Winston Churchill vs. Walt Whitman -- Move to Montgomery soon and need to choose which school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They both lack any diversity relative to MoCo and their neighboring clusters, WJ and RM.

Yes, but especially economic diversity. The county as a whole has 35% FARMS, whereas these guys somehow manage <5%.

Gosh, whatever could it be?

Boundaries that were gerrymandered to keep out the poor.

Boundaries have been consistent for decades. The demand for homes in these school districts drives the value of the homes.

However, Churchill does have Section 8 families in the Scotland neighborhood and MPDU homes.

[Anonymous]

Churchilll

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They both lack any diversity relative to MoCo and their neighboring clusters, WJ and RM.

Yes, but especially economic diversity. The county as a whole has 35% FARMS, whereas these guys somehow manage <5%.

Gosh, whatever could it be?

Boundaries that were gerrymandered to keep out the poor.

The boundaries don’t have to be gerrymandered because they are centered in vastly wealthy neighborhoods.

This. You would basically need to gerrymander these districts to include diversity. They tried to do this in 2018/19. Then covid hit. Covid saved the day.

[Anonymous]

Both are great schools but it really depends on your family's preferences. Churchill has double the percentage of Asian students which creates a critical mass that changes the feel of the school. There's definitely some segregation going on at Whitman which starts in the elementary years through how parents socialize. This may exist at Churchill too but there is a larger community of Asian-American kids to choose from if it occurs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They are both good schools. I think Whitman is stronger academically, although Pyle is very being and the Churchill feeder middle schools might be better.
Churchill has a more materialistic vibe. There is more pressure there to wear certain brands, etc, where at Whitman kids dress in whatever.

how is Whitman "stronger" academically?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They both lack any diversity relative to MoCo and their neighboring clusters, WJ and RM.

Yes, but especially economic diversity. The county as a whole has 35% FARMS, whereas these guys somehow manage <5%.

Gosh, whatever could it be?

Boundaries that were gerrymandered to keep out the poor.

Boundaries have been consistent for decades. The demand for homes in these school districts drives the value of the homes.

However, Churchill does have Section 8 families in the Scotland neighborhood and MPDU homes.

Yes, they were gerrymandered decades ago. You know the last time they were updated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They are both good schools. I think Whitman is stronger academically, although Pyle is very being and the Churchill feeder middle schools might be better.
Churchill has a more materialistic vibe. There is more pressure there to wear certain brands, etc, where at Whitman kids dress in whatever.

how is Whitman "stronger" academically?

It's not. Both schools offer the same classes more or less. The same kid will get the same education at any MCPS school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They are both good schools. I think Whitman is stronger academically, although Pyle is very being and the Churchill feeder middle schools might be better.
Churchill has a more materialistic vibe. There is more pressure there to wear certain brands, etc, where at Whitman kids dress in whatever.

how is Whitman "stronger" academically?

SAT results / College acceptances / AP results. you should be able to search this stuff

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They are both good schools. I think Whitman is stronger academically, although Pyle is very being and the Churchill feeder middle schools might be better.
Churchill has a more materialistic vibe. There is more pressure there to wear certain brands, etc, where at Whitman kids dress in whatever.

how is Whitman "stronger" academically?

SAT results / College acceptances / AP results. you should be able to search this stuff

It's really not about averages that are a result of a school's demographic mix but about the opportunities provided which are comparable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They are both good schools. I think Whitman is stronger academically, although Pyle is very being and the Churchill feeder middle schools might be better.
Churchill has a more materialistic vibe. There is more pressure there to wear certain brands, etc, where at Whitman kids dress in whatever.

how is Whitman "stronger" academically?

SAT results / College acceptances / AP results. you should be able to search this stuff

It's really not about averages that are a result of a school's demographic mix but about the opportunities provided which are comparable.

Yes, you can get a fine education at any of these schools. If you're sold on either Churchill or Whitman, pick whichever seems like a better fit in terms of culture or community for you and your family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They are both good schools. I think Whitman is stronger academically, although Pyle is very being and the Churchill feeder middle schools might be better.
Churchill has a more materialistic vibe. There is more pressure there to wear certain brands, etc, where at Whitman kids dress in whatever.

how is Whitman "stronger" academically?

SAT results / College acceptances / AP results. you should be able to search this stuff

It's really not about averages that are a result of a school's demographic mix but about the opportunities provided which are comparable.

Can you write that out again but in English this time?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They both lack any diversity relative to MoCo and their neighboring clusters, WJ and RM.

Yes, but especially economic diversity. The county as a whole has 35% FARMS, whereas these guys somehow manage <5%.

Gosh, whatever could it be?

Boundaries that were gerrymandered to keep out the poor.

The boundaries don’t have to be gerrymandered because they are centered in vastly wealthy neighborhoods.

This. You would basically need to gerrymander these districts to include diversity. They tried to do this in 2018/19. Then covid hit. Covid saved the day.

No, they didn't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They are both good schools. I think Whitman is stronger academically, although Pyle is very being and the Churchill feeder middle schools might be better.
Churchill has a more materialistic vibe. There is more pressure there to wear certain brands, etc, where at Whitman kids dress in whatever.

how is Whitman "stronger" academically?

SAT results / College acceptances / AP results. you should be able to search this stuff

It's really not about averages that are a result of a school's demographic mix but about the opportunities provided which are comparable.

Exactly, UMC kids from the same demographic do more or less the same anywhere. The same kid will do the same at any of these schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We're moving to Montgomery county soon because of job changes. I'll be working in Bethesda downtown and DH will be in Rockville. We're considering buying a house either in Bethesda (Whitman) or Potomac (Churchill). Two kids (12 and 14). Would appreciate insight about differences between these two schools (from academic, social, course selections, sports, diversity, etc.). We are half Asian/half white family. Thank you!

Why not move to downtown Bethesda, where you could walk or ride a bike to work, and DH would have a reverse commute? The traffic here is horrific, especially getting into and around downtown Bethesda? Why add to your stress? The middle schools throughout MCPS are notoriously bad, but that is true anywhere unless you go private. Middle school is just a hard time. BCC is a great HS, and you won’t have to drive your kids everywhere as they will learn to take metro and buses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They both lack any diversity relative to MoCo and their neighboring clusters, WJ and RM.

Yes, but especially economic diversity. The county as a whole has 35% FARMS, whereas these guys somehow manage <5%.

Gosh, whatever could it be?

Boundaries that were gerrymandered to keep out the poor.

Boundaries have been consistent for decades. The demand for homes in these school districts drives the value of the homes.

However, Churchill does have Section 8 families in the Scotland neighborhood and MPDU homes.

Newsflash: every community will have this, per MoCo policy.