Schools in Silver Spring

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your family sounds more like a North Bethesda/Rockville family to me than Silver Spring.

Is that code for something?

More white and Asian people, fewer new Hispanic immigrants.

On the other hand, if OPs kids have delays, in a Tittle 1 elementary school which receives lots of extra services due to the FARMs rate and ESOL may not be a bad thing. Would also be much less of a pressure cooker. I live in the Layhill / Glenmont area.

We are at a Title 1 school in Silver Spring and the only extras we get are more family funding (think parent coffees, weekend family events) and a couple extra paras. My child has an IEP and in the initial meeting I was shocked there are so few paras. I had naively thought that there would be one dedicated para per classroom, but there aren’t even paras dedicated to one specific grade. The principal “tries” to limit the paras to only 3 grades so they can become familiar with curriculum. Our class sizes are smaller in grades pre-K-2

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your family sounds more like a North Bethesda/Rockville family to me than Silver Spring.

Is that code for something?

More white and Asian people, fewer new Hispanic immigrants.

On the other hand, if OPs kids have delays, in a Tittle 1 elementary school which receives lots of extra services due to the FARMs rate and ESOL may not be a bad thing. Would also be much less of a pressure cooker. I live in the Layhill / Glenmont area.

We are at a Title 1 school in Silver Spring and the only extras we get are more family funding (think parent coffees, weekend family events) and a couple extra paras. My child has an IEP and in the initial meeting I was shocked there are so few paras. I had naively thought that there would be one dedicated para per classroom, but there aren’t even paras dedicated to one specific grade. The principal “tries” to limit the paras to only 3 grades so they can become familiar with curriculum. Our class sizes are smaller in grades pre-K-2

Our school isn't title 1 but these days if you aren't reading below grade level you get ignored @MCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DH and I have two preschool age children and we are looking to buy a home in Montgomery County in the next two years.

Many people have recomended Silver Spring as an affordable family friendly option, but we are hesitant abut the schools. For context, our kids had developmental delays from birth but are in private therapy, private preschool, etc. and have technically caught up on milestones but are still behind most of their peers with language.

We want the best education possible for our kids and we cannot compromise on an unsafe environment like fights in schools, etc. We are also wary of the pressure cooker environment of somewhere like the Whitman district.

Can anyone recommend a good Silver Spring cluster? Should we just suck it up and live in a cardboard box in a Bethesda?

I don't know what "best education possible" means to you but it sounds like you would feel safest living in Bethesda.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DH and I have two preschool age children and we are looking to buy a home in Montgomery County in the next two years.

Many people have recomended Silver Spring as an affordable family friendly option, but we are hesitant abut the schools. For context, our kids had developmental delays from birth but are in private therapy, private preschool, etc. and have technically caught up on milestones but are still behind most of their peers with language.

We want the best education possible for our kids and we cannot compromise on an unsafe environment like fights in schools, etc. We are also wary of the pressure cooker environment of somewhere like the Whitman district.

Can anyone recommend a good Silver Spring cluster? Should we just suck it up and live in a cardboard box in a Bethesda?

I don't know what "best education possible" means to you but it sounds like you would feel safest living in Bethesda.

+1.

[Anonymous]

Are you considering moving just for the schools or are there other reasons promoting you to consider Montgomery County? I’ve been underwhelmed by MCPS and wish we had looked at elementary schools in upper NW DC (my friends in DC have smaller classes, for example). If you really want to move to Maryland, check out Takoma Park.

Also, $1.1 million won’t go as far as you think it might in Silver Spring. I’ve been shocked at recent sales near downtown Silver Spring (around a million for tiny houses) though maybe it’s less expensive as you go north up Georgia Ave.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your family sounds more like a North Bethesda/Rockville family to me than Silver Spring.

Is that code for something?

More white and Asian people, fewer new Hispanic immigrants.

On the other hand, if OPs kids have delays, in a Tittle 1 elementary school which receives lots of extra services due to the FARMs rate and ESOL may not be a bad thing. Would also be much less of a pressure cooker. I live in the Layhill / Glenmont area.

