Bethesda High Schools- New Family

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is your kid into? BCC has an IB program. Whitman offers a bunch of foreign language options.

I wouldn't send my kid to Jackson Reed because of the 4x4 schedule
What level math is your coming in at?

Jackson Reed is not doing the 4x4 schedule any longer.
I believe that Howard County Schools and Frederick county schools both follow the 4x4 schedule

[Anonymous]

I had kids in both Whitman and BCC feeder patterns. You can't go wrong with either choice although I personally preferred BCC.

One thing to look at is the foreign languages each offers. If your child is likely to want a language that is offered at one and not the other, then look there.

In general, Whitman is a bit more insulated, suburban, wealthy white kids. It is competitive. BCC has more of an urban feel and is more diverse because it pulls from some more working-class housing. But what I like about BCC is that because it has both a full, open IB curriculum and full APs, there are a lot of opportunities to advance. The kids can mix and match and there is less gatekeeping that was our experience at Whitman (or RM - one of my kids attended RM and that was all about the gatekeeping). There are also lots of interesting choices - things like IB music or IB science classes that aren't as hard as AP Chem.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Montgomery County schools are not what they used to be. the great schools are not allowed to be great anymore because everyone has to be equal.

They are better and more diverse

The diverse thing is tired. Is school no longer about academics?

Depends on what you mean. All mcps schools have more or less the same academic opportunities. The test score averages by which some people rate school quality are just a reflection of an area's overall SES. In HS, that matters a lot less since low and high-performing kids self-segregate.

NP here - can you pls explain this to me; just trying to understand, since we are also looking at both Pyle/ Whitman and Westland/BCC. Why does high SES affect the test score average?
thanks!

There are many reasons why test scores can be affected by SES, among them:

Children from low-SES families are less likely to have experiences that encourage the development of fundamental skills of reading acquisition, such as phonological awareness, vocabulary, and oral language (Buckingham, Wheldall, & Beaman-Wheldall, 2013).

Children’s initial reading competency is correlated with the home literacy environment, number of books owned, and parent distress (Aikens & Barbarin, 2008; Bergen, Zuijen, Bishop, & Jong, 2016). However, poor households have less access to learning materials and experiences, including books, computers, stimulating toys, skill-building lessons, or tutors to create a positive literacy environment (Bradley, Corwyn, McAdoo, & García Coll, 2001; Orr, 2003).

Prospective college students from low-SES backgrounds are less likely to have access to informational resources about college (Brown, Wohn, & Ellison , 2016). Additionally, compared to high-SES counterparts, young adults from low-SES backgrounds are at a higher risk of accruing student loan debt burdens that exceed the national average (Houle, 2014).

https://www.apa.org/pi/ses/resources/publications/education

Thank you, but then I still do not understand -sorry, not from here. Does this then not affect the actual quality of learning/academics at school? People here seem to say that BCC and Whitman are similarly good. But one scores at 7/10 on Greatschools, the other one 9 or 10.

Great Schools only compares the schools within a jurisdiction. So a DC 10 is not necessarily the same quality as a Maryland 10.

[Anonymous]

First--great schools is not a good source if info.

Second--BCC. More folx in apartments, close to the school, and there will likely be more kind kids your kid can find. Emo adjustment is gonna be important as FL may have been quite different.

You can see how the year goes and you will definitely have way more data to make a decision after that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Montgomery County schools are not what they used to be. the great schools are not allowed to be great anymore because everyone has to be equal.

They are better and more diverse

The diverse thing is tired. Is school no longer about academics?

Depends on what you mean. All mcps schools have more or less the same academic opportunities. The test score averages by which some people rate school quality are just a reflection of an area's overall SES. In HS, that matters a lot less since low and high-performing kids self-segregate.

NP here - can you pls explain this to me; just trying to understand, since we are also looking at both Pyle/ Whitman and Westland/BCC. Why does high SES affect the test score average?
thanks!

There are many reasons why test scores can be affected by SES, among them:

Children from low-SES families are less likely to have experiences that encourage the development of fundamental skills of reading acquisition, such as phonological awareness, vocabulary, and oral language (Buckingham, Wheldall, & Beaman-Wheldall, 2013).

