Private school recommendations - living in Bowie and commuting to DC

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have a lot of friends with kids at St. Ambrose in Cheverly. They all seem happy with the choice. Although there are a lot of Cheverly kids there, there are also a lot of kids who come in from Bowie so you might be able to carpool
It would be right on your way into DC though.

We researched St. Ambrose also and you are right, they are right on the way to DC. They only downfall (and the sole reason we had to cross them off the list) is because they don’t offer before or after care which we definitely need. I wish they offered these services because we’ve heard nothing but good things about them.

[Anonymous]

Not the original poster but It's not as simple as just sending your kids to public school to make them better. For example, my neighborhood school had 28 kids in kindergarten last year. Am I wrong, for not wanting to enroll my child? In addition, my kid has small sensory and motor skill issues, not enough to be considered special needs or need an IEP so they need a little more one on one. Their school now caps at 12 students. Me as a child, I could thrive in any environment 12 kids or 25 kids! However, I know my child and they need a small learning environment. 28:1 ratio is horrible, the average will stay average, those who need a little more help, won't get it and the advance will get bored.

Anne Arundel cluster, I would go public. The Crofton/Gambrills area schools are fantastic and most have 17/18 cap on students. Big difference than PG. Also, to put it in perspective, my 3rd grader had 31!!!! However, she could hang because she is that child that can self direct. *just saying*

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a lot of friends with kids at St. Ambrose in Cheverly. They all seem happy with the choice. Although there are a lot of Cheverly kids there, there are also a lot of kids who come in from Bowie so you might be able to carpool
It would be right on your way into DC though.

We researched St. Ambrose also and you are right, they are right on the way to DC. They only downfall (and the sole reason we had to cross them off the list) is because they don’t offer before or after care which we definitely need. I wish they offered these services because we’ve heard nothing but good things about them.

FYI- There is a daycare about 1.5 blocks away from St. Ambrose that offers before/aftercare if you are interested. The before/aftercare offered at Spellman will also take non-Spellman kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you have kids? Where are they in school? Since you called out op you should at least self identify. So if she was black and poor she’s allowed to go private, then? Pg county has failed its students for decades due to mismanagement and poor leadership. It’s on the leaders to turn around the school system and get parents to opt back in, stop blaming parents for things beyond their control, and asking them to use their kids as guinea pigs.

If you feel so strongly about PG schools and are a PG resident, then fight for change instead of dodging the publics for privates. You pay for those public schools, and no school ever turned around when the wealthy residents in the community abandoned them. I always hear about all these wealthy people in PG and Annapolis sending their kids to privates, and it always makes me wonder how different these schools would be if these parents sent their kids to public and actually advocated for change. Improving the public schools not only benefits people of all incomes, but it will improve your property values as well. Bowie would have some of the highest-performing schools in the state if wealthy families (regardless of their race) enrolled their kids and advocated for change in them.

And again, as horrible as PG might be, the privates around here are even worse. Annapolis area privates weren’t designed to be rigorous and intellectually stimulating. They were designed as an escape for white people who don’t want to send their kids to school with minorities. Private school enrollment in Anne Arundel County jumped and many new privates opened when legally mandated segregation ended.

OP is willing to make all these sweeping generalizations about Bowie schools without even talking to anyone who sent their kids to them or conversing with the staff at the school, yet she is willing to embrace these mediocre privates with $35k/year tuitions without second thought.

Wow..... this is a lot, even for DCUM. I also think it's terribly out dated (if it was ever true at all)
I have a kid at one of the schools you've mentioned. I also have a kid in AACPS. I'm not sending my kid to private school to escape minorities. After all, his sibling goes to the school you think I'm trying to avoid! Instead, he's a kid who needs much smaller classes and some of the unique programs offered at some of the private schools.
The *vast* majority of my friends in Annapolis have kids in public school. The AHS IB program is fantastic, and plenty of waterfront home-owning parents send their kids there.

Also... AACo privates don't cost nearly as much as DC privates. No one is paying 35K/year "without a second thought".
Key lower school is 25K. Severn Elementary is 20K. Indian Creek Elementary is 22K. And those three are - by far - the most expensive of the AACo privates.
Spalding HS is 16K, although it's weird that you would mention it on a thread about elementary schools.

