Are the Bethesda/Potomac public schools worth the financial sacrifice to live there?

[Anonymous]

We are looking to move from Silver Spring /Wheaton area to a better school district in MoCo. We want to buy a house. It can be a small house but I'm starting to realize that we can't afford Bethesda (I was in denial before. Even if we could swing something it would be old and crappy and put a squeeze on us and I would hate it and resent everything about it. I think.)

My oldest will be going to kindergarten next year. Here is my wish list for the whole school cluster 1) Safe - little to no drug problem or weapons 2) good academics that will challenge them but not leave them in the dust if they're not super smart 3) nice kids (and parents)

Demonstrating good form, and prior to bothering you people with this post, I did a thorough search of past DCUM threads and talked to anyone I could think of with school age kids and found out this (in no particular order)

1. Walter Johnson - Everyone is crazy for this school. They love it. Nothing negative to say. I can MAYBE afford to live somewhere that feeds into this cluster but is this school really worth some major sacrifices?
2. Quince Orchard - oh man, I've heard everything from "this is the best HS ever" to "going down the shitter fast"
3. Wootton - "sure, send your kids there, but only if they're super smart and socially awkward"
4. Richard Montgomery - "don't go there unless your kids are in the magnate program"
5. Anything Gaithersburg - the general gist has been "NO!"
6. Sherwood - same as 5

We both work in DC so we can't really go any farther out.

I know everyone has an opinion on this that is unique to their own experience but I would love to hear some details. What are the particulars that make you feel strongly one way or the other about a school? Maybe these are myths and you can bust one or more for me? Or if you have made the major financial sacrifice to send your kids to one of the Bethesda or Potomac schools, was it worth it? How did the kids do there? And not just academically, but socially? Please share!!!

[Anonymous]

It is worth the sacrifice. We love love love the Pyle Whitman cluster. I couldn't recommend it more higly. It is top notch and amazing. Caring teachers and administrators. There will always be a bad apple in a bunch whether it's a kid or a teacher. I would say that over all you can't do much better than this school district. I' m guessing others will say the same about WJ Wooten and Churchill clusters. You won't go wrong with any of them because they are all great.

[Anonymous]

There are reasonably prices homes in the WJ cluster, what is your budget?

[Anonymous]

There are also some parts of SS that feed into BCC. A lot of people like the ES in SS, but opinions vary on the HS.

[Anonymous]

Absolutely worth it. We used to live in Takoma Park and moved to the Churchill Cluster. Haven't looked back and also found a huge group of like-minded families here in Potomac. We are so happy with our choice and it's been several years. Worth the mortgage -- and it's double what we were paying before.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is worth the sacrifice. We love love love the Pyle Whitman cluster. I couldn't recommend it more higly. It is top notch and amazing. Caring teachers and administrators. There will always be a bad apple in a bunch whether it's a kid or a teacher. I would say that over all you can't do much better than this school district. I' m guessing others will say the same about WJ Wooten and Churchill clusters. You won't go wrong with any of them because they are all great.

Also Pyle-Whitman and agree with this. I think all the Ws and BCC are excellent clusters and worth it. We can afford to live here but of course would have a much larger house if we lived farther out.

[Anonymous]

Churchill = Whitman; Johnson = Wooten (2nd)

[Anonymous]

What's wrong with Silver Spring/Wheaton? I know several families who love it there although their kids are only in elementary. Lots of great neighbors too.

[Anonymous]

You should look through the archives--there are several threads of former Whitman grads who have chosen to send their children to schools in the WJ cluster. The WJ cluster has another advantage in that houses are less expensive. The neighborhoods are (generally) not as nice as the Whitman neighborhoods but the families (and therefore sense of community) more than make up for it. We have been very happy with the WJ cluster.

What is your budget?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You should look through the archives--there are several threads of former Whitman grads who have chosen to send their children to schools in the WJ cluster. The WJ cluster has another advantage in that houses are less expensive. The neighborhoods are (generally) not as nice as the Whitman neighborhoods but the families (and therefore sense of community) more than make up for it. We have been very happy with the WJ cluster.

What is your budget?

I am not dissing your school or the families in your neighborhood - not sure why you feel like you need to diss mine. In fact in my earlier post I said all the Ws (and BCC) were good bets. I think there is one former Whitman student who posts frequently about being pleased not to be in the cluster. That's absolutely fine, but I don't take that as a broad pronouncement about the school. There are 2000 students in the school - it may not be the best fit for every one of them but my DC has been really happy there and gotten an excellent education and all the parents/kids we know are also happy with the school.

[Anonymous]

Why not stay in DC and send your children private?

[Anonymous]

I know many people who are in RM and not in the magnet program who are very, very happy.

[Anonymous]

OP here, thank you for the feedback. I was kinda hoping to hear that all the Ws and BCC are great, but on the margin, not worth the squeeze financially since maybe the other schools have gotten an unfair/inaccurate rep. (no such luck I guess) Budget wise, we are in the 600-700K range adn that would be a squeeze, leaving us with nearly nothing in savings and I'm not sure whether there is anything in the neighborhood worth purchasing for that price anyway. I'm also a little hesitant for my kids to be amongs peers that will be a lot more privileged than they are and that they might think that this is the norm. Is that a legitimate thing to concern myself with?

[Anonymous]

OP, we live in the BCC school district in CCMD (but not the posh part). We bought 10 years ago and houses like ours go for 600-700+, depending. We also both work downtown and wanted to minimize our commute with the best possible schools. I'm thrilled with the schools to date - they are hardly perfect, but nothing is, and the quality of the teachers and the deep involvement of the parent community means a lot. Is it worth the premium over neighborhoods with greater socioeconomic diversity that feed into less desirable high schools? I personally cannot say, since I haven't had kids in those schools and I don't discount the plaudits from people on this site about various SS elementaries etc. In your price range, you'll probably have to "settle" with respect to the house; we did, and the tradeoffs are absolutely worth it. But understand - even in the very "best" school district, you may wind up unhappy with things about the school or even figuring out that your child has needs that would be best served in private. Whatever you do, make sure you are happy enough with the total package that you don't feel like it was all/only about the school. I say this as someone who puts schools as the #1 priority, btw.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here, thank you for the feedback. I was kinda hoping to hear that all the Ws and BCC are great, but on the margin, not worth the squeeze financially since maybe the other schools have gotten an unfair/inaccurate rep. (no such luck I guess) Budget wise, we are in the 600-700K range adn that would be a squeeze, leaving us with nearly nothing in savings and I'm not sure whether there is anything in the neighborhood worth purchasing for that price anyway. I'm also a little hesitant for my kids to be amongs peers that will be a lot more privileged than they are and that they might think that this is the norm. Is that a legitimate thing to concern myself with?

Look in historic Rockville, not the Pike. College Gardens Elementary area. Right off 270. It's RM high school which is fine. The elementary and middle schools are lovely.