The Best Elementary School in MoCo

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I would think the IB program at College Gardens would follow the IB program, and not follow the standard county curriculum.

I would check this out carefully, rather than making assumptions. MCPS is the master at giving with one hand (here's a great elementary IB/great books/advanced math program) and taking with the other (which we will be using for enrichment when there is time).

[Anonymous]

Elementary and Middle Years IB is a completely different beast than IB at the high school level. There is no "curriculum" per se...it's very loosy-goosy IMHO. The standard county elementary and MS curriculum with some multi-culti thrown in. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but no guarantee of quality or rigor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Elementary and Middle Years IB is a completely different beast than IB at the high school level. There is no "curriculum" per se...it's very loosy-goosy IMHO. The standard county elementary and MS curriculum with some multi-culti thrown in. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but no guarantee of quality or rigor.

In general, IB is a philosophy, not a curriculum guide. Although the high school level IB courses are standardized b/c they follow strict protocols regarding the assessments, the theme connecting these courses is globalization. So at the elementary and middle levels (PYP and MYP - And btw, MYP is now at the HS level in grades 9 and 10), giving them the skills to think critically and to become resourceful learners on their path to self-discovery in terms of HOW they learn is the heart of PYP and MYP.

Now, how this philosophy translates into lesson planning all depends upon the teachers and how much training/experience they bring to the classroom. So yes, it can be loose in how it's structured. Many teaches who don't get the big picture often state that PYP/MYP is an add on when really it's just good teaching. So if you visit a school and see that children are making connections among content areas and are self-reliant and aware of their own cognitive processes, you're in a good pre-IB school.

[Anonymous]

Stone Mill Elementary in North Potomac. Awesome school and part of the Wootton cluster.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Stone Mill Elementary in North Potomac. Awesome school and part of the Wootton cluster.

Could you be more specific? What makes it awesome?

[Anonymous]

I think the acceptance rate for Richard Montgomery was about 1 in 7 last year. So moving to the area isn't a guarantee of admittance, just an FYI.