Any Baltimore parents? Roland Park Elem?
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Anonymous
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OP, definitely talk to parents at the school. I have friends with kids at both RP and MW and I mostly hear complaints, but they do have their kids at the schools (for most it seems a cost savings measure as they can't afford to send their kids to private all the way through). At RP, I hear that the neighborhood kids and bus kids are like two ships passing in the night and that creates issues as there is not enough integration of the groups (which creates some obvious resentments). The other complaints I hear is about the curriculum being somewhat ad hoc and as mentioned earlier class size. There are also complaints that there is not enough challenge in the curriculum for more advanced kids. All of the folks I know plan on leaving for private/catholic schools after elementary (some after third).
I'd also ask the principal how she expects the most recent round of budget cuts to hit the school. Look at issues like classroom resources. As I'm sure you are already aware, the recently passed budget cuts the state's aid to Baltimore substantially. Wealthier neighborhoods are easier targets for budget cuts, especially with the political pressure to funnel more resources to the school's most affected by the riots. There is a self selection going on. The people who are truly committed to public schools chose the county because the school system is so much better funded and they can go from K-12. |
Anonymous
| My nephew currently attends RP elementary. They are basically happy with it. I have the impression from my sister that there is fairly high parent involvement. |
Anonymous
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I'm in the city and zoned for Waverly. My kids are at a charter school, but I know four different families whose kids were granted out-of-bounds admission to RPES. (Apparently they are cutting back on OOB admissions due to class sizes.) For the most part, those families seem happy with RPES -- their kids are in the k-3rd grade ranges. The parents do complain about the class size, and I know one mother was very frustrated with 1st grade (not sure which teacher.)
It's a big school. For instance, my friend told me that there were 27 Elsas in the k-2 Halloween parade! No joke! From what I understand, the PTO is very active. If you live in Roland Park (which is a lovely community) and your kids go to RPES, you are likely to know a lot of people in and around Baltimore. |
Anonymous
This is an interesting measure of school size. 
But there could easily be 27 Elsas in the K-2 Halloween parade even if there were only one class of 25 in each grade. 25 x 3 = 75. Assume half girls, so 37 or 38 girls. 27/38 Elsas = 71% Elsas among the girls. I can definitely imagine that happening! |
Anonymous
Class size is around 30, all grades. But the number of classes per grade is not high. Here is only review on Great Schools from last year: When we first entered Roland Park Elementary School in 2003, it was a moderate-sized academically challenging neighborhood school. Our kids were happy and we felt blessed to have found one of the only decent schools in Baltimore City. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said 10 years later. In fact, we pulled our last child from Roland Park after 5th grade and transfered to private school. Through a combination of over-crowding, decline in academic rigor, poor school management on the part of Baltimore City Public Schools, terrible curriculum changes, and declining facilities, this school has had a fundamental negative shift during our 10 years of attendance. Teacher morale is low (I'm a former employee as well) and student behavior is intolerable (by my standards, which admittedly are high). Many great teachers continue to struggle on and do the best they can - my hats are off to them, as they are the one bright spot in this once great school. YMMV OP. But this thread should give you a sense of what questions to ask. |
Anonymous
We decided we wanted to pay more in taxes and have lower quality schools. Just kidding OP. Roland park is lovely. But unless you work at Eddies and don't have a car, commuting really isn't the problem when the county line is literally a mile away. On the upside, city school uniforms will save you big time clothes battles in the am. Art program at RPEM seems good. But hopefully you will be walking because pickup and drop off seem hellish. |
Anonymous
Not OP, but I am one of the previous Baltimore posters. I totally understand the appeal of RP over county living, even considering the (actual) difference in taxes and the (perceived) difference in schools. |
Anonymous
Not OP either, but I think West Towson and Stoneleigh offer way more in terms of walkability than RP. |
Anonymous
That depends on what you want to walk to, doesn't it? |
Anonymous
| Exactly PP. If close proximity to Starbucks is important, RPEMS would be at the top of my list. |
Anonymous
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I'm the mt washington poster. My husband takes MARC each day to DC - jumps on 83 and is at Penn Stationin 10 min. If we lived in Stoneleigh, it would be an additional 15 min each way (northern Pkwy is a disaster). I do t think you can blithely say that the difference in commute is essentially meaningless. That said, we have kids in private schools so I don't worry about the class sizes.
OP - you can look at Redeemer and Grace for kindergartner, which keeps class sizes lower for one more yr for reasonable price. Also, greenspring Montessori is just south of St. Paul's and a good $10k cheaper than the typical B'more private. Good luck - this is a lovely area. |
Anonymous
If OP is moving to Baltimore to commute to DC, good luck to her, hope she enjoys spending two plus hours a day commuting. But your estimate is totally off, I live in Ruxton and commuted to DC for two plus years. It takes 15 minutes to get to the train station parking lot from my house, door to door, during rush hour, barring a traffic blocking accident. |
Anonymous
| My husband's been doing the commute for years, as have many other parents at the privates we're in/have been in. Sit in the quiet car and get work done. Not a big deal. |
Anonymous
Not a big deal if you don't mind spending close to three hours a day commuting, most people do mind and quit after a year or to. |
Anonymous
How did this become a discussion about commuting to DC? OP never mentioned where she or her partner work. |