school writing. English was fine but mostly creative writing. Math homework is never reviewed and they just push through with no cohesion, IMO, of grace to grade standards. Plus, class sizes are too big. In the end, we left for private.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was less than impressed with MCPS and we were in the BCC cluster.

I feel that unless you have a super star academic child, your kid will get educated at the bare minimum.

For example - an on level 6th grade class in social studies and/or science would have assignments that are full in the blank because they give you sentence starters. I’m just not sure how that helps a child get ready for high school writing. English was fine but mostly creative writing. Math homework is never reviewed and they just push through with no cohesion, IMO, of grace to grade standards. Plus, class sizes are too big. In the end, we left for private.

Right-- but contrast around DCPS.

These conversations are just so ridiculous to me. Everyone gives their own personal experience and some weird extreme case. Look at test scores, look at metrics that matter to you as a family or for the unique circumstance with your child.

Regardless of what people think here-- MOCO high schools are some of the highest ranked in the COUNTRY. Bethesda Magazine publishes every year where these students at all moco counties applied for college and acceptances, it's very impressive so those kids are learning. Is this important to you or the top issue for your family? If so maybe check it out. Wilson is fine. We left DC bc I wanted my kids to have a more traditional HS experience with dances, schools, parent involvement in a tighter knit community.

My experience as a DC parent is that not a week goes by without friends in my kids classes moving, going private, playing the lotto again to switch schools so it never feels like there is a strong cohort that is actually going to stay until the end.

I tried to not focus on elementary-- that can be great anywhere, middle and high is where the rubber hits the road, and I don't think you can compare Pyle and the academics there with Macfarland or even Deal. Again- not trying to crap on those schools but it wasn't what we wanted based on what was most important to us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was less than impressed with MCPS and we were in the BCC cluster.

I feel that unless you have a super star academic child, your kid will get educated at the bare minimum.

For example - an on level 6th grade class in social studies and/or science would have assignments that are full in the blank because they give you sentence starters. I’m just not sure how that helps a child get ready for high school writing. English was fine but mostly creative writing. Math homework is never reviewed and they just push through with no cohesion, IMO, of grace to grade standards. Plus, class sizes are too big. In the end, we left for private.

Right-- but contrast around DCPS.

These conversations are just so ridiculous to me. Everyone gives their own personal experience and some weird extreme case. Look at test scores, look at metrics that matter to you as a family or for the unique circumstance with your child.

Regardless of what people think here-- MOCO high schools are some of the highest ranked in the COUNTRY. Bethesda Magazine publishes every year where these students at all moco counties applied for college and acceptances, it's very impressive so those kids are learning. Is this important to you or the top issue for your family? If so maybe check it out. Wilson is fine. We left DC bc I wanted my kids to have a more traditional HS experience with dances, schools, parent involvement in a tighter knit community.

My experience as a DC parent is that not a week goes by without friends in my kids classes moving, going private, playing the lotto again to switch schools so it never feels like there is a strong cohort that is actually going to stay until the end.

I tried to not focus on elementary-- that can be great anywhere, middle and high is where the rubber hits the road, and I don't think you can compare Pyle and the academics there with Macfarland or even Deal. Again- not trying to crap on those schools but it wasn't what we wanted based on what was most important to us.

This, exactly. I was tired of that.
Best decision ever when I moved to MoCo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve heard that rules regarding pta funds (particularly if they can be used for staffing) are a big distinction

Are there schools that pay for additional aides in the classroom other than Janney and Mann? The vast majority of students, even WOTP, don't attend these two schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was less than impressed with MCPS and we were in the BCC cluster.

I feel that unless you have a super star academic child, your kid will get educated at the bare minimum.

For example - an on level 6th grade class in social studies and/or science would have assignments that are full in the blank because they give you sentence starters. I’m just not sure how that helps a child get ready for high school writing. English was fine but mostly creative writing. Math homework is never reviewed and they just push through with no cohesion, IMO, of grace to grade standards. Plus, class sizes are too big. In the end, we left for private.

Right-- but contrast around DCPS.

These conversations are just so ridiculous to me. Everyone gives their own personal experience and some weird extreme case. Look at test scores, look at metrics that matter to you as a family or for the unique circumstance with your child.

Regardless of what people think here-- MOCO high schools are some of the highest ranked in the COUNTRY. Bethesda Magazine publishes every year where these students at all moco counties applied for college and acceptances, it's very impressive so those kids are learning. Is this important to you or the top issue for your family? If so maybe check it out. Wilson is fine. We left DC bc I wanted my kids to have a more traditional HS experience with dances, schools, parent involvement in a tighter knit community.

My experience as a DC parent is that not a week goes by without friends in my kids classes moving, going private, playing the lotto again to switch schools so it never feels like there is a strong cohort that is actually going to stay until the end.

I tried to not focus on elementary-- that can be great anywhere, middle and high is where the rubber hits the road, and I don't think you can compare Pyle and the academics there with Macfarland or even Deal. Again- not trying to crap on those schools but it wasn't what we wanted based on what was most important to us.

What do you think is happening at Wilson, exactly?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was less than impressed with MCPS and we were in the BCC cluster.

I feel that unless you have a super star academic child, your kid will get educated at the bare minimum.

For example - an on level 6th grade class in social studies and/or science would have assignments that are full in the blank because they give you sentence starters. I’m just not sure how that helps a child get ready for high school writing. English was fine but mostly creative writing. Math homework is never reviewed and they just push through with no cohesion, IMO, of grace to grade standards. Plus, class sizes are too big. In the end, we left for private.

Right-- but contrast around DCPS.

These conversations are just so ridiculous to me. Everyone gives their own personal experience and some weird extreme case. Look at test scores, look at metrics that matter to you as a family or for the unique circumstance with your child.

Regardless of what people think here-- MOCO high schools are some of the highest ranked in the COUNTRY. Bethesda Magazine publishes every year where these students at all moco counties applied for college and acceptances, it's very impressive so those kids are learning. Is this important to you or the top issue for your family? If so maybe check it out. Wilson is fine. We left DC bc I wanted my kids to have a more traditional HS experience with dances, schools, parent involvement in a tighter knit community.

My experience as a DC parent is that not a week goes by without friends in my kids classes moving, going private, playing the lotto again to switch schools so it never feels like there is a strong cohort that is actually going to stay until the end.

I tried to not focus on elementary-- that can be great anywhere, middle and high is where the rubber hits the road, and I don't think you can compare Pyle and the academics there with Macfarland or even Deal. Again- not trying to crap on those schools but it wasn't what we wanted based on what was most important to us.

As a person who had a traditional HS experience with a cohort that pretty much stayed the same from elementary through HS, I felt that there were a lot of downsides to this. Cliques that formed early and pretty much stayed the same for over a decade, for one. Seeing all the same kinds of people, within the same SES, etc. If this is what you're looking for, then of course you should move to where that is. It's not necessarily great though.

That's what this all comes down to. The only way you'll get the right answer is to think about what you want for yourself and your kids. The people who are constantly worrying about their decision haven't taken time to sit down and really figure out what they value, and see if where they're sending their kids meets those values.