PG County Parents, where are you sending your kids to school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Friends coming school in college park is definitely worth exploring. Tremendous diversity; racial and economic.

I know a lot of people who were not happy at all with this school. Very unprofessional staff/teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Guess I better just get money together for DC private Unfortunately the best PG County has to offer is not good enough

Really? That's your takeaway from this thread? You were given many good suggestions. Friends Community School is fantastic and its tuition is half the price of Sidwell and other DC privates. St. Jerome is also very good. We know many very happy families at Hyattsville Elementary.

Moreover, if you live in the central part of the county, there are good elementary schools in Bowie, and one good middle school (and one up and coming, the principal is working hard at Tasker from everything I have heard). That leaves high school, and there are several good private options in the county. In the northern part of the county, there are several very decent to good elementary schools, at least one good middle school (MLK), and a good K-8 (Beltsville Academy). Again, that leaves high school, but, again, you may want to invest your money in a private high, and take advantage of decent to very good elementary schools. And supplement the education on your own.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would take a chance at YuYing over the opportunity to lottery into a PG County G&T program any day.

You know your chance at even getting into Yu Ying would be around 1% right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would take a chance at YuYing over the opportunity to lottery into a PG County G&T program any day. Let's face the fact that DC offers more opportunities. The gulf between DC and PG is widening as DC experiences gentrification and their lowest SES students with the highest level of behavioral problems are moving into our county. Further, college educated professionals who bought along the Mt. Ranier to Hyattsville corridor of Route 1 were attracted to being on the border of DC and being able to commute into the city. They are not looking to drive deep into PG away from work for a school. The fact that the county has not positioned something like a bilingual IB program in the Arts District area tells me that they aren't serious about keeping the young families that are currently moving in.

There is a new elementary school off of queens chapel, though, which I thought would have something "special" in the curriculum?

It has an arts integration theme and was funded with additional art and music teachers. The new principal, Walter Reap, has won awards from the Washington Post for educational leadership. He was previously at an AACPS elementary with arts integration and Primary Years Programme (IB) and will start at the school beginning of July.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Friends coming school in college park is definitely worth exploring. Tremendous diversity; racial and economic.

I know a lot of people who were not happy at all with this school. Very unprofessional staff/teachers.

Can you expand on this? What is unprofessional about them?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would take a chance at YuYing over the opportunity to lottery into a PG County G&T program any day. Let's face the fact that DC offers more opportunities. The gulf between DC and PG is widening as DC experiences gentrification and their lowest SES students with the highest level of behavioral problems are moving into our county. Further, college educated professionals who bought along the Mt. Ranier to Hyattsville corridor of Route 1 were attracted to being on the border of DC and being able to commute into the city. They are not looking to drive deep into PG away from work for a school. The fact that the county has not positioned something like a bilingual IB program in the Arts District area tells me that they aren't serious about keeping the young families that are currently moving in.

This is utter nonsense combined with ignorant generalizations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would take a chance at YuYing over the opportunity to lottery into a PG County G&T program any day.

You know your chance at even getting into Yu Ying would be around 1% right?

Exactly. Putting all your cards on one public charter is not worth it. There are better schools with better programs. 90% of education is a disciplined parent not the school. Parents get caught up in nicely named programs thinking it's the best for their children not realizing marketing and promotion are intertwined with some of these popular public charters because they want the hunger of "I have to get my kid in there" to bring media attention to their school. Don't follow the hype to the so called best when there is something wonderful in your own backyard. Just do the research and get involved with the school!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would take a chance at YuYing over the opportunity to lottery into a PG County G&T program any day.

You know your chance at even getting into Yu Ying would be around 1% right?

Exactly. Putting all your cards on one public charter is not worth it. There are better schools with better programs. 90% of education is a disciplined parent not the school. Parents get caught up in nicely named programs thinking it's the best for their children not realizing marketing and promotion are intertwined with some of these popular public charters because they want the hunger of "I have to get my kid in there" to bring media attention to their school. Don't follow the hype to the so called best when there is something wonderful in your own backyard. Just do the research and get involved with the school!

This is true when there is one public charter, but DC now how more than 50, many with more specialized educational programs than anything you can find here. Marketing and promotion exist regardless of charter vs. neighborhood school or else property values in some neighborhoods wouldn't be so much higher depending on what side of the street you live on. Many of these charter schools are right in the NE section of DC. If you haven't noticed, the house prices of that section of DC have increased the past few years while the prices in Prince George's have stagnated or dropped.

[Anonymous]

PP check out the DC boards and see how many parents didn't even get into their safety school choice (some of which are much worse than what PG has to.offer) You have hundreds of students competing for a handful of slots at the specialty charters. While areas in NE may be increasing in value, there are plenty of families that will make the annual move to MD or VA because they "lost" the lottery.

[Anonymous]

When families "make the annual move to MD" they are not moving to PG.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are sending ours to a private in Fort Washington

Do you mind sharing what school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP check out the DC boards and see how many parents didn't even get into their safety school choice (some of which are much worse than what PG has to.offer) You have hundreds of students competing for a handful of slots at the specialty charters. While areas in NE may be increasing in value, there are plenty of families that will make the annual move to MD or VA because they "lost" the lottery.

Look, I don't have hard statistics on the demographics of who is moving where, but not only are house prices in NE increasing, but there's also been a lot of new construction going on, so both supply AND demand are going up. I've checked the DC boards and the common application was supposed to serve something like 80% of applicants with one of their top five schools. Enrollment data in PGCPS indicate that we're losing a larger share of families from middle class backgrounds compared to other counties, private schools, and even homeschooling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When families "make the annual move to MD" they are not moving to PG.

U.S. Census begs to differ ...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/young-families-move-into-prince-georges-reversing-exodus-by-whites/2012/06/24/gJQAKMhP0V_story.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When families "make the annual move to MD" they are not moving to PG.

We are actually considering the move into PG. I figured we culd get more house/space in the Bowie area and send DC to private school and still save money. We would make the move so that DC could enter at the beginning of MS (6th grade), so that he enters with a bunch of kids who are also new. DC is currently in one of the HRC in DC, but we need more space and a sure path to instate college tuition. We are running the numbers and although I can think of good private HS that are not 40K, I cannot think of any good MS options within reasonable price range. So, we are considering the move and the numbers PP. BTW-My family is not alone. I was told to look in the Mitchellville area and drive around. I was told that many of the cars had private school bumpers on the cars. Decisions, decisions.

[Anonymous]

I live in NE DC and most of my friends and I have been successful with the lottery by kindergarten. I love nearby PG...PG pool, downtown Mt rainier, Historic Hyattsville. But my kids at at a respected charter, one with special needs. So I don't think I can leave even though I am attracted by he places, the people, and the housing and prices.