How is Westland MS - ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just to add to the chain. I have a 7th grader at Westland now. I have been impressed with the Principal. She’s communicative and seems to have a good relationship with the students as well. Overall, we are v pleased with the school.

OP here - thank you good to know!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I toured a bunch of middle schools in the area and Westland was hands down the best. Zero concerns. Very nice atmosphere. You’ll be extremely lucky to send your kids there.

The only downside is that it is located on a busy road and the zone is weirdly shaped so that kids can’t really get on their own to a lot of classmate’s houses. The campus itself is set back from the road but the road is very busy for kids to cross.

I also really liked that there was a public library immediately next to the school that kids can walk to. I popped in and chatted with the librarian and she says lots of kids go there to do homework after school.

OP here - thank you for the feedback! We previously lived close to Westland and know the neighborhood and like it a lot. Library is cute too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Westland MS is fine, as middle schools go, and in the top range in MCPS: best in terms of general safety, nurturing, organization, runner-up in academics. Our younger kid goes there. If PPs are trying to say that Westland is pressure-cooker, though - ha! I haven't found that to be the case at all. I would say that families there are education-oriented and know what it takes to get into college these days, and want their kids to be prepared. The mentality is not Tiger Parent as much as Pragmatic. It's part of the Bethesda-Chevy Chase cluster, which is slightly less academically ambitious than the Whitman or Walter Johnson cluster (Pyle is Whitman cluster).

If you have a choice of location, and know you'll be staying in the area through high school, you'd better think about the high school and consult the threads on that topic, comparing BCC with Whitman and Walter Johnson. Your kids' high school experience will contribute most to college placement. There are more AP offerings at WW and WJ, but BCC has IB. WJ is overcrowded , but new high school, Woodward, will open to the north of Bethesda in 2026 to relieve the pressure.

OP here - thank you; yes, I picked the HS first. Initially, I thought Pyle/Whitman would be the best choice, but then I realized that we might be a better fit/it might be a better fit for us, if we go to a more economically diverse, less pressure cooker kind of HS. Hence the choice of Westland/BCC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We moved to Westland MS area in summer 2021 from abroad. Kids went to 4th, 6th and 7th grade. In MS, MCPS tracks students in Math and History. Since neither of our two middle-schoolers had been in MCPS for 5th grade, they were not identified as gifted and were thus placed in on-level courses. In their case, that meant Math 6+ for the 6th grader and IM for the 7th grader, and World Studies 6 and 7. Our oldest, in particular, scores very high in Math, so we groused about the initial assignment but decided to give it a few weeks.

Well, within three or four weeks, we received an email from his teacher that he would be placed in HIGH (the more advanced history course) based on his MAP-R score. At the same time, we requested that he be moved to Algebra I, and the school did so readily (both MAP-R and MAP-M scores were >95%). He's been a straight-A student since. Our 6th grader scores in the mid-80s on the MAP tests and he was moved to HIGH in the middle of 6th grade.

Both like their teachers and their friends, and don't report many problems with other kids. We had been dreading middle school but have been pleasantly surprised.

Elementary school (Westbrook ES) has been a different story. They placed our 4th grader in on-level math and he was miserable all last year because he was so bored. We requested multiple times that he be moved to compacted math and were told that the class is full. By the end of 4th grade, he was scoring >95% on MAP-M and it was clear that he is in the "wrong" math class. In 5th grade, he was finally moved to Compacted Math 5/6. He's much more engaged in math now, still bored in other classes. He has extracurriculars that he finds interesting and engaging, and he's otherwise a happy kid.

OP, in case you’re wondering what the parent community at Westland is like, this response is a good indicator.

OP here - thank you both of you. Hope the parent community is smart, friendly and down to earth.

[Anonymous]

Parent of a Westland 8th grader, and 10th grade BCCer. Westland is a the opposite of a pressure cooker. That doesn't start until HS. Principal is great, teachers are hit or miss, as they are everywhere. It's significantly smaller than Pyle, which I think is good for the kids not to be sardined in the hallways. We are very happy that our kid is there!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Parent of a Westland 8th grader, and 10th grade BCCer. Westland is a the opposite of a pressure cooker. That doesn't start until HS. Principal is great, teachers are hit or miss, as they are everywhere. It's significantly smaller than Pyle, which I think is good for the kids not to be sardined in the hallways. We are very happy that our kid is there!

parent of of a 7th grader. agree with all this. not particularly challenging but that's not my main concern--plenty of time for that in high school. for now, the fact that the school is so small and the social environment much kinder than at other middle schools are huge pluses. it's also nice that most of the kids live close enough to downtown bethesda that they can do a fair bit of independent socializing in person, so rare these days. and as noted the principal is fantastic--incredibly smart and devoted. One thing that she's done that I love is dramatically increase number of after school clubs that are free / non-competitive to get into (unlike the sports teams, which you have to try out for). she says that it's important for kids' happiness for everyone to find their people and to have a group that's independent of classes which are switching all the time. so there's a singing club, a board game club, theater, a book club type thing, intramural sports, and on and on. honestly it's a step up from our area ES

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I toured a bunch of middle schools in the area and Westland was hands down the best. Zero concerns. Very nice atmosphere. You’ll be extremely lucky to send your kids there.

