Elementary Schools in Tacoma Park

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know families who moved away from Tacoma park to Bethesda because the schools in TP were bad.

Tacoma is in Washington State, TaKoma is in Maryland

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know families who moved away from Tacoma park to Bethesda because the schools in TP were bad.

Tacoma is in Washington State, TaKoma is in Maryland

LOL

[Anonymous]

Takoma Park is a wonderful community. For families with kids it largely revolves around the TP/PB set of schools. Kids at ESS, RT, privates and other neighboring schools can get into the stream of Takoma Park through extracurricular activities like Takoma Soccer, scouting, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know families who moved away from Tacoma park to Bethesda because the schools in TP were bad.

Tacoma is in Washington State, TaKoma is in Maryland

Which one's the pickup truck?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know families who moved away from Tacoma park to Bethesda because the schools in TP were bad.

Tacoma is in Washington State, TaKoma is in Maryland

Takoma is in DC. Takoma Park is in Maryland.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know families who moved away from Tacoma park to Bethesda because the schools in TP were bad.

Tacoma is in Washington State, TaKoma is in Maryland

Takoma is in DC. Takoma Park is in Maryland.

Oh ya, I forgot about this new distinction WMATA created about 80 years after Takoma Park was founded.

[Anonymous]

OP here. EDIT: we are not looking at Tacoma Washington, Tacoma DC, we are looking at Takoma Park Maryland. I apologize for my phone's autocorrect, I would have thought that was obvious given the forum I am posting in.

Thank you to everyone who had helpful replies.

To be more specific, we are currently in Anne Arundel County and have been less than impressed with the schools in general, especially since COVID.

I know MCPS has it's issues as well, but we were hoping to move to the DCC so that we could be closer to family, and be in an overall better school district. Also we would like to be closer to DC and away from the systemic racism and fairly extreme segregation we have experienced here (we moved here from NOVA 4 years ago, which we found pretty diverse).

My husband has his eyes set on Takoma Park (MD), because he has read great things about Montgomery Blair HS and the feeder middle schools, and also because he is a city boy and wants to be as close to DC as possible.

My oldest, who will be in middle school by the time we move, is a very bright girl who excels at math and STEM in general. The other two kids will be in probably kindergarten and third grade when we move.

The whole DCC school system in general is extremely confusing, and I did not even realize that Tacoma Park had two different schools for just elementary. Are there other schools in the Tacoma Park area that feed into Blair? And what are the opinions on the middle schools that feed into Blair? It's just so much to process compared to Anne Arundel county.

We just want the best for our kids, my husband and I are both in math/scientific/IT fields, and we feel our kids will probably excel at the same type of areas, but would also appreciate language immersion or any other great programs that are available.

Side note, Bethesda and similar majority Caucasian school districts are way out of our price range so we are focusing on DCC, so opinions on the schools that Great Schools say are good are not really relevant to us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. EDIT: we are not looking at Tacoma Washington, Tacoma DC, we are looking at Takoma Park Maryland. I apologize for my phone's autocorrect, I would have thought that was obvious given the forum I am posting in.

Thank you to everyone who had helpful replies.

To be more specific, we are currently in Anne Arundel County and have been less than impressed with the schools in general, especially since COVID.

I know MCPS has it's issues as well, but we were hoping to move to the DCC so that we could be closer to family, and be in an overall better school district. Also we would like to be closer to DC and away from the systemic racism and fairly extreme segregation we have experienced here (we moved here from NOVA 4 years ago, which we found pretty diverse).

My husband has his eyes set on Takoma Park (MD), because he has read great things about Montgomery Blair HS and the feeder middle schools, and also because he is a city boy and wants to be as close to DC as possible.

My oldest, who will be in middle school by the time we move, is a very bright girl who excels at math and STEM in general. The other two kids will be in probably kindergarten and third grade when we move.

The whole DCC school system in general is extremely confusing, and I did not even realize that Tacoma Park had two different schools for just elementary. Are there other schools in the Tacoma Park area that feed into Blair? And what are the opinions on the middle schools that feed into Blair? It's just so much to process compared to Anne Arundel county.

We just want the best for our kids, my husband and I are both in math/scientific/IT fields, and we feel our kids will probably excel at the same type of areas, but would also appreciate language immersion or any other great programs that are available.

Side note, Bethesda and similar majority Caucasian school districts are way out of our price range so we are focusing on DCC, so opinions on the schools that Great Schools say are good are not really relevant to us.