Children’s initial reading competency is correlated with the home literacy environment, number of books owned, and parent distress (Aikens & Barbarin, 2008; Bergen, Zuijen, Bishop, & Jong, 2016). However, poor households have less access to learning materials and experiences, including books, computers, stimulating toys, skill-building lessons, or tutors to create a positive literacy environment (Bradley, Corwyn, McAdoo, & García Coll, 2001; Orr, 2003).

Prospective college students from low-SES backgrounds are less likely to have access to informational resources about college (Brown, Wohn, & Ellison , 2016). Additionally, compared to high-SES counterparts, young adults from low-SES backgrounds are at a higher risk of accruing student loan debt burdens that exceed the national average (Houle, 2014).

https://www.apa.org/pi/ses/resources/publications/education

Thank you, but then I still do not understand -sorry, not from here. Does this then not affect the actual quality of learning/academics at school? People here seem to say that BCC and Whitman are similarly good. But one scores at 7/10 on Greatschools, the other one 9 or 10.

Great Schools only compares the schools within a jurisdiction. So a DC 10 is not necessarily the same quality as a Maryland 10.

Great Schools ratings are based on an average. This means that schools with fewer low-icnome students rate higher. So even though two schools may have a different rating the same kid will get the exact same education at either since the same core courses are available at all MCPS schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had kids in both Whitman and BCC feeder patterns. You can't go wrong with either choice although I personally preferred BCC.

One thing to look at is the foreign languages each offers. If your child is likely to want a language that is offered at one and not the other, then look there.

In general, Whitman is a bit more insulated, suburban, wealthy white kids. It is competitive. BCC has more of an urban feel and is more diverse because it pulls from some more working-class housing. But what I like about BCC is that because it has both a full, open IB curriculum and full APs, there are a lot of opportunities to advance. The kids can mix and match and there is less gatekeeping that was our experience at Whitman (or RM - one of my kids attended RM and that was all about the gatekeeping). There are also lots of interesting choices - things like IB music or IB science classes that aren't as hard as AP Chem.

Not the OP.
Thank you so much PP; now THIS is a useful response. We are trying to pick between Westland/BCC and Pyle/Whitman. I would prefer the more economically diverse school district, since we are not wealthy and I don't want to be the "misfits" at Whitman....also an IB program sounds useful. At the same time, I am conflicted since I hear that Pyle though big, but is very strong academically, more so than Westland. Not sure between Whitman and BCC; many people think they are both great, but some people say that Whitman is stronger. Tough decision.

[Anonymous]

I've heard the same PP regarding Pyle being big but very strong. Most parents I have talked to say that it does a great job of making the school feel smaller by breaking up the kids into cohorts, and that it prepares them well for whitman. It is also the only middle school feeding into whitman so, while an adjustment in 6th grade, it's not that big of a shift going into HS. It might be the same at BCC though I'm not sure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had kids in both Whitman and BCC feeder patterns. You can't go wrong with either choice although I personally preferred BCC.

One thing to look at is the foreign languages each offers. If your child is likely to want a language that is offered at one and not the other, then look there.

In general, Whitman is a bit more insulated, suburban, wealthy white kids. It is competitive. BCC has more of an urban feel and is more diverse because it pulls from some more working-class housing. But what I like about BCC is that because it has both a full, open IB curriculum and full APs, there are a lot of opportunities to advance. The kids can mix and match and there is less gatekeeping that was our experience at Whitman (or RM - one of my kids attended RM and that was all about the gatekeeping). There are also lots of interesting choices - things like IB music or IB science classes that aren't as hard as AP Chem.

? RM IB is a magnet program, and there are certain classes that the student must take in order to get the IB Diploma, hence the "gatekeeping".

BCC IB is not a magnet program.

Even so, non IB magnet students at RM can also take IB classes if they want to, just like at BCC. DC's non magnet IB friend is taking an IB class and even TOK at RM. Not sure what "gatekeeping" you are referring to.