The only downside is that it is located on a busy road and the zone is weirdly shaped so that kids can’t really get on their own to a lot of classmate’s houses. The campus itself is set back from the road but the road is very busy for kids to cross.

I also really liked that there was a public library immediately next to the school that kids can walk to. I popped in and chatted with the librarian and she says lots of kids go there to do homework after school.

OP here - thank you for the feedback! We previously lived close to Westland and know the neighborhood and like it a lot. Library is cute too.

I sort of disagree with this - my dc bikes to school on the capital crescent trail passes by westland and which goes through all the neighborhoods that Westland serves. if they choose to bike (which granted not that many do) kids can be super independent, weather and darkness permitting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I toured a bunch of middle schools in the area and Westland was hands down the best. Zero concerns. Very nice atmosphere. You’ll be extremely lucky to send your kids there.

The only downside is that it is located on a busy road and the zone is weirdly shaped so that kids can’t really get on their own to a lot of classmate’s houses. The campus itself is set back from the road but the road is very busy for kids to cross.

I also really liked that there was a public library immediately next to the school that kids can walk to. I popped in and chatted with the librarian and she says lots of kids go there to do homework after school.

OP here - thank you for the feedback! We previously lived close to Westland and know the neighborhood and like it a lot. Library is cute too.

I sort of disagree with this - my dc bikes to school on the capital crescent trail passes by westland and which goes through all the neighborhoods that Westland serves. if they choose to bike (which granted not that many do) kids can be super independent, weather and darkness permitting.

*typing too fast. should say: I sort of disagree with this - my dc bikes to school on the capital crescent trail, WHICH passes by westland and ALSO goes through all the neighborhoods that Westland serves. if kids choose to bike (which granted not that many do) they can be super independent, weather and darkness permitting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here - thanks for the useful info everyone. We used to live in the Pyle/Whitman zone, but as a single parent, I am looking for a more diverse economic parent community, and was told we might be a better fit at Westland/BCC. I am assuming the two school zones are quite similar in quality, except Westland/BCC is more diverse? Are language, sports, music offerings similar at Westland to Pyle for example? thanks!

Westland offers pre-IB and some courses targeted to the Spanish immersion kids coming from Rock Creek Forest ES. Pyle offers Chinese and Introduction to Engineering Design. Sports are similar and both BCC and Whitman have rowing clubs. You can compare course registration lists here. The clusters are very similar.

Westland: https://www2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/westlandms/counseling/registrationinfo/
Pyle: https://www2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/pylems/counseling/regFY2023/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parent of a Westland 8th grader, and 10th grade BCCer. Westland is a the opposite of a pressure cooker. That doesn't start until HS. Principal is great, teachers are hit or miss, as they are everywhere. It's significantly smaller than Pyle, which I think is good for the kids not to be sardined in the hallways. We are very happy that our kid is there!

parent of of a 7th grader. agree with all this. not particularly challenging but that's not my main concern--plenty of time for that in high school. for now, the fact that the school is so small and the social environment much kinder than at other middle schools are huge pluses. it's also nice that most of the kids live close enough to downtown bethesda that they can do a fair bit of independent socializing in person, so rare these days. and as noted the principal is fantastic--incredibly smart and devoted. One thing that she's done that I love is dramatically increase number of after school clubs that are free / non-competitive to get into (unlike the sports teams, which you have to try out for). she says that it's important for kids' happiness for everyone to find their people and to have a group that's independent of classes which are switching all the time. so there's a singing club, a board game club, theater, a book club type thing, intramural sports, and on and on. honestly it's a step up from our area ES

OP here - thanks both PPs. Yes, the fact that it is smaller is appealing to me too.

[Anonymous]

Fun fact- the principal is a former SMOB (student member of the board)

https://www2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/boe/smob/history/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here - thanks for the useful info everyone. We used to live in the Pyle/Whitman zone, but as a single parent, I am looking for a more diverse economic parent community, and was told we might be a better fit at Westland/BCC. I am assuming the two school zones are quite similar in quality, except Westland/BCC is more diverse? Are language, sports, music offerings similar at Westland to Pyle for example? thanks!

You might consider moving to the other part of the B-CC boundary; Silver Creek also feeds to B-CC and is more diverse than Westland.

OP here - thank you, but that would be too far from my office and we are familiar with the Bethesda area, since we previously lived there.

FYI: Silver Creek boundary includes area right by downtown Bethesda. It’s Chevy Chase just east of WI and is walkable to downtown Bethesda and the metro. In Town of Chevy Chase.

[Anonymous]

Should we send our kid to Westland MS or Eastern Humanities Magnet? We just got the letter and must decide by next Monday.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Should we send our kid to Westland MS or Eastern Humanities Magnet? We just got the letter and must decide by next Monday.

What does your kid want to do? They can always transfer back to their home middle school if the magnet isn't for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Should we send our kid to Westland MS or Eastern Humanities Magnet? We just got the letter and must decide by next Monday.

I would tour the school with your child to make the decision. Mine is really only interested in her home school -- as much as I'd love for her to do a magnet, she really isn't interested.