Does anyone know about public schools in Towson/Lutherville-Timonium area?

[Anonymous]

We are looking to move to this area and would love to hear more about what the community and schools are like - thanks.

[Anonymous]

I do. I live in Timonium and I grew up here too. The schools here are great. What type of housing/neighborhood are you looking for? Budget?

[Anonymous]

Budget is in the $400-450K range, am curious what the public schools are like or if people send to privates. Especially curious how a child who is bright but has a learning disability would do in the public system there (though that is a very specific question!)

[Anonymous]

PP here. I guess it depends on a few factors. If the disability is severe, I would skip public school. My friend's son has dyslexia and she sends him to a private school b/c the public school was pretty clueless. Many people send their kids to public around here b/c they are really good. Look for a school that feeds into Dulaney HS. Ridgely is a good middle school that feeds into Dulaney. There are quite a few good ESs around. Pinewood, Riderwood, Timonium, Hampton (pretty overcrowded though). In Towson, there is the new West Towson ES as well as Stoneleigh and Rodgers Forge. They feed into Dumbarton Middle and then into Towson HS which are all good too. You can read about them on greatschools.net. There are plenty of parent reviews there. Do you want a single family home with some land? Do you want a neighborhood that is older with more character? Do you want to be able to walk to stores, coffee shops, etc? You definitely get quite a bit more for your money here.

[Anonymous]

Thanks so much for the info, we prefer a single family home to a townhouse, and would like a small yard but don't need a lot of land. Would love to be within walking distance to a "town" and would also love an easy commute to Hopkins Medical School where my husband will be working. Is it a very homogenous area? We are coming from a big urban area and are wondering what the transition will be like! I did check out greatschools.org, thanks, it is just hard to wrap your head around all the options. Are Towson HS and Dulaney HS of similar caliber?

[Anonymous]

Yes they are pretty comparable. If you want to be further north, Hereford HS and MS are good options. They are up 83 North about 15-20 mins above the beltway. Sparks ES is a very nice school that feeds into both. Ruxton is an area of Towson with beautiful older homes and some land to them. Same with Stoneleigh. Older homes with character and about a half acre of land or so. All of these areas would be about a 20ish minute commute downtown (except for the Hereford area which is more rural and would be a 30-40 minute commute). Are you looking for some diversity because most of these areas are pretty upper middle class especially Ruxton and Stoneleigh. There really aren't too many places that you could walk to really now that I think about it. The private schools are very good and you have a lot of choice. The most expensive ones runs in the low $20K. Let me know if you want info about them. If I were you and I had that budget, I would look in Ruxton, West Towson and Stoneleigh. I love older homes with character but that's just me.

[Anonymous]

Thank you again, really helpful to have names of neighborhoods to look at. We aren't opposed to private school, but don't know how hard it is to get into them on an off year and also are not sure whether they are more conservative then we are looking for/used to. Diversity would be great, but I know it isn't as easy to find outside of more urban areas.

[Anonymous]

If you can pay full tuition, I doubt you'll have much trouble getting into privates in this area. Many of the privates are still advertising which means they aren't filled up yet. If you are looking for liberal and progressive privates, check out schools like Park and The Montessori School in Lutherville. Friends is also fairly liberal.

[Anonymous]

Thanks, Park and Friends are both of interest to us, just weren't sure how *they* would feel about our dc's mild learning disability!

[Anonymous]

I grew up in Baltimore had dyslexia (mild). I went to private school and had friends that went to several privates and can you tell you a few things.

First, Park, St Pauls, Friends and Garrison are great schools and have programs for intellegent kids with mild learning disabilities. At the school I went to - they even had a special tutor to assist with my dyslexia.

I would NOT recommend McDonough or Maryville - which are more mainstream schools.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

In today's economy, private schools aren't as choosy as they used to be. Some schools do employ people for mild learning disabilities but I would make sure you discuss your child's issues in person with an admissions person. Be honest. They will tell you what they can and can't accommodate. I think St. Paul's (which is pretty traditional) does have some students with learning issues there. My friend went there and had extra help. Catholic schools don't really have the resources usually to deal with issues. But Cathedral does have a program just for kids with learning problems. It costs extra though.

[Anonymous]

Thanks so much to all of you for the information - my son has dysgraphia which means he basically just needs some accomodations in the classroom (i.e. can use a laptop instead of writing, may need a notetaker, can dictate certain assignments instead of handwriting, etc.). He is bright and in a mainstream school now with no problems, just needs a little extra support and the benefit of a small class size. I really really appreciate hearing about specific schools. We aren't interested in Catholic schools (we are Jewish) but the info on secular privates is of great interest. Thanks again!

[Anonymous]

Boys' Latin might be a good choice. They are known to make accommodations for boys who need some extra help.