Where in Bethesda would you...

[Anonymous]

Not OP, but do any of the Bethesda or Chevy Chase schools offer smaller classes (like under 25?) We are going to probably chase school districts for 1st grade, downsize from our home in Rockville to a pill box in Bethesda or Chevy Chase. Which schools are really worth this? (Wyngate? Bradley Hills? Burning Tree? Any others?)

[Anonymous]

Our family has had a very positive experience at Wyngate, but I'm certain you can find similar comments from families at the other public elementary schools in Bethesda as well. I've never heard negative comments about any of them, frankly.

[Anonymous]

To find out average class sizes, go to:

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/

Then pick the school you're interested in, and click on its "at a glance PDF"

from that you can see average class sizes:
Ashburton: kindergarten=22.5, 1-3=22.7, 4-5=24.3
Bradley Hills: kindergarten=20.5, 1-3=21.7, 4-5=20.5
Wyngate: kindergarten=21.2, 1-3=24.7, 4-5=24.3
etc., etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not OP, but do any of the Bethesda or Chevy Chase schools offer smaller classes (like under 25?) We are going to probably chase school districts for 1st grade, downsize from our home in Rockville to a pill box in Bethesda or Chevy Chase. Which schools are really worth this? (Wyngate? Bradley Hills? Burning Tree? Any others?)

26 is the legal max class size in Kindergarden for the county. My dd at Wyngate started the year at 23 and they've since added one student. It's really sort of luck of the draw as to exactly how many kids per class in your year. They only schools in the county that are sure to have less students/class are those with a good number of "disadvantaged" students. I don't know the rules exactly but it doesn't impact any of the ESs in in Bethesda. I learned recently that Bradley Hills is a much smaller school in terms of overall population than Wyngate, which matters to some.

I haven't heard great things about the ES system for the East Bethesda neighborhood many plugged above. It's a great location but the kids go to Rosemary Hills elementary K-3; then some go to Bethesda ES and Some North Chevy Chase I think. I've heard people complain about the logistics of this sort of unusual part of the system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:26 is the legal max class size in Kindergarden for the county.

Is there a max class size for non-kindergarten classes? Our school is Westbrook and some of the classes are at 30+.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not OP, but do any of the Bethesda or Chevy Chase schools offer smaller classes (like under 25?) We are going to probably chase school districts for 1st grade, downsize from our home in Rockville to a pill box in Bethesda or Chevy Chase. Which schools are really worth this? (Wyngate? Bradley Hills? Burning Tree? Any others?)

26 is the legal max class size in Kindergarden for the county. My dd at Wyngate started the year at 23 and they've since added one student. It's really sort of luck of the draw as to exactly how many kids per class in your year. They only schools in the county that are sure to have less students/class are those with a good number of "disadvantaged" students. I don't know the rules exactly but it doesn't impact any of the ESs in in Bethesda. I learned recently that Bradley Hills is a much smaller school in terms of overall population than Wyngate, which matters to some.

I haven't heard great things about the ES system for the East Bethesda neighborhood many plugged above. It's a great location but the kids go to Rosemary Hills elementary K-3; then some go to Bethesda ES and Some North Chevy Chase I think. I've heard people complain about the logistics of this sort of unusual part of the system.

True. But a lot of people like the schools and the fact that the younger kids are separate from the older ones.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not OP, but do any of the Bethesda or Chevy Chase schools offer smaller classes (like under 25?) We are going to probably chase school districts for 1st grade, downsize from our home in Rockville to a pill box in Bethesda or Chevy Chase. Which schools are really worth this? (Wyngate? Bradley Hills? Burning Tree? Any others?)

Rock Creek Forest Elementary which is located in Chevy Chase has smaller class sizes, I believe it's about 16 or 17. The school has a Spanish immersion program and also the English program which is referred to as the "English Academy." The small class sizes are for the English Academy and I believe it is because the school has a higher proportion of students from non-English speaking families (they aren't allowed in the Spanish immersion program). From all accounts, the school is on the up and up and has a new principal who gets high marks from the students, parents and the school system. I live in the neighborhood and several years ago most parents who could afford to, sent their kids to private or parochial school or prayed to get into the Spanish immersion program. This seems to have changed in the past 2-3 years where now a lot of those same types of parents (hate to say it but the wealthier, professional parents) are sending their kids there. I am. Houses in the neighborhood are less expensive than in the rest of CC.