Rockville Living - Neighborhood by Beall Elementary

[Anonymous]

We currently live in Northern Virginia, but are considering moving to Rockville, MD to be closer to my husband's work. We would like to be in a walkable community, where we can walk to some restaurants, shops, library, etc. We are also looking to live in a neighborhood/area that has a strong sense of community and good schools.

We are currently considering the neighborhood by Beall Elementary. Does anyone have experience with that neighborhood? What about the Beall, Julius West, and Richard Montgomery Schools? We have a # young children, the oldest of whom is currently in Kindergarten. Any information on this area would be greatly appreciated, as well as suggestions on other neighborhoods we should consider.

Thank you!

[Anonymous]

Just a heads up, when you talk to people in person about it, the school is pronounced "Bell."

My friend teaches there, and she's a great teacher. So there's at least one

[Anonymous]

Thank you! I had no idea it was pronounced "Bell!"

[Anonymous]

I don't live in that neighborhood but live in another one that goes to Beall. The school is great and the community is fantastic. It is over crowded but that is the same with any school in MCPS. The Principal is fantastic and the community is very strong. We often go to the Rockville Town Center and run into kids and families from the school. It is great. We could not be happier.

[Anonymous]

We don't live in that particular neighborhood, but have met some lovely families who do. We've been very happy with Beall.

JW gets some mixed reviews, but seems generally to a solid school. RM has become stronger and stronger in recent years, thanks to the IB program as well as the strength of the general teaching staff.

[Anonymous]

Thank you both for the replies and input on Beall. Do you live in a neighborhood that is walkable to the Town Center? Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank you both for the replies and input on Beall. Do you live in a neighborhood that is walkable to the Town Center? Thanks!

15:19 here. We don't, unfortunately.

[Anonymous]

We live in a nearby RM feeder neighborhood (can walk to town center but zoned to College Gardens). We think it is a great place to live and I hear lots of positive remarks about Beale. There is a private pool and a City pool nearby. City of Rockville services are great for recreation (checkout the camp brochure which should be on line soon) and snow etc. Beale has portables but a new ES will hopefully be built in the next few years to relieve that for the whole cluster.

[Anonymous]

We're in College Gardens, but our friends who've gone through Beall were happy with the school. I currently have a child at JW and one at RM (plus one who recently graduated from RM).

We've had generally good experiences at both JW and RM. Overcrowding is an issue, but the schools are solid.

[Anonymous]

And PP is right about City of Rockville services. My kids did their day camps for years.

[Anonymous]

We live in the neighborhood but do not have a child at Beall. The neighborhood is great. Beall is in an area called West End. Neighboring that is Woodley Gardens West. Both have plenty of sidewalks and (depending on exactly where you live) are walkable to Rockville Town Center. There's also are two parks with playgrounds nearby--Welsh Park and Woodley Gardens Park. The Rockville Municipal Swimming pool is there as well and the private Woodley Gardens pool is not far either.

[Anonymous]

NP here. We are also considering moving to that area. Does anyone who lives there commute to downtown and how is the commute (specifically using Metro)? I love the area and have heard good things about the schools but we live in Silver Spring/Kensington now so am concerned about increasing my commute (red line--Gallery Place).

[Anonymous]

Yep, we live in the West End community, two kids at Beall. Specifically sought out this area (wanted to be close to metro, reasonable housing prices, good schools, friendly and welcoming neighborhood), and very happy with the decision. Other neighborhoods I'd recommend are Woodley Gardens and College Gardens (zoned to College Gardens ES, but then also JW and RM).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP here. We are also considering moving to that area. Does anyone who lives there commute to downtown and how is the commute (specifically using Metro)? I love the area and have heard good things about the schools but we live in Silver Spring/Kensington now so am concerned about increasing my commute (red line--Gallery Place).

Rockville metro to DuPont takes me 30 mins. I walk to metro though so door to door it all takes me an hour. Would probably take about the same if I drove and parked from a nearby neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

I'm the College Gardens poster above. I commute L'Enfant Plaza on the Red Line, and if all goes well my commute is pretty much exactly an hour door-to-door. Maybe a little less if I get the the platform just as the train is arriving, more if there's a Red Line problem. It's about 7 minutes from my house to the Rockville Metro station.

Your commute would probably be about 10 minutes shorter than mine since you get off at Gallery Place.

To be honest, it's at the outside edge of what I consider doable. My commute is the only thing I don't like about living in Rockville. If my agency would move to Rockville (never going to happen), my life would be just about perfect.