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Moving to DC with 2 Kids HELP!
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Anonymous
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http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/
use the school-odex to find out about schools, specifically the school at a glance. ESOL - english as a second language FARMS - free and reduced cost meals SPED - special ed. I would be concerned about ESOL and FARMs which tells you the percentage of poor and non-english speaking students in a school. If you look at a school in Bethesda, you will find very low 2-5% of ESOL and FARMS, but in some areas of Silver Spring it is 70%. So you need to find a neighborhood and school that you feel comfortable with the number. From what I understand, Oakland Terrace has 14 kindergarten classes and it is such a big school that they farmed the kindergarteners out and they are at Sligo Middle School, not sure if this is long term or just this year. So, they are not in the neighborhood school. I live in Silver Spring, I have seen the sign at Sligo Middle School that says it is Oakland Terrace, and heard on the list serves that there was thought of relocating the Kindergarten, I put 2 and 2 together and made that assumption. Maybe someone else can chime in with the real news. |
Anonymous
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Regarding Oakland Terrace - I believe they are building a new elementary school that will be ready for fall of 2011 or 2012, not sure which one, so the move to the middle school is temporary.
I have a neigbhor with a child in K there this year, who was VERY involved in this transition and she is very pleased with how it is being handled, and very happy that her child is in a K class of 17 students and there is an aide (have heard in other parts of MC the classes are as big as 27). Also, the K have a special library with thousands of books. It apparently is being handled very well. We live in Oakland Terrace territory but I have an infant so not completely up on everything, but am keeping tabs through my neighbor. I assume my child will go to the new elementary school. |
Anonymous
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I have a kindergartner at the Oakland Terrace satellite location @ Sligo Middle School.
We love it! The whole floor is just a kindergarten wing, the class size is smaller than at many montco schools and my child, who entered kindergarten reading, is learning more and loving it. The prinicipal has been lauded in educational circuits including winning the 2009 Washington Post Educational Leadership Award. One of the things that she has been credited for has been closing the education gap -- says she doesn't believe in it -- every child deserves and has the ability to learn. It is a great school! Geez, I just don't get it -- since when does reduced lunch mean, which is indicative of a LOWER income (not necessarily even impoverished) -- become synonomous with IGNORANT which is of some sort of danger to YOUR child? I received reduced lunch -- and I went to college, have a career, am responsible citizen. Same for my husband. My 93 yr old grandmother never earned more than half of our HHI -- so she probably qualified as a FARM -- but she went to college -- and she and my grandfather raised 3 kids who went to college and have had successful careers and families. What do you think -- poor and ignorant is going to jump off on your kid? |
Anonymous
You are the only one who made the link between poor and ignorant. No one else did. If the person wants to be average and they don't receive FARMs and if 80% of the student body does in that school, then maybe that person would feel more comfortable with a lower number. If you want to be the only "rich" people in school then that is OK too. Good to know what the info means. Just to reiterate, only you said poor and ignorant were the same. Poor may mean absolutely nothing. It may mean parents are too busy with long working hours at jobs to be a part of the PTA and contribute to special stuff or be involved in their child's education. Each family has its own issues. |
Anonymous
Hey, easy does it... Since when does not being active in the PTA = not being involved in your child's education? Parents can and do spend time being involved in their child's education when they help the child with homework and are supportive and constructive about their child's academic pursuits. Just because the activity didn't take place in front of an audience doesn't mean it didn't happen. |
Anonymous
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@15:57
i am poster 15:17. And what I said was 'since when did poor and ignorant become synonomous" I WAS ASKING THE QUESTION ABOUT THE ASSUMPTION BEING MADE...NOT MAKING THAT PARTICULAR ASSUMPTION. Now that I think about it I should have said "lower income" -- not poor. As for the argument about being average...the kids have id numbers...that's how they buy lunch....how will a first grader know that little johnny gets reduced lunch anyway...so how is he going to feel "different"? if so different how? Once again...reduced lunch -- is indicative of a LOWER income not that families are necessarily destitute... it just may mean they earn a little less than the family next door --- something no one would necessarily know about another family if they didn't post statistics on the web. I'm not starting an argument -- I'm just wondering why people are so focused on FARMS? |
Anonymous
If all the parents are working long hours then there is no one to run a PTA, which means that any extras the PTA and parents working together might do, do not get accomplished. No one says there are not other ways to contribute, but if there are too few parents to volunteer at school or provide other support, then that is one way a school might be impacted. I think many would agree that lots of parent involvement at school is a plus for the child and for the whole school. No parent involvement is a minus for the whole school. |
Anonymous
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As for the FARMs, according to the 2010-11 application
http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/governance/notices/iegs/IEGs09-10.pdf http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/governance/notices/iegs/IEGs10-11.htm a family of 4 with an income of $40,000 gets reduced meals. A family of 4 with income of $28,000 gets free meals. I don't know about you, but it is pretty hard to make ends meet in Montgomery County with an income of $40,000. I would say both the families of 4 people each with income either $40,000 or $28,000 a year are poor for this area, obviously not destitute or even below poverty, but poor in the DC area. |
Anonymous
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Op here.
