pyle vs westland - which to choose?

[Anonymous]

My child has been very happy at Pyle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I immensely prefer the walkability and socio-economic diversity of downtown Bethesda, BCC high school, and the relatively small and sheltered atmosphere (relatively being the operative word) of Westland middle school.

BUT

BCC has had 4 lockdowns in as many years. The building, in the downtown and with a ton of exterior doors, is never 100% secure. Last year someone swatted BCC during AP exams and called in a bomb threat, which resulted in police with tactical gear and canine units to search the school for hours and ask kids to leave classrooms with their hands up. Last week, there was a fight in the park near the school and two shots were fired (no one was hurt). One of the shooters goes to BCC, and fear that he would re-enter the school with his weapon prompted another lockdown.

Socio-economic diversity and easy downtown access comes with risks. There are safety issues in all MCPS high schools, don't get me wrong. There have been knife fights at Walter Johnson and Whitman over the years. But the frequency of security threats differs between schools, and when comparing all the Bethesda-area public high schools together... BCC is the most troublesome one. There are even more problems in certain lower-income high schools to the east; but we're talking just in wealthy neighborhoods, ones in which the community expects a safe learning environment.

Pros and cons.

Our much lower income school has had far fewer issues.

[Anonymous]

Why would a middle school be the deciding factor where you live. This doesn’t seem like a real question.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why would a middle school be the deciding factor where you live. This doesn’t seem like a real question.

because middle school feeds into certain high school and we are at middle school level right now.

[Anonymous]

BCC is kind of like an inner city public school for Bethesda/Silver Spring kids. Huge mix of socioeconomics and not in a good way.
Choose Whitman/Pyle.

[Anonymous]

OP, BCC has an IB program, if that makes a difference. We are at Westland, and it is ok, but I think Pyle is stronger and Whitman also stronger and less lockdowns, many ambitious kids. I have heard that Whitman is a bit of a pressure cooker though. So, I am watching how things are going at BCC (kid is in 7th grade), and if needed, will move to Whitman zone later.

[Anonymous]

I have a kid at westland and a kid at BCC. Reasonably satisfied with both.

That said, MCPS will drive you crazy with all the terrible decisions they make.

[Anonymous]

I've had kids at Pyle/Whitman. We are generally pleased with the education - big schools mean lots of course choices and extracurriculars, but probably same is true at Westland/BCC. I will say Whitman is high pressure - kids put a lot of emphasis on high grades and rigor, driving each other to take more APs, get higher SAT scores, get into more prestigious colleges/univ, etc. I say this not to humble brag but because my kids reported the environment was academically stressful. YMMV.

[Anonymous]

BCC had its second lockdown in two weeks so, I’d consider a different cluster if I was buying again. There are plenty houses that are zoned for Pyle/whitman that are a short walk to downtown/metro/restaurants. We are unfortunately on the BCC side of the line so had we bought a block over we’d be Pyle/whitman.

[Anonymous]

Brownie academy - 100%

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:BCC is kind of like an inner city public school for Bethesda/Silver Spring kids. Huge mix of socioeconomics and not in a good way.
Choose Whitman/Pyle.

Gross.

[Anonymous]

Boundary study could change all this anyway. Pick the neighborhood you like best.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:BCC is kind of like an inner city public school for Bethesda/Silver Spring kids. Huge mix of socioeconomics and not in a good way.
Choose Whitman/Pyle.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BCC is kind of like an inner city public school for Bethesda/Silver Spring kids. Huge mix of socioeconomics and not in a good way.
Choose Whitman/Pyle.

+1

Still gross.

[Anonymous]

I would choose Pyle since the old AP from Pyle is now at Westland.