HoCo with Kids

[Anonymous]

We recently moved into the neighborhood near Hammond Elementary/Middle School to get our kids into Hammond ES. We've been very happy with the choice. The neighborhood is very family-friendly and the families with children are very open and friendly. The school has been great for our kids. The kids are walkers and we both periodically work from home so we can walk to the kids to school or home. During good weather, after school we stop by the playground near the school and there are a number of families that regularly stop by. The parents are a mix of SAH and WAH and everyone is very friendly. Our kids have done well and are very happy in this environment and so are we. We are currently zoned for Atholton HS which is a good school, but we have several years before we get there and HCPSS is known for rezoning every 2 years in order to shift students from overcrowded schools to under capacity schools, so who knows if we'll stay zoned for AHS.

We haven't been here for a summer yet (moved in around the start of the school year), but many of the neighborhood parents have mentioned that a lot of the neighborhood kids go to the neighborhood pool over the summer and there is a lot of community with the kids who go to the neighborhood school and pool. It's expensive, and we have already have access to another private pool, but we're considering joining just so that our kids bond more with the neighborhood kids.

Several of the HCPSS high schools have robotics teams:
https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/howard/columbia/ph-ho-cf-robotics-regional-competition-0409-20150406-story.html

And apparently, our middle school (Hammond MS) has a good robotics team:
https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/howard/laurel/ph-ho-n-north-laurel-0130-20140122-story.html

My kids participate in an after school activity through Howard County Parks and Recreations (it's at the ES), called Lego Robotics. They build robotic parts/bodies out of Legos and attach them to motors that are connected to a laptop and they program the laptop to do different actions with the motors. It's fun but the second session is a repeat of the first session (with a different instructor) so they're getting bored. But we'll see if the third session is different. But it's something that the 1st-4th graders can do with robotics. And if there was enough interest, the school could try to start a 6-10 yo robotics team (I notice the MD First program has a Junior Robotics competition for ages 6-10).

[Anonymous]

Curious if anyone might be able to comment on Phelps Luck or long reach more generally. A PP mentioned Phelps Luck ES, and there are some positive online reviews.

I am also curious about Longfellow ES.

Thanks for all the specific suggestions and for the robotics info! We're taking ourselves on driving and walking outings and using your suggestions as starting points.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We recently moved into the neighborhood near Hammond Elementary/Middle School to get our kids into Hammond ES. We've been very happy with the choice. The neighborhood is very family-friendly and the families with children are very open and friendly. The school has been great for our kids. The kids are walkers and we both periodically work from home so we can walk to the kids to school or home. During good weather, after school we stop by the playground near the school and there are a number of families that regularly stop by. The parents are a mix of SAH and WAH and everyone is very friendly. Our kids have done well and are very happy in this environment and so are we. We are currently zoned for Atholton HS which is a good school, but we have several years before we get there and HCPSS is known for rezoning every 2 years in order to shift students from overcrowded schools to under capacity schools, so who knows if we'll stay zoned for AHS.

We haven't been here for a summer yet (moved in around the start of the school year), but many of the neighborhood parents have mentioned that a lot of the neighborhood kids go to the neighborhood pool over the summer and there is a lot of community with the kids who go to the neighborhood school and pool. It's expensive, and we have already have access to another private pool, but we're considering joining just so that our kids bond more with the neighborhood kids.

Several of the HCPSS high schools have robotics teams:
https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/howard/columbia/ph-ho-cf-robotics-regional-competition-0409-20150406-story.html

And apparently, our middle school (Hammond MS) has a good robotics team:
https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/howard/laurel/ph-ho-n-north-laurel-0130-20140122-story.html

My kids participate in an after school activity through Howard County Parks and Recreations (it's at the ES), called Lego Robotics. They build robotic parts/bodies out of Legos and attach them to motors that are connected to a laptop and they program the laptop to do different actions with the motors. It's fun but the second session is a repeat of the first session (with a different instructor) so they're getting bored. But we'll see if the third session is different. But it's something that the 1st-4th graders can do with robotics. And if there was enough interest, the school could try to start a 6-10 yo robotics team (I notice the MD First program has a Junior Robotics competition for ages 6-10).