[Anonymous]

Back to the OP...
Some of the Annapolis area privates have a bus from Bowie. I know Montessori International did last year - not sure what their status is with covid this year.
I'd be hesitant to do that, though, given that you're working in DC. That would be a *long* commute to pick up a sick kid from school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe the public schools are underwhelming because the wealthy people keep dodging them for privates, rather than fighting for and investing in their community schools. There’s no shortage of wealthy families living in Bowie and Annapolis, yet there is a major shortage of them enrolled in the public schools relative to their presence in the neighborhoods themselves. Most private schools in Anne Arundel County are mediocre anyways. Some even have lower SAT averages than many of the publics in AA County and probably PG County, and the list of colleges that the graduates go to at most of the AA privates are very underwhelming as well. Imagine paying all that tuition for Spalding or Indian Creek just for your kid to go to AACC, Towson, or Salisbury. Those privates weren’t made for families who value education. They were made for the kids of rich white business owners and CEOs who are not very educated themselves and live in giant waterfront homes. They were made for the population that is simply afraid of ethnic minorities and poor kids.

I agree with this. People use the term " not a good school" to mean majority black school.
PG doesnt help by taking the bright ( not truly gifted) kids and sending them to magnets in the 2nd grade. Its crazy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not the original poster but It's not as simple as just sending your kids to public school to make them better. For example, my neighborhood school had 28 kids in kindergarten last year. Am I wrong, for not wanting to enroll my child? In addition, my kid has small sensory and motor skill issues, not enough to be considered special needs or need an IEP so they need a little more one on one. Their school now caps at 12 students. Me as a child, I could thrive in any environment 12 kids or 25 kids! However, I know my child and they need a small learning environment. 28:1 ratio is horrible, the average will stay average, those who need a little more help, won't get it and the advance will get bored.

Anne Arundel cluster, I would go public. The Crofton/Gambrills area schools are fantastic and most have 17/18 cap on students. Big difference than PG. Also, to put it in perspective, my 3rd grader had 31!!!! However, she could hang because she is that child that can self direct. *just saying*

There are no shortage of elementary schools in Bowie that outperform Crofton area elementary schools: Heather Hills, Whitehall, and Yorktown. And no, Crofton schools are very overcrowded, and the high school is projected to be over-capacity the day it starts serving all four grades. South River High School is an over-crowded zoo that serves many working-class neighborhoods in Edgewater, but I see people recommend it over Bowie all the time. It’s clearly about race.

Also, Crofton didn’t just get a new high school because they were sleeping on their asses and dodged their own public schools. They got it because of years of community involvement and commitment

. Looking at citation data, Crofton schools have numerous behavior issues as well. Crofton Middle School had 19 citations during the 2017-2018 school year. Arundel Middle School only had 6, and Central Middle School only had 4. Crofton is over-hyped because it’s a majority-white area. https://www.capitalgazette.com/education/ac-cn-meade-high-school-20190905-b5onjm2ixngddjlx75oxwx73oq-story.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I agree with this. People use the term " not a good school" to mean majority black school.
PG doesnt help by taking the bright ( not truly gifted) kids and sending them to magnets in the 2nd grade. Its crazy.

Investing in ones community schools benefits everyone in the community and improves the desirability and values of the homes. Instead of paying $35k a year to send children to some mediocre private schools with abysmal statistics that are not bright by any means, people should invest in public education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not the original poster but It's not as simple as just sending your kids to public school to make them better. For example, my neighborhood school had 28 kids in kindergarten last year. Am I wrong, for not wanting to enroll my child? In addition, my kid has small sensory and motor skill issues, not enough to be considered special needs or need an IEP so they need a little more one on one. Their school now caps at 12 students. Me as a child, I could thrive in any environment 12 kids or 25 kids! However, I know my child and they need a small learning environment. 28:1 ratio is horrible, the average will stay average, those who need a little more help, won't get it and the advance will get bored.

Anne Arundel cluster, I would go public. The Crofton/Gambrills area schools are fantastic and most have 17/18 cap on students. Big difference than PG. Also, to put it in perspective, my 3rd grader had 31!!!! However, she could hang because she is that child that can self direct. *just saying*

There are no shortage of elementary schools in Bowie that outperform Crofton area elementary schools: Heather Hills, Whitehall, and Yorktown. And no, Crofton schools are very overcrowded, and the high school is projected to be over-capacity the day it starts serving all four grades. South River High School is an over-crowded zoo that serves many working-class neighborhoods in Edgewater, but I see people recommend it over Bowie all the time. It’s clearly about race.

