Rosemary Hills Elementary

[Anonymous]

Hi, we are moving from Montreal to Chevy Chase in the summer and the local public school is Rosemary Hills. Would really appreciate any feedback on this school as we are completely new to the area. My concern is that it seems a really big school. Also really interested to hear from anyone who has a child attending Pre-K there?

[Anonymous]

There are a fair number of threads on this school if you poke around. We really liked it and I think most people who go have a good experience. The former principal wasn't great-- I think the new one is an improvement but we're not there anymore. Most of the teachers are very good and the parent community is great.

There are a large number of classes per grade, but the school is entirely focused on those grades and giving the kids a good start in school.

I think the pre-k is for special needs kids? MD doesn't generally offer pre-k in public schools.

[Anonymous]

OP your best bet is to do a search on this forum - you will find lots of threads.

We were considering the school and from what we heard it is indeed big, but since it is only through 2nd grade, it's totally focused on little kids. People I know love it. (We ended up losing that house and bought one in a different district.)

[Anonymous]

Are you aware that pre-K is only available to kids meeting certain income or special ed learning requirements? Kindergarten is the first year that is open to everyone.

[Anonymous]

It is a really big school, but it still feels very warm and friendly. The K-2nd thing has some big advantages. The large majority of teachers are excellent. Everyone I know with kids there - ourselves included - have been pretty happy with it.

[Anonymous]

Thank you all very much for all the above information. I also didn't know that about Pre-K so that was really useful.

[Anonymous]

What about 1st grade? I've heard K and 2nd are good teams but not 1st. And, yes, pre-K is only universal in the District not in MCPS.

[Anonymous]

I was also hesitant because it is SO big. (10 kindergarten classes this year. Each around 24-25 kids, I think.) However, I have been very pleased with the school. Sometimes I'm a little sad that my kids won't have the experience I did of going to school with the same 50 kids from K-6. But the school has been great. The teachers have been good, and when I've had a concern, I have been able to have it heard by the appropriate people. Everyone from the teachers, counselor, principal and vice principal have been very responsive. I think the new principal is good, and makes a good team with the vice principal. Some things that concerned me (like how overwhelming lunch is... imagine 9 first grade classes in the cafeteria at once.. they are working on. They separated the kindergarten class into two lunch groups, which was a great idea.)
The school is only K through 2nd grade. It has a very gentle, loving atmosphere for that reason, and I think also for that reason they are very good. They are specialists, focusing only on the youngest grades! I was concerned that there are so many children that mine (or anyone else's) couldn't get individual attention. But they do.

[Anonymous]

I had two children attend:

We moved my son to Rosemary Hills (our local public school) for 1st and 2nd grade upon recommendation from an educator friend after he was struggling with disciplinary issues in a private school. It was the best move we could have made for him. His teachers were fantastic and incredibly experienced. His behavioral issues nearly disappeared after we worked with the teachers with keeping communication open in addition to strategies they used with him in the classroom. Before the switch, his last school was recommending a behavioral assessment with a physician. My son is now in 4th grade and a thriving student - no meds, no labels; just teachers who were better able to understand him.

My daughter entered Rosemary Hills in Kindergarten after 2 years at a private pre-school. She is behaviorally well adjusted but struggles with exhibiting confidence with her learning. This issue was compounded by the large student setting, although the teachers and administrators make every effort to make the school feel "small." We decided to explore other options for her at the end of the year when she was lagging behind in reading. She is wrapping up her first grade year at Grace Episcopal Day School (GEDS) in Kensington and it was the best choice we could have made for her. There are about 10 students in her classroom, so it feels very familial and she doesn't have the same performance anxieties she did at Rosemary Hills.

Hope my anecdotal 2 cents is helpful and good luck with your move.

[Anonymous]

WE have a third grader who was in RHPS until this fall, and another one who will start in a year. We really liked RHPS; our son is active and distractible but he had a very good experience at RHPS> his teachers were fantastic and the administration seemed to greet every single person by name. The parent community is super involved, and there are lots of extracurricular opportunities for kids and tons of parent volunteers.

Now that we are at one of the successor schools, I do see the advantages of a smaller environment and a sense of neighborhood to the school. And my son misses the friends who went to the other schools, although we try to stay in touch with them via playdates etc. I will send my younger child to RHPS without a second thought though.

[Anonymous]

I can't imagine how any school with 10 classes per grade could possibly do a good job....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can't imagine how any school with 10 classes per grade could possibly do a good job....

You are obviously a person of limited imagination, if not intellect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can't imagine how any school with 10 classes per grade could possibly do a good job....

Well, I think many people here have explained it. So your imagination is not really relevant.

[Anonymous]

The school is super organized. Of course there are some kids with "issues" (just like everywhere) but it's top notch for a public school. We have been thrilled with Kindergarten. The K teachers all seem to be adored by most of the parents we've met. We wish that public school in Montg County allowed more time for free play or free choice (none of the Montgomery Cty public schools do) for 5 and 6 year olds but that is no longer an option at any public school. The curriculum is very academic. But Rosemary Hills is wonderful. It's great having Kindergarteners only eat with Kindergarterners. There aren't any big kids. And for some neighborhoods, on the buses (route are shared with the older kids from NCC in certain neighborhoods that feed into NCC), you have the benefit of older e.s. kids on the school buses keeping the little ones in line. The things that we're missing not going to private are the extras, like art and music but you can definitely supplement those with RH's extensive after school offerings. Any kid would be lucky to attend. I'm glad that we are zoned for RH for all 3 years.

[Anonymous]

FWIW, our family did not have such a great experience at RHPS. If your child might need any special education, even minimal, I would be extremely cautious. (Although that doesn't apply to special education in the autism program.) Also, although in general I think the large school atmosphere is not as much of a problem as parents imagine (unless the child has a shy, anxious or sensory sensitive personality), the large atmosphere does mean that supervision can be weak (for example, on the playground) and some bullying does happen. Although the principal has changed since we were there many other key staff remain (special education, resource and services staff and administrators below the principal), many of whom we thought were weak. In retrospect, our child belonged in a private school. If you expect that your child is average to above average ability, but not high ability and won't have need anything out of the norm, and can manage a large atmosphere, then I would say RHPS might be an OK fit.