Help me pick a cluster

[Anonymous]

Torn between 2 houses. If your kids have attended any of these schools, could you please share your experiences. It would be helpful if you would state the school you are commenting on, the grades your child attended the school, and even better if you have older children who have attended multiple schools in the cluster.

Option 1: Ritchie Park/JW/RM
Option 2: Beverly Farms/Hoover/Churchill

[Anonymous]

You should probably read the thread about Churchill that's just a few threads down.

[Anonymous]

OP - it really depends on what kind of school environment you are looking for.

We looked at houses in both clusters, too. Ultimately, we chose RM cluster for a few reasons.

1. good amount diversity, both SES and race, is important to us
2. all HS have issues, but there are specific issues that go with wealthy HS, and I didn't want my kids around that kind of environment. We had moved from a different wealthy area, and part of the reason I wanted to move was because of the issues I was hearing about at that wealthy HS. As the PP stated, read the thread about the Churchill HS.
3. obviously, Churchill cluster has much higher test scores, but, to us, a good school cluster is more than just high test scores, which really, just equates to high SES. I looked at what programs the school offered as well. We liked that RM had the IB, and I believe RM IB sets aside some seats for in-cluster kids - though you still have to test.

We also liked that JW has the MYP IB program, which I know isn't that big of a deal, but it does have some draw for us.

On the cons side, Churchill is projected to be less over crowded; RM cluster is severely over crowded, though they just built the extension at JW, and they are *supposed* to build RM ES#5 some time in the next few years, but who the heck knows when/if it will actually open.

So, think about what's important to you as far as school environment goes, and how you think your kids will fair in the different types of environments.

[Anonymous]

OK, this it totally a one time experience, but the one experience I had with the BFES front office staff really put me off.

Some K'er girls were playing a sport on their field as part of an after school program; these girls were not necessarily from BFES. One of the girls had to use the bathroom. The front office had their door locked (this is around 3:30pm after school), and when the girl knocked on the door to use the bathroom, they wouldn't let her in. They told her she couldn't use the bathroom. She ended up having to go in the bushes. WTF?

I was so turned off by that experience.

[Anonymous]

We are at BFES and really like it. The teachers are wonderful and all of the parents are friendly. Our old principal just retired so they will announce the new one at the end of the month but that will be a positive change. We are still at the elementary level, so I cannot comment on the other schools but neighbors have good things to say.

[Anonymous]

We have had a good experience at JW and RM..though I know Churchill has higher test scores. JW kids do seem to get some preferred spots at the Magnet..usually about 25 kids get in from JW which is very high and in addition...any RM neighborhood kid can join the IB program for 11th grade without testing. Only strong students would make that choice but a nice option to have. My kids were not interested in IB and have been fine with AP options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OK, this it totally a one time experience, but the one experience I had with the BFES front office staff really put me off.

Some K'er girls were playing a sport on their field as part of an after school program; these girls were not necessarily from BFES. One of the girls had to use the bathroom. The front office had their door locked (this is around 3:30pm after school), and when the girl knocked on the door to use the bathroom, they wouldn't let her in. They told her she couldn't use the bathroom. She ended up having to go in the bushes. WTF?

I was so turned off by that experience.

I'm not too sure why that would necessarily turn you off to BFES.

While it might have been the humane or compassionate thing to let child use the restroom, I'm sure that it's against policy somewhere if the group did not rent the actual indoor school facilities. It's not like the bathrooms are public restrooms and there are probably security, insurance and safety concerns about letting anyone in the building when the building is closed.

I originally wasn't going to chime in because don't have kids in either cluster. Although am kind of in the same boat and know families that have kids that went through both.

But I agree with the comment to 11:14 and that was one of the concerns that I had with the Churchill cluster.

One of the main concerns I had is with our kids finding a fit or niche. Not just from a racial or SES standpoint but also academically if they turn out just to be average or below average amongst a group of students who all seem to be high performers.

I never thought much about Richard Montgomery in the past (partially based off of the people I knew who graduated from there not in the IB program) but the more I started to factor in the above the more appealing RM seemed to me. Even more so when considering it's proximity to things and convenience.

I would seriously take into account the price difference of the homes, your budget, what you're looking for in a home and convenience and location.

