RM versus Wooton

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Op if you are still reading, Wootton is the right answer. No comparison between two unless your kid is accepted into IB.

please. The vast majority of kids at RM are not in IB, and they do fine.

But, yes, if you want a pressure cooker environment with no diversity, choose Wootton.

What does "they do fine" mean? I know we all have different expectations for our kids. At least "get accepted to UMCP" fine? Most non-IB kids have stats high enough for UMCP?

Yes. Believe it or not, there is a contingent of UMC kids (white and Asian too!) who opted not to do IB. They are taking AP classes and will do fine after graduation.

I believe it. I mean I'd not all that interested in IB courses and would also prefer to focus on STEM.

LOL. Read results coming out of this thread

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1108817.page

? What does that have to do with anything? Trust me - I know white, UMC kids from RM who have gone on to UMD and other good schools. The non-IB kids ARE NOT all gang members.

Real-estate agents try to spin this to inflate housing prices, but of course, RM is the same as any other MCPS HS. The same kid will do as well as they would anyplace else. The differences aren't the school but the home life and parents.

Op here. Thanks to everyone for their feedback. Lots to think about.

Good luck. Select wisely.

Yes, just read some of the stereotyping some anti-RM posters have of a diverse school. Too many of "those" kids.

That's the kind of folks your kids would be exposed to - people who stereotype an entire school and the families who go there based on what they hear about but probably have zero experience in.

No one said RM is perfect, but some anti-RM posters are seriously clueless about the student body at RM.

People are not anti-RM. What you are seeing is people pushing back on posts that make non-IB RM like it's something special. It's not. Non IB RM is no different than any other MCPS HS (except W schools and BCC). They are all pretty f'ed.

This is what I am reading also. Non-IB is nothing special.

No one said it was "special", just not the ganglandia that some are making it out to be.

True but Wootton test scores are the same if not better than RM with an IB department. An IB that takes the smartest kids from all over the county. Which shows you that scores without IB would probably be similar to schools like Rockville and QO. Not terrible, but I would prefer the Wootton area. I also think they are the least likely to get overhauled with the 2 new high schools being built and rezoned. Besides that Rio area, Wootton's neighborhoods are all petty much around the high school and far away from the other high schools. I feel like RM has a chance to move to Crown or Gaithersburg and I would be leery about buying in that area because of it.

The other perk is that Wootton projected growth is level for the next 6 years. RM projections are going up another 600 students over the next 6 years. So obviously that means redistricting or a ton more portables on what is a pretty new school.

If you have time and reasonable googling skills, you can estimate this. I have done it years ago (when SAT was based on 2400). It is not hard to calculate and it was not pretty.

? ok, how would you do this? You are making the assumption that the top scores are all for IB students, and I don't think that's true.

find out class size, number of kids who took SAT, avg SAT score, number of IB kids, IB avg SAT score (and assume of IB kids took the exam which is a reasonable assumption). after that it's just simple math

The issue with this is approach is there are 25% IB spots reserved for RM students, and more IB seats open up in 11/12 grade, excluding IB kids scores is like taking out all the top students from RM.

Yes, there are much better opportunities for an advanced learner at RM.

Only if you apply into IB. Wootton actually has more AP offerings than RM

Perhaps, but the W's also have a history of racially motivated hate incidents that recur regularly.

Can you please describe further? We aren't white and this is something we think about. -OP

NP here - we are not white from a biracial family and attend Wootton. I have family at RM and they are happy there as well. We chose Wootton because we wanted strong academics without the super wealth that happens at Churchill and Whitman. Can you get that at RM? Absolutely. For us we believed that from elementary to high school Wootton was the stronger cluster to be in so that is what we did. You get plenty of diversity both racially and socio economically at Wootton just like at RM. You also still see fights, drugs and vaping just like you do at RM. Again for us we decided Wootton was the better of the two options. Both give you the "real world".

wootton is only "plenty" diverse if you compare it to Whitman. In MCPS, neither schools are considered "diverse", either racially or SES. Just look at their stats compared to RM, QO, and county as a whole.

what's so f'king big deal about diversity? isn't your kid's learning more important? MoCo is one of the most diverse county in the country already. we cannot and should not trade good education with diversity crap. education should always come first.

1. I was responding to the ^^PPs point about diversity
2. Some people do care about diversity. Not all of us are white. Some people don't feel comfortable being one of only a handful of kids of a particular background. My nieces have gone through that. I would never do that to my kids.
3. Learning is important, but so is the social/emotional aspects of the learning environment. Kids spend six hours at school, and after school activities. Most of their friends are from school. Feeling included is important.
When I was in HS I did really well academically but not socially, and I was miserable. I don't want that for my kids.

My kids are at RM, and they like it.

No one is saying diversity is not important. My point is this entire area is already diverse enough. People tend to use diversity as an excuse to cover-up broken system. Gang issues? Well, but see how diverse we are. Low performance? Don't worry because we have one of the most diverse school systems...etc. I am glad you like RM. More power to you. But don't say RM is "better" because it's more diverse than other schools. I am not white either and I certainly do appreciate how it feels to be different. But, at the end of the day, kids need to learn.

1) There have been 0 gang incidents at any MCPS school in over a decade.
2) Some schools aren't all that diverse compared to the county.
3) Test score averages are simply a reflection of a school's overall SES but every MCPS school has rigorous course offerings.

1. They are ruling out gang issue in one of the latest incidents at RM right now. There are at least 2 confirmed at Gaithersburg High School and one at Magruder in the past decade.
2. True but that has more to do with the fact that many people of the same culture or race prefer to live near others - especially Asian and Hispanic. And others are just overpriced previous white areas and non-whites don't want to pay the price and send their kids to all-white schools. So they send them to secular privates which do a much better job with diversity and education.
3. MCPS absolutely does not have rigorous course offerings in every school. Certain high schools don't offer a lot of AP's. If kids are eligible, they have to take them online.

I'm confused by this post.
Not sure that it matters whether violence is gang related or not. Violence is violence.
Plenty of non white people at Wootton. Can't compare a $40k per year school to public. They will obviously have the resources to do a "better" job at just about everything but some parents prefer the public school option even if they could afford private.
Can't speak to course offerings at all schools but again Wootton has more than enough AP courses to fill a schedule.

I think "there has been 0 gang violence in MCPS" poster is using very strict definition of "gang violence" (i.e., one must be organized and identified by police or something like that). Most reasonable people would define as any violence by thugs (with or without gang affirmation).

True, but there are a couple posters trying to hype these things in order to steer public opinion and fearmonger for their political ends.

Correct 0 gang incidents at MCPS in over a decade. END OF STORY

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Op if you are still reading, Wootton is the right answer. No comparison between two unless your kid is accepted into IB.

please. The vast majority of kids at RM are not in IB, and they do fine.

But, yes, if you want a pressure cooker environment with no diversity, choose Wootton.

What does "they do fine" mean? I know we all have different expectations for our kids. At least "get accepted to UMCP" fine? Most non-IB kids have stats high enough for UMCP?

Yes. Believe it or not, there is a contingent of UMC kids (white and Asian too!) who opted not to do IB. They are taking AP classes and will do fine after graduation.

I believe it. I mean I'd not all that interested in IB courses and would also prefer to focus on STEM.

LOL. Read results coming out of this thread

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1108817.page

? What does that have to do with anything? Trust me - I know white, UMC kids from RM who have gone on to UMD and other good schools. The non-IB kids ARE NOT all gang members.

Real-estate agents try to spin this to inflate housing prices, but of course, RM is the same as any other MCPS HS. The same kid will do as well as they would anyplace else. The differences aren't the school but the home life and parents.

Op here. Thanks to everyone for their feedback. Lots to think about.

Good luck. Select wisely.

Yes, just read some of the stereotyping some anti-RM posters have of a diverse school. Too many of "those" kids.

That's the kind of folks your kids would be exposed to - people who stereotype an entire school and the families who go there based on what they hear about but probably have zero experience in.

No one said RM is perfect, but some anti-RM posters are seriously clueless about the student body at RM.

People are not anti-RM. What you are seeing is people pushing back on posts that make non-IB RM like it's something special. It's not. Non IB RM is no different than any other MCPS HS (except W schools and BCC). They are all pretty f'ed.

This is what I am reading also. Non-IB is nothing special.

No one said it was "special", just not the ganglandia that some are making it out to be.

True but Wootton test scores are the same if not better than RM with an IB department. An IB that takes the smartest kids from all over the county. Which shows you that scores without IB would probably be similar to schools like Rockville and QO. Not terrible, but I would prefer the Wootton area. I also think they are the least likely to get overhauled with the 2 new high schools being built and rezoned. Besides that Rio area, Wootton's neighborhoods are all petty much around the high school and far away from the other high schools. I feel like RM has a chance to move to Crown or Gaithersburg and I would be leery about buying in that area because of it.

The other perk is that Wootton projected growth is level for the next 6 years. RM projections are going up another 600 students over the next 6 years. So obviously that means redistricting or a ton more portables on what is a pretty new school.

If you have time and reasonable googling skills, you can estimate this. I have done it years ago (when SAT was based on 2400). It is not hard to calculate and it was not pretty.

? ok, how would you do this? You are making the assumption that the top scores are all for IB students, and I don't think that's true.

find out class size, number of kids who took SAT, avg SAT score, number of IB kids, IB avg SAT score (and assume of IB kids took the exam which is a reasonable assumption). after that it's just simple math

The issue with this is approach is there are 25% IB spots reserved for RM students, and more IB seats open up in 11/12 grade, excluding IB kids scores is like taking out all the top students from RM.

Yes, there are much better opportunities for an advanced learner at RM.

Only if you apply into IB. Wootton actually has more AP offerings than RM

Nope... non IB students can take IB classes. Wootton probably offers more AP because they don't have IB as an option for even non IB kids.

People are throwing "facts" out there without even knowing the truth (to coin Kelley Ann Conway).

The OP said Wootton offered more AP classes and they do. They didn't mention anything about the IB classes. Many kids and colleges do not care about them. The IB diploma, yes. Taking a few IB courses? No.

A PP stated that RM only has more challenging classes if you are in IB. I'm replying to that. Non IB students can take IB classes and AP classes.

Wootton offers more AP classes because they don't have IB choices.

Colleges care if you take rigorous classes. IB classes would fit that, too.

As someone who has had two graduate RM already, I can confirm with the PP that colleges do not care about random IB courses. They rarely transfer to college credit and all it does is bring your GPA up, which an AP and even an honors does the same amount. They only care if you get the diploma. And jumping in at 11th grade to try and get the diploma, the track record 2 years ago was under 50%. So I am not sure it is worth the stress your last 2 years of high school.

Colleges care if you take the rigorous courses. If a school only offers IB <some subject> and not AP <the same subject> than they will look at the IB course.

Yes, it's hard to jump in at 11th grade because most aren't used to the rigor of IB magnet, which is why MCPS as a whole does a crap job of preparing kids for more rigorous courses, and this starts in MS.