These are your options to feed into Blair based on home address:

Takoma Park ES...Piney Branch ES...Takoma Park MS

East Silver Spring ES...Takoma Park MS

Rolling Terrace ES...Silver Spring International MS

Montgomery Knolls ES...Pine Crest ES...Eastern MS

New Hampshire Estates ES...Oak View ES...Eastern MS

And there's a little bit of Sligo Creek ES...Silver Spring International MS

[Anonymous]

You can use this site to search individual addresses, and you will see the feeder pattern from K to 12.

https://gis.mcpsmd.org/SchoolAssignmentTool2/Index.xhtml

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. EDIT: we are not looking at Tacoma Washington, Tacoma DC, we are looking at Takoma Park Maryland. I apologize for my phone's autocorrect, I would have thought that was obvious given the forum I am posting in.

Thank you to everyone who had helpful replies.

To be more specific, we are currently in Anne Arundel County and have been less than impressed with the schools in general, especially since COVID.

I know MCPS has it's issues as well, but we were hoping to move to the DCC so that we could be closer to family, and be in an overall better school district. Also we would like to be closer to DC and away from the systemic racism and fairly extreme segregation we have experienced here (we moved here from NOVA 4 years ago, which we found pretty diverse).

My husband has his eyes set on Takoma Park (MD), because he has read great things about Montgomery Blair HS and the feeder middle schools, and also because he is a city boy and wants to be as close to DC as possible.

My oldest, who will be in middle school by the time we move, is a very bright girl who excels at math and STEM in general. The other two kids will be in probably kindergarten and third grade when we move.

The whole DCC school system in general is extremely confusing, and I did not even realize that Tacoma Park had two different schools for just elementary. Are there other schools in the Tacoma Park area that feed into Blair? And what are the opinions on the middle schools that feed into Blair? It's just so much to process compared to Anne Arundel county.

We just want the best for our kids, my husband and I are both in math/scientific/IT fields, and we feel our kids will probably excel at the same type of areas, but would also appreciate language immersion or any other great programs that are available.

Side note, Bethesda and similar majority Caucasian school districts are way out of our price range so we are focusing on DCC, so opinions on the schools that Great Schools say are good are not really relevant to us.

These are your options to feed into Blair based on home address:

Takoma Park ES...Piney Branch ES...Takoma Park MS

East Silver Spring ES...Takoma Park MS

Rolling Terrace ES...Silver Spring International MS

Montgomery Knolls ES...Pine Crest ES...Eastern MS

New Hampshire Estates ES...Oak View ES...Eastern MS

And there's a little bit of Sligo Creek ES...Silver Spring International MS

Yes, but I think some of the Rolling Terrace/SSI addresses feed into Northwood. Not sure if these are technically TP or parts of Silver Spring that are next to TP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. EDIT: we are not looking at Tacoma Washington, Tacoma DC, we are looking at Takoma Park Maryland. I apologize for my phone's autocorrect, I would have thought that was obvious given the forum I am posting in.

Thank you to everyone who had helpful replies.

To be more specific, we are currently in Anne Arundel County and have been less than impressed with the schools in general, especially since COVID.

I know MCPS has it's issues as well, but we were hoping to move to the DCC so that we could be closer to family, and be in an overall better school district. Also we would like to be closer to DC and away from the systemic racism and fairly extreme segregation we have experienced here (we moved here from NOVA 4 years ago, which we found pretty diverse).

My husband has his eyes set on Takoma Park (MD), because he has read great things about Montgomery Blair HS and the feeder middle schools, and also because he is a city boy and wants to be as close to DC as possible.

My oldest, who will be in middle school by the time we move, is a very bright girl who excels at math and STEM in general. The other two kids will be in probably kindergarten and third grade when we move.

The whole DCC school system in general is extremely confusing, and I did not even realize that Tacoma Park had two different schools for just elementary. Are there other schools in the Tacoma Park area that feed into Blair? And what are the opinions on the middle schools that feed into Blair? It's just so much to process compared to Anne Arundel county.

We just want the best for our kids, my husband and I are both in math/scientific/IT fields, and we feel our kids will probably excel at the same type of areas, but would also appreciate language immersion or any other great programs that are available.

Side note, Bethesda and similar majority Caucasian school districts are way out of our price range so we are focusing on DCC, so opinions on the schools that Great Schools say are good are not really relevant to us.

You might as well go for one of the feeders to Takoma Park MS which feeds to Blair ( TPES/PBES or ESSES). There are 25 seats set aside in the TPMS magnet program for in-boundary kids, so, you have a much better chance of getting into that program as an in-bounds student (can anyone confirm that this is still true post-pandemic for OP?).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. EDIT: we are not looking at Tacoma Washington, Tacoma DC, we are looking at Takoma Park Maryland. I apologize for my phone's autocorrect, I would have thought that was obvious given the forum I am posting in.