However with all that being said, if it's within budget, the price difference between the two homes in the different clusters is relatively small and meets the majority of my checklist I may lean towards the home with the schools with the better rankings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Torn between 2 houses. If your kids have attended any of these schools, could you please share your experiences. It would be helpful if you would state the school you are commenting on, the grades your child attended the school, and even better if you have older children who have attended multiple schools in the cluster.

Option 1: Ritchie Park/JW/RM
Option 2: Beverly Farms/Hoover/Churchill

I have kids at RPES and JW. My kids have had a good experience at both places. The RPES principal is generally viewed as very rigid, but we have not experienced a bad situation with her. The teachers at RPES and JW seem to have a sincere connection with students (despite class sizes) and there is not a lot of turnover. My kids are very bright and have always been accelerated and enriched appropriately. I think that all of the schools in this area are relatively good but for us, diversity (racial, socio-economic, religious) is very important. There is no cluster more diverse than the RM cluster. I don't want my kids growing up without knowing diversity.

I think you can find good, happy, kids at all schools but there is something special about the RM cluster.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You should probably read the thread about Churchill that's just a few threads down.

Considering that PP likely has kids in elementary school, the rumors etc on that thread are certainly to be pretty much irrelevant by the time her kids are there.

Like it or not, it's still one of the most, if not the most, desirable high school in the area.

OP, FWIW a friend just moved from the RM cluster you describe to a Churchill one. Don't think it's Beverly Farms though - Bells Mill maybe?

[Anonymous]

I'm at RPES with one child going to JW next year. Our overall experience at RP has been mixed. Some teachers have been excellent, some have been fair, some have been terrible. I don't know that you would find anything different at any other elementary school. My biggest complaint about RP rests in the administration, but I believe that has been discussed ad naseum on this board and you could probably just do a search for Ritchie Park and it would all come up. I would not describe the Principal as "rigid." I would describe her as "ineffective" and "rude." Our neighbors have kids at JW and they are very happy.

[Anonymous]

JW and RM with a kid who isn't going to get into UMd Engineering and another who UMd Eng would take 2 years early if they could. RM has diversity at all levels of academic achievement.

As our first DC left ES and came through JW, we were told the opposite of "but also academically if they turn out just to be average or below average amongst a group of students who all seem to be high performers." We kept hearing that "average" kids who couldn't manage to stay in the HS "Honors" track ended up with all sorts of distracting behavioral issues. While we have been pleasantly surprised at how easy it has been to stay in the Honors track, it turns out that stories of behavioral issues were also greatly exaggerated, still 2 more years, fingers crossed. On the higher but non-IB (got in but didn't want to be tied down to "those" classes and wasn't impressed with the other 20+ picked from JW) end both JW and RM have not really impressed us, maybe that is why it works well for the "average" kids?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:JW and RM with a kid who isn't going to get into UMd Engineering and another who UMd Eng would take 2 years early if they could. RM has diversity at all levels of academic achievement.

As our first DC left ES and came through JW, we were told the opposite of "but also academically if they turn out just to be average or below average amongst a group of students who all seem to be high performers." We kept hearing that "average" kids who couldn't manage to stay in the HS "Honors" track ended up with all sorts of distracting behavioral issues. While we have been pleasantly surprised at how easy it has been to stay in the Honors track, it turns out that stories of behavioral issues were also greatly exaggerated, still 2 more years, fingers crossed. On the higher but non-IB (got in but didn't want to be tied down to "those" classes and wasn't impressed with the other 20+ picked from JW) end both JW and RM have not really impressed us, maybe that is why it works well for the "average" kids?

OP here. Thank you for taking the time to respond. I'm a little unclear on your opinions though. Are you saying that JW/RM is good for the average students but not the above average unless in the IB track?

[Anonymous]

What is the opposite of "but also academically if they turn out just to be average or below average amongst a group of students who all seem to be high performers."

Maybe a word is missing?

[Anonymous]

I don't get the UMd engineering metric as a baseline for achievement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't get the UMd engineering metric as a baseline for achievement.

not that pp, but I think it means that one kid is really smart at STEM and the other isn't. STEM program at UMD is really good.