Finding the right pyramid in Silver Spring

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks to all for the helpful replies.

My oldest is in pre-k and frankly, I have no idea how she'll do academically, which makes me risk averse. I don't want to assume that she'll go magnet. My husband and I were academically successful and we are involved parents. Of course, I suspect she will do well in school, but don't all of us think our children are "above-average"? Wherever we end up, I do worry that if she is in the middle of the pack, she'll be given short-shrift.

I will point out here that I have seen many nearby families make housing purchases based on high school quality when their kids aren't even school age (or aren't even born yet), and these attempts to reduce all future educational risk have backfired. They have spent much more on homes because of the rumored quality of a high school their children won't attend for ten or more years into the future. That means ten years of big mortgage payments to finance a high school education that may theoretically be better sometime in the future. If you like a neighborhood and like the elementary school, make a decision based on a shorter time horizon and don't get trapped into a big mortgage.

On the flip side, we bought before our kids were born, thinking this was a starter house. For various reasons, we were unable to move. Now kids are in MS and moving would be tantamount to going to a new town -- all of their friends are here in SS, their social and extracurriculars, etc. It's much harder to move once that happens.

We are happy in Silver Spring and kids are getting a good education but I didn't expect to be here at this point.

[Anonymous]

$650K should buy you a nice house in Rock Creek Forest or Rosemary Hills - probably your best bet if you are really risk-averse.

School pyramids are very much reflected in housing prices. When we were looking we found a very significant difference in price between Rosemary Hills and literally just over the train tracks in Woodside (Woodlin ES - Sligo - Einstein). Woodside is a really lovely neighborhood, the houses generally had much more character, and you certainly got more for your money.

We went the risk-averse route. Sometimes I wonder whether this was the right decision (squished in a small house) but we love the community and schools where we landed. I do agree with the PP who said that as time goes on and your kids are older you may find it a very difficult decision to move for different schools. I feel very connected with the neighborhood I'm in - friends, pool, etc. Would be hard to leave even if we stayed in the BCC cluster but left the neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

Yes, Sligo Creek Elem --> SSIMS --> feeds into Northwood.

Don't know much about Northwood, but also know families happy there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:$650K should buy you a nice house in Rock Creek Forest or Rosemary Hills - probably your best bet if you are really risk-averse.

School pyramids are very much reflected in housing prices. When we were looking we found a very significant difference in price between Rosemary Hills and literally just over the train tracks in Woodside (Woodlin ES - Sligo - Einstein). Woodside is a really lovely neighborhood, the houses generally had much more character, and you certainly got more for your money.

We went the risk-averse route. Sometimes I wonder whether this was the right decision (squished in a small house) but we love the community and schools where we landed. I do agree with the PP who said that as time goes on and your kids are older you may find it a very difficult decision to move for different schools. I feel very connected with the neighborhood I'm in - friends, pool, etc. Would be hard to leave even if we stayed in the BCC cluster but left the neighborhood.

What did you perceive the "risk" to be in the Woodlin/Sligo/Einstein pyramid?

[Anonymous]

This is an anonymous forum so I would hope that people can be honest about these perceived risks. Race and class play a large part. People simply pay more for their homes to be in schools with more white children and fewer black and hispanic children. People may say that the choice is instead about school quality as measured by test scores or behavioral issues, but these factors are highly correlated by race. This is a dilemma everyone lives with, and in my opinion it would be more productive to talk about it openly when we talk about school "quality."

[Anonymous]

Risk-averse poster here.

I felt like probably, most likely, my children would have done well in the Woodlin/Sligo/Einstein pyramid. And, to be honest, we didn't see any "risk" with Woodlin at all. Mostly worried about Sligo or Einstein, particularly if our kids ended up being "average" students in average-track classes. We were not seeking to maximize the number of white classmates. We liked BCC pyramid better than Whitman, Walter Johnson, etc partly because of its greater diversity (and because of IB).

[Anonymous]

Einstein also has an IB program if that matters to anyone else trying to choose between the Woodside and Rosemary Hills neighborhoods.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Risk-averse poster here.

I felt like probably, most likely, my children would have done well in the Woodlin/Sligo/Einstein pyramid. And, to be honest, we didn't see any "risk" with Woodlin at all. Mostly worried about Sligo or Einstein, particularly if our kids ended up being "average" students in average-track classes. We were not seeking to maximize the number of white classmates. We liked BCC pyramid better than Whitman, Walter Johnson, etc partly because of its greater diversity (and because of IB).

What would the consequences be for your kids in "average-track" classes at Sligo and Einstein as opposed to at Westland and BCC?

[Anonymous]

I don't believe that test scores can measure the quality of teaching, but median test scores do show the relative scholastic achievements of peers. Peer influence leads me to see "risk" in average-track classes at Sligo/Einstein versus Westland/BCC. I suspect (but have no way of knowing) that average test scores of IB classes at Einstein are pretty similar to BCC IB classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't believe that test scores can measure the quality of teaching, but median test scores do show the relative scholastic achievements of peers. Peer influence leads me to see "risk" in average-track classes at Sligo/Einstein versus Westland/BCC. I suspect (but have no way of knowing) that average test scores of IB classes at Einstein are pretty similar to BCC IB classes.

What precisely is the "risk"? What consequences will ensue?

You keep referring to risk, but what is the risk exactly? That they will fail, that they will not get into any colleges, that ... what?

[Anonymous]

I'll say it: you can't pick your kid's friends, but you can have control over the environment from which they select their friends. The risks are plenty....some are real, and some are imagined. Average track classes won't challenge your kid, and he will be surrounded by average or borderline average kids. That might turn out fine, or it might be terrible. I had friends who left our private high school for public and let's just say it didn't end well.

[Anonymous]

NP, but I still don't understand what the risk is- your average kid will be with other average kids? BCC average kids are somehow less average than Einstein average kids? Average white kids are ok, but average black and Latino kids are risky? I truly don't get what you are saying.

[Anonymous]

Yes, that's exactly what the poster is saying. "Average" black and latino kids are more likely to expose their precious snowflake to drugs, gangs, violence, etc, hence the "risk".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP, but I still don't understand what the risk is- your average kid will be with other average kids? BCC average kids are somehow less average than Einstein average kids? Average white kids are ok, but average black and Latino kids are risky? I truly don't get what you are saying.

I do not get it either.

[Anonymous]

NP, are we pretending that environment doesn't influence some kids negatively and therefore a responsible parent will try not to expose their child to that environment?

It's all about maximizing opportunities to succeed for many parents.