A few areas seem to feed into Hammond Elementary. Would you mind sharing the name of your neighborhood?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We recently moved into the neighborhood near Hammond Elementary/Middle School to get our kids into Hammond ES. We've been very happy with the choice. The neighborhood is very family-friendly and the families with children are very open and friendly. The school has been great for our kids. The kids are walkers and we both periodically work from home so we can walk to the kids to school or home. During good weather, after school we stop by the playground near the school and there are a number of families that regularly stop by. The parents are a mix of SAH and WAH and everyone is very friendly. Our kids have done well and are very happy in this environment and so are we. We are currently zoned for Atholton HS which is a good school, but we have several years before we get there and HCPSS is known for rezoning every 2 years in order to shift students from overcrowded schools to under capacity schools, so who knows if we'll stay zoned for AHS.

We haven't been here for a summer yet (moved in around the start of the school year), but many of the neighborhood parents have mentioned that a lot of the neighborhood kids go to the neighborhood pool over the summer and there is a lot of community with the kids who go to the neighborhood school and pool. It's expensive, and we have already have access to another private pool, but we're considering joining just so that our kids bond more with the neighborhood kids.

Several of the HCPSS high schools have robotics teams:
https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/howard/columbia/ph-ho-cf-robotics-regional-competition-0409-20150406-story.html

And apparently, our middle school (Hammond MS) has a good robotics team:
https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/howard/laurel/ph-ho-n-north-laurel-0130-20140122-story.html

My kids participate in an after school activity through Howard County Parks and Recreations (it's at the ES), called Lego Robotics. They build robotic parts/bodies out of Legos and attach them to motors that are connected to a laptop and they program the laptop to do different actions with the motors. It's fun but the second session is a repeat of the first session (with a different instructor) so they're getting bored. But we'll see if the third session is different. But it's something that the 1st-4th graders can do with robotics. And if there was enough interest, the school could try to start a 6-10 yo robotics team (I notice the MD First program has a Junior Robotics competition for ages 6-10).

A few areas seem to feed into Hammond Elementary. Would you mind sharing the name of your neighborhood?

We live in Leishear Village. It's the neighborhood on the south side of the school (Glen Hannah Drive and Mary Lee Lane). Hammond Village is the area north of the school (the network of streets that center around Graeloch Rd). Leishear is made up of townhouses. Hammond is made up of SFH and more expensive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Huntington in Kings Contivance. Lovely family feel, trees and paths .

And Swim Team! Every village has a pool.

This area is actually the best kept secret. The houses were built in the early 80s so a lot of millennials overlook their potential, but these houses have been updated more often than not, or are easily redone. The lots are all gorgeous within beautiful trees...year round gorgeous. Paths intertwine all around, and new families are moving in all the time..Best part..houses are in the 420 to 500 range..with huge lots many times. Hammond High? Very family connected, has legacy history. A lot of school spirit, smaller than other schools, huge arts dept.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Huntington in Kings Contivance. Lovely family feel, trees and paths .

And Swim Team! Every village has a pool.

This area is actually the best kept secret. The houses were built in the early 80s so a lot of millennials overlook their potential, but these houses have been updated more often than not, or are easily redone. The lots are all gorgeous within beautiful trees...year round gorgeous. Paths intertwine all around, and new families are moving in all the time..Best part..houses are in the 420 to 500 range..with huge lots many times. Hammond High? Very family connected, has legacy history. A lot of school spirit, smaller than other schools, huge arts dept.

Thank you for the additional info! We were in King's Contrivance over the weekend. I am uncertain if we were in Dickinson or Huntington - I believe it was Dickinson. We were near the village center with the Harris Teeter and made our way to what GPS told me was an entry to the King's Contrivance Loop. I had a wonderful long walk with the baby and our older boy. I really liked the feel of that immediate neighborhood. We want to go back to explore, since it sounds like the schools are fairly well liked by families and the atmosphere seems like what we would really enjoy. This jump off point would also put me closer to work than Ellicott City or other points north.

We also enjoyed our scouting adventure to Longfellow and Beaverbrook, which similarly are green and partly wooded.

Any further suggestions on similar neighborhoods, particularly where families are really happy with the schools, would be most welcome. I'm intrigued to find quiet, leafy neighborhoods close (or close-ish) to Columbia's core. If we can identify areas where we have this benefit and where families are also happy with the schools, that would be our strong preference.

We haven't been to Clemens Crossing yet, but that seems like a logical place to check too.

FWIW, I'm not necessarily stuck on school "ratings" - we're most interested a strong, supportive community.

