advice on good middle/high schools in Maryland

[Anonymous]

My husband and I would like to move to the DC metro next summer. (Now in Kansas City.) I wouldn't want to live in Virginia. We know we can't afford Chevy Chase, Bethesda, or even South Kensington. I'll be laughed off this site, but we wouldn't want to pay more than around $350,000 for a house. Do we have a chance in Silver Spring? That's the only place I can think of that we could possibly afford. Are there any good middle schools and high schools there? I'm glad not to send my daughter to ultra-snobby Winston Churchill or Walt Whitman, but is there a happy medium? A good, not too stressful school, with a happy mix of African Americans, Asians, whites, & hispanics and with dedicated parental involvement? The I-B programs sound too stressful for my kid; figure she could take at most 1 or 2 AP classes a year. She tends to be very anxious and shy, so I don't want her stressed out.

SIDE NOTE: Alternatively, we were wondering if Arnold, Md., in Anne Arundel County and on the Chesapeake Bay, could be a good place to live. The houses are affordable and Broadneck H.S. gets good reviews online.

[Anonymous]

Do you know where you are going to be working? There are about 100 homes (SFHs and THs) with at least 3 BRs available now in Silver Spring but SS is huge so many of those are going to be far out. Check zip codes 20901/20902/20903 for areas that are closer in and look at the MCPS stats and greatschools.net for info. 20910 is downtown Silver Spring but there won't be anything in that price range. Other options include Olney and Sandy Spring where there are some THs that feed to Sherwood. Rockville and Derwood are other good happy medium places with about two dozen homes available in that range. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Thanks so much for that info! I've been trying to figure out if Einstein or Montgomery Blair are decent high schools. I'm a freelance editor and my husband is a freelance writer, so we have some flexibility in that a daily commute into DC may not be necessary.

Used to be just Bethesda, Potomac and South Kensington were pricey, but now even Silver Spring and Takoma Park are exorbitant! I wish the market would correct itself downward so people like us could afford to live in the DC metro.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My husband and I would like to move to the DC metro next summer. (Now in Kansas City.) I wouldn't want to live in Virginia. We know we can't afford Chevy Chase, Bethesda, or even South Kensington. I'll be laughed off this site, but we wouldn't want to pay more than around $350,000 for a house. Do we have a chance in Silver Spring? That's the only place I can think of that we could possibly afford. Are there any good middle schools and high schools there? I'm glad not to send my daughter to ultra-snobby Winston Churchill or Walt Whitman, but is there a happy medium? A good, not too stressful school, with a happy mix of African Americans, Asians, whites, & hispanics and with dedicated parental involvement? The I-B programs sound too stressful for my kid; figure she could take at most 1 or 2 AP classes a year. She tends to be very anxious and shy, so I don't want her stressed out.

SIDE NOTE: Alternatively, we were wondering if Arnold, Md., in Anne Arundel County and on the Chesapeake Bay, could be a good place to live. The houses are affordable and Broadneck H.S. gets good reviews online.

I would stay away from the Arnold (AA County) area. The housing prices may sound good but that is a rough area. Motorcycle types, blue collar neighborhood, drug sales, etc. The south end of AA County is desirable but you would be hard pressed to find a townhouse for $350,000.

I'd look in Frederick County, MD. The schools are good, its rural, and $350,000 would get you a single family house. But if you are working in DC you would have a pretty long commute unless you took the train.

[Anonymous]

If you don't have much of a commute issue, Poolesville could be an option, the MS and HS are among the smallest in the county, though. Not sure about the diversity there, though.

[Anonymous]

How big a house do you need?

My neighborhood (Four Corners in Silver Spring) has a really good ES (Forest Knolls) and a decent MS and some HS options including Montgomery Blair (the one we are hoping for).

You can get a very small house for $350 - $400K.

The neighborhood is extremely kid friendly and full of lots of young families. There are many who work in fields such as yours.

[Anonymous]

We are happy in Silver Speing near the forest glen metro. We do work in dc though. Since you don't have a daily commute, maybe look further out?

[Anonymous]

Here's a possibility:
http://www.trulia.com/property/1056613217-904-Gabel-St-Silver-Spring-MD-20901

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My husband and I would like to move to the DC metro next summer. (Now in Kansas City.) I wouldn't want to live in Virginia. We know we can't afford Chevy Chase, Bethesda, or even South Kensington. I'll be laughed off this site, but we wouldn't want to pay more than around $350,000 for a house. Do we have a chance in Silver Spring? That's the only place I can think of that we could possibly afford. Are there any good middle schools and high schools there? I'm glad not to send my daughter to ultra-snobby Winston Churchill or Walt Whitman, but is there a happy medium? A good, not too stressful school, with a happy mix of African Americans, Asians, whites, & hispanics and with dedicated parental involvement? The I-B programs sound too stressful for my kid; figure she could take at most 1 or 2 AP classes a year. She tends to be very anxious and shy, so I don't want her stressed out.