My kid is at JW and there are zero rigorous courses here. What are you talking about?

You are mistaken. Every MS offers some combination of Global Humanities, Advanced English, Honors Geometry and Foreign Lanaugage which are all rigorous and challenging courses that prepare MS students for HS even JW MS.

That poster was trolling obviously. Probably RM parent.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Op if you are still reading, Wootton is the right answer. No comparison between two unless your kid is accepted into IB.

please. The vast majority of kids at RM are not in IB, and they do fine.

But, yes, if you want a pressure cooker environment with no diversity, choose Wootton.

What does "they do fine" mean? I know we all have different expectations for our kids. At least "get accepted to UMCP" fine? Most non-IB kids have stats high enough for UMCP?

Yes. Believe it or not, there is a contingent of UMC kids (white and Asian too!) who opted not to do IB. They are taking AP classes and will do fine after graduation.

I believe it. I mean I'd not all that interested in IB courses and would also prefer to focus on STEM.

LOL. Read results coming out of this thread

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1108817.page

? What does that have to do with anything? Trust me - I know white, UMC kids from RM who have gone on to UMD and other good schools. The non-IB kids ARE NOT all gang members.

Real-estate agents try to spin this to inflate housing prices, but of course, RM is the same as any other MCPS HS. The same kid will do as well as they would anyplace else. The differences aren't the school but the home life and parents.

Op here. Thanks to everyone for their feedback. Lots to think about.

Good luck. Select wisely.

Yes, just read some of the stereotyping some anti-RM posters have of a diverse school. Too many of "those" kids.

That's the kind of folks your kids would be exposed to - people who stereotype an entire school and the families who go there based on what they hear about but probably have zero experience in.

No one said RM is perfect, but some anti-RM posters are seriously clueless about the student body at RM.

People are not anti-RM. What you are seeing is people pushing back on posts that make non-IB RM like it's something special. It's not. Non IB RM is no different than any other MCPS HS (except W schools and BCC). They are all pretty f'ed.

This is what I am reading also. Non-IB is nothing special.

No one said it was "special", just not the ganglandia that some are making it out to be.

True but Wootton test scores are the same if not better than RM with an IB department. An IB that takes the smartest kids from all over the county. Which shows you that scores without IB would probably be similar to schools like Rockville and QO. Not terrible, but I would prefer the Wootton area. I also think they are the least likely to get overhauled with the 2 new high schools being built and rezoned. Besides that Rio area, Wootton's neighborhoods are all petty much around the high school and far away from the other high schools. I feel like RM has a chance to move to Crown or Gaithersburg and I would be leery about buying in that area because of it.

The other perk is that Wootton projected growth is level for the next 6 years. RM projections are going up another 600 students over the next 6 years. So obviously that means redistricting or a ton more portables on what is a pretty new school.

If you have time and reasonable googling skills, you can estimate this. I have done it years ago (when SAT was based on 2400). It is not hard to calculate and it was not pretty.

? ok, how would you do this? You are making the assumption that the top scores are all for IB students, and I don't think that's true.

find out class size, number of kids who took SAT, avg SAT score, number of IB kids, IB avg SAT score (and assume of IB kids took the exam which is a reasonable assumption). after that it's just simple math

The issue with this is approach is there are 25% IB spots reserved for RM students, and more IB seats open up in 11/12 grade, excluding IB kids scores is like taking out all the top students from RM.

Yes, there are much better opportunities for an advanced learner at RM.

Only if you apply into IB. Wootton actually has more AP offerings than RM

Perhaps, but the W's also have a history of racially motivated hate incidents that recur regularly.

Can you please describe further? We aren't white and this is something we think about. -OP

NP here - we are not white from a biracial family and attend Wootton. I have family at RM and they are happy there as well. We chose Wootton because we wanted strong academics without the super wealth that happens at Churchill and Whitman. Can you get that at RM? Absolutely. For us we believed that from elementary to high school Wootton was the stronger cluster to be in so that is what we did. You get plenty of diversity both racially and socio economically at Wootton just like at RM. You also still see fights, drugs and vaping just like you do at RM. Again for us we decided Wootton was the better of the two options. Both give you the "real world".

wootton is only "plenty" diverse if you compare it to Whitman. In MCPS, neither schools are considered "diverse", either racially or SES. Just look at their stats compared to RM, QO, and county as a whole.

what's so f'king big deal about diversity? isn't your kid's learning more important? MoCo is one of the most diverse county in the country already. we cannot and should not trade good education with diversity crap. education should always come first.

1. I was responding to the ^^PPs point about diversity
2. Some people do care about diversity. Not all of us are white. Some people don't feel comfortable being one of only a handful of kids of a particular background. My nieces have gone through that. I would never do that to my kids.
3. Learning is important, but so is the social/emotional aspects of the learning environment. Kids spend six hours at school, and after school activities. Most of their friends are from school. Feeling included is important.
When I was in HS I did really well academically but not socially, and I was miserable. I don't want that for my kids.

My kids are at RM, and they like it.

No one is saying diversity is not important. My point is this entire area is already diverse enough. People tend to use diversity as an excuse to cover-up broken system. Gang issues? Well, but see how diverse we are. Low performance? Don't worry because we have one of the most diverse school systems...etc. I am glad you like RM. More power to you. But don't say RM is "better" because it's more diverse than other schools. I am not white either and I certainly do appreciate how it feels to be different. But, at the end of the day, kids need to learn.

1) There have been 0 gang incidents at any MCPS school in over a decade.
2) Some schools aren't all that diverse compared to the county.
3) Test score averages are simply a reflection of a school's overall SES but every MCPS school has rigorous course offerings.

1. They are ruling out gang issue in one of the latest incidents at RM right now. There are at least 2 confirmed at Gaithersburg High School and one at Magruder in the past decade.
2. True but that has more to do with the fact that many people of the same culture or race prefer to live near others - especially Asian and Hispanic. And others are just overpriced previous white areas and non-whites don't want to pay the price and send their kids to all-white schools. So they send them to secular privates which do a much better job with diversity and education.
3. MCPS absolutely does not have rigorous course offerings in every school. Certain high schools don't offer a lot of AP's. If kids are eligible, they have to take them online.

I'm confused by this post.
Not sure that it matters whether violence is gang related or not. Violence is violence.
Plenty of non white people at Wootton. Can't compare a $40k per year school to public. They will obviously have the resources to do a "better" job at just about everything but some parents prefer the public school option even if they could afford private.
Can't speak to course offerings at all schools but again Wootton has more than enough AP courses to fill a schedule.

There have been 0 documented cases of gang violence at any MCPS HS in more than a decade. Many of the far-right astrotrufers that post here will try to pretend otherwise. Last time this came up they could only show links about gang activity in HS in Texas. This is just plan old fearmongering.

I think you nailed it here.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Op if you are still reading, Wootton is the right answer. No comparison between two unless your kid is accepted into IB.

please. The vast majority of kids at RM are not in IB, and they do fine.

But, yes, if you want a pressure cooker environment with no diversity, choose Wootton.

What does "they do fine" mean? I know we all have different expectations for our kids. At least "get accepted to UMCP" fine? Most non-IB kids have stats high enough for UMCP?

Yes. Believe it or not, there is a contingent of UMC kids (white and Asian too!) who opted not to do IB. They are taking AP classes and will do fine after graduation.

I believe it. I mean I'd not all that interested in IB courses and would also prefer to focus on STEM.

LOL. Read results coming out of this thread

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1108817.page

? What does that have to do with anything? Trust me - I know white, UMC kids from RM who have gone on to UMD and other good schools. The non-IB kids ARE NOT all gang members.

Real-estate agents try to spin this to inflate housing prices, but of course, RM is the same as any other MCPS HS. The same kid will do as well as they would anyplace else. The differences aren't the school but the home life and parents.

Op here. Thanks to everyone for their feedback. Lots to think about.

Good luck. Select wisely.

Yes, just read some of the stereotyping some anti-RM posters have of a diverse school. Too many of "those" kids.

That's the kind of folks your kids would be exposed to - people who stereotype an entire school and the families who go there based on what they hear about but probably have zero experience in.

No one said RM is perfect, but some anti-RM posters are seriously clueless about the student body at RM.

People are not anti-RM. What you are seeing is people pushing back on posts that make non-IB RM like it's something special. It's not. Non IB RM is no different than any other MCPS HS (except W schools and BCC). They are all pretty f'ed.

This is what I am reading also. Non-IB is nothing special.

No one said it was "special", just not the ganglandia that some are making it out to be.

True but Wootton test scores are the same if not better than RM with an IB department. An IB that takes the smartest kids from all over the county. Which shows you that scores without IB would probably be similar to schools like Rockville and QO. Not terrible, but I would prefer the Wootton area. I also think they are the least likely to get overhauled with the 2 new high schools being built and rezoned. Besides that Rio area, Wootton's neighborhoods are all petty much around the high school and far away from the other high schools. I feel like RM has a chance to move to Crown or Gaithersburg and I would be leery about buying in that area because of it.

The other perk is that Wootton projected growth is level for the next 6 years. RM projections are going up another 600 students over the next 6 years. So obviously that means redistricting or a ton more portables on what is a pretty new school.

If you have time and reasonable googling skills, you can estimate this. I have done it years ago (when SAT was based on 2400). It is not hard to calculate and it was not pretty.

? ok, how would you do this? You are making the assumption that the top scores are all for IB students, and I don't think that's true.

find out class size, number of kids who took SAT, avg SAT score, number of IB kids, IB avg SAT score (and assume of IB kids took the exam which is a reasonable assumption). after that it's just simple math

The issue with this is approach is there are 25% IB spots reserved for RM students, and more IB seats open up in 11/12 grade, excluding IB kids scores is like taking out all the top students from RM.

Yes, there are much better opportunities for an advanced learner at RM.

Only if you apply into IB. Wootton actually has more AP offerings than RM

Nope... non IB students can take IB classes. Wootton probably offers more AP because they don't have IB as an option for even non IB kids.

People are throwing "facts" out there without even knowing the truth (to coin Kelley Ann Conway).

The OP said Wootton offered more AP classes and they do. They didn't mention anything about the IB classes. Many kids and colleges do not care about them. The IB diploma, yes. Taking a few IB courses? No.

A PP stated that RM only has more challenging classes if you are in IB. I'm replying to that. Non IB students can take IB classes and AP classes.

Wootton offers more AP classes because they don't have IB choices.

Colleges care if you take rigorous classes. IB classes would fit that, too.

As someone who has had two graduate RM already, I can confirm with the PP that colleges do not care about random IB courses. They rarely transfer to college credit and all it does is bring your GPA up, which an AP and even an honors does the same amount. They only care if you get the diploma. And jumping in at 11th grade to try and get the diploma, the track record 2 years ago was under 50%. So I am not sure it is worth the stress your last 2 years of high school.

Colleges care if you take the rigorous courses. If a school only offers IB <some subject> and not AP <the same subject> than they will look at the IB course.

