Best elementary public schools that feed into great high schools? Moving to MD from NYC

[Anonymous]

Would like to move to an area in Bethesda or Chevy Chase that has the best public schools. I am reading a lot, but I would rather hear from moms that know! Leaving NYC for MD.
Please advise.

[Anonymous]

Post in MD schools forum (or real estate, which I have the feeling you did already).

[Anonymous]

How do you define "best"?

[Anonymous]

There are 3 high schools in Bethesda and Chevy Chase- Walt Whitman, Bethesda-Chevy Chase and Walter Johnson. A small bit of Bethesda also feeds to Winston Churchill in Potomac. People love (or not) those schools for different reasons. Each of those has its own elementary clusters of 4-5 schools. They are pretty much all good. Bethesda Elementary has a well regarded special needs program so if you need that it's worth looking into.

I am in the Whitman cluster and we've been very happy with the schools especially the high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are 3 high schools in Bethesda and Chevy Chase- Walt Whitman, Bethesda-Chevy Chase and Walter Johnson. A small bit of Bethesda also feeds to Winston Churchill in Potomac. People love (or not) those schools for different reasons. Each of those has its own elementary clusters of 4-5 schools. They are pretty much all good. Bethesda Elementary has a well regarded special needs program so if you need that it's worth looking into.

I am in the Whitman cluster and we've been very happy with the schools especially the high school.

I agree with this. We chose the BCC cluster because it's a little more diverse for our multi-racial family, and because we like the IB option, but frankly the difference between the schools aren't huge.

BCC's feeder elementary schools are all good but they have different "personalities".

Westbrook and Somerset: K - 5, very white, very well regarded with high test scores and strong communities.

Bethesda: similar to Westbrook and Somerset, with the added piece of an amazing inclusion program, probably the best in the whole metro areas. They serve a wide range of kids from those with minor needs, to those with profound needs, and they do it very well.

Rock Creek Forest: K - 5, one of the most racially diverse schools in the county, and has the most economic diversity of the cluster. 1/2 the school is Spanish Immersion, with kids coming in by lottery from all over the county, and 1/2 is English and serves the local area. The English 1/2 is considered title 1 which means smaller class sizes in the early grades, but also somewhat lower test scores because of the number of kids learning English, or coming from lower income families.

Rosemary Hills/Chevy Chase/North Chevy Chase: Rosemary Hills is K - 2 and then kids go on to either CC or NCC depending on their neighborhood and stay through 6th, although that will change to 5th when the new middle school opens. More racially and economically diverse than W, B or S, less than RCF. Lots of people very happy here, but some people don't like having their kids change schools, or the fact that friends can be split after 2nd. You'll also get longer bus rides since the area served is quite large.

[Anonymous]

this is covered in-depth in the MD public schools forum. You can also go to the MCPS website and look at the "schools at a glance" section. You will get demographic info that will tell you about the schools. You will see that BCC and WJ look very similar on paper. About 60% white, about 15% FARMS. Whitman is decidedly whiter and has a decidedly lower % of FARMS.

The fact that you're moving from out of town and have already set your hearts on Bethesda-Chevy Chase tells me you most likely fit right in.

[Anonymous]

What are you looking for in terms of price range/# of bedrooms/style of house?

I'd let that be the guide if you are in any of the clusters described above (all of which are good).

The one biggest difference is that the Whitman cluster is extremely non-diverse.

[Anonymous]

I would add that Chevy Chase houses are slightly more expensive than bethesda overall and there are fewer of them.

[Anonymous]

BCC, Walter Johnson and Whitman are all great schools but

Whitman is considered better according to test scores, college admissions, etc. but the elementary schools that feed into it are a little bit further out from the city.

If you want to be as close as possible to D.C. you should look at schools that feed into BCC.

I would say all the elementary schools that feed into those three high schools are excellent although some tend to be overcrowded.

[Anonymous]

Walter Johnson probably has the most economic diversity of the three high schools. We were essentially priced out of Whitman with our income. Houses under 800-900k in Whitman are pretty scarce. Probably true for most of BCC too. WJ still has houses for 700-800k.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Walter Johnson probably has the most economic diversity of the three high schools. We were essentially priced out of Whitman with our income. Houses under 800-900k in Whitman are pretty scarce. Probably true for most of BCC too. WJ still has houses for 700-800k.

I think you can get houses for that price over by North Chevy Chase, Rosemary Hills or Rock Creek Forest. In addition, there are a number of moderately priced apartment buildings throughout the BCC area. BCC also has some areas that are crazy expensive.

[Anonymous]

Focus on areas close to either downtown Bethesda or Chevy Chase -- More pedestrian. The other areas are like living on the farm. Whitman and B-CC are great schools for different reasons. Whitman has always received and produced great students -- High number of NMSF for non-magnet HS. B-CC is strong academically but IMHO does the best job of combining strong academics with more diverse student body.

Just remember, these schools don't have the high caliber students you are likely to find at Stuyvesant, Bronx Science or Brooklyn Tech although your kid will not have to take the subway to the Bronx to attend HS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just remember, these schools don't have the high caliber students you are likely to find at Stuyvesant, Bronx Science or Brooklyn Tech although your kid will not have to take the subway to the Bronx to attend HS.

OP, this might go without saying, but in Montgomery County all students are zoned for their local school, however there do exist GT (starting in 4th grade), language immersion, IB, etc. programs that accept students on lottery or application (those schools would be a more apples-to-apples comparison to the three schools PP listed than Whitman, B-CC or WJ would be).

In case it affects your search, Wood Acres (great elementary school, feeds into Whitman) will undergo construction a year from now, and the students will need to be bussed to a (smaller) school building nearby.

[Anonymous]

We are in the BCC cluster with one child at HS and another in MS and think very highly of BCC, but also know lots of folks at Whitman who likewise like it a lot and might tell you it is better, but it is non-diverse where BCC offers some diversity (far from ideal in my own opinion). BCC is near downtown, close to subway with open lunch, nice for the kids. Less familiar with WJ but it gets lost a little I think in the competition though I think it is an outstanding school. Churchill strikes me as less interesting because it is more Potomac and I have never been fond of Potomac, but that is own view. In the 700-800k price range, you can find things for BCC and Whitman but you will have to hunt some, WJ probably easier in some lovely neighborhoods that just tend to be farther out.

[Anonymous]

OP must be the "NYC mom" that asked the same question on another thread. It has been discussed to exhaustion there. Yawn...