What are differences between MoCo and DC public schools?

[Anonymous]

I have 3 kids in an upper NWDC public elementary and 1 will go to our DCPS middle school next year. We've been very, very happy with our kids' experience. I have a large number of friends with kids in Mont. Co. elementary schools (Westbrook, Wood Acres, Rosemary Hills, etc) and my kids' class sizes in DCPS have all been smaller, sometimes impressively so (for example 18 kids vs. 29). Our PARCC scores are higher than in these schools as well (and I've never noticed any teaching to the test). My kids have never done worksheets or busy work. One recently took the private school admissions test for middle school (SSAT) and did extremely well which again assures me that he/she learned what she/he was supposed to be learning all along (this test tests vocabulary, reading comprehension and math). We ended up deciding not to apply to private middle school because we honestly haven't heard anything but great things about our public middle school.

The kids in our public school are all bright, inquisitive, well-rounded kids. Exactly what you'd expect from a cohort of NW DC overachievers. The parents are doctors, law partners, journalists, professors, educators, etc. My kids play travel sports with many NWDC private school kids and there isn't much if any difference between the parents of those kids and the parents at our public school (minus a few extreme wealth outliers at the private schools). We all went to the same colleges, have the same careers and want the best for our kids. I often feel like the only thing that differentiates us is that half of us chose private and half chose public. The rest of our lives are the same.

As to gifted kids--I have ver bright kids. I don't have phenoms. But honestly, I don't know any of these kids aside from the child of a coworker who lives in Indiana (who was in Calc 2 in 4th grade!..... but I digress). My kids have been very, very well served in our local public. If we were to move to Montgomery County, I very highly doubt that my kids would applying to the math/science magnet high schools at Blair or Poolesville. They're not kids who are doing Algebra in 4th grade and need Calculus by 7th. They don't like math that much. They're not doing it in their spare time for fun. If you have a kid like that then you will probably be better served in Mont. Co. than in DCPS. Shy of that, you'll be okay. Your child will be surrounded by many very bright kids with every resources available to them since birth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just move to Bethesda. Don't over think if you can afford it.

I"m not sure Bethesda would be my first choice, but you are totally right about the overthinking.

OP - pick an old, well established neighborhood where the kids use the high schools. Or, just get your head around the possibility of private schooling.

Don't pick somewhere too far from transportation.

PP what would your first choice be if not Bethesda?

Me, I prefer south of the Potomac. Or I'd pick DC and pay for private.

[Anonymous]

The free prek is a big difference, though I was in a meeting today with someone high up the food chain in MD Ed, and they indicated that universal prek should be starting in MD in 2 years.

[Anonymous]

I'd move to MD if there's a high indication of free pre-k!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DCPS is a huge, terrible mess. There really is no other appropriate description, OP. The elementaries are good in NW, because parents there are wealthy and educated, but it goes downhill from there fast.

MCPS is considered to be one of the top public school systems in the nation, and also one of the largest, which means there will be some unevenness. While being vastly different from DCPS at the middle and high school level, it doesn't mean education there is superb, because the US is sadly not in the top group of nations with the best education systems. The privates aren't great either (ie, they focus on extras like athletics instead of paying their teachers more, which means that they're not $40k a year better than publics).

Between them, the choice is a no-brainer. You also need to parent your child adequately at home, enrich and fill in what you think might be lacking at school.

Good God - talk about an over generalization. We are in Upper NW and are even happier with Deal then we were our JKLM - and I think it's better because those so called wealthy and educated parents aren't so involved. Yes, high SES matters but more in what type of home environment the kids have. We have lots of friends at Wilson and most are happy with it. Is it the perfect academic school? No. But, it offers diversity and learning early on that life is far from perfect. And there are other options at that age too - Walls, Latin, Basis...Banneker..

From what I read on these boards - I'm not sure MoCo is much better. Read the suicide thread with all the talk of pressure in HS - from talking to my friends that is not as prevalent at Wilson or Walls. Yes, DCPS bureaucracy is not great but at least our governor isn't making us go back to school after Labor Day. And as gentrification increases, the lower SES is getting pushed out to the Maryland and Virginia areas. Class sizes sound bigger there. Ours at JKLMM is usually around 25.

There is no perfect answer though. Do you value walkability? Being in the city?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCPS is a huge, terrible mess. There really is no other appropriate description, OP. The elementaries are good in NW, because parents there are wealthy and educated, but it goes downhill from there fast.

MCPS is considered to be one of the top public school systems in the nation, and also one of the largest, which means there will be some unevenness. While being vastly different from DCPS at the middle and high school level, it doesn't mean education there is superb, because the US is sadly not in the top group of nations with the best education systems. The privates aren't great either (ie, they focus on extras like athletics instead of paying their teachers more, which means that they're not $40k a year better than publics).