Also, Crofton didn’t just get a new high school because they were sleeping on their asses and dodged their own public schools. They got it because of years of community involvement and commitment

. Looking at citation data, Crofton schools have numerous behavior issues as well. Crofton Middle School had 19 citations during the 2017-2018 school year. Arundel Middle School only had 6, and Central Middle School only had 4. Crofton is over-hyped because it’s a majority-white area. https://www.capitalgazette.com/education/ac-cn-meade-high-school-20190905-b5onjm2ixngddjlx75oxwx73oq-story.html

Not facts! You are naming PGCPS TAG schools. Crofton elementary, Crofton meadows, Nantucket and Crofton woods are NOT TAG schools so you are not comparing apples to oranges. Also I relocated and my attends Nantucket and there are 5 kindergarten classes with 14-17 kids. Don’t speak of you don’t know the facts. They get another teacher when they reach a certain level so please!

[Anonymous]

*You are comparing apples to oranges*

[Anonymous]

Bottom line is PGCPS is trash for the most part! My kids will not be used to build the community and fall by the way side! Sacrifice your kids if you choose. I pay my taxes, yes....but if I don’t feel the situation is best for my kid, that’s that. As let’s be clear, my kids doesn’t attend a private in PGCPS or public school. I don’t pay for private for prestige or because I don’t want to be involved in my community. I oh for private because it’s what’s best for my child right now. That might change but for now, I will NOT do PGCPS! I’ll have my kids test for tag when they can but even then no guarantees

[Anonymous]

Excuse my typos. Typing fast.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not the original poster but It's not as simple as just sending your kids to public school to make them better. For example, my neighborhood school had 28 kids in kindergarten last year. Am I wrong, for not wanting to enroll my child? In addition, my kid has small sensory and motor skill issues, not enough to be considered special needs or need an IEP so they need a little more one on one. Their school now caps at 12 students. Me as a child, I could thrive in any environment 12 kids or 25 kids! However, I know my child and they need a small learning environment. 28:1 ratio is horrible, the average will stay average, those who need a little more help, won't get it and the advance will get bored.

Anne Arundel cluster, I would go public. The Crofton/Gambrills area schools are fantastic and most have 17/18 cap on students. Big difference than PG. Also, to put it in perspective, my 3rd grader had 31!!!! However, she could hang because she is that child that can self direct. *just saying*

There are no shortage of elementary schools in Bowie that outperform Crofton area elementary schools: Heather Hills, Whitehall, and Yorktown. And no, Crofton schools are very overcrowded, and the high school is projected to be over-capacity the day it starts serving all four grades. South River High School is an over-crowded zoo that serves many working-class neighborhoods in Edgewater, but I see people recommend it over Bowie all the time. It’s clearly about race.

Also, Crofton didn’t just get a new high school because they were sleeping on their asses and dodged their own public schools. They got it because of years of community involvement and commitment

. Looking at citation data, Crofton schools have numerous behavior issues as well. Crofton Middle School had 19 citations during the 2017-2018 school year. Arundel Middle School only had 6, and Central Middle School only had 4. Crofton is over-hyped because it’s a majority-white area. https://www.capitalgazette.com/education/ac-cn-meade-high-school-20190905-b5onjm2ixngddjlx75oxwx73oq-story.html

Not facts! You are naming PGCPS TAG schools. Crofton elementary, Crofton meadows, Nantucket and Crofton woods are NOT TAG schools so you are not comparing apples to oranges. Also I relocated and my attends Nantucket and there are 5 kindergarten classes with 14-17 kids. Don’t speak of you don’t know the facts. They get another teacher when they reach a certain level so please!