We are at a Title 1 school in Silver Spring and the only extras we get are more family funding (think parent coffees, weekend family events) and a couple extra paras. My child has an IEP and in the initial meeting I was shocked there are so few paras. I had naively thought that there would be one dedicated para per classroom, but there aren’t even paras dedicated to one specific grade. The principal “tries” to limit the paras to only 3 grades so they can become familiar with curriculum. Our class sizes are smaller in grades pre-K-2

Our school isn't title 1 but these days if you aren't reading below grade level you get ignored @MCPS.

Not just below level, but significantly below level. My DS was consistently testing below grade level on the Dibels tests but when I reached out to the teacher and reading specialist they told me he didn’t qualify for extra supports. There are lots of kids testing even lower apparently. They couldn’t even give me concrete advice on how to help him at home- just to “read more.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your family sounds more like a North Bethesda/Rockville family to me than Silver Spring.

+1000. Token eastern european, GTFO.

[Anonymous]

I would focus on neighborhoods that you like. We have been happy with a few Silver Spring schools, but often the difference between otherwise similar schools is a strong principal, which may change by the time that your kids are school-age.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you considering moving just for the schools or are there other reasons promoting you to consider Montgomery County? I’ve been underwhelmed by MCPS and wish we had looked at elementary schools in upper NW DC (my friends in DC have smaller classes, for example). If you really want to move to Maryland, check out Takoma Park.

Also, $1.1 million won’t go as far as you think it might in Silver Spring. I’ve been shocked at recent sales near downtown Silver Spring (around a million for tiny houses) though maybe it’s less expensive as you go north up Georgia Ave.

Agree on housing prices. A lot of SFH are going for well over a million.

On schools, TPMS and Blair HS seem pretty solid but my kids aren’t in school yet so I can’t speak from direct experience.

[Anonymous]

Rock Creek Forest or Rosemary Hills/NCC or CC both all feed into BCC. It is the part of SS right next to Chevy Chase. Very convenient location. So much is in walking distance or a quick bus ride.

[Anonymous]

BCC boundaries might change, though, with Woodward opening up in 3 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:BCC boundaries might change, though, with Woodward opening up in 3 years.

Many middle and high schools' boundaries might change within the next 3-5 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rock View ES-Newport Mill-Einstein has been great for us.

OP here: I'd love more detail about your experience at Rock View! I have friends in this neighborhood and there are some cute houses around.

It’s just been easy, honestly. There isn’t much official enrichment before fourth grade, but the teachers have done what they can informally and the small class sizes have really helped make personal attention possible. The kids are generally nice; community is warm and caring. I feel like my kids are “seen” by their teachers.

It’s not the kind of place where people have tutors for ES kids for enrichment, which is what I wanted. One of my kids has an IEP for speech and now ADHD and the school has been great to work with. The teachers have been good to excellent. There is an interim principal this year after the old beloved one moved on, so I am hoping things stay strong!

Neighbors who use NMMS have good things to say as well but we aren’t there yet. We use babysitters from Einstein and they have been great, normal kids. I don’t think they are Harvard-bound, but they also aren’t going to flame out from burnout at the age of 17. They are all headed to great colleges I would be happy to send my kids to and seem to have enjoyed their school years, which is what I want for my family. I would absolutely choose the cluster again if I were looking now.

I'm also a Rock View parent and my kid's teachers have been excellent but none of them work at Rock View anymore, and I don't know what next year is going to look like because 1/3 of the teachers aren't returning.

Hi fellow roadrunner! All of our favorite teachers are staying, but I know some people are leaving. We were lucky to avoid the huge turnover most schools saw in the Covid years, so I am not too worried. All the teachers I know who are leaving are doing so for non-RV reasons like “just had a baby and want a shorter commute.” It might be a growth year, but I think the school/community will come out the same or stronger.

[Anonymous]

BTDT, kid in HS, and reading in between the lines (just my judgement here): with a 1.1 budget you should look west. Plenty of 900K -1.1m houses that'll give you room to not be too stretched that are districted for Wootton, RM, and even Churchill. I think you'll be happier there. Sincerely. I am not judging. I also think the Eastern European community will be stronger.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:BCC boundaries might change, though, with Woodward opening up in 3 years.

Probably not going to change in the SS neighborhoods b/c we are the diversity of BCC.