RM vs Wootton

[Anonymous]

RM does have IB, but the IB students are very segregated from the rest of the population. Unless your IB kid plays sports, they will only be with IB kids.

If you are in the "general population" at RM (AP, honors, on-level) it is a typical HS. I loved RM and was not an IB student. I played sports year round and had a fantastic high school experience. Yes, there are African Americans and Hispanics (gasp!) but it was a great school and had opportunities for everyone. I know several teachers there now and they all love it.

Wootton is also a great school but VERY competitive and stressful for the kids. The sports teams are good but what I love about WHS is that every kid finds their niche at the school. There are something like 150 clubs, plus sports teams, so there really is something for everyone. However, it is cut throat and there is more pressure there than at RM.

It really comes down to what your son/daughter is interested in and what academic path they would take.

[Anonymous]

Here are the "At a Glance" reports from both schools. As you can see the FARMS rate is higher at RM than Wootton and it is more diverse, but I think diversity is a good thing, unlike the racist pro-Wootton posters on this site. I graduated from RM and loved that I had a more diverse experience growing up than my friends in college had.

Wootton:
http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/04234.pdf

RM:
http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/04201.pdf

[Anonymous]

Wootton is heavily Asian far out of proportion to percentage of Asians who live in the school district.

[Anonymous]

RM looks like it has a delightfully, well balanced student population!

Are non-IB students allowed to take IB classes ala carte at RM?

20% FARMS rate ain't nothing.

-signed happy DCC parent

[Anonymous]

Didn't RM have the 18yr old sophomore banging a 14yr old in the hallway this past school year? Sounds lovely.

[Anonymous]

The fact is that you're going to have to deal with people of different SES and ethnic backgrounds as an adult. If you don't have any relationship with people from these backgrounds growing up you're more likely to have negative perceptions as an adult. Going to an all White/Asian upper middle-class school isn't necessarily going to cause problems, but it really shouldn't be scary to have a higher percentage of black and hispanic students, some of whom are lower middle-class.

Both are great schools and I would suspect both groups are less snobbish than Whitman and Churchill students, many of whom are insufferable.

[Anonymous]

RM has a nice new school building too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:RM looks like it has a delightfully, well balanced student population!

Are non-IB students allowed to take IB classes ala carte at RM?

20% FARMS rate ain't nothing.

-signed happy DCC parent

I don't know if they can take any IB class or only certain ones, but my non-IB child is taking an IB class this year.

[Anonymous]

I really hate the way the non-IB students at RM are referred to as the "general population." Does it make those students feel like they are in a prison ward?

I know there are always kids who take more high-level classes than others, but I have a strong aversion to schools with these embedded magnet programs like RM and Blair, so would go with Wootton. Just my two cents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I really hate the way the non-IB students at RM are referred to as the "general population." Does it make those students feel like they are in a prison ward?

I know there are always kids who take more high-level classes than others, but I have a strong aversion to schools with these embedded magnet programs like RM and Blair, so would go with Wootton. Just my two cents.

Wootton is no different with AP and honors classes that are used to self segregate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Didn't RM have the 18yr old sophomore banging a 14yr old in the hallway this past school year? Sounds lovely.

Similar thing happened at the very prestigious private school I taught at. Hormones happen. I'm not sure that says anything about the quality of teaching.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Racial and SES diversity are great IMO. Quality of teaching, class size, etc are things that really matter to me. Thanks for the informative posts, PPs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:RM has a huge Hispanic population. Twinbrook feeds into it. Wootton has higher SAT scores and motivation even when factoring IB. It was placed in RM to increase their poor test scores. But if you aren't in IB then yuck.

Wooton is better at most sports too.

You're a racist prick. Non-Hispanic in the Twinbrook area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:RM has a huge Hispanic population. Twinbrook feeds into it. Wootton has higher SAT scores and motivation even when factoring IB. It was placed in RM to increase their poor test scores. But if you aren't in IB then yuck.

It is the exactly this attitude that I seek to avoid by sending my kids to RM. I care about human decency more than SAT scores. The IB program was put in to RM about 30 years ago..not exactly a recent decision. IB kids are somewhat separated..except for clubs/sports/PE and electives...the same way the top students are at any school. And then in 11th and 12th grade, neighborhood kids have the option to apply to the very same program but the competition is much lower.

[Anonymous]

RM had lower SAT scores and other indicators before the IB magnet was located there. But it's one case where co-locating a magnet has helped improved the school overall. It's a good solid school.