If coming from a private K-8, BCC or Whitman?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My ds went from Norwood middle school to Whitman. And I thought it would be, and was, basically a disaster. We then moved him to st Andrews in Delaware ( boarding-fantastic) and he also repeated 9th grade because he was super young. Omg he is now going to graduate top of his class and having had a fantastic ( even including covid shutdowns ) experience in learning and social / growth development. If a family can find a way to swing it ( and SAS has lots of $ available for aid) look into this.

OP here- we are coming from Norwood as well. Thank you.

Um, I am the OP, I didn't write the above comment, and we are not coming from Norwood (but from a similar environment, so PP's thoughts are certainly relevant).

OP you should read some threads on Whitman. Like the rest of MCPS they grade 90% on testing 10% on homework. And for the most part homework is not looked at in detail and feedback is scant. There is very little actual speaking of foreign language in the FL classrooms. It's a hot house environment.

This seems like a total random comment.

Only seems random if you're a total moron, otherwise it's an insight into the way the school works.

Agree that it was a total random comment that explains nothing about why the OP’s student had difficulty or needed to change. Most colleges grade on a 90/10 or 80/20 model also. So what?

[Anonymous]

For the life of me I will never understand people who she’ll put money for k thru 8 and then go to public high school. The best benefit to private school is high school. most public elementary schools in the dc area are good. Most public high schools are not.

[Anonymous]

OP, I had one kid graduate BCC last year and another one starting next year. I doubt that there's a huge difference between the two schools - they're both big, filled with highly educated families, and follow mostly the same MCPS curriculum. BCC has the International Baccalaureate program open to all students, and that might be of interest because the cohort who pursue an IB certificate is a relatively small one (although lots of kids take IB classes.) BCC is also a bit more diverse in terms of race and socio-economic status, if that matters to you. And it's a great location for a kid who wants a little independence without a car. There's a very well-funded private foundation that provides extra support, and we found the college information process pretty strong (not the guidance counselors per se, but from junior year onward there were tons of informational sessions about different aspects of the process.) Overall, my DS had a very positive experience at BCC - he is a quirky kid and we worried about him in a big school, but he found his people and did well academically.

There are probably at least as many points in Whitman's favor, although I'm less familiar so hopefully a Whitman parent will chime in. Average test scores there are higher, and I believe they teach a wider variety of foreign languages than BCC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For the life of me I will never understand people who she’ll put money for k thru 8 and then go to public high school. The best benefit to private school is high school. most public elementary schools in the dc area are good. Most public high schools are not.

Completely have to disagree with you. Smart kids in elementary school simply get ignored and MCPS. By high school you can sign up for rigorous classes which are completely fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For the life of me I will never understand people who she’ll put money for k thru 8 and then go to public high school. The best benefit to private school is high school. most public elementary schools in the dc area are good. Most public high schools are not.

Completely have to disagree with you. Smart kids in elementary school simply get ignored and MCPS. By high school you can sign up for rigorous classes which are completely fine.

+1 this is true but at MCPS bad behaviors are not tolerated while at private schools they frequently are tolerated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Stay in private.

Many parents in MCPS are just focused on installing prison guards and confiscating phones. They have no interest in education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stay in private.

Many parents in MCPS are just focused on installing prison guards and confiscating phones. They have no interest in education.

You must not be a Bethesda parent. High earning, highly educated themselves, ambitious, focused on the Ivys, sure they're not focused on education in the slightest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stay in private.

Many parents in MCPS are just focused on installing prison guards and confiscating phones. They have no interest in education.

Those aren't mutually exclusive, and actually, they may help kids focus on learning rather than their phones.