Thank you to everyone who had helpful replies.

To be more specific, we are currently in Anne Arundel County and have been less than impressed with the schools in general, especially since COVID.

I know MCPS has it's issues as well, but we were hoping to move to the DCC so that we could be closer to family, and be in an overall better school district. Also we would like to be closer to DC and away from the systemic racism and fairly extreme segregation we have experienced here (we moved here from NOVA 4 years ago, which we found pretty diverse).

My husband has his eyes set on Takoma Park (MD), because he has read great things about Montgomery Blair HS and the feeder middle schools, and also because he is a city boy and wants to be as close to DC as possible.

My oldest, who will be in middle school by the time we move, is a very bright girl who excels at math and STEM in general. The other two kids will be in probably kindergarten and third grade when we move.

The whole DCC school system in general is extremely confusing, and I did not even realize that Tacoma Park had two different schools for just elementary. Are there other schools in the Tacoma Park area that feed into Blair? And what are the opinions on the middle schools that feed into Blair? It's just so much to process compared to Anne Arundel county.

We just want the best for our kids, my husband and I are both in math/scientific/IT fields, and we feel our kids will probably excel at the same type of areas, but would also appreciate language immersion or any other great programs that are available.

Side note, Bethesda and similar majority Caucasian school districts are way out of our price range so we are focusing on DCC, so opinions on the schools that Great Schools say are good are not really relevant to us.

These are your options to feed into Blair based on home address:

Takoma Park ES...Piney Branch ES...Takoma Park MS

East Silver Spring ES...Takoma Park MS

Rolling Terrace ES...Silver Spring International MS

Montgomery Knolls ES...Pine Crest ES...Eastern MS

New Hampshire Estates ES...Oak View ES...Eastern MS

And there's a little bit of Sligo Creek ES...Silver Spring International MS

Yes, but I think some of the Rolling Terrace/SSI addresses feed into Northwood. Not sure if these are technically TP or parts of Silver Spring that are next to TP.

No, all of Rolling Terrace feeds to SSI then Blair.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hello. We are considering moving to Tacoma Park and was wondering what the opinions are on the different elementary schools? By the time we move, I will have one child in Middle School and 2 in elementary. Are there any that we should avoid? Any with great programs? Just looking for general opinions on the areas we should be looking at based on home elementary school. Thanks!

All of my kids attend(ed) TKPK schools.

TPES is a focus school. Class sizes are smaller, often 16-20 kids. They also offer enriched math, an artifact of the now-defunct primary magnet.

We were happy with PBES. Two of my children went through the local CES program. It was very competitive for a local program before the lottery; one of my neighbors’ kids didn’t make the cut with a 97% CogAT!

TPMS hosts the county’s middle school STEM magnet program. There is a 25-seat set aside for in-boundary students. My kids enjoyed the deeper science and math classes, but the enriched humanities were also great!

My oldest is in the Blair STEM magnet program. This is a rigorous program for kids interested in STEM. I feel being in the TPMS magnet and participating in its award-winning math team helped their chances, but who knows. Also, even if a student isn’t in the magnet, they may take many of the classes from Cellular Physiology to Linear Algebra if they meet the pre-reqs.

I can’t imagine a better set of schools. I hope you are as happy in TKPK as we are. Best of luck!

I think it's great that the county allows parents who prioritize STEM education for their kids to choose a place like Takoma.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. EDIT: we are not looking at Tacoma Washington, Tacoma DC, we are looking at Takoma Park Maryland. I apologize for my phone's autocorrect, I would have thought that was obvious given the forum I am posting in.

Thank you to everyone who had helpful replies.

To be more specific, we are currently in Anne Arundel County and have been less than impressed with the schools in general, especially since COVID.

I know MCPS has it's issues as well, but we were hoping to move to the DCC so that we could be closer to family, and be in an overall better school district. Also we would like to be closer to DC and away from the systemic racism and fairly extreme segregation we have experienced here (we moved here from NOVA 4 years ago, which we found pretty diverse).

My husband has his eyes set on Takoma Park (MD), because he has read great things about Montgomery Blair HS and the feeder middle schools, and also because he is a city boy and wants to be as close to DC as possible.

My oldest, who will be in middle school by the time we move, is a very bright girl who excels at math and STEM in general. The other two kids will be in probably kindergarten and third grade when we move.

