Researching advice...DC and MD schools and neighborhoods

[Anonymous]

We're planning on moving into a new house in the next 1-2 years for more space and for the schools. DS is 1 year old now. We live in NW DC and will likely either move further into NW or into MoCo. I would appreciate any tips and advice on where to even start with comparing public schools, neighborhoods, etc, etc.
Where are the best places to find stats about specific public schools? Just through the main school websites? Any other resources? I know we have some time but I'm a bit overwhelmed by the whole prospect and want to make the right decision..any and all guidance is very much appreciated. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

For MoCo schools, you can research by school, and there is a school locator as well, so when looking at homes, plug in the address and find out what school it feeds to.

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/

Here is a "school at a glance" for one of the elementary schools. It shows racial make-up and indicators suchs as FARMS rate (Free and Reduced Meals) which give an indicator of income. I find the mobility rate (which may show a more transient population) and the suspension rate (discipline issues) to be helpful guides.

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/02229.pdf

[Anonymous]

The MoCo site is great. For any school, there are "at a glance" reports, which are good to compare across schools, as well as the results of surveys for both kids and parents. I highly recommend looking at the survey results and then choosing the option to compare results of that school against others in the cluster or in the district as a whole--we got lots of insights that way

Also, for a rough overviews (and some parent reviews), I like www.greatschools.net. They boil down test scores to a 10-point scale (comparing schools to others in the same state). It's rough, then, but you can get the sense whether the school's scores are a 6 or a 10, for example. You can also compare nearby schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For MoCo schools, you can research by school, and there is a school locator as well, so when looking at homes, plug in the address and find out what school it feeds to.

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/

Here is a "school at a glance" for one of the elementary schools. It shows racial make-up and indicators suchs as FARMS rate (Free and Reduced Meals) which give an indicator of income. I find the mobility rate (which may show a more transient population) and the suspension rate (discipline issues) to be helpful guides.

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/02229.pdf

You mean in terms of which schools/areas to avoid?

[Anonymous]

In addition to comparing schools, you should look at the following:

1. Research area middle and high schools -- not just the elementary schools.
2. Check to see how many foreclosures are in the immediate neighborhood as well as the entire zip code (this plays a role when having your home appraised).
3. Check out the local crime reports (you can find them by police district or a short version in the weekly Gazette (see gazette.net -- a free weekly newspaper in MoCo which is customized by neighborhood).

And just as an FYI, mobility rate tends to correlate with FARMS (ie: low-income families and renters tend to move more frequently and during the school year as opposed to more stable homeowners).

Finally, FWIW, I was talking to a retired MoCo police officer who worked security for a number of area high schools (some good, some bad) and who presently works as a guidance counselor at an area HS and he made the following comment: "Regardless of what school you are in -- the best in wealthiest area, or the worst in the poorest area -- you essentially have 10% of the student population that causes problems. Of that 10% -- 5% act up every now and then, and the other 5% are simply thugs." Again, he's baseing this on years of working in area HSs -- some of the best, and some of the worst. Having said that, he did admit that the schools with the highest low-income pops do have problems that other schools don't have on such a widespread basis. For example: he named a school where you couldn't turn your back on your backpack or belongings without having something stolen (things were stolen on a daily basis, and kids knew it). He said that such things rarely happen at his current HS (which is diverse, but doesn't have a majority low-income pop).

[Anonymous]

This is a new resource for choosing schools in DC: http://fightforchildren.org/pdf/SchoolChooser.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For MoCo schools, you can research by school, and there is a school locator as well, so when looking at homes, plug in the address and find out what school it feeds to.

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/

Here is a "school at a glance" for one of the elementary schools. It shows racial make-up and indicators suchs as FARMS rate (Free and Reduced Meals) which give an indicator of income. I find the mobility rate (which may show a more transient population) and the suspension rate (discipline issues) to be helpful guides.

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/02229.pdf

You mean in terms of which schools/areas to avoid?

For me, yes. If you have a higher-than-normal suspension rate at an elementary school, that sends up red flags for me. What's the discipline "culture" of the administration? Alternatively, why is a higher percentage of children getting in such serious trouble it merits suspension? A highly transient population may indicate other problems. Dissatisfaction with the school, etc.

[Anonymous]

NW schools are great! All of the ES are strong and now Deal is strong too!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NW schools are great! All of the ES are strong and now Deal is strong too!

All? So you have a child at each one?

[Anonymous]

13:31 poster...You wrote: "He said that such things rarely happen at his current HS (which is diverse, but doesn't have a majority low-income pop)."

I understand why you might not feel comfortable sharing the name of the MoCo high school with so many problems but could you share the name of the school that your friend currently works in with diversity but few problems?

Thank you!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NW schools are great! All of the ES are strong and now Deal is strong too!

This poster is obviously viewing NW to be that section of NW that is west of Rock Creek Park.

[Anonymous]

I've certainly read plenty of posts from parents west of Rock Creek Park--some love their schools, others are not fully satisfied. To call them all strong may be an overstatement.