Between them, the choice is a no-brainer. You also need to parent your child adequately at home, enrich and fill in what you think might be lacking at school.

Good God - talk about an over generalization. We are in Upper NW and are even happier with Deal then we were our JKLM - and I think it's better because those so called wealthy and educated parents aren't so involved. Yes, high SES matters but more in what type of home environment the kids have. We have lots of friends at Wilson and most are happy with it. Is it the perfect academic school? No. But, it offers diversity and learning early on that life is far from perfect. And there are other options at that age too - Walls, Latin, Basis...Banneker..

From what I read on these boards - I'm not sure MoCo is much better. Read the suicide thread with all the talk of pressure in HS - from talking to my friends that is not as prevalent at Wilson or Walls. Yes, DCPS bureaucracy is not great but at least our governor isn't making us go back to school after Labor Day. And as gentrification increases, the lower SES is getting pushed out to the Maryland and Virginia areas. Class sizes sound bigger there. Ours at JKLMM is usually around 25.

There is no perfect answer though. Do you value walkability? Being in the city?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCPS is a huge, terrible mess. There really is no other appropriate description, OP. The elementaries are good in NW, because parents there are wealthy and educated, but it goes downhill from there fast.

MCPS is considered to be one of the top public school systems in the nation, and also one of the largest, which means there will be some unevenness. While being vastly different from DCPS at the middle and high school level, it doesn't mean education there is superb, because the US is sadly not in the top group of nations with the best education systems. The privates aren't great either (ie, they focus on extras like athletics instead of paying their teachers more, which means that they're not $40k a year better than publics).

Between them, the choice is a no-brainer. You also need to parent your child adequately at home, enrich and fill in what you think might be lacking at school.

Good God - talk about an over generalization. We are in Upper NW and are even happier with Deal then we were our JKLM - and I think it's better because those so called wealthy and educated parents aren't so involved. Yes, high SES matters but more in what type of home environment the kids have. We have lots of friends at Wilson and most are happy with it. Is it the perfect academic school? No. But, it offers diversity and learning early on that life is far from perfect. And there are other options at that age too - Walls, Latin, Basis...Banneker..

From what I read on these boards - I'm not sure MoCo is much better. Read the suicide thread with all the talk of pressure in HS - from talking to my friends that is not as prevalent at Wilson or Walls. Yes, DCPS bureaucracy is not great but at least our governor isn't making us go back to school after Labor Day. And as gentrification increases, the lower SES is getting pushed out to the Maryland and Virginia areas. Class sizes sound bigger there. Ours at JKLMM is usually around 25.

There is no perfect answer though. Do you value walkability? Being in the city?

lol.. Good God talk about over generalization. Do you think all this pressure in HS exists in every MCPS HS? MCPS is huge, with very different kinds of HS all over the county.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCPS is a huge, terrible mess. There really is no other appropriate description, OP. The elementaries are good in NW, because parents there are wealthy and educated, but it goes downhill from there fast.

MCPS is considered to be one of the top public school systems in the nation, and also one of the largest, which means there will be some unevenness. While being vastly different from DCPS at the middle and high school level, it doesn't mean education there is superb, because the US is sadly not in the top group of nations with the best education systems. The privates aren't great either (ie, they focus on extras like athletics instead of paying their teachers more, which means that they're not $40k a year better than publics).

Between them, the choice is a no-brainer. You also need to parent your child adequately at home, enrich and fill in what you think might be lacking at school.

Good God - talk about an over generalization. We are in Upper NW and are even happier with Deal then we were our JKLM - and I think it's better because those so called wealthy and educated parents aren't so involved. Yes, high SES matters but more in what type of home environment the kids have. We have lots of friends at Wilson and most are happy with it. Is it the perfect academic school? No. But, it offers diversity and learning early on that life is far from perfect. And there are other options at that age too - Walls, Latin, Basis...Banneker..

From what I read on these boards - I'm not sure MoCo is much better. Read the suicide thread with all the talk of pressure in HS - from talking to my friends that is not as prevalent at Wilson or Walls. Yes, DCPS bureaucracy is not great but at least our governor isn't making us go back to school after Labor Day. And as gentrification increases, the lower SES is getting pushed out to the Maryland and Virginia areas. Class sizes sound bigger there. Ours at JKLMM is usually around 25.

There is no perfect answer though. Do you value walkability? Being in the city?

Even with the Labor Day start MCPS rocks AP and SAT scores. If i were the poster who screams DCPS has options I wouldnt count on those for high school. DCPS just posted their average scores for AP test and SAT scores.