Yes, it's hard to jump in at 11th grade because most aren't used to the rigor of IB magnet, which is why MCPS as a whole does a crap job of preparing kids for more rigorous courses, and this starts in MS.

My kid is at JW and there are zero rigorous courses here. What are you talking about?

You are mistaken. Every MS offers some combination of Global Humanities, Advanced English, Honors Geometry and Foreign Lanaugage which are all rigorous and challenging courses that prepare MS students for HS even JW MS.

First, those courses in MS are not rigorous. It's a joke. You must be a central office admin to think they are rigorous.

Second, my point was that MCPS doesn't prepare kids for more rigorous courses but that they should starting in MS going into HS. Lots of kids take AP classes in 9th grade, but they aren't prepared for those rigorous courses when they are in MS. MCPS should at least prepare 8th graders who want to take AP courses in 9th grade.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Op if you are still reading, Wootton is the right answer. No comparison between two unless your kid is accepted into IB.

please. The vast majority of kids at RM are not in IB, and they do fine.

But, yes, if you want a pressure cooker environment with no diversity, choose Wootton.

What does "they do fine" mean? I know we all have different expectations for our kids. At least "get accepted to UMCP" fine? Most non-IB kids have stats high enough for UMCP?

Yes. Believe it or not, there is a contingent of UMC kids (white and Asian too!) who opted not to do IB. They are taking AP classes and will do fine after graduation.

I believe it. I mean I'd not all that interested in IB courses and would also prefer to focus on STEM.

LOL. Read results coming out of this thread

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1108817.page

? What does that have to do with anything? Trust me - I know white, UMC kids from RM who have gone on to UMD and other good schools. The non-IB kids ARE NOT all gang members.

Real-estate agents try to spin this to inflate housing prices, but of course, RM is the same as any other MCPS HS. The same kid will do as well as they would anyplace else. The differences aren't the school but the home life and parents.

Op here. Thanks to everyone for their feedback. Lots to think about.

Good luck. Select wisely.

Yes, just read some of the stereotyping some anti-RM posters have of a diverse school. Too many of "those" kids.

That's the kind of folks your kids would be exposed to - people who stereotype an entire school and the families who go there based on what they hear about but probably have zero experience in.

No one said RM is perfect, but some anti-RM posters are seriously clueless about the student body at RM.

People are not anti-RM. What you are seeing is people pushing back on posts that make non-IB RM like it's something special. It's not. Non IB RM is no different than any other MCPS HS (except W schools and BCC). They are all pretty f'ed.

This is what I am reading also. Non-IB is nothing special.

No one said it was "special", just not the ganglandia that some are making it out to be.

True but Wootton test scores are the same if not better than RM with an IB department. An IB that takes the smartest kids from all over the county. Which shows you that scores without IB would probably be similar to schools like Rockville and QO. Not terrible, but I would prefer the Wootton area. I also think they are the least likely to get overhauled with the 2 new high schools being built and rezoned. Besides that Rio area, Wootton's neighborhoods are all petty much around the high school and far away from the other high schools. I feel like RM has a chance to move to Crown or Gaithersburg and I would be leery about buying in that area because of it.

The other perk is that Wootton projected growth is level for the next 6 years. RM projections are going up another 600 students over the next 6 years. So obviously that means redistricting or a ton more portables on what is a pretty new school.

If you have time and reasonable googling skills, you can estimate this. I have done it years ago (when SAT was based on 2400). It is not hard to calculate and it was not pretty.

? ok, how would you do this? You are making the assumption that the top scores are all for IB students, and I don't think that's true.

find out class size, number of kids who took SAT, avg SAT score, number of IB kids, IB avg SAT score (and assume of IB kids took the exam which is a reasonable assumption). after that it's just simple math

The issue with this is approach is there are 25% IB spots reserved for RM students, and more IB seats open up in 11/12 grade, excluding IB kids scores is like taking out all the top students from RM.

Yes, there are much better opportunities for an advanced learner at RM.

Only if you apply into IB. Wootton actually has more AP offerings than RM

Nope... non IB students can take IB classes. Wootton probably offers more AP because they don't have IB as an option for even non IB kids.

People are throwing "facts" out there without even knowing the truth (to coin Kelley Ann Conway).

The OP said Wootton offered more AP classes and they do. They didn't mention anything about the IB classes. Many kids and colleges do not care about them. The IB diploma, yes. Taking a few IB courses? No.

A PP stated that RM only has more challenging classes if you are in IB. I'm replying to that. Non IB students can take IB classes and AP classes.

Wootton offers more AP classes because they don't have IB choices.

Colleges care if you take rigorous classes. IB classes would fit that, too.

As someone who has had two graduate RM already, I can confirm with the PP that colleges do not care about random IB courses. They rarely transfer to college credit and all it does is bring your GPA up, which an AP and even an honors does the same amount. They only care if you get the diploma. And jumping in at 11th grade to try and get the diploma, the track record 2 years ago was under 50%. So I am not sure it is worth the stress your last 2 years of high school.

Colleges care if you take the rigorous courses. If a school only offers IB <some subject> and not AP <the same subject> than they will look at the IB course.

Yes, it's hard to jump in at 11th grade because most aren't used to the rigor of IB magnet, which is why MCPS as a whole does a crap job of preparing kids for more rigorous courses, and this starts in MS.

My kid is at JW and there are zero rigorous courses here. What are you talking about?

You are mistaken. Every MS offers some combination of Global Humanities, Advanced English, Honors Geometry and Foreign Lanaugage which are all rigorous and challenging courses that prepare MS students for HS even JW MS.

First, those courses in MS are not rigorous. It's a joke. You must be a central office admin to think they are rigorous.

Second, my point was that MCPS doesn't prepare kids for more rigorous courses but that they should starting in MS going into HS. Lots of kids take AP classes in 9th grade, but they aren't prepared for those rigorous courses when they are in MS. MCPS should at least prepare 8th graders who want to take AP courses in 9th grade.

Clearly you are at one of the bad schools. Ours are fantastic!

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Anonymous wrote:Op if you are still reading, Wootton is the right answer. No comparison between two unless your kid is accepted into IB.

please. The vast majority of kids at RM are not in IB, and they do fine.

But, yes, if you want a pressure cooker environment with no diversity, choose Wootton.

What does "they do fine" mean? I know we all have different expectations for our kids. At least "get accepted to UMCP" fine? Most non-IB kids have stats high enough for UMCP?

Yes. Believe it or not, there is a contingent of UMC kids (white and Asian too!) who opted not to do IB. They are taking AP classes and will do fine after graduation.

I believe it. I mean I'd not all that interested in IB courses and would also prefer to focus on STEM.

LOL. Read results coming out of this thread

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1108817.page

? What does that have to do with anything? Trust me - I know white, UMC kids from RM who have gone on to UMD and other good schools. The non-IB kids ARE NOT all gang members.

Real-estate agents try to spin this to inflate housing prices, but of course, RM is the same as any other MCPS HS. The same kid will do as well as they would anyplace else. The differences aren't the school but the home life and parents.

Op here. Thanks to everyone for their feedback. Lots to think about.

Good luck. Select wisely.

Yes, just read some of the stereotyping some anti-RM posters have of a diverse school. Too many of "those" kids.

That's the kind of folks your kids would be exposed to - people who stereotype an entire school and the families who go there based on what they hear about but probably have zero experience in.

No one said RM is perfect, but some anti-RM posters are seriously clueless about the student body at RM.

People are not anti-RM. What you are seeing is people pushing back on posts that make non-IB RM like it's something special. It's not. Non IB RM is no different than any other MCPS HS (except W schools and BCC). They are all pretty f'ed.

This is what I am reading also. Non-IB is nothing special.

No one said it was "special", just not the ganglandia that some are making it out to be.

True but Wootton test scores are the same if not better than RM with an IB department. An IB that takes the smartest kids from all over the county. Which shows you that scores without IB would probably be similar to schools like Rockville and QO. Not terrible, but I would prefer the Wootton area. I also think they are the least likely to get overhauled with the 2 new high schools being built and rezoned. Besides that Rio area, Wootton's neighborhoods are all petty much around the high school and far away from the other high schools. I feel like RM has a chance to move to Crown or Gaithersburg and I would be leery about buying in that area because of it.

The other perk is that Wootton projected growth is level for the next 6 years. RM projections are going up another 600 students over the next 6 years. So obviously that means redistricting or a ton more portables on what is a pretty new school.

If you have time and reasonable googling skills, you can estimate this. I have done it years ago (when SAT was based on 2400). It is not hard to calculate and it was not pretty.

? ok, how would you do this? You are making the assumption that the top scores are all for IB students, and I don't think that's true.

find out class size, number of kids who took SAT, avg SAT score, number of IB kids, IB avg SAT score (and assume of IB kids took the exam which is a reasonable assumption). after that it's just simple math

The issue with this is approach is there are 25% IB spots reserved for RM students, and more IB seats open up in 11/12 grade, excluding IB kids scores is like taking out all the top students from RM.

Yes, there are much better opportunities for an advanced learner at RM.

Only if you apply into IB. Wootton actually has more AP offerings than RM

Perhaps, but the W's also have a history of racially motivated hate incidents that recur regularly.

Can you please describe further? We aren't white and this is something we think about. -OP

NP here - we are not white from a biracial family and attend Wootton. I have family at RM and they are happy there as well. We chose Wootton because we wanted strong academics without the super wealth that happens at Churchill and Whitman. Can you get that at RM? Absolutely. For us we believed that from elementary to high school Wootton was the stronger cluster to be in so that is what we did. You get plenty of diversity both racially and socio economically at Wootton just like at RM. You also still see fights, drugs and vaping just like you do at RM. Again for us we decided Wootton was the better of the two options. Both give you the "real world".

wootton is only "plenty" diverse if you compare it to Whitman. In MCPS, neither schools are considered "diverse", either racially or SES. Just look at their stats compared to RM, QO, and county as a whole.

what's so f'king big deal about diversity? isn't your kid's learning more important? MoCo is one of the most diverse county in the country already. we cannot and should not trade good education with diversity crap. education should always come first.

1. I was responding to the ^^PPs point about diversity
2. Some people do care about diversity. Not all of us are white. Some people don't feel comfortable being one of only a handful of kids of a particular background. My nieces have gone through that. I would never do that to my kids.
3. Learning is important, but so is the social/emotional aspects of the learning environment. Kids spend six hours at school, and after school activities. Most of their friends are from school. Feeling included is important.
When I was in HS I did really well academically but not socially, and I was miserable. I don't want that for my kids.

My kids are at RM, and they like it.

No one is saying diversity is not important. My point is this entire area is already diverse enough. People tend to use diversity as an excuse to cover-up broken system. Gang issues? Well, but see how diverse we are. Low performance? Don't worry because we have one of the most diverse school systems...etc. I am glad you like RM. More power to you. But don't say RM is "better" because it's more diverse than other schools. I am not white either and I certainly do appreciate how it feels to be different. But, at the end of the day, kids need to learn.

