Which is a stronger school cluster?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's really not necessary to focus on 2022 high school information when OP's oldest child is currently 4.

This 100%

[Anonymous]

OP here, thank you all so much for this great info! We currently live in close in pg county where the schools aren’t so great, so we wanted to choose a better school cluster for our next house. Sounds like we can’t go wrong with either one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here, thank you all so much for this great info! We currently live in close in pg county where the schools aren’t so great, so we wanted to choose a better school cluster for our next house. Sounds like we can’t go wrong with either one.

They're both fine schools. Honestly, the best thing I can say is pick the neighborhood you like best and the rest will take care of itself.

[Anonymous]

One difference: For the Blair group of schools, your soon-to-be kindergartener would attend Montgomery Knolls from K-2 and then Pine Crest from 3-5, as my children did (we are in the same cluster). While it's something of an inconvenience if your kids are a couple of years apart and still at different schools, yours would probably not have been at the same elementary school for more than one or maybe two years given the age difference so it's less of a consideration for you. We really, really liked the paired schools. At MKES, the teachers, media center, facilities, PE, everything is oriented toward little kids, and there are no "big" 11-year-olds on the same school bus as your 5-year-old. Then at PCES, the faculty specialize in grades 3-5, and the school really "gets" and celebrates this age group. This was a big plus for us. It does mean that you can't walk to all of elementary school, as you'll either be walkable to one or the other, but not both. (They are about 1.5 miles away from each other with the Beltway overpass in the middle.)

[Anonymous]

For a child that young, the current clusters are very unlikely to remain as is. High school boundaries will be changing in DCC and Walter Johnson in 2026, so for kids in lower elementary school grades in those feeder schools, the high school they will be assigned to is all up in the air at this point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For a child that young, the current clusters are very unlikely to remain as is. High school boundaries will be changing in DCC and Walter Johnson in 2026, so for kids in lower elementary school grades in those feeder schools, the high school they will be assigned to is all up in the air at this point.

It may be that the edges of the boundaries change. For example, Woodward is between Einstein and WJ and will specifically draw from the boundaries adjacent to it to abate overcrowding. If possible people currently assigned to blair who are closer or close to Einstein would be reassigned there to help with overcrowding. I am making this up. I don't honestly know what they'll do, but something like this seems the most practical course of action. They will likely shift the edges of several boundaries to help alleviate overcrowding at many schools while filling Woodward.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For a child that young, the current clusters are very unlikely to remain as is. High school boundaries will be changing in DCC and Walter Johnson in 2026, so for kids in lower elementary school grades in those feeder schools, the high school they will be assigned to is all up in the air at this point.

It may be that the edges of the boundaries change. For example, Woodward is between Einstein and WJ and will specifically draw from the boundaries adjacent to it to abate overcrowding. If possible people currently assigned to blair who are closer or close to Einstein would be reassigned there to help with overcrowding. I am making this up. I don't honestly know what they'll do, but something like this seems the most practical course of action. They will likely shift the edges of several boundaries to help alleviate overcrowding at many schools while filling Woodward.

It's not just Woodward. Northwood is also getting a new building expanding its capacity by 1000 seats. This is to alleviate overcrowding at Blair and Einstein too.

[Anonymous]

Do you think a house that is super close in proximity to Blair is in danger of being reassigned? I am thinking of the Woodmoor area. You can even walk to Blair from some parts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you think a house that is super close in proximity to Blair is in danger of being reassigned? I am thinking of the Woodmoor area. You can even walk to Blair from some parts.

It's not likely, but it is possible. The South Four Corners area immediately west of Colesville from Blair used to be assigned to Blair but was reassigned to Northwood when it reopened around 15 years ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you think a house that is super close in proximity to Blair is in danger of being reassigned? I am thinking of the Woodmoor area. You can even walk to Blair from some parts.

It's not likely, but it is possible. The South Four Corners area immediately west of Colesville from Blair used to be assigned to Blair but was reassigned to Northwood when it reopened around 15 years ago.

And the rationale in that case was that South Four Corners was within the 'walk zone' of Blair as well as Northwood, so the students could walk to either, by MCPS's determination. I don't know if Woodmoor would be considered within Northwood's walk zone too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you think a house that is super close in proximity to Blair is in danger of being reassigned? I am thinking of the Woodmoor area. You can even walk to Blair from some parts.

Nah, if you want to secure certainty to Blair, move to Takoma Park.