What's the best elementary school in MoCo?

[Anonymous]

We're considering moving from the district to Montgomery County b/c of schools and I would like to hear why parent's like their DC's particular school. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

We're very happy with Kensington Parkwood Elementary School (serving parts of Kensington, Bethesda, and Rockville).

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/Schools/Parkwoodes/

It is an arts integration program, meaning teachers make connections between arts and music and other subjects. More importantly, we have found the teachers and staff to be very responsive and committed. The community is very friendly, and test scores are high.

[Anonymous]

Many people say Somerset, which is why boxy, featureless ranch homes from 1951, with no updates, in Somerset can cost $1.2 million.

[Anonymous]

Burning Tree and Cold Spring.

[Anonymous]

bannockburn ES is a great school as well and bannockburn is a great neighboorhood for a young family - you should include it in your research

[Anonymous]

FYI- The curriculum in all Mo Co Elem. schools is the same.
You can look at test scores but each teacher has a different influence and you might get a "great" teacher one year and a "not so great" teacher" the next. You can look up basic info about all MCPS schools on-line. Also, in my mind a great school also needs diversity- economic and racial. Guess it depends what you mean by "the best". Good luck- you really can't go wrong in MCPS!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FYI- The curriculum in all Mo Co Elem. schools is the same.
Good luck- you really can't go wrong in MCPS!

Haha. Yes, you can go wrong. There are a few MoCo elementary schools out there that are just not good.

OP - what parts of MoCo are you considering moving to?

[Anonymous]

OP, the "good" schools are where the go getter parents send their kids. However, those schools receive little from the county because of their good performance. The "bad" schools get more resources, but the students can be a poor influence.

[Anonymous]

I have many friends who teach in MCPS and have very very difficult classes. As PP stated, the poverty and language barrier is really taking a toll on some schools.

There is a lot of social servicing and disciplining going on at some of these schools. check out greatschools.net for more info.

I feel our school is at best a middle of the pack elementary for MoCo, in Silver Spring. Certainly not what I had growing up in Bethesda in the 1980's!

[Anonymous]

A few years ago the Post quoted Superintendent Weast as saying that MoCo is basically two school systems: north/west, which is succeeding, and "downcounty" which is failing. Can't believe he said this publicly, but for me at least it corroborated what I suspected (I live downcounty).

I don't think this is universally true of downcounty schools. But you do need to do more research instead of jumping right in, especially if you're planning to move to a place like Silver Spring or Takoma Park.

Re the resource question -- we visited a local school and asked about this. According to the school's number 2, who took us on the tour, the resources went to the magnet kids, ESL kids and kids who are on the edge for the NCLB tests. I couldn't stop myself from asking, what about the kids in the middle, and the answer from the #2 at the school was "well, they get less."

I totally support disadvantaged & struggling kids getting resources so they can succeed. The problem is that the total pie is shrinking, not getting larger (thanks for not funding NCLB!). We had to ask ourselves, what if DC doesn't get into the magnet, then how do we feel about DC getting less resources than other kids, and probably less resources than just a few years ago?

[Anonymous]

The problems lie in the schools to the east of the county. The best schools are in the south and west, and middle west.

[Anonymous]

In Montgomery County, "downcounty" generally refers to schools in the "downcounty consortium" of schools. This consortium is made up of schools to the eastern part of the county.

[Anonymous]

If you move to Potomac, Chevy Chase or Bethesda, any of the elementary schools serving those areas are fine. Anywhere else and you need to investigate more closely. Basically, the higher priced neighborhoods have the best schools.

[Anonymous]

FWIW, there are schools in the Olney/Brookeville area with demographics and test scores comparable to Kensington, Bethesda, etc.
Large SF Homes in the Olney/Brookeville area range from the mid $400s to well over one million.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FWIW, there are schools in the Olney/Brookeville area with demographics and test scores comparable to Kensington, Bethesda, etc.
Large SF Homes in the Olney/Brookeville area range from the mid $400s to well over one million.

The commute is a nightmare to DC.