Moving to Bethesda -- Renting then buying, choosing an elementary school, all advice welcome...

[Anonymous]

Ashburton dad sounds like a nice guy, and he is right, the neighborhood has lots going for it.
If you work and value your sanity and don't want 10 emails a month asking you to attend BoE, County Council, State Leg, Write to Hogan, go to Master Planning meeting, "the sky is falling on our school, No room, no relief in sight, DO SOMETHING elected representatives! Avoid the place like the effing plague. I appreciate that there are some parents (and the current PTA Pres) who have decided that this is the #1 budget priority for the State, but I am Mom for whom the histrionics produce anxiety. I am very close to shutting down my subscription to the list serve.

Sweetie, is that you?
--AD

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Why not downtown Bethesda, and the Bethesda-Chevy Chase cluster? The schools are very good, more socio-economically diverse than the other clusters you mention, but still have high educational standards.

If you rent a home close to downtown, it will be walkable to Metro, shops and restaurants - quite a pleasant lifestyle!

Bethesda Elementary has an extremely high number of SN kids without the resources to attend to them. The non SN kids are getting left to their own devices in classrooms which are full to bursting. Run a search on here for more information. It was a top ES some years ago (about 10) and then got over-burdened as a result.

Those darned SN kids!! They are the reason for our kids not getting their due attention you are right. They should go somewhere else (whether they live there or not!). I mean, that's what life is about , right? Getting what's due to you?

[Anonymous]

People seem to like Wyngate elementary for their kids.
It was expanded so lots of space. Kids are pretty nice I hear. People are happy with it. I'm not sure about the education as we set ours to private but we don't hear many complaints.
Except in terms of special kids - I hear they are pushed out in various ways (pressure, no services , etc) which is disappointing.
People like Walter Johnson for their kids. Few complaints. Nothing special snd some of the kids don't have much work to do there but I hear few complaints - kids and parents like it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Why not downtown Bethesda, and the Bethesda-Chevy Chase cluster? The schools are very good, more socio-economically diverse than the other clusters you mention, but still have high educational standards.

If you rent a home close to downtown, it will be walkable to Metro, shops and restaurants - quite a pleasant lifestyle!

Bethesda Elementary has an extremely high number of SN kids without the resources to attend to them. The non SN kids are getting left to their own devices in classrooms which are full to bursting. Run a search on here for more information. It was a top ES some years ago (about 10) and then got over-burdened as a result.

Those darned SN kids!! They are the reason for our kids not getting their due attention you are right. They should go somewhere else (whether they live there or not!). I mean, that's what life is about , right? Getting what's due to you?

Try reading the whole thread before posting your knee jerk reactions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here -- Thank you to everyone for the replies. I was mostly focusing on those schools because they had homes available within our budget and we wanted to stay close to Bethesda as that is where my husband works. We also have a dog which has limited our rental options, many rentals are not pet friendly. I am absolutely open to looking in the BCC cluster, none of the rental possibilities we have received have been in that cluster, possibly because we requested a 3-4 bedroom home with a yard, or maybe it is outside our budget. I truly appreciate all the replies and I do feel like I have a little better focus now. I am still considering all options, but I am starting to focus on schools and neighborhoods that would be a good fit for us.

I am looking forward to exploring Bethesda and being part of the community. It seems like a lovely place that has lots of good restaurants and great schools. Many thanks for all the replies and feel free to send more.

You may want to consider the WJ cluster then, you may be bale to find a rental near Cabin John which has a great dog park.

[Anonymous]

OP, "Cabin John" refers to two different places. The village of Cabin John is down near the river, around Macarthur Blvd and Seven Locks. It's a charming neighborhood and has a few affordable rentals but it's become very expensive to buy.