1) There have been 0 gang incidents at any MCPS school in over a decade.
2) Some schools aren't all that diverse compared to the county.
3) Test score averages are simply a reflection of a school's overall SES but every MCPS school has rigorous course offerings.

1. They are ruling out gang issue in one of the latest incidents at RM right now. There are at least 2 confirmed at Gaithersburg High School and one at Magruder in the past decade.
2. True but that has more to do with the fact that many people of the same culture or race prefer to live near others - especially Asian and Hispanic. And others are just overpriced previous white areas and non-whites don't want to pay the price and send their kids to all-white schools. So they send them to secular privates which do a much better job with diversity and education.
3. MCPS absolutely does not have rigorous course offerings in every school. Certain high schools don't offer a lot of AP's. If kids are eligible, they have to take them online.

I'm confused by this post.
Not sure that it matters whether violence is gang related or not. Violence is violence.
Plenty of non white people at Wootton. Can't compare a $40k per year school to public. They will obviously have the resources to do a "better" job at just about everything but some parents prefer the public school option even if they could afford private.
Can't speak to course offerings at all schools but again Wootton has more than enough AP courses to fill a schedule.

I think "there has been 0 gang violence in MCPS" poster is using very strict definition of "gang violence" (i.e., one must be organized and identified by police or something like that). Most reasonable people would define as any violence by thugs (with or without gang affirmation).

True, but there are a couple posters trying to hype these things in order to steer public opinion and fearmonger for their political ends.

Correct 0 gang incidents at MCPS in over a decade. END OF STORY

Look just because there's gang activity or documented incidents doesn't mean those areas aren't ganglandia! Also, it would be disheartening to learn that this wasn't the case especially after paying an inflated price for a home within boundary to a low FARMS school pyramid.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Op if you are still reading, Wootton is the right answer. No comparison between two unless your kid is accepted into IB.

please. The vast majority of kids at RM are not in IB, and they do fine.

But, yes, if you want a pressure cooker environment with no diversity, choose Wootton.

What does "they do fine" mean? I know we all have different expectations for our kids. At least "get accepted to UMCP" fine? Most non-IB kids have stats high enough for UMCP?

Yes. Believe it or not, there is a contingent of UMC kids (white and Asian too!) who opted not to do IB. They are taking AP classes and will do fine after graduation.

I believe it. I mean I'd not all that interested in IB courses and would also prefer to focus on STEM.

LOL. Read results coming out of this thread

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1108817.page

? What does that have to do with anything? Trust me - I know white, UMC kids from RM who have gone on to UMD and other good schools. The non-IB kids ARE NOT all gang members.

Real-estate agents try to spin this to inflate housing prices, but of course, RM is the same as any other MCPS HS. The same kid will do as well as they would anyplace else. The differences aren't the school but the home life and parents.

Op here. Thanks to everyone for their feedback. Lots to think about.

Good luck. Select wisely.

Yes, just read some of the stereotyping some anti-RM posters have of a diverse school. Too many of "those" kids.

That's the kind of folks your kids would be exposed to - people who stereotype an entire school and the families who go there based on what they hear about but probably have zero experience in.

No one said RM is perfect, but some anti-RM posters are seriously clueless about the student body at RM.

People are not anti-RM. What you are seeing is people pushing back on posts that make non-IB RM like it's something special. It's not. Non IB RM is no different than any other MCPS HS (except W schools and BCC). They are all pretty f'ed.

This is what I am reading also. Non-IB is nothing special.

No one said it was "special", just not the ganglandia that some are making it out to be.

True but Wootton test scores are the same if not better than RM with an IB department. An IB that takes the smartest kids from all over the county. Which shows you that scores without IB would probably be similar to schools like Rockville and QO. Not terrible, but I would prefer the Wootton area. I also think they are the least likely to get overhauled with the 2 new high schools being built and rezoned. Besides that Rio area, Wootton's neighborhoods are all petty much around the high school and far away from the other high schools. I feel like RM has a chance to move to Crown or Gaithersburg and I would be leery about buying in that area because of it.

The other perk is that Wootton projected growth is level for the next 6 years. RM projections are going up another 600 students over the next 6 years. So obviously that means redistricting or a ton more portables on what is a pretty new school.

If you have time and reasonable googling skills, you can estimate this. I have done it years ago (when SAT was based on 2400). It is not hard to calculate and it was not pretty.

? ok, how would you do this? You are making the assumption that the top scores are all for IB students, and I don't think that's true.

find out class size, number of kids who took SAT, avg SAT score, number of IB kids, IB avg SAT score (and assume of IB kids took the exam which is a reasonable assumption). after that it's just simple math

The issue with this is approach is there are 25% IB spots reserved for RM students, and more IB seats open up in 11/12 grade, excluding IB kids scores is like taking out all the top students from RM.

Yes, there are much better opportunities for an advanced learner at RM.

Only if you apply into IB. Wootton actually has more AP offerings than RM

Nope... non IB students can take IB classes. Wootton probably offers more AP because they don't have IB as an option for even non IB kids.

People are throwing "facts" out there without even knowing the truth (to coin Kelley Ann Conway).

The OP said Wootton offered more AP classes and they do. They didn't mention anything about the IB classes. Many kids and colleges do not care about them. The IB diploma, yes. Taking a few IB courses? No.

A PP stated that RM only has more challenging classes if you are in IB. I'm replying to that. Non IB students can take IB classes and AP classes.

Wootton offers more AP classes because they don't have IB choices.

Colleges care if you take rigorous classes. IB classes would fit that, too.

As someone who has had two graduate RM already, I can confirm with the PP that colleges do not care about random IB courses. They rarely transfer to college credit and all it does is bring your GPA up, which an AP and even an honors does the same amount. They only care if you get the diploma. And jumping in at 11th grade to try and get the diploma, the track record 2 years ago was under 50%. So I am not sure it is worth the stress your last 2 years of high school.

Colleges care if you take the rigorous courses. If a school only offers IB <some subject> and not AP <the same subject> than they will look at the IB course.

Yes, it's hard to jump in at 11th grade because most aren't used to the rigor of IB magnet, which is why MCPS as a whole does a crap job of preparing kids for more rigorous courses, and this starts in MS.

My kid is at JW and there are zero rigorous courses here. What are you talking about?

You are mistaken. Every MS offers some combination of Global Humanities, Advanced English, Honors Geometry and Foreign Lanaugage which are all rigorous and challenging courses that prepare MS students for HS even JW MS.

First, those courses in MS are not rigorous. It's a joke. You must be a central office admin to think they are rigorous.

Second, my point was that MCPS doesn't prepare kids for more rigorous courses but that they should starting in MS going into HS. Lots of kids take AP classes in 9th grade, but they aren't prepared for those rigorous courses when they are in MS. MCPS should at least prepare 8th graders who want to take AP courses in 9th grade.

You want to raise kids performance and expectations. I am sorry to say, you will not get it in MCPS. The system is in free fall to close the achievement gap (by lowering the standards). If you are not getting it from a W school, you are not going to get it any where.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Op if you are still reading, Wootton is the right answer. No comparison between two unless your kid is accepted into IB.

please. The vast majority of kids at RM are not in IB, and they do fine.

But, yes, if you want a pressure cooker environment with no diversity, choose Wootton.

What does "they do fine" mean? I know we all have different expectations for our kids. At least "get accepted to UMCP" fine? Most non-IB kids have stats high enough for UMCP?

Yes. Believe it or not, there is a contingent of UMC kids (white and Asian too!) who opted not to do IB. They are taking AP classes and will do fine after graduation.

I believe it. I mean I'd not all that interested in IB courses and would also prefer to focus on STEM.

LOL. Read results coming out of this thread

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1108817.page

? What does that have to do with anything? Trust me - I know white, UMC kids from RM who have gone on to UMD and other good schools. The non-IB kids ARE NOT all gang members.

Real-estate agents try to spin this to inflate housing prices, but of course, RM is the same as any other MCPS HS. The same kid will do as well as they would anyplace else. The differences aren't the school but the home life and parents.

Op here. Thanks to everyone for their feedback. Lots to think about.

Good luck. Select wisely.

Yes, just read some of the stereotyping some anti-RM posters have of a diverse school. Too many of "those" kids.

That's the kind of folks your kids would be exposed to - people who stereotype an entire school and the families who go there based on what they hear about but probably have zero experience in.

No one said RM is perfect, but some anti-RM posters are seriously clueless about the student body at RM.

People are not anti-RM. What you are seeing is people pushing back on posts that make non-IB RM like it's something special. It's not. Non IB RM is no different than any other MCPS HS (except W schools and BCC). They are all pretty f'ed.

This is what I am reading also. Non-IB is nothing special.

No one said it was "special", just not the ganglandia that some are making it out to be.

True but Wootton test scores are the same if not better than RM with an IB department. An IB that takes the smartest kids from all over the county. Which shows you that scores without IB would probably be similar to schools like Rockville and QO. Not terrible, but I would prefer the Wootton area. I also think they are the least likely to get overhauled with the 2 new high schools being built and rezoned. Besides that Rio area, Wootton's neighborhoods are all petty much around the high school and far away from the other high schools. I feel like RM has a chance to move to Crown or Gaithersburg and I would be leery about buying in that area because of it.

The other perk is that Wootton projected growth is level for the next 6 years. RM projections are going up another 600 students over the next 6 years. So obviously that means redistricting or a ton more portables on what is a pretty new school.

If you have time and reasonable googling skills, you can estimate this. I have done it years ago (when SAT was based on 2400). It is not hard to calculate and it was not pretty.

? ok, how would you do this? You are making the assumption that the top scores are all for IB students, and I don't think that's true.

find out class size, number of kids who took SAT, avg SAT score, number of IB kids, IB avg SAT score (and assume of IB kids took the exam which is a reasonable assumption). after that it's just simple math

The issue with this is approach is there are 25% IB spots reserved for RM students, and more IB seats open up in 11/12 grade, excluding IB kids scores is like taking out all the top students from RM.

Yes, there are much better opportunities for an advanced learner at RM.

Only if you apply into IB. Wootton actually has more AP offerings than RM

Nope... non IB students can take IB classes. Wootton probably offers more AP because they don't have IB as an option for even non IB kids.

People are throwing "facts" out there without even knowing the truth (to coin Kelley Ann Conway).

The OP said Wootton offered more AP classes and they do. They didn't mention anything about the IB classes. Many kids and colleges do not care about them. The IB diploma, yes. Taking a few IB courses? No.

A PP stated that RM only has more challenging classes if you are in IB. I'm replying to that. Non IB students can take IB classes and AP classes.

Wootton offers more AP classes because they don't have IB choices.

Colleges care if you take rigorous classes. IB classes would fit that, too.

As someone who has had two graduate RM already, I can confirm with the PP that colleges do not care about random IB courses. They rarely transfer to college credit and all it does is bring your GPA up, which an AP and even an honors does the same amount. They only care if you get the diploma. And jumping in at 11th grade to try and get the diploma, the track record 2 years ago was under 50%. So I am not sure it is worth the stress your last 2 years of high school.

