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Please tell me what you love about your MoCo elementary school
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Anonymous
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What elementary school do your kids attend in MoCo, and what do you love about it? I've read many threads on MoCo schools, but still have questions. I'm interested in academic quality, diversity (racial and economic), parent involvement, teacher quality. What is the atmosphere like? How do administrators and teachers treat parents and kids? How do kids treat each other? What would you change if you could?
We're looking in MoCo, and have about $850K to spend on a domicile. Our kids are talented, entering K and 4. We need to be as close in as possible (near Metro or Marc) and need to find a school that feeds into a good MoCo middle and high school. Please tell me what you love about your child's school. Thanks very much. |
Anonymous
| Anyone love their school? How about Rosemary Hills or Kensington Parkwood? Anyone love other MoCo elementary schools in the BCC cluster? We've ruled out Takoma Park because we don't like the middle or high schools. We can't afford private, so our kids will be in public through HS. |
Anonymous
| We love Kensington Parkwood! I've posted about KP in the past, so I won't repeat everything I've written that is in the archives. Recently I've been particularly noticing the impressive participation at PTA events like Bingo Night, International Night, the Holiday Bazaar... It is a great community and very active. |
Anonymous
| "We" are in our first year at Rosemary Hills, but I really like it (and so does the kid), and in general I think people in our neighborhood have good things to say about it. It's unusual in that it's k-2, with about 8 classes per grade. It's geographically and economically diverse, with a very active PTA. There are some downsides to having such a large school-- class sizes tend to be on the large size, and all the kids in a given grade eat lunch and have recess together, which is a lot. On the other hand, there are advantages to being a k-2 school in that the whole school is oriented to meet the needs of those kids, rather than older kids. |
Anonymous
| If you have a fourth grader, you really need to also be considering middle school since it starts in 6th grade. |
Anonymous
You don't like Takoma Park Middle School and Montgomery Blair High School? The magnet programs are fabulous, as is the music program at the middle school. |
Anonymous
I read some posts that parents at TPES didn't like the middle school or Sligo Park. Since we can't afford private, I can't take a chance on a bad middle school. If you have good things to say about either school, please post. I've heard great things about TPES, but I know the K will be moved next year, so that might be difficult for DC. Parents have said there was tension between the magnet kids and regular kids at Montgomery Blair, which made me nervous. I've been focusing on elementary schools that feed into Walter Johnson and BCC (Silver Spring), because it seems there are houses we can afford in these areas and I've heard good things about both high schools, which are a little more diverse than Whitman. Plus, Bethesda and CC are likely out of our price range. 18:31: Is Kensington Parkwood at all diverse? If not racially, then socially and economically? It does sound like an appealing school, and we may be able to find a house there. |
Anonymous
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Here's where I get my data on schools: http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/
KPES is more diverse internationally than racially and economically, I'd say. In 2007-2008, 3% of kids were identified as ESOL; 5.8% qualified for FARMS (free and reduced meals); 5.8% were African-American; .6% were American Indian; 5.2% were Asian; 8.2% were Hispanic, and 80.2% were white. By comparison, at Takoma Park ES in 2007-2008, 15.4% were identified as ESOL, 21.2% qualified for FARMS; 33.6% were African-American; .3% were American Indian; 7.8% were Asian; 8.1% were Hispanic; and 50.3% were white. At Rosemary Hills ES in 2007-2008, 10.6% were identified as ESOL; 14.8% qualified for FARMS; 16.0% were African-American; .3% were American Indian; 7.7% were Asian; 13.0% were Hispanic; and 63.1% were white. |
Anonymous
We live in Takoma Park (I'm the PP who asked you about TPMS and Montgomery Blair). Our child was accepted at a couple of good, even prestigious, schools for pre-K. We had always assumed we would do private; DC, age 3, is at a nursery program now. But we're rethinking the whole private school thing simply because TPES is such a good school. I hear very good things about Takoma Park Middle School and the magnet program at Blair as well. The only potential downside is Piney Branch (grades 3-5), which had high principal turnover, but a good new principal has been in place for awhile now and word of mouth about the school is vastly improved. We've learned that TPES has small classes (about 15) and, of course, it has the magnet program for grades 1-2. I have not heard about tension between Blair's magnet and non-magnet kids, but that certainly could be the case. The magnet kids I know love it and say they don't see much of the other kids. Now perhaps all of this is moot if your child isn't a math and science kind of kid, which ours may or may not be; we don't know yet. But we're finding that our home schools seem to offer a lot in the way of music, in particular, so we can now envision our child happily attending those schools. We won't be affected by the busing to Grosvenor because our child won't enter until the following year. But my sense is that the middle school magnet is very highly regarded, if your child can get in. The TPMS music program is also highly regarded. HTH. |
Anonymous
| The magnet programs at Takoma Park Middle School and Blair High School are open to the whole county, not just to their neighborhoods. |
Anonymous
Yes. They are test-in programs. Same with the humanities magnet at Eastern Middle School. |
Anonymous
Are all the middle school magnets in MoCo test-in programs? Not lotteries? If so, how hard is it to get in? DC is smart, but not a genius. I can take a chance if test-in is available to "above-average" smart kids, but if it's only for the super-smart, we'd have little chance. |
Anonymous
Yes, all the magenets programs are test-in. |
Anonymous
If you look carefully in Bethesda and CC, you can find houses for under $850K (if you are OP who quoted that price). Personally, I prefer Bethesda/CC because it is closer to Bethesda and SS metros and very easy drives to downtown DC. For cheaper housing, look in East Bethesda and between Beech Drive and 16th Street along East West Hwy. But, be careful because the ES feeder areas change from block to block along EW Hwy. Also less expensive townhouses along Bradley feed into Somerset (BCC cluster) and apartments in downtown Bethesda also feed to the BCC cluster. All of those are less expensive housing. |