I think PP is referring to the neighborhood around Cabin John Park and Cabin John Shopping Center, which is much further up Seven Locks--the park is bordered by Seven Locks, Tuckerman, and Westlake Blvd. Nice area but very different than the village of Cabin John. Depending which side of the park you're on, you're either in Potomac (Churchill cluster) or the WJ cluster (Bell's Mill or Ashburton). More affordable on the WJ side, close to Montgomery Mall.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, "Cabin John" refers to two different places. The village of Cabin John is down near the river, around Macarthur Blvd and Seven Locks. It's a charming neighborhood and has a few affordable rentals but it's become very expensive to buy.

I think PP is referring to the neighborhood around Cabin John Park and Cabin John Shopping Center, which is much further up Seven Locks--the park is bordered by Seven Locks, Tuckerman, and Westlake Blvd. Nice area but very different than the village of Cabin John. Depending which side of the park you're on, you're either in Potomac (Churchill cluster) or the WJ cluster (Bell's Mill or Ashburton). More affordable on the WJ side, close to Montgomery Mall.

Bells Mill feeds to Churchill. Only the Townhouses and Apartments closest to the Mall feed to Ashburton.

[Anonymous]

Some houses along Tuckerman feed to Luxmanor. And the Townhouses across Democracy from the Mall feed to Seven Locks.

If you want to live near Cabin John Park, as opposed to the Village of Cabin John, you must closely review your district map.

[Anonymous]

You should look into Carderock Springs - wonderful community and wonderful ES (also very inclusive)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
A non-verbal very autistic child simply should not be in a mainstream classroom, but the opportunity for them to mix with and get to know other kids from the same age group in mainstream classes, benefits everyone.

In case anyone misunderstands PP, they are not putting non-verbal children in mainstream classes at BE. There are children with all sorts of disabilities there but they are able to keep up with their mainstream peers academically with some supports. That's the whole point of an inclusive environment.

Well if you had read the post that was replying to you would understand that everyone else knows this already. It was not a comment in isolation nor was it referring to BE. Please stay alert.

Don't be ridiculous. I read the whole thread and that PP which may be you is clearly very ignorant about special needs.

[Anonymous]

We have had a great experience with Wyngate thus far. Loved both K and 1st grade teachers - very warm and friendly and good with communication. Office staff has always been pleasant. They now have an aftercare on the grounds which is great for those of us that need aftercare a few days a week. Overall, we've been very happy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Why not downtown Bethesda, and the Bethesda-Chevy Chase cluster? The schools are very good, more socio-economically diverse than the other clusters you mention, but still have high educational standards.

If you rent a home close to downtown, it will be walkable to Metro, shops and restaurants - quite a pleasant lifestyle!

W schools only

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Why not downtown Bethesda, and the Bethesda-Chevy Chase cluster? The schools are very good, more socio-economically diverse than the other clusters you mention, but still have high educational standards.

If you rent a home close to downtown, it will be walkable to Metro, shops and restaurants - quite a pleasant lifestyle!

W schools only

Why?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
A non-verbal very autistic child simply should not be in a mainstream classroom, but the opportunity for them to mix with and get to know other kids from the same age group in mainstream classes, benefits everyone.

In case anyone misunderstands PP, they are not putting non-verbal children in mainstream classes at BE. There are children with all sorts of disabilities there but they are able to keep up with their mainstream peers academically with some supports. That's the whole point of an inclusive environment.

Well if you had read the post that was replying to you would understand that everyone else knows this already. It was not a comment in isolation nor was it referring to BE. Please stay alert.

Don't be ridiculous. I read the whole thread and that PP which may be you is clearly very ignorant about special needs.

No examples of ignorance that I can see. Only yours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Why not downtown Bethesda, and the Bethesda-Chevy Chase cluster? The schools are very good, more socio-economically diverse than the other clusters you mention, but still have high educational standards.

If you rent a home close to downtown, it will be walkable to Metro, shops and restaurants - quite a pleasant lifestyle!

W schools only

This is stupid. I know Whitman has this glow in some people's eyes but I actually would rather be in BCC's district, partly because of the neighborhood but also because of the school, the IB program, and the school population, and that doesn't even touch the other "W" schools...