Colleges care if you take the rigorous courses. If a school only offers IB <some subject> and not AP <the same subject> than they will look at the IB course.

Yes, it's hard to jump in at 11th grade because most aren't used to the rigor of IB magnet, which is why MCPS as a whole does a crap job of preparing kids for more rigorous courses, and this starts in MS.

My kid is at JW and there are zero rigorous courses here. What are you talking about?

You are mistaken. Every MS offers some combination of Global Humanities, Advanced English, Honors Geometry and Foreign Lanaugage which are all rigorous and challenging courses that prepare MS students for HS even JW MS.

Ok, that right there tells me that you either work for Central Office or are a troll. There is NO way you have kids in an MCPS middle school. You could NOT type that with a straight face.

Advanced English at an MCPS middle school is not rigorous. It is more like a remedial class. For 3 years, my kid had classmates who could barely speak English in her classes. Nothing against the kids, but they certainly were not able to do ‘rigorous’ work in English. She read one whole book the entire time she was in middle school. Mostly it was just excerpts on Study Sync. And she never got any writing feedback. Just sailed through with As, despite the fact that her writing needed work.

We signed her up for a writing class the summer before 9th grade. MCPS middle school Advanced English did not prepare her for high school at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op if you are still reading, Wootton is the right answer. No comparison between two unless your kid is accepted into IB.

please. The vast majority of kids at RM are not in IB, and they do fine.

But, yes, if you want a pressure cooker environment with no diversity, choose Wootton.

What does "they do fine" mean? I know we all have different expectations for our kids. At least "get accepted to UMCP" fine? Most non-IB kids have stats high enough for UMCP?

Yes. Believe it or not, there is a contingent of UMC kids (white and Asian too!) who opted not to do IB. They are taking AP classes and will do fine after graduation.

I believe it. I mean I'd not all that interested in IB courses and would also prefer to focus on STEM.

LOL. Read results coming out of this thread

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1108817.page

? What does that have to do with anything? Trust me - I know white, UMC kids from RM who have gone on to UMD and other good schools. The non-IB kids ARE NOT all gang members.

Real-estate agents try to spin this to inflate housing prices, but of course, RM is the same as any other MCPS HS. The same kid will do as well as they would anyplace else. The differences aren't the school but the home life and parents.

Op here. Thanks to everyone for their feedback. Lots to think about.

Good luck. Select wisely.

Yes, just read some of the stereotyping some anti-RM posters have of a diverse school. Too many of "those" kids.

That's the kind of folks your kids would be exposed to - people who stereotype an entire school and the families who go there based on what they hear about but probably have zero experience in.

No one said RM is perfect, but some anti-RM posters are seriously clueless about the student body at RM.

People are not anti-RM. What you are seeing is people pushing back on posts that make non-IB RM like it's something special. It's not. Non IB RM is no different than any other MCPS HS (except W schools and BCC). They are all pretty f'ed.

This is what I am reading also. Non-IB is nothing special.

No one said it was "special", just not the ganglandia that some are making it out to be.

True but Wootton test scores are the same if not better than RM with an IB department. An IB that takes the smartest kids from all over the county. Which shows you that scores without IB would probably be similar to schools like Rockville and QO. Not terrible, but I would prefer the Wootton area. I also think they are the least likely to get overhauled with the 2 new high schools being built and rezoned. Besides that Rio area, Wootton's neighborhoods are all petty much around the high school and far away from the other high schools. I feel like RM has a chance to move to Crown or Gaithersburg and I would be leery about buying in that area because of it.

The other perk is that Wootton projected growth is level for the next 6 years. RM projections are going up another 600 students over the next 6 years. So obviously that means redistricting or a ton more portables on what is a pretty new school.

If you have time and reasonable googling skills, you can estimate this. I have done it years ago (when SAT was based on 2400). It is not hard to calculate and it was not pretty.

? ok, how would you do this? You are making the assumption that the top scores are all for IB students, and I don't think that's true.

find out class size, number of kids who took SAT, avg SAT score, number of IB kids, IB avg SAT score (and assume of IB kids took the exam which is a reasonable assumption). after that it's just simple math

The issue with this is approach is there are 25% IB spots reserved for RM students, and more IB seats open up in 11/12 grade, excluding IB kids scores is like taking out all the top students from RM.

Yes, there are much better opportunities for an advanced learner at RM.

Only if you apply into IB. Wootton actually has more AP offerings than RM

Perhaps, but the W's also have a history of racially motivated hate incidents that recur regularly.

Can you please describe further? We aren't white and this is something we think about. -OP

NP here - we are not white from a biracial family and attend Wootton. I have family at RM and they are happy there as well. We chose Wootton because we wanted strong academics without the super wealth that happens at Churchill and Whitman. Can you get that at RM? Absolutely. For us we believed that from elementary to high school Wootton was the stronger cluster to be in so that is what we did. You get plenty of diversity both racially and socio economically at Wootton just like at RM. You also still see fights, drugs and vaping just like you do at RM. Again for us we decided Wootton was the better of the two options. Both give you the "real world".

wootton is only "plenty" diverse if you compare it to Whitman. In MCPS, neither schools are considered "diverse", either racially or SES. Just look at their stats compared to RM, QO, and county as a whole.

what's so f'king big deal about diversity? isn't your kid's learning more important? MoCo is one of the most diverse county in the country already. we cannot and should not trade good education with diversity crap. education should always come first.

1. I was responding to the ^^PPs point about diversity
2. Some people do care about diversity. Not all of us are white. Some people don't feel comfortable being one of only a handful of kids of a particular background. My nieces have gone through that. I would never do that to my kids.
3. Learning is important, but so is the social/emotional aspects of the learning environment. Kids spend six hours at school, and after school activities. Most of their friends are from school. Feeling included is important.
When I was in HS I did really well academically but not socially, and I was miserable. I don't want that for my kids.

My kids are at RM, and they like it.

No one is saying diversity is not important. My point is this entire area is already diverse enough. People tend to use diversity as an excuse to cover-up broken system. Gang issues? Well, but see how diverse we are. Low performance? Don't worry because we have one of the most diverse school systems...etc. I am glad you like RM. More power to you. But don't say RM is "better" because it's more diverse than other schools. I am not white either and I certainly do appreciate how it feels to be different. But, at the end of the day, kids need to learn.

1) There have been 0 gang incidents at any MCPS school in over a decade.
2) Some schools aren't all that diverse compared to the county.
3) Test score averages are simply a reflection of a school's overall SES but every MCPS school has rigorous course offerings.

1. They are ruling out gang issue in one of the latest incidents at RM right now. There are at least 2 confirmed at Gaithersburg High School and one at Magruder in the past decade.
2. True but that has more to do with the fact that many people of the same culture or race prefer to live near others - especially Asian and Hispanic. And others are just overpriced previous white areas and non-whites don't want to pay the price and send their kids to all-white schools. So they send them to secular privates which do a much better job with diversity and education.
3. MCPS absolutely does not have rigorous course offerings in every school. Certain high schools don't offer a lot of AP's. If kids are eligible, they have to take them online.

I'm confused by this post.
Not sure that it matters whether violence is gang related or not. Violence is violence.
Plenty of non white people at Wootton. Can't compare a $40k per year school to public. They will obviously have the resources to do a "better" job at just about everything but some parents prefer the public school option even if they could afford private.
Can't speak to course offerings at all schools but again Wootton has more than enough AP courses to fill a schedule.

I think "there has been 0 gang violence in MCPS" poster is using very strict definition of "gang violence" (i.e., one must be organized and identified by police or something like that). Most reasonable people would define as any violence by thugs (with or without gang affirmation).

True, but there are a couple posters trying to hype these things in order to steer public opinion and fearmonger for their political ends.

Correct 0 gang incidents at MCPS in over a decade. END OF STORY

According to who? What do you count as ‘gang-related’? The recent incident at RMHS was gang related.

Do you think MCPS is going to make a report of all the gang-related incidents at school and send them out with the weekly ‘5 Things You Need to Know’ emails? Not a chance. MCPS much prefers to sweep any negative incidents way under the rug.

Yes, there have been kids in gangs at MCPS middle schools and high schools. And some of those kids have been involved in various incidents at those schools.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Op if you are still reading, Wootton is the right answer. No comparison between two unless your kid is accepted into IB.

please. The vast majority of kids at RM are not in IB, and they do fine.

But, yes, if you want a pressure cooker environment with no diversity, choose Wootton.

What does "they do fine" mean? I know we all have different expectations for our kids. At least "get accepted to UMCP" fine? Most non-IB kids have stats high enough for UMCP?

Yes. Believe it or not, there is a contingent of UMC kids (white and Asian too!) who opted not to do IB. They are taking AP classes and will do fine after graduation.

I believe it. I mean I'd not all that interested in IB courses and would also prefer to focus on STEM.

LOL. Read results coming out of this thread

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1108817.page

? What does that have to do with anything? Trust me - I know white, UMC kids from RM who have gone on to UMD and other good schools. The non-IB kids ARE NOT all gang members.

Real-estate agents try to spin this to inflate housing prices, but of course, RM is the same as any other MCPS HS. The same kid will do as well as they would anyplace else. The differences aren't the school but the home life and parents.

Op here. Thanks to everyone for their feedback. Lots to think about.

Good luck. Select wisely.

Yes, just read some of the stereotyping some anti-RM posters have of a diverse school. Too many of "those" kids.

That's the kind of folks your kids would be exposed to - people who stereotype an entire school and the families who go there based on what they hear about but probably have zero experience in.

No one said RM is perfect, but some anti-RM posters are seriously clueless about the student body at RM.

People are not anti-RM. What you are seeing is people pushing back on posts that make non-IB RM like it's something special. It's not. Non IB RM is no different than any other MCPS HS (except W schools and BCC). They are all pretty f'ed.

This is what I am reading also. Non-IB is nothing special.

No one said it was "special", just not the ganglandia that some are making it out to be.

True but Wootton test scores are the same if not better than RM with an IB department. An IB that takes the smartest kids from all over the county. Which shows you that scores without IB would probably be similar to schools like Rockville and QO. Not terrible, but I would prefer the Wootton area. I also think they are the least likely to get overhauled with the 2 new high schools being built and rezoned. Besides that Rio area, Wootton's neighborhoods are all petty much around the high school and far away from the other high schools. I feel like RM has a chance to move to Crown or Gaithersburg and I would be leery about buying in that area because of it.

The other perk is that Wootton projected growth is level for the next 6 years. RM projections are going up another 600 students over the next 6 years. So obviously that means redistricting or a ton more portables on what is a pretty new school.

If you have time and reasonable googling skills, you can estimate this. I have done it years ago (when SAT was based on 2400). It is not hard to calculate and it was not pretty.