[Anonymous]

We live in the Thunder Hill neighborhood at 108 and 29. Very close knit community. All of the amenities (trails, playgrounds, lots of trees, etc) that you mention in your post. People in our neighborhood rave about their experiences at Oakland Mills Middle School and OMHS, despite their low "ratings", which are of no interest to me either since they're just a proxy for the socio-economic status of the families that feed into the school. I only have kids at Thunder Hill ES, which we have been happy with overall. We love our neighborhood and don't plan to go anywhere until retirement!

[Anonymous]

I’m in Maple Lawn. It’s very community and family oriented and we have a neighborhood swim team. I don’t mind the number of people, I like being able to walk to restaurants, the teeter, the park and ride etc. Just depends on what you’re looking for.

There’s a robotics team at Lime Kiln MS and Reservoir HS that are popular. LEGO robotics classes at Fulton. My kid loves them.

[Anonymous]

Why should I avoid Harpers Choice or Wilde Lake? What’s wrong with those schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why should I avoid Harpers Choice or Wilde Lake? What’s wrong with those schools?

OP back. Are you familiar with these areas PP? Could you share your observations if you have them?

This thread won't be the first time people have redirected from these areas. I suspect it is because they contains section 8 units, or contain more of them than some other areas, so the FARMS rate is higher. However, it's not clear to me that the people who have done this know the community well. I'd like to hear more, esp. if anyone sends kids to school here or works for the schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We live in the Thunder Hill neighborhood at 108 and 29. Very close knit community. All of the amenities (trails, playgrounds, lots of trees, etc) that you mention in your post. People in our neighborhood rave about their experiences at Oakland Mills Middle School and OMHS, despite their low "ratings", which are of no interest to me either since they're just a proxy for the socio-economic status of the families that feed into the school. I only have kids at Thunder Hill ES, which we have been happy with overall. We love our neighborhood and don't plan to go anywhere until retirement!

Thunder Hill ES is fine, but the middle and high schools require some serious reconsidering.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m in Maple Lawn. It’s very community and family oriented and we have a neighborhood swim team. I don’t mind the number of people, I like being able to walk to restaurants, the teeter, the park and ride etc. Just depends on what you’re looking for.

There’s a robotics team at Lime Kiln MS and Reservoir HS that are popular. LEGO robotics classes at Fulton. My kid loves them.

The density of Maple Lawn appeals to me. I'm coming from Baltimore, where my neighborhood to both dense and very friendly (and walkable). The only thing I don't understand when I pull through in a car is, where are all the Maple Lawn kids going when you kick them outside to play? I don't see a lot if trees or green space. Is there a park somewhere? Or is the destination a community center?

[Anonymous]

Here are the areas in Columbia that are very doable.
River Hill
Clemens Crossing
Dorsey Search
Dickinson
Huntington

Fulton- not in Columbia but southward and close enough to Columbia
Hammond Village- also very close to Columbia

Avoid:
Oakland Mills
Owen Brown
Harpers Choice
Wilde Lake
Long Reach
Running Brook

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live in the Thunder Hill neighborhood at 108 and 29. Very close knit community. All of the amenities (trails, playgrounds, lots of trees, etc) that you mention in your post. People in our neighborhood rave about their experiences at Oakland Mills Middle School and OMHS, despite their low "ratings", which are of no interest to me either since they're just a proxy for the socio-economic status of the families that feed into the school. I only have kids at Thunder Hill ES, which we have been happy with overall. We love our neighborhood and don't plan to go anywhere until retirement!

Thunder Hill ES is fine, but the middle and high schools require some serious reconsidering.

That’s funny, because that’s not the experience of our friends and neighbors who actually have kids at those schools currently. What is your personal, firsthand experience with them?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m in Maple Lawn. It’s very community and family oriented and we have a neighborhood swim team. I don’t mind the number of people, I like being able to walk to restaurants, the teeter, the park and ride etc. Just depends on what you’re looking for.

There’s a robotics team at Lime Kiln MS and Reservoir HS that are popular. LEGO robotics classes at Fulton. My kid loves them.

The density of Maple Lawn appeals to me. I'm coming from Baltimore, where my neighborhood to both dense and very friendly (and walkable). The only thing I don't understand when I pull through in a car is, where are all the Maple Lawn kids going when you kick them outside to play? I don't see a lot if trees or green space. Is there a park somewhere? Or is the destination a community center?

Each neighborhood has a playground and green space. So for example the Westside part has a playground, a running track around a field, and tennis courts. Others have basketball courts, playgrounds, a pool, dog parks etc. just depends on where you are and how much you want to walk or ride your bike.