Thanks for the specific school suggestions. That really helps. My DH is now interested in VA. Anyone know much about Falls Church (have I got that right?)? and the good schools there? We have definitely bumped up our rental allowance. What we are looking for, with our limited credit issues (being new to the country we are starting fresh) we have to be quite open. So we will hope for the best. |
Anonymous
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Poverty leads to problems, either with broken homes, absent parents, at-risk kids, etc., etc.
If there's many many kids who're at risk or facing the problems of poverty the staff/administration at that school will be geared to that and less responsive to the needs of not-at-risk kids. At least that's how the theory goes. I thought I'd read on here about a few parents that'll move to a relatively safe area with a poor-performing ES with lots of FRL and ESOL kids so they can essentially take over the PTA. It's more likely to be school snobbery to snub a school w/ 20% FRL kids in favor of a school w/ 5%. It's another thing to be wary of a school w/ 60% FRL. OP, why is your hubby interested in Falls Church when he works on the red line? I mean, I'd recommend Falls Church wholeheartedly, but not sure about the commuting issues. If Falls Church is OK, then you can also consider Vienna, which is (relatively) cheaper. If you can have like six month's rent in a locked account or something and print out a statement along with your rental application, that might ameliorate the new credit issues. Brief summary of Falls Church VA schools: Langley - My HHI is $160k a year (I live in Vienna) and every time I enter the Langley zone, I can feel a remote sensor scanning my wallet, credit rating, and savings accounts. I am then pulled over McLean - Might be able to get something @ $3k a month there. George Mason - You must live in Falls Church City, which is like a tiny little county. (MD has only one city that is independent of all counties, and that is Baltimore.) It is pricey. Maybe something for $3k a month. Marshall - probably what you want if your budget is under $3k. A few of the feeders are spotty, as in 40-50% FRL and middling SOL scores. Madison - if you like Falls Church, you would probably like Vienna. More expensive than Marshall, but the "spotty" elementary schools there have 20-25% FRL kids. But there's some options in the $2500-$3000 range. |
Anonymous
| Oh yeah. Stuart and Falls Church high schools are less well-regarded. Of the two, Stuart scores marginally better, but Falls Church has an AP program. Most of the feeders there are 60%+ FRL. |
Anonymous
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Re: Falls Church, don't get too hung up on high school districts just yet. Your kids are pretty young, correct? Look for good elementary schools, nice neighborhoods, and worry about middle/high school later, especially if you're just going to do a rental for a while. Who knows, your DH may get transferred again and you may not even be here that long.
I think there are a lot of nice neighborhoods in and around Falls Church plus the added bonus is you'll be accessible to Metro (maybe not walking, but at most a short drive). |
Anonymous
This is very wise advice. I lived in "Silver Spring" when I first moved to DC a decade ago. Although my mailing address was "Silver Spring" it was way above the Glenmont metro in the Aspen Hill neighborhood. It was possible to drive and park or take a bus to Glenmont metro and into the city. I worked not far from where your DH will be and it's about an hour. The neighborhood was the pits, though--crime was a real problem and we were far from downtown SS. Keep in mind we have a major traffic problem and you need to take that into account when you're looking at maps and distances. A few miles can take a long time to drive in rush hour. Do not rent/buy without checking with someone who really knows the area (real estate agent, talk to prospective neighbors, etc.) |
Anonymous
| Do you think we scared the OP off yet? She's probably a super-laid back west coast type and boy or boy did she get her introduction to DC. |
Anonymous
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LOL, not scared yet...although being on this board has been an eye-opening experience.
It's just interesting to hear the banter about schools and neighborhoods. In BC, there isn't much of these types of discussions about good schools vs. bad schools. The curriculum is the same in the entire province and in every district. If you live in a shoddy neighborhood here, there really isn't an issue with the schools (outside of ESL over population) because of our teacher union. The teachers here all go by seniority, so very often new (and IMO, good teachers) get moved around from school to school every year. The same goes for principals. So, in each school, you have a mix of great staff and not so great staff. Sure, some areas have a lower SES, but in terms of quality of education, it's all the same. One major difference, is that you can cross boundary if you want. So, if I want my DD to go to a better school than what's offered in our catchment, she can. Obviously, they take catchment kids first, but usually you can get in without a problem. As for neighborhoods, I realize it is a subjective question. Everyone is looking for something different where they live, and their needs vary. For me, I just want a little feeling of home. It may be possible, it may not be. My DH would simply like to live close to work, closer than we do now. We may end up renting in a shoddy neighborhood, but it's not forever, and if it's bad, we'll just find a different place in a better neighborhood. I was simply hoping through this forum, to get a bit of insight into what you consider good neighborhoods/areas. This is an adventure for our family. There will be trials and tribulations, i know but the most important thing is that we are together. Once again, thank you for all your insights. It's given me lots of ideas and things to consider. |