? ok, how would you do this? You are making the assumption that the top scores are all for IB students, and I don't think that's true.

find out class size, number of kids who took SAT, avg SAT score, number of IB kids, IB avg SAT score (and assume of IB kids took the exam which is a reasonable assumption). after that it's just simple math

The issue with this is approach is there are 25% IB spots reserved for RM students, and more IB seats open up in 11/12 grade, excluding IB kids scores is like taking out all the top students from RM.

Yes, there are much better opportunities for an advanced learner at RM.

Only if you apply into IB. Wootton actually has more AP offerings than RM

Nope... non IB students can take IB classes. Wootton probably offers more AP because they don't have IB as an option for even non IB kids.

People are throwing "facts" out there without even knowing the truth (to coin Kelley Ann Conway).

The OP said Wootton offered more AP classes and they do. They didn't mention anything about the IB classes. Many kids and colleges do not care about them. The IB diploma, yes. Taking a few IB courses? No.

A PP stated that RM only has more challenging classes if you are in IB. I'm replying to that. Non IB students can take IB classes and AP classes.

Wootton offers more AP classes because they don't have IB choices.

Colleges care if you take rigorous classes. IB classes would fit that, too.

As someone who has had two graduate RM already, I can confirm with the PP that colleges do not care about random IB courses. They rarely transfer to college credit and all it does is bring your GPA up, which an AP and even an honors does the same amount. They only care if you get the diploma. And jumping in at 11th grade to try and get the diploma, the track record 2 years ago was under 50%. So I am not sure it is worth the stress your last 2 years of high school.

Colleges care if you take the rigorous courses. If a school only offers IB <some subject> and not AP <the same subject> than they will look at the IB course.

Yes, it's hard to jump in at 11th grade because most aren't used to the rigor of IB magnet, which is why MCPS as a whole does a crap job of preparing kids for more rigorous courses, and this starts in MS.

My kid is at JW and there are zero rigorous courses here. What are you talking about?

You are mistaken. Every MS offers some combination of Global Humanities, Advanced English, Honors Geometry and Foreign Lanaugage which are all rigorous and challenging courses that prepare MS students for HS even JW MS.

First, those courses in MS are not rigorous. It's a joke. You must be a central office admin to think they are rigorous.

Second, my point was that MCPS doesn't prepare kids for more rigorous courses but that they should starting in MS going into HS. Lots of kids take AP classes in 9th grade, but they aren't prepared for those rigorous courses when they are in MS. MCPS should at least prepare 8th graders who want to take AP courses in 9th grade.

You want to raise kids performance and expectations. I am sorry to say, you will not get it in MCPS. The system is in free fall to close the achievement gap (by lowering the standards). If you are not getting it from a W school, you are not going to get it any where.

Sadly, this is 100% true.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op if you are still reading, Wootton is the right answer. No comparison between two unless your kid is accepted into IB.

please. The vast majority of kids at RM are not in IB, and they do fine.

But, yes, if you want a pressure cooker environment with no diversity, choose Wootton.

What does "they do fine" mean? I know we all have different expectations for our kids. At least "get accepted to UMCP" fine? Most non-IB kids have stats high enough for UMCP?

Yes. Believe it or not, there is a contingent of UMC kids (white and Asian too!) who opted not to do IB. They are taking AP classes and will do fine after graduation.

I believe it. I mean I'd not all that interested in IB courses and would also prefer to focus on STEM.

LOL. Read results coming out of this thread

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1108817.page

? What does that have to do with anything? Trust me - I know white, UMC kids from RM who have gone on to UMD and other good schools. The non-IB kids ARE NOT all gang members.

Real-estate agents try to spin this to inflate housing prices, but of course, RM is the same as any other MCPS HS. The same kid will do as well as they would anyplace else. The differences aren't the school but the home life and parents.

Op here. Thanks to everyone for their feedback. Lots to think about.

Good luck. Select wisely.

Yes, just read some of the stereotyping some anti-RM posters have of a diverse school. Too many of "those" kids.

That's the kind of folks your kids would be exposed to - people who stereotype an entire school and the families who go there based on what they hear about but probably have zero experience in.

No one said RM is perfect, but some anti-RM posters are seriously clueless about the student body at RM.

People are not anti-RM. What you are seeing is people pushing back on posts that make non-IB RM like it's something special. It's not. Non IB RM is no different than any other MCPS HS (except W schools and BCC). They are all pretty f'ed.

This is what I am reading also. Non-IB is nothing special.

No one said it was "special", just not the ganglandia that some are making it out to be.

True but Wootton test scores are the same if not better than RM with an IB department. An IB that takes the smartest kids from all over the county. Which shows you that scores without IB would probably be similar to schools like Rockville and QO. Not terrible, but I would prefer the Wootton area. I also think they are the least likely to get overhauled with the 2 new high schools being built and rezoned. Besides that Rio area, Wootton's neighborhoods are all petty much around the high school and far away from the other high schools. I feel like RM has a chance to move to Crown or Gaithersburg and I would be leery about buying in that area because of it.

The other perk is that Wootton projected growth is level for the next 6 years. RM projections are going up another 600 students over the next 6 years. So obviously that means redistricting or a ton more portables on what is a pretty new school.

If you have time and reasonable googling skills, you can estimate this. I have done it years ago (when SAT was based on 2400). It is not hard to calculate and it was not pretty.

? ok, how would you do this? You are making the assumption that the top scores are all for IB students, and I don't think that's true.

find out class size, number of kids who took SAT, avg SAT score, number of IB kids, IB avg SAT score (and assume of IB kids took the exam which is a reasonable assumption). after that it's just simple math

The issue with this is approach is there are 25% IB spots reserved for RM students, and more IB seats open up in 11/12 grade, excluding IB kids scores is like taking out all the top students from RM.

Yes, there are much better opportunities for an advanced learner at RM.

Only if you apply into IB. Wootton actually has more AP offerings than RM

Perhaps, but the W's also have a history of racially motivated hate incidents that recur regularly.

Can you please describe further? We aren't white and this is something we think about. -OP

NP here - we are not white from a biracial family and attend Wootton. I have family at RM and they are happy there as well. We chose Wootton because we wanted strong academics without the super wealth that happens at Churchill and Whitman. Can you get that at RM? Absolutely. For us we believed that from elementary to high school Wootton was the stronger cluster to be in so that is what we did. You get plenty of diversity both racially and socio economically at Wootton just like at RM. You also still see fights, drugs and vaping just like you do at RM. Again for us we decided Wootton was the better of the two options. Both give you the "real world".

wootton is only "plenty" diverse if you compare it to Whitman. In MCPS, neither schools are considered "diverse", either racially or SES. Just look at their stats compared to RM, QO, and county as a whole.

what's so f'king big deal about diversity? isn't your kid's learning more important? MoCo is one of the most diverse county in the country already. we cannot and should not trade good education with diversity crap. education should always come first.

1. I was responding to the ^^PPs point about diversity
2. Some people do care about diversity. Not all of us are white. Some people don't feel comfortable being one of only a handful of kids of a particular background. My nieces have gone through that. I would never do that to my kids.
3. Learning is important, but so is the social/emotional aspects of the learning environment. Kids spend six hours at school, and after school activities. Most of their friends are from school. Feeling included is important.
When I was in HS I did really well academically but not socially, and I was miserable. I don't want that for my kids.

My kids are at RM, and they like it.

No one is saying diversity is not important. My point is this entire area is already diverse enough. People tend to use diversity as an excuse to cover-up broken system. Gang issues? Well, but see how diverse we are. Low performance? Don't worry because we have one of the most diverse school systems...etc. I am glad you like RM. More power to you. But don't say RM is "better" because it's more diverse than other schools. I am not white either and I certainly do appreciate how it feels to be different. But, at the end of the day, kids need to learn.

1) There have been 0 gang incidents at any MCPS school in over a decade.
2) Some schools aren't all that diverse compared to the county.
3) Test score averages are simply a reflection of a school's overall SES but every MCPS school has rigorous course offerings.

1. They are ruling out gang issue in one of the latest incidents at RM right now. There are at least 2 confirmed at Gaithersburg High School and one at Magruder in the past decade.
2. True but that has more to do with the fact that many people of the same culture or race prefer to live near others - especially Asian and Hispanic. And others are just overpriced previous white areas and non-whites don't want to pay the price and send their kids to all-white schools. So they send them to secular privates which do a much better job with diversity and education.
3. MCPS absolutely does not have rigorous course offerings in every school. Certain high schools don't offer a lot of AP's. If kids are eligible, they have to take them online.

I'm confused by this post.
Not sure that it matters whether violence is gang related or not. Violence is violence.
Plenty of non white people at Wootton. Can't compare a $40k per year school to public. They will obviously have the resources to do a "better" job at just about everything but some parents prefer the public school option even if they could afford private.
Can't speak to course offerings at all schools but again Wootton has more than enough AP courses to fill a schedule.

I think "there has been 0 gang violence in MCPS" poster is using very strict definition of "gang violence" (i.e., one must be organized and identified by police or something like that). Most reasonable people would define as any violence by thugs (with or without gang affirmation).

True, but there are a couple posters trying to hype these things in order to steer public opinion and fearmonger for their political ends.

Correct 0 gang incidents at MCPS in over a decade. END OF STORY

According to who? What do you count as ‘gang-related’? The recent incident at RMHS was gang related.

Do you think MCPS is going to make a report of all the gang-related incidents at school and send them out with the weekly ‘5 Things You Need to Know’ emails? Not a chance. MCPS much prefers to sweep any negative incidents way under the rug.

Yes, there have been kids in gangs at MCPS middle schools and high schools. And some of those kids have been involved in various incidents at those schools.

According to MCPS, there have been 0 gang related incidents at any MCPS school for over a decade.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op if you are still reading, Wootton is the right answer. No comparison between two unless your kid is accepted into IB.

please. The vast majority of kids at RM are not in IB, and they do fine.

But, yes, if you want a pressure cooker environment with no diversity, choose Wootton.

What does "they do fine" mean? I know we all have different expectations for our kids. At least "get accepted to UMCP" fine? Most non-IB kids have stats high enough for UMCP?

Yes. Believe it or not, there is a contingent of UMC kids (white and Asian too!) who opted not to do IB. They are taking AP classes and will do fine after graduation.

I believe it. I mean I'd not all that interested in IB courses and would also prefer to focus on STEM.

LOL. Read results coming out of this thread

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1108817.page

? What does that have to do with anything? Trust me - I know white, UMC kids from RM who have gone on to UMD and other good schools. The non-IB kids ARE NOT all gang members.

Real-estate agents try to spin this to inflate housing prices, but of course, RM is the same as any other MCPS HS. The same kid will do as well as they would anyplace else. The differences aren't the school but the home life and parents.

Op here. Thanks to everyone for their feedback. Lots to think about.

Good luck. Select wisely.

Yes, just read some of the stereotyping some anti-RM posters have of a diverse school. Too many of "those" kids.

That's the kind of folks your kids would be exposed to - people who stereotype an entire school and the families who go there based on what they hear about but probably have zero experience in.