The whole DCC school system in general is extremely confusing, and I did not even realize that Tacoma Park had two different schools for just elementary. Are there other schools in the Tacoma Park area that feed into Blair? And what are the opinions on the middle schools that feed into Blair? It's just so much to process compared to Anne Arundel county.

We just want the best for our kids, my husband and I are both in math/scientific/IT fields, and we feel our kids will probably excel at the same type of areas, but would also appreciate language immersion or any other great programs that are available.

Side note, Bethesda and similar majority Caucasian school districts are way out of our price range so we are focusing on DCC, so opinions on the schools that Great Schools say are good are not really relevant to us.

You might as well go for one of the feeders to Takoma Park MS which feeds to Blair ( TPES/PBES or ESSES). There are 25 seats set aside in the TPMS magnet program for in-boundary kids, so, you have a much better chance of getting into that program as an in-bounds student (can anyone confirm that this is still true post-pandemic for OP?).

Downtown Silver Spring is zoned for ESS/TPMS/Blair, is similarly diverse and progressive, but has a more “city” feel than TKPK. You can do more routine errands on foot and walk to more transit options, and you’d have more neighbors with one/no cars. Houses in the walkable areas of DTSS tend to skew cheaper than those in walking distance of the business areas of Takoma Park, too. And for homeowners, there are fewer rules and regulations to follow in DTSS. Takoma Park looks all free and easy, but try to cut down a tree and they’re as restrictive as any suburban HOA. Taxes are higher, too, because it’s an incorporated city with its own assessments on top of state and county taxes, whereas Silver Spring is unincorporated.

We were certain we wanted to live in Takoma Park, too. But when we looked at what we’d get for our $, we went with close-in Silver Spring. Never regretted it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. EDIT: we are not looking at Tacoma Washington, Tacoma DC, we are looking at Takoma Park Maryland. I apologize for my phone's autocorrect, I would have thought that was obvious given the forum I am posting in.

Thank you to everyone who had helpful replies.

To be more specific, we are currently in Anne Arundel County and have been less than impressed with the schools in general, especially since COVID.

I know MCPS has it's issues as well, but we were hoping to move to the DCC so that we could be closer to family, and be in an overall better school district. Also we would like to be closer to DC and away from the systemic racism and fairly extreme segregation we have experienced here (we moved here from NOVA 4 years ago, which we found pretty diverse).

My husband has his eyes set on Takoma Park (MD), because he has read great things about Montgomery Blair HS and the feeder middle schools, and also because he is a city boy and wants to be as close to DC as possible.

My oldest, who will be in middle school by the time we move, is a very bright girl who excels at math and STEM in general. The other two kids will be in probably kindergarten and third grade when we move.

The whole DCC school system in general is extremely confusing, and I did not even realize that Tacoma Park had two different schools for just elementary. Are there other schools in the Tacoma Park area that feed into Blair? And what are the opinions on the middle schools that feed into Blair? It's just so much to process compared to Anne Arundel county.

We just want the best for our kids, my husband and I are both in math/scientific/IT fields, and we feel our kids will probably excel at the same type of areas, but would also appreciate language immersion or any other great programs that are available.

Side note, Bethesda and similar majority Caucasian school districts are way out of our price range so we are focusing on DCC, so opinions on the schools that Great Schools say are good are not really relevant to us.

You might as well go for one of the feeders to Takoma Park MS which feeds to Blair ( TPES/PBES or ESSES). There are 25 seats set aside in the TPMS magnet program for in-boundary kids, so, you have a much better chance of getting into that program as an in-bounds student (can anyone confirm that this is still true post-pandemic for OP?).

Downtown Silver Spring is zoned for ESS/TPMS/Blair, is similarly diverse and progressive, but has a more “city” feel than TKPK. You can do more routine errands on foot and walk to more transit options, and you’d have more neighbors with one/no cars. Houses in the walkable areas of DTSS tend to skew cheaper than those in walking distance of the business areas of Takoma Park, too. And for homeowners, there are fewer rules and regulations to follow in DTSS. Takoma Park looks all free and easy, but try to cut down a tree and they’re as restrictive as any suburban HOA. Taxes are higher, too, because it’s an incorporated city with its own assessments on top of state and county taxes, whereas Silver Spring is unincorporated.

We were certain we wanted to live in Takoma Park, too. But when we looked at what we’d get for our $, we went with close-in Silver Spring. Never regretted it.

While there are some parts of Downtown Silver Spring that are zoned for ESS/TPMS/Blair, there are also other parts of DTSS zoned for Sligo Crrek/SSI/Blair or Sligo Creek/SSI/Northwood or Woodlin/Sligo/Einstein.