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Schools and Education General Discussion
What's the best elementary school in MoCo?
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Anonymous
| RE the commute: It takes me an hour by car on most days -- a little less on Fridays, school holidays, or during the summer. It is what it is. I can't afford a house in Potomac, Chevy Chase, Bethesda or the good part of Kensington -- but I can afford a very large and completely renovated 4 bdrm home on the Olney/Brookeville border in an awesome school district. The area is Family-Town, USA with kid-friendly restaurants, an awesome library and community centers and swimming pools, wonderful sports programs through the Olney Boys and Girls Club, etc. Many of the neighborhoods are built with walking paths/trails, parks and green spaces. Generally speaking, residents are well-educated, upper middle class to wealthy, family-oriented folks who aren't hoity toity or snobbish. I haven't encountered any keeping up with the Joneses attitudes yet. |
Anonymous
Of course, some people don't want to live in far-out Olney or Brookeville. Many of those people want to live close in but don't want the attitude of Bethesda or Chevy Chase. Takoma Park Elementary School is an excellent school, despite having a lot of diversity and a good number of kids receiving FARMS. And some parents actually want their children to experience diversity in their elementary school. |
Anonymous
| PP, are you aware that your post expresses an attitude of its own? And I live in Takoma Park, too. |
Anonymous
Of course I am. I don't live in Takoma Park myself but it seems attractive. I just get tired of all the posters here who try to obscure the fact that they just don't want their kids to go to school with poor kids. Or who think racial diversity is great as long as the diverse people in question confine their diversity to race/ethnicity and not economic status. Sorry for my sniping. |
Anonymous
| To the PP: I happen to think diversity is a great thing -- but not to the point that my kid is the only native English speaker in his class and is one of a handful of kids in the grade level not on FARMs. This would have been the case at the neighborhood school in Silver Spring in our old neighbhorhood. We moved out to Olney to a neighborhood that is diverse both racially and socioeconomically (there are MPDUs throughout Olney and section 8 voucher holders as well) -- it's just more balanced. There's nothing wrong with this. Parents don't need to be guilt-tripped into sending their kids to sub-par schools for street cred with the MoCo liberals. |
Anonymous
| Not PP, but I know the people you mean. They keep trying to argue that racial/ethnic diversity is the same as socio-economic diversity. |
Anonymous
I'm the PP who mentioned this. I just spent the weekend with a bunch of "MoCo liberals" and NWDC liberals who were earnestly discussing the virtue of diversity. . . as long as it comes with graduate degrees from good schools and upper-middle-class incomes. I guess I feel a little cynical, reflecting on that. Again, sorry to snipe. |
Anonymous
Not true. I want the best education for my squirts, if that means with "poor" kids, then so be it. |
Anonymous
| You should see some of the other threads on this board. "Sure, we have lots of scholarship kids who only earn $150,000 per year." |
Anonymous
| It comes down to balance. There are schools in the 20906 zip code that are nearly 100% hispanic -- is that diverse? There are schools where nearly 90% of the kids receive FARMS -- is that diverse? |
Anonymous
| No. Agreed, balance is good. |
Anonymous
| OP -- go to the montgomery county schools website. They have summaries on each school, breaking down % of FARMS, ethnicity, etc. I think what is very telling is the suspension rate. If it's high, that's not a good sign for an elementary school -- too much focus on discipline problems and not enough on education. |
Anonymous
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Just to clarify, "diverse" schools like Takoma Park Elementary are "diverse" in socio-economic terms as well. There is not a high FARMS ratio (percentage of students from lower-income families qualifying for reduced lunches) but that population exists in TPES as well. It is enough for the school to get Title I funds that reduce class sizes to 15-17 per teacher and that allows for a lot more attention for all students. "Better" elementary schools in Montgomery County have up to 26 students per class. The OP might look for other Title I schools with lower FARMS ratios. These schools provide the maximum resources to the individual student along with diverse student populations. |
Anonymous
| Woodlin Elementary in Silver Spring is a hidden gem. Great principal, huge parent involvement. |
Anonymous
Get over it....MCPS has one of the best schools systems in the COUNTRY! I worked for years in the poorest school in the county (99%FARMS and failing test scores) and I would have enrolled my kids at that school in a heartbeat if they were school age...yes, even though we live in Bethesda. The teachers had heart, all teachers had master's degrees and were highly motivated and the kids and community knew how much we cared. Test scores went through the roof! It is important that our kids know that not everyone makes $100,00 plus a year. I guess if your definition of good = having money then yes, some are not "good" |