No one said RM is perfect, but some anti-RM posters are seriously clueless about the student body at RM.

People are not anti-RM. What you are seeing is people pushing back on posts that make non-IB RM like it's something special. It's not. Non IB RM is no different than any other MCPS HS (except W schools and BCC). They are all pretty f'ed.

This is what I am reading also. Non-IB is nothing special.

No one said it was "special", just not the ganglandia that some are making it out to be.

True but Wootton test scores are the same if not better than RM with an IB department. An IB that takes the smartest kids from all over the county. Which shows you that scores without IB would probably be similar to schools like Rockville and QO. Not terrible, but I would prefer the Wootton area. I also think they are the least likely to get overhauled with the 2 new high schools being built and rezoned. Besides that Rio area, Wootton's neighborhoods are all petty much around the high school and far away from the other high schools. I feel like RM has a chance to move to Crown or Gaithersburg and I would be leery about buying in that area because of it.

The other perk is that Wootton projected growth is level for the next 6 years. RM projections are going up another 600 students over the next 6 years. So obviously that means redistricting or a ton more portables on what is a pretty new school.

If you have time and reasonable googling skills, you can estimate this. I have done it years ago (when SAT was based on 2400). It is not hard to calculate and it was not pretty.

? ok, how would you do this? You are making the assumption that the top scores are all for IB students, and I don't think that's true.

find out class size, number of kids who took SAT, avg SAT score, number of IB kids, IB avg SAT score (and assume of IB kids took the exam which is a reasonable assumption). after that it's just simple math

The issue with this is approach is there are 25% IB spots reserved for RM students, and more IB seats open up in 11/12 grade, excluding IB kids scores is like taking out all the top students from RM.

Yes, there are much better opportunities for an advanced learner at RM.

Only if you apply into IB. Wootton actually has more AP offerings than RM

Nope... non IB students can take IB classes. Wootton probably offers more AP because they don't have IB as an option for even non IB kids.

People are throwing "facts" out there without even knowing the truth (to coin Kelley Ann Conway).

The OP said Wootton offered more AP classes and they do. They didn't mention anything about the IB classes. Many kids and colleges do not care about them. The IB diploma, yes. Taking a few IB courses? No.

A PP stated that RM only has more challenging classes if you are in IB. I'm replying to that. Non IB students can take IB classes and AP classes.

Wootton offers more AP classes because they don't have IB choices.

Colleges care if you take rigorous classes. IB classes would fit that, too.

As someone who has had two graduate RM already, I can confirm with the PP that colleges do not care about random IB courses. They rarely transfer to college credit and all it does is bring your GPA up, which an AP and even an honors does the same amount. They only care if you get the diploma. And jumping in at 11th grade to try and get the diploma, the track record 2 years ago was under 50%. So I am not sure it is worth the stress your last 2 years of high school.

Colleges care if you take the rigorous courses. If a school only offers IB <some subject> and not AP <the same subject> than they will look at the IB course.

Yes, it's hard to jump in at 11th grade because most aren't used to the rigor of IB magnet, which is why MCPS as a whole does a crap job of preparing kids for more rigorous courses, and this starts in MS.

My kid is at JW and there are zero rigorous courses here. What are you talking about?

You are mistaken. Every MS offers some combination of Global Humanities, Advanced English, Honors Geometry and Foreign Lanaugage which are all rigorous and challenging courses that prepare MS students for HS even JW MS.

First, those courses in MS are not rigorous. It's a joke. You must be a central office admin to think they are rigorous.

Second, my point was that MCPS doesn't prepare kids for more rigorous courses but that they should starting in MS going into HS. Lots of kids take AP classes in 9th grade, but they aren't prepared for those rigorous courses when they are in MS. MCPS should at least prepare 8th graders who want to take AP courses in 9th grade.

You want to raise kids performance and expectations. I am sorry to say, you will not get it in MCPS. The system is in free fall to close the achievement gap (by lowering the standards). If you are not getting it from a W school, you are not going to get it any where.

Sadly, this is 100% true.

Yes 100% NOT true but sure fearmongers keep pushing this false narrative.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op if you are still reading, Wootton is the right answer. No comparison between two unless your kid is accepted into IB.

please. The vast majority of kids at RM are not in IB, and they do fine.

But, yes, if you want a pressure cooker environment with no diversity, choose Wootton.

What does "they do fine" mean? I know we all have different expectations for our kids. At least "get accepted to UMCP" fine? Most non-IB kids have stats high enough for UMCP?

Yes. Believe it or not, there is a contingent of UMC kids (white and Asian too!) who opted not to do IB. They are taking AP classes and will do fine after graduation.

I believe it. I mean I'd not all that interested in IB courses and would also prefer to focus on STEM.

LOL. Read results coming out of this thread

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1108817.page

? What does that have to do with anything? Trust me - I know white, UMC kids from RM who have gone on to UMD and other good schools. The non-IB kids ARE NOT all gang members.

Real-estate agents try to spin this to inflate housing prices, but of course, RM is the same as any other MCPS HS. The same kid will do as well as they would anyplace else. The differences aren't the school but the home life and parents.

Op here. Thanks to everyone for their feedback. Lots to think about.

Good luck. Select wisely.

Yes, just read some of the stereotyping some anti-RM posters have of a diverse school. Too many of "those" kids.

That's the kind of folks your kids would be exposed to - people who stereotype an entire school and the families who go there based on what they hear about but probably have zero experience in.

No one said RM is perfect, but some anti-RM posters are seriously clueless about the student body at RM.

People are not anti-RM. What you are seeing is people pushing back on posts that make non-IB RM like it's something special. It's not. Non IB RM is no different than any other MCPS HS (except W schools and BCC). They are all pretty f'ed.

This is what I am reading also. Non-IB is nothing special.

No one said it was "special", just not the ganglandia that some are making it out to be.

True but Wootton test scores are the same if not better than RM with an IB department. An IB that takes the smartest kids from all over the county. Which shows you that scores without IB would probably be similar to schools like Rockville and QO. Not terrible, but I would prefer the Wootton area. I also think they are the least likely to get overhauled with the 2 new high schools being built and rezoned. Besides that Rio area, Wootton's neighborhoods are all petty much around the high school and far away from the other high schools. I feel like RM has a chance to move to Crown or Gaithersburg and I would be leery about buying in that area because of it.

The other perk is that Wootton projected growth is level for the next 6 years. RM projections are going up another 600 students over the next 6 years. So obviously that means redistricting or a ton more portables on what is a pretty new school.

If you have time and reasonable googling skills, you can estimate this. I have done it years ago (when SAT was based on 2400). It is not hard to calculate and it was not pretty.

? ok, how would you do this? You are making the assumption that the top scores are all for IB students, and I don't think that's true.

find out class size, number of kids who took SAT, avg SAT score, number of IB kids, IB avg SAT score (and assume of IB kids took the exam which is a reasonable assumption). after that it's just simple math

The issue with this is approach is there are 25% IB spots reserved for RM students, and more IB seats open up in 11/12 grade, excluding IB kids scores is like taking out all the top students from RM.

Yes, there are much better opportunities for an advanced learner at RM.

Only if you apply into IB. Wootton actually has more AP offerings than RM

Perhaps, but the W's also have a history of racially motivated hate incidents that recur regularly.

Can you please describe further? We aren't white and this is something we think about. -OP

NP here - we are not white from a biracial family and attend Wootton. I have family at RM and they are happy there as well. We chose Wootton because we wanted strong academics without the super wealth that happens at Churchill and Whitman. Can you get that at RM? Absolutely. For us we believed that from elementary to high school Wootton was the stronger cluster to be in so that is what we did. You get plenty of diversity both racially and socio economically at Wootton just like at RM. You also still see fights, drugs and vaping just like you do at RM. Again for us we decided Wootton was the better of the two options. Both give you the "real world".

wootton is only "plenty" diverse if you compare it to Whitman. In MCPS, neither schools are considered "diverse", either racially or SES. Just look at their stats compared to RM, QO, and county as a whole.

what's so f'king big deal about diversity? isn't your kid's learning more important? MoCo is one of the most diverse county in the country already. we cannot and should not trade good education with diversity crap. education should always come first.

1. I was responding to the ^^PPs point about diversity
2. Some people do care about diversity. Not all of us are white. Some people don't feel comfortable being one of only a handful of kids of a particular background. My nieces have gone through that. I would never do that to my kids.
3. Learning is important, but so is the social/emotional aspects of the learning environment. Kids spend six hours at school, and after school activities. Most of their friends are from school. Feeling included is important.
When I was in HS I did really well academically but not socially, and I was miserable. I don't want that for my kids.

My kids are at RM, and they like it.

No one is saying diversity is not important. My point is this entire area is already diverse enough. People tend to use diversity as an excuse to cover-up broken system. Gang issues? Well, but see how diverse we are. Low performance? Don't worry because we have one of the most diverse school systems...etc. I am glad you like RM. More power to you. But don't say RM is "better" because it's more diverse than other schools. I am not white either and I certainly do appreciate how it feels to be different. But, at the end of the day, kids need to learn.

1) There have been 0 gang incidents at any MCPS school in over a decade.
2) Some schools aren't all that diverse compared to the county.
3) Test score averages are simply a reflection of a school's overall SES but every MCPS school has rigorous course offerings.

1. They are ruling out gang issue in one of the latest incidents at RM right now. There are at least 2 confirmed at Gaithersburg High School and one at Magruder in the past decade.
2. True but that has more to do with the fact that many people of the same culture or race prefer to live near others - especially Asian and Hispanic. And others are just overpriced previous white areas and non-whites don't want to pay the price and send their kids to all-white schools. So they send them to secular privates which do a much better job with diversity and education.
3. MCPS absolutely does not have rigorous course offerings in every school. Certain high schools don't offer a lot of AP's. If kids are eligible, they have to take them online.

I'm confused by this post.
Not sure that it matters whether violence is gang related or not. Violence is violence.
Plenty of non white people at Wootton. Can't compare a $40k per year school to public. They will obviously have the resources to do a "better" job at just about everything but some parents prefer the public school option even if they could afford private.
Can't speak to course offerings at all schools but again Wootton has more than enough AP courses to fill a schedule.

I think "there has been 0 gang violence in MCPS" poster is using very strict definition of "gang violence" (i.e., one must be organized and identified by police or something like that). Most reasonable people would define as any violence by thugs (with or without gang affirmation).

True, but there are a couple posters trying to hype these things in order to steer public opinion and fearmonger for their political ends.

Correct 0 gang incidents at MCPS in over a decade. END OF STORY

Look just because there's gang activity or documented incidents doesn't mean those areas aren't ganglandia! Also, it would be disheartening to learn that this wasn't the case especially after paying an inflated price for a home within boundary to a low FARMS school pyramid.

I understand your motivation but making nothing into something because it benefits your financial interests doesn't justify this belief.

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Anonymous wrote:Op if you are still reading, Wootton is the right answer. No comparison between two unless your kid is accepted into IB.

please. The vast majority of kids at RM are not in IB, and they do fine.

