Thinking of Moving to MoCo for schools - please advise

[Anonymous]

I live in close-in bethesda and commute in by bike along the CCT. The ride to SW waterfront is idyllic -often the best part of my day. Just something your husband may wish to consider takes 40 min to 1 hour depending on how fast you pedal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
And there is no "county standard". Some classes have 20 or less, some have 25 plus. Some say larger class sizes don't impact learning (personally I disagree).

"Overcrowding" is different from "class size". "Overcrowded" just means that school's actual enrollment is higher than the school's capacity. It doesn't mean that if the school is built to have two second-grade classrooms, and there are 200 second-graders, then there are two second-grade classes with 100 students each. Instead, the school adds classroom space via portables.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I live on Cap Hill, have a rising 1st grader and a 4 year old (who in DC would be going into full-day PK4).
I am thinking about moving to Western Bethesda for the schools, somewhere in the Whitman area. My DH is very concerned about his commute, and the costs involved in moving itself. I am very worried about Cap Hill schools. I am aware that my 4 year old would miss out on PK if we move, but that is a one-year issue. If we stay in DC we are inbound to Watkins / Stuart Hobson / Eastern.
Wondering if anyone out there has gone through this process and can advise?

Try Basis first. DC1 is doing great and DC2 starts in August. We couldn't be happier.

Look at WL, too; we did and were favorably impressed. Your DC will have other choices.

Commutes don't do it for me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am OP. Heck, we are living in 1300 square foot townhouse now. It does not take a lot to impress me. Is it safe to assume that all of the schools in the Whitman catchment area are good? I know one ES is slated for a major renovation next year...

We are at Whitman and everyone seems to be happy with the elementary feeders. Not sure how different they really are.

All the Whitman cluster schools are EXCELLENT. No school is perfect, though, so don't look for perfection. You can meet with each of the principals and get a good feel for them. Go with the principal you like best.

[Anonymous]

I would not want to commute from Montgomery County to SW. I would suggest looking at Virginia if you really want to leave DC. You will have bridge traffic but this will not be as bad as having to commit through the city or drive around it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bethesda is an easy commute to your husband's work locale. It is probably a 20 minute commute with no traffic and about 40 with traffic. It will vary depending upon the time he leaves for work. Lots of Cap. hill families have made yhe move to Bethesda and have no regrets. The schools are so much better here. You are doing right by your kids. Good for you.

Why are there so many complaints about the overcrowding and 2.0 curriculum in the schools?

The 2.0 Curriculum has been very good for my children. It is the implementation of the nationwide core standards. It's being implemented everywhere, not just in MCPS. People complained bitterly about the former curriculum, too. There will always be complainers. I wouldn't go by what you read here. Go check it out for yourself. You don't even have to believe what I'm saying. I would much rather my children attend MCPS schools in Bethesda than any of the DC public schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
And there is no "county standard". Some classes have 20 or less, some have 25 plus. Some say larger class sizes don't impact learning (personally I disagree).

"Overcrowding" is different from "class size". "Overcrowded" just means that school's actual enrollment is higher than the school's capacity. It doesn't mean that if the school is built to have two second-grade classrooms, and there are 200 second-graders, then there are two second-grade classes with 100 students each. Instead, the school adds classroom space via portables.

Yes, different terminology but there's still no county standard. Class sizes vary depending on the school. And while I admittedly have no evidence to back this up, I'd guess that overcrowded schools tend to also have larger class sizes.

[Anonymous]

I'm in Bethesda in the Whitman cluster. I can take MacArthur & Whitehurst Frwy and get downtown pretty easily. The schools have their problems but they're worlds better than cap hill. Expect your older child to be a bit behind by MCPS standards in the fall. I would be most concerned about finding a house in your price range. My 20817 friends are writing letters and offering above asking price to get into homes here. If you have all cash, you've got a slight advantage.

[Anonymous]

Another Bethesda booster. I live off River Road in the Whitman cluster. I drop my middle schooler at Pyle and then it's five minutes by car to the metro parking lot where I always get a good spot at about 8am. I take the Red line downtown and get a seat 90% of the time. Delays are very infrequent. DH often bikes to Dupont along the Capital Crescent trail.