SIDE NOTE: Alternatively, we were wondering if Arnold, Md., in Anne Arundel County and on the Chesapeake Bay, could be a good place to live. The houses are affordable and Broadneck H.S. gets good reviews online.

I would stay away from the Arnold (AA County) area. The housing prices may sound good but that is a rough area. Motorcycle types, blue collar neighborhood, drug sales, etc. The south end of AA County is desirable but you would be hard pressed to find a townhouse for $350,000.

I'd look in Frederick County, MD. The schools are good, its rural, and $350,000 would get you a single family house. But if you are working in DC you would have a pretty long commute unless you took the train.

uhh - You do know that the KKK is a big presence in Thurmont, right? Furthermore, being a minority is Frederick isn't exactly comforting. I have friends who live there with horror stories to tell of how their children weren't treated well. So I wouldn't necessarily put AA in the "bad" category.

[Anonymous]

Thanks to everyone for the valuable information. My husband is adamant against being located on Rockville Pike as he hates the congestion. Thank you to the person who gave the info on Arnold--ugh--my Chesapeake Bay fantasy is toast. We were going to visit the area and now we won't bother. We have thought of Frederick, but certainly don't like that there's a KKK presence north of there! Yuck.

For a student wanting Montgomery Blair is there a test to get in?

I will check out Poolesville and some of the other towns mentioned, but I know I would miss the urban feel. I'm from NYC originally and I crave a walkable, artsy neighborhood. I'm sure in the DC metro it's beyond impossible with a budget of $350,000. Plus my husband wants a medium-sized house!

We passed on a huge $450,000 split level in Bethesda with gigantic lawn in early 2001. What a colossal mistake.

Maybe we should consider outer-ring Baltimore...

[Anonymous]

I will second Silver Spring. We are in 20901, not far from that Gabel house listed above. Small, modest midcentury houses. Not amazing, but we also have a modest budget, so that's what we can afford. The neighborhood is a mix of professionals and blue collar workers, is ethnically diverse, which is nice.

We like being near Sligo Creek Park, have been pleased with Forest Knolls ES and expect to be Ok with Silver Spring International Middle School. The high schools are part of the down county consortium, so your child can apply to any of the 5 high schools.

If you want more house and want to be a bit further out, Columbia is another area to consider, about another 30 min northeast of Silver Spring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks to everyone for the valuable information. My husband is adamant against being located on Rockville Pike as he hates the congestion. Thank you to the person who gave the info on Arnold--ugh--my Chesapeake Bay fantasy is toast. We were going to visit the area and now we won't bother. We have thought of Frederick, but certainly don't like that there's a KKK presence north of there! Yuck.

For a student wanting Montgomery Blair is there a test to get in?

I will check out Poolesville and some of the other towns mentioned, but I know I would miss the urban feel. I'm from NYC originally and I crave a walkable, artsy neighborhood. I'm sure in the DC metro it's beyond impossible with a budget of $350,000. Plus my husband wants a medium-sized house!

We passed on a huge $450,000 split level in Bethesda with gigantic lawn in early 2001. What a colossal mistake.

Maybe we should consider outer-ring Baltimore...

The information about the KKK in Thurmont is absolutely b.s. Years and years ago there used to be a small group of rednecks who liked to think that they were big and bad and part of the KKK and occasionaly burned crosses. That has not happened in over twenty years.

[Anonymous]

There was a thread a while back on schools/living in Frederick. I think the suggestion was that schools in the city of Frederick are ok bt outside they are more iffy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks to everyone for the valuable information. My husband is adamant against being located on Rockville Pike as he hates the congestion. Thank you to the person who gave the info on Arnold--ugh--my Chesapeake Bay fantasy is toast. We were going to visit the area and now we won't bother. We have thought of Frederick, but certainly don't like that there's a KKK presence north of there! Yuck.

For a student wanting Montgomery Blair is there a test to get in?

I will check out Poolesville and some of the other towns mentioned, but I know I would miss the urban feel. I'm from NYC originally and I crave a walkable, artsy neighborhood. I'm sure in the DC metro it's beyond impossible with a budget of $350,000. Plus my husband wants a medium-sized house!

We passed on a huge $450,000 split level in Bethesda with gigantic lawn in early 2001. What a colossal mistake.

Maybe we should consider outer-ring Baltimore...

Yes - Catonsville and Dundalk sound like good places for you.

[Anonymous]

What about Clarksburg, MD or Urbana MD?