Rolling Terrace Elementary

[Anonymous]

We are thinking of buying a house in Takoma Park and the elementary school would be Rolling Terrace. I think some years ago its reputation was not great and its score on Great Schools is low. I think it has both Spanish immersion and "regular." Does anyone have a child there now or know someone who does that could comment on their experience there?

[Anonymous]

I'm curious about the answer to this. There has been a serious mold problem that's been widely publicized. I think the school, like most of the others in the area, is experiencing overcrowding. What isn't clear to me is whether the school culture otherwise is doing well. I think the immersion program was scaled back slightly, with fewer classes starting in K (I think). Given the overcrowding and the shrinking rather than growing of the immersion program, I wonder if they'll move it to another school or eliminate it altogether. I'd be happy to hear otherwise, but I do wonder if that's on the table.

[Anonymous]

I live just outside rolling terrace. My house goes to east silver spring but a few of my neighbors have kids there and like the school. I recommend knocking on neighbor dors and checking them out. You can learn about the school and much much more chatting with future neighbors.

[Anonymous]

The Spanish immersion is "partial" after kindergarten, so kids do math in Spanish and then go to a different teacher for English language arts. For the non-immersion part of the day, kids are mixed with the students in the "regular" program. We considered it and generally heard good things about the program, but the school is quite large (almost 900 kids and growing) and there has been a lot of concern about the mold problem. The school is part of a county study this year to look at overcrowding in Silver Spring/Takoma Park schools and consider boundary changes, additions, creating a new school, etc. So I imagine some kind of changes may be coming.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks for the replies!

[Anonymous]

You might want to consider buying in the region that feeds into East Silver Spring ES. It doesn't look so great when you just consider test scores, but we love it. Great teachers and admiistration; nice families.

[Anonymous]

I have a child in the immersion program there. One nice thing about buying in the neighborhood that feeds to the school is you get preference for the immersion program, if that interests you. I will say that for us, so far, so good. When I visit the school or attend PTA events, anything, I am always impressed. The mold is a bit concerning, but hasn't been an issue at all for our child. And the school is huge - speaking as a parent, I find it overwhelming, but my child seems unfazed by it.

[Anonymous]

We attend RT and the immersion program by lottery and love it. The school is huge and doesn't get the administrative resources it needs, but the vibe is fantastic. The mold is concerning, but I'm hopeful (perhaps naively so) that this will be properly addressed. The middle school is Silver Spring International, which continues immersion and has an IB program.

[Anonymous]

There are some really nice things about the school, and my child seems happy. But, if immersion is your thing, it's a bit dicey to buy a house based on this criteria. If you prioritize immersion over everything else, then go ahead and do it because at least as of last year, you'll have priority (but that could change). The principal does not support the immersion program based on her choices she has made to scale back the program. The mold problem seems to be impacting kids with respiratory problems, and MCPS has not been responsive to parent concerns. They say it is gone, but then it comes back. The positive things are that there are some really fantastic teachers and a great assistant principal. I would talk to more people or go in and take a tour. They should be having open houses soon (you don't have to have a kid coming in next year to go) and get a feel for the school. I would suggest renting and then making an informed decision.