But, yes, if you want a pressure cooker environment with no diversity, choose Wootton.

What does "they do fine" mean? I know we all have different expectations for our kids. At least "get accepted to UMCP" fine? Most non-IB kids have stats high enough for UMCP?

Yes. Believe it or not, there is a contingent of UMC kids (white and Asian too!) who opted not to do IB. They are taking AP classes and will do fine after graduation.

I believe it. I mean I'd not all that interested in IB courses and would also prefer to focus on STEM.

LOL. Read results coming out of this thread

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1108817.page

? What does that have to do with anything? Trust me - I know white, UMC kids from RM who have gone on to UMD and other good schools. The non-IB kids ARE NOT all gang members.

Real-estate agents try to spin this to inflate housing prices, but of course, RM is the same as any other MCPS HS. The same kid will do as well as they would anyplace else. The differences aren't the school but the home life and parents.

Op here. Thanks to everyone for their feedback. Lots to think about.

Good luck. Select wisely.

Yes, just read some of the stereotyping some anti-RM posters have of a diverse school. Too many of "those" kids.

That's the kind of folks your kids would be exposed to - people who stereotype an entire school and the families who go there based on what they hear about but probably have zero experience in.

No one said RM is perfect, but some anti-RM posters are seriously clueless about the student body at RM.

People are not anti-RM. What you are seeing is people pushing back on posts that make non-IB RM like it's something special. It's not. Non IB RM is no different than any other MCPS HS (except W schools and BCC). They are all pretty f'ed.

This is what I am reading also. Non-IB is nothing special.

No one said it was "special", just not the ganglandia that some are making it out to be.

True but Wootton test scores are the same if not better than RM with an IB department. An IB that takes the smartest kids from all over the county. Which shows you that scores without IB would probably be similar to schools like Rockville and QO. Not terrible, but I would prefer the Wootton area. I also think they are the least likely to get overhauled with the 2 new high schools being built and rezoned. Besides that Rio area, Wootton's neighborhoods are all petty much around the high school and far away from the other high schools. I feel like RM has a chance to move to Crown or Gaithersburg and I would be leery about buying in that area because of it.

The other perk is that Wootton projected growth is level for the next 6 years. RM projections are going up another 600 students over the next 6 years. So obviously that means redistricting or a ton more portables on what is a pretty new school.

If you have time and reasonable googling skills, you can estimate this. I have done it years ago (when SAT was based on 2400). It is not hard to calculate and it was not pretty.

? ok, how would you do this? You are making the assumption that the top scores are all for IB students, and I don't think that's true.

find out class size, number of kids who took SAT, avg SAT score, number of IB kids, IB avg SAT score (and assume of IB kids took the exam which is a reasonable assumption). after that it's just simple math

The issue with this is approach is there are 25% IB spots reserved for RM students, and more IB seats open up in 11/12 grade, excluding IB kids scores is like taking out all the top students from RM.

Yes, there are much better opportunities for an advanced learner at RM.

Only if you apply into IB. Wootton actually has more AP offerings than RM

Nope... non IB students can take IB classes. Wootton probably offers more AP because they don't have IB as an option for even non IB kids.

People are throwing "facts" out there without even knowing the truth (to coin Kelley Ann Conway).

The OP said Wootton offered more AP classes and they do. They didn't mention anything about the IB classes. Many kids and colleges do not care about them. The IB diploma, yes. Taking a few IB courses? No.

A PP stated that RM only has more challenging classes if you are in IB. I'm replying to that. Non IB students can take IB classes and AP classes.

Wootton offers more AP classes because they don't have IB choices.

Colleges care if you take rigorous classes. IB classes would fit that, too.

As someone who has had two graduate RM already, I can confirm with the PP that colleges do not care about random IB courses. They rarely transfer to college credit and all it does is bring your GPA up, which an AP and even an honors does the same amount. They only care if you get the diploma. And jumping in at 11th grade to try and get the diploma, the track record 2 years ago was under 50%. So I am not sure it is worth the stress your last 2 years of high school.

Colleges care if you take the rigorous courses. If a school only offers IB <some subject> and not AP <the same subject> than they will look at the IB course.

Yes, it's hard to jump in at 11th grade because most aren't used to the rigor of IB magnet, which is why MCPS as a whole does a crap job of preparing kids for more rigorous courses, and this starts in MS.

My kid is at JW and there are zero rigorous courses here. What are you talking about?

You are mistaken. Every MS offers some combination of Global Humanities, Advanced English, Honors Geometry and Foreign Lanaugage which are all rigorous and challenging courses that prepare MS students for HS even JW MS.

First, those courses in MS are not rigorous. It's a joke. You must be a central office admin to think they are rigorous.

Second, my point was that MCPS doesn't prepare kids for more rigorous courses but that they should starting in MS going into HS. Lots of kids take AP classes in 9th grade, but they aren't prepared for those rigorous courses when they are in MS. MCPS should at least prepare 8th graders who want to take AP courses in 9th grade.

You want to raise kids performance and expectations. I am sorry to say, you will not get it in MCPS. The system is in free fall to close the achievement gap (by lowering the standards). If you are not getting it from a W school, you are not going to get it any where.

Sadly, this is 100% true.

Yes 100% NOT true but sure fearmongers keep pushing this false narrative.

Nah, most parents just have a higher standard than you. You must be a bottom feeder.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Op if you are still reading, Wootton is the right answer. No comparison between two unless your kid is accepted into IB.

please. The vast majority of kids at RM are not in IB, and they do fine.

But, yes, if you want a pressure cooker environment with no diversity, choose Wootton.

What does "they do fine" mean? I know we all have different expectations for our kids. At least "get accepted to UMCP" fine? Most non-IB kids have stats high enough for UMCP?

Yes. Believe it or not, there is a contingent of UMC kids (white and Asian too!) who opted not to do IB. They are taking AP classes and will do fine after graduation.

I believe it. I mean I'd not all that interested in IB courses and would also prefer to focus on STEM.

LOL. Read results coming out of this thread

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1108817.page

? What does that have to do with anything? Trust me - I know white, UMC kids from RM who have gone on to UMD and other good schools. The non-IB kids ARE NOT all gang members.

Real-estate agents try to spin this to inflate housing prices, but of course, RM is the same as any other MCPS HS. The same kid will do as well as they would anyplace else. The differences aren't the school but the home life and parents.

Op here. Thanks to everyone for their feedback. Lots to think about.

Good luck. Select wisely.

Yes, just read some of the stereotyping some anti-RM posters have of a diverse school. Too many of "those" kids.

That's the kind of folks your kids would be exposed to - people who stereotype an entire school and the families who go there based on what they hear about but probably have zero experience in.

No one said RM is perfect, but some anti-RM posters are seriously clueless about the student body at RM.

People are not anti-RM. What you are seeing is people pushing back on posts that make non-IB RM like it's something special. It's not. Non IB RM is no different than any other MCPS HS (except W schools and BCC). They are all pretty f'ed.

This is what I am reading also. Non-IB is nothing special.

No one said it was "special", just not the ganglandia that some are making it out to be.

True but Wootton test scores are the same if not better than RM with an IB department. An IB that takes the smartest kids from all over the county. Which shows you that scores without IB would probably be similar to schools like Rockville and QO. Not terrible, but I would prefer the Wootton area. I also think they are the least likely to get overhauled with the 2 new high schools being built and rezoned. Besides that Rio area, Wootton's neighborhoods are all petty much around the high school and far away from the other high schools. I feel like RM has a chance to move to Crown or Gaithersburg and I would be leery about buying in that area because of it.

The other perk is that Wootton projected growth is level for the next 6 years. RM projections are going up another 600 students over the next 6 years. So obviously that means redistricting or a ton more portables on what is a pretty new school.

If you have time and reasonable googling skills, you can estimate this. I have done it years ago (when SAT was based on 2400). It is not hard to calculate and it was not pretty.

? ok, how would you do this? You are making the assumption that the top scores are all for IB students, and I don't think that's true.

find out class size, number of kids who took SAT, avg SAT score, number of IB kids, IB avg SAT score (and assume of IB kids took the exam which is a reasonable assumption). after that it's just simple math

The issue with this is approach is there are 25% IB spots reserved for RM students, and more IB seats open up in 11/12 grade, excluding IB kids scores is like taking out all the top students from RM.

Yes, there are much better opportunities for an advanced learner at RM.

Only if you apply into IB. Wootton actually has more AP offerings than RM

Nope... non IB students can take IB classes. Wootton probably offers more AP because they don't have IB as an option for even non IB kids.

People are throwing "facts" out there without even knowing the truth (to coin Kelley Ann Conway).

The OP said Wootton offered more AP classes and they do. They didn't mention anything about the IB classes. Many kids and colleges do not care about them. The IB diploma, yes. Taking a few IB courses? No.

A PP stated that RM only has more challenging classes if you are in IB. I'm replying to that. Non IB students can take IB classes and AP classes.

Wootton offers more AP classes because they don't have IB choices.

Colleges care if you take rigorous classes. IB classes would fit that, too.

As someone who has had two graduate RM already, I can confirm with the PP that colleges do not care about random IB courses. They rarely transfer to college credit and all it does is bring your GPA up, which an AP and even an honors does the same amount. They only care if you get the diploma. And jumping in at 11th grade to try and get the diploma, the track record 2 years ago was under 50%. So I am not sure it is worth the stress your last 2 years of high school.

Colleges care if you take the rigorous courses. If a school only offers IB <some subject> and not AP <the same subject> than they will look at the IB course.

Yes, it's hard to jump in at 11th grade because most aren't used to the rigor of IB magnet, which is why MCPS as a whole does a crap job of preparing kids for more rigorous courses, and this starts in MS.

My kid is at JW and there are zero rigorous courses here. What are you talking about?

You are mistaken. Every MS offers some combination of Global Humanities, Advanced English, Honors Geometry and Foreign Lanaugage which are all rigorous and challenging courses that prepare MS students for HS even JW MS.

First, those courses in MS are not rigorous. It's a joke. You must be a central office admin to think they are rigorous.

Second, my point was that MCPS doesn't prepare kids for more rigorous courses but that they should starting in MS going into HS. Lots of kids take AP classes in 9th grade, but they aren't prepared for those rigorous courses when they are in MS. MCPS should at least prepare 8th graders who want to take AP courses in 9th grade.

You want to raise kids performance and expectations. I am sorry to say, you will not get it in MCPS. The system is in free fall to close the achievement gap (by lowering the standards). If you are not getting it from a W school, you are not going to get it any where.

Sadly, this is 100% true.

Yup. It’s so sad. I grew up in MCPS in the 80s-90s and it wasn’t like this.

But today, MCPS lowers the bar and the standards and dilutes rigor or challenge, all in the misguided name of equity. I had no idea how strong this force was or how it took hold in MCPS. But it’s deteriorating the system for teachers, parents and students alike. Admins seem to be the only ones who like it this way.