Back in the day we used to drive downtown to drop kids at daycare. MacArthur Blvd is actually pretty smooth sailing and less prone to unexplained backups than the Clara Barton/Canal Road.

Very happy with the schools (kids went to Bradley Hills). I think life here is great, but I'm a suburban kid at heart.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
And there is no "county standard". Some classes have 20 or less, some have 25 plus. Some say larger class sizes don't impact learning (personally I disagree).

"Overcrowding" is different from "class size". "Overcrowded" just means that school's actual enrollment is higher than the school's capacity. It doesn't mean that if the school is built to have two second-grade classrooms, and there are 200 second-graders, then there are two second-grade classes with 100 students each. Instead, the school adds classroom space via portables.

Yes, different terminology but there's still no county standard. Class sizes vary depending on the school. And while I admittedly have no evidence to back this up, I'd guess that overcrowded schools tend to also have larger class sizes.

No. Because that's not how it works.

[Anonymous]

11:17 poster here again. I do NOT recommend Virginia as other posters have. The traffic is absolutely terrible. Smart growth was not a concern as they began building sprawl in NoVa. Bumper to bumper all the time. Everywhere. All day. I've lived in NoVa and MoCo and find the traffic here in Bethesda is much more manageable!!!

[Anonymous]

OP - you really should drive the commute a few times in rush hour, in the rain, and the time you would be commuting. I lived in DC for years and then moved to Maryland. Maryland people are crazy in their perception of time and in complete denial when they report commute times. I keep wondering if at some point it will happen to me too

They choose to report on the one time they drove in at 2 am with no traffic, hit all green traffic lights in a row, didn't really count the time getting our of their neighborhood or once they hit the district line and then subtract another 15 minutes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bethesda is an easy commute to your husband's work locale. It is probably a 20 minute commute with no traffic and about 40 with traffic. It will vary depending upon the time he leaves for work. Lots of Cap. hill families have made yhe move to Bethesda and have no regrets. The schools are so much better here. You are doing right by your kids. Good for you.

Why are there so many complaints about the overcrowding and 2.0 curriculum in the schools?

Some people like 2.0, some hate it. The haters tend to be quite passionate. Everyone I know IRL is fine with it.

Overcrowding means trailers, and school expansion projects. My DC is in an above capacity school and it doesn't have that much of an impact. It just means they hire more teachers to keep class sizes at the county standard.

A big difference in DC is that parents can buy additional teachers and resources. You can't do that in Moco.

People complain about overcrowded schools because they are overcrowded--at least in many but not all areas. See this thread: http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/385922.page

And there is no "county standard". Some classes have 20 or less, some have 25 plus. Some say larger class sizes don't impact learning (personally I disagree).

There is a county maximum - my DCs classes are mostly at the max. I think in HS it's 34, except for English which is 28 or 30. It has gone up over the last couple of years so those might not be exactly right. In ES I thought it was 29. Of course the red zone schools get smaller classes. My DC did quite well with the large HS classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP - you really should drive the commute a few times in rush hour, in the rain, and the time you would be commuting. I lived in DC for years and then moved to Maryland. Maryland people are crazy in their perception of time and in complete denial when they report commute times. I keep wondering if at some point it will happen to me too

They choose to report on the one time they drove in at 2 am with no traffic, hit all green traffic lights in a row, didn't really count the time getting our of their neighborhood or once they hit the district line and then subtract another 15 minutes.

I based my estimates on the time I leave the house and the time I need to be at work. I used to base it on the time I needed to drop my kids off at school, and there was no flexibility with that. It depends hugely on where in "Maryland" you live. I live less than a mile over the DC line off Mass Ave which is convenient for commuting purposes. Also depends when you leave. I left at 7:45 for years. That is fast and reliable. It's less fast and reliable at 8:15.

[Anonymous]

Is there any reason you have to live in the Whitman cluster? The BCC cluster elementary schools are excellent.

We moved from DC to Bethesda two years ago and live in the Whitman cluster. When we bought our house I really wanted something in the Whitman cluster and I didn't think that the extra mile between our neighborhood and the BCC boundary would be a big deal. But in rush hour that can be 10-15 minutes each way. That means I'm losing 20-30 minutes a day in the car!

Honestly, I wish we stayed in DC until our kids were in middle school. But I can't stand commuting. The work day is long enough as it is.