Crofton sucks. It’s full of elitists who think they’re rich because they live in some ugly and old ass $500k colonial. I laugh my ass of when people from Crofton say that their high school will be the next Severna Park, and everyone in Severna Park laughs at them as well. Folks in SP are always the ones always saying “we don’t want to become another Crofton.” Crofton has some racism bc it is full of white-flight from Bowie, so I’m not surprised you’re part of that and calling PGCPS trash on here. For the record, I am also from AA County and a product of the schools, but your comments are insufferable. It’s one thing if Bowie schools didn’t work out for your child, and it’s fine to say that and switch their school if that’s the case. But it’s another thing to trash the school and entire system. Just because you had a shitty experience doesn’t mean that it would be bad for everyone. If you can shell out extra money to move to Crofton and rant on here about how PGCPS sucks, how come you couldn’t bring those issues up to board members? How come you couldn’t bring them up in the community, where apparently many people also feel the same. Crofton once suffered from overcrowded schools (and it still does at the middle school and high school level), and things only turned around because the parents there were active and involved in the community. They for decades to get a high school in Crofton, that’s why they say “years in the making.” It took advocacy to get Nantucket built as well. They didn’t do what white people in PG County do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not the original poster but It's not as simple as just sending your kids to public school to make them better. For example, my neighborhood school had 28 kids in kindergarten last year. Am I wrong, for not wanting to enroll my child? In addition, my kid has small sensory and motor skill issues, not enough to be considered special needs or need an IEP so they need a little more one on one. Their school now caps at 12 students. Me as a child, I could thrive in any environment 12 kids or 25 kids! However, I know my child and they need a small learning environment. 28:1 ratio is horrible, the average will stay average, those who need a little more help, won't get it and the advance will get bored.

Anne Arundel cluster, I would go public. The Crofton/Gambrills area schools are fantastic and most have 17/18 cap on students. Big difference than PG. Also, to put it in perspective, my 3rd grader had 31!!!! However, she could hang because she is that child that can self direct. *just saying*

There are no shortage of elementary schools in Bowie that outperform Crofton area elementary schools: Heather Hills, Whitehall, and Yorktown. And no, Crofton schools are very overcrowded, and the high school is projected to be over-capacity the day it starts serving all four grades. South River High School is an over-crowded zoo that serves many working-class neighborhoods in Edgewater, but I see people recommend it over Bowie all the time. It’s clearly about race.

Also, Crofton didn’t just get a new high school because they were sleeping on their asses and dodged their own public schools. They got it because of years of community involvement and commitment

. Looking at citation data, Crofton schools have numerous behavior issues as well. Crofton Middle School had 19 citations during the 2017-2018 school year. Arundel Middle School only had 6, and Central Middle School only had 4. Crofton is over-hyped because it’s a majority-white area. https://www.capitalgazette.com/education/ac-cn-meade-high-school-20190905-b5onjm2ixngddjlx75oxwx73oq-story.html

Not facts! You are naming PGCPS TAG schools. Crofton elementary, Crofton meadows, Nantucket and Crofton woods are NOT TAG schools so you are not comparing apples to oranges. Also I relocated and my attends Nantucket and there are 5 kindergarten classes with 14-17 kids. Don’t speak of you don’t know the facts. They get another teacher when they reach a certain level so please!

Crofton sucks. It’s full of elitists who think they’re rich because they live in some ugly and old ass $500k colonial. I laugh my ass of when people from Crofton say that their high school will be the next Severna Park, and everyone in Severna Park laughs at them as well. Folks in SP are always the ones always saying “we don’t want to become another Crofton.” Crofton has some racism bc it is full of white-flight from Bowie, so I’m not surprised you’re part of that and calling PGCPS trash on here. For the record, I am also from AA County and a product of the schools, but your comments are insufferable. It’s one thing if Bowie schools didn’t work out for your child, and it’s fine to say that and switch their school if that’s the case. But it’s another thing to trash the school and entire system. Just because you had a shitty experience doesn’t mean that it would be bad for everyone. If you can shell out extra money to move to Crofton and rant on here about how PGCPS sucks, how come you couldn’t bring those issues up to board members? How come you couldn’t bring them up in the community, where apparently many people also feel the same. Crofton once suffered from overcrowded schools (and it still does at the middle school and high school level), and things only turned around because the parents there were active and involved in the community. They for decades to get a high school in Crofton, that’s why they say “years in the making.” It took advocacy to get Nantucket built as well. They didn’t do what white people in PG County do.

If you think the poster talking to the board would have made a difference, you’re delusional. People been taking to the board for years sweetie! This post has gone left. Let’s stick to the question the poster asked. Clearly she doesn’t want to send her kids to public schools, whatever her reason is. So let’s try to answer the question or be bitter that she doesn’t want her kid to attend one of our county schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:*You are comparing apples to oranges*

Whitehall, and Yorktown are not TAG schools. I don't think they house any specialty programs.