And RM also has IB music and IB science classes.

Not knocking on BCC, just wanted to clarify what you wrote about RMIB.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had kids in both Whitman and BCC feeder patterns. You can't go wrong with either choice although I personally preferred BCC.

One thing to look at is the foreign languages each offers. If your child is likely to want a language that is offered at one and not the other, then look there.

In general, Whitman is a bit more insulated, suburban, wealthy white kids. It is competitive. BCC has more of an urban feel and is more diverse because it pulls from some more working-class housing. But what I like about BCC is that because it has both a full, open IB curriculum and full APs, there are a lot of opportunities to advance. The kids can mix and match and there is less gatekeeping that was our experience at Whitman (or RM - one of my kids attended RM and that was all about the gatekeeping). There are also lots of interesting choices - things like IB music or IB science classes that aren't as hard as AP Chem.

Not the OP.
Thank you so much PP; now THIS is a useful response. We are trying to pick between Westland/BCC and Pyle/Whitman. I would prefer the more economically diverse school district, since we are not wealthy and I don't want to be the "misfits" at Whitman....also an IB program sounds useful. At the same time, I am conflicted since I hear that Pyle though big, but is very strong academically, more so than Westland. Not sure between Whitman and BCC; many people think they are both great, but some people say that Whitman is stronger. Tough decision.

Whitman is not entirely insulated, it is the high school for the Greentree children's home. Those kids are from inner city Baltimore and have been moved to be outside of bad influences and abusive / neglectful family situations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The only reason to choose Jackson Reed (which used to be called Wilson) is if you want to be DC. Personally, I prefer DC.

But BCC and Whitman are generally considered "better" schools. And living in Maryland gives you access to instate college. I prefer the diversity of BCC over WHitman and I also like the location because it is in downtown Bethesda. Bethesda is a suburb but that part has a bit of an urban center. Also BCC is more diverse. WHitman is incredibly white.

Where are you coming from? Do you prefer suburban or urban? Are you telecommuting or going into the office everyday?

WTF? When did this happen? And why?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The only reason to choose Jackson Reed (which used to be called Wilson) is if you want to be DC. Personally, I prefer DC.

But BCC and Whitman are generally considered "better" schools. And living in Maryland gives you access to instate college. I prefer the diversity of BCC over WHitman and I also like the location because it is in downtown Bethesda. Bethesda is a suburb but that part has a bit of an urban center. Also BCC is more diverse. WHitman is incredibly white.

Where are you coming from? Do you prefer suburban or urban? Are you telecommuting or going into the office everyday?

WTF? When did this happen? And why?

The measure was passed by the DC council in December.

https://wtop.com/dc/2021/12/dc-council-moves-forward-renaming-wilson-high-requiring-students-to-get-covid-19-vaccine/

[Anonymous]

Of the choice between BCC and Whitman, I would choose Whitman. The academics are stronger overall, and it was ranked #1 in the State of Maryland this year.

The previous poster is correct that the Greentree Adolescent Program sends their kids to Whitman.

"The Greentree Adolescent Program is a high-intensity residential community that prepares traumatized, victimized, and poorly socialized adolescent males to be productive members of society."
https://www.infomontgomery.org/search-results/?id=39817610

Negative posts on other threads about the three kids committing murder were Greentree kids attending Whitman, however I see that as the exception, not the rule.

[Anonymous]

My oldest just graduated with BCC and we've been very happy with the school. I feel like it has all the best aspects of a school in a UMC area without quite so many of the downsides - in other words, it has a decent amount of diversity in every respect and less emphasis on cars bc of the Metro proximity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My oldest just graduated with BCC and we've been very happy with the school. I feel like it has all the best aspects of a school in a UMC area without quite so many of the downsides - in other words, it has a decent amount of diversity in every respect and less emphasis on cars bc of the Metro proximity.

That's moot at Whitman. Only seniors can park at school so having or not having a car is not a thing.

[Anonymous]

https://www.washingtoninformer.com/woodrow-wilson-high-officially-renamed-as-jackson-reed-high-school/