Thinking of Moving to MoCo for schools - please advise

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am OP. Heck, we are living in 1300 square foot townhouse now. It does not take a lot to impress me. Is it safe to assume that all of the schools in the Whitman catchment area are good? I know one ES is slated for a major renovation next year...

There are condos in the Whitman district behind the Safeway at Sangamore (Sumner Village). But I don't think you'd be able to find a 3BR for less than $800K, and the HOA fees are substantial -- can add $1000 per month. If your kids share a room and you buy a 2BR, you can get in under $800K with about the same square footage as you have now.

Wood Acres is being renovated next year. The school currently has nearly 800 students, and is nearly 250 overcapacity. Excellent school, and it has a planetarium, if you have science-oriented kids.

[Anonymous]

The schools that feed in to Whitman are:

Bannockburn - Small school feel. There may be houses in your price range and this is probably your best bet if you want to reduce your commute. An eclectic mix of house styles and sizes. Have always loved the sidewalks and the meandering roads there.

Wood Acres - PP told you about that already. Also a + from the commuting standpoint.

Burning Tree - A little further out. There may be houses in your price range. There are very traditional colonial houses that don't look like they cost $1 million but many of them do. Have heard the neighbors are very nice.

Carderock Springs - On the other side of River Road from
Burning Tree so it's also further away from where your husband works, but the school was recently rebuilt and probably the best facility-wise. Most houses are in a situational modernist style which some people love and others don't.

Bradley Hills - I would be shocked if you could find a house around 800,000 plus it's probably the furthest away from SW. Absolutely gorgeous mansions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The schools that feed in to Whitman are:

Bannockburn - Small school feel. There may be houses in your price range and this is probably your best bet if you want to reduce your commute. An eclectic mix of house styles and sizes. Have always loved the sidewalks and the meandering roads there.

Wood Acres - PP told you about that already. Also a + from the commuting standpoint.

Burning Tree - A little further out. There may be houses in your price range. There are very traditional colonial houses that don't look like they cost $1 million but many of them do. Have heard the neighbors are very nice.

Carderock Springs - On the other side of River Road from
Burning Tree so it's also further away from where your husband works, but the school was recently rebuilt and probably the best facility-wise. Most houses are in a situational modernist style which some people love and others don't.

Bradley Hills - I would be shocked if you could find a house around 800,000 plus it's probably the furthest away from SW. Absolutely gorgeous mansions.

Good summary although everyone I know in the Bradley Hills zone lives in a small colonial or split level. Some live in renovated houses on small lots. I guess I just don't know the mansion dwellers - maybe they don't send their kids to public school.

[Anonymous]

OP, how important is education to you? Are you and your husband very academically oriented? Do you have a sense for how self-motivated your child(ren) are?

I ask because like many others, I made a move to Bethesda for the schools and I've been very disappointed. Sadly, we're going private.

I found the privates to be much more like the way I remember public school decades ago than the way it is today.

[Anonymous]

This recent post about Bethesda schools matches my experience. And it's not just Bethesda. It's like this throughout MoCo and in Fairfax too. Arlington may be better.

http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/384780.page

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, how important is education to you? Are you and your husband very academically oriented? Do you have a sense for how self-motivated your child(ren) are?

I ask because like many others, I made a move to Bethesda for the schools and I've been very disappointed. Sadly, we're going private.

I found the privates to be much more like the way I remember public school decades ago than the way it is today.

Not OP, but I would be interested in learning more about your experience. We are in DC and are considering moving there for K (in-boundary for Bethesda Elementary, most likely).

[Anonymous]

You should look at rosemary hills area - a much easier commute and great schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, how important is education to you? Are you and your husband very academically oriented? Do you have a sense for how self-motivated your child(ren) are?

I ask because like many others, I made a move to Bethesda for the schools and I've been very disappointed. Sadly, we're going private.

I found the privates to be much more like the way I remember public school decades ago than the way it is today.

This raises another option. Move to a less costly neighborhood where the schools may not be as good and go private. i know people that do this and are happy. There are safe neighborhoods like this close in but you have to be careful. Just a thought. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

We moved from DC to a highly recommended neighborhood in the Bethesda-Chevy Chase cluster when we became parents. Long story short, our boy was not a good fit for school (or vice versa). We're six years into homeschooling and spend a lot of time with other homeschooling families back in DC.
We laugh because it beats crying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, how important is education to you? Are you and your husband very academically oriented? Do you have a sense for how self-motivated your child(ren) are?

I ask because like many others, I made a move to Bethesda for the schools and I've been very disappointed. Sadly, we're going private.

I found the privates to be much more like the way I remember public school decades ago than the way it is today.

Not OP here but I'm curious what you think has changed and is it just Bethesda schools or all MoCo. I've heard from some that MoCo is living off of its reputation from decades ago and is not as good as it once was. Is that your impression as well? Obviously many people, probably most, like it and consider it one of the top in the country. But some feel it's overrated. Just trying to get an honest sense of what's good and bad. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, how important is education to you? Are you and your husband very academically oriented? Do you have a sense for how self-motivated your child(ren) are?

I ask because like many others, I made a move to Bethesda for the schools and I've been very disappointed. Sadly, we're going private.

I found the privates to be much more like the way I remember public school decades ago than the way it is today.

This raises another option. Move to a less costly neighborhood where the schools may not be as good and go private. i know people that do this and are happy. There are safe neighborhoods like this close in but you have to be careful. Just a thought. Good luck.

Or maybe it's that the schools in Bethesda actually aren't better than the schools in neighborhoods that are less extremely expensive?

[Anonymous]

Not OP here but I'm curious what you think has changed and is it just Bethesda schools or all MoCo. I've heard from some that MoCo is living off of its reputation from decades ago and is not as good as it once was. Is that your impression as well? Obviously many people, probably most, like it and consider it one of the top in the country. But some feel it's overrated. Just trying to get an honest sense of what's good and bad. Thanks.

I think there are two parts to the current situation. The county is implemeting a new curriculum which has a learning curve for the teachers and not surprisingly needs some tweeking. Part II: Parents hate change.

[Anonymous]

In my experience so far, with two kids in the system, all the teachers have been excellent, which I suspect is more important than the curriculum. On the latter, I am reserving judgement.

One thing I will say is that the new report cards are just meaningless drivel, which does concern me somewhat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Not OP here but I'm curious what you think has changed and is it just Bethesda schools or all MoCo. I've heard from some that MoCo is living off of its reputation from decades ago and is not as good as it once was. Is that your impression as well? Obviously many people, probably most, like it and consider it one of the top in the country. But some feel it's overrated. Just trying to get an honest sense of what's good and bad. Thanks.

I think there are two parts to the current situation. The county is implemeting a new curriculum which has a learning curve for the teachers and not surprisingly needs some tweeking. Part II: Parents hate change.

Bingo!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In my experience so far, with two kids in the system, all the teachers have been excellent, which I suspect is more important than the curriculum. On the latter, I am reserving judgement.

One thing I will say is that the new report cards are just meaningless drivel, which does concern me somewhat.

Completely agree with this.